What's this!? Film archaeologists have made a wonderful discovery! It's Michael Bramhald's original favourite films list! WHAT A FIND!
After a lovely conversation with yondu4, I was curious to find out what my favourite films list looked like when I first made it. Knowing that back in 2011 I made a radar chart for my Top 100 favourite films, I was hopeful that said document still existed somewhere in my files. It didn't take much digging to find it, and voila! Here they are, transformed into a Letterboxd list for all to see and laugh at.
While my favourites list originally existed as a Top 25 (and then a Top 50) before it became a full Top 100 (and eventually…
What's this!? Film archaeologists have made a wonderful discovery! It's Michael Bramhald's original favourite films list! WHAT A FIND!
After a lovely conversation with yondu4, I was curious to find out what my favourite films list looked like when I first made it. Knowing that back in 2011 I made a radar chart for my Top 100 favourite films, I was hopeful that said document still existed somewhere in my files. It didn't take much digging to find it, and voila! Here they are, transformed into a Letterboxd list for all to see and laugh at.
While my favourites list originally existed as a Top 25 (and then a Top 50) before it became a full Top 100 (and eventually a Top 250), this is the earliest version of my list that exists. The original was created on February 1st, 2011, but the list you see here (taken from a document used to create the aforementioned graph) is dated October 11th, 2011. It's likely a fair bit changed during those 8 months, but this is the closest thing to my original Top 100 favourite films I have.
INTERESTING FACTS:
- 12 of the Top 20 are still in my current Top 20 now, 8 years on.
- My top 4 is still exactly the same (though Return of the King and The Two Towers have changed around a few times over the years).
- 27 films no longer have a place on my entire current Top 250 favourite films list. Kudos to the 73 films that have cemented their place in my heart over such a sustained period.
- 48 of those 73 films are still in the Top 100 now. Pretty remarkable that almost 50% of my major favourite films in 2011 are STILL my major favourites now.
- All 6 of the then-released Star Wars films had a spot (4 of which in the Top 50, 3 of which in the Top 25) - none have a place on my Top 250 now.
- The only film in my current Top 10 favourite films of all time missing from the original list is The Aviator.
- In 2011, Pan's Labyrinth, Downfall and Apocalypto were the only foreign language films on my list. Now, 13 foreign language films exist within my Top 100 (none of which are the 3 films mentioned above, posited at #142, #114 and #147, respectively). Almost all of the foreign language films on my Top 250 that are outside of the Top 100 are yet to have their first rewatch.
- Martin Scorsese had the most films in the Top 100 back then, with 7 films.
If I remember correctly my 2 favourite directors were Quentin Tarantino and Christopher Nolan, who each had 6. Scorsese is my current #1 (and has been for many years) but surprisingly has less within the Top 100 now (6 films), though he does have the most still overall when including my Top 250 (12 films). [Tarantino now only has 3 in my Top 100, Nolan has 7].
Ingmar Bergman currently holds the most amount of films within my Top 100, with 7 films again.
- Not a single film released prior to 1960 existed within my Top 100. Now there are 8 (still surprisingly low).
- Only 11 films released prior to 1980 existed within my Top 100. Now there are 24.
THINGS I FIND WEIRD:
- Where the fuck are Small Soldiers, The Crow, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Peter Pan, and The Lion King?! Can't believe they weren't in my Top 100 in 2011.
- Back then, I only had 2 Disney Animated Classics in my Top 100, now I have 5 (4 of which are Top 50). Aaah, sweet nostalgia!
- Toy Story is unbelievably low! (currently at #14 on my list now, and has been Top 15 for many years).
- LOL at George of the Jungle!
- I'm actually really surprised The Last Temptation of Christ is on here. Happy my love for it goes that far back!