The Great Movie Tournament: Overall Event Overview

[mae]

My apologies because I'm sure you've gone over this numerous times, but just curious how you set up the groupings? Why is it 1 vs 5 and 4 vs 8? Instead of 1 vs 8 and 4 vs 5? Seems like lots of good films can get eliminated since the highest are going against the highest and lesser ranked films go against each other, allowing those to move on further. I know it likely won't make any difference once we get down to the finals, but would affect the overall ranking of the films.

First, no apologies necessary.

I've shared my process and system before but I'm always happy to post a refresher. It might not be the most perfect way, but it's how we've done pretty much all of the tournaments I've run. Essentially, after the first round where seeding is random, all movies are ranked by their cumulative percentage. In earlier rounds, when we have 32 groups, that means the top 32 movies are seeded first in each group, from 1 to 32. Then the next 32 are seeded second, again from 1 to 32. And so on. That means that when we get to 16 or 8 or 4 groups, the process is the same. In this round we have the top four going to the top spot in groups 1 through 4, and the bottom four going as second in the same order.

I hope that makes sense?

[Heather19]

It does, and I think I ask every tournament It just seems like as we progress thru the tournament that better films are pitted against each other sending one home, while lesser ranked ones move on. For example, The African Queen moves on, yet 7 of the 8 films eliminated have a higher ranking than it. And then it's put up against the 4th best film, giving it a stronger chance of moving on. I'm sure it probably won't here, but depending on the match-up the film could win. No sense in changing it now, and probably best to keep for the remaining tournaments in the series. It's just something that's always bugged me.

[mae]

I totally hear that, but I think this system is actually fairer. If we're looking at the earlier rounds, with 32, 64, etc. films, pitting the best against the worst seems off to me. So this is kind of a middle-ground, I suppose.

[Heather19]

Yeah, in an ideal situation, maybe there would be a way to rank them without groupings. But then that also wouldn't be much fun either.

[mae]

Yeah, in an ideal situation, maybe there would be a way to rank them without groupings. But then that also wouldn't be much fun either.

Right, this is after all for fun. And we do get a ranking at the end of it all. Probably not a scientific ranking, but it's ours.

[Tommy]

This is all for fun and discussion. But we'd all have to have seen all the films nominated and all would have to vote in most if not all of the polls. I wonder how THAT would turn out....not complaining, just speculating....

[Tommy]

Thinking about it, my above statement, I think the way films came down to the finals worked. It's been a great list the whole time so any winner now will be a deserved one! Thanks again, Mae!

[amd013]

Well its looking good for the final 4. Looks like 3 films I like, and 1 I have never seen will be in the final 4.

[mae]

We are getting close to the end here, people! The semifinal polls just went up, and next week is the 1950s final! Which two will it be? And which will ultimately prevail?

Moving on:

1. Rear Window 529.80%
2. 12 Angry Men 483.12%
3. Vertigo 471.77%
4. Seven Samurai 444.96%

Eliminated:

1. The Day the Earth Stood Still 399.30%
2. Ben-Hur 394.01%
3. Rebel Without a Cause 387.98%
4. The African Queen 318.85%

[Tommy]

Beautiful Top Four!!

[mae]

And so another final matchup is here! Thank you very much to everybody for participating and continuing to participate. We are about to wrap up our seventh decade of film! It's really amazing. We only have three more to go.

[Tommy]

[amd013]

And so another final matchup is here! Thank you very much to everybody for participating and continuing to participate. We are about to wrap up our seventh decade of film! It's really amazing. We only have three more to go.

Just curious how the average number of voters compared to previous tournaments.


I don't foresee me participating much in the 40's. I suspect I have probably seen more 30's films then 40's.


Thanks for hosting this. Didn't expect I would participate in the 50's this much, but "discovering" TMC the last year or two has really exposed me to older movies.

[mae]

And so another final matchup is here! Thank you very much to everybody for participating and continuing to participate. We are about to wrap up our seventh decade of film! It's really amazing. We only have three more to go.

Just curious how the average number of voters compared to previous tournaments.


I don't foresee me participating much in the 40's. I suspect I have probably seen more 30's films then 40's.


Thanks for hosting this. Didn't expect I would participate in the 50's this much, but "discovering" TMC the last year or two has really exposed me to older movies.

You're very welcome! As for average number of voters, I'm not sure. I won't go through every poll and get a number of everyone who voted, but in general the core group has stayed about the same. In more recent decades (1980s and later) we had slightly more voters, I think, around 25 or so, maybe slightly more at the start. With the 1950s we've dropped to around 17-ish. I imagine the number will continue to decline, but that's okay. I think we can still have a meaningful vote with a smaller group, even if we're in the single digits for the 1920s.

