Sorted list: Films with "intelligent grades" between 7.7 and 8.1 (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 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	CDR	Nanban	S. Shankar, W, W, ++, P, M
8.0	2010	C	I Am 24	Saurabh Shukla, P
8.0	2008	D	Live Fast, Die Young	Timothy A. Chey, W, P
8.0	2006	D	The Companion	Rituparno Ghosh, W, P, M, M «Dosar»
8.0	2005	D	Faltu	Anjan Das, W, P
8.0	2005		Our Burden Is Light	Denise Coates, W, P, M
8.0	2002	DF	Saanjhbatir Roopkathara	Anjan Das, W, W, P, M
8.0	2000	D	Tully	Hilary Birmingham, W, W, ++, P, M
8.0	1998	ACr	Satya	Ram Gopal Varma, W, W, ++, P, P, M, M
8.0	1998	TCrD	The Interview	Craig Monahan, W, W, P, M
8.0	1996	BDR	The Whole Wide World	Dan Ireland, W, W, P, M
8.0	1994	DW	To Live	Yimou Zhang, W, W, ++, P, M «Huozhe»
8.0	1982	C	My Favorite Year	Richard Benjamin, W, W, ++, P, M
8.0	1981	AAdDHW	Das Boot	Wolfgang Petersen, W, W, P, M
8.0	1980	CDR	Fatso	Anne Bancroft, W, P, M
8.0	1978	DW	Go Tell the Spartans	Ted Post, W, W, P, M
8.0	1969	CrDHMT	Z	Costa-Gavras, W, W, ++, P, M
8.0	1966	AdWe	The Good, the Bad and the Ugly	Sergio Leone, W, W, ++, P, M «Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo»
8.0	1965	WD	King Rat	Bryan Forbes, W, W, P, M
8.0	1962	CMlR	The Music Man	Morton DaCosta, W, W, ++, P, M
8.0	1956	DTW	A Man Escaped	Robert Bresson, W, W, P «Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut»
8.0	1953	DW	The Cruel Sea	Charles Frend, W, W, P, M
8.0	1952	BDMl	With a Song in My Heart	Walter Lang, W, P, M
8.0	1948	DF	I Remember Mama	George Stevens, W, W, ++, P, M
8.0	1941	BD	One Foot in Heaven	Irving Rapper, W, W, P, M
8.0	1931	CDR	City Lights	Charles Chaplin, W, ++, P, P, M
7.9	2010	ACHoMlMRT	Zombie Beach	Mukesh Asopa, W, W, ++, M
7.9	2007	D	Like Stars on Earth	Aamir Khan, ++, W, P, M, M, M «Taare Zameen Par»
7.9	2007	D	The Last Lear	Rituparno Ghosh, W, W, ++, P, M, M, M
7.9	2006	C	Two Tickets to Paradise	D.B. Sweeney, W, W, P, M
7.9	2005	CDR	David & Layla	J.J. Alani, W, P, M, M
7.9	2004	BD	Machuca	Andrés Wood, W, W, ++, P, M, M
7.9	2004	AdMlR	Rok Sako To Rok Lo	Arindam Chowdhuri, W, P, M, M
7.9	2002	DR	The Twilight Samurai	Yôji Yamada, W, W, ++, P, M «Tasogare Seibei»
7.9	2000	D	Diamond Men	Dan Cohen, W, P, M
7.9	2000	D	Eureka	Shinji Aoyama, W, P, M, M
7.9	1999	DF	The Color of Paradise	Majid Majidi, W, P, M «Rang-e khoda»
7.9	1999	D	Three Seasons	Tony Bui, W, ++, P, M
7.9	1998	AdCDF	Paulie	John Roberts, W, P, M
7.9	1996	DFanR	Lilies	John Greyson, W, P, M «Lilies - Les feluettes»
