Today the Guardian started a week-long series of pull-outs listing “1000 films to see before you die” which, like most such lists, is surely calculated to stir up controversy. Or to make anyone who takes such things too seriously feel woefully inadequate for not having seen L’Atalante.
I will be mildly interested to see how many of the 1000 I have actually seen. Before even opening the paper I guessed it would be about a quarter of them and it turns out that of the first 200 I have seen about 50 so that estimate is looking good.
Checked through the stuff online (up to H part 1) and I’m up to about 80. Although I am counting a couple we were shown at school (East of Eden) that I cannot remember a thing about apart from thinking that it must have been filmed in black & gray the print was so dark. I’m quite impressed as I think I watch very few films compared to most people I know
It’s a pretty good list. A decent mix of films, very few of which I’d disagree with (that I’ve seen), and only a few omissions.
Any list with Festen, Field of Dreams then Fifth Element is spot on. I don’t understand what Dick Tracy is doing in there, though.
I am still on track for about 25% (just over 50 in the second lot) and a few of them are also down to what we saw at school – like Dougal and the Blue Cat. Remember when we had that as a double bill with Two Mules for Sister Sara? What an evening that was!
I have a slight advantage of having done film studies and mass media studies at school, so we saw the Bicycle Thieves, Cul de Sac, Un Chien Andalou and other films I might otherwise have not gone out of my way to watch – although they are ones which I do rather like.
I’m still waiting to see if Two Men and a Wardrobe and Zabriskie Point are included…
Tim – I do like the fact that it is not a completely arty-farty list and recognises that entertainment films like Crocodile Dundee and Die Hard are worth watching. Dick Tracy is also the one I tripped over, but seeing that Forrest Gump (my nomination for worst film in the world ever) is missing made my day.