50 films to see before you die.

[MonkeyFunk]

Last night Channel 4 did a documentary about 50 films to see before you die, as chosen by a load of experts. Here's the list:


2001: A Space Odyssey
A Bout de Souffle
Aguirre, the Wrath of God
Alien
All About Eve
Apartment, The
Apocalypse Now
Badlands
Black Narcissus
Boyz N the Hood
Brazil
Breakfast Club, The
Cabaret
Chinatown
City of God
Come and See
Dawn of the Dead
Donnie Darko
Erin Brockovich
Fanny and Alexander
Fight Club
Heavenly Creatures
Hero
Ipcress File, The
King of Comedy, The
Ladykillers, The
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India
Lost in Translation
Manhattan
Manhunter
Mulholland Drive
Night at the Opera
North by Northwest
Pink Flamingos
Player, The
Princess Mononoke
Pulp Fiction
Raising Arizona
Royal Tenenbaums, The
Scarface
Searchers, The
Secrets and Lies
Sexy Beast
Shawshank Redemption, The
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
This Sporting Life
Three Colours Blue
Touch of Evil
Trainspotting
Walkabout

Yeah.

[Lord Dalek]

They picked Lagaan and not Citizen Kane... WTF?

[Condiment King]

Some of the choices are odd, and I'm sure they left some out (like notably Citizen Kane), but this is actually a pretty well rounded list. Out of all the Coens, why did they choose two of their weakest (Raising Arizona and the Ladykillers)? Why is Scarface there and not the Godfather? Plenty of questions.

[Temple Fugate]

Lots of films I've never seen--and some I've never heard of--on this list. Here's my take on the ones I know:

2001: A Space Odyssey
This one's a no-brainer. A timeless masterpiece, yadda yadda yadda. What more can be said?

A Bout de Souffle (titled Breathless in the US)
It was good, and probably the finest example of French noir you'll get, but it didn't do much for me. Guess you have to be in the right state of mind to watch it. I think my primary problem with the movie was the main character kept disobeying the law. :p

Aguirre, the Wrath of God
Most people will hate this movie. My best friend showed it to me last month and I loved it. It's shot with a handheld camera most of the time, and in very close quarters, making it feel like it was a documentary produced during the Spanish search for El Dorado. Depressing from the start, and getting worse from there, this movie is one of the best examples of the fallacy of human pride and ambition I've ever seen.

Alien
Eh...why? The best thing about this film was its bold move at a teaser trailer that barely revealed anything so that audience members had no idea what to expect. It's kind of old-hat now, but if you're into extraterrestrial horror you can't go wrong.

Apocalypse Now
Lots of similarities between this and Aguirre. Depressing depressing depressing, and I'll never watch it twice. Didn't liked it much the first time, but that's probably because I just don't find movies put into a war setting all that great. It had a good story and great acting from a young Martin Sheen, so if you're not like me you'll probably love it.

Brazil
BRAZIIIIIIL! Comedic and frightening social satire. This movie puts Life of Brian in a blender with 1984 and sprinkles in a dash of "What the hell???"

Breakfast Club, The
Sure.

Chinatown
Great detective story and masterful direction. Modern noir flicks are few and far between, and only a couple actually pull it off. This is one of them.

Donnie Darko
I guess. But I would have thrown in Back to the Future Part III instead, just because the last thing this list needs is one more depressing main character. :p I really enjoyed this film, and anybody who's felt like an outcast in school--or life for that matter--might find some interesting feelings seeping from the cracks of this "destroy the world or change it" psychological adventure.

Fight Club
Okay, it was good, but why pick Fight Club when there are other movies that play off the dual-personae without all that testosterone?

North by Northwest
You can't make a list of good movies without this one, folks.

Princess Mononoke
Nah. Let's do Nausicaä instead if you want Miyazaki on this list. Similar message but lighter tone.

Pulp Fiction
Instant classic. Walken is a bonus none of us deserve in an already amazing movie.

Royal Tenenbaums, The
Unique directing and cinematography make this more than just another family drama.

Scarface
Which one, 30's or 80's? I'm guessing the one with Al, but wouldn't Godfather Part I or II have made a better choice?

Shawshank Redemption, The
Yep.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day
What the...??? Get off this list! You already have Alien, you can't have both. Actually, ditch Alien and go with T2.

Trainspotting
The detox/ceiling baby scene alone justifies its placement on this list.

