This Must Be the Place: New Books and Documentaries to Stoke Your Musical Nostalgia

/ Lauren / Leave a comment

There’s this article from The Onion that my husband and I keep chuckling over. The joke headline is “Cool Dad Raising Daughter on Media That Will Put Her Entirely Out of Touch with Her Generation,” and it’s followed by a photo of a middle-aged man presenting a girl with a vinyl copy of the Talking Heads Remain in Light as she regards the album in her hands with utter skepticism. We may or may not have played that very album for our kids before heading to New Haven to watch former Talking Heads members—now septuagenarians—perform it live. That joke article is about us.

Anyone who’s interrupted a Disney playlist to subject their progeny to a few excruciating minutes of A Very Important Music Thing can relate. We want to share the things we love with the people we love. We want them to know who we are. It could be music or movies, hobbies, sports teams, longtime vacation spots. For me, it’s reggae and Joni Mitchell’s Blue and Neil Young’s Harvest, all of which I heard as a kid on weekend mornings. It’s hurtling down the interstate in a car full of teenagers scream-singing along to Jimmy Eat World’s “Sweetness” or Jay-Z’s “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” or Underworld’s “Born Slippy.” It’s the first two Decemberists albums, played as my future husband and I aimlessly wandered the backroads near the town we were so very desperate to leave. This music is as much me as the cells in my body. So now I sing “Heart of Gold” and “The Crane Wife” to my kids as bedtime lullabies, and for background noise I play Bob Marley and classic R&B songs that were sampled by rappers.

Until the kids are old enough for evening concerts, I’m passing my limited free time by reading and watching documentaries about music, especially the scenes and artists that have dimmed the stage lights for the last time. Did you know that emo was a product of the suburbs? (Thanks, Andy Greenwald!) Or that Carrie Brownstein, half of the hilarious duo on Portlandia, was part of Olympia’s feminist Riot Grrrl movement in the early 90’s? Here’s some recent media if you’re feeling nostalgic for the sounds of the past.

Night People: How to be a DJ in ’90s NYC by Mark Ronson (2025)

From the publisher: Organized around the venues that defined his experience of the downtown scene, Ronson evokes the specific rush of that decade and those spaces—where fashion folks and rappers on the rise danced alongside club kids and 9-to-5’ers—and invites us into the tribe of creatives and partiers who came alive when the sun went down. A heartfelt coming-of-age tale, Night People is the definitive account of ’90s New York nightlife and the making of a musical mastermind.

Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run by Peter Ames Carlin (2025)

From the publisher: From the opening piano notes of “Thunder Road,” to the final outro of “Jungleland”—with American anthems like “Born to Run” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out” in between—Bruce Springsteen’s seminal album, Born to Run, established Springsteen as a creative force in rock and roll. With his back against the wall, he wrote what has been hailed as a perfect album, a defining moment, and a roadmap for what would become a legendary career. Peter Ames Carlin, whose bestselling biography, Bruce, gave him rare access to Springsteen’s inner circle, now returns with the full story of the making of this epic album. Released in August, 1975, Born to Run now celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Hip-Hop Is History by Questlove (2024)

From the publisher: Questlove traces the creative and cultural forces that made and shaped hip-hop, highlighting both the forgotten but influential gems and the undeniable chart-topping hits-and weaves it all together with the stories no one else knows. It is at once an intimate, sharply observed story and a sweeping theory of the evolution of the great artistic movement of our time. Questlove approaches it with both the encyclopedic fluency of an obsessive fan and the unique expertise of an innovative participant. Hip-hop is history, and also his history.

Psst: If you prefer to watch a documentary, Questlove’s Hip-Hop Evolution (2016) runs along similar lines. It’s available on Netflix.

Sharing in the Groove: The Untold Story of the ’90s Jam Band Explosion and the Scene that Followed by Mike Ayers (2025) 

From the publisher: Sharing in the Groove is a rich examination of an underdog genre that helped define the 1990s musical landscape―a scene that paved the way for modern-day cultural institutions such as the Bonnaroo Music Festival and kept the Grateful Dead ethos alive. It was also a world with its own values and its own unique interactions with fame, record labels, MTV, drugs, and success.

