(If you came here from the email about the horror list, my apologies for linking incorrectly. Go here for that list.)
The results are in, and the LAMB has picked its Top 10 Action/Adventures (for background on this, click here). There were a total of 30 voters, with their votes spread out amongst 147 films.
It’s no shock, then, that a number of films that earned even one or two first-place votes were left out of the Top 10, though the top two vote-getters destroyed the rest of the field. Anyway, I’m sure you’ve stopped reading by now and are checking out the selections below, so I’ll just shut up now.
Here are your winners (1st place votes in parentheses):
10. The Empire Strikes Back – 30 points from 5 voters (0)
9. Seven Samurai – 31 points from 4 voters (2)
8. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King – 32 points from 4 voters (2)
7. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – 35 points from 7 voters (1)
6. Kill Bill: Volume 1 – 40 points from 8 voters (0)
5. The Matrix – 45 points from 7 voters (1)
4. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – 54 points from 8 votes (1)
3. Star Wars – 58 points from 9 votes (0)
2. Die Hard – 107 points from 18 votes (3)
1. Raiders of the Lost Ark – 152 points from 19 votes (9)
So…how many did you vote for? If you’d like to see yours and all the other votes, scroll down. I’ve added a post with all of them, but dated it prior to this post so it won’t clutter the page.
Others receiving 1st-place votes: Gladiator, Goldfiner, Kung-Fu Hustle, Lawrence of Arabia, Leon: The Professional, Return of the Jedi, Shoot ’em Up, Sin City, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The French Connection, and The Warriors.
Next up? Horror flicks. The poll is already up, and will be for two weeks – be sure to read the instructions. Please DO NOT enter “Saw Quadrilogy” or “Friday the 13th series” or any other series of films as one entry. Entries such as these will be treated as a vote towards the first film in the series. Sorry, but I can’t have separate votes and grouped votes at the same time. Thanks.
None of mine made it… but no worries cuz this is so fun!
And horror is next??? Whoo! That is gonna take some hardcore deliberatin’.
4 of mine made it (better than the 1 I had on the comedies list) and my number 1 was number 2 overall.
Wow. Wow. Only one of my votes made it. Bumped out by three sci-fi movies and two crappy fantasy flicks, neither of which were the ACTION packed one in the series.
My top six all made it! Booyah!
Wow – Mike looking to get killed by the LOTR geeks by calling them ‘crappy.’ That’s an Outlandish Statement there, my friend.
Before you toss too many stones, let’s remind the audience at home that you have no less than 3 “action comedies” on your top 10, in the form of Hot Fuzz, Bad Boys (yeah, that’s way better than any LOTR film [major eyeroll]), and Beverly Hills Cop, which, if I recall, doesn’t really have all that much action at all.
Then again, you do have Top Gun on your list, so you’re golden in my eyes.
And Fox – along the same lines – you’re the only one aside from me that had Point Break on their list. You rock, dude.
Mike throws down a dis on the LOTR nerds and the entertainment begins!!!
Let me grab some Twizzlers for this one…
I also like how Fletch uses our lists against us. Haha… you’re like a high priest or school marm hitting us with rulers.
And Fletch, since you are in charge and stuff, you should use your executive power to insert Point Break into one of the slots… how ’bout in place of that crappy one that sitting comfortablyt at #8?
They are ACTION movies, friend, ACTION movies, not sci-fi, not fantasy or literary adaptation, but ACTION movies. I won’t vote for True Romance when the science fiction poll comes up or Saving Private Ryan for the horror poll.
And furthermore, Two Towers in the one with all the action in it.
Sorry, I am a firm believer in the one trilogy rule and the Rings ain’t it.
Everything must fit in one box and one box only!! [/Big Mike]
My point was, most of the world, if they HAD to, would put BHC and Hot Fuzz in the “Comedy” box, but you had no problem with that. Little hypocritical, no?
I have no problem with people referring to any of the Star Wars or LOTR films as “Action/Adventures,” just as I don’t really have a problem with your action comedies being here. Interpretation is a bitch and is in the eye of the eye of the beholder, or something. I don’t think they’re akin to your True Romance/Private Ryan analogies at all.
Fox – feel free to use mine against me, too.
We’re all fair game.
I am willing to concede the point of Beverly Hills Cop, but even a spoof of an action film is still an action film.
All I’m saying is that of the three Rings movies, those were the two that were easy on the action. And no, a hour long ending doesn’t translate into action.
Of course, I could be wrong, I don’t really remember those last few days in Return of the King.
If it makes you feel better, a) I didn’t vote for Return of the King (even though I think it has a ton of action) and b) many people might have tried, and some did anyway, to vote for the series as if it were one film (ditto for Star Wars). I just wouldn’t have it.
And yeah, ROTK was waaaaaaayyyy long. I liked the ending the first time. By the 37th, I was getting a bit zzzzleepy.
Guess I should have suggested we do sci-fi before action. But how many different genres can we break it down to? The whole idea was to try to do it better than the AFI, but we ran into the same set of issues as they did.
Wow… I think I had only 2 hit the list. Oh well. Surprised Hot Fuzz didn’t make it. Interesting, though, that 6 of the 10 films were from 3 of the biggest fantasy/sci-fi ‘trilogies’ of all time.
I’m so glad Die Hard made the list! It’s definitely my favorite Christmas movie.
Christmas movies are a good subgenre. My vote is for Less Than Zero.
Mike, I was thinking the same thing. (About the subgenre, not necessarily about Less Than Zero.) In due time…
What??!!
No Flash Gordan?!!
FOUL!!!!
