How do you rate films
Well, I rate them from 0 to 10. 0 being the worst movie ever made, and 10 being the best movie ever made (I have never given a 0 or a 10 to any movie). I like to rate them in a historical context, also, so I can compare them. But really, a cinematic experience goes way beyond a rating system, which can be obtuse and mind numbing. Also to make a canon… god, that’s so abritrary.. but well, nobody’s perfect. I do it for fun, really. And I think rating must be a thing where personal appreciation for the form of art and personal liking get mixed, to a result that is… the rating.
I sidestep the problem by not rating films. Numbers, even when accompanied by words, always seemed a simplification of my thoughts and feelings to the point of trivialization and even misrepresentation. There is no reason why a succinct review shouldn’t suffice for your personal records, really—I think the only reason many top-of-the-line critics use a rating system is because the film criticism industry demands it; when you write for a newspaper, the paper wants something its readers can glean an opinion from in under a second.
I would say I’m pretty lenient with films in general, although I have a ton of rules I’ve made up that bar me from judging a lot of films. Any film that moved me, and brought some sort of strong reaction (whether it’s happiness, or sadness, or nostalgia, etc…) gets at least a four star rating on my profile (Rear Window, Hero, Alphaville). A film that sticks with me the entire rest of the day gets a five start rating (Nosferatu, 8 1/2, Hiroshima, Mon Amour), and a film that sticks with me for a very long time after (Scenes from a Marriage, Satantango, Yi Yi) enters into a new category built inside my head, as a masterpiece. If I don’t feel anything for the characters, but found the film enjoyable to watch (Pulp Fiction, Juno, American History X) I give it three stars. If I didn’t like the film, but it in the least felt the film was somewhat original, or useful in some way, then I give it two stars (Napoleon Dynamite, My Blueberry Nights, A Christmas Tale). If I just really hated the film I give it one star (Kagemusha, Armageddon, Reservoir Dogs). In the end it’s all about what impresses me, and, if you look at my profile, I’m fairly easily impressed by something in a film, even if I wasn’t a huge fan of the film itself.
None of this is steadfast, and there are exceptions, but those are generally how I rate a film, although, I’ve never quantified it like this before.
I personally have no problem with ratings, and have actually come to depend on them. I believe the best way to view a film is to know as little as possible about the film, I think this deepens the experience, and make it easier for us to come to our own conclusions. Thus, if I read a review of the film I will most likely learn something about it I would have rather found out on my own. So, if a critic or anyone who’s opinion I respect has said go see this film, or given it a 5-out-of-5, then I’d rather just go see that film, then hear plot points, and be told which seen to watch for. I usually read reviews after I’ve seen the film, I rarely read a review before.
I like to rate things from 1 to 10 out of sheer simplicity. I’ll give a film a 10 if I think there is nothing wrong with it. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece but if I feel like they accomplished everything with the movie and not much could be done to make it better in every aspect of it, I’ll give it a 10. Below that, it’s just a measure of how great I think the movie is. But I also recognize that some of my favorite films may not technically be the best films; unlike a lot of people, I am able to differentiate between the truth of how good the film is and my personal opinion/taste of the film is. I find it funny when people try to say that “2001 a space oddesey” isn’t a good movie because they didn’t like it or found it to be boring. There is a difference between broadly-accepted fact and personal opinion with film.
I use the old man rating system, wherein the old man represents my physical reaction to the movie. It goes like so:
I use the 5 star system, purely because of movie sites such as this one and netflix. I usually give 5 stars to anything that I would buy, and watch over and over again (I’m normally a watch once kind of person). I give 4 stars to films I thought were great, but wouldn’t make it into my collection. 3 stars usually goes to those mildly entertaining movies of no real cinematic value, but I still enjoyed them. 2 stars goes to films I just disliked, and the low rating of 1 star goes to anything which I despise, or consider a waste of time.
Col. Dax: “I believe the best way to view a film is to know as little as possible about the film, I think this deepens the experience, and make it easier for us to come to our own conclusions.”
I would like you to expand on this comment in your own thread, since the most I ever knew about the movies I saw as a kid (1948 – 1960) were from the previews the week before. Therefore, I saw movies such as Phfft, Callaway Went Thataway, and Vertigo with a blank slate. My experience with those movies were not so much related to a movie buff rating, but how these movies did or did not affect me personally. Anyway, I am interested in your thoughts.