7.9	1996	D	Ponette	Jacques Doillon, W, W, P, M
7.9	1995	C	A Midwinter's Tale	Kenneth Branagh, W, P, M «In the Bleak Midwinter»
7.9	1995	DR	Love Letter	Shunji Iwai, W, P, M
7.9	1994	DFFan	The Secret of Roan Inish	John Sayles, W, W, P, M
7.9	1994	CrD	The Shawshank Redemption	Frank Darabont, W, W, P, M
7.9	1993	BDR	Shadowlands	Richard Attenborough, W, P, M
7.9	1989	CDR	Shirley Valentine	Lewis Gilbert, W, P, M
7.9	1986	D	Jean de Florette	Claude Berri, W, W, ++, P, M
7.9	1986	CDSf	Kin-dza-dza!	Georgiy Daneliya, W, W, P, M
7.9	1986	D	Manon of the Spring	Claude Berri, W, W, ++, P, M «Manon des sources»
7.9	1986	AdD	Stand by Me	Rob Reiner, W, W, ++, P, M
7.9	1980	DHW	Breaker Morant	Bruce Beresford, W, W, ++, P «'Breaker' Morant»
7.9	1977	DTW	Soldier of Orange	Paul Verhoeven, W, W, ++, P, M «Soldaat van Oranje»
7.9	1972	CR	What's Up, Doc?	Peter Bogdanovich, W, W, ++, P, M
7.9	1971	DWe	The Hired Hand	Peter Fonda, W, P, M
7.9	1970	D	The Boys in the Band	William Friedkin, W, P
7.9	1962	BD	The Miracle Worker	Arthur Penn, W, ++, P, M
7.9	1961	D	Whistle Down the Wind	Bryan Forbes, W, W, ++, P, M
7.9	1960	DR	Tunes of Glory	Ronald Neame, W, P, M
7.9	1959	DW	The Bridge	Bernhard Wicki, W, W, ++, P, M «Die Brücke»
7.9	1953	DMlR	Lili	Charles Walters, W, W, P, M
7.9	1949	D	Late Spring	Yasujirô Ozu, W, W, ++, P, M «Banshun»
7.9	1939	CR	Midnight	Mitchell Leisen, W, W, ++, P, M
7.9	1924	DT	He Who Gets Slapped	Victor Sjöström, W, W, ++, P, M
7.9	1924	D	The Last Laugh	F.W. Murnau, W, P, M, M, M++ «Der letzte Mann»
7.9	1924	AdFFanR	The Thief of Bagdad	Raoul Walsh, W, W, ++, P, M
7.8	2010	CrDM	"Sherlock" A Study in Pink	Paul McGuigan, W, W, ++, P, M, M
7.8	2010	CFR	Bicycle Bride	Hassan Zee, W, P, P, P
7.8	2005	D	My Father and My Son	Çagan Irmak, W, P, M «Babam ve oglum»
7.8	2004	DR	A Moment to Remember	John H. Lee, W, W, P, M «Nae meorisokui jiwoogae»
7.8	2003	BD	Baadasssss!	Mario Van Peebles, W, W, ++, P, M «How to Get the Man's Foot Outta Your Ass»
7.8	2003	DR	Facing Windows	Ferzan Ozpetek, W, W, P, M «La finestra di fronte»
7.8	2002	D	Joshua	Jon Purdy, W, W, ++, P, M
7.8	1999	RD	Gloomy Sunday	Rolf Schübel, W, W, ++, P, M, M «Gloomy Sunday - Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod»
7.8	1999	D	Spring Forward	Tom Gilroy, W, P, M
7.8	1997	D	All Over Me	Alex Sichel, W, P, M, M
7.8	1997	RD	Firelight	William Nicholson, W, P, M
7.8	1997	D	My Life in Pink	Alain Berliner, W, W, P, M, M «Ma vie en rose»
7.8	1996	CDMcR	Shall We Dance?	Masayuki Suo, W, P, M «Shall we dansu?»
