Who is Still Netflixing 'Crash'?
Filed under: Awards, Home Entertainment
When I first saw the Chicago Tribune headline "'Crash' remains top DVD rental,' I was really hoping it was referring to Cronenberg's 1996 film about car crash fetishists. Sadly, it was referring to the Oscar-winning film from 2005 about interconnected Los Angelinos and their issues with class, race, and general navel-gazing.
Even Crash's director Paul Haggis isn't sure why his movie is still top of the pops at Netflix. He told the Chicago Tribune, "I just assumed it was some sort of anomaly... I have no idea why anyone went to the movie in the first place, let alone rent it. It was a little independent film, and when people started to see it, I was amazed."
Haggis, along with many viewers, was also surprised his movie won the Oscar for best picture in 2005, beating out Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Good Night, and Good Luck, and Munich. "It's certainly not a perfect movie," Haggis said. "I love the Oscars; I just think they are the best thing in the world, but if you asked me if it was the best film of the year, I'd say, 'Of course not.'" (So would a lot of people.)
It might have something to do with the Netflix recommending algorithm, which is great but definitely fallible -- it seems to think I want to see 27 Dresses and Henry Poole is Here. Or maybe people are really committed to watching all 81 best picture winners now that they're unemployed. What's your guess?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-15-2009 @ 4:30PM
ehcflatpicker said...
Man, I don't know. But if doesn't stop suggesting "Water Horse: Legend of the Deep" then I'm going to cancel my subscription.
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4-15-2009 @ 4:41PM
Thomas said...
This article reminds me that I haven't seen "Crash" in awhile. I should bump that up to the top of my Netflix queue.
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4-15-2009 @ 4:45PM
Bikny said...
I saw crash and liked it, but to hold the #1 spot on Netflix for as long as it has something must have gone wrong with their ranking system.
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4-15-2009 @ 5:15PM
anvil_laveen said...
http://www.nthposition.com/crashandtheself-indulgence.php
Crash is a white-supremacist movie.
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4-15-2009 @ 5:19PM
Mike said...
It does seem odd that Crash would be no.1 on Netflix, but I'm so sick of hearing or reading about how it shouldn't have won the Oscar. It's a popular whipping boy in a way that I don't even remember Shakespeare in Love being, even though that beat out a much more heavily favored Saving Private Ryan. Yeah, the movie was about as subtle as a sledgehammer to the head. But whoever said the Academy rewards subtlety?
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4-15-2009 @ 5:33PM
PhyerFly said...
I think it's a issue of perpetuity. I myself remember going to the most rented list on Netflix when I first got the service and started queuing things up from that list because I was too lazy to search for movies I might like.
It's at the top because a lot of people rented it initially and it's probably staying there because people see it at the top of the list and assume it must be a good movie.
It's like if the "New Releases" shelf at a brick and mortar video store never changed - new people would still probably rent those movies over and over just because they're on display.
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4-15-2009 @ 5:36PM
Monika said...
Again, I'm drawn to the less popular choices. I actually really like the film... Which also makes the fact that a film I appreciate is getting rented so many times REALLY strange. :)
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4-15-2009 @ 10:02PM
Joe said...
Henry Poole is Here is a quite an excellent movie. I'd reccommend adding it to the top. Crash probably qualifies for every stupid niche that Netflix has created. Award WInning Critic's Faves Racial Issues Political Police Drama anyone?
http://ireadsomething.blogspot.com
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4-15-2009 @ 7:29PM
MCW said...
Hey Jenni, do yourself a favor and see "Henry Poole is Here". Don't talk smack about something you haven't even considered... it's probably Luke Wilson's best.
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4-15-2009 @ 7:35PM
NvM said...
The first time I actually watched Crash was through Netflix only because I saw that my friend who recommended it also rented Crash and kept it.
I really enjoyed it though
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4-17-2009 @ 1:42PM
MFox said...
I'm sorry but people should know that Haggis is the bigwig at the Scientology Celeb Center in Los Angeles and the church makes certain this flick stays on the #1.
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