Top Ten Films for Cinephiles

We've all met them. You're at a party, chatting with your mates, making new ones, perhaps eyeing up the opposite sex. You hear laughs and fun times going on at the bar, and notice people swooning around this one chap who seems to be discussing some film he saw last week. All seems normal, and then wham bam he delivers a burst of cultural cinematic knowledge that blows everyone sidewards and sends the ripples of swooning around him once more. He is the cinephile. Artistic and cultured; at one with audience and critics. You hate him, love him and want to be him all at once.

Well fear not good people! For I have compiled a list of films that will make you that smug charming bar stander. With this list, you will gain enough knowledge to blag your way through any intense filmy chat and still hold your ground as a cinephile rather than a film lover. Because believe me, cinephiles believe there is a difference.

As always, I have collected as broad a range as possible. With these films the order is not particularly important, because each covers an important area of the cinematic world. Let's just call them a pocket DIY Cinephile guide. So prepare to wow your friends and collect some fans…

10. Safety Last!

We all know Charlie Chaplin and his black and white comedy greats. So as a cinephile it's important to know someone who rivalled him as an early king of comedy. Harold Lloyd is an incredibly funny performer and this simple yet effective film, complete with daring stunts and classic slapstick, is a credit to him and his sterling work. A very simple love story grounds everything and gives it some emotional depth to save it from farce, making simply a great film. The iconic clock face scene certainly rivals any Chaplin work, and wouldn't it just feel great to silence the bods who think they know film with a sweeping "Yes, Chaplin was great, but there were others too. Heard of Harold Lloyd? No?…" Let the enlightening by the cinephile commence.

9. Citizen Kane

This film needs no introduction or explanation, and every film fan worth their salt should know and appreciate this. Citizen Kane is an incredible film on so many levels, not least technical brilliance thanks to Orson Welles' vision and expertise. It is also a wonderful example of auteurship, which as film students know, is a topic of conversation that separates film lovers from cinephiles.

8. Birth of a Nation

If a film comes out nowadays that touches on religious ideals, sexism, ageism or any other ism for that matter, then there is a big hoo ha about it and everyone starts talking. This is where you can jump in with "you ain't seen nothing yet!" Why? Because they won't have seen Birth of a Nation. And believe me, it would change their view on all things controversial, and puts a perspective on how much things have changed in cinema and in society. The film in itself is a clever crafted piece, but the subject matter and brazen approach made it hugely contentious in its positive portrayal of racism even at the time of its release over one hundred years ago. A must see film for any film fanatic.

7. Avatar

Finally, a film from after 1950! Well, despite my penchant for films in the black and white and golden era, film progresses and updates itself constantly, and with every year of releases comes new technological advances. Avatar was a huge investment in such technologies and reaped the rewards at the box office. It showed a leap forward in immersive cinema technologies and, despite the script being slightly thrown by the wayside, provided some very entertaining cinema with some astounding visuals. And as long as you make it clear that this film is influential for those technological influences whilst maintaining a level of snobbery about everything else, it's a great film to drop in to your cinephile patter.

6. Vertigo

Any film fanatic who knows anything about anything knows Hitchcock. He is one of the greatest directors of all time, after all. This film was cited by Sight and Sound magazine as the greatest film of all time last year, pipping Citizen Kane to the post. Hey, someone has to beat Welles now and again. It's a film that has a shot named in its honour (the dolly zoom or 'vertigo zoom' where a camera on a dolly is pulled backwards whilst simultaneously zooming in, creating the psychedelic scaling thing) and has inspired many a film student to experiment with camera angles and techniques. Also, as a cinephile it's handy to be able to talk about a Hitchcock film that is not Psycho or The Birds.

5. Toy Story

I did partially sneak this in because I love it and am a generation Toy Story kid, but it actually presents several important factors. Firstly, it was a huuuuuge kids film, and the CGI toys and original concept changed kids' cinema up to a whole new level. Secondly, the use of Paul Gulino's sequence approach is evident in almost perfection. The sequence approach is a further breaking down of the Hollywood three act into eight sequences. The lacing of this film and the segmentation into these sequences makes the plotting more steady and gives some great pacing of action for kids, as each sequence contains a mini goal which, though achieved, makes things better or worse depending on the place within the story. The sequence approach is a great concept to use for kids films because these little segments work perfectly with the attention spans they have at the stage in their development, so it keeps hooking them back in. Watch this. If you have seen it, watch it again. It just never gets old.

4. The Godfather

An integral element of a film is the characters and the journeys they go on. It's undoubtedly an aspect of conversation that will appear in any film talk. And that's where you can mention the film that contains one of the greatest character arcs ever. The Godfather shows in an incredibly slick fashion how though a series of events that present themselves to the protagonist he can go on a journey that completely changes not only his life, but himself. It serves as a great specimen for character crafting in screenplays, and also is a pretty darn good film in itself. Add the fact that is is also on most top ten lists of all time great films that I've seen, and you've got yourself a sure fire hit for a cinephile talking point.

3. Casablanca

I had to include this in the list as it seems to always crop up when discussing Classic Hollywood. Casablanca epitomises the golden age in aesthetic, plot and character to bring a timeless story to our screens. The story could be remade now and draw is as much of an audience as it did then, because it is the classic formula that works. Add to that some extravagant settings and two very good looking stars and you have a winner. If you want to know your stuff you need to know more about Classic Hollywood than just Citizen Kane. Everyone has heard of Citizen Kane. You need to get some proper classics under your belt as well as pioneers, and may know of Casablanca but not many truly know it. Watch it, be enthralled and then prepare to enthral at your next social gathering. You're well on your way to cinephile status!

2. Pulp Fiction

In a cinematic world that is ever changing, a true cinephile must recognise and appreciate the pioneers and experimental features that some films present. Think of it as the more mainstream avant garde. Now I know that sounds oxymoronic, but what I mean is a film that tries new stuff without being quite as crazy as Mario Banana (if you have not seen Mario Banana, I suggest you look it up. It's the weirdest thing I saw  in a lecture in my life). Pulp Fiction is a great example of the increasing need in modern films to play with the idea of plot. The Hollywood three act structure is all well and good, but film makers are testing audiences with ever more sophisticated plot lines and interweaving stories with differing timelines that take the plot devices to a whole new level. Can the hero die? Of course he can, and save the day, if the non linear plot line is used to that effect. This is fantastic film to watch and put the jigsaw pieces together, and shows what the future of storytelling in film is turning to. A must see film.

1. Plan 9 from Outer Space

Yes, you read that correctly. No, I have not gone mad. To truly appreciate film, you must take the bad with the good, and love it like the lost soul that it is. Love those shaky camera shots, love those continuity errors and the painfully wobbly sets. Love the fact that any celebrity cameo is someone you have never heard of and never will. Love the creative editing that is done to cover the cuts to an already non existent budget. Because that director put his own time, money, blood, sweat and tears into that film, and he had to be producer, marketing department, costume, cinematographer, lighting and screenwriter too. And he made it happen. I can think of no other group of people that truly love film more that B movie directors, because the dedication required to make one work is tenfold of an A movie, and even when it goes straight to DVD and makes no money it just doesn't matter, because they got to make a movie and they loved it. To call yourself a cinephile, you have to appreciate these people. Film happens because of them, and it's them that make it the creative art rather than another big corporate business venture. Plan 9 cannot be described in mere words. Just watch it, love it for its awesome terribleness, and understand.