← Apex Mountain

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

1988 · directed by Philip Kaufman · 171 min
22,860 feet · Prominence
1,489th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw44

Lifetime worldwide gross $10m, re-releases included; about $28m in 2026 money.

Rank5,375 of 11,051In 198880 of 173

How Draw works

Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office, on one global curve, and nothing else. It does not know whether a film was good.

Praise84

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics80 baseAwards41 signal → +4 lift

Oscars2 nominated Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography
Golden Globes2 nominated Motion Picture, Supporting Actress
BAFTAs1 won Adapted Screenplay
How Praise works

Critics set the score; a tiered award record, Picture and Directing carrying the most weight, claims half the headroom above it. Praise is the verdict at the time; Legacy is the verdict since.

Legacy42

Judged directly: Criterion; admired literary adaptation, narrow reach.

Verdict42 of 100IMDb7.2 from 40kWikipedia14k views a monthAge38 years

On the listsCriterion Collectionevidence, not an input to the score
Scored beside it · 1,613 of 4,039 films judged

If it does not belong in this company, the number is wrong.

How Legacy works

Legacy is a judgment, not a formula. A film can be adored by critics and culturally quiet, or lightly reviewed and permanently lodged in the culture, and no arithmetic over IMDb numbers tells the difference. Every signal behind it keeps updating.

draw 44 praise 84 legacy 42averages 57, placing it at22,860 ft
How the three become one number

Added, not multiplied, so a film transcendent on one pillar and weak on another is not zeroed out. A compression curve then squeezes the top, because the seven greatest films ever made should not be four thousand feet apart.

In these careers — elevation for this film

Daniel Day-Lewis19,719 ftJuliette Binoche19,470 ftLena Olin18,876 ftStellan Skarsgård17,967 ft