The MoFo pre-1930 Countdown: preliminary thread

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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.


Rules and Other Boring Important Stuff to Remember


- Any film is eligible that was released prior to 1930 (in other words must be dated 1929 or earlier on IMDb)

- You must have been a member for at least one month in order to submit a list

- You're submitting a voting list of what you consider to be your personal top 25 films that you've seen, from before 1930

- Lists should be clearly labelled as to the order of preference for the movies to facilitate the allocation of points (25 pts for 1st choice down to 1 pt for 25th choice)

- When voting for foreign language films, please include both the English and original language title (where applicable)

- If tales or events have been split into more than one cinematic part on IMDb (e.g. Die Nibelungen) each individual part should be regarded as a single entity (i.e. perfectly fine to include just one part on a ballot but if wanting to include more than one they each need to occupy one position on the ballot)

- Please also indicate the year of release (as shown on IMDb) for all nominations so that votes are attributed to the right film where there is more than one possibility

- All lists are final so please triple-check you are happy with them before sending them in

- Please don’t share any part of your list until the films have been revealed on the countdown, I really would hate to have to disqualify any of your votes

- All lists should be PM’d to myself with the title "[Your Username] - MoFo pre-1930 List"

- Partial lists (those with ten or more but less than 25 films on) will only be accepted from Sunday, September 1st

- The deadline for all lists will be 9am (IST/BST) on Sunday, October 6th (4am Eastern; 1am Pacific)

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)


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MovieMeditation



Welcome to the human race...
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).
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I really just want you all angry and confused the whole time.
Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0



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!



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



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.



Welcome to the human race...
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.



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.



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.



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



Welcome to the human race...
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.



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.



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.



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.



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.



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.