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The Wizard of Oz Most 'Influential' Film of all Time According to Network Science:
The Wizard of Oz, followed by Star Wars and Psycho, is identified as the most influential film of all time in a study published in the open access journal Applied Network Science.
Researchers at the University of Turin, Italy, calculated an influence score for 47,000 films listed in IMDb (the internet movie database). The score was based on how much each film had been referenced by subsequent films. The authors found that the top 20 most influential films were all produced before 1980 and mostly in the United States.
Dr. Livio Bioglio, the lead author, said: "We propose an alternative method to box office takings—which are affected by factors beyond the quality of the film such as advertising and distribution—and reviews—which are ultimately subjective—for analysing the success of a film. We have developed an algorithm that uses references between movies as a measure for success, and which can also be used to evaluate the career of directors, actors and actresses, by considering their participation in top-scoring movies."
Applying the algorithm to directors, the five men credited for The Wizard of Oz are all in the top eight, with Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick ranked third, fifth and sixth respectively. When the authors used another approach to remove the bias of older movies—which, because they were produced earlier, can potentially influence a greater number of subsequent films—Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg and Brian De Palma occupied the top spots instead.
When applied to actors, the algorithm ranked Samuel L. Jackson, Clint Eastwood and Tom Cruise as the top three. The authors noticed a strong gender bias towards male actors; the only female in the top ten was Lois Maxwell, who played the recurring role of Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond franchise.
[...] The authors suggest that their method could be used for research in the arts and by film historians. However, they caution that the results can only be applied to Western cinema as the data on IMDb are strongly biased towards films produced in Western countries.
Explore further: Automated method beats critics in picking great movies
More information: Livio Bioglio et al, "Identification of key films and personalities in the history of cinema from a Western perspective", Applied Network Science (2018). DOI: 10.1007/s41109-018-0105-0
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 02 2018, @02:53AM (8 children)
"When applied to actors, the algorithm ranked Samuel L. Jackson, Clint Eastwood and Tom Cruise as the top three."
These are the End Times.
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 02 2018, @03:17AM (5 children)
Just that you know who those people are makes you an idiot.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by NateMich on Sunday December 02 2018, @03:47AM (4 children)
It would be quite an accomplishment to not know who they are. Even if you haven't seen a movie in two decades.
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 02 2018, @04:34AM (2 children)
"It's stinky! Stinky, stinky!" someone bellowed. The language used was that of a child's, but the person who shouted it had the voice of an adult male. Looking around the dim room, one could see an obese man pinching his nostrils shut. Indeed, the foul odor present in the room was intolerable. Where was it coming from? The man looked around.
"Ah." Bigham muttered. Having found the location of the obnoxious stench, the man slowly nodded his head as if recalling something. Bigham's actions had produced too much garbage, and it was all rotting away in his house because he was too lazy to throw it out. Thus, this undesirable outcome was the result.
Finally, the riddle had been solved. They were garbage now. Yes, "they"; those children, that is. When was it? Bigham remembered that he had tortured and violated those kids a few months ago. Since the man became too rough, the little ones all quickly broke and became trash that could only rot away and inconvenience him. "How dare they!" Bigham shouted, as he kicked one of the children's corpses. Yes, this poor man was being oppressed by these mutilated, rotten corpses. Would this righteous man let his oppressors get away with their heinous actions? No. This injustice will not stand.
Not long after that, a number of human corpses were found in a dumpster. However, these corpses were so mangled and devastated that it raised the question of whether they were even human corpses to begin with, as though they had drawn the ire of a madman. This led many to conclude that men's rights are truly a wondrous phenomenon.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 02 2018, @08:22PM (1 child)
Do all of your characters go by their last names, or do you just suck at thinking of names?
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Monday December 03 2018, @03:08PM
Perhaps it's because the main characters are male. There's a traditional piece of sexism in English literature whereby men are usually denoted by their last names, and women by their first names.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Sunday December 02 2018, @11:45AM
If I understand correctly, his decision to run for Mayor of Carmel, California had something to do with his dispute between the city - more like a town, Carmel works very hard to preserve it's quaintly touristy character - and Eastwood's Ice Cream Shoppe.
I watch a city council meeting on the TV news. Eastwood struck me as having been a wise and benevolent ruler.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 02 2018, @03:53AM (1 child)
While I agree it's distressing, at least those three actors have some chance of being viewed as "influential" or at least well-known.
The fact that the only highly-ranked female actress was a random person in Bond films that many folks will never have even heard of should have been a clue that this algorithm is likely complete bullshit.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by realDonaldTrump on Sunday December 02 2018, @04:48AM
That one checks out. Very hard for a Female Actress to be in the Top Ten. So much comes down to, how do the breasts look? If she has nice Tits but no Brain, possibly she can do very well.
