Yesterday the wife came back from a trawl around the charity shops with a gift for me that I much appreciate. It’s a copy of a weighty reference tome on films, of which I’m a lifelong devotee. The author’s purpose is to draw together a list of what he regards as un miss able films, and the book’s title is ‘1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die’.
People always seem to be drawing up these lists. You’ll find them them in the meeja, in magazines, and on line; ‘100 Books You Must Read Before You Die’, ’50 Places You Must Visit Before You Die’, ‘101 Foods You Must Eat Before You Die’, ‘1001 Albums you Must Listen To…’, ’50 Sporting Occasions You Must…’ and so on.
Fair Enough. But one thing irritates the life out of me. Why not just call the book ‘1001 Films You Must See’? What’s with the pointless melodrama of the ‘Before You Die’ bit? It stands to reason that I’ll see the film, or read the book, or eat the dish, or visit the place or whatever BEFORE I die. There’s a blindingly obvious reason why I won’t be doing it AFTER I die. I’ll be fucking DEAD.
Stupid cunts.
Nominated by Ron Knee.