British Film Institute's Kid's List

[grand theft sparrow]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4699393.stm


Children get must-see movie list  

A list of 50 films that children should watch by the age of 14 includes a diverse mix of movies from Toy Story to Iran's Where is the Friend's House.

Compiled by the British Film Institute, the list contains only eight productions made in the UK.

The list, compiled with the help of the public, is intended to provoke debate about what children should watch.

Other suggested films include Italy's Bicycle Thieves, Japanese cartoon Spirited Away and Hollywood hit ET.

Cary Bazalgette, head of education at the British Film Institute, said: "It's quite a controversial list that's likely to provoke continuing debate, but that's the idea.

"We want people to discuss what children should see, rather than what they shouldn't see."

The films selected span worldwide cinema, with choices from France, Sweden, Australia and Spain, ranging from blockbusters to subtitled art-house titles.


Evolving list

The 50 films were whittled down to a top 10, featuring Ken Loach's Kes, Victor Fleming's The Wizard of Oz and Francois Truffaut's Les Quatre Cents Coups.

The oldest film on the list is the French short film Le Voyage dans la Lune, directed by Georges Melies in 1902.

The most modern is Disney's Finding Nemo, which was released in 2003.

Among the British inclusions are The Railway Children, Oliver Twist and Billy Elliot.

"We're not imposing this selection. We intend the list to evolve, so we'll be inviting continued comment and nominations on the BFI website," added Ms Bazalgette.


TOP 10 CHOICE
Bicycle Thieves (Italy - 1948)
ET (US - 1982)
Kes (UK - 1969)
Les Quatre Cents Coups (France - 1959)
The Night of the Hunter (KUS - 1955)
Show Me Love (Sweden/Denmark -1998)
Spirited Away (Japan - 2001)
Toy Story ( US - 1995)
Where is the Friend's House (Iran - 1987)
The Wizard of Oz (US - 1939)


Here's the top 50 in alphabetical order (and my hat's off to anyone who can get any kid to sit through more than half of these):

A Day at the Races (Sam Wood, 1937, USA)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (Michael Curtiz/William Keighley, 1938, USA)
Au revoir les enfants (Louis Malle, 1987, France/W.Germany)
Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis, 1985, USA)
Beauty and the Beast (Gary Trousdale/Kirk Wise, 1991, USA)
Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, 1948, Italy)
Billy Elliot (Stephen Daldry, 2000, UK/France)
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982, USA)
Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton, 1990, USA)
Etre et Avoir (Nicolas Philibert, 2002, France)
Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton/Lee Unkrich, 2003, USA)
It's a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946, USA)
Jason and the Argonauts (Don Chaffey, 1963, UK/USA)
Kes (Ken Loach, 1969, UK)
The Kid (Charles Chaplin, 1921, USA)
King Kong (Merian C.Cooper/Ernest B.Schoedsack, 1933, USA)
Kirikou et la sorcière (Michel Ocelot, 1998, France/Belgium/Luxembourg)
La Belle et la bête (Jean Cocteau, 1946, France / Luxembourg)
Le Voyage dans la lune (Georges Melies, 1902, France)
Les Quatre cents coups (Francois Truffaut, 1959, France)
Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (Jacques Tati, 1953, France)
My Life as a Dog (Lasse Halstrom, 1985, Sweden)
My Neighbour Totoro (Hayao Miyazaki, 1988, Japan/USA)
The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955, USA)
Oliver Twist (David Lean, 1948, UK)
The Outsiders (Francis Ford Coppola, 1983, USA)
Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray, 1955, India)
Playtime (Jacques Tati, 1967, France/Italy)
The Princess Bride (Rob Reiner, 1987, USA)
Rabbit-Proof Fence (Phillip Noyce, 2002, Australia)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981, USA)
The Railway Children (Lionel Jeffries, 1970, UK)
The Red Balloon (Albert Lamorisse, 1956, France)
Romeo + Juliet (Baz Luhrman, 1996, USA)
The Secret Garden (Agnieszka Holland, 1993, UK/USA)
Show Me Love (Lukas Moodysson, 1998, Sweden/Denmark)
Singin' in the Rain (Stanley Donen/Gene Kelly, 1952, USA)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney, 1937, USA)
Some Like it Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959, USA)
The Spirit of the Beehive (Victor Erice, 1973, Spain)
Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001, Japan)
Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977, USA)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Robert Mulligan, 1962, USA)
Toy Story (John Lasseter, 1995, USA)
Walkabout (Nicholas Roeg, 1971, UK)
Whale Rider (Niki Caro, 2002, New Zealand)
Where is the Friend's House? (Abbas Kiarostami, 1987, Iran)
Whistle Down the Wind (Bryan Forbes, 1961, UK)
The White Balloon (Jafar Panahi, 1995, Iran)
The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939, USA)

[polkablues]

Wow.  I had seen 27 of those movies before turning 18.  It would be more, had some of them not been released after I turned 18.

