Sorted list: Films with "intelligent grades" between 7.4 and 7.7 (robustness 3.5 or higher)

Very basic hints on how to use this list

Probably the most important feature is the links to “the most helpful” reviews of the film (click on the film’s title to jump there);
The list is ordered w.r.t. the “demanding viewer”’s grade GR; the better it is, the higher is the expectation of the “film’s worthyness”.

One may also want to know

(yet more details at the bottom of the page):

Colored grades GR are less statistically reliable than non-colored. More color means less reliability.
Most entries of the table (and all icons) have mouse popups with more details/explanations.
The headers of the table also have mouse popups. They explain what is in the column.
Thumbnails of movie poster’s (on the left) are clickable (moreover, a click on the large version brings the whole poster — if available)
To buy/view via IMDB, click on the title; on the IMDB page, use the links on the left.

GR	Year	Genres	Title	Extra links / Director, etc / «Original title»
7.6	2015	DW	Beasts of No Nation	Cary Fukunaga, W, W, C, M
7.6	2015	DMT	Drishyam	Nishikant Kamat, W, W, C, M
7.6	2014	AT	1	Sukumar, W, W, ++, C, M «1 - Nenokkadine»
7.6	2011		Untitled Sarah Palin Documentary
7.6	2010	D	Deuce of Spades	Faith Granger, W, C, M
7.6	2010	CR	Ricky	Kevin Wagoner, W, C, M
7.6	2008	CD	Dasvidaniya	Shashant Shah, W, W, C, M, M, M++
7.6	2007	CrDT	Johnny Gaddaar	Sriram Raghavan, W, W, C, M, M, M++
7.6	2004	DR	Dear Frankie	Shona Auerbach, W, C, M
7.6	2004	CDSp	Saint Ralph	Michael McGowan, W, C, M
7.6	2002	D	Joshua	Jon Purdy, W, W, ++, C, M
7.6	2002	CR	Now You Know	Jeff Anderson, W, C, M, M
7.6	2002	DWC	The Cuckoo	Aleksandr Rogozhkin, W, C, M «Kukushka»
7.6	2001	CDMcMl	Hedwig and the Angry Inch	John Cameron Mitchell, W, W, ++, C, M
7.6	2001	BD	Nowhere in Africa	Caroline Link, W, W, C, M «Nirgendwo in Afrika»
7.6	1997	D	All Over Me	Alex Sichel, W, C, M, M
7.6	1997	CrDM	Character	Mike van Diem, W, W, ++, C, M «Karakter»
7.6	1997	C	Hav Plenty	Christopher Scott Cherot, W, C, M, M
7.6	1993	CDFanR	Groundhog Day	Harold Ramis, W, W, ++, C, M
7.6	1993	BDSp	Rudy	David Anspaugh, W, C, M
7.6	1993	DRC	Untamed Heart	Tony Bill, W, C, M
7.6	1992	DRSp	The Cutting Edge	Paul Michael Glaser, W, C, M
7.6	1991	CrD	Boyz n the Hood	John Singleton, W, C, M
7.6	1991	CDMc	The Commitments	Alan Parker, W, W, ++, C, M
7.6	1990	BCrDT	Goodfellas	Martin Scorsese, W, ++, C
7.6	1988	BCMlSf	The Wizard of Speed and Time	Mike Jittlov, W, W, ++, C, M
7.6	1985	D	The Trip to Bountiful	Peter Masterson, W, C, M
7.6	1984	ASf	The Terminator	James Cameron, W, W, ++, C, M
7.6	1983	AdDT	El Norte	Gregory Nava, W, W, C, M, M, M++
7.6	1980	D	Ordinary People	Robert Redford, W, W, ++, C
7.6	1980	C	Used Cars	Robert Zemeckis, W, W, C, M, M
7.6	1977	DTW	Soldier of Orange	Paul Verhoeven, W, W, ++, C, M «Soldaat van Oranje»
7.6	1972	CR	Play It Again, Sam	Herbert Ross, W, C, M
