British Film Institute Chooses 75 Classic Films to Share with Future Generations
Everyone knows the American Film Institute (AFI) for their many thought-provoking (albeit somewhat predictable) Top 100 lists, and the British Film Institute (BFI) handles a similar duty for British cinema. However, in celebration of their 75th Anniversary, the BFI tried something a bit different: they asked 75 people from various professions and backgrounds in the industry to each pick a movie that they would most like to share with future generations. It wasn’t limited to British films, and the idea was to get a good cross-section of what people consider to be a timeless “classic”.
The results are quite interesting, and perhaps not as predictable as something you might get from the AFI. Participants included Juliette Binoche, Paul Greengrass, Ben Kingsley, Ken Loach, Max Minghella, Bill Nighy, Simon Pegg and yes, even the band Sigur Rós. Do you agree with their choices? What single movie would you nominate? Head over to the BFI’s Visions for the Future website to cast a vote for one of these movies and to join in the discussion.
Check out the full list of 75 picks after the jump.
- Adulthood (Noel Clarke)
- Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola)
- L’Atalante (Jean Vigo)
- The Band Wagon (Vincente Minnelli)
- The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo)
- Billy Elliot (Stephen Daldry)
- Blade Runner (Ridley Scott)
- Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn)
- Cabaret (Bob Fosse)
- The Card
- Closely Observed Trains (Jiřà Menzel)
- A Diary for Timothy (Humphrey Jennings)
- Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee)
- Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick)
- Elephant Man (David Lynch)
- Empire of the Sun (Steven Spielberg)
- The Fog of War (Errol Morris)
- Friday Night Lights (Peter Berg, Josh Pate)
- The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola)
- Great Expectations (David Lean)
- Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog)
- A Hard Day’s Night (Richard Lester)
- If…. (Lindsay Anderson)
- Ivan the Terrible (Sergei M. Eisenstein)
- Kes (Ken Loach)
- Kind Hearts and Coronets (Robert Hamer)
- Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean)
- The Leopard (Luchino Visconti)
- Local Hero (Bill Forsyth)
- A Matter of Life and Death (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger)
- Metropolis (Fritz Lang)
- Mississippi Burning (Alan Parker)
- Never Take No for an Answer (Maurice Cloche, Ralph Smart)
- Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton)
- Once upon a Time in America (Sergio Leone)
- Otto e mezzo (Federico Fellini)
- Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray)
- Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino)
- Quadrophenia (Franc Roddam)
- Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese)
- Raising Arizona (Joel and Ethan Coen)
- Ratcatcher (Lynne Ramsay)
- The Red Shoes (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger)
- Ryan’s Daughter (David Lean)
- The Sacrifice (Andrei Tarkovsky)
- The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman)
- She’s Gotta Have It (Spike Lee)
- Silent Light (Carlos Reygadas)
- Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly)
- Spartacus (Stanley Kubrick)
- Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky)
- A Star is Born (George Cukor)
- The Third Man (Carol Reed)
- This is England (Shane Meadows)
- The Times of Harvey Milk (Rob Epstein)
- Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu)
- Valerie and her Week of Wonders (Jaromil Jireš)
- Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock)
- West Side Story (Robert Wise)
- The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming)
- The Women (George Cukor)
Comments (12)
I had a look through the list and it looks like the Sci-fi genre has been pretty much overlooked. I did see Blade Runner (good choice) but not much else in the genre.
Posted by Stephen on September 24th, 2008This is obviously a more interesting list than the AFI ones. I’d like to see the individual voters’ ballots. It’s interesting that they let people choose films from all over the world. That always frustrates me about the AFI lists.
Posted by Joel on September 24th, 2008Yay, Ozu made the list (Tokyo Story). I agree that he should be on there before Kurosawa, but I didn’t expect it. Typically Seven Samurai gets credit before any other Japanese film.
Posted by joe on September 24th, 2008Its funny that you would find fault in the AFI list for being “predictable”…The best movies are the best movies… I didn’t know subtlety was what they were going for.
Posted by David Lay on September 24th, 2008Where’s “The Human Stain”?
I don’t understand how they could get 75 people who would each name a different film and no director would have more than one film in the list. Or did I miss something in the rules?
I also agree with Joel in that it would have been nice to see what film each person voted for.
No Chinese films!
I’ve seen less than half of the films on the list. I’m embarrassed. I’m interested in seeing “Tokyo Story.”
Posted by Reed Farrington on September 24th, 2008If you click to read more about each movie I think it says who nominated it.
Posted by Sean on September 24th, 2008Reed,
Definitely put it on your list to see! Although it’s paced slowly, it is a drama with excellent characters and of course Ozu’s distinctive shooting style. I think you’d like it if you’re into the meditative aspects of Kim Ki-Duk’s film.
I don’t know many Chinese films that I would say were great enough to make a “top” list, besides maybe “2046″. What would you say is a “classic”? You should go on the podcast and give a top 5 Chinese movies list.
Posted by joe on September 24th, 2008Gotta love two Tarkovsky films (Stalker and The Sacrifice).
Posted by brian on September 24th, 2008Oh, I didn’t notice Tarkovsky was on the list twice. Thx for pointing that out, brian.
Yeah, joe, I like the “meditative aspects of Kim Ki-Duk’s films.”
Interesting you should mention “2046,” because that’s one of my favourites. I think most critics would consider Wong Kar-Wai’s “In the Mood for Love” as more of a classic.
I think Zhang Yimou’s “Hero” is a classic.
I have a soft spot for Zhang Yimou’s “The Road Home.” That movie illustrates what true love is. It doesn’t explain it though.
I also consider Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” to be a classic as well, although it has some faults in my eyes.
Posted by Reed Farrington on September 25th, 2008Wow… who would have thought I had similar tastes to Reed?? Anyways, good picks there. I haven’t seen “The Road Home”.
Posted by joe on September 25th, 2008Thank you, this is an excellent list I’m fresh to all this but require to frame-up my first blog soon so I designate on impressing this out and imparting it to my boxfile.
Posted by Anglor on October 18th, 2009Rather interesting. Has few times re-read for this purpose to remember. Thanks for interesting post. Waiting for the trackback.
Posted by SurveyReviewer on October 20th, 2009Leave a Reply