[inetsee]

I have read that the best way to get started in finding good films is to use awards as a starting point: Academy Awards, Directors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards. These organizations are made up of people who live and breathe film making, and they vote for what they think is the best, not the most popular.

Note that their choices aren't perfect; I've watched some movies that won awards that I really didn't like. That said, I think these sources are a better starting point than lists based solely on popularity.

[kinghtown]

Sight and Sound put out two excellent lists every ten years. 100 best films of all time as voted by filmmakers and another list voted on by published critics. I prefer the filmmaker list overall but it’s interesting to see how the darlings wax and wane over the years. Citizen Kane dominated for decades but now it’s Vertigo.

https://www2.bfi.org.uk/greatest-films-all-time

[alexilliamson]

I love this list, last year I added like 20 movies to my watch list from it.

[kinghtown]

I first learned about it like twenty years ago. Some of them really need a second or third viewing to click.

When I was younger, it seemed obvious to me that Grand Illusion is the greatest Renoir film, easy. Rules of the Game was a head scratcher. I never understood why it was so highly regarded. It seemed more dated and slow. But now that I’m a little older I can see what’s great about it a little more clearly.

The list does seem a little too top heavy with B&W films from the 40s but most days I find myself agreeing with that era being best.

[BeetleB]

A while ago I decided to watch all the Oscar Best Movie winners. I think I got to 2005 before I stopped.

While some of them definitely were great, a lot (perhaps half?) really did not impress.

The IMDB 250 list is one I more consistently like. At one point I had seen over 240 of them, and was less frequently disappointed. The list is dynamic, though, so I'm sure there are plenty more now that I've not seen.

[mg]

Are there examples of movies that won big/many awards but score low in crowd sourced ratings?

[BeetleB]

Depends on what you mean by "low". Many of the Oscar winners don't rank particularly high. Some examples:

The Greatest Show on Earth

Gigi

Tom Jones

[JoeAltmaier]

Maybe the wrong crowd to use as a litmus test for 'enjoyable'. Like a muscle car expert may not choose a good family sedan for my small family, the experts value features that may be irrelevant to the rest of us.