My Top 20 Films

I was recently having a conversation with someone regarding The Shawshank Redemption, which they stated was the greatest film ever made.  Now, I love Shawshank but the best? THE best?  Nah, I blithely replied that it was "certainly in the top 20", before realising I would then have to list the rest.  So I had a wee think, and here we go:

OK, so let’s make this a bit harder and discount a few UNDENIABLE classics:

Gone with the Wind – very much “of its time” but sadly now slightly anachronistic due to some rather dubious racial politics.

Citizen Kane and The Seventh Seal – each one a masterpiece but also a “one-time deal”, they’re not films I’d want to sit through again!

Having said that, the first on my list, and IMHO (as, of course, is everything on the list) the best film ever made….

Brazil – Terry Gilliam’s masterpiece.  It IS a tough watch, and quite odd, but it’s timeless, brilliantly made and the issues only become more relevant as the years pass.  (I’m limiting myself to one film per director, but honourable mention for The Fisher King).

Kind Hearts and Coronets – phenomenal, you couldn’t remake it today.  Alec Guinness is superb and the dialogue is like poetry.

Barton Fink – Highly personal choice but I feel the Coen Brothers deserve a mention as one (well, two) of the most important film producers ever.  Could have been this, The Hudsucker Proxy or Oh Brother Where Art Thou? But Barton Fink is such an ambitious film with so many layers to pick through.  People have devoted their PHD thesis to this film.

Pan’s Labyrinth – If there has been a better film made this millennium, I haven’t seen it.

Rashomon – you have to have something by Kurosawa, and while you could argue for Yojimbo or The Seven Samurai (or even The Hidden Fortress, which George Lucas liberally ripped off for Star Wars  (which I’ve deliberately avoided mentioning despite the fact that, in terms of the effect on the industry, they are the most important films ever made)) however I love this.  It’s a classic story told via the mechanism of the unreliable narrator, so it doesn’t patronise the audience by spoonfeeding you the answers.  The cinematography is also breath-taking.

Mary and Max – my “evangelical film”, the film I feel I have to introduce people to.  No other film has the ability to switch between comedy and heartache like this film.  The only film I have ever watched to the end, then gone back and watched all over again.

Inside Out – No, really.  There HAS to be a kids film on the list because films are stories, and any film which can appeal to ALL age groups is doing its job well.  Until recently this spot was occupied by Up, which does more in its first 5 minutes, without words, than many films manage in two hours, but Inside Out actually makes you feel like you understand people better, like you understand yourself better, just by watching it.

Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind – again, could have chosen another Charlie Kaufman film, Adaptation is also wonderful, but this is just a fantastic piece of film making: script, cinematography, soundtrack and performance: all perfect.

The Station Agent – spoiler: nothing happens.  But the way nothing happens makes you feel warm inside.

In Bruges – who says action films have to be dumb?

Let The Right One In – haunting, gritty, uniquely Scandinavian (which is why the pointless US remake sucked ass), stays with you.  Better than the book too.

My other “10 Star Rated Films” on iMdB (because I’m a nerd and rate the films I’ve watched) are:

The Way, Way Back

The Sessions

Stoker

Life of Pi

Ruby Sparks

Beware of Mr Baker

Zombieland

True Romance

Groundhog Day

The Act of Killing

Persepolis