7.6	1971	DR	Friends	Lewis Gilbert, W, W, ++, C
7.6	1971	DWe	The Hired Hand	Peter Fonda, W, C, M
7.6	1965	D	Red Beard	Akira Kurosawa, W, W, ++, C, C, M «Akahige»
7.6	1965	DW	The Hill	Sidney Lumet, W, ++, C
7.6	1964	DT	Woman in the Dunes	Hiroshi Teshigahara, W, ++, C, M «Suna no onna»
7.6	1963	CrDMT	High and Low	Akira Kurosawa, W, W, ++, C, C, M «Tengoku to jigoku»
7.6	1962	DT	The Counterfeit Traitor	George Seaton, W, W, C, M
7.6	1958	ADH	A Night to Remember	Roy Ward Baker, W, W, C, M
7.6	1957	D	A Face in the Crowd	Elia Kazan, W, C, C, M
7.6	1953	CD	I Vitelloni	Federico Fellini, W, W, ++, C, C, C, M «I vitelloni»
7.6	1950	CrDN	Caged	John Cromwell, W, ++, C, M
7.6	1949	CrDNT	White Heat	Raoul Walsh, W, W, ++, C, M
7.6	1946	DFanR	Beauty and the Beast	Jean Cocteau, ++, W, ++, C, M «La belle et la bête»
7.6	1946	DFFan	It's a Wonderful Life	Frank Capra, W, W, ++, C, C, C, M
7.6	1942	DR	Random Harvest	Mervyn LeRoy, W, W, ++, C, M
7.6	1940	DWR	Waterloo Bridge	Mervyn LeRoy, W, W, ++, C, M
7.6	1938	AAdR	The Adventures of Robin Hood	Michael Curtiz, William Keighley, W, W, ++, C, C, M
7.6	1937	C	Oh, Mr. Porter!	Marcel Varnel, W, W, ++, C, M
7.6	1937	CWe	Way Out West	James W. Horne, W, W, ++, C, C, M
7.6	1928	CR	Show People	King Vidor, W, W, ++, C, M
7.6	1925	AdDHR	Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ	Fred Niblo, ++, W, W, ++, C, C, C++, M, M, M
7.6	1925	CFR	Seven Chances	Buster Keaton, W, W, ++, C, C, M
7.6	1925	DRW	The Big Parade	King Vidor, ++, W, W, ++, C, C, M, M, M
7.6	1921	CDF	The Kid	Charles Chaplin, W, C, M
7.5	2015	D	Moor	Jami, C, M
7.5	2015	BDHT	Spotlight	Tom McCarthy, W, W, C, M
7.5	2014	CrDT	The Bag Man	David Grovic, W, W, ++, C, M, M
7.5	2014	CT	Wild Tales	Damián Szifron, W, C, M «Relatos salvajes»
7.5	2013	DW	Tangerines	Zaza Urushadze, W, C «Mandariinid»
7.5	2013	Ho	Truth or Dare	Jessica Cameron, W, W, C, M
7.5	2010	ACrDT	Elite Squad: The Enemy Within	José Padilha, W, ++, C, M «Tropa de Elite 2 - O Inimigo Agora É Outro»
7.5	2007	DR	Elvis and Anabelle	Will Geiger, W, C, M
7.5	2006	ADR	Omkara	Vishal Bhardwaj, W, W, ++, C, M
7.5	2005	CFR	Little Manhattan	Mark Levin, W, C, M
7.5	2002	BDR	Antwone Fisher	Denzel Washington, W, C, M
7.5	2002	CrD	City of God	Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund, W, W, C, M, M «Cidade de Deus»
7.5	2001	ADSp	Carman: The Champion	Lee Stanley, W, W, ++, C, M
7.5	2001	CD	Son of the Bride	Juan José Campanella, W, W, C, M «El hijo de la novia»
7.5	2000	AdCR	In July	Fatih Akin, W, C, M «Im Juli»
7.5	2000	D	Two Family House	Raymond De Felitta, W, C, M
7.5	1999	CDR	Gideon	Claudia Hoover, W, C, M
7.5	1999	D	Himalaya	Eric Valli, W, W, ++, C, C, M «Himalaya - l'enfance d'un chef»
7.5	1999	DR	The Road Home	Yimou Zhang, W, C, M «Wo de fu qin mu qin»
7.5	1998	DH	La otra conquista	Salvador Carrasco, W, C, M, M
7.5	1998	CDR	Show Me Love	Lukas Moodysson, W, C «Fucking Åmål»
7.5	1998	BDSp	Without Limits	Robert Towne, W, W, C, M
