The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

It's time to get the organs out and finish off the cycle that began so long ago and create the one remaining MoFo 'time period' list that is missing from the cinematic collection .... for those movies made prior to 1930.

From the early works of the Lumière Brothers that ushered in the cinematic age in the late 19th Century through to the wondrous emergence of the early 'Talkies' in the late 1920s any and all films prior to 1930 will be eligible no matter their duration. It is a sad fact that a lot of films from this period were lost to later generations but thankfully many have survived and whether your genre of interest be drama, comedy, sci-fi, horror etc. there are treasures to be found amongst them.

Early film may not be a period that is of interest to everyone, I'll freely admit to having my own struggles with the 'Silent Era' at times, but it's an important one in the cinematic universe and who knows what the medium would be like today without it. The pioneers of cinema had to experiment and innovate to bring their visions to life and I think the least we can do to honour them is add what we feel are the best of their works to the MoFo lists section.



Movies will need to feature on at least 2 submitted lists and garner a minimum of 25 points in total to become eligible for the countdown. The minimum countdown produced will be a Top 25 but will be scaled up to a Top 50/75/100 should enough movies meet the eligibility.

Finally, I hope the resultant countdown manages to avoid any subsequent accusations of recency bias in its content (yes, I'm looking at you @Captain Spaulding) ;)

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

Yeah, definitely need to work on pre-1920 recommendations if we are going to avoid any "recency bias" (such as it is in this context).

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

Oh boy!

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I'm afraid I have a total of one film I could put on this list as of right now - I will have to get watching!

That counts as a one movie head start from where you could be - you have a little over four months to hopefully add to it ;)

I have two such films but unfortunately I don't have much interest to get watching more.

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

Will there be a minimum acceptable number for partial lists?

I explored this era a bit on my own several years ago and was mostly unimpressed by what I saw. I can only think of five qualifying films that I like enough to vote for.

I think 10 is a modest yet reasonable number for a minimum, hopefully you'll be able to find a few more that you find worthy in the coming months. I'll start a 'recommendations' thread where perhaps people can suggest a few you or others might like.

Yeah! glad we're doing this countdown. It's needed, it's important, it completes the set...and it's a challenge for us to visit the long ago pass and discover some great silent films...and talkies too as they did exist in the late 20s.

I know MoFos have seen some films from the silent era and are fans, hopefully they will get into this countdown.

Myself I've seen some silent films, but I need to see more! Especially the well known classics. I need to fill in my missing cinema knowledge gap and now is the perfect opportunity.

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

In the near future, I plan on doing a Pre 30s Hall of Fame for anyone who wants to join. We did this before:

Silent Era Hall Of Fame

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

I try to do a full 25 even if it means I have to go beyond obvious favourites and settle for films I've seen and merely liked - was down to three-star films by the time I reached the end of my 1930s ballot. I think I've seen at least 25 pre-1930 films but I get the feeling I'll end up looking for more anyway.

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Same. But I definitely think, for this list and smaller genre lists, it's worth thinking a lot about ways to make it easier to participate to make sure we get a decent number of submissions. :up:

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Coming up with five more is going to be a challenge that I don't know if I care enough to accept.
Don't know that I'll be able to participate, we'll see.

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I received 45 list for the 1930s Top 100 Countdown and most of those came in at the very last moment. We're talking the last week. I bet you could get around that number if we all try to expand our movie watching horizons.



So try something outside of your comfort watch zone, there's a lot of neat stuff to choose from pre30s, you'll be glad you did:yup:

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

Of course. Now I wonder if the number of voters in each decade countdown has decreased with each successive countdown.

Also, I got about 30 lists (a considerable number of which were partial) when doing the women's countdown and only just managed to get an acceptable 100. Hopefully, this countdown can get more because it will be a narrower pool of candidates.

That's a good question, maybe if I have time later in the evening I'll check that out. Though it's just a hunch I have, I bet Pre30s Silent era might be as popular if not more so than the 30s was.

I honestly have no idea how many lists this might end up garnering - I think a Top 100 might be a push but as long as we get enough for a Top 25 or more I'll count it as having been worth the effort.

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

I’ll be able to send in a partial but I have no idea how many will be on my list now. And I doubt I’ll be able to watch more.

But I’ll send a list for sure.

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

For sure. I'd be shocked if we can't do at least a top fifty. Good to let people know the range in advance though, even if the exact number is contingenton seeing how many entries you get just so everyone understands going in. if they think it's going to be a top 100 and then it's not that feels a lot worse.

It's why I didn't put a number in the thread title, I didn't want anyone to be disappointed if turnout ends up being on the light side.

A Top 25 is the minimum worth everyone's effort imo, naturally if we get enough movies to qualify (being on a minimum of 2 lists and a total points accumulation of 25 or more - standard criteria I believe?) for a Top 50, Top 75 or even a Top 100 then that is what I shall produce.

Absolutely, a Top 25 Countdown is worth it! I think Top 50 is very attainable, maybe even Top 100, but anyway is good and it's great you're flexible.

Top 100 I think is implausible.