The Name of This band is R.E.M.: A Biography by Peter James Carlin (2024)

From the publisher: Deeply descriptive and remarkably poetic, steeped in 80s and 90s nostalgia, The Name of This Band is R.E.M. paints a cultural history of the commercial peak and near-total collapse of a great music era, and the story of the generation that came of age at the apotheosis of rock.

The Harder I Fight the More I Love You by Neko Case (2025)

From the publisher: Case brings her trademark candor and precision to a memoir that traces her evolution from an invisible girl “raised by two dogs and a space heater” in rural Washington state to her improbable emergence as an internationally-acclaimed talent. In luminous, sharp-edged prose, Case shows readers what it’s like to be left alone for hours and hours as a child, to take refuge in the woods around her home, and to channel the monotony and loneliness and joy that comes from music, camaraderie, and shared experience into art.

How Women Made Music: A Revolutionary History from NPR Music edited by Alison Fensterstock (2024)

From the publisher: Drawn from NPR Music’s acclaimed, groundbreaking series Turning the Tables, the definitive book on the vital role of Women in Music—from Beyoncé to Odetta, Taylor Swift to Joan Baez, Joan Jett to Dolly Parton—featuring archival interviews, essays, photographs, and illustrations.

The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America by Larry Tye (2024)

From the publisher: This is the story of three revolutionary American musicians, the maestro jazzmen who orchestrated the chords that throb at the soul of twentieth-century America… What is far less known about these groundbreakers is that they were bound not just by their music or even the discrimination that they, like nearly all Black performers of their day, routinely encountered. Each defied and ultimately overcame racial boundaries by opening America’s eyes and souls to the magnificence of their music. In the process they wrote the soundtrack for the civil rights movement.

Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk by Kathleen Hanna (2024)

From the publisher: An electric, searing memoir by the original rebel girl and legendary front woman of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre… As Hanna makes clear, being in a “girl band,” especially a punk girl band, in those years was not a simple or safe prospect. Male violence and antagonism threatened at every turn, and surviving as a singer who was a lightning rod for controversy took limitless amounts of determination. But the relationships she developed during those years buoyed her–including with her bandmates, Tobi Vail, Kathi Wilcox, and Johanna Fateman; her friendships with Kurt Cobain and Ian MacKaye; and her introduction to Joan Jett- were all a testament to how the punk world could nurture and care for its own.

Music by John Williams (2024) Produced and directed by Laurent Bouzereau

My favorite music documentaries fill me to the brim with joy (see: Twenty Feet from Stardom)  and this journey through the most iconic music in cinema history does just that. Williams wrote the scores for Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, E.T., Harry Potter, Jaws, and lots of other movies that are memorable in part due to Williams’ mastery. It’s only available on Disney+, but it’s worth a trial if you aren’t already a subscriber.

Summer of Soul: (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2022) Directed by Questlove

I’m cheating a little here when it comes to “recent” releases, but this is another piece of joy. It follows the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which was overshadowed by Woodstock and hardly made a blip on the radar. You’ll get the context of the almost-forgotten festival, along with footage of Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, the 5th Dimension, and Sly and the Family Stone (rest in peace) doing what they do best. If you don’t start moving to Gladys Knight and the Pips’ upbeat rendition of “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” then I can’t help you. Borrow the DVD from the library or stream it from your preferred service.

The Write Stuff: 9 Books to Make You a Better Writer

/ Susan O. / 1 Comment

Books require readers, but they also require writers. And not just books – writers are required for things you never think of, from greeting cards to the labels on your cough syrup and face cream jars. Writers put words in the comic book superhero’s mouth. Writers help K-Mart ship their pants, the Geico Cavemen get insurance, and made Downton Abbey so intriguing.

For a small town, Cheshire has a large number of published writers, and for every published author, we have at least four who are either dreaming of writing, or struggling with the actual task. Good writing – like acting, like music, like fine art, like athletics – starts with a natural talent. You have an ear for speech. You have a knack for conversation. Grammar was easy for you. This doesn’t mean that if you’re dyslexic, or can’t spell, or have no idea when to use a semicolon, that you can’t be a writer. That’s what an editor is for. What’s important is getting that idea out.

