I probably should just make this as a quick answer to Adam's post but think it might be more noticed here.

What I think makes a great movie is that you relate to the character(s). You see yourself as them, doing what they do, being who they are. We have all been Scarlett O'Hara, told by someone we love that they don't give a damn. Like Luke, we have hated our fathers and tried to best them. We have run away from our parents only to realize we are so much like them like Michael Corleone. We want to be children again like Charles Kane. We want to win when everyone tells us to give up like Maggie Fitzgerald. The list can be endless.

The list is also different for each person, depending on who they feel they can most relate to.

In the end its something that the person watching loses themselves in the film. Usually it is because at some level of their consciousness, they walk in the characters shoes, know that no matter what the consequence, they would do the same thing the character does given their circumstances. The story tells us there might be many possibilities but THIS is the one that happened, is happening and will always happen no matter how many ways the fates throw their dice.

While I have not thought this through, I think this might apply to all art forms: song, painting, the written word, etc. What's your opinion?

Great characters? Sex and Violence? Zombies?

It's all very subjective. But some suggestions are probably less subjective than others.

I figure if we poll millions of people, and pool together the most common answers, we have a formula for the perfect movie. We can start with the six or so people who read this blog...

Any thoughts?