Friday, July 06, 2007

A movie top 10

I noticed over at Chicken Yoghurt that the Groan has a list of the best thousand films ever and this week the Telegraph is also asking its readers for their 100 favourites.

I'm never sure what to make of these polls or lists - there are well over a thousand really good films (hell, there are 3 passable efforts in the Police Academy series) - and it seems stupid to rank them on something as objective as "best ever". Is the Godfather better than Dr Strangelove? Is the Godfather part II better than the Godfather? Is anything better than Tokyo Story? Has anyone actually seen Tokyo Story?

I'm going to offer a slightly different list, with a narrower remit. It's close to my heart, for reasons that will be obvious, and bound to cause a modicum of debate (I hope). If you have any comments, feel free to leave them.

In no order, 10 films starring people called Christopher:

1. Superman (1978) - Christopher Reeve. You've all seen this, I won't describe the plot. Note: there is no 's' on the end of Reeve.

2. Annie Hall (1977) - Christopher Walken. Only a minor role, but probably my favourite Walken. He plays Diane Keaton's slightly mad little brother.

3. The Return of the Pink Panther (1975) - Christopher Plummer. Every film should star Christopher Plummer. This one's got him and Peter Sellars. What more could you want?

4. Best in Show (2000) - Christopher Guest. Guest directed this dog show spoof, as well as starring in it. He's one of Ricky Gervais' comedy heroes, you know.

5. Short Cuts (1993) - Christopher Penn. Robert Altman at his multiple plot-weaving best. I don't think the late Penn was in a better film than this.

6. CB4 (1994) - Chris(topher) Rock. Rap's equivalent of "This is Spinal Tap", CB4 spoofs gangsta culture in Los Angeles. As a bonus it also stars Chris(topher) Elliot.

7. The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) - Christopher Lee. One of the very worst James Bond films, but at least it had a proper villain. The third nipple idea has been copied, but never bettered.

8. Shallow Grave (1994) - Christopher Eccleston. I think this is Danny Boyle's best film, a proper dark, British thriller. Of course, Eccleston is always watchable.

9. Back to the Future II (1989) - Christopher Lloyd. Another Christopher with a faultless track record, this is my favourite in the Back to the Future series.

10. The Magnificent Seven (1960) - Yul Brynner. The observant amongst you will have noticed that Yul Brynner is not called Christopher. But his character in this classic western is, and that's enough for me to shoehorn him into this list.

8 comments:

James Higham said...

Excellent list. Christopher eh? Why Christopher?

Chris G said...

Think about it, James.

Why Lord Straf-Dresden, though?

James Higham said...

Chris, understood now. On another matter, Blogpower is trying to decide some vital issues at this moment but only 7 or 33 members have commented. Clearly, that's no basis for a decision. Could you see spare a little time making your point of view known on the issues currently being discussed at Blogpower? James

Anonymous said...

Not a single Chris has ever been nominated for a Best Actor Oscar, although three have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor:

Chris Sarandon for Dog Day Afternoon - how could you forget that one!

Christopher Walken for The Deer Hunter,

Chris Cooper (who won it that year) for Adaptation, and

Christopher Walken again for Catch Me If You Can.

Far far more people called Michael have been nominated, although admittedly most of them have the surname Caine.

Steve said...

Back to the Future part II ahead of part I? Deary me. Even part III is better than part II.

Best in Show? It's good, yes, but nowhere near as good as A Mighty Wind. In fact, I'm suprised you put in Best in Show ahead of This Is Spinal Tap.

Jeremy Jacobs said...

As a distant relative of Robert Altman, I support you number 5

fake consultant said...

best christopher penn movie?

may i suggest reservoir dogs?

Anonymous said...

Very shorts, simple and easy to understand, bet some more comments from your side would be great