A new project

I've been asked by my biggest fan to create a list of 50 Films You Should See Before You Die. And I've taken to this with relish. Given it a bit o'thought, really. Thought I could do five movies at a time. Then I went a bit further and thought I should break it down into categories - essentially the reasons why I love movies and why I re-watch them. So, here are the categories:

1. Character Studies: Celluloid portrayals of characters amusing, horrifying and so on. Often defined by an excellent performance by a sometimes unheralded actor.
2. Great Places to Visit: Movies that create an alternate, not necessarily parallel, world that's fun to be in for a while. Often defined by great cinematography.
3. Funny as Hell, for whatever reason: There's a through line in my comedy tastes from Groucho Marx to the Coen Brothers, when they decide to do comedy. These will be the ones I watch to be amused.
4. Awesome Ultra-Violence: Bring on the red mist and a bit of old Ludwig van.
5. Movies to Listen to: These are the ones with great scripts. I put these back in the DVD player just to listen to the dialogue.

Naturally, there's gonna be overlap. Like, No Country for Old Men, say, could belong to almost all of these categories. But I think I could easily find 10 in each to get started.

Stay tuned.