50 Films to see before you die

I was watching tv last night and while flicking channels i came across "Film4's 50 films to see before you die" on Channel 4.
Here's the list of films they came up with:

50. Badlands (1973)
49. Secrets & Lies (1996)
48. Aguirre, The Wrath of God (1972)
47. Brazil (1985)
46. This Sporting Life (1963)
45. Cabaret (1972)
44. Raising Arizona (1987)
43. Princess Mononoke (1997)
42. Dawn of the Dead (Director's Cut)(1978)
41. Manhunter (1986)
40. The King of Comedy (1983)
39. The Ipcress File (1962)
38. Mulholland Drive (2001)
37. The Searchers (1956)
36. Fight Club (1999)
35. The Ladykillers (1955)
34. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
33. Three Colours: Blue (1993)
32. Terminator 2: Judgement Day(1991)
31. Scarface (1983)
30. All About Eve (1950)
29. Pink Flamingos (1972)
28. Fanny and Alexander (1982)
27. The Breakfast Club (1985)
26. Hero (2002)
25. Trainspotting (1996)
24. Erin Brockovich (2000)
23. A Night At The Opera (1935)
22. Heavenly Creatures (1994)
21. Come and See (1985)
20. The Player (1992)
19. Boyz N The Hood
18. Black Narcissus (1947)
17. Walkabout (1971)
16. Touch of Evil (1958)
15. Pulp Fiction (1994)
14. Lagaan (2001)
13. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
12. Lost In Translation
11. Alien (1979)
10. Back to the Future (1985)
9. Donnie Darko (2001)
8. A Bout De Souffle (1959)
7. North By Northwest (1959)
6. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
5. Sexy Beast (2000)
4. Chinatown (1974)
3. City of God (2002)
2. The Apartment (1960)
1. Apocolypse Now (1979)

So what do you think, is there anything there you would change?

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hi
remember only eight of the movies on the list so can't be much of a judge. 'Lady Killers' is my pick for the best one on the list but hardly an all time great one.'Cabaret' had some good songs and very good performances by Minelli and Grey. The rest of the movie I found, sordid and boring. I saw 'a Night at the Opera' when it first came out and thought it was great ( I was quite young then) now, I think, the best thing about it is Chico's piano playing. Others were worth seeing; 'Eve', 'Evil', Northwest', 'Chinatown', Apt; but not on the all time best list. Amazing (to me0 is not what's mentioned but what's omitted. Of course, you'll ,get different opinions from younger members, I didn't see any of the late films.

50. Badlands (1973)
47. Brazil (1985)
44. Raising Arizona (1987)
42. Dawn of the Dead (Director's Cut)(1978)
41. Manhunter (1986)
40. The King of Comedy (1983)
38. Mulholland Drive (2001)
36. Fight Club (1999)
34. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
32. Terminator 2: Judgement Day(1991)
31. Scarface (1983)
25. Trainspotting (1996)
20. Heavenly Creatures (1994)
15. Pulp Fiction (1994)
13. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
12. Lost In Translation
11. Alien (1979)
9. Donnie Darko (2001)
7. North By Northwest (1959)
6. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
5. Sexy Beast (2000)
4. Chinatown (1974)
3. City of God (2002)
1. Apocolypse Now (1979)

I own 24 and seen 32...so Im on my way...if I die prematurely, I'll just have to convince the angels to give me just a bit more time

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Interesting. Seen 25, and quite a few of the others are on my 'to be seen list'. One of those lists where they have gone for variety rather than the usual suspects. Or, in fact, The Usual Suspects...

Anyone else think Apocalypse Now is awful?

So is Space Odyssey and Lost in Translation ^^

Bah. Ive only seen 27 of them

^^I think Apocalypse Now is really average. Maybe I expected too much.

Same goes with Space Odyssey and Lost in Translation.

Me too. Except for Lost In Translation, which was great.

Nah.

Nope.

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The novelist does not long to see the lion eat grass. He realizes that one and the same God created the wolf and the lamb, then smiled, "seeing that his work was good".

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They had temporarily escaped the factories, the warehouses, the slaughterhouses, the car washes - they'd be back in captivity the next day but now they were out - they were wild with freedom. They weren't thinking about the slavery of poverty. Or the slavery of welfare and food stamps. The rest of us would be all right until the poor learned how to make atom bombs in their basements.

