We’ve all had that experience: look of panic, totally lost within row upon row of films, not quite sure which ones to buy, desperately hoping one will jump out at you and scream, “Quality film, buy me now!” – and that’s just deciding on the films we’ve already seen!
So, how do you avoid those “what on earth was I thinking?” films from ending up at the bottom of your DVD collection?
Samiat Pedro makes sure you’re always one step ahead. Paul Simpson’s new Movie Lists, 397 Ways To Pick A DVD is just what you’ve been looking for.
When I first heard about the book I was initially excited, then apprehensive and finally highly sceptical: a book that’s full of fabulously great films which will ensure I always pick a great DVD? Sure. However, Paul Simpson’s Movie Lists are not snooty or patronising but instead come across as well observed, offbeat and honest$$s$$ Simpson clearly loves good films.
Listing films, all available on DVD, Movie Lists range from the obvious: Comedy, Action and Thriller$$s$$ to the plain absurd: Weddings, Nervous Breakdowns and… Dogs. So, what is it that led Paul to create such a book?
“Life is just too short to watch bad movies. (The book) is purely about good films, 397 lists of them, that I’m convinced you’ll enjoy,” he explains.
Movie Lists features an opening verdict on a director, actor or genre and then gives recommendations of, on average, 8-10 films that fit the bill perfectly. Constantly throwing in the odd bits of trivia, Movie Lists is actually a good, funny read, full of fun movie info.
The Shawshank Redemption and – a popular choice with TV schedulers – Groundhog Day are just some of the films that failed to make an impression at the box office yet have gone on to be regarded as iconic. American sportscasters often reference Groundhog Day whenever an athlete repeated a mistake, giving the film a new lease of life.
As well as being the author of Movie Lists, Simpson edits Haymarket titles Champions, DCM and Agenda. The new book, however, marks the start of a new project for the film fanatic.
“This is designed to be the first edition of a book that will grow and grow, in future editions and maybe online,” he says.
Paul is certainly open to suggestions and contributions on the subject of great films. “If you feel a vital film has been missed out or you have your own list, feel free to email me.”
I’m sure that Arts Hub members will be more than happy to get in touch and share their thoughts.
Movie Lists provides a satisfying look at forgotten gems, unseen classics and international stories that most film fans have never come across.
I stumbled across a list of Mexican cinema, which led me to wonder what else I could find: Africa, Poland (Poles apart)… Japan (Japanese Gems)… Canada (Canadian club)… and I’m still coming across more.
It is great to see quite a few of my DVD favourites appear$$s$$ There’s Something About Mary is amusingly described as “the thinking person’s American Pie.”
Most of all, Simpson’s book is successful in bringing about a fresh interest in films outside of current cinema, ensuring great films of the recent past become classics of the future.
Plus my own personal Worst Film Ever – You’ve Got Mail – (which I still can’t believe I exchanged actual money for) is nowhere to be seen. I am definitely sold. Writing up a Christmas list already!
For now, here’s a sneak peek from the book – enjoy!
Spoof
Has the spoof – like a parody, only not as subtle –
been the most popular new movie genre of the last 30
years?
1. Airplane
Dir Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, 1980, 88m “Looks like I picked the wrong week to give up sniffing glue” “Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?” “And don’t call me Shirley”. This inspired spoof of airport disaster movies – and a thousand other movie clichés – packs in gags at a pace the Marx brothers would be proud of, most of them reviving a comic tradition summed up by Mad magazine. The makers had the sense to pack the cast with actors like Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges and Peter Graves who play the comedy
beautifully straight. If only Mike Myers had been this keen to
make us laugh.
2. Hot Fuzz
Dir Edgar Wright, 2007, 121m
Spoofing action movies like Bad Boys II and more genteel British
crime series like Midsomer Murders, this casts Simon Pegg as a
London copper sent to Gloucestershire whose new partner, awestruck local bobby Nick Frost, wants to know if his new partner has ever fired a gun while jumping sideways through the air. There are plenty of throwaway gems and scenes that hint that Pegg and Frost fancy themselves as action stars before the village is reduced, hilariously, to a smoking wreck.
