Welcome to the ICM Forum.
Check out our Magazine

If you notice any issues please post in the Q&A thread. Email issue should be fixed. If you encounter this issue, contact PeacefulAnarchy
Talking Images Podcast: Episode 82 released September 15th: Image Quality: Is Anything Under 4K Trash? [TALKING IMAGES]?!
iCinema Magazine: WE ARE LIVE! (We just need more content)
ICMF-FF7: Join the ICMForum Film Festival Programming Team
World Cup - Season 5: Quarter Finals Schedule, Match QFB (Sep 27th), Match QFC (Oct 8th)
Polls: Not Directed by TSPDT Top 250 Directors (Results), Netherlands (Results), 1961 (Sep 28th), Egypt (Oct 1st), 500<400 (Oct 2nd)
Challenges: Silent Era, Animation, UK & Ireland
About: Welcome All New Members, Terms of Use, Q&A

Country Poll: New Zealand [RESULTS]

500<400, Favourite 1001 movies, Doubling the Canon, Film World Cup and many other votes
Post Reply
User avatar
Fergenaprido
Donator
Posts: 9419
Joined: June 3rd, 2014, 6:00 am
Location: Canada
Contact:

Country Poll: New Zealand [RESULTS]

#1

Post by Fergenaprido »

There were 104 films voted by 27 participants.

Below are all the films that received at least 25 points.

Rank Title [AKA] Year Director Points Ballots Highest Ranking IMDb Votes iCM Checks Toplists
1 Heavenly Creatures 1994 Peter Jackson 164.5 20 1 :imdb: 63,668 :ICM: 8,977 7
2 Once Were Warriors 1994 Lee Tamahori 114 15 1 :imdb: 34,274 :ICM: 2,205 2
3 What We Do in the Shadows 2014 Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi 111 14 1 :imdb: 181,461 :ICM: 11,095 6
4 The Quiet Earth 1985 Geoff Murphy 107.5 12 1 :imdb: 26,183 :ICM: 2,586 3
5 An Angel at My Table 1990 Jane Campion 105.5 14 1 :imdb: 7,863 :ICM: 1,322 8
6 Braindead [Dead Alive] 1992 Peter Jackson 80 12 1 :imdb: 97,032 :ICM: 10,590 7
7 Hunt for the Wilderpeople 2016 Taika Waititi 74 10 1 :imdb: 129,416 :ICM: 5,247 1
8 Eagle vs Shark 2007 Taika Waititi 68 7 1 :imdb: 24,805 :ICM: 1,979 0
9 The World's Fastest Indian 2005 Roger Donaldson 61.5 8 2 :imdb: 54,944 :ICM: 5,135 1
9 Whale Rider 2002 Niki Caro 61.5 11 1 :imdb: 42,458 :ICM: 3,986 4
11 Forgotten Silver 1995 Peter Jackson, Costa Botes 60 8 2 :imdb: 6,056 :ICM: 889 2
12 Utu 1983 Geoff Murphy 52.5 7 1 :imdb: 1,180 :ICM: 251 2
13 Tickled 2016 David Farrier, Dylan Reeve 47 4 1 :imdb: 18,566 :ICM: 1,184 0
14 The Navigator: A Mediaeval Odyssey 1988 Vincent Ward 46.5 8 3 :imdb: 3,720 :ICM: 450 2
14 Boy 2010 Taika Waititi 46.5 8 4 :imdb: 26,541 :ICM: 1,340 1
16 Kitchen Sink 1989 Alison Maclean 45 7 1 :imdb: 1,099 :ICM: 498 1
17 The Power of the Dog 2021 Jane Campion 39 5 2 :imdb: 166,056 :ICM: 2,871 5
17 Jojo Rabbit 2019 Taika Waititi 39 6 2 :imdb: 377,193 :ICM: 6,697 2
19 Bad Taste 1987 Peter Jackson 36 4 1 :imdb: 46,983 :ICM: 5,557 6
20 Smash Palace 1981 Roger Donaldson 35 5 1 :imdb: 1,042 :ICM: 218 2
21 Black Sheep 2006 Jonathan King 30.5 6 2 :imdb: 40,742 :ICM: 4,259 2
22 Two Cars, One Night 2003 Taika Waititi 25 4 3 :imdb: 2,591 :ICM: 283 0

