Almanac Film: Desert Island DVDs
To choose a favourite film to take with you if you happened to be stranded alone on a desert island, is a ridiculous premise for a couple of reasons.
Firstly you would need a generator or solar power, a DVD player and a screen and secondly how on earth can you choose just one film?
I’m no movie academic but I was having this discussion with my partner Lynda and started to write down a list in the following categories.
Obsession – Viewed 20+ times
Revered – 10+ times
Adored – 5+times
OBSESSION
- Taxi Driver (1976)
- This is Spinal Tap (1984)
- Withnail & I (1987)
REVERED
- Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
- Goodfellas (1990)
- Life of Brian (1979)
- Secrets and Lies (1996)
- Don’s Party (1976)
- Deer Hunter (1978)
- Cool Hand Luke (1967)
- The Shining (1980)
- The Boys (1998)
- One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
- When We Were Kings Doco (1997)
ADORED
- Fargo (1996)
- Bull Durham (1988)
- Man With Two Brains (1983)
- Death in Brunswick (1990)
- Full Metal Jacket (1987)
- Pulp Fiction (1994)
- Man on Wire Doco (2008)
- American, The Bill Hicks Story Doco (2010)
- Best in Show (2000)
- Gallipoli (1981)
- Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
- Sunday Too Far Away (1975)
- The Other Guys (2010)
- Slapshot (1977)
- Wake in Fright (1971)
- Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
- No Country For Old Men (2007)
- The Story of Anvil doco (2008)
- Sexy Beast (2000)
- Raising Arizona (1987)
This is a personal choice and by no means a panacea for when you’re next stuck on a desert island, but it was an interesting look back on the films that I’ve watched many times over and never seemed to get tired of.
Separating the hundreds of excellent films you’ve seen from the cherished ones is extremely difficult. As to the ‘why’ of these choices, I could bore you to death with the reasons so I won’t.
The fact is, that there are brilliant films that only need to be seen once but there are others that make you feel great regardless of your intimate knowledge of it.
I hope this provokes a discussion as colourful as the one we had in our household!
More from Ian Wilson can be read Here.
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About Ian Wilson
Former army aircraft mechanic, sales manager, VFA footballer and coach. Now mental health worker and blogger. Lifelong St Kilda FC tragic and father to 2 x girls.
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Wow, Ian – I never would have guessed it, but on the matter of fav movies, you & I are Venn diagrams that NEVER intersect.
I owe most of these choices to the twenty years I spent in Canberra and had access to scores of film festivals from every corner of the Planet, plus the ANU Film Group (which screened over 120 highly diverse films/year for a remarkable $60/yr subscription).
These ten films are mainly those that always make me tear up, no matter how many times I’ve seen them or else made me feel very different on exiting the cinema to how I felt on entry:
Forrest Gump (1994) – I guess if you have your own ‘Jenny’ in your life, it hits deep
Yesterday (2019) – where the Beatles never were & John L lived well into his 80’s
Searching For Sugarman (2012)
The Legend of 1900 (1998)
Cherry Blossoms: Hanami (2008)
As It Is In Heaven (2004)
The Diving Bell & The Butterfly (2007)
Burn After Reading (2008)
The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty (2013)
Them (1954) – the first movie that I remember seeing (probably in mid 60’s) and has stayed with me ever since. I have only lately established a more positive attitude towards the role of ants in the ecological order.
I have two recommendations that may be hard to find, but if they do crop up, they are a must see:
‘The Clock’ (2010) – by Christian Marclay, a 24-hour video supercut of clips from thousands of films that is synchronized to the actual time of day, showing the real-time passage of time.
I saw this at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney – but only managed to watch about nine hours in two different time slots.
‘Final Cut: Ladies & Gentlemen’ (2012) – by György Pálfi that tells a universal love story using only scenes from other films. The movie acts as a “love letter to cinema,” piecing together clips from hundreds of movies to create a unique narrative about a man and a woman.
I saw this at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. It was a one off showing and there were probably multiple copyright issues happening, so it may be hard to access the movie – but well worth tring if you want a very unique experience.
Thanks for sparking the conversation Ian.
AE & I are obsessive movie goers – mainly European art house these days. But I can’t say I’m an obsessive re-watcher of movies.
“Casablanca” is the only movie I can watch annually and never tire. The snappy dialogue is the greatest ever written, and the moral complexity behind the plot is compelling. I fall in love with Ingrid Bergman anew each year (don’t tell AE).
On your list I can leave some of your Obsession & Revered. A bit too dark and cynical for me. Deer Hunter is a great first half movie (falling in love with Meryl Streep for the first time) – but the second half (compulsive gambling and blowing your brains out) – too close to home. I like movies that add a little light to my internal shade – but add some intrigue.
I like nearly all your Adored list. Bull Durham is high on my faves. Snappy dialogue and getting to fall in love with Susan Sarandon helps. Body Heat is another fave – with Kathleen Turner as the sulky/silky seductress (there may be a pattern emerging – don’t tell AE).
Movies that made an impact on me that I can rewatch and not get bored:
Godfather 1 & 2 – The narrative arc is compelling. We become a victim of our own choices.
Three Colours Blue and The English Patient and The Unbearable Lightness of Being – My falling in love with Juliet Binoche movies. Helps that they are all visually stunning (beyond Juliet) and have a moral question at their core.
Beautiful People is an obscure British dramedy we rewatch regularly. It centres around the Balkan War of the 90’s – with a couple of Croatian and Serb refugees who continue to fight and abuse each other long after they have escaped the fighting. Darkly comic in AE’s native language. And it has a quirky accidental hero and a generous heart.
Local Hero for the Mark Knopfler theme music and the quirky Scottish humour and the moral question at its heart – would you rather be rich or happy?
I’m worried for AE’s sake with these female obsessions Pete! Anyway Kathleen turner took the P out of herself in Man With 2 Brains after Body Heat in which…yes she was seriously sexy. I loved the 3 Colours films and yes …Juliette was gorgeous as was Susan Sarandon in Bull Durham. You’ve got me going now! We watched Local Hero recently and enjoyed it. Love Scotland..period and Burt was terrific. Godfather 1 & 2 are classics but I didn’t quite hit the 5 views. Many thanks mate
My number 1 choice would be Towering Inferno. The reason, discussing this film was one of the first conversations I had with ny wife, 21 years ago.
On that, better make sure that desert island’s got a VHS player. I don’t have it on DVD.
Geez, Willo, this is a topic that really sends one down the rabbit-hole.
For what it’s worth, the two movies I could not live without are:
Apocalypse Now (1979) and Groundhog Day (1993).
And to make up the numbers:
Citizen Kane (1941), To Live and Die in LA (1985), and La La Land (2016)
Also,
Thanks for your comments re Swifty part 2.
I attempted to email you, but it keeps bouncing back.
Thanks for reading and commenting, mate.
I’m a bit late to the party here, Willow, but here’s a selection of all-time favourite films that I’d take with me to a desert island.
Deserto Rosso (Italy – 1964)
Scenes from a Marriage (Sweden – 1973)
Day for Night (France – 1973)
Don’t Look Now (England – 1973)
Amadeus (USA – 1984)
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (USA – 1988)
Jar City (Iceland – 2005)