Opted for the traditional NCAA style format of four brackets (Drama, SciFi/Fantasy/Horror, Comedy and Action/Thriller) with 16 films each. The committee (me) determined that the Drama bracket contained the strongest list of films (both included and considered) so its eventual winner will be pitted against the SciFi bracket winner in the Final Four. While that bracket has some real contenders at the top it is comparatively weak to the other three brackets which are solid throughout. This of course means the Comedy bracket winner will face off against the Action/Thriller bracket winner in the Final Four. Brackets below or if you wish to skip my overly verbose explanations .VOTE HERE
Drama
You can more or less flip a coin whether The Godfather or The Godfather Part II deserve the top seed. The average movie watcher probably enjoys the straight forward narrative The Godfather more, however since I put poll together I'm going with my favorite of the two.
I included the lesser known although critically regarded films The Last Picture Show and Badlands over probably more deserving films mostly because I particularly enjoy them. Badlands is seeded against Apocalypse Now since Martin Sheen stars in both. The Last Picture Show is seeded against Taxi Driver since both co-star Cybill Shepherd. Both Network and All the President's Men probably deserve higher seeds, I have no good explanation why they are not other than while I recognize them as excellent films and enjoyed them I do not feel strongly enough about them to seed them beyond wherever it is convenient. The first Rocky is more of a drama than an action flick, I expect to get some criticism for seeding it too low. I think I seeded it too high considering the quality of the films below it but put it at #5 due the fact that popular and quality sequels are still being made. I included Saturday Night Fever, a film I do not like, because of its popularity and cultural significance.
Others Considered: The Sugarland Express (Spielberg's theatrical film debut, also tried to shoehorn it into either the Action/Thriller {car chases galore} or Comedy, {some extremely funny bits} ]but it is really a drama, A Bridge Too Far, Serpico. McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Murder on the Orient Express, Midnight Express, A Woman Under the Influence, Five Easy Pieces, The Last Detail (also considered for Comedy), Barry Lyndon, Picnic at Hanging Rock (another film I really wanted to include, it is Peter Weir's breakthrough film), Days of Heaven, Norma Rae, Fiddler on the Roof, The Goodbye Girl (also considered for Comedy)
Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror
After the top seeds, the quality of the films IMO falls off pretty quickly. There are films probably more deserving than THX 1138 (or at least better known as in actually watched by the average movie goer) but I included it to be the cannon fodder for Star Wars since George Lucas directed both. I decided to seed the non-SciFi horror films against each other so once I seeded The Exorcist and Halloween, Carrie and The Omen seeds were determined.. Mad Max is probably seeded too high but I placed it where I did due to several factors: 1) it is first film of a very successful series and later a critically acclaimed reboot, 2) it is just fun seeing a really young Mel Gibson, and 3) it was the topic of much lunch room discussion for squirly middle school boys whether or not we had actually been allowed to watch it by are parents..
Others Considered: The Andromeda Strain, Logan's Run, Superman. The Omega Man, The Black Hole. Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Sleeper (also considered for Comedy), Westworld, A Boy and His Dog, The Wickerman, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Dawn of the Dead, Eraserhead, Suspiria, Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings (not really but we're rather light on Fantasy films this decade)
Comedy
Probably the bracket I'll get the most grief about seeding and movies included or left off. Like Saturday Night Fever, I included Grease because of its popularity and cultural significance but it gets the 16 seed even though it co-stars Olivia Newton John simply because I'm not a fan, Thought about seeding it against American Graffiti due to closeness of setting but although I love AG it does not deserve the #1 seed, heck, it probably does not deserve the seed I gave it but it is against The Jerk so it will likely get a quick boot. I personally don't get The Rocky Horror Picture Show but felt it needed to be included, it is seeded it against Young Frankenstein for thematic reasons. Similar reasoning had me pit The Bad News Bears vs Slapshot and M*A*S*H vs Catch-22. Whether you love or hate his films, IMO a Woody Allen picture should be included hence Annie Hall and it is deserving of at least the #8 seed. Being There is an under appreciated Peter Sellers comedy that I really enjoy. BT gets a relatively high seed in order to be against AH since both films are not nearly as frenetic as most of the others that made the cut. The Muppet Movie gets included because I love me some Muppets. Meatballs gets included because its Bill Murray and now that I'm an old I find it refreshing to have a teen comedy that is not overly raunchy and in some ways rather sweet.
