The lowest of the 250 have ratings of 8.0 and BBM has a rating of 7.7
That way, we can estimate its distance to the top 250.
Pretty close!
It would be in my top 100 though (if I were able to name 100 movies from the top of my head like this ).
Admittedly, I was kind of vaguely guessing when I wrote that. It's not like I went through and listed them.
Let's be more scientific. If I had seen 5 1/2 movies every year since I turned 10, I would have seen 250 movies. But chances are, I've seen many more movies than that, because for at least the past 30 years or so I would say I've averaged anywhere from one a month to one a week (plus, there was that period in 2006 where I saw a movie about twice a week, but it was always the same one
).
So let's say I've seen, on average, two movies a month since I was 10. That might sound a bit high, but if you threw in movies I've seen on network TV, cable TV, VHS and DVD rentals, Netflix, etc., it's probably even higher. So let's say, conservatively, two a month. That makes over 1,000 movies in all. To be in my own personal Top 250, Shawshank would have to be better than three out of four movies I've seen. Is it? Hmmm .....
Guessing here, but I would say not quite. If I were a reviewer, I'd give Shawshank three out of four stars. So that makes it better than three out of four, right? Wrong! Because I'm not a reviewer, and I don't see all movies. Instead, I read reviews, and avoid those that sound terrible and favor those that sound good. Consequently, I wind up seeing more three- and four-star movies than I do one- and two-starrers.
I would estimate that Shawshank is better than two out of every four movies I've seen.
So it's in my top 500. Just don't ask me to name the other 499. At least not 498 of them. Or 497, if you count
Memento or the movie I just saw tonight:
Diana Vreeland: The Eye Must Travel (better than Shawhank, I'd say).
Despite its flaws, the fact that the vast majority of modern movies don't pass it is the actual shocking fact.
I know! Even movies that seem hip and progressive and presumably feminist with strong female characters often don't pass it (
500 Days of Summer, I'm looking at you). And occasionally, movies that seem retrograde or sexist slip past.