[cowboykurtis]

the anyone else feel that NIGHT OF THE HUNTER is a bit out of place on this list?

[Myxo]

the anyone else feel that NIGHT OF THE HUNTER is a bit out of place on this list?

Some Like it Hot seems a bit off too.

I took a Film Literature class in high school. I think we watched:

Psycho
Vertigo
Rear Window
Cool Hand Luke
Das Boot
Gone With the Wind

[ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ]

I really would've loved to have seen 400 Blows as a child.

[MacGuffin]

No Bambi, Dumbo, Mary Poppins or Willy Wonka?  

[Pubrick]

the anyone else feel that NIGHT OF THE HUNTER is a bit out of place on this list?

Some Like it Hot seems a bit off too.

i thought SALO was a bit out of place, personally.

[Bethie]

That list is for cool kids. "Bambi, Dumbo, Mary Poppins or Willy Wonka" need not apply.

[grand theft sparrow]

I really would've loved to have seen 400 Blows as a child.

Me too but I wonder if it only works when you're old enough to have childhood nostalgia.

I like this idea, to give kids a viewing list in the same way that they have reading lists like Lord of the Flies, The Hobbit, Huck Finn, etc.  I just can't imagine sitting kids who play video games all day down to watch any of the titles made before Star Wars.  My girlfriend's younger brother is 15, he's a smart kid, he'd totally relate to Antoine Doinel in 400 Blows, but this is the same kid who got bored with Back to the Future!

[life_boy]

I just can't imagine sitting kids who play video games all day down to watch any of the titles made before Star Wars.  My girlfriend's younger brother is 15, he's a smart kid, he'd totally relate to Antoine Doinel in 400 Blows, but this is the same kid who got bored with Back to the Future!

I suppose a lot of it is in how you raise kids.  If you raise them with an appreciation of things they may not find immediate "excitement" in, then maybe as they grow they watch some of those films, not because they have to, but because they want to.  I'd imagine giving a 10 year old a list of films like this and saying "Here, go watch all of 'em instead of Episode I," would be fairly unproductive.

[MacGuffin]

That list is for cool kids. "Bambi, Dumbo, Mary Poppins or Willy Wonka" need not apply.

Now I know why I was never cool kid.  

But all of these films deserve a place on that list for being more than "family" films or "cartoons."

Dumbo alone deals with an issue every young person can relate to - being different. Accept your "flaws," for they make you who you are, and make you unique... just like everyone else.

Bambi deals with the loss of parents and how to "survive" on your own.

Wonka explains that being a "good egg," not a "bad egg," rewards you well.

Mary Poppins deals with the disfunctional family unit, and how to stimulate a child's imagination and creativity.

[ddmarfield]

Dumbo alone deals with an issue every young person can relate to - being different. Accept your "flaws," for they make you who you are, and make you unique... just like everyone else.

Bambi deals with the loss of parents and how to "survive" on your own.

Wonka explains that being a "good egg," not a "bad egg," rewards you well.

Mary Poppins deals with the disfunctional family unit, and how to stimulate a child's imagination and creativity.

Notice how all those films don't pander or talk down to kids and are free of annoying pop culture references or songs by Smashmouth.

[SHAFTR]

Add Requiem for a Dream and watch drug use among minors go down.

[Pubrick]

add Kids and watch minors go down on minors.

[Ravi]

Notice how all those films don't pander or talk down to kids and are free of annoying pop culture references or songs by Smashmouth.

Only the guys at Pixar (and Brad Bird) know how to write good animated films.  The others just go for cheap laughs.  "Look, we parodied The Matrix, isn't that funny LOL!"  Barely a step above fart humor.

Be sure to rent the uncut version of Walkabout for the kiddies...