2001: A Space Odyssey wins best film tournament

2001 defeats The Good, the Bad and the Ugly by three votes

A tournament of 64 films split into two divisions, six voting rounds, and a final decided by the narrowest possible margin: 101 votes to 98. Kubrick’s space odyssey takes the title, but the real shock is Sergio Leone’s western finishing second. It started by crushing Life Is Beautiful 50-6 and ended just three votes from glory. The organizer sums it up plainly: “In the end, the one with the monkeys won.”

The tournament began with a simple idea: select 64 representative titles and pit them against each other in elimination brackets. Two people curated the list, which the published balance sheet deemed “sufficiently representative.” No one anticipated how the bracket would behave. The first major upset came when Mulholland Drive lost to The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance in the most-voted matchup so far. The organizer called it “strange circumstances,” but it acted as a catalyst: participation surged afterward.

Classic westerns fade, spaghetti westerns dominate

The organizer’s diagnosis is harsh for part of the canon: “The classic western is struggling, and I don’t think it will recover.” John Ford had two entries, neither advanced far. The Searchers fell in the first round. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance lasted until the Round of 16, where Seven Samurai eliminated it. Kurosawa’s lone entry was a giant-slayer, also taking down Vertigo; only the eventual winner stopped it.

While Ford faltered, Leone grew stronger each round with what the organizer calls an “impeccable” run: 56-26 over One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, 52-42 over Goodfellas, 77-71 over The Godfather Part II, and 65-59 over The Godfather. Four iconic casualties before the final. The balance sheet offers a sociological explanation: in a forum with this demographic, a spaghetti western starring Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, and Lee Van Cleef “was going to get a lot of support,” though the final volume surprised even the organizer.

Nolan, Wilder, and French New Wave are top losers

Reviewing the eliminated films reveals a generational shift in taste. Nolan had three selections, none passed the first cut. Billy Wilder had four titles, but only Sunset Boulevard survived the first round, falling shortly after. Coppola lost Apocalypse Now in the first round to Seven Samurai and saw his two Godfathers miss their dream divisional final clash.

Classic icons didn’t fare well either. Citizen Kane, 12 Angry Men, and both Chaplin selections were eliminated decisively. Godard and Truffaut had a “virtually token” presence. Hitchcock competed with Vertigo and Psycho “without great results,” and the organizer admits expecting much more, especially from Vertigo. Exceptions to the classics’ decline were Gone With the Wind, reaching the divisional semifinals against Barry Lyndon, and Casablanca, which knocked out one of Nolan’s Batman films and beat Lord of the Rings in a “very tight” duel before losing to The Godfather.

The discovery that justified the effort

Among the losers, one exception stands out as personal compensation for the organizer: Tokyo Story by Ozu, and its actress Setsuko Hara. He admits he didn’t know the film or director beforehand, but the tournament let him discover “that marvel” and an actress he now considers “one of my cinematic goddesses.” The Japanese title finished 16th with 57 votes, a performance the balance sheet calls unexpected.

The winner, however, didn’t surprise the organizer. He knew 2001: A Space Odyssey would go far because it “is in very good health”: sixty years later, it still sparks heated debates and new re-releases, and theatrical screenings sell out like concerts. “It’s a movie that will outlive us all,” he concludes.

Final standings and bracket numbers

The podium is completed by The Godfather (316 votes) and Barry Lyndon (202). Behind them: The Godfather Part II (192), Gone With the Wind (139), The Sting (133), Seven Samurai (127), Liberty Valance (112), The Matrix (111), and Goodfellas (109). Closing the table: The Shawshank Redemption (95), Taxi Driver (89), Psycho (87), Casablanca (72), Tokyo Story (57), Sunset Boulevard (69), and Fight Club (58).

Post-result discussions moved to other fronts. Silent cinema was missed in the selection: the first Mabuse, Sunrise, the Nibelungen trilogy, Buster Keaton, Nosferatu, Griffith, or silent-era Hitchcock. Ben-Hur’s absence was also noted. A concrete proposal emerged for future editions: a European cinema tournament, plus the idea of a series-focused competition.

With these numbers on the table, predicting the next tournament is risky. The only certainty is that the three-vote margin leaves the door open for a rematch that, given the spaghetti western’s trajectory, no one should rule out.