The history of cinema in five films

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The history of cinema in five films

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The history of cinema in five films

October 4, 2011 - 11:52PM

The history of films in five films.

What if you had to explain the history of cinema to someone from another planet and only had five films to do it with. Which films would you pick, and why?

This is the question posed for a panel at the Australian Film Television and Radio School, where Karen Pearlman, the Head of Screen Studies believes The History of Cinema in Five Films will be "a lively, provocative and entertaining event to get people thinking about screen culture, how it has shaped them and how they would shape it if they were in an influential position."

So, on the assumption that Marvin the Martian lands and insists that that the first person he meet "take me to your cinema" (and that he speaks English, sees in our light spectrum, fits in the seats and doesn't get offended that I keep calling him a 'him' when Marvin is actually a Marcia) you've got ten-ish hours (Shoa is out, sorry) and five flicks to represent the history of motion pictures.

This intergalactic responsibility poses quite the dilemma. Not just what five films, but how to choose them. Do you go by box office figures? If so, and you go global, for we are talking all of film's history, your list is:

Avatar
Titanic
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Simply for reasons of the last film on that list being a cinematic abomination, that list's out. Alternatively, if we try the Australian box office for all time, we get:

Avatar
Titanic
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Shrek 2
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

The sheer abundance of sequels would make for a short lesson for our alien, one that seems to suggest the second film is always better, which means we now have to show the alien Speed 2 just to prove that wrong. How about if we take a look at the Australian flims at the Australian box office:

Crocodile Dundee
Australia
Babe
Happy Feet
Moulin Rouge

This is at least a more eclectic collection, however this is still a very modern list and hardly explanatory of cinema's wide history.

How about genres then? Can you even narrow the history of cinema down to five genres, with a favourite in each?

Comedy - Flying High
Romance - An Affair to Remember
Action - Die Hard
Thriller - Chinatown
Musical - The Sound of Music

What about Sci-Fi? Or History? Or Western? Or Foreign? Heck, just explaining that "foreign" is somehow considered a genre by a segment of people is going to take a fair bit of blackboard space with this poor alien. Try and outline what "Art-house" means and your ten hours may be up before you project a single frame.

How about the top films according to a popular poll? IMDb tells us the top films ever are:

The Shawshank Redemption
The Godfather
The Godfather: Part II
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Pulp Fiction

That's probably getting closer. Better yet if we knock out one of the Godfathers as number six is Twelve Angry Men.

Ask an academic and you'll be likely to hear names like Fellini, Godard, Kurosawa, Bergman and Hitchcock or is it Kubrick, Welles, Eisenstein, Lang and Leone? I'm upset still not to have mentioned Brooks, Spielberg, Nolan, Kapra or Allen.

What about a critic's list? Roger Ebert has a list of ten that reads:

The early Chaplin shorts
Birth of a Nation
Battleship Potemkin
The Jazz Singer
Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs
Citizen Kane
Shadows
Star Wars
Toy Story
The Blair Witch Project

Which is a decent set of milestones, but could you make that into a cohesive lesson? Heck, have you even seen all of these films?

Finally, is it just a case of naming your favourites? I can't possibly leave Casablanca off my list. Except that ... well I have.

So, what's your list? I'll reveal mine on the morrow, as the truly bad news for the aliens is that I'm on the panel. Let's hear yours today though.


Those who are feeling particularly passionate can head over to the event's official site to make your case (and maybe win a prize), or if you're nearby head along on the night to vote for the official top ten.

6:30 pm Wednesday October 5
Theatre 1, AFTRS
Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/mov ... z1ZqUNY8mB
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by -GD- »

I thought this was an interesting premise, what would be the 5 films you would pick to show some our history of cinema.

I will have to think about it, but would definitely have The Godfather and Casablanca on my list.
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by Begbie »

Raidersrawesome wrote:Man On Fire
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Great movie! Might try and hire it out. How cool was Chunk! - and that lovable deformed monster, Sloth.
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by FuiFui BradBrad »

1. Casablanca
2. Wolf Creek
3. Any Given Sunday
4. Shrek
5. Godfather

All 5 movies changed my life in one way or the other. Plus Wolf Creek can also double as a warning if the Alien decides to go Bush
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by -GD- »

In no particular order for me

- The Godfather
- Casablanca
- Toy Story
- Groundhog Day
- Star Wars
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by Begbie »

Fuifui Bradbrad wrote:1. Casablanca
2. Wolf Creek
3. Any Given Sunday
4. Shrek
5. Godfather

All 5 movies changed my life in one way or the other. Plus Wolf Creek can also double as a warning if the Alien decides to go Bush
Are you serious- Wolf Creek?

I'll agree with Godfather and Casablanca, however.
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by SirMcSquid »

Rocky I to IV
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by Begbie »

Sir McSquid wrote:Rocky I to IV
Canberra Raiders 30 year dvd.
Yep- that'll do me too.
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The history of cinema in five films

Post by -GD- »

Sir McSquid wrote:Rocky I to IV
Canberra Raiders 30 year dvd.
I love it.
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by Captain Punish »

The Wizard of Oz
Forest Gump
Apocalypse Now
Toy Story
The Notebook

All brilliant movies in their own right.
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by Grant »

* Human Centipede
* A night in Paris
* The Prince and Me III
* Vanilla Sky
* Sandlot Kids
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by FuiFui BradBrad »

Begbie wrote:
Fuifui Bradbrad wrote:1. Casablanca
2. Wolf Creek
3. Any Given Sunday
4. Shrek
5. Godfather

All 5 movies changed my life in one way or the other. Plus Wolf Creek can also double as a warning if the Alien decides to go Bush
Are you serious- Wolf Creek?