3. Love and Death
Dir Woody Allen, 1975, 85m
A wildly underrated parody of Russian literature which blends Tolstoy and Bob Hope with genuinely funny results. Allen is a “militant coward” drafted into the war against Napoleon who would far rather woo Diane Keaton, his beautiful, pretentious, and promiscuous cousin who has a plan to kill Napoleon who, in turn, is fretting about a line of pastries that will bear his name.
4. DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story
Dir Rawson Marshall Thurber, 2004, 92m
Spoofing almost every cliché of the underdog sports movie, Thurber’s debut feature is far funnier than its premise suggests – Vince Vaughn’s good guy enters a team into a dodgeball contest to save his gym from body fascist Ben Stiller. Rip Torn gives great support as the coach who believes: “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball” and Stiller is seriously amusing, partly because he has a moustache the size of an otter.
5. A Mighty Wind
Dir Christopher Guest, 2003, 92m
Guest’s mockumentary doesn’t quite skewer 1950s’ and 1960s’ folk groups with the same hilarious precision that he lampooned the rock business in This Is Spinal Tap but there are many laugh-out-loud moments as three folk acts – the New Main Street Singers, Folksmen and Mitch and Mickey – perform to honour a dead promoter. Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara are so touching as the troubled folk duo that the heartbreak sometimes slows the comedy. And there are some superb
digressions on incontinence, protective mothers and model trains.
6. OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies
Dir Michel Hazanavicius, 2008, 99m
Agent 117 first appeared in a novel by Jean Bruce in 1949 but the original hero wasn’t as suavely stupid as Jean Dujardin’s incarnation of the character in this spy spoof. Unlike Mike Myers, Dujardin resembles the young Connery and is lightning fast in the action sequences. But he is also genuinely clueless: he silences a muezzin for waking him with a call to prayer, and thinks the desert is too dusty.
7. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Dir Jay Roach, 1997, 94m
The first outing for Mike Myers’ shagadelic 1960s’ secret agent was easily the funniest. Paying homage to Bond, the Beatles, and Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls, Myers’ spoof has his agent confronting his nemesis Dr Evil (also played by Myers) and trying to seduce Liz Hurley’s British spy with 1960s’ slang like “groovy”. Myers serves all this up with such infectious enthusiasm it’s hard not to be won over.
8. Fletch
Dir Michael Ritchie, 1985, 98m
Chase has been handicapped in movies by a morose, deadpan persona that is perfect for a TV sketch but too restrictive over 90 minutes. In this enduring spoof, Ritchie cleverly uses Chase’s detachment in a running commentary to frame the outlandish situations his intrepid reporter becomes embroiled in. The satire in many scenes is subtly detailed, the physical comedy is well done, and Chase is surrounded by a gallery of original characters.
Action
Surging testosterone, squealing car brakes, sneering baddies, and wisecracking heroes define – thanks to the likes of Spielberg, Scott and Donner – the action movie. Not to mention that old cinema slogan: “You can’t beat a good film…”.
1. Raiders Of The Lost Ark
Dir Steven Spielberg, 1981, 115m
Indiana Jones is a truly great action hero, a strong, brave, intelligent, blundering – “I’m making this up as I go along” –
archaeologist who was at his most compelling foiling the Nazis. The sight of Alfred Molina covered in tarantulas, Spielberg’s flair and a witty script mean this is still a must-see. Best of the sequels is Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (1989) in which Ford spars beautifully with Sean Connery.
2. The Bourne Identity
Dir Doug Liman, 2002, 118m
Neither star Matt Damon nor director Liman were obvious choices to tackle Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne novels. Yet Damon and Liman’s action hero feels like he belongs to the 21st century. A young amnesiac looking for his true identity, Bourne has only a bag of money, a knack for martial arts and a girl in a decrepit Mini to help him. A slick, quick, big, stylish chase movie that may well affect your levels of adrenaline and yielded two half-decent sequels: The Bourne Ultimatum (2004) and The Bourne Supremacy (2007).
3. Lethal Weapon
Dir Richard Donner, 1987, 110m
The mixture as before – car chases, explosions and the partner/buddy combo of loose cannon (Mel Gibson) and by-the-book (Danny Glover) – but faster, with no pause for breath. In less than two hours Gibson and Glover meet, become friends, survive torture, rescue Glover’s daughter, chase cars and kill folks. Shane Black’s wisecracking script suits the frenetic pace. Zeffirelli was so enamoured of Gibson’s suicide scene he cast him as Hamlet.
