1001 films that will reward your time: a personal list
As one of those people who appreciates a good list, I was delighted some years back to be given a copy of popular doorstop 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, edited by Steven Jay Schneider with the help of an international panel of critics – the 2003 revised edition, which closes with Kill Bill Vol 1 (Quentin Tarantino 2003). Immediately reaching for my ticking pencil, I soon discovered I’d seen about 450 of the films included, so clearly had life in me yet. Recently I’ve been deliberately catching up with many of the others in the book, mainly on DVD, and only a little over 50 films remain unticked.
It’s been a generally worthwhile experience – I’ve seen many excellent films and all have been at least interesting. But I’ve also encountered a significant few that in my view don’t quite justify their place on the list when set against the exclusion of more deserving cases. Pondering this, it occurred to me to draw up my own 1001 list based on my own viewing which, although of course much narrower than that of Schneider’s heavyweight panel, is I believe extensive enough for the task.
Lists of this length have an aspiration to objectivity, and the opportunity to give a rounded picture of cinema history and culture – it’s unlikely any one person, including myself, could claim to enjoy wholeheartedly every listed item. But I’m confident each film has something to offer to anyone with at least a passing interest in the moving image beyond its ability merely to entertain. However, I’ve been limited by the breadth of my own viewing, which is inevitably biased towards my own preferences and tastes, so there’s probably more science fiction, horror and film noir represented here than, say, westerns or romcoms. I’ve also tried in some places to avoid the obvious in favour of neglected films or unexpected surprises.
I’ll avoid the customary liberal hand-wringing about the bias towards English language and Western European cinema at this point, but availability is also a factor. One thing I will defend, however, is the strengthened representation of animation, shorts and the avant garde in comparison to Schneider’s list, one of the most egregious features of which is the complete absence of Chuck Jones and Norman McLaren. Likewise the increased allotment to early and silent cinema – in 1001 Movies, the entire two decades plus of cinema history prior to Birth of a Nation (DW Griffith 1915) are represented by a mere two films.
I’ve widened the field to include several additional examples of one-off TV productions and mini-series. The strict division between TV and film has been muddied from the days of cinema serials and TV using celluloid film as a production medium, and in the age of digital production and exhibition, multi-channel broadcasting and straight-to-DVD releasing, it seems to me completely unsustainable. However I’ve stopped short of including single episodes of ongoing series as it’s unfair to treat these as complete works in themselves.
Although it's a list of 1001 films, only 1,000 are listed here -- IMDb won't let me list Super 8½ (Bruce LaBruce 1994), presumably because it's tagged as an adult film.
The list is inevitably subject to updating and is now in its third iteration. I hope you find it interesting and diverting.
It’s been a generally worthwhile experience – I’ve seen many excellent films and all have been at least interesting. But I’ve also encountered a significant few that in my view don’t quite justify their place on the list when set against the exclusion of more deserving cases. Pondering this, it occurred to me to draw up my own 1001 list based on my own viewing which, although of course much narrower than that of Schneider’s heavyweight panel, is I believe extensive enough for the task.
Lists of this length have an aspiration to objectivity, and the opportunity to give a rounded picture of cinema history and culture – it’s unlikely any one person, including myself, could claim to enjoy wholeheartedly every listed item. But I’m confident each film has something to offer to anyone with at least a passing interest in the moving image beyond its ability merely to entertain. However, I’ve been limited by the breadth of my own viewing, which is inevitably biased towards my own preferences and tastes, so there’s probably more science fiction, horror and film noir represented here than, say, westerns or romcoms. I’ve also tried in some places to avoid the obvious in favour of neglected films or unexpected surprises.
I’ll avoid the customary liberal hand-wringing about the bias towards English language and Western European cinema at this point, but availability is also a factor. One thing I will defend, however, is the strengthened representation of animation, shorts and the avant garde in comparison to Schneider’s list, one of the most egregious features of which is the complete absence of Chuck Jones and Norman McLaren. Likewise the increased allotment to early and silent cinema – in 1001 Movies, the entire two decades plus of cinema history prior to Birth of a Nation (DW Griffith 1915) are represented by a mere two films.
I’ve widened the field to include several additional examples of one-off TV productions and mini-series. The strict division between TV and film has been muddied from the days of cinema serials and TV using celluloid film as a production medium, and in the age of digital production and exhibition, multi-channel broadcasting and straight-to-DVD releasing, it seems to me completely unsustainable. However I’ve stopped short of including single episodes of ongoing series as it’s unfair to treat these as complete works in themselves.
Although it's a list of 1001 films, only 1,000 are listed here -- IMDb won't let me list Super 8½ (Bruce LaBruce 1994), presumably because it's tagged as an adult film.
The list is inevitably subject to updating and is now in its third iteration. I hope you find it interesting and diverting.
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