I'm surprised a lot of good movies haven't shown up here. What about classics like Citizen Kane and the original Metropolis? The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari almost single-handedly defined noir film. Miyazaki is good for the list, but there are some fine American animations that should be on here too, such as Snow White or Secret of NIMH.

Overall, a good list, and I'm very thankfull they didn't include Titanic, but it still could use a little adjustment. Think I'll go rent some of these I haven't seen.

[Anarky]

hmm, 5 of 50
guess i got some catching up to do though i'm more of a tv/animation aficienado

i still haven't seen Pirates 2

[MonkeyFunk]

I'm guessing Citizen Kane (along with Casablanca, Godfather, Snow White, Gone with the Wind and other such movies) were left off because they're already so widely recognised as classics, and, also, are so widely watched - the list was probably restricted to movies you stand a chance of not seeing before you die.

(of course, in that light, you could question why Alien, T2, 2001 and Apocalypse Now are there...)

[RD!]

I can get behind this list. It's a nice selection of movies that should be seen because they're good (also enjoyable) movies not because they're in some canon of classic movies.

[NachoHat]

the Ladykillers?
Probably referring to the 1955 version.

[Condiment King]

Probably referring to the 1955 version.
I didn't even think of that. Hmm.

[Mr Cat Dog]

I stayed up 'till 1:20am to watch this... and since I'm not a regular AS watcher, I was shattered by the end of it all.

It counted them down from 50 to 1, and Apocalypse Now took the top spot (followed by The Apartment, City of God, Chinatown and something that I can't remember). I think this list was made for people who had seen all the "classic" films, such as Gone with the Wind, Snow White, Citizen Kane etc... and focused more on the ones that one might overlook.

[MonkeyFunk]

I watched it too... and I couldn't help but notice that George A. Romero, director of the Living Dead movies, has the biggest glasses ever.

[Mr Cat Dog]

I watched it too... and I couldn't help but notice that George A. Romero, director of the Living Dead movies, has the biggest glasses ever.Deidre Rachid has competition on her hands. They were massive even by her proportions. The strange thing is that I want to see most of those movies that were on the list (and will be watching Lost in Translation tonight).

[The Landstander]

Interesting list; for some they seemed to be avoiding the obvious choice in favor of something that might be less known (King of Comedy instead of Taxi Driver/Raging Bull; Touch of Evil instead of Citizen Kane). I disagree with some choices (Erin Brockovich? Donnie Darko?) but they have a really nice variety. They even have Pink Flamingos!

It was good, and probably the finest example of French noir you'll get, but it didn't do much for me. Guess you have to be in the right state of mind to watch it. I think my primary problem with the movie was the main character kept disobeying the law.I was a bit underwhelmed when I saw it too, but putting it into historical context helped it for me. Breathless was basically Godard doing everything differently than the movies of the time: the jump cuts, the unlikeable protagonists, movie culture being in a movie, natural street lighting, long shots of characters talking about nothing in particular, etc. It was the beginning of the French New Wave, which really got directors to start doing things differently than the usual 40s/50s studio system stuff.

I wouldn't call it a personal favorite (though I like it), but it was definetely an original.

[sun]

"Erin Brockovich" ahead of the "The Godfather" Sure...I didn't see the show, and unless it was stated that certain movies were left out on purpose becuase it assumes you have seen them..(I don't know if that was clearly stated) then the list is not complete...........
:lol:....................................................Stuart

[Terminatah]

I love Raising Arizona, so it was a pleasant surprise to see that one on there. But if someone were to sit down and watch all the movies on this list, they'd be missing something. For example, if you're gonna watch T2, you should probably watch Terminator first, because T2 pays off a lot of things that are set up in Terminator. And as long as you're doing that, you might as well watch T3 just to see how the saga continues. So, you put Terminator and T3 on the list, and you can just knock off two of the other ones. Doesn't matter which ones, because there's plenty good movies on the list already. So, let's just say Donnie Darko and Erin Brockovich.

-Terminatah

[beyondthewall]

Of all the brilliant Alfred Hitchcock movies released in his prolific fifty year career, they choose North by Northwest. I don't think that's even in the upper half of his output (side note: Cary Grant annoys me and I have difficulty enjoying any films that feature him very much). I mean Rebecca, Sabotage, Vertigo, Psycho, Rear Window, 39 Steps, Strangers on a Train etc. and yet it's always either North by Northwest or The Birds that goes as the Hitchcock representitive whenever they decide to go less mainstream than Psycho. It's starting to piss me off.

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Donnie Darko?