7.5	1997	DF	Children of Heaven	Majid Majidi, W, C, M «Bacheha-Ye aseman»
7.5	1997	CrDMT	L.A. Confidential	Curtis Hanson, W, W, ++, C, M
7.5	1994	CrT	A Pure Formality	Giuseppe Tornatore, W, ++, C, M «Una pura formalità»
7.5	1994	CRD	Eat Drink Man Woman	Ang Lee, W, W, ++, C, M «Yin shi nan nu»
7.5	1994	CrD	Once Were Warriors	Lee Tamahori, W, W, C, M, M
7.5	1993	BDT	In the Name of the Father	Jim Sheridan, W, W, ++, C, M
7.5	1993	ACH	The Legend	Corey Yuen, W, W, ++, C, M, M, M «Fong Sai Yuk»
7.5	1993	DR	The Remains of the Day	James Ivory, W, W, C, M
7.5	1993	CDFSp	The Sandlot	David M. Evans, W, W, C, M
7.5	1993	BDMc	What's Love Got to Do with It	Brian Gibson, W, W, ++, C, M
7.5	1991	DRW	Dogfight	Nancy Savoca, W, C, M
7.5	1990	DFanR	Edward Scissorhands	Tim Burton, W, W, ++, C, M
7.5	1988	CrD	A Short Film About Killing	Krzysztof Kieslowski, W, W, C, M «Krótki film o zabijaniu»
7.5	1988	D	Cinema Paradiso	Giuseppe Tornatore, W, ++, C, M «Nuovo Cinema Paradiso»
7.5	1988	CrD	Salaam Bombay!	Mira Nair, W, W, ++, C, M
7.5	1987	DMcR	Babette's Feast	Gabriel Axel, W, W, C, M «Babettes gæstebud»
7.5	1987	AAdSf	Predator	John McTiernan, W, W, C, M
7.5	1986	AAdSfT	Aliens	James Cameron, W, W, ++, C, M
7.5	1985	DHW	Come and See	Elem Klimov, W, ++, C, M «Idi i smotri»
7.5	1985	CWe	Rustlers' Rhapsody	Hugh Wilson, W, C, M
7.5	1982	HoMSfT	The Thing	John Carpenter, W, W, C, M
7.5	1980	DFan	Resurrection	Daniel Petrie, W, C, M
7.5	1978	CrD	Blue Collar	Paul Schrader, W, W, ++, C, M
7.5	1977	CD	Stroszek	Werner Herzog, W, C, M, M
7.5	1973	CCrD	Paper Moon	Peter Bogdanovich, W, W, C
7.5	1969	MlW	Oh! What a Lovely War	Richard Attenborough, W, W, ++, C, M
7.5	1968	AdC	Carry On... Up the Khyber	Gerald Thomas, W, ++, C, M
7.5	1966	BDH	A Man for All Seasons	Fred Zinnemann, W, C, M
7.5	1963	D	Hud	Martin Ritt, W, W, ++, C, M
7.5	1963	D	The Fire Within	Louis Malle, W, ++, C «Le feu follet»
7.5	1962	C	Gigot	Gene Kelly, W, W, ++, C, M
7.5	1961	AAd	Yojimbo	Akira Kurosawa, W, ++, C, M «Yôjinbô»
7.5	1960	CDR	The Apartment	Billy Wilder, W, W, C, M
7.5	1956	DWWe	Friendly Persuasion	William Wyler, W, ++, C, M
7.5	1953	CMlWe	Calamity Jane	David Butler, W, C, M, M
7.5	1952	DT	5 Fingers	Joseph L. Mankiewicz, W, W, ++, C, M
7.5	1951	DN	Ace in the Hole	Billy Wilder, W, W, ++, C, M
7.5	1950	FanDR	Orpheus	Jean Cocteau, W, C, M «Orphée»
7.5	1950	DN	Sunset Blvd.	Billy Wilder, W, W, ++, C, M
7.5	1949	NSp	The Set-Up	Robert Wise, W, W, C
7.5	1947	CDFFan	Miracle on 34th Street	George Seaton, W, W, C, C, M
7.5	1939	D	Mr. Smith Goes to Washington	Frank Capra, W, W, ++, C, M
7.5	1937	AdDR	The Prisoner of Zenda	John Cromwell, ++, W, W, ++, C, C, M
7.5	1933	CDMl	Gold Diggers of 1933	Mervyn LeRoy, W, W, ++, C
7.4	2012	CDFFan	OMG: Oh My God!	Umesh Shukla, W, W, C, M
7.4	2008	D	Still Walking	Hirokazu Koreeda, W, C, M «Aruitemo aruitemo»
7.4	2007	C	A Dog's Breakfast	David Hewlett, W, ++, C, M
7.4	2006	CDMlM	Memories of Matsuko	Tetsuya Nakashima, W, W, C, M, M «Kiraware Matsuko no isshô»
