'1000 Films To Change Your Life' By Time Out London: Ebury
Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1 904978 73 8 280pp. (softback)
£9.99
The modern world's obsession with grading and marking art as if such
works were merely a page of junior school sums inevitably brings art to
the masses as it simultaneously reduces art to the lowest common
denominator. Thus, of the top 25 in Channel 4's '100 Greatest Movies Of
All-Time' poll (conducted in 2001), only three were made prior to 1950,
and just one (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) was non-English
language. What the poll should realistically have been titled was '100
Movies You, Our Audience, Have Heard Of And Think Are Pretty Good'. One
even expected to see the overblown (and overlong) Titanic in
the list...and one wasn't disappointed, as it clocked in at a
respectable number 54, a mere five places higher than the masterpiece A
Matter of Life and Death and a clear 30 places ahead of the classic
1938 The Adventures of Robin Hood. Yes, such lists are meant to
be a talking point (I'm waiting for the 'Top 50 Surf Bands Ever' to
omit the Beach Boys, again just to get people talking), but there is a
limit- and the limit has been reached. We've had (courtesy of Channel
4) '100 Greatest War Films', '100 Greatest Musicals', '100 Greatest
Movie Stars' and many more- all seemingly doing the same thing:
re-cycling clips with a variety of celebs on hand to wax eloquent about
the finer points of films like Toy Story (not an easy matter, I
grant you). One genuinely wonders what film-related lists have yet to
be drawn-up: will we have '100 Greatest Film Haircuts' or '100 Greatest
Great Film Characters'? If we do, the same films will most likely be
there (again) and the same old people on hand to comment sagely about
the "plot" or "the characters" without saying anything too revelatory.
In essence, those 'manufacturing' the polls are doing two things-
providing material for their audience and also telling the audience
what its tastes are. Without being overly snobbish, the majority of the
Channel 4 audience who are willing to E-Mail, write, or, even worse,
text in to vote for such 'top...' list shows are not likely to cast
their precious pearls of wisdom for a film they have only barely heard
of, read about or noticed on the 'world cinema' rack in their local
HMV. They will stick with the known, the trusted, the familiar. The
votes subsequently cast lead to a pecking order which is broadly
representative of the audience as a whole, with the occasional
interesting abhoration, leading, I am willing to bet, to vast swathes
of the audience shrugging their shoulders in bewilderment as an
isolated island paradise of a Bergman, Eisenstein or Godard film
troubles the crashing wave that is post-1950 Anglo-American cinema
which seems to dominate such lists.
From the unpromising position of mediocrity overload (which seems to
totally ignore that any films were made prior to 1950 (and
especially not without sound!) or made anywhere else but Britain and
America, it would be tempting (and indeed forgiveable) to dismiss any
further intrusions on already over-farmed cinematic land as patently
unnecessary. However, the Time Out guide 1000 Films To Change Your
Life is something different, offering as it does not a rated list
(how can one compare Raging Bull to A Night At The Opera
anyway?) but one built around 'the nine emotions people are most likely
to feel at the cinema' (p.6). Thus, there are chapters devoted to Joy,
Anger, Desire, Fear, Sadness, Exhilaration, Regret, Contempt and
Wonder, with a chapter slotted in early on entitled 'Food For Thought'
which deals with the more cognitive side of cinematic output.
Such an imaginatively organised volume, as the introduction proudly
claims, can indeed 'be treated as you would a DVD: you can read it from
start to finish, open it at random and dive in, jump from one part to
another, make your own edit' (p.6). The only sticking point here is
that not many DVDs lend themselves to jumping around without losing a
sense of coherance, especially feature films! This rather pedantic
point aside, 1000 Films To Change Your Life is an intriguing
read, but ultimately a rather frustrating one, for it packs so much in
there is very little breathing space or time to sit back and think
about things. Thus, each chapter includes an overview of the cinematic
emotion in question, a historical "grab-bag" of that emotion in
specific films and a generous adult-sized portion of mini articles
about various aspects of the emotion under scrutiny. The overall effect
of this (even when dipping in and out of the book) is akin to
navigating a vastly comprehensive breakfast buffet with pressure from
hungry diners behind- there is so much to look at and so many different
things to assimilate that you end up opting for just the toast and
coffee after all.
Although the sheer tapestry-like vastness of 1000 Films To Change
Your Life is a trifle daunting, its coverage is to be applauded- it
is guaranteed to make even the most ardent cinefile reach for their Halliwell's
Film Guide (only to discover that a fair proportion of the films
discussed are not listed in that weighty tome). With the Internet,
however, this is not a problem, and can lead to the investigation of
films, stars and directors prompted by the enthusiasms of those writing
the mini essays. The hot 100-style list at the back of the book
consists of largely familiar titles which are considered 'key' ones and
are therefore priviliged a fuller reference, but, like the Channel 4
mainstay 'top 100' programmes, it does have some surprising inclusions
and omissions. Consequently, there is no room for Frank Capra's It's
A Wonderful Life but there is space for 1997's In The Company
Of Men, for example. The complete film index at the very back of
the book is likewise revealing in what was excluded in favour
of what was included. Amusingly, Truffaut's classic Jules
et Jim appears in no fewer than three of the emotion chapters (Joy,
Desire and Regret) but the same director's equally masterful Les
Quatre Cents Coups does not appear at all. Perhaps its chances were
ruined by its indescribable charm and irrepressible creativity? (After
all, neither charm nor creativity fits into any obvious emotion). This
is one downfall of a book like 1000 Films To Change Your Life-
that films not conforming to the 'cinematic emotion' prerequisite are
overlooked in favour of those that crudely seek one particular emotion
at the expense of others. Another problem for such a book is the
ever-continuing nature of cinema, both in terms of new releases and
past discoveries, as a film like Beyond The Rocks may change
the life of a Valentino and Swanson fanatic in the way that
Spider-Man (listed under 'Exhilaration' rather than 'Boredom'
which was where I'd initally looked for it) surely would not.
Finally, this last point highlights the thornier (yet unavoidable)
problem that everybody is different, and the film that changes one
person's life might well leave another totally unmoved. I was once told
(prior to seeing the movie, I hasten to add) that It's A Wonderful
Life would change my life. It did. As I left the cinema after the
screening I would not, however, have described the emotion I felt as
pure, undiluted 'Joy' (the emotion to which the film is firmly anchored
to). Instead, my emotions in general ran riot- there was initial
curiosity, hope, sadness, satisfaction and ultimately tears of relief,
which I still cry each time I see the film. What I'm getting at here is
that films are far more complex than just a pure emotion- they are
works of art that are moulded and imbued with many varying feelings. In
short, 1000 Films To Change Your Life is a laudable attempt to
stimulate a more intelligent perception of perhaps the 20th Century's
finest art form but, like those certain items in a breakfast buffet,
should be taken with a pinch of salt. '100 Greatest Film Breakfasts'
anyone? They might even interview Delia Smith about the morning meal in
It Happened One Night- now that might be well worth watching.
'1000 Films To Change Your Life' is published by Ebury Publishing.
Ebury Publishing
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