But how? How do you know what you need to do, when you haven’t had an English class in 20 years? You don’t remember a past perfect subjunctive case? And what do you mean by third person unreliable narrator? I just want to write a story – why is this so complicated?

Writing a story your mom loved is a good start, but to reach a larger audience, you will need grit, determination, skill, and a steel spine. But I don’t know any writers! you wail. Workshops are so expensive! I can’t take three weeks off my job for a retreat in Washington State!

Few people can, and that’s why libraries are so important! Ray Bradbury – Pulitzer winner, multiple Hugo-award winner, Emmy winner, and more – told the story of how he was too poor to afford college, so instead he read every book in his hometown library – every one – and got the education he needed that way. There are so many good books out there to help you with writing, depending on what level you’re at, what you want to know, and how you need to do it. Let’s explore a few of the best ones:

Writer’s Digest Magazine

This is a great resource if you’re just starting out. You’ll find helpful hints, articles by authors, agents, publishers, and vague contests (caution: most cost money to enter, which is how they get the prize money. They aren’t exactly a scam, but your chances of winning are low). You’ll learn about genres and what other authors are doing. This is great for a year, but after that, you realize they run the same information over and over again every year.

Sol Stein: Stein on Writing

To this day, my favorite book on writing. If you only have the patience to read one book on writing, read this one. Stein will walk you through every aspect of writing, from making the characters real to creating tension to love scenes, and he does it in everyday language you will understand. This is your college class on writing. If you’re starting out or still in school, this book will turn you into a writing powerhouse.

Ursula LeGuin: Steering the Craft  

This is probably the best book on the practice of writing I’ve ever read. LeGuin states this isn’t for beginners – she’s not going to give you the basics like Stein does; she digs a level deeper. This is your Writer’s Workshop in a box. LeGuin will walk you through the various aspects of writing, from multiple points of view, to tense, to use of adjectives and adverbs, dialogue, and the rest. She will assign you writing exercises, some easy, some not. Find a buddy, even online, and do the exercises. This is a full creative writing class for zero cost . I wound up buying myself a copy (a whopping $7).

Donald Maass: Writing the Breakout Novel 

I went into this one with a swagger, and landed on my butt. Donald Maass, owner of one of the premiere literary agencies in the country, sent me crawling back to my manuscript like it was fit for nothing but lining the litter box. Maass discusses the death of the mid-level writer, and takes you point by point illustrating what makes a novel not just good, but brilliant. I ran right back to my manuscript and dug deeper, and was so pleased with the result. This was far more useful than I’d ever hoped, and I read it with actual interest. This is a must-read, but, published in 2001, some of it is woefully dated: He says The Handmaid’s Tale is not believable, no one can follow more than one subplot (he obviously never read Game of Thrones), and to never submit by email, when that’s all agents and publishers accept today.

Annie Dillard: The Writing Life

Dillard’s another Pulitzer Prize winner, with lofty prose that requires a lot of thinking. If you are a beginner, just starting out, trying to see if this is the career you want, this is not the book for you. You’re not going to get the deeper story. If writing is burning your soul with a searing pain that keeps you awake night and day, if you can think tangentially and in leaps and in metaphors, then you will appreciate this book and take comfort in it. In short, writing is not a straight line, and the story you think you want to write will probably not be the one you wind up with as the story twists out of your control. It’s a book for the writer’s soul. 

Ray Bradbury: Zen in the Art of Writing

Bradbury, as a short story writer more than a novelist (he said the goal is to write one short story a week; going by the law of averages, at least 10 a year should be really good), isn’t going to bore you with “Do This.” Instead, this is a collection of essays delving into how he writes, and his thought processes. It’s painless and inspirational, will boost your creativity, and is one you should be reading.

