56. Animal Farm (1954)

The first ever British animation feature may have the look of the Disney films that saturate the genre, but this is far from kid's stuff.

It pretty much tells the story of George Orwell's anti-Stalin novel, but with a more uplifting ending. Possibly because it was partly funded by the CIA as anti-communist propaganda. Allegedly!

Sick of being mistreated by the owner, the animals of Manor Farm stage a revolution, kick him out and run things for themselves in the renamed Animal Farm. Under the guidance of Snowball the pig, the farm is run smoothly and a set of commandments are drawn up and emblazoned on the side of the barn. Snowball's leadership is overthrown by power hungry, work-shy Napoleon, who tricks the other animals to thinking Snowball is a traitor who has been conspiring with the old farmer. Slowly but surely the animals are repressed under Napoleonic rule and the commandments are amended as the pigs break them, eventually replacing them all with the maxim, "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others." This is the last straw for the other animals and they overthrow the ever humanising pigs and their tyrannical leader.

It really does not hold back on the bloodshed. Even Snowball isn't killed in the book. It certainly must have shocked parents a plenty on it's release.

As the first British animated feature and as a piece of propaganda, I do see it's relevance in film history, but yet again I think this list is a little unsure of the criteria needed for a 'film to see before you die'. I was happy to see this and enjoyed it, but I don't think it really belongs here.

55. Angels With Dirty Faces (1938)

Acting as a lesson that crime never pays, Michael Curtiz's sermon on social responsibility tries not to be too preachy. Not very hard though!

Rocky and Jerry were childhood friends who grew up in Hell's Kitchen in New York. After being rumbled, robbing a train car they run away. Being the quicker runner, Jerry gets away leaving Rocky to Juvenile hall. Rocky grows up in a life of crime and Jerry becomes a priest. As adults they meet up in their old neighbourhood where Jerry runs a centre for kids to keep them on the straight and narrow. Rocky turns up looking for a place to stay whilst he gets back into his racketeering business. His old partner Frazier isn't so pleased to see him. Cue plenty of gunfights and no good deeds.

James Cagney's Rocky is the charismatic gangster who had been much parodied; Pat O'Brien's Father Jerry is played like a stiff old nag, however it's in no doubt at the conclusion whos viewpoint is for the greater good. Rocky finally succumbing to Jerry's wishes to 'go yellow' at his execution to show the right message to the gang of reprobates that hero worship him. It's actually quite an odd scene to swallow as his demise is filmed in siolhette. I'm still not sure it's a way out the character would have settled for.

Cagney plays the wisecrack to a tee and the comic relief as he hangs with the kids in the local street gang adds a much needed as a balance to the social lecture.

'Dames' don't fair well here. What comes across as the potential for an equally wisecracking character in Laury (Ann Sheridan) turns into another wimpy female victim of this era.

Despite it's sanctimonious ending, this isn't so bad a sermon and a rather good film.

54. Amores Perros (2000)

The Tarantino effect hits Mexico and produces a similar, but arguably superior, film to 1994's Pulp Fiction. Here, three stories literally collide in a car crash then swing their relative ways. The time line is a lot more linear than that of PF though. They take the form of past, present and future as relative to the crash. Each story also has a theme of loyalty to a dog and disloyalty to a human. The much argued translation of the title also shows this. 'Dog Love' or 'Love's a Bitch' depending on which side of the Mexico/USA border you are translating!

The first story(Past) centres on Octavio who is in love with his brother's wife(Susana) and hates that his brother is constantly ill treating of her. He starts to enter his well hard dog into dog fights and begins to earn a tidy peso from it. He gives this money to Susana and they begin an affair that she seems forced into with the promise they will run away and begin a life together with her child and another on the way, but is this too good to be true?

In the Second story(Present), Daniel has just left his wife and family for the supermodel Valerie. Their new found bliss is cut short as Valerie is involved in a car crash which crushes her leg and leaves her confined to their new apartment with a patronising view of a billboard of her as her old self. Things get worse as her dog gets trapped in the crawl space under the floorboards and they are tormented by his scrabbling around and whimpering, but the can't afford to lift up the floorboards. Can it get worse? You betcha!