Here's the number of people who voted in each Final:

1990s: 26
2000s: 25
1980s: 33
2010s: 24
1970s: 27
1960s: 22
1950s: 15 so far

[mae]

And here is the overall 1 through 160 ranked list for the 1950s according to our membership:

1. 12 Angry Men
2. Rear Window
3. Vertigo
4. Seven Samurai
5. The Day the Earth Stood Still
6. Ben-Hur
7. Rebel Without a Cause
8. The African Queen
9. The Man Who Knew Too Much
10. Some Like It Hot
11. The Fly
12. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
13. Creature from the Black Lagoon
14. A Streetcar Named Desire
15. The Bridge on the River Kwai
16. Them!
17. North by Northwest
18. The War of the Worlds
19. Dial M for Murder
20. High Noon
21. Strangers on a Train
22. Godzilla
23. To Catch a Thief
24. House of Wax
25. The Incredible Shrinking Man
26. On the Waterfront
27. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
28. The Caine Mutiny
29. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
30. The Ten Commandments
31. All About Eve
32. Rashomon
33. Forbidden Planet
34. East of Eden
35. From Here to Eternity
36. The Blob
37. Anatomy of a Murder
38. Sunset Boulevard
39. Paths of Glory
40. Shane
41. The Night of the Hunter
42. Stalag 17
43. The Hidden Fortress
44. Singin' in the Rain
45. Journey to the Center of the Earth
46. Run Silent, Run Deep
47. Alice in Wonderland
48. The King and I
49. Cinderella
50. Peter Pan
51. The Three Faces of Eve
52. The Seven Year Itch
53. Ikiru
54. The Asphalt Jungle
55. The Wrong Man
56. Sleeping Beauty
57. Diabolique
58. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
59. Giant
60. Harvey
61. Roman Holiday
62. Blackboard Jungle
63. A Night to Remember
64. Witness for the Prosecution
65. The Diary of Anne Frank
66. A Star Is Born
67. House on Haunted Hill
68. Old Yeller
69. The Thing from Another World
70. Lady and the Tramp
71. Plan 9 from Outer Space
72. Dracula
73. Throne of Blood
74. The Defiant Ones
75. How to Marry a Millionaire
76. The Trouble with Harry
77. Sabrina
78. The Searchers
79. The Bad Seed
80. A Place in the Sun
81. White Christmas
82. A Christmas Carol
83. Bell, Book and Candle
84. Kiss Me Deadly
85. The Red Badge of Courage
86. The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
87. Bad Day at Black Rock
88. Rio Bravo
89. Marty
90. The Seventh Seal
91. The Big Heat
92. South Pacific
93. Tokyo Story
94. The Quiet Man
95. An American in Paris
96. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
97. Gidget
98. Ace in the Hole
99. Elevator to the Gallows
100. King Solomon's Mines
101. Pickpocket
102. The Killing
103. Gigi
104. The 400 Blows
105. Stage Fright
106. Night and the City
107. Somebody Up There Likes Me
108. Ugetsu
109. Rififi
110. Hiroshima Mon Amour
111. La Strada
112. Limelight
113. The Life of Oharu
114. Imitation of Life
115. Winchester '73
116. Funny Face
117. Orpheus
118. The Tingler
119. Quo Vadis
120. Tea and Sympathy
121. Johnny Guitar
122. I Want to Live!
123. The Wages of Fear
124. Calamity Jane
125. Forbidden Games
126. Houseboat
127. Monsieur Hulot's Holiday
128. Gun Crazy
129. A Face in the Crowd
130. Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man
131. Oklahoma!
132. Touch of Evil
133. An Affair to Remember
134. Sansho the Bailiff
135. All That Heaven Allows
136. King Creole
137. Pillow Talk
138. The Robe
139. Wild Strawberries
140. Sweet Smell of Success
141. Bus Stop
142. On the Beach
143. Nights of Cabiria
144. Written on the Wind
145. Floating Weeds
146. Suddenly, Last Summer
147. Umberto D.
148. A Summer Place
149. In a Lonely Place
150. The Bad and the Beautiful
151. Niagara
152. The Breaking Point
153. A Man Escaped
154. The Earrings of Madame de…
155. Diary of a Country Priest
156. Pather Panchali
157. The River
158. Ordet
159. Glen or Glenda
160. The Cranes Are Flying

[mae]

And so another part of our tournament comes to an end, and twice in a row now we've had a tie in the Final vote. I find that very interesting! Now we all take a very well-deserved break, but I'll be back in early July with the nominations thread for the 1940s! I know many of us classic film fans have been waiting for this decade. I personally find movies from the 1940s and '30s to be some of the best of all time.

If you want to participate and you're looking to start making your list of things to nominate, here are some of the usual links as food for thought:

• https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies...-of-the-1940s/
• https://frametrek.com/best-movies-of-the-1940s/
• https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/202...s-of-the-1940s
• https://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/m...movie_40s.html
• https://www.filmsite.org/1940.html
• https://creepycatalog.com/1940s-horror-movies/
• https://scifist.net/2021/01/15/top-1...-of-the-1940s/
• https://frametrek.com/best-comedies-of-the-1940s/

[Heather19]

Thanks again Mae for all dedication and hard work running the tournament! Too bad it ended in a tie, but I guess that just goes to show what strong films they both are.

[mae]

Thanks again Mae for all dedication and hard work running the tournament! Too bad it ended in a tie, but I guess that just goes to show what strong films they both are.

You're welcome, Heather, and thanks to everyone for participating! Hope to see you back for the next round!

[fernandito]

12 Angry Men the Goaaaaaaaaaaattttttt

Thanks for another fun tournament, Mae.

[Tommy]

Thank you, Mae!

[mae]

You’re very welcome, everyone!

[DoctorZaius]

Great tournament. The films in the final 32 on down were just all so phenomenal. Right down to the finals - two great films. So glad that 12AM won.

Thanks Mae. Looking forward to the next decade.

[mae]

[fernandito]

No need to have a tournament, just put Casablanca vs Citizen Kane in the final already lol.

[T-Dogz_AK47]

No need to have a tournament, just put Casablanca vs Citizen Kane in the final already lol.

I was about to post the same thing. LOL!