Anne Lamont: Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

This is another surprise book I wound up purchasing. Lamont frees you from the guilt of writer’s block by giving you permission to write one word at a time. That’s how books are written: one word at a time. She’ll drag you through all the pitfalls of writing while holding your hand, patting you on the back, and inspiring you all at the same time. 

John Mullan: What Matters in Jane Austen

Okay, this isn’t a book on writing – but if you ignore the fact that it’s Austen, and the fact some of it dates from the late 1700’s, and PBS has ground the stories into the dirt, there is a LOT of writing advice to be found in this book. Mullan picks apart Austen’s stories, discussing how she shows characterization, dialogue, even class in between the lines, describing things without ever coming out and saying them. Whether or not you’re an Austen fan (I’ve only read one, and that was 40 years ago), this is a treasure-trove of writing information if you don’t mind feeling like a total failure in her shadow.

Stephen King: On Writing

This is the first book everyone runs to, and then squeals about. I’m going to commit heresy here: Don’t bother. This book is not going to help you become a writer. It’s going to help you sympathize with King for having all the same highs and lows and writer’s blocks that you do, but primarily, this is a book on King’s journey into writing. It’s not a self-help guide. It’s a biography.

Want to improve your writing? Track down Sol Stein, Ursula LeGuinn, and Donald Maass. They will not fail you. Dean Koontz’s book, How to Write Best Selling Fiction is widely regarded as an excellent book, but is out of print and used copies go as high as $500(?!?). However, you CAN access the material (or other bits on Youtube and such) through a PDF here on Scribd.com (beware of frequent ads).

Not-So-Scary Halloween Reads for Kids

/ Lauren / 1 Comment

Now that the temperatures have dropped, I’m kicking my horror obsession into high gear. I’m going through my Audible audiobook purchases and listening to anything remotely paranormal, and I’m watching as many delightfully flawed 1970s horror films as I can find on my streaming services. The rest of my household, though, isn’t quite on board with my level of horror. My four-year-old gets up and starts to leave the room during particularly tense moments of Sofia the First. My two-year-old cries when he wakes up at 6:30am and it’s still dark.

Even though they’re not ready for it, my kids are still drawn to the spooky stuff. They’re fascinated by ghosts and skeletons. We’re a long way off from listening to the Spooked podcast together, but they can handle the horror equivalent of a balance bike and a sturdy helmet. These are some of the not-so-scary titles we’ve been enjoying this fall, in no particular order.

Leo: A Ghost Story written by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Christian Robinson (2015)

Leo is a little ghost who finds himself unwanted and unappreciated by his house’s new (living) residents, so he decides to wander the city and discovers a lasting friendship. Mac Barnett is one of my favorite authors to read out loud, and Robinson’s signature cutout-style illustrations are adorable with just the barest hint of spookiness from the blue color palette.

The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale by Jon Klassen (2023)

You’ll recognize Klassen’s signature monochromatic palette and impactfully sparse prose from picture books like I Want My Hat Back. The Skull is a more substantial chapter book about a girl who runs away from home and befriends – you guessed it – a skull. Both my kids adore this book, which has a creepy-not-scary vibe and takes 15 to 20 minutes to read out loud. Even my two-year-old will sit for the whole thing. As for me, I have been haunted by the story’s unanswered questions that don’t seem to cross the kids’ minds. (If you’ve read Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, you know what I mean.)

There’s a Ghost in This House by Oliver Jeffers (2021)

Here’s another picture book for kids obsessed with ghosts. This one follows a girl around her house as she looks for the ghosts that supposedly live in her house. She can’t seem to see them – but the reader can, with help from transparent pages that overlay the old-fashioned photographs of rooms. It’s a clever and entertaining book that we’ve been re-reading from cover to cover. (I mean it. You only get the full story if you look at the endpapers.)

