sgchn40 Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 In a previous discussion in the main thread, there is a debate on whether Chinese have good or at least a different taste in movies. Apart from box office gross, it may be insightful to look at the "best movie" as rated by douban (well, there is no Oscars here). We should note that many Chinese film companies will employ people to rate their movies highly on douban and other sites. However, in general douban is deemed as more "objective" because of the reach and number of users. In fact, the users here are well known for being "black" and hard to satisfy. Here's the list of the top 10 highest movie ever based on douban ratings (as of 21st Jan 2016) 1. Shawshank Redemption, 9.6 out of 10, based on 668001 ratings 2. Léon (by Luc Besson/France), 9.4, 636565 3. Forrest Gump, 9.4, 560426 4. Farewell My Concubine (Hong Kong), 9.4, 459430 5. La vita è bella (Life is Beautiful/Italy), 9.5, 312886 6. La leggenda del pianista sull'oceano (Italy), 9.2, 486764 7. Schindler's List, 9.4, 295738 8. Spirited Away (Japan), 9.2, 505884 9. Wall-E, 9.3, 407752 10. Inception, 9.2, 621426 11. Titanic 12. 3 Idiots (India) 13. Les choristes (France/Germany/Switzerland) 14. Hachi: A Dog's Tale 15. Totoro (Japan) 16. The Godfather 17. A Chinese Odyssey Part Two - Cinderella (Hong Kong) 18. Gone with the Wind 19. Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (Italy) 20. The Pursuit of Happyness Overall, there are: 10 American, 3 Italian, 2 Japanese, 2 French (shared with Switzerland and Germany for one film), 2 Hong Konger and 1 Indian. The highest Chinese mainland film is Lifetimes by Zhang Yimou at No. 43. Source: http://movie.douban.com/top250 In 2015, the top rated foreign films are: 1. Relatos salvajes (Argentina/Spain) 2. Carol 3. Kingsman: The Secret Service 4. Bajrangi Bhaijaan (India) 5. Mad Max: Fury Road 6. The Martian 7. Furious 7 (what a coincidence!) 8. An Inspector Calls (UK) 9. Youth (Italy/ France/ Switzerland/ UK) 10. Like Sunday, Like Rain Source: http://movie.douban.com/annual2015/#1 So, what do you think of the Chinese taste? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peludo Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Good summary and glad to see so great films as the favorite for Chinese people (including Relatos Salvajes on top of the 2015 foreign films, a very recommendable film ) It is quite annoying to pretend that some certain countries are something like idiots just because they consume massively IMPORTED sci-fi, robots or action films. Those films are consumed massively EVERYWHERE, not just in China. I guess we are talking about Transformers or Furious sagas, and we should have to remember that those products of "doubtful" quality do not come from China, but are invented and made in US, the country that has made many of the best films ever done, but that is able to make and export many shitty films (and consume them massively too). Those tics of moral superiority saying something like "you have no idea, your tastes are shit" are absurd, annoying and simply they are not true. Everywhere (not just in US, but in every country in the world), and most of us consume the same shit. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranMan Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 It's certainly a much more eclectic-looking top 20 than, say, IMDB's which has only one foreign film, Seven Samurai. The other 19 are American -- which suggests a top-heavy American membership -- live action movies, no animated ones. (The question here, though, is whether IMDB is the equivalent comparison.) Can I then draw the conclusion from the IMDB top 20 that Americans hate subtitles and are an insular bunch? No, it's as lazy as saying Chinese have bad taste in movies because AoE and FF7 are box-office successes. They both just fit low-hanging fruit narratives. It's one thing if that position emerged from a meaningful discussion of how cinema is consumed through the lens of cultural distortion. When it actually comes from "why didn't my favorite movie earn as much in China". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jiangsen Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Douban is not an accurate cross section of the current Chinese moviegoing public. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgchn40 Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 1 hour ago, jiangsen said: Douban is not an accurate cross section of the current Chinese moviegoing public. Two questions. Is imdb reflective of current American movie-going public? Which segment would you say is missing from douban? The seniors, third and fourth tier cities residents, blue collar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jiangsen Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 1 hour ago, sgchn40 said: Two questions. Is imdb reflective of current American movie-going public? Which segment would you say is missing from douban? The seniors, third and fourth tier cities residents, blue collar? Comparatively, yes. Douban is missing the very demographic that is fueling the box office now. Post 90s in 3rd and 4th tier cities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infernus Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 The love for Forrest Gump seems pretty surprising to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgchn40 Posted January 22, 2016 Author Share Posted January 22, 2016 14 hours ago, jiangsen said: Comparatively, yes. Douban is missing the very demographic that is fueling the box office now. Post 90s in 3rd and 4th tier cities. Thanks. Do you foresee that over time, these post 90s in 3rd and 4th tier cities will also participate in douban rankings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranMan Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 13 hours ago, Infernus said: The love for Forrest Gump seems pretty surprising to me. Well, the movie has the ultimate in Chinese pandering -- the Chinese way of life indirectly inspired John Lennon's Imagine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cannastop Posted May 27, 2019 Share Posted May 27, 2019 The Shawshank Redemption Farewell My Concubine Leon the Professional Forrest Gump Life is Beautiful Titanic Spirited Away Schindler's List Inception Hachi: A Dog's Tale WALL-E 3 Idiots The Legend of 1900 The Chorus (2004) The Truman Show Journey to the West (A Chinese Odyssey) Interstellar My Neighbor Totoro The Godfather Silenced Internal Affairs Zootopia The Pursuit of Happyness Flipped Intouchables IMDB type taste with some surprises. WTF, who even watched Flipped? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cannastop Posted May 27, 2019 Share Posted May 27, 2019 6 minutes ago, cannastop said: The Shawshank Redemption Farewell My Concubine Leon the Professional Forrest Gump Life is Beautiful Titanic Spirited Away Schindler's List Inception Hachi: A Dog's Tale WALL-E 3 Idiots The Legend of 1900 The Chorus (2004) The Truman Show Journey to the West (A Chinese Odyssey) Interstellar My Neighbor Totoro The Godfather Silenced Internal Affairs Zootopia The Pursuit of Happyness Flipped Intouchables IMDB type taste with some surprises. WTF, who even watched Flipped? Saw the book everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keysersoze123 Posted May 28, 2019 Share Posted May 28, 2019 Where is Dangal. I thought that had crazy high douban score. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXR vs XXR Posted May 28, 2019 Share Posted May 28, 2019 4 minutes ago, keysersoze123 said: Where is Dangal. I thought that had crazy high douban score. 36 on Douban @ 9.0 : https://movie.douban.com/top250 1 on Maoyan @ 9.8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keysersoze123 Posted May 28, 2019 Share Posted May 28, 2019 7 minutes ago, VenomXXR said: 36 on Douban @ 9.0 : https://movie.douban.com/top250 1 on Maoyan @ 9.8 Thanks for the update. So Maoyan was crazy high while Douban was slightly less crazy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Marvel Fanboy Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 8 hours ago, keysersoze123 said: Thanks for the update. So Maoyan was crazy high while Douban was slightly less crazy. Douban list is all time while Maoyan is basically post-2014 though. Had films like Shawshank Redemption, Life is Beautiful come out today, 9.8 on Maoyan is also possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie Jatinder Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 27 minutes ago, firedeep said: Douban list is all time while Maoyan is basically post-2014 though. Had films like Shawshank Redemption, Life is Beautiful come out today, 9.8 on Maoyan is also possible. 3 Idiots would have been much higher as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