7.4	2004	ADSp	Beautiful Boxer	Ekachai Uekrongtham, W, W, C, M, M
7.4	2004	CrDH	Black Friday	Anurag Kashyap, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	2004	BDHW	Downfall	Oliver Hirschbiegel, W, W, ++, C, M «Der Untergang»
7.4	2004	WDR	Lakshya	Farhan Akhtar, W, ++, C, M, M, M
7.4	2003	CCr	Munnabhai M.B.B.S.	Rajkumar Hirani, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	2002	CrDT	Bang Bang You're Dead	Guy Ferland, W, C, M, M
7.4	2002	D	Mr. and Mrs. Iyer	Aparna Sen, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	2000	DW	A Time for Drunken Horses	Bahman Ghobadi, W, C, M «Zamani barayé masti asbha»
7.4	2000	D	Aberdeen	Hans Petter Moland, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1999	DHR	Est - Ouest	Régis Wargnier, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1999	BDF	October Sky	Joe Johnston, W, W, C, M
7.4	1998	DRMlT	Dil Se..	Mani Ratnam, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1998	CrDT	Monument Ave.	Ted Demme, W, ++, C, M «Snitch»
7.4	1998	CDMc	SLC Punk!	James Merendino, W, C
7.4	1998	CDRW?	West Beirut	Ziad Doueiri, W, C, M «West Beyrouth (À l'abri les enfants)»
7.4	1998	CDF	Wide Awake	M. Night Shyamalan, W, C, M, M
7.4	1997	CrDRT	Fireworks	Takeshi Kitano, W, C, M «Hana-bi»
7.4	1997	D	Lawn Dogs	John Duigan, W, C, M
7.4	1996	CR	Different for Girls	Richard Spence, W, C, M
7.4	1994	BCD	Ed Wood	Tim Burton, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1994	CrDT	Fresh	Boaz Yakin, W, C, M
7.4	1994	CrDT	Léon: The Professional	Luc Besson, W, C, M «Léon»
7.4	1993	D	Madadayo	Akira Kurosawa, W, W, ++, C, C, M
7.4	1992	D	City of Joy	Roland Joffé, W, W, C, M
7.4	1991	CrDH	Let Him Have It	Peter Medak, W, W, C, M
7.4	1989	DHW	Glory	Edward Zwick, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1988	AAdCCrT	Midnight Run	Martin Brest, W, C, M
7.4	1988	CDMl	School Daze	Spike Lee, W, C, M
7.4	1988	ACCrR	The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!	David Zucker, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1988	CCrDFan	Time of the Gypsies	Emir Kusturica, W, W, C, M «Dom za vesanje»
7.4	1987	CD	Bagdad Cafe	Percy Adlon, W, ++, C, M «Out of Rosenheim»
7.4	1985	BD	Mask	Peter Bogdanovich, W, C, M
7.4	1985	ACFan	Mr. Vampire	Ricky Lau, W, W, ++, C, M «Geung si sin sang»
7.4	1985	DHW	The Official Story	Luis Puenzo, W, W, C, M «La historia oficial»
7.4	1984	BDMc	Amadeus	Milos Forman, W, C
7.4	1981	BD	Christiane F.	Uli Edel, W, W, ++, C, C, M «Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo»
7.4	1979	AdCFMl	The Muppet Movie	James Frawley, W, W, C, M
7.4	1974	CrDT	The Taking of Pelham One Two Three	Joseph Sargent, W, W, C, M
7.4	1971	BCrDT	10 Rillington Place	Richard Fleischer, W, W, C, M
7.4	1971	CD	Bless the Beasts & Children	Stanley Kramer, W, W, C, M, M
