Sorted list: Films with "intelligent grades" between 7.7 and 8.1 (robustness between 2.0 and 3.5)

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 quality”.

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)

GR	Year	Genres	Title	Extra links / Director, etc / «Original title»
8.0	2012	Ho	Rock Bottom Creek	Steve Balewicz, M.C. Nowell, W, M
8.0	2012	CR	Trailer Park Jesus	Sean Gerowin, W, P
8.0	2010	D	Lifted	Lexi Alexander, W, P, M
8.0	2009	C	Rough Around the Edges	Jim Dickinson, W, W, P, P
8.0	2008	RD	Cherry Blossoms	Doris Dörrie, W, P, M «Kirschblüten - Hanami»
8.0	2008	CD	Dean Spanley	Toa Fraser, W, W, P, M
8.0	2005		Heaven's Neighbors	Jeff Kennedy, W, P, M
8.0	2005	D	The Cave of the Yellow Dog	Byambasuren Davaa, W, W, ++, P, M «Die Höhle des gelben Hundes»
8.0	2005	D	The Civilization of Maxwell Bright	David Beaird, W, P, M
8.0	2005	D	You Are Alone	Gorman Bechard, W, W, P
8.0	2004	DFanR	Be with You	Nobuhiro Doi, W, W, P, M «Ima, ai ni yukimasu»
8.0	2004	D	Yesterday	Darrell Roodt, W, P, M
8.0	2003	D	Song for a Raggy Boy	Aisling Walsh, W, W, ++, P, M
8.0	2002	C	Hacks	Glenn Rockowitz, W, P, M
8.0	2002	CDSp	Pingu-Pongu	Fumihiko Sori, W, W, P
8.0	1999	D	The Book of Stars	Michael Miner, W, P, M
8.0	1994	AdDF	War of the Buttons	John Roberts, W, W, P, M
8.0	1991	D	Close to Eden	Nikita Mikhalkov, W, ++, P, M «Urga»
8.0	1991	CD	Rubin and Ed	Trent Harris, W, P, M
8.0	1990	D	Men Don't Leave	Paul Brickman, W, ++, P, M
8.0	1990	AdBD	My Father's Glory	Yves Robert, W, W, ++, P, P, P++, M «La gloire de mon père»
8.0	1990	DH	The Long Walk Home	Richard Pearce, W, ++, P, M
8.0	1987	D	A Month in the Country	Pat O'Connor, W, W, P, M
8.0	1985	BCrD	Dance with a Stranger	Mike Newell, W, P, M
8.0	1983	AdD	Antarctica	Koreyoshi Kurahara, W, W, ++, P, M «Nankyoku monogatari»
8.0	1979	ACW	The Odd Angry Shot	Tom Jeffrey, W, W, P, M
8.0	1975	BDH	The Story of Adele H	François Truffaut, W, W, ++, P «L'histoire d'Adèle H»
8.0	1970	CCrD	Something for Everyone	Harold Prince, W, W, P, M
8.0	1967	AdD	The Last Adventure	Robert Enrico, W, W, ++, P, M «Les aventuriers»
8.0	1966	Cr	Come Drink with Me	King Hu, W, W, P, M «Da zui xia»
8.0	1962	DR	A Kind of Loving	John Schlesinger, W, W, ++, P, M
8.0	1962	D	An Autumn Afternoon	Yasujirô Ozu, W, W, P, M «Sanma no aji»
8.0	1962	DC	The Easy Life	Dino Risi, W, W, ++, P, M «Il sorpasso»
8.0	1960	C	School for Scoundrels	Robert Hamer, ++, W, W, ++, P, M
8.0	1959	D	The World of Apu	Satyajit Ray, W, W, P, M «Apur Sansar»
8.0	1958	D	The Magician	Ingmar Bergman, W, P, M «Ansiktet»
8.0	1955	BDMc	Interrupted Melody	Curtis Bernhardt, W, W, ++, P, P, M, M
8.0	1950	CrDN	The Breaking Point	Michael Curtiz, W, W, P, M, M
8.0	1940	BDH	Abe Lincoln in Illinois	John Cromwell, W, ++, P, M
8.0	1927	CrDR	Underworld	Josef von Sternberg, ++, W, W, ++, P, M
8.0	1926	CR	Ella Cinders	Alfred E. Green, W, W, ++, P
8.0	1926	DR	La bohème	King Vidor, W, W, ++, P, M, M