I think that's actually a pathetic list. What exactly are they defining as "must-see before you die"?

27. The Breakfast Club (1985)

Terrible movie. I don't understand why so many people revere it.

Well I do not think that it should be in this list exactly, but I do think it is a wonderful film. Why? Because I identify with it which is why I say it does not belong in this list. If one were a teen ager in the 80's then yeah I think you should watch it if you have not already. Just my opinion though. The list all together though is a bit weak.

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“The gladdest moment in human life, methinks, is a departure into unknown lands.” – Sir Richard Burton

I bolded the ones I'd consider "must sees". My interp of this list is that they tried to pick really shining examples of various genres, and filled in with personal favorites (And at that, I'd still change the order of many of these). Otherwise, to suggest someone must see Erin Brokavich but could afford to skate past The Godfather... well, that's just crazy talk.

Oh yeah, I remember this list. It wasn't a serious one - all those films were about to be shown on the new FilmFour, and basically they were recommending you which ones to check out (that's why random stuff like Sexy Beast is in there). Don't take it seriously like a proper critic's list.

blasphemy!!! 3 counts of blasphemy!!!

I don't know if I'd call it terrible, but you can definitely live without it. Living without seeing John Hughes' Sixteen Candles, however, may be impossible... at least to me.

...And I'm sure there's another thread on this, kicking around from the last time the show was aired.

Those C4 list shows were a mildly diverting novelty when they first came out but now they annoy the hell out of me. Random talking-headism by B list hacks and smarmy stand-up comics has become the blight of early 21st century TV.

Paul Morely - You can do so much better.

Stuart Maconie - F*** off.

I feel so much better now!

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

I agree, and the most annoying thing is when the random 'celeb' pretends to be knowledgable about the film/music/programme when it's plain for everyone to see that's they've only seen clips and told the quotable bits.

One good thing about the list; it didn't mention 'Casablanca' or "the Third Man'.

Well, we all have our likes and dislikes, but still this list seems a little odd to me. I've seen Badlands and Sheen and (can't think of her name, played Loretta Lynn) were good, but the film wasn't special enough to make my top 50. Haven't seen Secrets & Lies but how tough can it be to have interracial kin in England. Take a look at Robert Duval and James Earl Jones as half-brothers here in the US in Family Affair (1996). I've seen Aguirre, The Wrath of God. But by then Kinski had had his 15 minutes of fame as the weirdest looking European actor--a really ugly Jack Elam-- so I don't remember much of that film. But if you wanna see what comes from unbridled human greed, take a look at the 1925 silent Greed starring Zasu Pitts. I'll take Erich Von Stroheim as an irona** director over Werner Herzog any day!

Best thing about Brazil was the tune. We deal with bureaucrats daily; there's nothing entertaining about them, even in satire. What I remember about This Sporting Life is Richard Harris acting surly. If you want to see working classs Brits I rather watch Michael Caine chasing the birds as Alfie. I liked Cabaret, but it had already been a big hit on stage, so what was not to like? Boosted Liza Minelli's career higher than anyone ever expected. Raising Arizona was cute but totally forgetable. Princess Mononoke? I'm not sitting through a Japanese cartoon.
Dawn of the Dead gave me my fill of flesh-eating zombies. Enough already, move on. And it's not even the scariest film out there. Never saw Manhunter but I did try to read Red Dragon the novel on which it and a half-dozen similar movies were based. I have no desire to "get into the mind of a mass murderer. On the other hand, The King of Comedy--where is a mass killer when you really need him! Terrible movie.

I really liked The Ipcress File the first 5-6 times I saw it, but it really hasn't aged well. Mulholland Drive was overrated from the start.

The Searchers (1956)--a good choice. Best western ever made. Should be close to the top of any list and certainly at the top of this one.

Fight Club--Never seen it. Not my cuppa tea.

The Ladykillers (1955)--A very funny British movie, so much better than that remake a few years ago. Another good choice.

The Royal Tenenbaums --I've tried to watch it; people tell me it's good. I know it tries to be, but it just can't quite make the jump.