I had a hell of a time picking mine, so I’m glad a few I voted for got picked.
I really can’t believe Shoot Em Up didn’t make this list, that’s like crazy action or something.
-Jason
WHERE THE HELL IS “TEMPLE OF DOOM!”
“WHERE THE HELL IS “TEMPLE OF DOOM!””
Well, Joseph, I hate to say ‘I told ya so…” – aw hell, who am I kidding? I love to say it!
Without your participation in this , there was not one single vote for Temple of Doom. From 30 people.
Sorry, dude.
There! I put up my votes for horror films.
I have a major beef with this poll and its results. This beef boils down to this: I think this subject matter deserves a revote. I don’t think action–a genre with decidedly earthbound settings–should copete with sci-fi/fantasy based movies, which are obviously going to win. The Star Wars movies are science fiction with action elements. The LOTR movies are fantasy with action (and comedy and drama and so on) elements. They should be judged on their primary genre (because you know Star Wars/Empire are gonna win sci-fi, and LOTR is gonna win Fantasy). And leave action/adventure to Robin Hood, The French Connection, Steve McQueen, Irwin Allen, pirates, Indiana Jones, and John McClane.
Dean – let me see if I get this straight. You say that sci-fi/fantasy based movies are obviously going to win in the action category, but that would also win in their own separate categories? And who decided that action was a “a genre with decidedly earthbound settings?”
As I’ve stated before, we’re going to do this from the high level down. If you walked into a video store that ONLY had the genres of Drama, Action, Comedy and Horror, where would Star Wars go? Or LOTR?
Separate from this issue is that Sci-fi and Fantasy are these weird adjunct genres that kind of aren’t genres. If Spaceballs had made the top comedies list, would people have complained that it was a sci-fi film first and foremost? Do Sunshine, Spaceballs, Star Wars and Jason in Space all compete in the sci-fi realm? What about Demolition Man and No Escape? Seems to me that you need a sci-fi comedy genre, a sci-fi action genre, sci-fi horror, etc.
Finally, you say that sci-fi/fantasy movies are “obviously going to win” the action genre. Huh? The top one is 3rd.
No video store worth two cents (and we’re not talking Blockbuster here) would dare throw Matrix or Star Wars into Action. We all know that STAR WARS is a Sci-fi movie first and foremost. Clue: it has a spaceship in it. Why put Westerns into action? Would you consider Pat Garrtt and Billy The Kid or High Noon action movies, like Die Hard and XXX?
No. They have horses and guys in cowboy hats. They’re westerns.
ANd movies with guys in uniforms fighting other guys in uniforms, ON EARTH, they are war movies. You can’t just say “Well it has people killing other people and trying to make their own way through the story without getting killed themselves, and that means ACTION, so it’s an action movie. Not so.
STAR WARS, LOTR, MATRIX all may have action. Hell, I even bent a little and called Matrix more of an action movie than a scifi film; thus it’s placement in my top ten. But filling your top ten out with lotr1 2 3, SW 1 2 3 4 5 6, indy Jones (now those ARE action movies with fantacy elements) 1 2 3 4, seems a little unfair. That’s all I’m saying.
And yes, because of the strong SW/LOTR fanship online, they tend to win everything. Best love story: Tyler and Mortensen…gimme a break. ANd get real tith this polling business.
And yes, sunshine, demolition man, spaceballs, star wars, jason 10 or whatever, solaris, silent running, stalker, demon seed, earth vs. the flying saucers, the day the earth stood still, war of the worlds, when worlds colledie, forbidden planet, westworld and wall-e are ALL science fiction films. And, yes, they are a FULL BLOWN genre. Just like western, war, indies, comedy, drama, horror, thriller, and mystery are genres. Yes, they cross-pollinate wildly, but all movies are classifiable, to the point where their classifications would satisfy all.
There’s a big internet video store I frequent. It’s called IMDb. Look up The Matrix…or Star Wars…or LOTR. Guess what you’ll see? Both Action and Adventure listed among their genres (they’re actually listed first, but that’s only due to their placement in the alphabet).
I guess I could just say that “you’re obviously in the minority” with your line of thinking since these films placed as high they did, but I’ll try and rephrase my point in the hopes that it sticks better:
All sci-fi comedies fit under the comedy umbrella, but not all comedies fit under the sci-fi umbrella. All sci-fi action flicks fit under the action umbrella, but not all action flicks fall under the sci-fi umbrella.
The Matrix may be sci-fi, but it’s also action. We’re counting down action films. That INCLUDES sci-fi actions, western actions, present day actions, fantasy actions, period actions – ALL of them.
In other words, I totally disagree with this: “ANd movies with guys in uniforms fighting other guys in uniforms, ON EARTH, they are war movies. You can’t just say “Well it has people killing other people and trying to make their own way through the story without getting killed themselves, and that means ACTION, so it’s an action movie. Not so.”
So. It’s an action movie at its base, and it’s setting is a war. By the rational above, I could say “Dirty Harry isn’t an action movie – it’s a cop movie. It has cops!” or “Gone in 60 Seconds isn’t an action movie, it’s a car thief movie!” or “The Poseidon Adventure is a disaster pic!”, but eventually, we’d have 287 genres.
“Best love story: Tyler and Mortensen…gimme a break. ANd get real tith this polling business.”
Who said the first statement? And I’m not sure I get the second – it’s a simple setup: I asked for top 10s, I get answers, I post the results. How can it get any more real than that?
God almighty, what a grim selection. You should all be ashamed of yourselves and accidentally spear your groin on a broken pipe.
No offense.