Runners-up (20+ points or 3+ votes or #1 votes)
Rank Title [AKA] Year Director Points Ballots Highest Ranking IMDb Votes iCM Checks Toplists
23 Vigil 1984 Vincent Ward 24.5 4 5 :imdb: 781 :ICM: 76 0
24 Housebound 2014 Gerard Johnstone 24 6 7 :imdb: 34,666 :ICM: 1,499 0
25 Deathgasm 2015 Jason Howden 21 3 5 :imdb: 17,679 :ICM: 730 0
26 Desperate Remedies 1992 Peter Wells, Stewart Main 20 1 1 :imdb: 396 :ICM: 15 0
27 In My Father's Den 2004 Brad McGann 19 3 2 :imdb: 7,635 :ICM: 271 0
33 Vai 2019 Matasila Freshwater, Ofa Guttenbeil, Becs Arahanga, Marina McCartney, Miria George, Dianna Fuemana, Amberley Jo Aumua, Sharon Whippy, Nicole Whippy 17 1 1 :imdb: 180 :ICM: 11 0
45 Baelin's Route: An Epic NPC Man Adventure 2021 Adam King, Alan Morrison 11 1 1 :imdb: 802 :ICM: 5 0
50 Field Punishment No.1 2014 Peter Burger 10 1 1 :imdb: 243 :ICM: 5 0
50 The Frighteners 1996 Peter Jackson 10 4 7 :imdb: 88,206 :ICM: 7,364 1
Films that received 1st place votes
4 #5 An Angel at My Table - Caracortada, Leopardi, OldAle1, TalkingElvish
2 #1 Heavenly Creatures - gromit82, Mario Gaborović
2 #2 Once Were Warriors - Gordon_Gekko, ororama
2 #3 What We Do in the Shadows - Mysterious Dude, TraverseTown
2 #6 Braindead - mightysparks, Onderhond
2 #19 Bad Taste - filmbantha, magnusbernhardsen
1 #4 The Quiet Earth - peeptoad
1 #7 Hunt for the Wilderpeople - Fergenaprido
1 #9 Whale Rider - Rufus-T
1 #12 Utu - zomgmouse
1 #13 Tickled - sol
1 #16 Kitchen Sink - Melvelet
1 #26 Desperate Remedies - RogerTheMovieManiac88
1 #33 Vai - zzzorf
1 #45 Baelin's Route: An Epic NPC Man Adventure - gunnar
1 #50 Field Punishment No.1 - 3eyes
3 - unranked - Angel Glez, cayado-coro, Lonewolf2003

Directors with multiple films in the Top 100
6 Taika Waititi
4 Peter Jackson
2 Geoff Murphy
2 Jane Campion
2 Roger Donaldson

Breakdown by Decade
1890s
1900s
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s 6
1990s 5
2000s 5
2010s 5
2020s 1
Cinematic Omnivore 🧚‍♂️🦫
User avatar
Fergenaprido
Donator
Posts: 9419
Joined: June 3rd, 2014, 6:00 am
Location: Canada
Contact:

#2

Post by Fergenaprido »

Here are the results as an icm list: https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/icm+ ... genaprido/
Here is the master list with the top 20 from each poll: https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/icm+ ... genaprido/

Our last Oceanian Forum Poll was held in February 2018, and there wasn't much Kiwi representation there, with the poll being dominated by Australia, as expected. Here's our Top 50 compared to the previous poll. Even with the non-NZ films removed, the ordering was fairly consistent between the two polls.