The third story(Future) centres on El Chivo: A man who turned his back on his wife and child to become a mercenary. Now dead to his family, he is a dog loving vagrant and occasional hit man. Whilst scoping out a hit, he witnesses the accident and rescues Octavio's injured dog. He makes a decision to get back to his old life somehow and reconnect with his daughter.

Each story is a worthy film in it's own right and the crash connection isn't contrived. It is more the disloyalty theme that links them (Octavio to his brother; Daniel to his wife; El Chivo to his wife and daughter) and how that disloyalty, no matter how seemingly good natured, destroys them. It's basically a tale of karma!

Filmed beautifully, it is a pretty gruesome film and the dogfights particularly are so realistic that the usual disclaimer that no animals were harmed during the filming of this movie, that would usually be buried in the credits, went up at the start of the film. It's only when you see the extras that you see that they are actually just rather rampant animals and they were mostly shagging! It's very clever editing with great use of quick cuts and a shaky camera.

An outstanding first feature from director Alejandro González Iñárritu, but it seems that he has yet to equal with such fare as 21 grams and the abysmal Babel. I hear good things about Biutiful, so perhaps this is not a genius fluke.

53. An American Werewolf in London (1981)

How do you go about making fantasy horror more real? Add humour.
Written by John Landis wen he was just 19 years old, this horror comedy sets many new boundaries in the genre. Previous incarnations of the werewolf in film have been of  a 2 legged beast and the metamorphosis from man to wolf has been a clunky clumsy one. Make-up artist Rick Baker conquered this challenge, coining the phrase special visual effects and winning the inaugural Best make-Up Oscar for his troubles.

It really is the human story that makes this such a great film. David and Jack are American tourists who have inexplicably decided to take in the Yorkshire Moors on their travels about Europe. After being told by the creepy patrons of The Slaughtered Lamb pub to stick to the road, they find themselves wandering onto the moors much to the delight of the local werewolf who attacks them killing Jack and injuring David as the Slaughtered Lamb patrons have an attack of conscience and kill the animal. A bit late though as David ow has the curse. Something he finds out when the decomposing body of his friend Jack meets up with him in a London hospital.

There are great scenes throughout this black comedy. Jack introducing David to his victims in a darkened porn theatre, one of which is an enthusiastic Sloane ranger who offers up ways for David to kill himself like she's a contestant on a quiz show, is a particular favourite.

There are some discrepancies to be had. The geography, for one, is quite bizarre. Why does he have to go to London? I'm quite positive there are many closer hospitals to Yorkshire. Also, despite all the pleads for him to kill himself, why doesn't anyone suggest that he leaves London and heads for a less populated area or maybe just chains himself up? Just a suggestion.

It is a fantastic film. The comedy/horror ratio is well balanced and,though the effects are a bit clunky now, I think it still stands up now. The physical effects, despite their clunkiness, are a preference to the unrealistic CGI effects of late.

"Mummy! A naked American man stole my balloons." Such innocent times!

52. Der Amerikanische Freund/The American Friend (1977)

Director Wim Wenders adapts one of a famed series of novels from Patricia Highsmith featuring the character of Tom Ripley. I knew nothing of the character or the books, so I am just treating this as a stand alone film, as all adaptations should really be.

The eponymous American friend, Tom Ripley, is played by Dennis Hopper. He is a 'connected' go-between dealing art for a painter who has faked his own death. During an auction of a painting in Hamburg, he learns of a framer who has a serious terminal blood disease. This information is passed on to a gangster who requires something of an amateur hitman with nothing to lose. He approaches Jonathon Zimmerman, the framer, to do a one off hit for a considerable amount of money. Through some fake examination results he persuades him to take the job and he reluctantly does. It's never that simple though is it? Jonathon and Ripley's lives become intertwined and somewhat switched. Ripley craves for the quiet life and Jonathon's imminent mortality, plus the bait of money to leave his wife and child, make him accept another hit.

This is a mixed paced film noir. A slow start leads to an on your edge drawn out scene for the first hit. It then goes a bit all over the place as the two leads story lines veer off, then they come crashing together for the next deal. The second hit falls fowl slightly. Surely the pace and threat should graduate through the film, but after the first hit's knife edge, it's all a bit lacklustre.

