Flicking through Sight & Sound in Smiths the other day, I became somewhat exasperated reading all the critics' Top Tens of all time.
A critic, yesterday.
Obviously you had Kermode flying the flag for genre cinema with predictable (and justifiable) votes for The Exorcist and The Devils. And it was a real shame that Kim Newman's votes weren't listed. But the vast majority of the film writers were picking films, the circumstances under which they'd choose to watch them, I cannot fathom. I guess there's a certain type of viewer who engages with cinema on an entire other level to me. A purely cerebral one. I cannot, and do not want in the least bit, to loose the joyous thrill of enjoyment.
I really do not to wish to appear anti-intellectual. I think all the films I have picked are awfully clever. Genius in fact. It's just they are applying that genius to entertaining. Growing up spending years consuming miles of VHS tape, I never made that switch in my brain into not wanting films to be fun any more. I have seen both Battleship Potemkin and The Untouchables and I can happily argue that The Untouchables is better. Andy Garcia catches the pram with his leg for one thing.
Better than Battleship Potemkin. Fact.
So after an awful lot of procrastination, and with apologies to An Amercian Werewolf in London, Rocky, Toy Story 3, The Blues Brothers and Aliens, here's my Top Ten Films of All Time (today):
1. The Empire Strikes Back
2. Star Wars
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark
4. Jaws
5. Goodfellas
6. Die Hard
7. Pulp Fiction
8. The Big Lebowski
9. Return of the Jedi
10. This Is Spinal Tap