Rank Title [AKA] Year Director Forum Poll Difference
1 Heavenly Creatures 1994 Peter Jackson 7 △ 6
2 Once Were Warriors 1994 Lee Tamahori 33 △ 31
3 What We Do in the Shadows 2014 Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi 16 △ 13
4 The Quiet Earth 1985 Geoff Murphy 19 △ 15
5 An Angel at My Table 1990 Jane Campion 24 △ 19
6 Braindead [Dead Alive] 1992 Peter Jackson 10 △ 4
7 Hunt for the Wilderpeople 2016 Taika Waititi 44 △ 37
8 Eagle vs Shark 2007 Taika Waititi 69 △ 61
9 The World's Fastest Indian 2005 Roger Donaldson 63 △ 54
9 Whale Rider 2002 Niki Caro 40 △ 31
11 Forgotten Silver 1995 Peter Jackson, Costa Botes 41 △ 30
12 Utu 1983 Geoff Murphy 88 △ 76
13 Tickled 2016 David Farrier, Dylan Reeve 74 △ 61
14 The Navigator: A Mediaeval Odyssey 1988 Vincent Ward 79 △ 65
14 Boy 2010 Taika Waititi 59 △ 45
16 Kitchen Sink 1989 Alison Maclean 68 △ 52
17 The Power of the Dog 2021 Jane Campion #N/A --
17 Jojo Rabbit 2019 Taika Waititi #N/A --
19 Bad Taste 1987 Peter Jackson 62 △ 43
20 Smash Palace 1981 Roger Donaldson 116 △ 96
21 Black Sheep 2006 Jonathan King 90 △ 69
22 Two Cars, One Night 2003 Taika Waititi 98 △ 76
23 Vigil 1984 Vincent Ward 232 △ 209
24 Housebound 2014 Gerard Johnstone 92 △ 68
25 Deathgasm 2015 Jason Howden 241 △ 216
26 Desperate Remedies 1992 Peter Wells, Stewart Main #N/A --
27 What We Do in the Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires 2005 Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi #N/A --
27 Sleeping Dogs 1977 Roger Donaldson #N/A --
27 Crush 1992 Alison Maclean 134 △ 107
27 In My Father's Den 2004 Brad McGann 114 △ 87
31 A Death in the Family 1987 Peter Wells, Stewart Main 253 △ 222
32 O le tulafale [The Orator] 2011 Tusi Tamasese #N/A --
33 140 Days Under the World 1964 0 248 △ 215
33 Vai 2019 Matasila Freshwater, Ofa Guttenbeil, Becs Arahanga, Marina McCartney, Miria George, Dianna Fuemana, Amberley Jo Aumua, Sharon Whippy, Nicole Whippy #N/A --
35 Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale 1986 Murray Ball #N/A --
35 Gone Up North for a While 1972 Paul Maunder #N/A --
37 Twilight of the Gods 1996 Stewart Main 187 △ 150
38 Flight to Venus 1960 Fred O'Neill #N/A --
38 Kim Dotcom: Caught in the Web 2017 Annie Goldson #N/A --
38 Shadow in the Cloud 2020 Roseanne Liang #N/A --
41 Pumicelands 1954 John Feeney #N/A --
41 Meet the Feebles 1989 Peter Jackson 161 △ 120
43 The Quarry 2013 Gavin Hipkins #N/A --
43 Niue: This Is Your Land 2005 Mella Lahina 235 △ 192
45 Goodbye Pork Pie 1980 Geoff Murphy #N/A --
45 Baelin's Route: An Epic NPC Man Adventure 2021 Adam King, Alan Morrison #N/A --
45 Weekly Review No. 232: Maori Battalion Returns 1946 Russell Reid #N/A --
45 Intersexion 2012 Grant Lahood #N/A --
45 White Lies 2013 Dana Rotberg #N/A --
50 Field Punishment No.1 2014 Peter Burger #N/A --
50 The Frighteners 1996 Peter Jackson 202 △ 152
50 A State of Siege 1978 Vincent Ward 257 △ 207


And the remaining NZ films (that are in my database) from the forum poll that didn't make the Top 50 this time.
Spoiler
Rank Title [AKA] Year Country Poll Ranking Notes
150 The Tickle King 2017 #N/A
171 Two Little Boys 2012 #N/A
218 The Lovely Bones 2009 53
252 Bad Blood 1981 #N/A
265 Abiogenesis 2011 73
300 Antarctica: A Year on Ice 2013 53
308 The Dark Horse 2014 86
345 Fracture 2004 #N/A
359 Beyond Reasonable Doubt 1982 93
375 Queen City Rocker 1986 86
382 Heart of the Stag 1984 53
There's no great NZ country list, so I'm not going to bother doing a comparison with any of the existing ones, but you can check out Fairfax Media's poll or Hamish McDouall's book for other films.

