1000 Films to Change Your Life

by Simon Cropper

Twenty-four frames a second, 100 heartbeats a minute, a dozen emotional highs an hour and shockwaves that last a lifetime: that's cinema. Nothing entertains us like the movies, but they also have the power to ignite strong passions. A film can make us laugh, make us sad or remorseful, frighten or reassure us, make us angry - and even, sometimes, make us want to change the world.

This book is not a guide to viewing, nor a list of 'best ever' films. 1000 Films to change your life is, instead, a celebration of cinema's emotional power, written by people in the thick of the movie business. Film-makers and cinematographers, actors and actresses, writers and critics deliver personal, polemical accounts of erotica, road movies, children's cinema, horror, surrealism, documentary and much more besides. It's a book that fizzes with passion for film.

Genres: Nonfiction, Film, Media Tie In, Reference

280 pages, Paperback

First published May 9, 2006

Reviews

[Paul Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

A certain kind of book always makes some reviewers talk about toilets. Not "I want to shove this book down my toilet but I'm afraid it would just get blocked" but "this is a great book for reading on the toilet". Not only does the juxtaposition of books and toilets strike me as really quite distasteful, but also I must fear for these toilet readers' bowels if they have the time, either regularly or irregularly, to spend reading upon their toilets even the shortest of chapters in the thinnest of celebrity autobiographies. They really should be including more roughage in their diet.

But enough, this book is such that certain movie fans with or without a lack of dietary roughage may well find room for in their lives, composed, as it is, like a pleasing magpie's nest of short essays, squibs, quotes, factoids and themed chapters (Sadness, Fear, Regret, Anger, and Contempt, to name but five), and although there was a fair amount of intolerable chaff, nevertheless, at all times, one felt oneself in the company of diehard film fans, there was a bubbling enthusiasm, there was fun, and as such it's a reasonable substitute for a conversation with an actual movie fan.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

'1000 films to change your life' is not meant to be:

1. A reference guide to 1000 films agreed upon in a poll/by critics
2. The be all and end on all on the best films ever
3. A rigidly structured, encyclopaedic database of films

This book is split up into chapters headed 'Joy,' 'Anger,' 'Wonder' etc. In each chapter there are various essays loosely based around this topic as well as top ten lists in each one. The writers are either well-established critics, actors or directors (e.g. Isabella Rossellini, Ian McKellen, Tony Leung) and they are given free reign to write about that which interests them or they feel passionately about.

This book is fun and provides much food for thought as well as giving space to lesser known films and directors.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as I thought it would be.

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 3 out of 5]

i loathe these 1000 film books

and a special level of hell goes to those books of that type that come out with new editions to keep up with film, music, etc, and take out 15 films to add 15 more films, to keep it sounding wonderful at 'merely a thousand and one films' etc etc.

If you discover 3 or 14 new films from a book like this one, well, i guess it was worth it

but maybe it's not worth it, if the list adds 'a bunch of recent films, because they're sorta okay, and not really as great as the early ones'

now a book on 1000 films that speaks to some decade, might be better!

sadly i say, if you think a film or a religion is going to change your life or your moral compass, oh boy, i got a bridge to sell you

but hey i got a candy bar that will change your life!

---

as for themes, where is sleepy?

because i really do NOT want to be told which films are 'happy/sad'

What i do like are when someone actually works out themes intelligently like the topic guide for the Hounddog movie guide, with asterisk like entities to show you which films are 3/5 bones or better. Or the Allmusics site which lists record albums by 'moods', which is slightly interesting.

The Abominable Dr. Phibes
oh please Simon Cropper tell me it's scary! please please please tell me!
I'm dying to find out.

Young Frankenstein, oh please Simon, tell me it's funny!
one word is all i ask for! It MAY change my LIFE!
(sigh, i think i've embarassed myself enough)

If i want to know this stuff i'll get bold and read some postage stamp commentary in the Blockbuster Guide, Mick Martin and Marsha Porter's Video Guide, The Hounddog Guide, or Leonard Maltin if i can find a used copy....

I'm still hoping for a book called 1000 French films to not change your life

[Meg Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great collection of essays from filmmakers, actors, production crew, critics etc. Most of these films I've never even heard of, despite the fact that I am an avid movie-goer. Why, you ask? Because these are not movies. They are FILMS. What is the distinction? Movies show up at the local Cinemark. Films are what you discuss in a cafe with other brooding existentialists over mocha and a cigarette.

The organization of this collection is brilliant. The movies (sorry--FILMS) are divided into groups according to the emotion they elicit - fear, desire, anger, sadness, etc. So I can turn to the section I'm interested in, and know exactly what to watch in order to wallow in a puddle of misery, rage, joy, etc. Though I might have to do some hunting to get my hands on a copy of my selection- Blockbuster probably doesn't carry "La Cage Aux Folles."

[Stephen Dedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Takes an interesting approach by categorizing films by the emotions they invoke rather than conventional genres. Contains many mini-essays by filmmakers about the movies that inspired them, and a lot of brief reviews. And it's always good to know that there are other people out there who admire Peter Watkins' PUNISHMENT PARK, which reassures me that I didn't just imagine seeing it.*

* Okay, I now own it on blu-ray, but for a while there I had my doubts.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book could be a fun textbook for a film class! The book was organized by themes (emotions) which made it easier to follow. I liked that it had screen shots from powerful movies (films). Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into the many essays it contained. Furthermore I did not enjoy the many vague movie summaries which added filler throughout the book.

[Naweed Harooni]

It only covers American films; Hollywood. Those also include some of the below average movies which one can easily ignore to see.
The great cinema of England and Europe or elsewhere is totally ignored.

[Mark Winkelmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good take on this kind of thing by arranging the films by emotional theme. There are some interesting insights and its bound to suggest some new films or even an interesting angle ones you've seen. On the downside while it is a good idea there's inevitably overlap between themes and it doesn't add up to any grand insight, if you were being unkind you'd say its just a lot of bitty mini-articles, interviews, reminiscences and lists. That said some of those are stuff like two pages by Alex Cox on Django Kill which is really interesting.

[Cynthia]

I'm ordering DVDs for the library right now. I like looking through these kind of books to get ideas.

[Iain Watson]

Time Out 1000 Films to Change Your Life (Time Out Guides) by Time Out (2006)

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great teaching resource

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty cool book.as lots of movies in it.

[Danial Parkes · Rating 3 out of 5]

if you are into decent films then this book is for you :)

[Moinak · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best Film guides around. Great compilation and I also liked the way it has categorized the 1100+ films. Recommended for those who love to watch good cinema.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of essays on film; some great, some decent, some infuriating, but all thought provoking and it gave me a lot more movies to check out at some point.

[Michelle Taylor]

Received this book from my high school media teacher when I graduated... Absolutely love it