Harry: Whenever I read a review of a film, or hear someone else’s opinion of a film before I see it I always find myself trying to see it through the reviewers eyes. For example, right before I saw Blue Velvet for the first time I read Roger Ebert’s review of it, and his review was pretty scathing. When I watched the film I found myself thinking of only what Mr. Ebert had said of it, thus my experience of it felt hollow, it felt like I watching it vicariously through Mr. Ebert (if that makes sense). It wasn’t until I saw it the second time that I saw anything I liked about the film, although, I still don’t think it a masterpiece (not even close).
When I see a film I know nothing about, then any, and everything, that happens in the film is… (how do I explain this) fresh, or new, or real (if I’m not making sense I genuinely apologize. it’s difficult to explain). I assume that is why my reaction to films like Oldboy, and Memento is more real than some of my friends who already knew almost the entire story before they saw the film.
I remember the film for a longer time, too. I can still play the opening scene from Satantango in my head in basically real time (along with the majority of the scenes in that film). I credit this completely to the fact that all I knew of the film before I saw it was that it was seven hours long, nothing more.
Sorry for rambling. I’ll start a thread on this after dinner, and message you. Maybe then I’ll have my thoughts together, and I’ll actually be able to be understood.
I foolishly posted this question before I watched Andrei Rublev today.. Horrifying yet beautiful- Literally watching a masterful depiction on Russian history enfold in front of your eyes, an absolute work of art. My new number one film!
Aside from that; some great insight here! thanks everyone..
Birdie Num Nums: Hahah, great.
It The whole process starts with me watching a film, and ends with me:
A. really, really liking it
b liking it
c. kinda sorta liking it
d. not liking it
e. really not liking it
f. really, really not liking it
To me, ratings are just shorthand, so I don’t fret over them too much.
As many other people have stated, ratings are really arbitrary overall, and I don’t have a definite scale. But I will give my highest rating to a film if it’s about the best film that could be made on that subject. Ratings are relative, not absolute.
Raging Bull
Recently, I have been heavily reviewing the polls taken on everyone’s ten favorite films. My list went like this on a one per director personal preference:
1. The Silence – Ingmar Bergman (1977) Sweden (The most powerful imagery I have ever see in film- and I admit, I have a bit of a thing for Gunnel Lindblom)
2. 8 1/2 – Federico Fellini (1963) Italy (Fellini’s masterpiece.. enough said)
3. Citizen Kane – Orson Welles (1941) USA (Welles re-invented cinema with this one.. highly regarded as the best film of all time and one of my personal favorites as well)
4. Boudu Saved from Drowning – Jean Renoir (1931) France (Renoir holds some of the best films of all time- this one was my personal favorite. Some scenes in this reminded me of one of his father’s [Pierre-Auguste Renoir] paintings)
5. L’Avventura– Michelangelo Antonioni (1965) Italy (Beautiful imagery)
6. Rashômon – Akira Kurosawa (1939) Japan (In my opinion you have to have a Kurosawa, Ozu, or Mizoguchi. Reminded me of one of those old folklore tales- the story telling, twisted perspectives, the supernatural elements- yet with a brutally harsh reality and reflection on life. The staging and costume of some shots even looked like Greek mythology. Very cool!)
7. Stalker – Andrei Tarkovsky (1979) Russia (One of the most dense, thought worthy, and psychological films I have ever seen- This is a journey notable of an Epic.)
8. City of God – Fernando Mierelles (2002) Brazil (Exotic and exquisite, took me into a world I have never seen before.)
9. Jules and Jim – Francois Truffaut (1962) France
10. Taxi Driver – Martin Scorsese (1976) USA
(splitting hairs deciding the 8, 9, 10 with The Passion of Joan of Arc, Aguirre, Bicycle Thieves, etc)
I realized that I consider many of these films some of the best I have ever seen, and likely of all time- yet have only given 4 stars (Aguirre, Bicycle Thieves, 400 Blows, Au Hasard Balthazar, Jules and Jim, Stalker, Tokyo Story, Rules of the Game, etc.).. It seems that the only films I have rated 5 stars were the ones that completely blew me away or changed my perspective of how I view films.. Much like those of my Top 10. I am just wondering, how tough are you guys on rating films? Does every brilliant film (such as the ones I have mentioned and many more) deserve 5 stars? I am going to go back and upgrade half of my ratings as soon as I finish this post.
What I guess I am getting at is; how do YOU rate or judge films? A general, broad question- open to all kinds of interpretations and answers. Thanks in advance.