I don't know if this has already been mentioned here but that list is fundamentally flawed. Each film has one common theme, FilmFour has screening rights to all of them.

Basically, FilmFour had just become free of charge to the general public and so they made a three hour show advertising the great films they can show. No arguments that they are almost all excellent films but the list was just a big ad.

Good to see it has sparked off debate though.

Good point Sammo. My normally cynical media radar missed this; my brain switches off when I see a list.

quote:

Originally posted by Ishmaels coffin:
Hey Duncan. I have to disagree with you that Sexy Beast is important in the evolution of cinema.

Enjoyable as it is, its' just another Brit crime thriller, done to death for the last 40 years. So, I'm curious as to what you've seen in it that makes it more important than say East is East, as a reflection of UK culture.

Pulp Fiction, as weak as it is, and I could write a very long and detailed critique(I'm not merely bashing Tarantino), has been quite influential, as has DD, an uneven, but charming movie, but Sexy Beast? Hmmm

Maybe Sexy Beast wasn't a globally revolutionary film, but it is one of the best films I've ever seen. Ben Kingsley's performance is first rate - genius casting. Lest we forget, this is the man who played Ghandi. The script is incredible and the film is lifted above other generic gangster films by sheer quality. As hard as I try, I can't view it just another Brit crime thriller.

It's arguable that where films such as Alien and Pulp Fiction, lift low art concepts into higher terrirtory, so too does Sexy Beast. When we compare it to Lock, Stock and two smoking barrels, there is no comparison. Sexy Beast wipes the floor with it.

Ben Kingsley justifiably won numerous accolades for his performance. The portrayal of victims seeking justice from a truly foul central villain is mirrored in high brow films such as The cook, the thief, his wife and her lover.

Whilst it is a gangster film, it doesn't glorify the guns and glamour of that genre. The film puts far more relevance in the central characters. It's a morality tale about revenge, honour, love and loyalty. The story wouldn't be out of place in a work by Shakespeare.

Sexy Beast is a low art concept that has been embraced by a high art audience, through flawless direction, casting and scriptwriting.

I'm not familiar with East is East, so I'll have to check that one out.

Interesting to read that these films are an advert for channel 4. I also missed that one. DOH!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Duncan Black,

fair enough Dunc, me old china. You put up an excellent argument. I have seen it only the once, so I should run it by again.

Upon release in Oz, it was pretty much ignored. It deserved a lot better.

I totally agree with you about it flogging Lock, Stock. I found that to be incredibly boring. The follow up, Snatch!!...I couldn't finish it.

As far as Brit crime movies go, its a fucken gold medal, but I guess I'll never like it as much as you do.

East is East ain't a gangster/crime movie, but I found it a pretty good slice of modern day England...having lived there for 3 years, off and on.

Sexy Beast is worth checking out again. I watched it with my girlfriend a few weeks back. She dislikes films associated with extreme violence or horror (I had to switch the DVD player off in Reservoir Dogs), but she really enjoyed Sexy Beast, simply because it's a great film. The black humour is spot on. A lot of people with no interest in the gangster genre found the film hugely engaging.

As for Lock, Stock and Snatch. I thought Lock, Stock was mildly entertaining for humour ('will everyone just stop getting shot?'), but ultimately it was massively overrated. Snatch rehashed the same ideas to cash in on the success of the first film. I'd say the director has been running out of ideas ever since.

Wasn't East is East about the Asian community in Britain? I'm sure I've seen part of it after coming home from the pub (never the best time to watch a film). It won a few awards if memory serves.

East is East is sure enough about a Bangladeshi community if I remember rightly. Anyway, its a funny little number.

Black humour is my favourite humour.

I love Sexy Beast as well. We've all seen crime films where a retired criminal is talked into coming out of retirement for "one last job", but one of the things that sets Sexy Beast apart, is that so little of the "job" is actually shown. The majority of the movie focuses on Ben Kingsley trying to talk Ray Winstone into coming out of retirement. It puts a new spin on an old crime movie cliche. It's also beautifully shot, the whole cast is great, and Sir Ben plays an evil bastard better than just about anybody.

That's very true. The job itself becomes an object of fear.

The film gives the audience a sense of foreboding about Ray Winstone's fate. We don't want to see guns and death - we want him to continue a life of luxury in the sun. A paradox in gangster movies.

I think that "Do the Right Thing" belongs on the list.
By the way, Duncan, if you ask me Lock Stock was seriously UNDERrated. Very few people saw it before it came out on DVD and I think that it was brilliant ( and you're right..."Would everyone please stop getting shot" still makes me laugh even though I've seen the film about a dozen times.)