7.9	2013	CD	Still Life	Uberto Pasolini, W, P, M
7.9	2011	C	The Soccer Nanny	J.T. O'Neal, W, P, M «Au Pair, Kansas»
7.9	2006	CrD	Out of the Blue	Robert Sarkies, W, W, ++, P, M
7.9	2004	RCD	Chinese Eye	Yasmin Ahmad, W, P «Sepet»
7.9	2003	D	Silent Waters	Sabiha Sumar, W, W, P, M, M «Khamosh Pani: Silent Waters»
7.9	2003	CrD	Three Walls	Nagesh Kukunoor, W, P, M, M «3 Deewarein (3 Walls)»
7.9	2002	DR	Oasis	Chang-dong Lee, W, P, M
7.9	2001	D	To the Left of the Father	Luiz Fernando Carvalho, W, W, P, M «Lavoura Arcaica»
7.9	1998	DR	Christmas in August	Jin-ho Hur, W, W, ++, P «Palwolui Christmas»
7.9	1997	DR	Niagara, Niagara	Bob Gosse, W, P, M, M, M
7.9	1997	CD	Soul Food	George Tillman Jr., W, P, M, M
7.9	1995	CrD	Cyclo	Tran Anh Hung, W, P, P, M «Xich lo»
7.9	1994	DM	Rampo	Rintaro Mayuzumi, Kazuyoshi Okuyama, W, W, ++, P, M
7.9	1994	Ho	Yeuk saat	Hin Sing 'Billy' Tang, W, P
7.9	1993	BDH	The Gospel According to Matthew	Regardt van den Bergh, W «The Visual Bible: Matthew»
7.9	1992	DR	Gas, Food Lodging	Allison Anders, W, W, P, M
7.9	1992	DR	That Night	Craig Bolotin, W, W, P, M
7.9	1989	FMlR	Maine Pyar Kiya	Sooraj R. Barjatya, W, W, ++, P, M
7.9	1986	DFan	The Boy Who Could Fly	Nick Castle, W, P, P, M
7.9	1983	AD	Duel to Death	Siu-Tung Ching, W, W, ++, P, P «Xian si jue»
7.9	1977	DW	The Ascent	Larisa Shepitko, W, W, ++, P, P, M «Voskhozhdeniye»
7.9	1973	D	Lolly-Madonna XXX	Richard C. Sarafian, W, W, ++, P, M
7.9	1972	C	The Public Eye	Carol Reed, W, P, M «Follow Me!»
7.9	1971	D	King Lear	Peter Brook, W, W, P
7.9	1969	CD	Me, Natalie	Fred Coe, W, W, ++, P, M
7.9	1967	AAdSf	"Star Trek" Errand of Mercy	John Newland, W, W, P, M
7.9	1966	DF	Follow Me, Boys!	Norman Tokar, W, W, P, M
7.9	1957	DMlR	Pyaasa	Guru Dutt, W, P, M
7.9	1954	ACrDT	Touchez Pas au Grisbi	Jacques Becker, W, W, ++, P, M «Touchez pas au grisbi»
7.9	1952	CDR	The White Sheik	Federico Fellini, W, W, ++, P, P, M «Lo sceicco bianco»
7.9	1951	AdDR	Bird of Paradise	Delmer Daves, W, W, P, M
7.9	1948	CR	Miss Tatlock's Millions	Richard Haydn, W, W, ++, P, M
7.9	1945	BDRW	Pride of the Marines	Delmer Daves, W, W, ++, P, M
7.9	1935	C	Man on the Flying Trapeze	Clyde Bruckman, ++, W, W, ++, P
7.9	1920	AdWe	The Mark of Zorro	Fred Niblo, W, ++, P, P, M, M
7.8	2014	Ho	Pisasu	Myshkin, W, P, M
7.8	2013	C	It's Not You, It's Me	Nathan Ives, W, P, M
7.8	2012	CDR	Transatlantic Coffee	Erik Peter Carlson, W, P, M, M, M++
7.8	2010	ACCrT	Anima and Persona	Thiagarajan Kumararaja, W, P, M «Aaranya Kaandam»
7.8	2010	D	Third Star	Hattie Dalton, W, P, M
7.8	2009	T	I.C.U.	Aash Aaron, W, P, M
7.8	2008	D	Mumbai Meri Jaan	Nishikant Kamat, W, W, P, M
7.8	2007	AdCD	Lucky Miles	Michael James Rowland, W, W, P, M
7.8	2006	C	Last Stop for Paul	Neil Mandt, W, P, M
7.8	2004	CD	Adam & Paul	Lenny Abrahamson, W, P, M, M
7.8	2004	C	Knots	Greg Lombardo, W, W, P, M
7.8	2001	CDR	All About You	Christine Swanson, W, P, P, M, M
7.8	2000	CR	Chump Change	Stephen Burrows, W, P, M