The Host's Hot Take
I had originally said only 21 films make the final list, but I had made an error when inputting one user's list so we actually have a Top 22. Very glad that Two Cars, One Night squeaked in to the final list after all. The only surprises for me are The Quiet Earth doing so well (and it's going to move way up my watchlist as a result), and Angel at My Table coming in at fifth despite having the most #1 votes - ballot size truly does matter. Decade distribution is surprisingly balanced, and despite Waititi & Jackson constituting half of the final list, other filmmakers are starting to get their due too. 4/22 (18%) of the Top films are directed by women. Roger Donaldson's Sleeping Dogs from 1977 is the highest ranked pre-1980 film at #27.

Aside from The Quiet Earth, my other priorities to see are two Maori stories: Once Were Warriors and Utu.

Next up: Brazil results, and then the Philippines.
Cinematic Omnivore 🧚‍♂️🦫
User avatar
Torgo
Posts: 7623
Joined: June 30th, 2011, 6:00 am
Location: Germany
Contact:

#3

Post by Torgo »

Fergenaprido wrote: August 7th, 2022, 10:54 pm The only surprises for me are The Quiet Earth doing so well (and it's going to move way up my watchlist as a result)
Oh, it really shouldn't surprise one. I felt it had some "intelligent dystopia" cult going for the 90s and 00s, when science-fiction on the big screen was often very loud and goofy; this has changed so much for the 2010s (thank God). Movies like I Am Legend (2007) and countless other post-apocalyptic big budget productions which followed made the scenario and minimal human presence for such films somewhat popular again; The Quiet Earth wouldn't seem as original and otherworldly by that time, I assume.
It's still fascinating and would have been my #1 pick .. or the crushing Warriors. Hm. Both worthier than Heavenly Creatures, which mostly won the poll due to being the most-watched / known. :P
Fergenaprido wrote: August 7th, 2022, 10:48 pm Breakdown by Decade
1890s
1900s
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s 6
1990s 5
2000s 5
2010s 5
2020s 1
Weird to look at. :o
User avatar
OldAle1
Donator
Posts: 8472
Joined: February 9th, 2017, 7:00 am
Location: Dairyland, USA
Contact:

#4

Post by OldAle1 »

Thanks Ferg! Wanted to get to more stuff myself for this poll, but two of the main ones - Whale Rider and Smash Palace - managed to get on the list anyway. The third priority for me was Roger's #1 which looks very weird - though my luck with weird NZ films has been spotty at best. Anyway those will remain priorities for... someday.
It was the truth, vivid and monstrous, that all the while he had waited the wait was itself his portion..
User avatar
gromit82
Donator
Posts: 801
Joined: February 6th, 2017, 7:00 am
Location: USA
Contact:

#5

Post by gromit82 »

Thanks, Ferg!
Fergenaprido wrote: August 7th, 2022, 10:54 pm Very glad that Two Cars, One Night squeaked in to the final list after all.
I'm glad it made it in too. It was very precarious until the final results came in. Two Cars, One Night placed ahead of Jojo Rabbit on one ballot, and ahead of The Power of the Dog on another ballot. Therefore, because of the scoring system in these polls, if either of the latter films had been disqualified for being insufficiently NZ, Two Cars, One Night would have lost one point and missed the main list.
User avatar
Fergenaprido
Donator
Posts: 9419
Joined: June 3rd, 2014, 6:00 am
Location: Canada
Contact:

#6

Post by Fergenaprido »

