I'm proposing a forum game to breathe some new life into some of the most popular lists on ICM. The idea is that we run a rankdown of every film in a given list, to see if we can find the most universally beloved films.
What is a rankdown? A rankdown is a game where participants start with a given list, and then take turns knocking a film out of the running. They can base their decision to cut a film on whatever criteria they choose. The only rule is that when they knock a movie off the list, they have to explain their decision. The game proceeds in order, with each participant choosing a new film to cut, until we reach the final round. In the last round participants will submit a ranked ballot to determine the ultimate champion. That way the champion isn't decided purely by one participant.
In addition, each participant will have vetoes they can use along the way. If one of their favorites is knocked out, they can veto that choice and it goes back in the pool. The film will also be protected from being cut by the player who made the cut in the subsequent round. However, any other player can still cut a vetoed film at any time! To start, everyone will have two vetoes that can each be used once per game. Use them wisely!
What list should we start with? The list should be one that doesn't change often and that has lots of platinums so many different people can participate. I think either Best Picture Winners or the 100 Years...100 Movies would be good places to start, but we could also expand this to unofficial lists or anything else really.
How many people can participate? Somewhere between 5-15 usually works best. It's definitely subjective and arbitrary, but that's part of the quirkiness of a rankdown. If there are too many participants, it winds up becoming just another popularity contest. By keeping the pool of participants small, it allows for some truly surprising results.
So what's next? I'm posting this thread to start the discussion and to gauge interest. If there are enough interested players, we can decide on our first list and start the rankdown. Anyone who can't participate the first time around can go on the waitlist for round two!
Anything else? I think that's it! Who's interested in participating?
Edit3:
waitlist for Rankdown #2
2. PGonzalez
3. AB537
4. jeroeno
5. sol
6. brokenface
7.
Presenting...
ICM Forum's Rankdown of the AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies official list!
The Participants
2. sol (0 vetoes left)
3. Onderhond (1 veto left)
4. jeff_v (0 vetoes left)
5. jeroeno (1 veto left)
6. jvv (0 vetoes left)
7. brokenface (0 vetoes left)
8. beasterne (0 vetoes left)
9. blocho (0 vetoes left)
10. mightysparks (0 vetoes left)
11. mathiasa (0 vetoes left)
the final list
99. The French Connection (1971), cut by sol
98. North by Northwest (1959), cut by Onderhond
97. The Apartment (1960), cut by jeff_v
96. American Graffiti (1973), cut by jeroeno
95. Duck Soup (1933), cut by jvv
94. Forrest Gump (1994), cut by brokenface
93. Schindler's List (1993), cut by blocho
92. Nashville (1976), cut by mightysparks
91. Goodfellas (1990), cut by mathiasa
90. King Kong (1933), cut by sol
89. The African Queen (1951), cut by jeff_v
88. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), cut by jeroeno
87. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), cut by jvv
86. Tootsie (1982), cut by brokenface
85. High Noon (1952), cut by beasterne
84. Gone With the Wind (1939), cut by blocho
83. The Godfather (1972), cut by mathiasa
82. Unforgiven (1992), cut by toromash
81. The Sixth Sense (1999), cut by sol
80. Ben-Hur (1959), cut by jeff_v
79. Sophie's Choice (1982), cut by joroeno
78. Bringing Up Baby (1938), cut by jvv
77. Titanic (1997), cut by brokenface
76. Saving Private Ryan (1998), cut by beasterne
75. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), cut by blocho
74. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), cut by mightysparks
73. The Wild Bunch (1969), cut by mathiasa
72. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), cut by toromash
71. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), cut by sol
70. Toy Story (1995), cut by Onderhond
69. Easy Rider (1969), cut by jeff_v
68. Cabaret (1972), cut by joroeno
67. Intolerance: Love's Struggle throughout the Ages (1916), cut by jvv
66. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), cut by brokenface
65. Annie Hall (1977), cut by beasterne
64. MASH (1970), cut by mightysparks
63. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), cut by mathiasa
62. Lawrence of Arabia (1962), cut by toromash
61. The Philadelphia Story (1940), cut by sol
60. Modern Times (1936), cut by Onderhond
59. The Shawshank Redemption (1994), cut by jeff_v
58. West Side Story (1961), cut by jeroeno
57. Bonnie and Clyde (1967), cut by jvv
56. Rocky (1976), cut by brokenface
55. The Graduate (1967), cut by beasterne
54. Shane (1953), cut by mathiasa
53. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), cut by toromash
52. In the Heat of the Night (1967), cut by jeff_v
51. Swing Time (1936), cut by jeroeno
50. The Searchers (1956), cut by jvv
49. Spartacus (1960), cut by brokenface
48. Raging Bull (1980), cut by beasterne
47. Star Wars (1977), cut by blocho
46. Citizen Kane (1941), cut by mightysparks
45. The Deer Hunter (1978), cut by sol
44. Jaws (1975), cut by Onderhond
43. Midnight Cowboy (1969), cut by jeff_v
42. On the Waterfront (1954), cut by jvv
41. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), cut by brokenface
40. The Godfather Part II (1974), cut by beasterne
39.The Maltese Falcon (1941), cut by mightysparks
38. A Clockwork Orange (1971), cut by mathiasa
37. Platoon (1986), cut by toromash
36. The Gold Rush (1925), cut by sol
35. A Night at the Opera (1935), cut by jeff_v
34. The Wizard of Oz (1939), cut by jeroeno
33. Rear Window (1954), cut by jvv
32. Some Like it Hot (1959), cut by brokenface
31. 12 Angry Men (1957), cut by beasterne
30. All the President's Men (1976), cut by blocho
29. Vertigo (1958), cut by mightysparks
28. The Last Picture Show (1971), cut by mathiasa
27. Psycho (1960), cut by toromash
26. Blade Runner (1982), cut by sol
25. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), cut by Onderhond
24. It Happened One Night (1934), cut by jeff_v
23. Taxi Driver (1976), cut by jeroeno
22. The Silence of the Lambs (1991), cut by jvv
21. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), cut by brokenface
20. Double Indemnity (1944), cut by beasterne
19. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), cut by blocho
18. The General (1926), cut by mightysparks
17. Network (1976), cut by jeff_v
16. Chinatown (1974), cut by jeroeno
15. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), cut by jvv
14. The Grapes of Wrath (1940), cut by brokenface
13. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1967), cut by beasterne
12. City Lights (1931), cut by mightysparks
11. All About Eve (1950), cut by mathiasa
10. Do the Right Thing (1989)
9. Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
8. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
7. Apocalypse Now (1979)
6. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
5. Pulp Fiction (1994)
4. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
3. Casablanca (1942)
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
1. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)