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The French Lieutenant's Woman

1981 · directed by Karel Reisz · 124 min
22,657 feet · Prominence
1,733rd of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw37

Lifetime worldwide gross $27m, re-releases included; about $98m in 2026 money.

Rank2,989 of 11,051In 198131 of 90

How Draw works

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

Praise85

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics74 baseAwards83 signal → +11 lift

Oscars5 nominated Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Costume Design, Production Design, Film Editing
Golden Globes1 won Actress2 nominated Best Picture, Screenplay
BAFTAs2 won Actress, Sound5 nominated Best Picture, Directing, Lead acting, Screenplay, Craft and other
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; Streep, admired but faded.

Verdict42 of 100IMDb6.9 from 16kWikipedia10k views a monthAge45 years

On the listsCriterion Collectionevidence, not an input to the score
Scored beside it · 1,637 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 37 praise 85 legacy 42averages 55, placing it at22,657 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

Meryl Streep19,648 ftJeremy Irons19,459 ftPenelope Wilton17,803 ftDavid Warner17,641 ftRichard Griffiths17,630 ftLeo McKern17,625 ft