I'll agree with Godfather and Casablanca, however.
Yeah I'm serious. It makes my 1st draft of the list. Not seeing every movie ever made, like I said I based it on movies that made an impact on my life.
I think, when you consider the limited budget the film had, it did a great job. Good storyline, great backdrop and real enough to be pretty fricken scary.

Still yet to see your submission, or are you the type not to share your ideas, rather slag out other people for posting their opinions?
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by -GD- »

I could nearly put Jaws on my list, now that would freak some aliens out.
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by Begbie »

Fuifui Bradbrad wrote:[
Yeah I'm serious. It makes my 1st draft of the list. Not seeing every movie ever made, like I said I based it on movies that made an impact on my life.
I think, when you consider the limited budget the film had, it did a great job. Good storyline, great backdrop and real enough to be pretty fricken scary.

Still yet to see your submission, or are you the type not to share your ideas, rather slag out other people for posting their opinions?
Settle down mate, not slagging you out- just a bit of a surprising suggestion with Wolf Creek. Now let me see :hmmm

Can't go too far back, will start with

Citizen Kane
In Which We Serve
The Godfather
The Empire Strikes Back
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by FuiFui BradBrad »

Begbie wrote:Settle down mate, not slagging you out- just a bit of a surprising suggestion with Wolf Creek. Now let me see :hmmm

Can't go too far back, will start with

Citizen Kane
In Which We Serve
The Godfather
The Empire Strikes Back
Avatar
After re-reading what I wrote, it was a little harsh, apologies.
Meanwhile, that is an impressive list. Seems like Godfather is a certain according to the GH.
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by Bard »

1. Seven samurai
2. Starwars
3. Shawshank redemption
4.Toy Story
5. Slumdog millionare.

A list designed to show the best movie making of an era...as much as you can do with only 5....10 would be better to make room for a early disney and a james cameron movie blockbuster.

oh, and superbad of course.
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by greeneyed »

Five is impossible.
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

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greeneyed wrote:Five is impossible.
Give it a shot GE :)
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by greeneyed »

Vertigo
Singin' in the Rain
Field of Dreams
Casablanca
Citizen Kane

Other films I rate in no particular order:

12 Angry Men
Sunset Boulevard
Rear Window
Psycho
North by Northwest
It's a Wonderful Life
Double Indemnity
To Kill a Mockingbird
Chinatown
Some Like it Hot
The Apartment
The Sting
Mr Smith Goes to Washington
Rebecca
On the Waterfront
Toy Story and Toy Story 3
Strangers on a Train
High Noon
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Gone with the Wind
Wizard of Oz
Notorious
The Grapes of Wrath
The Big Sleep
Network
Dial M for Murder
Streetcar named Desire
A Room with a View
Romeo + Juliet
Chicago
Bull Durham
The African Queen
The Maltese Falcoln
West Side Story
Philadelphia Story
Rebel Without a Cause
Cabaret
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Shane
Rocky
All the President's Men
Giant
The Natural
Witness for the Prosecution
Anatomy of a Murder
Arsenic and Old Lace
Roman Holiday

There's probably a lot I've missed.
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by -GD- »

Some classics there
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by greeneyed »

The old movies are the best ones IMO.

Films I don't really like:

The Shawshank Redemption
Any movie with Tom Hanks as an actor
Any movie with Clint Eastwood in any role
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by Begbie »

Yeah - don't know why people always rate The Shawshank Redemption- Not my cup of tea either
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

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I hate all the old movies. Anything pre 80's I dont think I can watch. ( except Star Wars )

In saying that when I was younger I used to watch all the Disney movies on Sunday arvo. Herbie , Old Yella etc. I couldnt watch them these days though.
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

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Raidersrawesome wrote:I hate all the old movies. Anything pre 80's I dont think I can watch. ( except Star Wars )

In saying that when I was younger I used to watch all the Disney movies on Sunday arvo. Herbie , Old Yella etc. I couldnt watch them these days though.
Really mate, my gf is the same, she finds it hard to watch even anything from the 80s, tried to get her to watch Top Gun with me once :lol:

The classics are generally the best for me. Give me a good old flick on TCM any day of the week.
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by Begbie »

:lol:
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by Raidersrawesome »

-GD- wrote:
Raidersrawesome wrote:I hate all the old movies. Anything pre 80's I dont think I can watch. ( except Star Wars )

In saying that when I was younger I used to watch all the Disney movies on Sunday arvo. Herbie , Old Yella etc. I couldnt watch them these days though.
Really mate, my gf is the same, she finds it hard to watch even anything from the 80s, tried to get her to watch Top Gun with me once :lol:

The classics are generally the best for me. Give me a good old flick on TCM any day of the week.

Yeah I dont know what it is but they dont hold any interest for me.
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The history of cinema in five films

Post by FuiFui BradBrad »

I just realized my list needs more Tron... This is too hard
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

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I'll raise your Tron with Electric Dreams.

What about Flying High and Police Academy.
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by greeneyed »

The Godfather, I'll add to the list after re-watching it.
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by Chickas shoe »

Goodfellas
Blue Velvet
Napoleon Dynamite
Apocalypse Now
Raiders of the Lost Ark
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by Rusty Crowe »

Silver Brumby
Gladiator
LA Confidential
A Beautiful Mind
Romper Stomper
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by gangrenous »

I'm saying screw representing history and just picking five great films that I rewatch:

- Good Will Hunting
- Jurassic Park
- Donnie Darko
- Fight Club
- Clue
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Re: The history of cinema in five films

Post by gerg »

My five for an alien, more for their amusement

battlefield earth
the thing
star wars
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Aliens
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