At the end of my course, students completed an anonymous survey which asked their ratings of the movies watched on a scale from 1 (Awful) to 10 (Excellent). Each movie was rated twice: once for perceived educational value and once for perceived entertainment value. The number of students rating each movie varied, as not all films were watched by all students. Movies are listed in decreasing order based on average overall rating.
Use these data to inform your selections of movies for class (as I will for the next time I teach this course). Everyone wins when the movie is both educational and entertaining. Some movies might best be used as clips, as their educational value was acknowledged by students, but the movies were not perceived to be as entertaining (e.g., Lost Weekend; Canvas; Clean, Shaven). Some movies were either loved or hated by students: Rashomon falls within this category. For most students, this was their first exposure to a foreign film with subtitles. Obviously, the list is not exhaustive. There are many more movie options, both new and old, to try out.
Scale: 1 = Awful……..10 = Excellent
|
Title
|
Educational Value Average
|
Entertainment Value
Average
|
Overall
Average
|
| The Hours |
10.00
|
8.60
|
9.30
|
| A Beautiful Mind |
9.23
|
9.30
|
9.27
|
| Good Will Hunting |
9.00
|
9.33
|
9.17
|
| To Die For |
9.00
|
9.25
|
9.13
|
| The Aviator |
9.30
|
8.89
|
9.09
|
| Thirteen |
9.17
|
9.00
|
9.09
|
| 12 Angry Men |
9.00
|
9.00
|
9.00
|
| Antwone Fisher |
8.0
|
10.00
|
9.00
|
| Crash |
8.50
|
9.00
|
9.00
|
| Dirty, Filthy Love |
10.00
|
8.00
|
9.00
|
| Memento |
8.83
|
8.96
|
8.89
|
| Lars and the Real Girl |
8.36
|
8.68
|
8.52
|
| Nurse Betty |
8.33
|
8.71
|
8.52
|
| As Good As It Gets |
9.00
|
8.00
|
8.50
|
| Sunset Boulevard |
7.80
|
9.00
|
8.40
|
| One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest |
8.50
|
8.17
|
8.34
|
| Matchstick Men |
8.29
|
8.17
|
8.23
|
| Girl, Interrupted |
8.13
|
8.29
|
8.21
|
| 50 First Dates |
7.88
|
8.50
|
8.19
|
| American Splendor |
8.00
|
8.33
|
8.17
|
| Sybil |
8.73
|
7.45
|
8.09
|
| Fatal Attraction |
8.40
|
7.60
|
8.00
|
| The Prince of Tides |
8.25
|
7.75
|
8.00
|
| Requiem for a Dream |
7.80
|
8.17
|
7.99
|
| Little Miss Sunshine |
7.67
|
8.22
|
7.95
|
| Ordinary People |
8.43
|
7.43
|
7.93
|
| K-Pax |
7.38
|
8.38
|
7.88
|
| Stand by Me |
7.89
|
7.83
|
7.86
|
| Thank You for Smoking |
6.80
|
8.71
|
7.76
|
| Analyze This |
7.14
|
8.29
|
7.72
|
| Adaptation |
7.40
|
8.00
|
7.70
|
| Rounders |
7.57
|
7.71
|
7.64
|
| Three Faces of Eve |
8.00
|
7.25
|
7.63
|
| Safe House |
8.00
|
7.20
|
7.60
|
| The Breakfast Club |
7.08
|
8.08
|
7.58
|
| The Weather Man |
7.50
|
7.50
|
7.50
|
| Fearless |
8.20
|
6.76
|
7.48
|
| The Woodsman |
7.78
|
6.95
|
7.37
|
| Primal Fear |
7.33
|
7.25
|
7.29
|
| Bowling for Columbine |
7.83
|
6.57
|
7.20
|
| Lifeboat |
7.00
|
7.25
|
7.13
|
| Thumbsucker |
7.25
|
7.00
|
7.13
|
| Spider |
7.88
|
6.33
|
7.11
|
| Fahrenheit 911 |
6.86
|
7.29
|
7.08
|
| The Caine Mutiny |
7.63
|
6.35
|
6.99
|
| Supersize Me |
6.00
|
7.89
|
6.95
|
| All About Eve |
7.88
|
6.00
|
6.94
|
| The Ox-Bow Incident |
7.75
|
6.00
|
6.88
|
| What About Bob? |
5.90
|
7.78
|
6.84
|
| Shine |
7.50
|
6.13
|
6.82
|
| Beautiful People |
6.33
|
7.00
|
6.67
|
| Sicko |
6.00
|
7.29
|
6.67
|
| Cinemania |
7.14
|
5.91
|
6.53
|
| Cosi |
7.00
|
6.00
|
6.50
|
| The Squid and the Whale |
6.65
|
6.21
|
6.43
|
| Lost Weekend |
7.00
|
5.50
|
6.25
|
| Canvas |
7.17
|
5.25
|
6.21
|
| Clean, Shaven |
7.67
|
4.67
|
6.17
|
| The Odd Couple |
5.60
|
6.33
|
5.97
|
| The Snake Pit |
6.17
|
5.67
|
5.92
|
| Revolution #9 |
5.22
|
5.63
|
5.43
|
| Rocket Science |
4.33
|
6.50
|
5.42
|
| Lilith |
6.20
|
4.50
|
5.35
|
| Me, Myself, and Irene |
5.00
|
5.20
|
5.10
|
| The Pickpocket |
5.43
|
4.70
|
5.07
|
| Rashomon |
5.35
|
4.50
|
4.93
|
|
