I always take the bait, don’t I? PopCandy links to some supposedly definitive best-of list that’s guaranteed to make my blood boil, and I have to check it out just to see how wrongheaded it is. In this case, it’s the 50 Movies You Must See Before You Die list from the U.K.’s Sunday Mail. As insane and slapdash as this compilation is, it’s actually pretty interesting in that it leans heavily away from classics and toward recent art-house fare — City of God (pictured), Sexy Beast, Donnie Darko, Lost in Translation, Mulholland Drive. Still, no list of indispensable movies that dispenses with The Godfather, The Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, Rashomon, E.T., or Star Wars is worth any serious consideration. Not sure who’s to blame for this abomination; among the panel of experts, only producer David Puttnam (Chariots of Fire) is listed. At least he was modest enough not to put any of his own movies on the list.
What’s on your list of the 50 Movies to see before one dies?
The Passion of the Christ
Magnolia
RE-ANIMATOR, DAWN OF THE DEAD (Original Recipe), TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (ditto), THE PRODUCERS, REVERSAL OF FORTUNE, SID AND NANCY, ROCK AND ROLL HIGH SCHOOL, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, SPIDER-MAN 2, THE EVIL DEAD, THE EVIL DEAD 2, NIGHT OF THE CREEPS, NOSFERATU (the Klaus Kinski version), THE GREAT SILENCE, HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP, TERMINATOR 2…
Unforgiven, A Man For All Seasons, Chinatown, A Clockwork Orange, The 400 Blows, Schindler’s List, The Lion in Winter, The Godfather 1 & 2, Casablanca, All About Eve, Gone With The Wind, Citizen Kane, I could go to 50 easily…
I think the writers assumed everyone has seen all the other movies (Godfather, E.T., Star Wars, Citizen Kane, etc.).
This might be for those who have seen the AFI Top 100 already.
The Untouchables, The Sting, Hollywood Shuffle, Sounder, It’s A Wonderful Life, Field Of Dreams, Cinema Paradiso, just to name a few.
Boogie Nights. Yep, Boogie Nights.
LIFE AS A HOUSE
You Can’t Take it With You, perhaps The Philadelphia Story, definitely The Producers, Gone With the Wind, there’s gotta be a cheezy 80s film, perhaps the Karate Kid? Fast Times at Ridgemont High? So many choices. Maybe a musical, West Side Story? It should represent every genre you know?
I was gonna put Magnolia, but paul u. beat me to it. Fanny & Alexander was a great choice, though.
How bout Central Station? That is a beautiful movie.
A spiritual journey that starts with Bladerunner, moves through Dogma, and ends with the Matrix trilogy . . .
Movies I haven’t seen but need to before I die:
Gone With The Wind
A Clockwork Orange
Breakfast At Tiffany’s
Movies I have already seen but think other people need to see before they die:
Its a Wonderful Life
Magnolia
Fight Club
Forrest Gump
City Lights (or at least one full Charlie Chaplin Movie)
Star Wars (Original Trilogy)
Lord Of The Rings (Trilogy)
The Matrix (just the first one is fine)
At least one Kevin Smith movie
The Lion King
Edward Scissorhands
Tombstone
A better list is the book “1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die” It includes films from all genres, and even has examples of camp and popcorn flicks. The write-ups are great, and I was surprised at what was included (a lot of foreign horror). Worth checking out.
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is a way to remember childhood imagination! Grease the first one!! and Somewhere in time with Christopher Reeves was a great movie also I have seen them but I watch them over and over! I would like to see the Replacments before I die though.!!
The Pianist
The Shachawnk Redemption
The Last Castle
Fight Club
The Usual Suspects
The General’s Daughter
Entrapment
The Devil’s Advocate
The Fugitive
I Am Sam
The Assasination of Richard Nixon
The Green Mile
Shlinder’s List
The Life of David Gale
Collateral Damage
I’ll Never Tell
What Lies Beneath
A Beautiful Life
The Naked Gun (all parts)
Airplane!
And last but not least, HOT SHOTS!