There seems there is a constant misunderstanding that superhero or blockbuster films should be excluded from such lofty accolades. But as far as I can tell it's just the Avengers that is being eye rolled at. And I think it's a fair eyeroll in that out of the glut of these type of films that are now out there, it is one of the least remarkable of many (some that are probably even technically worse I would consider better on the level of being Art, or at least a bad approximation of it, than this absolute milquetoast nothing burger of a movie).
Now if competence is an art form all on its own, give The Avengers the biggest trophy you can find. It succeeds at its task of being entertaining, for people who find stuff like this entertaining. But I think it's clear that this particular question of heritage is asking for a movie to be more than that. Maybe that is being narrow-minded, but being exclusionary is the point of making lists like this. There should be some intangible level of artistic greatness involved, not just 'did it's job as well as this genre requires'
Like, is there a single scene or idea from The Avengers where we can recognize 'ah, this is what makes this a singular cinematic experience'. If not, we are just arguing about what movies we think are good, which basically opens the door for virtually anything to qualify. It's why uniqueness and a singularity of the directors vision is so important to these discussions. Otherwise, what exactly are we championing? Nothing terribly interesting, it would seem.
So, if we don't have to concern ourselves with our metrics being anything but pure enjoyment of a film, and patting the film on the back for not getting in the way of that enjoyment, let me suggest Prom Night for preservation. Because I think my love of it makes it belong there. It functions perfectly as the boiler plate that so many other cheapo slashers would build upon. So I demand it goes in too and who could possibly object to that?
Now if competence is an art form all on its own, give The Avengers the biggest trophy you can find. It succeeds at its task of being entertaining, for people who find stuff like this entertaining. But I think it's clear that this particular question of heritage is asking for a movie to be more than that. Maybe that is being narrow-minded, but being exclusionary is the point of making lists like this. There should be some intangible level of artistic greatness involved, not just 'did it's job as well as this genre requires'
Like, is there a single scene or idea from The Avengers where we can recognize 'ah, this is what makes this a singular cinematic experience'. If not, we are just arguing about what movies we think are good, which basically opens the door for virtually anything to qualify. It's why uniqueness and a singularity of the directors vision is so important to these discussions. Otherwise, what exactly are we championing? Nothing terribly interesting, it would seem.
So, if we don't have to concern ourselves with our metrics being anything but pure enjoyment of a film, and patting the film on the back for not getting in the way of that enjoyment, let me suggest Prom Night for preservation. Because I think my love of it makes it belong there. It functions perfectly as the boiler plate that so many other cheapo slashers would build upon. So I demand it goes in too and who could possibly object to that?