Others considered: The Life of Brian, Murder by Death, Rock 'n' Roll High School, Heaven Can Wait, Shampoo, 10, Bananas, Manhattan. Silver Streak, Foul Play, Cheech & Chong's Up in Smoke, Paper Moon (briefly considered it as a matchup against Bad News Bears.both co-star Tatum O'Neal) The Sunshine Boys (again as a matchup against Bad News Bears, both co-star Walter Matthau) , Oh God, The Longest Yard, Every Which Way But Loose. Harold and Maude
Action/Thriller
Both The Sting and Smokey and the Bandit are a bit out of place here but both are too good to be placed in their more natural bracket (Drama for The Sting, Comedy for the Bandit) where heavy weights in those two brackets would make seeding them much lower than they deserve if seeding was based solely on quality of all 64 films. Of course one must include Bond, James Bond. The Spy Who Love Me is probably the best of the five produced in the '70s but it does not make the cut for the following reasons; 1) Live and Let Die is my favorite of the five, 2) I felt it necessary to include the only Sean Connery Bond film of the decade and 3) since I want an overall diverse bracket TSWLM does not get to "come in from the cold." Three Days of the Condor is an excellent political thriller that is probably seeded too low but placed at #13 to match it against the other Redford film in the bracket. The Poseidon Adventure, is the representative of the popular ensemble cast disaster films of the era and is seeded to match up against the other Gene Hackman film in the bracket. Eastwood vs Eastwood in Escape and Outlaw . Death Wish makes a nice foil for Dirty Harry. The Warriors gets the nod because it is another favorite of squirrely middle school boys to have lied about seeing (and in my case, not to be disappointed when finally old enough to watch)..
Others Considered: Duel (went back and forth about including this excellent Spielberg made for TV film as the 16 seed against Jaws but decided to keep the contest to theatrical releases), The Deep (again as #16 since it was also adapted from a Peter Benchley novel, however even Jacqueline Bisset in a wet T-Shirt can save this clunker), The Cassandra Crossing, The Day of the Jackal, Marathon Man, The Eagle Has Landed, The Great Waldo Pepper, High Plains Drifter (already included three other Eastwood films), Vanishing Point (if better known it would have seeded it against Smokey and the Bandit), Spy Who Loved Me, The Man with the Golden Gun, Walking Tall, Billy Jack, Fist of Fury, Coffy, Airport, The Towering Inferno, Earthquake (and these are only a few of the all-star cast disaster films popular in the decade, if I wanted, I could have given them their own bracket)
Flame away everyone, might not be able to address any criticism of seeding, ect. until the evening if today is anything like yesterday at work. I hope I did not eff up setting up this poll.
Have a Happy and Safe 4th of July weekend everybody
Don't forget to VOTE
Drama
- The Godfather Part II (Fan Made Trailer)
- The Godfather (Modern Trailer)
- Apocalypse Now (Modern Trailer)
- Taxi Driver (Theatrical Trailer)
- Rocky (Fan Made Trailer)
- One Flew Over the ****oo's Nest (British Film Institute Trailer)
- Patton (Fan Made Trailer)
- Kramer vs Kramer (Theatrical Trailer)
- The Deer Hunter (Fan Made Trailer)
- Dog Day Afternoon (Theatrical Trailer)
- Chinatown (Theatrical Trailer)
- Network (Fan Made Trailer)
- The Last Picture Show (Theatrical Trailer)
- Badlands (Theatrical Trailer)
- All the President's Men (Theatrical Trailer NSFW Language)
- Saturday Night Fever (Theatrical Trailer)
You can more or less flip a coin whether The Godfather or The Godfather Part II deserve the top seed. The average movie watcher probably enjoys the straight forward narrative The Godfather more, however since I put poll together I'm going with my favorite of the two.
