Friday, September 26, 2008

BFI: 75 classics to share with future generations


The British Film Institute, in celebration of their 75th Anniversary, 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”. You can see the full list here, but I've included some below.
The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo)
Billy Elliot (Stephen Daldry) *
Blade Runner (Ridley Scott) ***
Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn) ***
Cabaret (Bob Fosse) ***
Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee)
Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick) **
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)
A Hard Day’s Night (Richard Lester) -- "He's not your grandfather! I've seen your grandfather!"
Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean) **
Metropolis (Fritz Lang) ***
Otto e mezzo (Federico Fellini) **
Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino) ***
Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese)
Raising Arizona (Joel and Ethan Coen) ****
The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman) **
Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly) **
Spartacus (Stanley Kubrick) **
The Third Man (Carol Reed) **
Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock) **
West Side Story (Robert Wise) ***
The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming) ***
The Women (George Cukor)
* While I love it, is it really a classic?
** Typically, I use the phrase "greatest movie ever" when talking about this movie (whether I've seen it or not).
*** Perhaps there should be a distinction between "old" and "new" classic?
**** I don't talk to people who like Nicolas Cage.

3 comments:

Goddessdster said...

You realize Simon Pegg voted for Raising Arizona. ;)

dying alone said...

Well, as it so happens, I don't actually talk to Simon Pegg... so it still works.

But sigh. Now I don't know what to do with that information. By the way, I bought Spaced and am LOVING it!

Goddessdster said...

Definitely worth the purchase. I am proud of you. Enjoy.

And, as far as Cage movies go, at least Raising Arizona was made before the ridiculousness set in.