Mossfilm – Desert Island Films

Greg from Mossfilm has kindly submitted his Desert Island Films. Read on for his choices and reasons, and be sure to check out his site.

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Desert Island Films is about choosing 8 films you would take if you were going to be stranded on a desert island and explaining your choices. They don’t necessarily have to be your favourites, just 8 films, no more or no less! You are also permitted to take one book and one novelty item which must be inanimate and of no use in escaping the island or allowing communication from outside.

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Mossfilm – Desert Island Films

Thanks for giving me the opportunity of putting this list together, Tyson. It’s been an interesting exercise. I’m not exactly sure what it says about me – but I guess that’s for the guys with the ink blots and white coats to figure out!

Raiders Of The Lost Ark – Steven Spielberg (1981)

What can I say? The perfect action-adventure movie which, in my mind, has never been bettered. Spielberg at the top of his game.

Runaway Train – Andrei Konchalovsky (1985)

Okay, so I like trains – ever since I was a kid. And I like movies with trains – and movies with runaway trains especially. Sure Unstoppable was pretty good. But nothing beats this existential action-thriller with two fine performances from John Voight and Eric Roberts. Gritty and intense, with spectacularly-staged action all the way.

Galaxy Of Terror – B.D. Clark (1981)

I couldn’t be stuck on a desert island without at least one of my guilty pleasures. So I choose this little beauty – a Corman B-movie with effective production design by a pre-King Of The World James Cameron. It’s kinda’ like Prometheus – but more fun and less moronic. Which brings me to …

Alien – Ridley Scott (1979)

I guess I could safely say it’s my favorite film of all-time. The film which made me want to make films. The look, the characters, the sense of reality – it’s all here.

Baraka – Ron Fricke (1992)

If I’m gonna be cut off from the rest of the world, what better movie to have with me than the one which brings the rest of the world to me. Ron Fricke’s breath-takingly beautiful and mesmerizing affirmation of life. No two words strung together can truly describe the experience of seeing Baraka. You’ll just have to see it for yourself.

The Comic Strip Presents … (2007)

I figured I’d need some comedy to lighten the mood in between bouts of freaking out. It was a toss-up between this and Robert Zemekis’ Used Cars, or The Big Lebowski. However, this box set of British TV comedy finally won me over. While not strictly a movie, ‘The Comic Strip Presents’ could easily be seen as a series of 39 self-contained mini movies – each one a homage or send-up of a specific genre – be it Crime Thriller (Gino – Full Story And Pics), Children’s Classic (Five Go Mad In Dorset), Road Movie (Four Men In A Car), Western (A Fistful Of Travellers’ Cheques), TV Cop Shows (The Bullshitters) or Rockumentary (Bad News Tour). The cast is a who’s who of the cream of 80’s British TV comedy including the cast of The Young Ones, along with Robbie Coltrane, Keith Allen (father of Lilly), Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.

The Work Of Director Mark Romanek (2005)

A collection of music videos by the director of One Hour Photo and Never Let Me Go. As anyone who knows me can vouch, I love music as much as I love movies. So I figured I would need a couple of music discs to keep me sane. Romanek was arguably the best music video director working in the nineties. His most identifiable clip being ‘Closer’ by Nine Inch Nails. But every clip here is a gem in its own right.

The Work Of Director Chris Cunningham (2005)

A dvd in the same ‘Director’s Label’ series as the Romanek collection, this is a collection of music videos by the ultra-talented Chris Cunningham. Highlights here include ‘Frozen’ by Madonna, ‘All Is Full Of Love’ by Bjork (featuring kissing robots!) and ‘Come To Daddy’ by Aphex Twin. The latter is perhaps the most disturbing music video ever produced – you-tube it and you’ll see what I mean.

Book – ‘He Died With A Felafel In His Hand’ by John Birmingham

I figured I’d include this particular book to make me appreciate the forced solitude of the island and being by myself. It’s a collection of real-life anecdotes from an author who lived in dozens of share houses with over 89 people in various Australian cities in the 90’s. Extremely funny and very relatable. I had this book with me on a trip to Melbourne once and by the time I left a week later – everyone in the share house I was staying at had bought their own copy.

Luxury Item – CD – ‘Oxygene’ by Jean Michel Jarre

Okay, so I love music. So my comfort item would definitely have to be music. And seeing how I can’t include an MP3 player AND a charger, I decided to choose a CD instead (which I can play on my dvd/blu-ray player, right?). Initially I thought it should be my all time favorite band Fluke with their album ‘Risotto’. But as I’m only allowed one album – I finally chose this timeless piece of classic ambient electonica from 1977. It was the first CD I ever bought and it still holds up as THE most beautiful, evocative and amazing album I have ever heard. Just perfect for gazing up at the stars on those balmey tropical nights and pondering the universe.

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Thanks again to Greg for taking the time to join the prestigious Head In A Vice ”castaway” list. If you would like to submit your choices and add your name to THIS LIST, please drop me an email to – tysoncarter@hotmail.co.uk

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Posted by Tysoncarter182 on December 28, 2012

https://headinavice.wordpress.com/2012/12/28/mossfilm-desert-island-films/