Is There a Better Film Critic Than Father Time?

There are a number of individuals and institutions whose opinions are worthy of respect when it comes to the choosing of our Great American Films. Overall, though, I do find the idea of appointed and/or self-appointed deciders on such matters more than a little arrogant. In the end, taste really is subjective. For instance, some find “Black Swan” a landmark work in the history cinematic storytelling, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong in finding it slightly less interesting than my computer screensaver. However, I could be proven wrong. What say you and I revisit the subject in about 10 years? Because there is an arbiter on such matters I don’t argue with.

For my money, there’s simply no better film critic than Father Time. I’m talking about a list of films so beloved and cherished they’ve managed to withstand the onslaught of decades, an endless supply of competition (even in the form of remakes), and in some cases, a withering critical assault. And yet, through it all, these particular titles have managed to hold on to enough hearts in order to stay as alive and vital today as when they were first released — and in some cases even more so. These are the ones worthy of, say, a Blu-ray release.

This isn’t to say I always agree with Father Time. But when I disagree, I tend to respect the film regardless of my own opinion. For instance, Kubrick’s “2001” and Scorsese’s “Raging Bull” are part of my DVD collection, two films I periodically screen hoping to understand what all the hub-bub’s about. (Still no luck).

I call it “The Father Time Canon” and the qualification for entry has nothing to do with box office grosses or critical opinion. Hundreds of movies have been produced every year for almost a century now and so there’s only so much room on a television schedule and in the Walmart cut-out bin to decide which is worthy. Essentially, that’s the free market doing what it does best: through the democratic process of giving free people the freedom to choose, we discover which Hollywood offerings, regardless of how they were received upon release, still fire our imaginations.

There are titles on this list the critics laugh at, “Red Dawn,” “Road House,” and most everything John Wayne starred in not directed by John Ford or Howard Hawks. Then there’s “Shawshank Redemption,” a film pretty much ignored in theatres that today ranks as one of the most popular titles in the country. And then, of course, there are those that make perfect sense, those films both audiences and critics fell in love with upon release that will always be with us: “Star Wars,” “Sound of Music,” “Gone With the Wind,” and so on.

What I like most about “The Father Time Canon” is how democratic it is, and how no one person or institution, no matter how hard they try, can game the system. They can certainly nominate something, they can use whatever platform they’ve been given to beg us to see things their way. They can even insult us if we don’t.

But in the end, it’s really up to We The People, isn’t it?