7.4	1968	DR	Romeo and Juliet	Franco Zeffirelli, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1967	DT	Our Mother's House	Jack Clayton, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1967	D	Samurai Rebellion	Masaki Kobayashi, W, W, C, M «Jôi-uchi: Hairyô tsuma shimatsu»
7.4	1966	AdDRW	The Sand Pebbles	Robert Wise, W, W, C, M
7.4	1965	DR	A Patch of Blue	Guy Green, W, W, C, M
7.4	1964	DHo	Onibaba	Kaneto Shindô, W, C, M
7.4	1962	ADT	Sanjuro	Akira Kurosawa, W, W, ++, C, C, M «Tsubaki Sanjûrô»
7.4	1961	C	Divorce Italian Style	Pietro Germi, W, W, ++, C, C, M «Divorzio all'italiana»
7.4	1961	DHW	Judgment at Nuremberg	Stanley Kramer, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1959	DW	The Bridge	Bernhard Wicki, W, W, ++, C, M «Die Brücke»
7.4	1958	DW	Ice Cold in Alex	J. Lee Thompson, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1957	DRW	The Cranes are Flying	Mikhail Kalatozov, W, C, M «Letyat zhuravli»
7.4	1957	DM	Witness for the Prosecution	Billy Wilder, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1955	AdCFMl	The Court Jester	Melvin Frank, Norman Panama, W, W, C, C, M, M
7.4	1953	CDR	Roman Holiday	William Wyler, W, W, ++, C, C, M
7.4	1952	D	Ikiru	Akira Kurosawa, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1952	CMlR	Singin' in the Rain	Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1951	D	The Browning Version	Anthony Asquith, W, C
7.4	1950	CrD	Los Olvidados	Luis Buñuel, W, W, ++, C, M, M «Los olvidados»
7.4	1949	DNT	Thieves' Highway	Jules Dassin, W, C, M, M
7.4	1949	ADW	Twelve O'Clock High	Henry King, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1948	DW	The Search	Fred Zinnemann, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1947	DNSp	Body and Soul	Robert Rossen, W, C, M
7.4	1944	CrDNT	Double Indemnity	Billy Wilder, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1941	C	Hellzapoppin'	H.C. Potter, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1938	CrDT	Angels with Dirty Faces	Michael Curtiz, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1937	DM	They Won't Forget	[ Mervyn LeRoy ], W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1934	C	It's a Gift	Norman Z. McLeod, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1934	DHR	The Scarlet Empress	Josef von Sternberg, W, W, ++, C
7.4	1934	CCrM	The Thin Man	W.S. Van Dyke, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1933	C	Sons of the Desert	William A. Seiter, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1930	DW	All Quiet on the Western Front	Lewis Milestone, W, W, ++, C, C, M, M
7.4	1930	AdWeR	The Big Trail	Raoul Walsh, ++, W, ++, C, C, M, M, M++
7.4	1930	WDA	The Dawn Patrol	Howard Hawks, W, W, ++, C, M
7.4	1928	ACDFR	Steamboat Bill, Jr.	Charles Reisner, ++, W, ++, C, C
7.4	1927	DH	The King of Kings	Cecil B. DeMille, W, C, M
7.4	1925	HoT	The Phantom of the Opera	Rupert Julian, ++, W, ++, C, C, C, M, M, M++
7.4	1923	CF	Our Hospitality	John G. Blystone, Buster Keaton, W, W, ++, C, C, M
7.4	1921	DRW	The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse	Rex Ingram, W, W, C, M, M

