(Roughly) Daily

As one prepares to add to one’s Netflix queue, it’s helpful to have a little guidance.  There’s Rotten Tomatoes, of course; but as wonderful as it is, it requires one to ask after specific films.  And then there’s Netflix’s own near-neighbor matching algorithm  (“recommended for you”)… but sometimes there’s just no accounting for one’s neighbors’ taste.

Happily, the good folks at Vodkaster, the French cinephile site, have stepped into the breech– and delivered a gift that is, if not quite as momentous as the Statue of Liberty , nonetheless altogether nifty, “The 250 Best Films Map” (… as voted by IMDb users on the 19th of June, 2009; English version here).  A taste:

See the full map (and download it in various sizes/resolutions) here.

As we fire up the popcorn maker, we might celebrate two artistic anniversaries:  it was on this date in 1910 that the exquisite British comedy team, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, arrived in the U.S. (on tour with an English vaudeville troupe).  Then, 31 years to the day later, The Maltese Falcon opened.

The One-Sheet