7.8	1995	CDM	Cold Fever	Friðrik Þór Friðriksson, W, W, P, M «Á köldum klaka»
7.8	1994	CDR	Vanya on 42nd Street	Louis Malle, W, W, ++, P, M
7.8	1993	T	Darr	Yash Chopra, W, ++, P, M, M
7.8	1993	CD	Lost in Yonkers	Martha Coolidge, W, P, P, M
7.8	1992	BDF	The Long Day Closes	Terence Davies, W, P, M, M
7.8	1990	CrD	Close-Up	Abbas Kiarostami, W, P «Nema-ye Nazdik»
7.8	1990	CD	Tatie Danielle	Étienne Chatiliez, W, ++, P, M, M
7.8	1987	DF	Hachi-ko	Seijirô Kôyama, W, P, M «Hachikô monogatari»
7.8	1987	D	The Glass Menagerie	Paul Newman, W, P, M
7.8	1986	CCr	Malcolm	Nadia Tass, W, P, M
7.8	1985	DR	The Shooting Party	Alan Bridges, W, W, P, M
7.8	1982	AD	Five Element Ninja	Cheh Chang, W, W, P, M, M «Ren zhe wu di»
7.8	1981	AC	The Prodigal Son	Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, W, W, ++, P, M, M «Bai ga jai»
7.8	1980	BDMcR	The Idolmaker	Taylor Hackford, W, P, M
7.8	1976	D	Lifeguard	Daniel Petrie, W, P, M
7.8	1974	AAdDHR	The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge	Richard Lester, W, W, P, M «The Four Musketeers»
7.8	1972	D	The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds	Paul Newman, W, W, P, M
7.8	1969	DHW	Fraulein Doktor	Alberto Lattuada, W, W, ++, P, M «Fräulein Doktor»
7.8	1962	D	The L-Shaped Room	Bryan Forbes, W, W, P
7.8	1960	D	When a Woman Ascends the Stairs	Mikio Naruse, W, P, M «Onna ga kaidan wo agaru toki»
7.8	1958	CCr	Big Deal on Madonna Street	Mario Monicelli, W, W, ++, P, M «I soliti ignoti»
7.8	1952	D	Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice	Yasujirô Ozu, W, W, P, M «Ochazuke no aji»
7.8	1949	DW	Home of the Brave	Mark Robson, W, W, P, M
7.8	1949	CrNMT	The Hidden Room	Edward Dmytryk, W, P, M «Obsession»
7.8	1947	WeFan	Heaven Only Knows	Albert S. Rogell, W, W, ++, P, M
7.8	1945	C	Murder, He Says	George Marshall, W, W, P, M
7.8	1935	DMl	Naughty Marietta	[ Robert Z. Leonard, W.S. Van Dyke ], W, W, ++, P
7.8	1928	ACF	Speedy	Ted Wilde, W, W, ++, P, M, M
7.7	2014	CDFan	Manam	Vikram K. Kumar, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	2013	D	Decoding Annie Parker	Steven Bernstein, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	2010	Ho	Last Breath	Ty Jones, W, P, M
7.7	2008	D	The Song of Sparrows	Majid Majidi, W, W, P, M «Avaze gonjeshk-ha»
7.7	2007	DFanMcR	Secret	Jay Chou, W, W, P, M, M «Bu neng shuo de. mi mi»
7.7	2005	CD	All That I Need	James Hergott, W, P, M, M
7.7	2005	ACrD	Apaharan	Prakash Jha, W, ++, P, M
7.7	2004	DR	Brides	Pantelis Voulgaris, W, P, M «Nyfes»
7.7	2003	HoT	Little Erin Merryweather	David Morwick, ++, W, P, M
7.7	2002	D	Broken Wings	Nir Bergman, W, P, M «Knafayim Shvurot»
7.7	2002	CD	Philanthropy	Nae Caranfil, W, P, M «Filantropica»
7.7	2002	DR	Saathiya	Shaad Ali, W, W, P, M
7.7	2001	DT	Treed Murray	William Phillips, W, P, M
7.7	2000	DMlR	Chunhyang	Kwon-taek Im, W, W, ++, P, M «Chunhyangdyun»
7.7	2000	DR	Suzhou River	Ye Lou, W, P, M «Suzhou he»
7.7	1999	CCrM	Herod's Law	Luis Estrada, W, ++, P, M «La ley de Herodes»