What is this list?

This list of films is ordered w.r.t. the “demanding viewer” grade GR. The higher in the list, the better is what “demaning users” of IMDB think about the film. To augment the grade, the entries in the list are equipped with exhaustive additional information (a lot of it in mouse popups!) and with links leading to more detailed reviews of the film

What is the grade GR?

The grade GR is a calculated grade; it is not my (or anybody else’s) personal opinion, but an “objective grade”: a result of certain delicate massage of what IMDB contributors think about the film. While it uses the same units as the IMDB grade (for example, the range is from 1 to 10; higher means better), it is significantly more evenly distributed; most of the time, it is also significantly below the average IMDB grade (although there are many exceptions).

These “delicate considerations” are based on my observations of how IMDB contributors behave, hence the grade GR is an objective measure choosen based on subjective observations (for more details, jump here). Currently, I believe that, for many people around me, this calculated grade is much more helpful for deciding which film to watch than any other system I saw (either “objective”, or based on opinions of friends, critics etc).

How to use this list?

Of course, as with any “objective measure”, one should not trust the calculated grade GR blindly (especially if the “robustness” is low). This grade (and the relative position of a film in the list below) is just a suggestion; clicking on the film’s title (better click with the middle mouse button!) leads to the “most helpful” reviews of the film.

I consider these reviews (which I call “reviews from demanding viewers”) to be much more important than the grade GR itself. These reviews have a very good chance to contain intelligent observations about the film. (The way to find these reviews is the keystone which makes this page possible.) Let me repeat: I strongly recommend inspecting all the supplied “additional info” about the film and these reviews before deciding whether to watch a film or not; the grade GR should only help to decide which rows in the table should be inspected first! (For more details, visit the main page.)

Review links leading to empty pages (or pages with few review):

these are not always avoidable due to very limited control one has over IMDB display of reviews. If you see this, just switch to the “opposite” view-type (Hate It vs. Love It), and go to the end of the list of reviews.

Film’s info hidden in the entries in the list:

Grades GR are color-coded for robustness: 0 / 0.5 / 1 / 1.5 / 2 / 2.5 / 3 / 3.5 / 4 / 4.5 / 5 / 5.5 / 6 / 6.5 / 7 / 7.5 / 8 / 8.5 / 9. The lower the robustness, the more probable it is that the grade is a result of a statistical fluke. Robustness above 3.5 is expected to be sufficient for most practical purposes. Grades with robustness below about 0.5 have a very high chance to be affected by statistical flukes.

Most columns in the table have additional information provided when mouse is resting over the field. (This information is summarized when mouse is resting over cells in the header row of the table.) The display (or non-display) of icons can be controlled by changing selection in the browser’s menu View/Page Style (press Alt to see the menu). The release year is color-coded to denote TV films, TV mini-series, and TV series. A person’s name is bluish-tinted if its popup has additional info about other films by the guy (in the same capacity: director/writer/camera/music); the pale-red number is the best GR-grade they.achieved in this capacity.