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BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

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BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

Old 10-29-10, 07:02 PM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

I'd definitely add the original Karate Kid on there. My brother and I watched that numerous times growing up.
Old 12-06-11, 03:46 PM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

Here's a one year anniversary bump.

One year later and my daughter is going on 4 years old. I keep this list near my DVD collection. So as of a year ago she had seen.

Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Toy Story (1995)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
Beauty and the Beast (1946)
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Finding Nemo (2003)
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Over the last 12 months she has seen:

The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
Star Wars (1977)

And really liked all three. I’d never seen Jason and the Argonauts (except for the skeleton fight) and I really enjoyed it as well. I hope to hit this whole list with her and continue to update this thread.
Sometime over the next 12 months I want to show her ET since I was 4 when I first saw it. I remember loving it, but my cousin being terrified. I’m curious to see her reaction.

Last edited by Mabuse; 11-20-12 at 04:01 PM.
Old 12-06-11, 04:19 PM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

Old 12-06-11, 04:22 PM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

I'd seen almost none of those movies by the time I was fourteen. I grew up before home video or cable television. However, I had watched Thief of Baghdad, Lassie Come Home, and The Four Feathers in the theater, all of which made quite an impression on me.

I did see Walkabout by fourteen. Jenny Agutter was the first naked woman I'd seen in a movie.
Old 12-06-11, 06:20 PM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

...that's a pretty good standard to start out w/ naked women on screen. Mine was probably that topless woman in Silent Rage..was probably 4 or 5. Damn I love that movie...I don't give a shit how good or bad that is..I've fond memories of watching that movie and being slightly terrified of the baddie. He was a big fucker.

Last edited by Solid Snake; 12-07-11 at 03:22 PM.
Old 12-07-11, 12:31 AM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

Originally Posted by Matthew Chmiel
I'm pretty sure I saw The 400 Blows when I was 15 or 16 and I loved it. I'm sure I would've still loved it if I saw it a year or two earlier.
I saw it when I was around 12 and really liked it, but I don't think most kids I knew would have even considered seeing it. Actually, I liked Truffaut movies more as a kid then I do now.
Old 12-07-11, 07:57 AM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

I've seen 10 of the movies from that list during my entire lifetime, the rest of them I don't care enough about to see even now. They would probably be a great learning experience for any child growing up, but my interests lie elsewhere at this point in my life. We don't have any children so I don't have anyone but my wife and I to entertain and/or educate, but neither of us have any interest in the remainder of the movies from the list. -kd5-
Old 12-07-11, 08:45 AM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

I saw about five of these films by fourteen and many more of the titles over the years.



I watched "La belle et la bête" (1946) in French class in high school and "Au revoir, les enfants" (1987) in French class in college.
Old 12-07-11, 11:22 AM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

This list needs updating I would add Elf, Up, and Shrek
Old 12-07-11, 01:51 PM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

Originally Posted by PenguinJoe
This list needs updating I would add Elf, Up, and Shrek
Yeah, and Transformers 1, 2, and 3.
Old 12-07-11, 03:03 PM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

I haven't seen 37 of the movies on that list. Oh well, I guess I'm too old now!
Old 12-07-11, 03:14 PM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

Originally Posted by PenguinJoe
This list needs updating I would add Elf, Up, and Shrek
Originally Posted by Mabuse
Yeah, and Transformers 1, 2, and 3.
Old 12-07-11, 03:36 PM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

I've seen 41 of them - though I saw almost all of them after I was 14, unfortunately. I would have loved it if my parents had shown me some of these when I was younger - as it was, most of the movies we had in the house or that we chose to rent were recent Hollywood productions (except for a few random older titles, like Oliver!, which was my favorite film when I was 9-10), so I had to introduce myself to foreign/classic films. The 400 Blows was one of the first foreign films I watched when I was 13 or 14, and it had a huge impact on me. It's still one of my all-time favorites.

These are almost all good or great films from what I've seen. Show Me Love is a fantastic film, and a personal favorite - though since it deals with themes that are probably only going to resonate with teenagers/high schoolers, I think 13 or 14 would be a good minimum age at which to show it. Kes, another personal favorite, seems a bit too brutal for anyone not a teenager (I watched it when I was 20 or 21, and it still kind of traumatized me.)

Anyway, if I ever have kids (and that's a big if), I would probably try to show them a majority of the films on the list - though I'd want to do it in such a way that it wouldn't seem like I was forcing them to take their cultural medicine or whatever. (It'd probably help if I started them watching older films at a young age, before they get used to the Hollywood style and start to assume that that's the way all films "should be.")
Old 12-07-11, 03:46 PM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

Yeah, obviously there's a lot of films on this list I won't show my daughter until she's older.