It was a good movie, but 'Must See'? Even if they're leaving off Citizen Kane/Gone With the Wind/all that Jazz, where's my "Its a Wonderful Life" and "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington".

And for a more recent film, "Field of Dreams". That's a lesser known must see if there ever was one.

[Nin-Nin69]

I'm glad Manhunter and Pink Flamingos are up there, but why Erin Brockovich? I'd also like to add Big Lebowski, Layer Cake, Videodrome, and Fear and Loathing.

While we're at it, we should replace Donnie Darko with Harvey since that's what this is based from.

Also if Miyazaki films count, then I vote Castle of Cagliostro, Castle in the Sky, and Nausicaa over Mononoke

[Terminatah]

the Ladykillers?Probably referring to the 1955 version.They really should specify, just so there's no confusion. What if someone goes to rent all these movies and gets the wrong Ladykillers? Or the wrong Dawn of the Dead? And don't get me started on Hero-- are they talking about the Chinese sword epic with Jet Li or the hilarious Dustin Hoffman comedy? If this was my list, it would be Dustin Hoffman by a mile.


It's starting to piss me off.It helps to remember that these kinds of lists don't say anything about the movies; they say something about the people who made the list. ;)

-Terminatah

[Nin-Nin69]

Of all the brilliant Alfred Hitchcock movies released in his prolific fifty year career, they choose North by Northwest. I don't think that's even in the upper half of his output (side note: Cary Grant annoys me and I have difficulty enjoying any films that feature him very much). I mean Rebecca, Sabotage, Vertigo, Psycho, Rear Window, 39 Steps, Strangers on a Train etc. and yet it's always either North by Northwest or The Birds that goes as the Hitchcock representitive whenever they decide to go less mainstream than Psycho. It's starting to piss me off.

North by Northwest is referenced the most, but I can see your point. Anyone who's never seen this movie before will notice that Cary Grant is not a "smooth operator" when it comes to the ladies. Even to this day I want to slap him just for saying "How does a girl like you get to be a girl like you?" or "When I was a little boy, I wouldn't even let my mother undress me." Isn't he the savviest guy in town? :shrug:

Although I probally wasn't the only person who laughed at the crop duster crashing into the truck. He had all of that time to pull up. :D

[MonkeyFunk]

They showed clips from each movie in the actual documentary. Yes, it was the '55 Ladykillers and the Chinese Hero.

[MajorTom]

I've seen 40 of those, but I think that they missed some. Why not Barton Fink or Fargo instead of Raising Arizona? Or Sex, Lies, and Videotape or Traffic instead of Erin Brockavich? Ah, well. Decent list.

[Lord Dalek]

Well the thing about this list is they are intentionally trying to list "overlooked" movies that usually don't make the big ones like the AFI's. Also remember this IS Channel 4 who tend to be a little eccentric in their picks. Example: The Simpsons being voted best kids show by them.

[Mr Cat Dog]

Well the thing about this list is they are intentionally trying to list "overlooked" movies that usually don't make the big ones like the AFI's. Also remember this IS Channel 4 who tend to be a little eccentric in their picks. Example: The Simpsons being voted best kids show by them.That was the public... this was by professionals.

Also, this isn't a "50 best films" list. How many "best film" lists have Pink Flamingos on them? It's a list of films that you see before you die because they bring something to you. You don't watch Pink Flamingos because it's good. The director said it himself, you watch it to be shocked. That dog crap bit at the end nearly had me vomitting when I saw it. Likewise, the fact that Miyazaki is the only animator on the list: everyone's seen films by Disney and Western animators, but only a small fraction of people in the UK (more in the US and the rest of the Western world, but Japanese stuff is still foreign to the many a mainstream Briton) have seen a Miyazaki flm. I could give reasons why many of them are on the list; not because they're the best, but because they do something to you. They make you think (2001) they are pioneers in their genre (Terminator 2), they're purely different from conventional cinema (multiple films).

To have a look at the 100 Best Films C4 poll, look here: http://www.channel4.com/film/newsfeatures/microsites/G/greatest/index.jsp

It has all the ones you'd expect: Kane, The Godfather, Star Wars, Schindler's List (which I am surprised wasn't on the "films before you die" list) - the classics.

Sorry if this seemed a little ranty and OTT... I felt like I needed to blow off some steam.

[MonkeyFunk]

Just to add - I'm pretty sure it was stated that the list was meant to be an "if you only ever watch 50 films, make it these 50" deal. So a film's historical context or how innovative or influential it was, while an important factor in a regular "best films" list, would be totally irrelevant here.