I keep a regular check on the IMDB Top 250 to see if any new movies have made it to the elite list. Today I noticed that both Godfather and Shawshank Redemption have got the same weighted rating of 9.1
(I am not sure it was the same few months back, I guess Shawshank had a mean rating of 9 I believe)
Even though Shawshank has more number of votes (296,165 vs 250,516) compared to Godfather, its still placed at No 2.
I had a look at the formula used by IMDB
I am not sure if 9.1 is the weighted rating or the average rating (R). Irrespective of that, with the 50k vote difference and the above formula, I thought that Shawshank should have been placed at No 1 ?
I have no complaints on Godfather being No 1, I am just wondering as to what is preventing IMDB from placing Shawshank at the top ?
Either I am not doing the math right or IMDB feels that Shawshank is not in the same class as Godfather 
What do you guys think ?
Popularity: 3% [?]
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Well, I’ve not seen godfather but i’ve seen shawshank and shawshank was really cool. I’ve heard a lot about godfather and I guess my new year resolution will be to watch godfather
Nice catch though…even I’m not sure why shawshank isn’t at top…IMDB corrupt?????
I am a huge huge fan of both the movies…I would be pleased and disappointed at the same time if any one of them comes first
And both are very different movies…so I cannot really pick one…
The ratings are truncated to one decimal digit. I think the reason why Godfather is placed first might be because it is slightly ahead of Shawshank in second decimal place…
I agree with Vasuki. The rating have been truncated. So while we see both the ratings as 9.1, those are actually different.
Honestly, I think “The Godfather” is one of the most overrated movies ever. I would like “The Shawshank Redemption” to be no. 1.
Mayank, Godfather is definitely worth watching more than once
Vasu/Raj, probably there is truncation in the rating
With more “regular” voters voting in favor of Shawshank, it should probably eclipse Godfather soon ..
I too like both the movies, and in Godfather its more to do with the characters and the cast
Shawshank on the other hand is a powerful drama..
I am tempted to see both of these movies again
Both are great.
These are two of my favorites. I love both of these movies so it’s hard to pick but I’d have to say that the Godfather is a better film all together.
For me, Shawshank’s always been the winner and been “hoping” that it gets the elusive first spot.. After all, “hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies”.
Shawshank now has an average rating of 9.2 and still it has been placed as number 2, i don’t really get it