4. Beau Geste
Dir William Wellman, 1939, 120m, b/w
Boys Own-style adventure of three brothers who join the Foreign Legion. Savaged by Graham Greene as “uncritical daydreaming” about brutality, this rousing adaptation of the P.C. Wren bestseller – drawing closely on Herbert Brenon’s silent 1926 version – keeps our interest thanks to Coop’s laconic charisma, Brian Donlevy’s memorably sadistic sergeant and some lavish set pieces.
5. Fight Club
Dir David Fincher, 1999, 139m
Chuck Palahniuk had the idea for his novel when he was beaten up on a campsite after asking someone to turn their radio down. Fincher made the book into a deliciously OTT cult classic. Edward Norton and Brad Pitt are superb as The Narrator and Tyler Durden, the soap-maker who changes the Narrator’s life. With no corset in sight, Helena Bonham-Carter shines as a 14 hellcat while Meatloaf almost steals the show as a Fight Club member with man-breasts.
6. Run Lola Run
Dir Tom Tykwer, 1998, 81m
Lola (Franka Potente) has 20 minutes to find a large sum of money, which technically belongs to a local gangster, but has been lost by her useless boyfriend. But Fate enters the equation, with three scenarios played out, each leading to a different conclusion for the hapless boyfriend. Split screen and video footage ensure the hyperkinetic action sequences never flag.
7. Top Gun
Dir Tony Scott, 1986, 110m
After being fired and rehired, Scott perfected the high-concept action movie, with high-octane fight scenes, visual bombast, photogenic stars and a hypnotic theme. Tom Cruise is arrogant enough to be believable, yet likeable, as a hot-shot pilot. Val Kilmer is perfect as his rival, while Kelly McGillis is just very sexy indeed.
8. Die Hard
Dir John McTiernan, 1988, 131m
If Richard Gere or even Burt Reynolds (!) had agreed to say John McClane’s catchphrase: “Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker”, Bruce Willis might never have become a star. His sardonic arrogance comes to the fore as a disgruntled New York cop indulging in some nifty banter with terrorist head honcho Alan Rickman. A slew of one-man-against-the-odds imitators couldn’t top this for surprise or suspense.
9. Predator
Dir John McTiernan, 1987, 102m
So rich in testosterone, Predator makes Rambo seem about as macho as a Hugh Grant rom com. Arnie strips to the waist in this alien-hunting extravaganza, covering himself with mud and taking on the Predator with a bow made of branches and twine. It’s the kind of film in which Jesse Ventura, after getting shot, says: “I ain’t got time to bleed”. McTiernan handles this shrewdly, turning a B-movie concept into a compelling Oscar-nominated action film.
10. First Blood
Dir Ted Kotcheff, 1982, 96m
Luckily for Sly Stallone, who has built much of his career out of this franchise, test audiences rejected First Blood’s original suicide ending – so tormented, paranoid Vietnam veteran John Rambo lived to fight in three more movies. Ignore the politics and the kitsch closing oratory: Sly gave Rambo a manic, physical edge, doing many stunts and breaking three ribs in the cliff-top jump.
(Better than) the book
It’s fair to say you should never make a film of a book as it will never live up to the original – except when it does, of course.
1. Orlando
Dir Sally Potter, 1992, 95m
Based on Virginia Woolf’s Orlando: A biography, this is the story
of an Elizabethan courtier who obeys his Queen’s order: “Do not fade Orlando, do not grow old.” Potter creates a visually stunning movie, elegantly taking on the challenge of gender change and spanning the passing of eras, all enhanced by Tilda Swinton’s masterful performance as the hopelessly romantic Orlando.
2. The Hunchback Of Notre Dame
Dir Wiliam S. Dieterle, 1939, 116m, b/w
Charles Laughton’s brilliant performance as Quasimodo reveals new subtleties with every viewing. Dieterle’s grotesque romance remains the definitive version of the Victor Hugo novel, enriched by some spectacular crowd scenes (staged by Jacques Tourneur) and a superb, sensual, performance from Maureen O’Hara as Esmerelda.
3. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Dir Tom Tykwer, 2006, 147m
Stanley Kubrick claimed it was impossible to film Patrick Süskind’s magical historical novel about the mystery of scent, but Tykwer proves him magnificently wrong. Master perfumer, Jean-Bapriste Grenouille, born without personal scent, but the olfactory equivalent of perfect pitch, becomes obsessed with finding the scent of the divine, an obsession that leads him to serial murder.
4. All Quiet on the Western Front
Dir Lewis Milestone, 1930, 147m b/w
The greatest anti-war movie, Milestone’s Oscar-winning film is based on German World War I veteran Erich Maria Remarque’s anti-war novel. Book and film were banned in Nazi Germany and Remarque fled after his sister was murdered and the Nazis sought to have the film destroyed. Ironically, modern-day prints were reconstructed using Joseph Goebbel’s copy as a principal source. Milestone broke ground with the fast-paced trench and battlefield scenes, freeing the camera to absorb the action.
5. The Grapes Of Wrath
Dir John Ford, 1940, 128m, b/w
Ford’s adaptation of John Steinbeck’s best-known novel is an undisputed masterpiece. Depicting the struggle of an “Okie” family who head to California to escape the dust-bowl that Connery’s youthful 007 saves the world one massage at a time in You Only Live Twice blighted the mid-west in the 1930s, the movie is blessed with near-perfect acting by Henry Fonda and Jane Darwell and Gregg Toland’s stunning photography. Ford is so masterly not even the replacement of Steinbeck’s politics with religious symbolism and a new ending kill the story.
6. Last Exit to Brooklyn
Dir Ulrich Edel, 1989, 98m
Hubert Selby Jr’s 1962 controversial novel was the centre of a landmark Obscene Publications trial which, once the book was found not guilty, helped change British censorship laws. Jennifer Jason Leigh stars as the wonderfully named Tralala, a numb, self-destructive prostitute working the streets of 1950s New York, surrounded by violence, drugs, corruption, repression and union militancy in this despairing look at a dark side of the period.
7. The Name of the Rose
Dir Jean-Jacques Annaud, 1986, 123m
Umberto Eco’s surprise bestseller is an exposition of the role of
scholasticism, a medieval academic method attempting to reconcile
classical philosophy with Christian theology, in challenging the church establishment’s teachings. Maverick monk William of Baskerville (nicely played by Sean Connery) arrives at a theological conference with novice (Christian Slater, establishing himself as a master of quirk) where several attendees are murdered. Annaud’s atmospheric film is full of tension and oddness as William proves the devil’s work isn’t being done.
8. Lord Of The Flies
Dir Richard Brooks, 1963, 92m, b/w
Brooks doesn’t lighten the darkness of William Golding’s allegorical
novel, a perennial favourite on school syllabuses. Stranded on a desert island, a group of English schoolboys soon lose their civilised veneer and engage in tribal strife. The scene in which these marauding schoolboys wave pointed sticks and shout “Kill the beast” is a grimly memorable realisation of Golding’s dark vision.
9. Fahrenheit 451
Dir Francois Truffaut, 1966, 109m
The only English-language film Truffaut directed, this adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s dystopian story of a society in which books are banned to suppress independent thinking, isn’t one of the French master’s best, but is still strong. While the story revolves around Guy Montag, a fireman whose role it is to destroy books, the film’s charms are the dual roles of Julie Christie as both the ineffectual Mrs Montag (an unquestioning victim of televised oppression) and Clarisse, a renegade bookseller who leads Guy to a new life full of books. Apparently,
books burn at 450º Fahrenheit.
10. A Clockwork Orange
Dir Stanley Kubrick, 1971, 131m
Anthony Burgess’s novel of an amoral man running rampant in a dystopian future produced a film so disturbing Kubrick kept it offscreen in Britain for decades after what seemed like a copycat killing. Malcolm McDowell plays anti-hero Alex with charm, malice and cheek in a career-defining role that makes Kubrick’s movie feel greater than it really is.
You can contact Paul at movielists@proflebooks.com
Movie Lists, 397 Ways To Pick A DVD is out now. Profile Books, Paperback original £9.99
**You’ve heard mine, now I’d love to hear yours: What are the BEST and WORST films in your DVD collection? Share your thoughts here and we can start off a cringetastic list of our very own!
All the best and have a very merry Christmas.