Torgo wrote: August 7th, 2022, 11:06 pm Both worthier than Heavenly Creatures, which mostly won the poll due to being the most-watched / known. :P
I don't know if it's more well-known or well-watched, as it's only third most-checked and seventh most-voted among the finalists and runners-up, but it certainly seems to be the most well-received, appearing on 20 of 27 ballots.
gromit82 wrote: August 7th, 2022, 11:42 pm Thanks, Ferg!
Fergenaprido wrote: August 7th, 2022, 10:54 pm Very glad that Two Cars, One Night squeaked in to the final list after all.
I'm glad it made it in too. It was very precarious until the final results came in. Two Cars, One Night placed ahead of Jojo Rabbit on one ballot, and ahead of The Power of the Dog on another ballot. Therefore, because of the scoring system in these polls, if either of the latter films had been disqualified for being insufficiently NZ, Two Cars, One Night would have lost one point and missed the main list.
Yep! Though I didn't take that into consideration when determining eligibility of those two films. Incidentally, it was your ballot I had messed up on (pasted your list in spots 2-11 instead of 1-10, resulting in each of your films getting one less point than they should have). I'm just glad I caught the mistake before I'd posted the results. :)
OldAle1 wrote: August 7th, 2022, 11:18 pm Thanks Ferg! Wanted to get to more stuff myself for this poll, but two of the main ones - Whale Rider and Smash Palace - managed to get on the list anyway. The third priority for me was Roger's #1 which looks very weird - though my luck with weird NZ films has been spotty at best. Anyway those will remain priorities for... someday.
I'm surprised you haven't seen those two, as the first is quite well-known, and the second was promoted on the forum a few years ago (maybe before you joined, though). Both worthwhile, IMO. :thumbsup:
And I too am interested in seeing Roger's #1.
Cinematic Omnivore 🧚‍♂️🦫
User avatar
OldAle1
Donator
Posts: 8472
Joined: February 9th, 2017, 7:00 am
Location: Dairyland, USA
Contact:

#7

Post by OldAle1 »

Fergenaprido wrote: August 8th, 2022, 1:18 am
OldAle1 wrote: August 7th, 2022, 11:18 pm Thanks Ferg! Wanted to get to more stuff myself for this poll, but two of the main ones - Whale Rider and Smash Palace - managed to get on the list anyway. The third priority for me was Roger's #1 which looks very weird - though my luck with weird NZ films has been spotty at best. Anyway those will remain priorities for... someday.
I'm surprised you haven't seen those two, as the first is quite well-known, and the second was promoted on the forum a few years ago (maybe before you joined, though). Both worthwhile, IMO. :thumbsup:
And I too am interested in seeing Roger's #1.
Whale Rider seemed to be promoted, when new, as an innocuous, cute family film - at least that's how it registered to me - so I skipped it, and it's sometimes hard to get over initial impressions. But I've looked into it more and it definitely seems like something I should see. Smash Palace was on my short-list of things to get to before the poll and I just didn't. Roger's pick is one I've known about for years but...again, weird NZ films sometimes don't work. Woodenhead, for example, ooh that was terrible, and it definitely got some promotion from somebody (I think back in IMDb days) which is why I saw it. So I'm a bit ambivalent about some of the more curious oddities from this country.
It was the truth, vivid and monstrous, that all the while he had waited the wait was itself his portion..
User avatar
Fergenaprido
Donator
Posts: 9419
Joined: June 3rd, 2014, 6:00 am
Location: Canada
Contact:

#8

Post by Fergenaprido »

By the way when I added the full list to icm, it imported a bunch of films. My guess is they're the ones gromit created on imdb for Roger's ballot, so Roger, they're now checkable on icm :)
Cinematic Omnivore 🧚‍♂️🦫
User avatar
RogerTheMovieManiac88
Posts: 2870
Joined: February 4th, 2017, 7:00 am
Location: Westmeath, Ireland
Contact:

#9

Post by RogerTheMovieManiac88 »

Thanks for the results, Ferg.

I'm glad to see 'The Quiet Earth' in the top 5. Nice too to see Alison Maclean's 'Kitchen Sink' place inside the top 20 here.

