Wednesday, September 3, 2008

BFI Searches For Future Classics


The British Film Institute is searching for classic films of the future to mark its 75th anniversary.

The organisation has kicked off its hunt by asking 75 prominent people to choose a film they would like to show to future generations.
Adulthood nominated by Ashley Walters
  1. Apocalypse Now nominated by Martha Fiennes
  2. L'Atalante nominated by Julien Temple, Lynda Myles and David Mackenzie
  3. Back to the Future nominated by Alison Owen
  4. The Band Wagon nominated by Nicholas Hytner
  5. The Battle of Algiers nominated by Paul Greengrass and Rebecca O'Brien
  6. Billy Elliot nominated by Matt Lucas
  7. Blade Runner nominated by James Christopher
  8. Bonnie and Clyde nominated by Mike Figgis
  9. Cabaret nominated by Greg Dyke
  10. The Card nominated by Frank Skinner
  11. Closely Observed Trains nominated by Ken Loach
  12. A Diary for Timothy nominated by Amanda Nevill and Leslie Hardcastle OBE
  13. Do the Right Thing nominated by Marc Boothe
  14. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb nominated by Chiwetel Ejiofor
  15. The Elephant Man nominated by Russell Brand
  16. Empire of the Sun nominated by Leslie Philips
  17. Fog of War nominated by Jess Search
  18. Friday Night Lights nominated by Max Minghella
  19. The Godfather nominated by Baz Bamigboye
  20. Great Expectations nominated by Stephen Woolley
  21. Grizzly Man nominated by Mark Herbert
  22. A Hard Day's Night nominated by Barnaby Thompson
  23. If.... nominated by Stewart Till
  24. The Innocents nominated by Miranda Richardson
  25. Ivan the Terrible nominated by Phyllida Law
  26. Kes nominated by David Morrissey
  27. Kind Hearts and Coronets nominated by Terence Davies
  28. Lawrence of Arabia nominated by Thomas Hoegh and Sir Roger Moore
  29. The Leopard nominated by Caroline Michel
  30. Local Hero nominated by Lord David Puttnam of Queensgate CBE
  31. A Matter of Life and Death nominated by Shami Chakrabarti, Margaret Hodge MBE MP, Liz Rosenthal and Tanya Seghatchian
  32. Metropolis nominated by Ken Russell
  33. Mississippi Burning nominated by Bill Nighy
  34. Never Take No for an Answer nominated by Sir Ben Kingsley
  35. Night of the Hunter nominated by Trudie Styler
  36. Night of the Masterpiece nominated by Pierre Bismuth
  37. Once upon a Time in America nominated by John Woodward
  38. Otto e mezzo nominated by Lisa Ray
  39. Pather Panchali nominated by Nitin Sawhney
  40. Pulp Fiction nominated by Noel Clarke
  41. Quadrophenia nominated by Jaime Winstone
  42. Raging Bull nominated by Asif Kapadia
  43. Raising Arizona nominated by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright
  44. Ratcatcher nominated by Harry Treadaway
  45. The Red Shoes nominated by Patrick Marber
  46. Ryan's Daughter nominated by Jane Wright
  47. The Sacrifice nominated by Juliette Binoche
  48. The Seventh Seal nominated by Lord Melvyn Bragg
  49. She's Gotta Have It nominated by Diane Abbott
  50. Silent Light nominated by Michael Nyman
  51. Singin' in the Rain nominated by Philip French
  52. Spartacus nominated by Tony Robinson
  53. Stalker nominated by Cate Blanchett
  54. A Star is Born nominated by Sarah Waters
  55. The Third Man nominated by Adrian Wootton and Stephen Frears
  56. This is England nominated by Jason Solomons
  57. The Times of Harvey Milk nominated by Paul Burston
  58. Tokyo Story nominated by Gurinder Chadha and Joanna Hogg
  59. Valerie and her Week of Wonders nominated by Sigur Ros
  60. Vertigo nominated by Lizzie Francke
  61. West Side Story nominated by David Arnold
  62. The Wizard of Oz nominated by Nathalie Press
  63. The Women nominated by Kathy Lette
The BFI is asking for films that have something important to say about our society to generations of the future rather than favourite cinema picks.

Nominations - along with the reasons for choosing a film - can be made online until 30 September.

The top five films for the future will be screened at the BFI on London's South Bank in January 2009, with plans to show them at regional cinemas at a later date.

Do you agree with list, what would you choose as the one film to pass on to future generations?

We at Flicks News would choose: