50 Films to See Before You Die
Encyclopedia
50 Films to See Before You Die was a television programme first shown on Channel 4
on Saturday 22 July 2006, to celebrate the relaunch of Film4
as a free-to-air
TV channel available to digital terrestrial homes in the United Kingdom
. It consisted of a list of 50 films compiled by film critics, experts and personalities. Each film was "chosen as a paragon of a particular genre or style". Apocalypse Now
was chosen as the #1 film.
Recent movies dominate the list: nine are from the 2000s, twelve from the 1990s, nine from the 1980s, nine from the 1970s, and only eleven movies from all the years prior to 1970.
Three of the 50 films on the list are from the parent channel – Trainspotting
(#25), Secrets & Lies (#49) and Sexy Beast
(#5).
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
on Saturday 22 July 2006, to celebrate the relaunch of Film4
Film4
Film4 is a free digital television channel available in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, owned and operated by Channel 4, that screens films.-Programming:...
as a free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
TV channel available to digital terrestrial homes in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It consisted of a list of 50 films compiled by film critics, experts and personalities. Each film was "chosen as a paragon of a particular genre or style". Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American war film set during the Vietnam War, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The central character is US Army special operations officer Captain Benjamin L. Willard , of MACV-SOG, an assassin sent to kill the renegade and presumed insane Special Forces...
was chosen as the #1 film.
Recent movies dominate the list: nine are from the 2000s, twelve from the 1990s, nine from the 1980s, nine from the 1970s, and only eleven movies from all the years prior to 1970.
Three of the 50 films on the list are from the parent channel – Trainspotting
Trainspotting (film)
Trainspotting is a 1996 British satirical/drama film directed by Danny Boyle based on the novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh. The movie follows a group of heroin addicts in a late 1980s economically depressed area of Edinburgh and their passage through life...
(#25), Secrets & Lies (#49) and Sexy Beast
Sexy Beast
Sexy Beast is a 2000 British-Spanish crime drama film directed by Jonathan Glazer and starring Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, and Ian McShane. Produced by Jeremy Thomas, it was Glazer's debut feature film, who had previously been a music video director for videos such as Rabbit in Your Headlights for...
(#5).