Three Colours: Blue (1993). I'm not familar with this; anything like I Am Curious: Yellow?

Terminator 2: Judgement Day(1991)--I don't do sequels to anything with Terminator, Alien, Jaws, Airport, Rocky, or Rambo in the title.

Scarface (1983)--Last time I saw this was some years ago when my two sons were in their teens. Watched it with them commercial free on cable. Then I went down to the video store and got a copy of the original Scarface (1932) starring Paul Muni and directed by Howard Hawks. We sat down and watch it together. Vote later was 3-zip that Muni and Hawks made a better film with pure drama than did Al Pachino with his over-the-top performance or DePalma with his blood, dope and other special effects. In this case, less was much better.

All About Eve (1950)--good movie, well acted.

Pink Flamingos (1972)--Brings in the trash. I hear some people like that.

Fanny and Alexander (1982)--not familar with it.

The Breakfast Club (1985)--cute, slow-moving. Certainly no Blackboard Jungle or even a B-rated High School Confidential.

Hero (2002)--This was the one with Dustin Hoffman, Andy Garcia, and the airplane crash, right? Hoffman is always a pleasure to watch. Garcia at least is a better actor than Tom Cruse, so Hoffman wasn't as out-of-breath carrying him and the female star through Hero as when he had to lug Cruse through Rainman. Hoffman has made much better pictures--neither of those is to die for.

Trainspotting (1996)--Never saw it, probably never will.

Erin Brockovich (2000)--Never saw it, absolutely never will. I can't stand that ugly actress who plays that part.

A Night At The Opera (1935)--The Marx Brothers are still funnier than any of our current comics. Even Zippo.

Heavenly Creatures (1994)--I've heard of this one but can't place it.

Come and See (1985)--Never even heard of it.

The Player (1992)--It was enjoyable while running. Can't recall a single scene from it now.

Boyz N The Hood--Naw, I'll watch Do the Right Thing, instead.

Black Narcissus (1947)--very well done.
17. Walkabout (1971)not familar with it.
16. Touch of Evil (1958) Very, very good! Good story, good cast.
15. Pulp Fiction (1994)--Didn't care for it.
14. Lagaan (2001)--Never heard of it.
13. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)--It was OK. Not the best prison movie I've ever seen.

12. Lost In Translation--haven't seen it. Heard a lot of folks didn't like it.

11. Alien (1979)--Been there, saw it, moved on. I hate movies where somebody says, "There's a monster/killer/ghost/bomb in the house/plane/boat/train/spaceship, so we've all got to stick together." And then the very next person says, "Just a minute--I've got to go downstairs for my cat."

Back to the Future (1985)--It was entertaining, which is more than I can say for the endless repeats.

9. Donnie Darko (2001)--never heard of it
8. A Bout De Souffle (1959)--ditto

7. North By Northwest (1959)--Hitchcock's usual complicated-to-the-point-of-being-silly plot. Not Cary Grant at his best, but James Mason was good, as always.

6. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)--liked the monkeys, loved the classical soundtrack, but HAL bored the ooze out of me, and the ending everyone else oohed and ahhhed over seemed just silly to me.

5. Sexy Beast (2000)--That starred the guy who got the Oscar for Ghandi, right? Never saw it.

4. Chinatown (1974)--Wish I could say the same for this. Was the longest, most boring film I've ever sat through. Slice his nose, big deal. Father-daughter incest, big deal. Show me a character who I care lives or dies!
3. City of God (2002)--not familar with this; I'm not attracted to many movies that has "God" in the title.
2. The Apartment (1960)--a very good movie. Good guy Fred MacMurray was always at his best playing a bad guy or at least a heel.

1. Apocolypse Now (1979)--Terrible movie! No script so it was totally out of control, with one actor refusing to be even in the same scenes with another. Before he got halfway to his destination, I was hoping someone would push a grenade down Sheen's fatigues so we could all go home! I think this movie ran longer than the war itself.

A Bout de Souffle is aka Breathless, the Godard film. Hero is not the Dustin Hoffman movie, it is a recent special fx-heavy martial arts film by Zhang Yimou, which, based on the rest of your curmudgeonly comments, I bet you wouldn't like.