It kind of went in a cycle with me. Back when I was in college, I used lists as guides to find movies I might enjoy, and then once I got into the habit of renting and buying a lot, I kind of made up my own mind about what to buy, and now that I've seen a lot of movies, I find myself starting to use lists again as a guide to help me decide what's worth my time (because I'm poor and less interested in "blind buying" than I used to be). As a horror fan, I find a lot of "top 10 scariest movie" lists to have the same 10 movies recycled over and over again, but sometimes I'll find a gem of a list with a lot of movies I've never seen and that gives me a lot of ideas for movies I want to track down and check out.

Not Cavalcade!

Film buffs/film students would find it most instructive to see every Best Picture winner from 1927 on. You may not like every film, but you'll get something out of it. I tend to consider Best Picture winners from the 1930s and '40s to be the best of these films. I confess, though, to not having seen CAVALCADE from 1933. And I confess I still haven't caught up with certain 1980s winners. (e.g. DRIVING MISS DAISY, which I have resisted steadfastly for the past 20 years).

Actually, for many years, the other Best Picture nominees would be even better viewing choices (1952 and 1956, for instance).

No. I rarely even read those lists. I buy what I like or what I know I'll enjoy.

These comments describe me pretty well.

No, I own that one. There are a lot more regions than R1 you now.

I didn't know it was available elsewhere, though I knew Wings was. Good to know.

For you list junkies out there, you should look into ICheckMovies.com. They compile all kinds of movie lists, from Best Picture winners to top grossing, from Ebert's great movies list to IMDb top voted. You sign up (free and quick) and then start perusing the lists, checking off movies you've seen. They update weekly, so lists that evolve (like when Ebert adds something, or the IMDb voting changes), the lists reflect the current status. Movies that drop off lists remain in the system; they just don't count as part of the list anymore.

I only buy the DVDs that I know I'll like or that I remember being entertaining. I don't like lists because everyone's ideas of what's good/entertaining and mine usually differ. Critics don't like what I like and I don't like what the critics like. The only time I'll ever consult any kind of a list would be customer reviews. If everyone thought the movie sucked, then it probably did. -kd5-

The Sight & Sound poll is interesting, particularly when you go back to previous polls and see the changes in rankings over time, or when you look at the longer list with the films that placed lower. Seeing the lists of individual critics and directors is even more interesting, as always.