1,000 Films To Change Your Life

1,000 Films To Change Your Life, edited by Simon Cropper, is a book of film recommendations categorised not chronologically but (a la Tate Modern) by emotional impact. There are chapters on Joy, Anger, Food For Thought (i.e. contemplation), Desire, Fear, Sadness, Exhilaration, Regret, Contempt, and Wonder. As a guide to films you might enjoy depending on your mood, it won't really teach you anything new, but it does give useful viewing suggestions.

An appendix titled 100 To Watch lists "100 reviews of key titles mentioned in this book", arranged alphabetically:

• After Life
  
• L'Age d'Or
  
• Aguirre: The Wrath Of God
  
• Alphaville
  
• L'Atalante
  
• An Autumn Afternoon
  
• L'Avventura
  
• Beau Travail
  
• Berlin Alexanderplatz
  
• La Bete Humaine
  
• Bicycle Thieves
  
• Branded To Kill
  
• Cat People
  
• Le Cercle Rouge
  
• Chinatown
  
• Citizen Kane
  
• Come & See
  
• The Conversation
  
• Crimes & Misdemeanors
  
• Le jour se leve
  
• Days Of Being Wild
  
• The Deer Hunter
  
• Dr Strangelove
  
• Dog Day Afternoon
  
• Double Indemnity
  
• Dracula
  
• The Elephant Man
  
• Eraserhead
  
• Far From Heaven
  
• The Five Obstructions
  
• Frankenstein
  
• The General
  
• Gloria
  
• The Godfather
  
• Godzilla
  
• Grand Illusion
  
• The Green Ray
  
• La Haine
  
• Hana-Bi
  
• Heat
  
• Imitation Of Life
  
• In A Lonely Place
  
• In Praise Of Love
  
• Insignificance
  
• In The Company Of Men
  
• In The Mood For Love
  
• Irma Vep
  
• The Killers
  
• Kind Hearts & Coronets
  
• King Kong
  
• Kiss Me Deadly
  
• Knife In The Water
  
• Land & Freedom
  
• Letter From An Unknown Woman
  
• The Limey
  
• The Magnificent Seven
  
• The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
  
• The Man Without A Past
  
• A Matter Of Life & Death
  
• Metropolis
  
• Mon Oncle D'Amerique
  
• My Neighbour Totoro
  
• Night & Fog
  
• The Night Of The Hunter
  
• Ninotchka
  
• North By Northwest
  
• Once Upon A Time In America
  
• A One & A Two
  
• Ordet
  
• Pickpocket
  
• The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes
  
• Rashomon
  
• Ratcatcher
  
• Read My Lips
  
• Sans Soleil
  
• The Scent Of Green Papaya
  
• The Searchers
  
• Seven Samurai
  
• Sherlock Jr
  
• Short Cuts
  
• Singin' In The Rain
  
• Some Like It Hot
  
• The Son
  
• Sonatine
  
• The Story Of The Late Chrysanthemums
  
• Sullivan's Travels
  
• Taboo
  
• Taxi Driver
  
• Things To Come
  
• Time Out
  
• Touch Of Evil
  
• 2001: A Space Odyssey
  
• 2046
  
• The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg
  
• Vertigo
  
• The Wild Bunch
  
• The Wind Will Carry Us
  
• Witchfinder General
  
• Woman Of The Dunes
  
• Z

The book also has many short essays, including Emilie Bickerton on films that "chastise the viewer for daring to enter the auditorium", Christopher Frayling on "how films can scare us", and Jonathan Rosenbaum on films that generate "open-mouthed awe". In the second of his essays, Geoff Andrews suggests that the best film directors have surnames starting with 'K', and I heartily agree. Speaking of which, there's also a brief analysis of Kubrick's oeuvre by Ben Walters. Note that Frankenstein is the 1931 James Whale version, not the silent Thomas Edison film. Also, Some Like It Hot is the 1959 comic masterpiece, not the obscure 1939 comedy.