A-Z of favourite films - Jay of the Dackal

It's the one you've all been waiting for - we're on to the letter J in the list of my favourite films.

Not as many to choose from in this entry as I’ve only seen the quite pathetic number of 25 films beginning with J. Which still means 20 will miss out on the top five. Of those 19 a few are worth of mention.

We'll start with, and disregard Alfred Hitchcock’s Juno and the Paycock from 1930 which is quite frankly unwatchable rubbish. My DVD copy of it admittedly isn’t great but, much as I love almost all things Hitchcockian, this is probably my least favourite of all his films. Thank goodness he redeemed himself by making much better films over then ensuing 50 years. Slightly better from Hitch was Jamaica Inn, though still one of his lesser films; this in 1939 was the last film he made in the UK before making the move to the US to start his Hollywood career with Rebecca.

In the forties came Robert Stevenson’s adaptation of Jane Eyre which is pretty decent, mainly due to its cast which includes Orson Welles, Joan Fontaine, and Elizabeth Taylor. In Europe, Jacques Tati made Jour De Fete at the end of the forties; a film I didn’t enjoy as much as his later films such as Mon Oncle and Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday.

The only notable 50s entry is Johnny Guitar; a typically unconventional Western from Nicholas Ray starring Joan Crawford. The 1960s brought Jules et Jim from Francois Truffaut; again a film that others seem to enjoy more than me – there’s other Truffaut films of which I’m far more fond.

The 70s brought zany comedy from the team of Carl Reiner and Steve Martin in The Jerk and then not much of note in the 80s unless you include Jagged Edge; a contrived legal thriller starring Glenn Close and Jeff Bridges.

A few more contenders from the 90s including Spielberg’s box-office smash Jurassic Park. On a completely different note, Michael Winterbottom’s adaptation of Jude is enough to depress you for a year or two. James and the Giant Peach is a decent enough animation from 1996, the same year that brought Jerry Maguire from Cameron Crewe; Cuba Gooding Jr won an Oscar for it (what happened to his career?) and Tom Cruise and Renee Zellwegger took the leads in a pretty enjoyable romantic comedy.

Glossing over Jackass: the Movie, the 2000s brought Juno, a neatly scripted comedy drama about a teenage girl finding herself pregnant. You could accuse it of being unrealistic, but fine performances and endearing characters made it an enjoyable watch.

But none of the above make the final five which are:

Jaws – Steven Spielberg’s mega-grossing film set the precedent for the curse of the big-budget summer blockbusters throughout the 80s and 90s. But we can’t hold that against it; it’s a particularly well crafted piece from a young director who used the fact that the shark wasn’t realistic to his advantage by hiding it from the viewer and creating the majority of the thrills through suspenseful editing. Robert Shaw, Roy Schieder and Richard Dreyfuss are all on fine form and take the acting honours.


Jean de Florette – From 1986, this marvellous French drama about a hunchback trying to make a success of his farm is beautiful and heartbreaking. With Gerard Depardieu as the titular character, and Yves Montand and Daniel Auteuil as the villains of the story, set against picturesque rural France, it spawned a sequel Manon Des Sources which acts as a great companion piece. It may be famous for its score (used to advertise Stella Artois), but it’s got a lot more going for it than simply the music.

JFK – Whatever your feelings about Oliver Stone’s conspiracy theories, there’s no denying this is an engrossing and riveting film about the assassination of the former president. Stone successfully weaves found footage and newsreels with his film, so much so that at some points you’re not sure if you’re watching stuff he’s filmed, or that which already existed. Kevin Costner takes the lead in a cast that’s too long to mention but contains Kevin Bacon, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau among others.


Jackie Brown – Whenever anyone asks me what my favourite Quentin Tarantino film is (admittedly this doesn’t happen very often – I think I’ve been asked it twice), I say Jackie Brown. It may not have the visceral impact of Reservoir Dogs or Kill Bill; maybe didn’t play about with cinematic conventions as much as Pulp Fiction did, but it’s a great story, I think it’s got the finest acting in it of any Tarantino film, and also has more heart, actually allowing you to get emotionally involved with the characters. Probably Quentin’s most intelligent film and, like I say, my favourite of his.


JSA (Joint Security Area) – From Korean director Chan-wook Park comes this brilliant film, made in 2000. You could describe it as a war film – the action takes place in and around the JSA – the demilitarized zone that separates North and South Korea. An investigation is underway after 2 North Korean soldiers have been found dead and suspicion is on a South Korean soldier. However things may not be as they seem and the action is revealed in flashback as a neutral team of Swiss and Swedish investigators look into what has happened. The action builds to a suspenseful climax and it’s a film that lingers long in the memory.

And the winner is.. well this is a tricky one. There’s no one real standout film like there’s been in many previous categories. However, using the criteria of "If I was going to sit down and watch one right now, which one would it be?" I’ll go for Jaws.