In a Dark, Dark Room: And Other Scary Stories retold by Alvin Schwartz, illustrated by Dirk Zimmer (1984)’

You probably read this classic book yourself as a kid, or had somebody read it to you. Are the stories as satisfying as Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark? No, but this smaller tome won’t accidentally give your kids nightmares if you pick the wrong story. (Not that I know from experience or anything. Cough cough.) My two-year-old lights up with anticipation of the jump scare I insert at the end of the title story.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Brett Helquist (2009)

There’s a tradition in the UK of telling ghost stories at Christmas, and what better story to turn to than the GOAT of Christmas ghost stories? The illustrations are what make this book work. You’ll recognize the style of Brett Helquist from the gloomy covers of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. The prose seems to go over my kids’ heads, but as an adult it’s loads of fun to read Scrooge’s dialogue aloud and give it the weight of King Lear mourning the dead Cordelia.

Gustavo, the Shy Ghost by Flavia Z. Drago (2020)

If you thought Leo was cute, then Gustavo might take the cake – or rather, pan de muerto. Gustavo is too shy to talk to the other monster kids, so he decides to put on a violin concert instead. It’s a relatable story in beautiful colors inspired by Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebration. Fans of the movie Coco will enjoy the color palette and musical theme, but this sweet picture book thankfully won’t require adults to grab a tissue. (Not that I know from experience or anything. Cough cough.) 

Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker (2019)

My four-year-old knows the creepy stuff is out there. To scratch the itch that the cute ghost stories can’t satisfy, we’ve been dabbling in some middle-grade books like Scary Stories for Young Foxes. It’s a series of interconnected stories about two juvenile foxes and the horrors they endure as they try to get back to their families. There’s a beloved teacher who turns rabid, a murderous father, and a terrifying take on a classic children’s author. Nothing is gratuitous, though, and it all builds to a satisfying ending. If you’ve been reading Hansel and Gretel with nary a nightmare, it might be worth a try.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (2008)

We’re also giving a try to this middle-grade book authored by dark fantasy master Neil Gaiman. It’s the story of Bod, a boy who is raised from infancy by the inhabitants of a graveyard after his family is killed. Despite the gloomy premise, the fantasy elements outweigh the horror parts; readers of Gaiman’s adult works like Norse Mythology will be familiar with the tone. And each chapter is episodic like Scary Stories for Young Foxes, making it a good match for younger attention spans.

Make Your Voice Count in the Upcoming Election

/ Lauren / Leave a comment

In case you haven’t noticed the candidate yard signs scattered among the scarecrow and skeleton decorations, it is voting season here in Cheshire. In a couple weeks, eligible residents will get to cast their vote on 22 positions including Town Clerk, Town Council, Planning and Zoning Commission, and the Board of Education. There are also seven referendum questions covering funding of road improvements, construction of a town splash pad, a new fire truck, and improvements at the high school. This is an excellent opportunity to get your voice heard and directly shape the community you live in!

If you’re a little confused on how, where, and when to vote, we’re here to demystify the process. 

Step 1: Make sure you can vote

Are you eligible to vote? U.S. citizens living in Connecticut who will be 18 years or older on election day (and who are not currently incarcerated on a convicted felony) are eligible to vote in the town of their residence. The CT Secretary of the State has excellent details on voter eligibility, as well as general information for voters.

Step 2: Register to vote

Not registered? you can 1) complete an application in-person at Town Hall, here at the Library, or at the DMV; 2) grab a blank application from one of those locations and mail it to Town Hall at 84 S Main St, Cheshire, CT 06410 by Friday, October 17; or 3) register online. If you need help navigating the process, don’t hesitate to call the Registrars of Voters at 203-271-6680 or stop by their office at Town Hall.

If you wait until the last minute, same-day registration is available on election day at Town Hall. The lines can get long, so it’s recommended only as a last resort.

Already registered? You can use the online Voter Registration Lookup tool at any time to check your registration status, party affiliation (if any), and your polling location.

Step 3: Find out what you’re voting on with a sample ballot

Now that you’re registered, it’s time to see what you’ll be voting on. Every address in town has an assigned voting district, and every voting district has a slightly different ballot. Find your 2025 voting district by locating your street address on this chart. According to this chart, if I lived at the library, I would be in District 7.

Now that you know your district, you can view your 2025 sample ballots on the Cheshire Elections webpage. Scroll down and click to see your full sample ballot. These are exactly the choices you’ll see when you go to vote.