7.8	1995	RD	Persuasion	Roger Michell, W, W, P, M
7.8	1994	DMR	Three Colors: Red	Krzysztof Kieslowski, W, W, P, M «Trois couleurs: Rouge»
7.8	1992	C	Brain Donors	Dennis Dugan, W, W, ++, P, M
7.8	1992	DMl	Newsies	Kenny Ortega, W, W, P, M
7.8	1991	D	Enchanted April	Mike Newell, W, W, P, M
7.8	1991	DR	Flirting	John Duigan, W, P
7.8	1991	D	Proof	Jocelyn Moorhouse, W, P, M
7.8	1990	ACrD	Agneepath	Mukul Anand, W, W, ++, P, M, M
7.8	1989	CA	Let It Ride	Joe Pytka, W, W, P, M
7.8	1987	ACFanRT	A Chinese Ghost Story	Siu-Tung Ching, W, W, P, P, P++, M, M «Sien nui yau wan»
7.8	1987	DMcR	Babette's Feast	Gabriel Axel, W, W, P, M «Babettes gæstebud»
7.8	1983	AdDT	El Norte	Gregory Nava, W, W, P, M, M, M++
7.8	1981	CDR	Gregory's Girl	Bill Forsyth, W, P, M
7.8	1981	AAd	Raiders of the Lost Ark	Steven Spielberg, W, W, ++, P, M
7.8	1979	D	The Wanderers	Philip Kaufman, W, W, ++, P
7.8	1976	DSp	Rocky	John G. Avildsen, W, P, M
7.8	1975	AdHoT	Jaws	Steven Spielberg, W, W, ++, P, M
7.8	1974	CrD	The Gambler	Karel Reisz, W, P, M
7.8	1965	DW	The Shop on Main Street	Ján Kadár, Elmar Klos, W, ++, P, M «Obchod na korze»
7.8	1960	HoMT	Psycho	Alfred Hitchcock, W, W, P, M
7.8	1960	D	The Virgin Spring	Ingmar Bergman, W, P, M «Jungfrukällan»
7.8	1960	DR	Wild River	Elia Kazan, W, W, ++, P, M
7.8	1957	D	The D.I.	Jack Webb, W, P, M
7.8	1954	D	Sansho the Bailiff	Kenji Mizoguchi, W, W, ++, P, M, M, M «Sanshô dayû»
7.8	1949	DR	The Heiress	William Wyler, W, W, ++, P, M
7.8	1945	D	A Tree Grows in Brooklyn	Elia Kazan, W, W, ++, P, M
7.8	1943	CrDMT	Le Corbeau: The Raven	Henri-Georges Clouzot, W, W, ++, P, M «Le corbeau»
7.8	1939	CDR	Love Affair	Leo McCarey, W, W, ++, P, M
7.8	1938	CDR	Pygmalion	Anthony Asquith, Leslie Howard, W, ++, P, M
7.8	1936	CD	Modern Times	Charles Chaplin, W, P, P, M
7.8	1928	BDH	The Passion of Joan of Arc	Carl Theodor Dreyer, W, W, P, M, M «La passion de Jeanne d'Arc»
7.7	2014	T	The Legend of DarkHorse County	Shawn Welling, W, W, P, P, P
7.7	2013	DRSfT	Lucia	Pawan Kumar, W, ++, P, M
7.7	2013	Ho	Truth or Dare	Jessica Cameron, W, W, P, M
7.7	2008	CCrD	Mithya	Rajat Kapoor, W, W, ++, P, M, M, M++
7.7	2007	D	Boy A	John Crowley, W, W, P, M
7.7	2006	CCrD	Khosla's Nest	Dibakar Banerjee, W, P, M, M «Khosla Ka Ghosla!»
7.7	2005	AdCDM	American Dream?	Alex Harz, Tom Kennedy, W, W, P, P, M, M «?»