Bruno Ganz is excellent as the amateur hit man. His character has a great arc and you see Ripley's reaction to Zimmerman's journey.

This is a great watch. Hopper may be the name on the film, but it's Ganz who owns it. Lisa Kreuzer supports as Jonathon's suspicious wife who just wants to know what is going on.

The typical downbeat film noir ending doesn't disappoint, unless you are into happy ones!

51. An American in Paris (1951)

Gene Kelly plays Jerry Mulligan, an ex GI and, now, struggling painter living in Paris. A wealthy heiress takes interest in his paintings and offers to sponsor him and make him a success. It's not just his paintings she fancies though. His eyes are only for Leslie Caron's pretty shop girl, Lise. Lise however is engaged to Jerry's neighbour, Henri who is a successful singer. Still she is swayed by his charm attack and she begins a romance with Jerry, neither of her suitors knowing abut the other.
It's all going smoothly til Henri gets an offer of a tour of America and decides that he and Lise will marry and go together.
Will she stay with Jerry, her true love or marry Henri, to whom she owes so much after he hid her during the war? Ah who cares?! Though the farce is amusing, this is all about the song and dance numbers that punctuate the film. From the brilliant dittys in the cafes and streets of Montmartre accompanying a wealth of Gershwin tunes, to the epic 17 minute finale, "An American in Paris Ballet". Each dance number is outstanding and it is all choeographed by Kelly.

What an epic piece the ballet is. A heady mix of ballet, jazz, modern and tap that is seamlessly edited and all set in a living painting. A sumptuous set design inspired by Parisian artists in particular Toulouse-Lautrec.

Vincente Minnelli directs this classic Hollywood musical with flair and style. The outstanding art direction, set and costume design perfectly accent the great music and even greater dancing. The cast is great. Leslie Caron in her first film role was discovered by Kelly and they make a great dance partnership here. Th supporting cast is superb too and everyone looks like they are having a bag of fun.

It is Gene Kelly who shines the brightest here. His dancing and showmanship is unrivalled to this day. The ballet scene is amazing (he choreographed the whole thing!), but it's his tap routines on the Paris street outside his apartment that I love the most here. Entertaining the cafe patrons and the neighbourhood kids with tapped out Gershwin numbers. I Got Rhythm as he teaches the kids English is a particular favourite.

S'wonderful!

50. Amarcord (1973)

In his last successful film, Fellini delves into his past again and reminisces about his youth in a small coastal town in Italy. It comes across as an old man recanting tales. Amarcord meaning "I remember..."

The events take place over a year and are basically a series of memories played out on screen. There is no plot or storyline. Though a lot of the stories centre around a teenage boy, Titta, he is not a main character. It's very much an ensemble piece and a bit of a messy free for all as a result.

As per usual, Fellini's memories are mostly that of women. He is a big old perv, but as he is the horny teenager Titta, he clearly always was. Buxom beyond belief women are the stars of the show. The tobacconist who nearly suffocates him with her ample (such an understatement!) bosom; Gradisca the town beauty who allows him to place his hand on her thigh in a darkened cinema til she asks "have you lost something?"; Volpina, the town's crazy whore who kisses him when he fixes her bicycle. No-one gets away from his hormones aside from his ailing mother. He isn't alone as his friends are bags of hormones too, quite oddly displayed in a circle jerk as they all cry out their fantasy partners to each other. This shortly after going to confessional and denying the priest's accusations that each of them touches themselves.

There are a few grand set pieces in his memories. The film opens with a festival of spring as the town celebrate around a bonfire and burn a winter witch effigy. There are also complete tangent threads which get more bizarre as the film goes on. A town outing on a flotilla to watch the passing of a huge ocean liner, a mad uncle refusing to come down from a tree until he gets a woman. He is eventually talked down by a midget nun from the sanitarium he stays in. There is an odd scene as the town tramp boasts of his sexual exploits with a visiting sultan's harem. Bonkers!

You can't fault him for wanting to cram as many memories in the film as he can and it is certainly shot beautifully with great use of colour and fabulous costumes. I would just have liked a bit more of a cohesive story to it all. Great fun though.

The tobacconist and her AMPLE norks!