I've been going through all the films I've seen year by year and building them into ranked lists. In 2009, I hit a snag that I would like to get opinions on.
Where do you draw the line for inclusion/exclusion with a list of your greatest films?
I am going to list of types titles that have an entry on IMDB. Tell me what you think should not be included. Explanations are welcome.
Feature Films
Mini-Series: common examples include Dekalog, Berlin Alexanderplatz, Heimat, Lars Von Trier's The Kingdom, Lonesome Dove, Band of Brothers, Ken Burns' The Civil War, Das Boot, John Adams, It, Salem's Lot, TV versions of Scenes From a Marriage and fanny & Alexander
Limited run TV Series: When a show produces a small amount of episodes, the studio will sometimes release it to DVD as a mini-series. Examples include Firefly, Blue Planet
Short Films
Internet content Should "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" be considered?
Movies released on Cable most HBO films were made like any other film. They just didn't get theatrical release. Temple Grandin, Indictment: The McMartin Trial, Live From Baghdad
Made for TV Movies: Sarah Plain and Tall, The Day After, Brian's Song, Pirates of Silicon Valley, Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Sherlock: I don't know of another series that fits, but the current BBC series Sherlock consists of 90-minute installments.
Art Installations: Empire
TV Specials: Industrial Symphony No. 1, Toy Story of Terror, Prep & Landing
Music Videos: Bondo has argued in favor of this a number of times, and as someone who grew up with "Thriller" I understand his point.
Commercials: Easy to dismiss, but we accepted "Let's All Go to the Lobby" for the 1957 Retrospots.
That last one is what provoked this thread. Prep & Landing is 5-Stars, which would put it in my Top 25. It's not a feature, but it's not an episode of a TV series either. It was a holiday special made for television, now available on DVD where it plays as a short film.