But for the movies it's bullshit. What about Home Alone 2: Lost in New York? Very successful film and it's the best of the 5. Because of me. I was very honered to play -- brilliantly -- Billionaire Donald J. Trump, Owner of the luxurious Plaza Hotel in New York. But we had some tremendous Female Actresses in that one. Catherine from Canada. And Brenda Fricker of Ireland. She doesn't do Porn. But, she should have. Because she was very "sexy." I had some great times with her. And she has the best name for Porn. The absolute best. PERFECTO!!
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Snotnose on Sunday December 02 2018, @04:37AM (7 children)
Wizard of Oz was shown once a year, on Sunday night. Dad was a religious fanatic, we went to church Sunday morning and night, and Wednesday night. I really wanted to see the movie, but had to go to church. I got to be about 10 and started asking questions. Got answers like "Well, ya gotta believe". I didn't believe, hence the questions.
Long story short, Wizard of Oz showing up on TV 1 night a year was a big step in my becoming an atheist.
I came. I saw. I forgot why I came.
(Score: 2) by istartedi on Sunday December 02 2018, @06:22AM (2 children)
It was shown once a year in the 70s too. I remember it well. My parents weren't religious fanatics so I got to see it. Things like that kept Oz alive in our consciousness. It even got to "go viral" with that Pink Floyd mashup. Oz references worked their way into the popular culture. Frank Baum set out to create an American fairy tale, and he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. I can't really dispute the algorithm on this one.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 03 2018, @02:50AM (1 child)
Frank Baum did not write the move version you know and love.
I highly recommend watching the more true-to-the-book version produced a few years earlier than the color version. It's a black and white, silent movie called The Wizard of Oz. Not only is the story completely different, but it shows what an absolutely amazing transition the movie industry took in less than a decade. Look at the silent, B&W 'Wiz movie as the before, and the technicolor version as the after, and no friggin wonder it was such a mega hit. (Besides being an absolutely flawless example of the Hero's Journey long before anyone even knew it as the 'Hero's Journey'.)
(Score: 2) by istartedi on Tuesday December 04 2018, @05:46PM
Movies are almost never faithful to the book. That's a given. The most noted difference is the movie's ruby slippers. In the book they're silver. This feeds into the notion that the story was inspired by the politics of the time in which it was written. I believe this was something that Baum denied, but I'm too lazy to look it up. IIRC, the main reason for changing the color of the slippers was to show off Technicolor. It's hard to argue with the results. I have no problem with the power of screenwriters taking license, even though it doesn't always work out so well.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Sunday December 02 2018, @08:06AM (1 child)
- to church. I was five years old, it wasn't a Sunday School Class, but it was a church group for five year olds.
But Mom and Dad both told me I absolutely _had_ to stay home. I was bitterly disappointed but did not protest.
Then Dad turned on the TV as Mom called Jeannie into the living room. I have to miss church to watch TV? I was incredulous.
While my family had a Black and White TV, because Dad was an Electrical Engineer, he kept our TV in mint condition. From time to time he'd bring a small suitcase home from work, but inside there was no space for clothes. "It's a tube tester," Dad would say, but I did understand. Dad always cautioned me to stay well away from our television when he was testing its tubes.
Even so, the poor images on the screen were far, far worse than for example the news from Vietnam, or Jeannie's and my Saturday Morning Cartoons.
The screen was all grey, I didn't understand the images I was seeing.
Then I heard a calm voice saying some numbers, slowly and steadily counting down. From time to time there was a loud beep. I didn't understand that beep either.
But I understood full well when those mysteries grey images stopped shifting, and that calm voice stopped counting. He paused for a little bit, then just as calmly said:
"Tranquility Base Here. The Eagle has landed."
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 02 2018, @12:39PM
I can remember the (just) 5 year old me watching on our old B&W telly, my father might have been a communist and no great supporter of the US, but when it came to those things they did which advanced Humanity he was behind them.
The first time I listened to this song on an album I found on a quasi-random trawl of the interwibblez those memories came flooding back (with some tears as well for times and people now gone, I'm not ashamed to say)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWx8V4I8sis [youtube.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 02 2018, @11:00AM
What divine wisdom [theosophical.org] have you subsequently found?
Is there good reason [wikipedia.org] for the continued popularity?
