In the introduction to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, the general editor, Steven Schneider, describes the book as offering an “all-genre, all-world, must-see film list.” The editors began the selection process by looking at the frequency of mentions on “greatest,” “top,” “favorite,” “best,” film lists. That was just the first step, however, as they were careful not to include only “high cinematic art” at the expense of those with populist appeal, for as Schneider states, “even if you could have filet mignon every single day, once in a while you’re bound to crave a hamburger.”
So, included in the book is everything from obscure foreign films to Hollywood blockbusters.
The book is arranged in chronological order beginning with the 1902 Georges Melies Le Voyage dans la lune (A Trip to the Moon), featured in Scorsese’s Hugo, through films of the last decade. A year chosen at random, 1992, includes The Player, Reservoir Dogs, Unforgiven, as well as foreign films, The Crying Game, Strictly Ballroom, and Conte d’Hiver (A Tale of Winter).
In addition to information such as producer, director, screenwriter, and cast, each entry includes a synopsis, photos, awards, commentary, and trivia. A very useful feature is a film index and checklist to record those watched.
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die is a must have for film fans.
