Movies you must see before you die

152515__cog_l

I always take the bait, don’t I? PopCandy links to some supposedly definitive best-of list that’s guaranteed to make my blood boil, and I have to check it out just to see how wrongheaded it is. In this case, it’s the 50 Movies You Must See Before You Die list from the U.K.’s Sunday Mail. As insane and slapdash as this compilation is, it’s actually pretty interesting in that it leans heavily away from classics and toward recent art-house fare — City of God (pictured), Sexy Beast, Donnie Darko, Lost in Translation, Mulholland Drive. Still, no list of indispensable movies that dispenses with The Godfather, The Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, Rashomon, E.T., or Star Wars is worth any serious consideration. Not sure who’s to blame for this abomination; among the panel of experts, only producer David Puttnam (Chariots of Fire) is listed. At least he was modest enough not to put any of his own movies on the list.

What’s on your list of the 50 Movies to see before one dies?

Related Articles