7.7	1998	CD	Don't Tell Anyone	Francisco J. Lombardi, W, W, P «No se lo digas a nadie»
7.7	1997	D	Martin (Hache)	Adolfo Aristarain, W, W, P, M «Martín (Hache)»
7.7	1995	AdDRW	The Horseman on the Roof	Jean-Paul Rappeneau, W, W, ++, P, M «Le hussard sur le toit»
7.7	1994	CrD	Fun	Rafal Zielinski, W, P, M
7.7	1993	CD	Strawberry and Chocolate	Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Juan Carlos Tabío, W, W, ++, P, M «Fresa y chocolate»
7.7	1990	CDHW	The Nasty Girl	Michael Verhoeven, W, P, M, M, M++ «Das schreckliche Mädchen»
7.7	1988	CrD	Ghosts... of the Civil Dead	John Hillcoat, W, W, ++, P, P, M, M, M
7.7	1988	CRAd	Moon Over Parador	Paul Mazursky, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1987	AdAD	Pathfinder	Nils Gaup, W, P, M, M, M «Ofelas»
7.7	1985	AdCD	Water	Dick Clement, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1982	BDWe	The Grey Fox	Phillip Borsos, W, P, M
7.7	1981	D	Mephisto	István Szabó, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1976	DFan	Face to Face	Ingmar Bergman, W, P «Ansikte mot ansikte»
7.7	1975	CDR	Cooley High	Michael Schultz, W, P, M
7.7	1972	C	Where Does It Hurt?	Rod Amateau, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1971	CDMc	Taking Off	Milos Forman, W, W, ++, P
7.7	1966	CrD	Le Deuxieme Souffle	Jean-Pierre Melville, W, ++, P, M «Le deuxième souffle»
7.7	1962	DT	The Counterfeit Traitor	George Seaton, W, W, P, M
7.7	1960	D	The Entertainer	Tony Richardson, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1955	CD	Il bidone	Federico Fellini, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1953	BD	The President's Lady	Henry Levin, W, W, P, M
7.7	1951	CFan	You Never Can Tell	Lou Breslow, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1947	DR	One Wonderful Sunday	Akira Kurosawa, W, W, P, M «Subarashiki nichiyôbi»
7.7	1945	DH	Kitty	Mitchell Leisen, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1944	RD	The Very Thought of You	Delmer Daves, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1941	AdCDW	'Pimpernel' Smith	Leslie Howard, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1941	CR	The Strawberry Blonde	Raoul Walsh, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1937	D	Confession	Joe May, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1935	MlR	Broadway Melody of 1936	Roy Del Ruth, ++, W, W, ++, P
7.7	1932	CD	If I Had a Million	James Cruze, H. Bruce Humberstone, ++, W, W, ++, P, P, P++, M
7.7	1927	DR	7th Heaven	Frank Borzage, W, W, ++, P, P, M, M, M
7.7	1926	D	Sparrows	William Beaudine, ++, W, W, ++, P, P, P
7.7	1925	CFSp	The Freshman	Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor, W, W, ++, P, 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. The release year is color-coded to denote TV films, TV mini-series, and TV series. The director’s name is bluish-tinted if its popup has additional info about other films by this director.