Grit tops fantasy for film fans

<i>Once Were Warriors</i>, starring Temuera Morrison, won more votes for best local film than each of the <i>Lord of the Rings</i> trilogy. Photo / Supplied

A slow-burning jailbreak story has pipped the big-budget might of Avatar to win the title of New Zealand's favourite film.

The Shawshank Redemption was chosen as the best-ever film in an online poll of 10,000 people conducted by the film website flicks.co.nz and video rental company Video Ezy.

Lee Tamahori's hard-hitting classic Once Were Warriors was chosen as the greatest New Zealand-made film, pushing Peter Jackson's Oscar-winning Return of the King into second place.

Flicks editor Paul Scantlebury said The Shawshank Redemption had been a perennial favourite with New Zealanders, but the high placing of Steven Spielberg's Avatar was a surprise.

"It's a pretty big call to have Avatar that high on the list.

"The film is obviously riding high on just being released, there's still a lot of excitement about it.

"But more than any other film, people are getting riled about its placement."

Film reviewer Dominic Corry said Avatar still remained "more of an event than a film at this point".

"These polls often reflect the flavour of the moment, and for that reason, I'm surprised Twilight wasn't higher than 62nd place," he said.

Mr Scantlebury said the list reflected the younger demographic of the online voters, with only a few older generation pictures - The Godfather, Ben-Hur, and The Sound of Music - making the final list.

He said the other shock in the final tally was The Return of the King's not taking top spot in the New Zealand films list.

"It shows that people consider Once Were Warriors more of a New Zealand film. It is a more honest look at New Zealand culture, which people identified with more."

Mr Corry said the presence of films such as Pulp Fiction, Fight Club and Donnie Darko in the top 10 showed that New Zealand was developing a culture of film enthusiasts.

Sir Peter Jackson was predictably the most popular local director, with no less than eight of his films appearing on the list.

His early, low-budget splatter pictures Bad Taste and Braindead featured alongside the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Heavenly Creatures.

A separate vote on the worst films ever made put Battlefield Earth, based on the fiction of Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, in first place.

How they rated

* The best films ever made:

1. The Shawshank Redemption
2. Avatar
3. Pulp Fiction
4. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
5. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
6. Fight Club
7. The Godfather
8. The Dark Knight
9. Donnie Darko
10. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

* Top New Zealand films:

1. Once Were Warriors
2. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
3. Whale Rider
4. Goodbye Pork Pie
5. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
6. The Piano
7. Heavenly Creatures
8. The Lord of the Rings: The Twin Towers
9. The World's Fastest Indian
10. Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale

Source: flicks.co.nz