I included the lesser known although critically regarded films The Last Picture Show and Badlands over probably more deserving films mostly because I particularly enjoy them. Badlands is seeded against Apocalypse Now since Martin Sheen stars in both. The Last Picture Show is seeded against Taxi Driver since both co-star Cybill Shepherd. Both Network and All the President's Men probably deserve higher seeds, I have no good explanation why they are not other than while I recognize them as excellent films and enjoyed them I do not feel strongly enough about them to seed them beyond wherever it is convenient. The first Rocky is more of a drama than an action flick, I expect to get some criticism for seeding it too low. I think I seeded it too high considering the quality of the films below it but put it at #5 due the fact that popular and quality sequels are still being made. I included Saturday Night Fever, a film I do not like, because of its popularity and cultural significance.Others Considered: The Sugarland Express (Spielberg's theatrical film debut, also tried to shoehorn it into either the Action/Thriller {car chases galore} or Comedy, {some extremely funny bits} ]but it is really a drama, A Bridge Too Far, Serpico. McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Murder on the Orient Express, Midnight Express, A Woman Under the Influence, Five Easy Pieces, The Last Detail (also considered for Comedy), Barry Lyndon, Picnic at Hanging Rock (another film I really wanted to include, it is Peter Weir's breakthrough film), Days of Heaven, Norma Rae, Fiddler on the Roof, The Goodbye Girl (also considered for Comedy)
Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror
- Star Wars (Theatrical Trailer)
- Alien (Theatrical Trailer)
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind (40th Anniversary Edition Trailer)
- The Exorcist (Remastered Trailer)
- A Clockwork Orange (Modern Trailer)
- Halloween (Re-release Trailer)
- Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (Theatrical Trailer)
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Theatrical Trailer plus SCREAM)
- The Man Who Fell to Earth (Re-release Trailer)
- Mad Max (Theatrical Trailer)
- Carrie (Theatrical Trailer)
- Rollerball (Theatrical Trailer)
- The Omen (Theatrical Trailer)
- Silent Running (Theatrical Trailer)
- Soylent Green (Theatrical Trailer)
- THX 1138 (Theatrical Trailer)
After the top seeds, the quality of the films IMO falls off pretty quickly. There are films probably more deserving than THX 1138 (or at least better known as in actually watched by the average movie goer) but I included it to be the cannon fodder for Star Wars since George Lucas directed both. I decided to seed the non-SciFi horror films against each other so once I seeded The Exorcist and Halloween, Carrie and The Omen seeds were determined.. Mad Max is probably seeded too high but I placed it where I did due to several factors: 1) it is first film of a very successful series and later a critically acclaimed reboot, 2) it is just fun seeing a really young Mel Gibson, and 3) it was the topic of much lunch room discussion for squirly middle school boys whether or not we had actually been allowed to watch it by are parents..
Others Considered: The Andromeda Strain, Logan's Run, Superman. The Omega Man, The Black Hole. Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Sleeper (also considered for Comedy), Westworld, A Boy and His Dog, The Wickerman, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Dawn of the Dead, Eraserhead, Suspiria, Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings (not really but we're rather light on Fantasy films this decade)
Comedy
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Theatrical Trailer & 40th Anniversary Trailer)
- National Lampoon's Animal House (Theatrical Trailer)
- Blazing Saddles (Theatrical Trailer)
- Young Frankenstein (
Theatrical Traileroops, Theatrical Trailer) - M*A*S*H (Theatrical Trailer)
- The Bad News Bears (Theatrical Trailer)
- American Graffiti (Theatrical Trailer)
- Annie Hall (Best Scenes)
- Being There (Theatrical Trailer)
- The Jerk (Theatrical Trailer)
- Slapshot (Theatrical Trailer)
- Catch 22 (Theatrical Trailer plus B-25 Mitchell take-off scene, not funny but cool if you're an aviation buff)
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Theatrical Trailer)
- The Muppet Movie (Theatrical Trailer)
- Meatballs (Theatrical Trailer)
- Grease (40th Anniversary Trailer)
Probably the bracket I'll get the most grief about seeding and movies included or left off. Like Saturday Night Fever, I included Grease because of its popularity and cultural significance but it gets the 16 seed even though it co-stars Olivia Newton John simply because I'm not a fan, Thought about seeding it against American Graffiti due to closeness of setting but although I love AG it does not deserve the #1 seed, heck, it probably does not deserve the seed I gave it but it is against The Jerk so it will likely get a quick boot. I personally don't get The Rocky Horror Picture Show but felt it needed to be included, it is seeded it against Young Frankenstein for thematic reasons. Similar reasoning had me pit The Bad News Bears vs Slapshot and M*A*S*H vs Catch-22. Whether you love or hate his films, IMO a Woody Allen picture should be included hence Annie Hall and it is deserving of at least the #8 seed. Being There is an under appreciated Peter Sellers comedy that I really enjoy. BT gets a relatively high seed in order to be against AH since both films are not nearly as frenetic as most of the others that made the cut. The Muppet Movie gets included because I love me some Muppets. Meatballs gets included because its Bill Murray and now that I'm an old I find it refreshing to have a teen comedy that is not overly raunchy and in some ways rather sweet.
