The A List: The National Society of Film Critics' 100 Essential Films

by Jay Carr (Editor)

People love movies. People love lists. So The A-List is a natural. While there are plenty of encyclopedic lists of films, this compulsively readable book of 100 essays -- most written expressly for this volume-flags the best of the best as chosen by a consensus of the National Society of Film Critics. The Society is a world-renowned, marquee -- name organization embracing some of America's most distinguished more than forty writers who have national followings as well as devoted local constituencies in such major cities as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Minneapolis. But make no mistake about This isn't a collection of esoteric "critic's choice" movies. The Society has made its selections based on a film's intrinsic merits, its role in the development of the motion-picture art, and its impact on culture and society. Some of the choices are controversial. So are some of the omissions. It will be a jumping-off point for discussions for years to come. And since the volume spans all international films from the very beginning, it will act as a balance to recent guides dominated by films of the last two decades (hardly film's golden age). Here is a book that is definitely ready for its close-up.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Media Tie In, Reference, Essays

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Mark Flowers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictably uneven - though it was interesting to see what felt like a pretty clear hierarchy of film critics: the best writers (Rob Nelson, Jonathan Rosenbaum, and Roger Ebert) are all Mid-western critics, the New York critics not so good, and Kevin Thomas from the LA Times coming in a dreadful worst.

The list itself was intriguing (though too heavily American; plus Diner?!? Star Wars?!? some of the selections were just silly).

Worth flipping through for the good essays (Those mid-western critics), but not for reading straight through.

[Frederick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Helpful in terms of directing us to different styles and types of movies to start getting into however questionable in terms of selections and many of the essays are mediocre at best with little substance and utility in explaining to us what really makes the film great. Some films like Palm Beach Story, Trouble in Paradise or even Ashes and Diamonds making the grade over so many other potential additions makes one wonder about the mental stability of the selectors. In summary, there are many many other films that actually deserve to be ranked that are not here and too many here that are undeserving.

[Jill H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't pay much attention to film critics since, to paraphrase, "a classic is in the eye of the beholder".....but this book does a pretty good job of listing/discussing the essential films from silents to the early 21st century. The films are not limited to those made in the US and some of the wonderful Japanese and German masterpieces which are familiar to the lover of film are included. I disagreed with a few of the entries and felt that some groundbreaking films were omitted but, again, it is very subjective. It is a good read for the movie lover.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

These eesays (one per film) are worth reading for any movie buff.