7.7	2004	CDSp	Saint Ralph	Michael McGowan, W, P, M
7.7	1999	CD	Shower	Yang Zhang, W, W, ++, P, M «Xizao»
7.7	1998	D	Central Station	Walter Salles, W, W, ++, P, M, M «Central do Brasil»
7.7	1998	BD	Finding Graceland	David Winkler, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1997	CrDM	Character	Mike van Diem, W, W, ++, P, M «Karakter»
7.7	1997	ACrCD	Knockin' on Heaven's Door	Thomas Jahn, W, ++, P, M, M, M
7.7	1997	DFanM	Photographing Fairies	Nick Willing, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1996	CDMc	Hard Core Logo	Bruce McDonald, W, W, P, M
7.7	1994	DW	Before the Rain	Milcho Manchevski, W, P, M, M, M
7.7	1994	CrDT	Fresh	Boaz Yakin, W, P, M
7.7	1994	AC	The Legend of Drunken Master	Chia-Liang Liu, ++, W, W, ++, P, P, P++, M, M «Jui kuen II»
7.7	1991	CrD	Boyz n the Hood	John Singleton, W, P, M
7.7	1991	ASfT	Terminator 2: Judgment Day	James Cameron, W, W, P, M
7.7	1989	D	Jesus of Montreal	Denys Arcand, W, P, M, M, M «Jésus de Montréal»
7.7	1989	DR	Longtime Companion	Norman René, W, P, M
7.7	1988	AT	Die Hard	John McTiernan, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1987	DR	Maurice	James Ivory, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1985	CDR	Heaven Help Us	Michael Dinner, W, P, M
7.7	1985	CWe	Rustlers' Rhapsody	Hugh Wilson, W, P, M
7.7	1985	AdCFMc	Sesame Street Presents: Follow that Bird	Ken Kwapis, W, W, P, M, M
7.7	1985	D	The Trip to Bountiful	Peter Masterson, W, P, M
7.7	1984	ASf	The Terminator	James Cameron, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1982	CD	Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean	Robert Altman, W, P
7.7	1980	BD	The Elephant Man	David Lynch, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1976	D	Cria Cuervos	Carlos Saura, W, P, M, M «Cría cuervos»
7.7	1975	D	Hard Times	Walter Hill, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1969	D	Kes	Ken Loach, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1964	TWA	The Train	John Frankenheimer, ++, W, W, ++, P, P, M
7.7	1963	CrDMT	High and Low	Akira Kurosawa, W, W, ++, P, P, M «Tengoku to jigoku»
7.7	1963	WD	The Victors	Carl Foreman, W, W, P, M
7.7	1962	D	Harakiri	Masaki Kobayashi, W, W, ++, P, M «Seppuku»
7.7	1959	D	The Nun's Story	Fred Zinnemann, W, W, P, M
7.7	1959	CrDT	Tiger Bay	J. Lee Thompson, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1957	D	Nights of Cabiria	Federico Fellini, W, W, ++, P, P, M «Le notti di Cabiria»
7.7	1957	D	Throne of Blood	Akira Kurosawa, W, W, ++, P, M «Kumonosu-jô»
7.7	1956	D	Patterns	Fielder Cook, W, P
7.7	1954	CDR	Hobson's Choice	David Lean, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1954	D	La Strada	Federico Fellini, W, W, ++, P, P, M «La strada»
7.7	1953	CD	I Vitelloni	Federico Fellini, W, W, ++, P, P, P, M «I vitelloni»
7.7	1953	DFanM	Ugetsu	Kenji Mizoguchi, W, W, ++, P, M, M, M «Ugetsu monogatari»
7.7	1947	CDFanR	The Bishop's Wife	Henry Koster, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1946	CFanRT	The Time of Their Lives	Charles Barton, W, W, ++, P, M, M, M
7.7	1939	AAdDW	Beau Geste	William A. Wellman, W, W, P, P, M
7.7	1939	CDFan	On Borrowed Time	Harold S. Bucquet, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1937	AdDF	Captains Courageous	Victor Fleming, W, W, ++, P, M
7.7	1937	DMlR	Maytime	Robert Z. Leonard, W, W, ++, P
7.7	1926	DFanHo	Faust	F.W. Murnau, W, W, ++, P, M, M, M++ «Faust - Eine deutsche Volkssage»

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.