For many of us, the 7th art provides us with an escape from our daily lives. For others, they serve as a tool to learn more about a given subject. But whatever the reason for sitting down behind a screen, above everything, it’s a way to travel without moving. We laugh, we cry, and we get inspired by them. They enable us to watch things through a different lens, one that enables us to become something different, even if just for a moment. The importance of the silver screen cannot be quantified.
Today, Selador Records label boss Dave Seaman shares with us his favorite top 10 movies of all time to celebrate the release of Selador’s ‘Selected Rewroks’, showcasing remixes of Dave’s tracks by Luke Brancaccio & Gai Barone, Charles Webster, and Damon Jee.
These are the ones that inspire him to this day, becoming perfect (or imperfect) memories caught in a timeless well. So get your popcorn ready, because Seaman has incredible taste in movies, no doubt.
01. Magnolia
“There’s plenty to choose from Paul Thomas Anderson’s outstanding repertoire but it’s his 1999 sprawling opus that gets my vote. A classic ensemble piece with a formidable cast all on top of their game, a superb soundtrack, and a bunch of stunning set pieces and surreal twists that all combine to keep you transfixed throughout its 3 hours plus running time. Filmmaking of the highest order.”
02. Donnie Darko
“Richard Kelly’s 2003 cult classic gets more remarkable with every watch, the gift that keeps on giving. A triumphant, multi-layered, genre-defying and ultimately, wonderfully puzzling cinematic experience. Not only that, it gave birth to the name of my record label, Selador.”
03. Naked
“Mike Leigh’s equally grim and disturbing yet strangely exhilarating raw black comedy-drama featuring a career-defining turn by David Thewlis as the ultimate anti-hero. What a ride.”
04. This Is England
“Not only for the original movie but also the subsequent small screen sequels, Shane Meadows’ masterpiece mirrored so much of the culture of my own youth and left me in floods of tears by the finale.”
05. The Dark Knight
“I could’ve chosen any one of Christopher Nolan’s countless gems, so it’s with a nod to ‘Memento’ and ‘Inception’ particularly, that I’ve gone for the second part of his Batman trilogy mainly because, as someone who is not really a fan of superhero movies at all, this one blew me away, not least of course because of the late Heath Ledger’s widely celebrated portrayal of the Joker. Proper jaw-dropper.”
06. Sexy Beast
“Jonathan Glazer’s Costa Del Crime drama is the top of the pile for UK gangster flicks for me with the scariest character ever to make it on the big screen courtesy of Ben Kingsley’s pyschotic Don Logan, who doesn’t know how to take ‘no’ for an answer and wins the award for most uses of the ‘C’ word hands down. Not for the faint-hearted.”
07. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
“The combination of another mind-melting Charlie Kaufman script, Michel Gondry’s deft directorship, and two brilliant lead performances from Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet is one for the ages. Smart, inventive, thought-provoking, heartwarming, it ticks so many emotional boxes, you won’t know whether you’re coming or going!”
08. Black Swan
“Darren Aranofsky is another director that continually pushes the envelope. He first came to my attention via the brilliant ‘Requiem For A Dream’ but it’s this dark, twisted, ballet based, intense psychological horror that really had me squirming in my cinema seat. It’s Natalie Portman’s finest hour too as she slowly loses her mind in the name of her art.”
9. Toy Story 3
“I felt I should include a Pixar film, such has been their wildly imaginative, astonishing consistency for almost 3 decades, reinvigorating the entire animation genre. It could have been ‘Wall-E’, it could have been ‘Up’ or indeed, any of the ‘Toy Story’ tetralogy but ‘Toy Story 3’ is remarkable to me in that it’s so very rare that the third film in a series matches, or in this case, for me, even surpass its predecessors. Franchises usually bear diminishing returns with each sequel. And let’s face it, how many so-called ‘kids’ movies have you fighting back the tears? I was an emotional mess as Woody and the gang headed for the furnace. A cinematic moment I’ll never forget.”
10. Inception
“It’s been so hard choosing just 10 and I still haven’t included the likes of a Coen Brothers, Scorsese, or Tarantino film yet! But in the end, I couldn’t ignore the effect Christopher Nolan’s ‘Inception’ had on me. It’s one of very few films that made me want to stay in my seat at the cinema to watch it again immediately. Which I pretty much did. Well, the following day. Next level filmmaking. Literally! 😅“
Selador’s ‘Selected Reworks’ is out now. Purchase your copy here.
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