I'm not overly surprised that no MCU titles made the list. If filmmakers like Robert Altman, John Huston, and Christopher Nolan have trouble making the list presumably because they have four of five top titles splitting the vote among their admirers, what do you do with the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? How many movies was that: 23, 25, 117? When support is split pretty evenly just between
Infinity War and
Endgame what do you expect when you then throw in ALL the rest? Diluted support is what I expect.
As for the recency bias that didn't really rear its head on this list but did on the last, I think part of the difference is what I would guess is a much higher median age of the voter. Some of the regulars that were in their teens and early twenties back then have grown up, as has their taste. Movies like
Mystic River, Moulin Rouge, Million Dollar Baby, Signs, Gladiator, Dark City, and
Quills are all good movies but not the kind that resonate for a decade plus. This is why films aren't even eligible for the prestigious Sight & Sound poll until they are at least a decade old. Which is again why I want to do a proper 2000-2009 list before we tackle 2010-2019. That first 21st Century crop of films now has had an appropriate cooling period to see what is truly great.
It was also a much smaller voting pool for that first list so if a few people named something high on their ballot it broke through (hello,
Quills). It took more than that to make it with nearly a hundred ballots being submitted.
But I think the big ingredient that hasn't been mentioned is the cumulative power of these group list exercises. That isn't being accounted for. Lots of MoFos take these lists pretty seriously in that they cram for them and will watch fifteen or thirty or - for the super dedicated (and you know who you are) - closer to a hundred new movies or rewatches in preparation for each of the decade and genre lists. When you are expanding people's exposure that much their taste will inevitably broaden. It is by far my favorite thing about these lists. Even those who weren't around to participate see the finished lists, making some really fine, really long sets of suggestions.
Not that there aren't countless threads and private messages around this community with limitless film recommendations, with discussions and debates that inflame interest, because there are. But these lists and the preparation for them are like mainlinig enthusiasm for cinema.
Carry on, MoFo.