(Score: 5, Interesting) by deadstick on Sunday December 02 2018, @01:38PM
I was a kid long before that, and I was an early reader. My mom, Dr. Seuss and L. Frank Baum, in that order, taught me to read, and by the time The Wizard came to town, I'd read my way through five or six books of the Oz canon. Needless to say, I was really hot to see it.
It was a disaster. A few minutes in, I found that MGM had turned my favorite gripping adventure story into a frothy, brainless musical. And the worst was yet to come: at the end, they tacked on a silly-ass "It was only a dream" ending.
So that's where I learned what Hollywood does to literature.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Sunday December 02 2018, @07:55AM (3 children)
I've long been able to sing if I warm up properly, or harmonize with someone else first, sing with an accompanist &c.
But really the only time I've ever sung solo for my mother, she pulled her car into her parking lot, took her billfold out of her purse then just handed me a hundred bucks. :-/
That was not my intention.
But twice now I've been tipped $20 bills, five or six times $10 bills, once or twice a week I get $5. The fastest I've ever gotten tipped was $8.50 in a little over twenty minutes. It's going to be a good long time before my singing career outpaces that of my coding.
But now I'm generally able to sing both consistently and well.
I was just in the ER again, this time I was _completely_ convinced I was dying. I Rode In Style with lights and sirens but I most confess, I didn't enjoy the experience. I'm home now but the dizziness and nauseau have returned and the head rush is coming on again. This has not been at all like my other ER visits. I still have vocal aphasia but not written aphasia.
So I have to chill for a while before I can record my cover.
I've got a reasonably good setup, not quite pro recording, but good-quality recording. When I recording "Michael David Crawford LIVE! On Broadway (... and Morrison in Portland, Oregon) I'll buy a quality Mic and one of the Zoom Hx Handy Recorders [zoom-na.com].
The main thing getting in the way of releasing my vocal album is learning enough material to fill out a complete CD. I have to sing a song on the street holding the lyrics in my hand before I can memorize them.
Also standing in my way is that it's so much easier just to sing the songs I already know but my set is only twenty-minutes long. There's an outdoor cafe just yards - that would be just (meters * 0.9144) for my many foreign friends - from my best corner. Without a doubt by now I've driven every one of its baristas totally bananas.
Here's my entire set:
After quite some consideration, I've decided to call my own cover "Ballad Of The Rising Sun" as the melody is original with me, and are very slow, solemn and sorrowful.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Monday December 03 2018, @03:18PM (1 child)
The old Rising Sun is so much better than the Animal's version from the 60's (or was it the 70's? I forget)
I used to sing Josh White's version, with a lot of strange chords, but I've completely forgotten the chord sequences.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday December 03 2018, @05:07PM
https://youtu.be/M8Ueo7r2nbA [youtu.be]
Thank you for that.
When I get home this afternoon, I'll play that with my volume turned all the way up to 11.
I can't play music during the day at NedSpace, and I busted by headphones. (There are some members here who absolutely require silence. I'm OK with that because I keep my volume turned all the way up to 11 when I work at night.)
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Saturday December 08 2018, @11:34PM
Watch out for the H100. Its input volume control is digital, which means it takes effect after the A-to-D converter. So if your input is too loud, the signal pegs at the limits of the A-to-D, which causes unacceptable distortion.
The proper place for an input volume control is before the A-to-D converter. Anyplace else and you can just as well do it on the computer that processes the WAV files.
Later H*'s can be different on this front. One (not sure which one) has a switch to attenuate the input. Only two attenuation settings, but a choice of two is better than no choice.
-- hendrik
(Score: 3, Funny) by Bot on Sunday December 02 2018, @01:41PM (3 children)
Barbarella > Zardoz > Death race 2000 > Rollerball > the wizard of Oz and star wars is off the map. Heathens.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 02 2018, @05:14PM
Barbarella did give us all of the '70s space-chick-wearing-a-strip-of-masking-tape artwork and the reactionary put-her-in-a-burka feminism [8ch.net] from SFWA et al.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday December 03 2018, @02:24AM (1 child)
Said of the Zardoz crew.
I wonder whether it helped or hindered sean connery's career.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 3, Funny) by Magic Oddball on Monday December 03 2018, @03:11AM
Nah, not all of it — I'm certain a pretty good chunk of that special effects budget was spent in advance to buy hallucinogens for the script writers.
(Score: 1) by zzarko on Sunday December 02 2018, @08:55PM
Good work, algorithm! Now, back to the drawing board...
C64 BASIC: 1 a=rnd(-52028):fori=1to8:a=rnd(1):next:fori=1to5:?chr$(rnd(1)*26+65);:next
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 03 2018, @11:12AM
... heinous and non-triumphant, dudes.