The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread

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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.
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.



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.



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



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



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.



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



Nice to see more positivity in the thread

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.



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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.



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 ?
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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.



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.

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



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.



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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.
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