I was another who avoided 'Whale Rider' for years, as I seem to remember it being rather sappily marketed as a feel-good, child-friendly film. I was really new to film though in 2002-2003, so I was just going off adverts I saw on TV or in newspapers. Looking at reviews/stills/blurbs now, it does strike me as much more interesting and important. The two films from the results that I'm most looking forward to catching up with are probably 'Whale Rider' itself and 'Smash Palace' (Bruno Lawrence is probably the actor/face I most associate with the NZ screen of the last 50 years).

My #1 is from the queer-focused Wells and Main, so I can definitely see Ferg being interested. I thought it was a marvellous, romantic, camp re-imagining of couplings, prospects, roles, self-interests in a colonial-era setting. Stylized and colourfully staged, the dialogue was beautifully biting and made it so much fun. I found it utterly irresistible.
That's all, folks!
User avatar
Lakigigar
Posts: 3820
Joined: October 31st, 2015, 6:00 am
Location: Belgium
Contact:

#10

Post by Lakigigar »

Didn't participate because I hadn't seen enough films.

Seen 3/22 out of the top list, meaning i've seen 13.64% of the list. Proportionally this means i've seen more from New Zealand than Germany or Australia, but less than France, UK, USA & Ireland.

And with Jojo Rabbit, Heavenly Creatures, Braindead, Power of the Dog quite a lot of well known films i haven't seen yet.
User avatar
peeptoad
Posts: 4793
Joined: February 4th, 2017, 7:00 am
Contact:

#11

Post by peeptoad »

Thanks for the results, Ferg. Good to see Kitchen Sink on there... I'm probably alone in the opinion that PotD is a far better film than Angel at my Table, but I wonder if the former had been more definitively NZ if it would have been any higher.
User avatar
Fergenaprido
Donator
Posts: 9419
Joined: June 3rd, 2014, 6:00 am
Location: Canada
Contact:

#12

Post by Fergenaprido »

RogerTheMovieManiac88 wrote: August 8th, 2022, 8:42 am My #1 is from the queer-focused Wells and Main, so I can definitely see Ferg being interested.
I had two Stewart Main films on my ballot, so you're not wrong. :lol:
peeptoad wrote: August 8th, 2022, 11:45 am I'm probably alone in the opinion that PotD is a far better film than Angel at my Table, but I wonder if the former had been more definitively NZ if it would have been any higher.
I think it was more of an issue of it being too new, since it was only released late last year. Even though it's available on streaming and was Oscar-nominated, I'm sure there are plenty of people who will like it who just haven't gotten around to seeing it yet (like me).
Cinematic Omnivore 🧚‍♂️🦫
User avatar
sol
Donator
Posts: 17098
Joined: February 3rd, 2017, 7:00 am
Location: Perth, WA, Australia
Contact:

#13

Post by sol »

peeptoad wrote: August 8th, 2022, 11:45 am Good to see Kitchen Sink on there
Kitchen Sink is an interesting enough short, but Crush is Alison Maclean's masterpiece for my money and it's sad (but I guess not surprising) to learn that I was the only voter for it. :(
|iCM | IMDb | Letterboxd | Gold Derby
Image
Long live the new flesh!
User avatar
gunnar
Posts: 2526
Joined: June 6th, 2021, 3:38 am
Location: Michigan
Contact:

#14

Post by gunnar »

I haven't seen An Angel at My Table, but I should get around to seeing it sooner or later. I didn't really like The Power of the Dog. I recognized that it was well made from a technical and acting standpoint, but I'm not a fan of it.
User avatar
peeptoad
Posts: 4793
Joined: February 4th, 2017, 7:00 am
Contact:

#15

Post by peeptoad »

sol wrote: August 8th, 2022, 12:54 pm
peeptoad wrote: August 8th, 2022, 11:45 am Good to see Kitchen Sink on there
Kitchen Sink is an interesting enough short, but Crush is Alison Maclean's masterpiece for my money and it's sad (but I guess not surprising) to learn that I was the only voter for it. :(
Haven't seen that one yet, sol... maybe it wold have made my ballot if I had.
Post Reply