I didn't see most of these films until I was in college, the ones I did see were films that were new during the time I was young (Princes Bride, ET, Back to the Future). Many of the films on the list were around when I was under 14 but unavailable (Totorro, Where is the Friends House).
Old 12-08-11, 10:13 AM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

Originally Posted by Drexl
It seems to be movies kids should see before high school.
Well if that's the case, no "Breakfast Club" = no sale in my household for this list!
Old 12-26-12, 02:16 PM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

It's time for the annual update. My daughter just turned five. The only film on this list I showed her this year was ET. She found it mildly scarry but very interesting.

I've reached a point where I've shown her all the "age appropriate" films on this list. I can't show her Night of the Hunter or The Outsiders yet.

This year I will try King Kong and Singin' in the Rain.
Old 12-26-12, 05:50 PM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

I saw about 12 before age 14. Have seen 33 at age 33. My son has seen 3 at age 3 so far. E.T.,Toy story and Finding Nemo. It seems Star Wars will be the next crossed off this list as he seems fascinated with R2-D2 and Chewbacca.
Old 03-25-13, 01:55 PM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

Got some updates: Showed my 5 year old Singin' in the Rain and she loved it. She sings the title song now and everything. The whole premise of being "behind the scenes" is lost on her. She doesn't understand how films are made so the film’s demonstration of how it works is completely lost. She doesn't fully distinguish between silent, B&W, color. Anyway she loved the Lina Lamont character. My daughter doesn't understand that the character is supposed to be a buffoon and an idiot. She just loves how glamorous she is.

She doesn't understand what a red carpet movie premiere is but the next day she put on a fur, got a toy microphone and wanted me to "interview" her the way the guy does at the beginning of the film.

Also, I showed the 2 year old Star Wars for the first time. I'm always curious if they will show interest or be bored or be scared or what. Just the music at the beginning had her smiling, then when the ship flew over she did the full on "lean in". She just leaned like 6 inches forward and stayed that way. She ate her whole dinner that way. I thought she might be scared by the cantina. She laughed.
Old 03-25-13, 02:08 PM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

Some Like it Hot? I love the film and all (in fact, I just watched it the other night with the wife) but I don't know if that's a must see before turning 15. Half the gags will be flying over their heads.
Old 03-25-13, 02:44 PM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

Porky's!
Old 03-25-13, 03:07 PM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

Originally Posted by Pizza
Some Like it Hot? I love the film and all (in fact, I just watched it the other night with the wife) but I don't know if that's a must see before turning 15. Half the gags will be flying over their heads.
I saw Some Like It Hot in hs at age 17 and did not enjoy it very much, but when I rewatched it 3-4 years later after I had gotten into film and had a baseline in terms of WB gangster films, my viewing was not only enhanced, but it is one of my favorite comedies.
Old 03-25-13, 04:46 PM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

correct me if i'm wrong but e.t. does not hold up the way grease has. every young kid seems to like grease the first time they watch it. e.t. never sold well when it hit dvd and when e.t. came out it was thought to be the next wizard of oz for generations to come.
Old 03-25-13, 05:26 PM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

I saw ET in the theater in 1982 when I was 4. I literally grew up with ET. My feeling about it is that ET is like Disney movies. You love them when you are little, but around 12 you reject them because you are becoming an adult and you feel you need to reject anything juvenile. Then in your 20's (if you're lucky) you return to these films and realize they are great films by any standard and are not just for kids but rather all ages.

I love ET. My 4 year old loved it too. So what does that tell you?

I remember rewatching ET when I was 18 and for the first time really understanding the dynamic of the missing father. The way the whole story is really just about a coping mechanism for a family broken by divorce and when ET leaves at the end it isn't just cliché melodrama but rather that Elliot doesn't "need" ET anymore, their adventure together has healed him and put him on a path to maturity. The whole "come" and "stay" exchange the two of them have has a powerful resonance with anyone who’s ever missed a loved one or been separated by a great distance. The last shot of the film is not of ET, and it's not of his ship flying away, and it's not a shot of the whole family embracing, it's a medium shot of Elliot alone in the frame and it says everything: He's changed, he's matured, he's healed, he's stronger, whatever the future may hold we know it's going to be alright. Great film.

Grease Whatever. Great songs, great cast. Bad pacing, bad editing, too long. Just because every young kid seems to like grease doesn't mean it's a great film. This list isn't about exposing kids to films they will like but rather films they should see. And I don't know about DVD but when ET came out on VHS it broke every record.

Last edited by Mabuse; 03-26-13 at 12:35 PM.
Old 03-25-13, 05:42 PM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

interesting that 'My Life as A Dog' and 'Walkabout' is on that list, considering there is some innocent nudity in the film that some parents might raise a eyebrow over. (as Nick Danger noted in post #29)
Old 03-25-13, 05:52 PM
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Re: BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14

Originally Posted by Pizza
Some Like it Hot? I love the film and all (in fact, I just watched it the other night with the wife) but I don't know if that's a must see before turning 15. Half the gags will be flying over their heads.
I liked it better as a kid than I do now.

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