Nobody wants a Top 100 where one person decides a placement. It should be so that a minimum of two people voted for said film before it can get on the countdown. That just sounds unlikely right now...

Anyways, no matter what this list is happening and that’s awesome.

Literally just added to the first post that any film needs to figure on at least two lists and receive a minimum total of 25 points to be regarded as eligible for the final countdown which I believe is fairly standard for these lists :up:

Good idea, I like that. I just checked and on the 30s Countdown #100 movie had 31 points.

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

@Chypmunk seem to be the man for this job. This thing hasn’t even started and he got everything under control. :D #InChypWeTrust

Looks good and I'll be sending my 25 before the deadline. Fantastic that we have enough time to watch.

I'll definitely be sending one. Love this era, and this will give me the impetus to finally go on that silent movie binge I've been putting off for too long.

Already intend to watch:
Napoleon
Greed
The Crowd
Asphalt
The Last Warning
Thief of Bagdad
Die Nibelungen
Underground
Student of Prague
The Docks of New York
Body and Soul
Les Vampires
The Great White Silence
Orphans of the Storm
... plus myriad rewatches of old favorites. This honestly might be the most excited I've been about one of these countdowns. I have a lot to explore. :)

Thank you so much Mark! I'm on em.

I've got a solid 24 so far. Thanks for doing this Chypmunk! :)

Nice to see more positivity in the thread :up:

Just a quick note about The Great White Silence, mark's link above is to a cut-down version on YT but the full BFI restored version is freely available on IA (here) for those that are interested.

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

I don't have a 25 yet, but hope to by the deadline. A lot of early films are quite short, so that makes it easier to watch them. Of course, some of them are 4+ hours long like Greed and Intolerance and I'm not sure when I'll fit in Les Vampires, much as I want to see it.

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

This is a great idea for a countdown. But I don't think there should be any limitations as to what movies are allowed to feature in the countdown (other than the date of release, obviously).


What would be the rationale for, say, providing a 9-point pick from featuring in it ?


EDIT : I understand that a movie that only one person chose may be wrong. But if more than one people considered it (even if very low), shouldn't that be taken into account ?

Have to draw lines somewhere and personally I think being placed on more than one list and managing to accrue a total of 25 points or more are together indicative that a movie is truly thought highly enough of that it merits a place on the countdown.

Even with a minimum requirement of 25 points I'm still hopeful that a Top 50 or better would be achievable, and whilst a Top 100 might be a struggle it's not a given that one is completely unattainable. Lowering that points limit may increase the chances for a Top 100 but here are the stats for the last placed film on other countdowns (excuse me if I missed any, I'm sure I must have):
Millenium: ? lists, 37 pts
90s: ? lists, 42 pts
80s: ? lists, 49 pts
70s: ? lists, 64 pts
60s: 4 lists, 59 pts
50s: 3 lists, 46 pts
40s: 2 lists, 34 pts
30s: 2 lists, 31 pts
Sci-fi: 5 lists, 49 pts
Documentaries: 2 lists, 37 pts
Animated: 4 lists, 55 pts
Horror: ? lists, 45 pts

I did leave the hosting of this countdown open to anyone that wanted to take it on, in which case they obviously could have set their own criteria - nobody stepped forward though and my own preference is to have the possibility of a smaller countdown in terms of size than a larger one that features films in the lower echelons with points totals that pale in comparison to those on the other lists.

I am of course perfectly amenable to those movies that don't make the countdown proper but do feature on more than one ballot having their own 'honorary mentions' list at the end of the countdown.

It's late here and I only have one eye open, I hope the above comes across in the good spirit with which it is written.

edit: Of course with regards any official addition to the site's Lists section it would be entirely up to Chris as to how many movies that features - if this countdown does fall short of achieving a Top 100 but the inclusion of the 'honorary mentions' would fill that out I'd be more than happy to also number those 'honorary mentions' accordingly to make whatever he opted for as easy as possible for him.

Chypmunk, I'll be sending along my top 25 sometime this week. I'm just arranging the rankings.

~Doc

4 lists.

Why?

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

Fair enough. I'll try to put together a good list :)

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

Just a reminder to everyone - can you please also indicate the year of release for all nominations (as shown on IMDb) as it helps ensure there are no mistakes in attributing votes to nominations. I'll also edit this into the OP. Thanks.

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

just came across this, should be pretty excellent and I'll be sending a list. Though I will wait till closer to the deadline for those special gems that I would have missed if I sent one in early.

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

I'll take recommendations for this.

anybody who hasn't seen the passion of joan of arc will not have their list counted. sorry, i don't make the rules

Saw it. Hated it. Won't be voting for it. :p

Started a companion thread that might give you a few.

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

First list is in the spreadsheet and it's quite tight at the top with only around five points covering the top five at the moment ;)

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Ill definitely take part. looking forward to it.

To cater for any cinematic entities that were split into distinct parts have added the following to the OP:

Wasn't me Doc, it's on my list to see but as yet I've not got around to it. You might want to repost in the companion thread for pre-1930 recommendations (link here) as more might take note of it there.

