Making lists can appear to be both compelling and futile at the same time, and I have experienced both feelings in trying to think of my favourite films. This is my Top 10 at the moment, as I write, the selection due to a combination of mood and memory (and I’ve cheated a little bit as well), but I reserve to right to amend, add or annihilate at a future date…
FIELD OF DREAMS
Everyone knows that Field of Dreams is the greatest film ever… don’t pretend that you don’t think so too. ‘If you build it, he will come…’ A voice tells Kevin Costner’s character to build a baseball field on his farm, and after he does, the ghosts of legendary baseball players from the past magically appear. Field of Dreams is wonderfully uplifting, sentimental and moving, and I always get a lump in my throat at the end of the film… If you don’t feel the same, you don’t have a heart!
PATHFINDER
This is a Norwegian film that I suspect very few people have seen, but it is absolutely wonderful. It’s set in Norway in the year 1000AD, and tells the story of a young boy who is captured by a group of hunters intent on killing everyone in his village. The boy is forced to act as their ‘pathfinder’ to lead the hunters to where the rest of the village are hiding. I first saw this film at the Glasgow Film Theatre back in the late 1980s, and I thought it was brilliant. It is, needless to say, in subtitles, so if you’re like my wife and don’t watch a film to read, then you probably won’t enjoy it!
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST
An incredible film adaptation of an incredible book, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest is one of those films that I never tire of watching. Jack Nicholson is brilliant, as always, and this is a film which, at times, is laugh-out-loud funny, but is also poignant, moving and heartbreaking. The scene where Nicholson watches a game of baseball on a TV that’s not switched on is a classic.
HARVEY
My favourite comedy with James Stewart and an invisible, six-foot rabbit called Harvey – it doesn’t get much better than that. It’s funny from start to finish and you really do end up believing that Harvey is real (because he is!), and James Stewart is as brilliant as ever.
FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF
It is the great 1980s film dilemma – Ferris Bueller or The Breakfast Club? It was a close call but Ferris Bueller wins because … well, there are so many great moments in the film and not enough space here to list them all. I just don’t remember taking a day off school ever being this much fun!
WAR OF THE BUTTONS
A wonderful Irish film that tells the story of the ‘war’ between two rival gangs of schoolkids from neighbouring villages. It’s only recently become available on DVD and I would recommend that as soon as you’ve finished reading this page, you should buy it. You won’t be disappointed.
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
A stunning film that I found to be profoundly spiritual. There are some brutal scenes in it that are definitely not for the faint-hearted, but it’s a film that everyone should watch at least once in their life.
KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS
Another classic comedy with Alec Guinness playing eight different members of the D’Ascoyne family who are being bumped off by a distant relative intent on claiming what he believes to be his rightful inheritance. A brilliant black comedy.
THE GODFATHER: PARTS 1 & 2
Yes, I know this is cheating and it gets even worse with my next selection! In my defence, I find it impossible to separate the two films, and it is my list so I’m making up the rules as I go along! Both of these films are just about perfect and I never tire of watching them. But let’s not mention The Godfather 3!
THE TOY STORY TRILOGY
I told you I’d be cheating again and here it is now … how can anyone choose their favourite Toy Story film? It is impossible because all three of them are brilliant. I think any film list has to include something from Pixar since they make exceedingly good films, and the Toy Story films are amazing.
