What three records would you like if you were stuck on a desert island?
The long distance swimming record would be a good start!
Assuming that wouldn’t work, I’d set up a makeshift chair, split open a coconut and enjoy some very fine movies. Here are my Gr8at films if I was stuck on a desert island.
The Third Man
My favourite ever film so no chance I could miss this out. It was released in 1949 and it’s still a joy to the senses. The dialogue is outrageously sharp, the cinematography sublime, the directing imaginative and the acting of the highest calibre. A thought-provoking classic of what the fascination and drawbacks are of being immoral, and what affects it has for those caught in the middle.
Clerks
I’m always amazed when I run into people who haven’t seen this film. The Naked Gun trilogy, Airplane and the Marx Brothers set are all super funny, but Clerks is still the film that makes me laugh most. The glorious cynicism in two friends in dead-end jobs dealing with a whole spectrum of customers would be a fun way to while away time on a desert island.
Field of Dreams
I’m a huge sports fan, but have never come close to understanding people’s love of baseball. But Field of Dreams is a film that really does go beyond that. It’s a magical, sentimental and captures the beauty of daydreaming. It’s the kind of upbeat message I’d need if I was to be alone on an island.
Battle Royale
Well I just had to have this on here! It’s such an entertaining film with a brilliant premise. Just what would happen if a group of schoolkids were dropped off in an island and left to fend for themselves? What separates this from just being just an extension of Lord of the Flies is the motives for why they’re there, being both boys and girls, and the use of weapons.
Bridge on the River Kwai
I’ve always loved this film. The idea of how people act when they think no one is watching and just what constitutes a hero has always intrigued me. Add in the superlative Alec Guinness as the misguided Lt. Colonel Nicholson, an epic setting, and a storyline that builds to an explosive crescendo and you have one of the best war films ever.
The Godfather
It’s not too often that a truly great novel becomes a truly great film. The story of the Corleone family is one of cinema’s most phenomenal of achievements and a masterclass of how to adapt a literary classic. It’s also an acting extravaganza that may well be the coolest film ever. With the time I’d have spare, I might finally be able to master the legendary voice too.
Prefontaine
Not that well known in the slightest, and not even the only film to have been made about the star in question, but Prefontaine really is a superb piece of filmmaking I’d hate to go without. It’s still my favourite film for getting inside the mind of an athlete, especially before the era of high-end sponsorship. Deserves far-wider recognition.
Whatever it Takes
For a while I was between Reservoir Dogs and The Dark Knight, but I’d need a lighter movie and ‘Whatever it Takes’ always puts me in a good mood. Though the standard varies wildly, I’ve always had a soft spot for teen movies, and this loose remaking of Cyrano de Bergerac has plenty of laughs.
nice list Alex! I agree on most of them. Love Kwai and Clerks especially
Thanks. Tried to get a nice genre balance 🙂
Totally agree on The Third Man, Battle Royale, Clerks (though I love Dogma more) and River Kwai. Great list!
Thanks. Any ideas what yours would be?
I would need to put The Great Escape, North by Northwest and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World in there somehow. 🙂
Have seen the first two and great shouts, but need to see the last one.
It’s a looooong movie, but it had so many comedians at the time in it, both starring and just cameo appearances. It hasn’t aged well, but I don’t care. 🙂 It’s almost like “Rat Race”, if you’ve seen that, but more epic!
Is that what Rat Race was based on? It did make me laugh when I saw it at the cinema. You should do an article on best comedies 🙂
Fight Club,Godfather and Pulp Fiction.Maybe.
There are so many great movies!
Could all easily go in. It’s not my favourite 8 films, though there is some overlap. It’s more to do with the films I’d most want to watch if stuck by myself Castaway style. I’d probably cheat anyhow and take a few more haha.
Nice choices… although I initially thought this was going to be 8 movies set on desert islands. I need sleep.
That would be funny. It’s really 8 films that mix well that would be nice to watch if stuck alone for a while. I’m not sure anyone finds the joke funny though 😦
Sounds like you will be having a great time on your island. Third Man is my favorite. 🙂
I’ve always loved that film. It is flawless. I’ve even been on the wheel from the film 🙂 https://alexraphael.wordpress.com/2013/11/26/travel-snapshot-vienna-austria/
sweet! Luck you 😉
It was lovely 🙂
Clerks is an excellent choice. I’m surprised by how many of these I haven’t seen, though. I have some catching up to do.
Thanks. I should do my favourite ever Gr8at films at some point. I heard a funny story about leslie Nielsen the other day.
A friend of a friend said he had run into Leslie Nielsen a few years ago. This guy saw him walk past, and shouted to him if he was indeed the Leslie Nielsen. The guy replied “I hope so. I’m wearing his underwear!”
That’s pretty precious. I wonder how many times he’s used that line.
I like to think just the once 🙂
Very fun list. Gosh I don’t know if I’d be able to pick just a handful of movies…Well, one of them would have to be The Princess Bride and another would have to be Jurassic Park. That’s for damn sure. Hahaha.
One day I’ll do a Top 20 films 🙂
I look forward to it! P.S. Thought about it, and I’d probably include all three LOTR films, too. I feel like between those three and the first two I mentioned, I would manage not to go completely insane on that island. Hahaha.
Would you include it as one film? It’s the sort of thing I’d try ha. I mean it would come in the same box 😉
Lol! Excellent point. But then I’d have to make MORE tough choices! Basically, I just can’t ever be in this situation. Hahaha.
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