Will do. Wasn't quite sure where to post it, since I couldn't find the original OP. Your link is thoughtful..:)

Thank God we have until October 6th. I was thinking it was early September and I still have about 25 on my watchlist.

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

Yeah, it's actually a little less than 2 months. :cool:

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I’ve finally reached 25 films I like enough to vote for, which is good, but currently I’m still down to for my #25, hoping to change that.

You still have a few more to go in the Pre 30s HoF don't you?

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

Did Siddon already send in a list, why? he's not even watched the movies in this last HoF.

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Yup, two, I finished Laugh Clown Laugh but have to get a write-up.

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Siddon sent his list in before even the first pre-30s ended I think...

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I better get to seeing a few more.

It, you'll love it.

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I'm working on my list right now. I want to watch a few more silent era films before sending in my ballot. I already have a good number and will have to cut some movies so as to make my Top 25.

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

I will send in a list of 25 but hoping to see a handful yet.

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Number of lists received doubles thanks to Kaplan :up:

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I'm still watching pre 30s films. I seen a good one last night and hope to squeeze in a bunch more before the deadline. For me, half of the fun is in watching these forgotten gems....I will for sure be sending in a list!

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

i will be sending a list. haven't watched much in preparation but i intend to do so in the remaining days. i already have a decent list of things to watch but if anybody has any recs for stuff that can be found on youtube, send 'em my way

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

I haven't been super active on here recently and I haven't watched as many films for this as I would have liked, but I have sent in a list. Looking forward to the countdown!

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

Thursday Next does indeed provide our third list and we're already well on the way to approaching halfway in the first goal of 25 qualifying films :up:

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Still holding off on a list for a little bit longer, not sure what else I might see.

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

And we have our fourth list, courtesy of Gulfport Doc, and pleased to be able to say we are now over that halfway point to the first target :up:

Turned my list in :cool:

I am excited for this!

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

TokeZa's list is the fifth and moves us ever closer to achieving that first goal :up:

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

I have a few more I want to get to yet.

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finished the Pre 30's HoFs and do have one or two I want to see before handing in my full list.

It will be just under the wire, par usual ;)

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I'm just waiting for our 2010-19 list

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donniedarko takes us up to six lists and we are now within touching distance of our first goal :up:

I really hope that one is next. Would be interesting to see the results.

I'm probably just going to send mine later tonight. I don't think I'll get to another one.

I'd actually rather wait, do another 2000s list (I know we had a Millenium already, but we should a proper 2000s), and then after a year or two, we can look back at the 2010s without as much "recency bias" as I guess Captain Spaulding put it.

I don't care but don't we usually do a genre after a decade? 2010's should wait until at least mid-2020 until everything from 2019 is available.

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

A Western countdown, was a popular idea last time we discussed which countdown should be next.

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Going to try and cram in as many films for this as I can. So many great films and directors I want to explore and so little time, my own fault for not being around much until recently!

I also think that a proper 2000s (2000-2009) list would be a great idea. From this decade I have seen no where near enough unfortunately.

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

List sent. I figured I probably wouldn't see anything else in a week that would make my list, or change it substantially.

Anyways, I'm happy with what I have. My #25 entry got a , which is pretty solid.

Re: The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread
 

Ahwell's list is the seventh and I'm delighted to say takes us beyond the first target of 25 qualifying fillums.

Ladieeeeees and gentleeeeeemen ...... we officially have a countdown :up:

Fun fact:
Thus far a grand total of 79 different titles have been nominated so plenty of scope for a Top 50 or perhaps bigger if enough people contribute.

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mark f provides our eighth list and we start on our march toward hopefully making it a Top 50....

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Yoda mailed in our ninth list and the total number of qualifying films creeps ever higher....

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Keep those coming in, people! You'll be glad you did.

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Pre-30's? Wow! I can't even list one movie :shifty:

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It's okay to Google top lists to remind yourself of what's from when. I've done it the last few lists, for sure. I keep going "oh yeah, that."

Neither could I until this countdown... or at least I had only seen one, Sherlock, Jr.

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Bah, I totally forgot about this and didn't try to watch more titles. I'll send in a list anyway.

Don't see why I can't draw a list up, when's the due date? Oh, Oct 6th, THIS week!

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First time participating in one of these...I'm excited!

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SURISURI's list is the tenth and maintains the upward movement of our total number of qualifying films :up:

TSL and Holden Pike provide the eleventh and twelfth lists respectively and I'm pleased to say we are now over halfway to our second target :up:

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Keep 'em coming people! Always makes the countdown a lot more fun, and Chyp's put a lotta work in. I mean, I assume. :suspicious:

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CR opts to take the 'superstitious' spot and provides our thirteenth list ..... and as long as someone has extremely long arms we're now almost within touching distance of that second goal :whistle:

Yeah me:D As always it's so hard cutting great films to get down to a list of 25, but I did it!

This has been a great idea for a countdown...I've not only discovered a lot of cool pre 30s films... but more importantly I've had an epiphany that these old silent films were in some ways the height of cinema creativity, expressing film as art. I knew that there were some cool silent films, but I didn't realize just how serious the film makers were back in the day and so I'm glad for that realization.