Others considered: The Life of Brian, Murder by Death, Rock 'n' Roll High School, Heaven Can Wait, Shampoo, 10, Bananas, Manhattan. Silver Streak, Foul Play, Cheech & Chong's Up in Smoke, Paper Moon (briefly considered it as a matchup against Bad News Bears.both co-star Tatum O'Neal) The Sunshine Boys (again as a matchup against Bad News Bears, both co-star Walter Matthau) , Oh God, The Longest Yard, Every Which Way But Loose. Harold and Maude
Action/Thriller
- Jaws (Reissue Trailer)
- Dirty Harry (Fan Made Trailer NSFW Language)
- The French Connection (Theatrical Trailer)
- The Sting (Theatrical Trailer)
- Smokey and the Bandit (A Tribute - Eastbound and Down , NSFW Language)
- Deliverance (Tribute - Dueling Banjos)
- Escape from Alcatraz (Theatrical Trailer)
- Live and Let Die (Tribute - Live and Let Die Theme Song)
- Diamonds Are Forever (Modern Edit Trailer)
- The Outlaw Josey Wales (Theatrical Trailer)
- Enter the Dragon (Theatrical Trailer)
- Shaft (Opening Credit)
- Three Days of the Condor (Theatrical Trailer)
- The Poseidon Adventure (Modern Cut Trailer)
- Death Wish (Theatrical Trailer)
- The Warriors (Warriors, Come Out to Play)
Both The Sting and Smokey and the Bandit are a bit out of place here but both are too good to be placed in their more natural bracket (Drama for The Sting, Comedy for the Bandit) where heavy weights in those two brackets would make seeding them much lower than they deserve if seeding was based solely on quality of all 64 films. Of course one must include Bond, James Bond. The Spy Who Love Me is probably the best of the five produced in the '70s but it does not make the cut for the following reasons; 1) Live and Let Die is my favorite of the five, 2) I felt it necessary to include the only Sean Connery Bond film of the decade and 3) since I want an overall diverse bracket TSWLM does not get to "come in from the cold." Three Days of the Condor is an excellent political thriller that is probably seeded too low but placed at #13 to match it against the other Redford film in the bracket. The Poseidon Adventure, is the representative of the popular ensemble cast disaster films of the era and is seeded to match up against the other Gene Hackman film in the bracket. Eastwood vs Eastwood in Escape and Outlaw . Death Wish makes a nice foil for Dirty Harry. The Warriors gets the nod because it is another favorite of squirrely middle school boys to have lied about seeing (and in my case, not to be disappointed when finally old enough to watch)..
Others Considered: Duel (went back and forth about including this excellent Spielberg made for TV film as the 16 seed against Jaws but decided to keep the contest to theatrical releases), The Deep (again as #16 since it was also adapted from a Peter Benchley novel, however even Jacqueline Bisset in a wet T-Shirt can save this clunker), The Cassandra Crossing, The Day of the Jackal, Marathon Man, The Eagle Has Landed, The Great Waldo Pepper, High Plains Drifter (already included three other Eastwood films), Vanishing Point (if better known it would have seeded it against Smokey and the Bandit), Spy Who Loved Me, The Man with the Golden Gun, Walking Tall, Billy Jack, Fist of Fury, Coffy, Airport, The Towering Inferno, Earthquake (and these are only a few of the all-star cast disaster films popular in the decade, if I wanted, I could have given them their own bracket)
Flame away everyone, might not be able to address any criticism of seeding, ect. until the evening if today is anything like yesterday at work. I hope I did not eff up setting up this poll.
Have a Happy and Safe 4th of July weekend everybody
Don't forget to VOTE 
