500 Greatest Movies of All Time

[Fido]

There are many inconsistencies like that on the two lists. I know they haven't done a full update with those films, but I see no reason not to wait for it, since it will probably be in a couple of months.

[Area Man]

On the old forums, I brought up adding The Magnificent Seven (1960) and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) to this list. I believe that the consensus was against this, arguing that John Sturges was too undistinguished a director to have more than one film on the list (his The Great Escape [1963] already being on it) and that two Star Wars pictures was enough (even though all three Lord of the Rings pictures are on the list). For the sake of conversation, I'm going to, once again, put forth the argument that these two movies have what it takes to be on the main list.

Credentials for The Magnificent Seven (1960):
1. Although a remake of Seven Samurai (1954), this film, along with next year's The Guns of Navarone (1961), was instrumental in laying down the building blocks of the modern-style action-adventure picture in the West (no pun intended exactly). The macho men-on-a-mission movie with colorful characters cracking wise as they mow down waves of faceless baddies to incredible theme music arguably started here.
2. It was, at one point at least, the second-most-played movie on American television (after The Wizard of Oz [1939]).
3. Elmer Bernstein's Oscar-nominated musical score, which became the theme for Marlboro cigarettes for a while, is truly iconic, being ranked the eighth-best musical score for an American-made movie by the American Film Institute and practically becoming synonymous with the western genre (often being referenced in popular culture).
4. It was a critical launchpad for further success for many of the now-iconic cast members.
5. It's on the United States' National Film Registry.
6. It started a film series, inspired a T.V. show of the same name, and resulted in a remake.
7. It became the highest-grossing Hollywood movie in the Soviet Union at the time.
8. The Clash released as song titled "The Magnificent Seven."
9. The film's "Tomatometer" (critics' approval rating) is 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, with its "Popcornmeter" (audiences' approval rating) being 87% on Rotten Tomatoes
10. On the rank-every-movie-you've-ever-seen website FlickChart, it's ranked at #270 overall.
11. The American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Thrills retrospective named it the #79th most exciting American-made movie of all time.
12. It has a 7.7 rating on IMDb, out of about 105,000 votes.

Credentials for Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983):
1. It was the highest-grossing movie of 1983, with its per-theater-average in the United States on an inflation-adjusted basis not being beaten until Avengers: Endgame (2019).
2. It's on the United States' National Film Registry.
3. It introduced even more iconic Star Wars characters, such as Jabba the Hutt, the Ewoks, the Ian McDiarmid version of Emperor Palpatine, and Admiral Ackbar (who was a fan favorite even before the "It's a trap!" meme).
4. It was nominated for four regular Oscars (Best Art Direction, Best Original Score, Best Sound Effects Editing, and Best Sound), and won a special Oscar for Visual Effects.
5. It is probably mostly responsible for adding the "villain redemption trope" to the Star Wars franchise.
6. Its overall rank on FlickChart is a whopping #7.
7. For Rotten Tomatoes, its "Tomatometer" is 82%, while its "Popcornmeter" is 94%. The separate RT page for its 40th Anniversary re-release has its "Popcornmeter" being 99%, with no "Tomatometer" given.
8. Its rating on IMDb is 8.3 (making it #93 on that website's Top 250 of all time list) out of 1,200,000 votes, with it being the 54th-most-seen film on IMDb.
9. It was one of 400 American-made films to be on the ballot for the 1998 edition of the American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Movies retrospective.
10. John Williams' musical score introduced several more tunes now famous to Star Wars fans.
11. The 40th anniversary theatrical re-release of the movie made it to #4 at the box office for the weekend.
12. The Star Wars franchise would continue on in a pretty healthy shape after its release.

Okay, I'm throwing one more film's hat into the ring: The Guns of Navarone (1961). I think it has a solid chance of meeting the list's criteria.

Credentials for The Guns of Navarone (1961):
1. Like the aforementioned The Magnificent Seven (1960), it was a critical entry into the modern-style action-adventure genre, playing an extremely important role in laying down the building blocks of that style. Two of the leading choices to play James Bond in Dr. No (1962) (David Niven and Stanley Baker) starred in this picture.
2. It was nominated for seven Oscars (Best Motion Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay - Based on Material from Another Medium, Best Film Editing, Best Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, Best Sound, and Best Special Effects), winning one (the Best Special Effects one).
3. It was nominated for three Golden Globes (Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Director - Motion Picture, and Best Original Score - Motion Picture), winning two (the Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Original Score - Motion Picture ones).
4. It had a sequel (Force 10 from Navarone [1978]).
5. It was ranked the #89th most exciting American-made movie as part of the American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Thrills retrospective.
6. It was one of the first (if not the first) cinematic adaptations of an Alistair MacLean book, paving the way for the likes of The Satan Bug (1965), Ice Station Zebra (1968), Where Eagles Dare (1968), Breakheart Pass (1975), Force 10 from Navarone (1978), etc.
7. Dimitri Tiomkin's Oscar-nominated musical score is famous, with the main theme being covered by The Skatalites, Johnny Griffin, Al Ciaola, and Hollyridge Strings.
8. It has a 7.5 rating on IMDb, out of 57,000 votes.
9. Its overall ranking on FlickChart is #806.
10. It was the second-highest grossing movie of 1961.
11. On Rotten Tomatoes, its "Tomatometer" is 92% and its "Popcornmeter" is 86%.
12. It's occasionally referenced in popular culture (including in Pulp Fiction [1994]), with the "In popular culture" section of the movie's Wikipedia page listing some of these instances.

I don't know the criteria as well as some of you, but I think that these three credentials breakdowns make compelling cases for their respective inclusions.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that, on Empire's Top 500 Movies list, Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi is #91 and The Magnificent Seven is #217. The Guns of Navarone didn't make the list.

[pauldrach]

All three are on their respective decade lists. Try to get them higher there first by comparing them with films you think they should be ahead of using the criteria. Mind that we are aware of their credentials, otherwise they wouldn't be on those lists.

[Dubrow555]

I could see Return of the Jedi a bit higher on the 80's list, but to get on the Top 500 list means we'd need to push it up a good 40+ slots on the 80's list, which I don't see as realistic.

[ManPerson]

Comparing Return of the Jedi to The Last Crusade since they should have fairly similar credentials
Initial Acclaim: Return of the Jedi close
Lasting Critical Acclaim: The Last Crusade close
Lasting Audience Acclaim: close
Initial Popularity: Return of the Jedi
Lasting Popularity: Return of the Jedi fairly easily
Influence: close

Comparing it to Beverly Hills Cop
Initial Acclaim: close
Lasting Critical Acclaim: close
Lasting Audience Acclaim: Return of the Jedi fairly easily
Initial Popularity: Return of the Jedi
Lasting Popularity: Return of the Jedi fairly easily
Influence: Beverly Hills Cop

So, I too could see it a bit higher.