Step 4: Research your ballot choices

You’ll notice from your sample ballot that there are lots of choices. How do you learn about the candidates and the issues that are important to them? A great starting place is going to the political party town committees. The Republican candidates are profiled by office on the Cheshire Republican Town Committee website, and you can get bios of the Democratic candidates on the Cheshire Democratic Town Committee website. These websites are as close to one-stop shopping as you’ll get for voting information.

You can also do an old-fashioned google search for candidates. Many of them have Facebook pages, and some have news articles or other mentions.

As for the seven referendum questions, the town put out an explanatory text so you can know a little more about what you’re voting for.

Step 5: Decide on your voting method

Now that you (hopefully) have an idea of how you’ll vote, it’s time to actually vote! You have the choice of voting on election day in-person, voting early in-person, or mailing in an absentee ballot.

To vote on election day, bring yourself and your identification to your designated polling place on Tuesday, November 4, 2025 between 6am and 8pm. As long as you’re in line by 8pm, you’re covered!

To vote early, bring yourself and your ID to the Council Chambers at Town Hall from Monday, October 20 to Sunday, November 2, 2025. Early voting hours are 10am to 6pm, with extended hours of 8am to 8pm on October 28th and 30th. Last year was the first time we Connecticans had the ability to vote early, and it’s a welcome option that’s here to stay.

Under special circumstances, you may be eligible to vote by absentee ballot. You can apply online, by mail, or in-person at the Town Clerk’s office at Town Hall.

Do you need accommodations to help you vote in-person? You have options, including using a ballot marking device, bringing or requesting an assistant, curbside voting, and having a line placeholder if you can’t stand for long periods.

Do you need transportation to your polling place? Please reach out to either the Democratic or Republican town committees. No matter your party affiliation or how you intend to vote, they will help you get to the polls!

Do you have other questions or concerns? Contact the Registrars of Voters, who oversee municipal elections and ensure the integrity of the voting process. We have two elected Registrars – one from each political party – and two deputy registrars. They would love to help you exercise your constitutional right!

With no representatives or presidents on the ballot, it may not feel like a big year, but municipal elections still have a big impact on your community. And with early voting and multiple ways to register, it’s easier than ever to get your voice heard!

The Top 100 Films of All Time

/ Susan O. / 1 Comment

What makes a fantastic film? You might as well ask what makes a good red wine, or abstract painting, or an attractive face.

Not every blockbuster is a “quality” film, and certainly not every “quality” film is a blockbuster. Some films are held in high regard, but are so “artsy” that it can be difficult to enjoy them (Eraserhead). Some movies are wildly popular (Die Hard), but hated by critics. A film can have a great script, but bad director, or a great director but the worst possible actor (Denise Richards in The World is Not Enough). Sometimes the special effects are awful (Howard the Duck, and let’s not forget the unfinished production on Cats). Sometimes the budget is practically zero (the $400,000 budget of Monty Python and the Holy Grail was partially financed by the rock bands Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Jethro Tull), while others have tremendous budgets and huge followings and are so awful they still fail (Solo, A Star Wars Story had a budget of $250 million and couldn’t break even—how can you lose with Star Wars?). When all these things come together—a good story, good writing, good actors, good directors, good marketing, and sometimes good timing (even Lilo and Stitch had to be retrofitted because of a plane and building scene right after 9/11)—you can hit a home run clear out of the park. 

Obviously, everyone has different tastes. Porky’s is my go-to when I need a stupid laugh. Yeah, it’s not high-brow. Forty years later, I still don’t understand the humor in Ghostbusters. 2001: A Space Odyssey is an incredibly beautiful movie, far ahead of its time, but with zero dialogue for the first 20 minutes, and I think it’s one of the most boring movies I’ve ever seen. I have endlessly tried to understand the hoopla of Blade Runner, read all the discussion on it, and I’m still missing the genius. I’ll just agree it’s an important film, and carry on. My favorite romance movie is Raiders of the Lost Ark—not generally on any romance list. 

So, anyone trying to pick the top 100 films of all time is truly facing an endeavor in futility, whether you’re the American Film Institute or a bunch of friends at dinner. I gathered results from eight different polls, and tried to tabulate the results. AFI, no surprise, is a bit snooty and prefers their films pre-1950, and doesn’t care much for popularity or genre films. Rotten Tomatoes focuses on user recommendation and critic reviews. Empire Online focuses more on popularity, artistic merit, and cultural impact. IMDB uses user ratings. British Film Institute includes far more foreign-language films than we get exposure to, with the ratings of more than 1600 critics, academics, and curators. Sight & Sound, which is run by the Criterion Channel, uses more than 1500 critics choices. Overall, drama far outweighed comedies, and musicals and animated films were few all around.

How many of these have you seen? Which ones would you recommend?

1.   12 Angry Men

2.  2001 a Space Odyssey

3.   400 Blows

4.   Alien

5.   All About Eve

6.   All the President’s Men

7.   Annie Hall

8.   Apocalypse Now

9.   Battle of Algiers 

10.   Battleship Potemkin

11.   Beau Travail

12.   Bicycle Thieves

13.   Blade Runner

14.   Bonnie and Clyde

15.   Breathless

16.   Bringing Up Baby

17.   Brokeback Mountain

18.   Casablanca

19.   Chinatown

20.   Citizen Kane

21.   City Lights

22.   Close Up (1990)

23.  Do The Right Thing

24.   Double Indemnity

25.   Dr. Strangelove

26.   Duck Soup

27.   ET

28.   Fellowship of the Ring

29.   Forrest Gump

30.   Get Out

31.   Godfather

32.   Godfather II

33.   Gone with the Wind

34.   Goodfellas

35.   In the Mood For Love (2000)

36.   Intolerance

37.   It Happened One Night

38.   It’s a Wonderful Life

39.   Jaws

40.   Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

41.   King Kong

42.   Lawrence of Arabia

43.   M

44.  Mad Max Fury Road

45.   Maltese Falcon

46.  Metropolis

47.   Modern Times

48.   Moonlight

49.   Mulholland Drive

50.   Nashville

51.  Network

52.   North By Northwest

53.   On the Waterfront

54.   One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

55.   Parasite

56.   Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

57.   Pather Panchali  

58.   Persona

59.   Psycho

60.   Pulp Fiction

61.   Raging Bull

62.   Raiders of the Lost Ark

63.   Rashomon  

64. Rear Window

65.  Rules of the Game

66.  Saving Private Ryan

67.   Schindler’s list

68.   Seven Samurai

69.   Shawshank Redemption

70.   Silence of the Lambs

71.  Singing in the Rain

72.   Some Like it Hot

73.   Sound of Music

74.  Spirited Away

75.   Star Wars: A New Hope

76.   Sunrise: Song of Two Humans  

77. Sunset Boulevard

78.   Taxi Driver

79.   The Dark Knight

80.   The General 

81.   The Searchers

82.  The Shining

83.   Titanic

84.   Tokyo Story

85.   Toy Story

86.   Vertigo

87.   Wizard of Oz

88.   American Graffiti

89.   Cabaret

90.   A Clockwork Orange

91.   French Connection

92.   The Empire Strikes Back

93. Easy Rider

94.   The Deer Hunter

95.   MASH

96.   Platoon

97.  Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse

98.   No Country for Old Men

99.   Up

100.  West Side Story (original)

Just to push myself, I tried, tried to pick my 100 top films, but couldn’t get further than 50. Do I pick the ones I’ve watched the most times (Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan)? Do I pick the ones I think are technically perfect (Casablanca)? Do I pick the ones I felt most deeply? (I cried for two hours after Edward Scissorhands) The most mind-bending (Dr. Strange)? Something sentimental I remember from childhood (The Poseidon Adventure)? It becomes too difficult to choose. So, these are the first ten films I’d pick to be stranded on a desert island with (assuming I had the means to watch them) (and I’d prefer more):

The Road Warrior

Serenity (2005)

Rogue One

Casino Royale (2006)

Casablanca

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Lord of the Rings

The French Connection

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Terminator 2