Not to Be Missed: Fifty-Four Favorites from a Lifetime of Film

by Kenneth Turan

The images and memories that matter most are those that are unshakeable, unforgettable. Kenneth Turan’s fifty-four favorite films embrace a century of the world’s most satisfying romances and funniest comedies, the most heart-stopping dramas and chilling thrillers.Turan discovered film as a child left undisturbed to watch "Million Dollar Movie" on WOR-TV Channel 9 in New York, a daily showcase for older Hollywood features. It was then that he developed a love of cinema that never left him and honed his eye for the most acute details and the grandest of scenes."Not to be Missed" blends cultural criticism, historical anecdote, and inside-Hollywood controversy. Turan’s selection of favorites ranges across all genres. From "All About Eve" to "Seven Samurai" to "Sherlock Jr.", these are all timeless films—classic and contemporary, familiar and obscure, with big budgets and small—each underscoring the truth of director Ingmar Bergman’s observation that “no form of art goes beyond ordinary consciousness as film does, straight to our emotions, deep into the twilight room of the soul.”

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Media Tie In, Essays

344 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Kenneth Turan is the film critic for the Los Angeles Times and NPR’s Morning Edition, as well as the director of the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. He has been a staff writer for the Washington Post and TV Guide, and served as the Times’ book review editor. A graduate of Swarthmore College and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, he is the co-author of Call Me Anna: The Autobiography of Patty Duke. Turan teaches film reviewing and non-fiction writing at USC and is on the board of directors of the National Yiddish Book Center. His most recent books include Free for All: Joe Papp, The Public, and the Greatest Theater Story Ever Told and Never Coming To A Theater Near You. Turan lives in Los Angeles, CA.

Reviews

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

God, I miss Roger Ebert. But I am happy that I still have the next best thing: Kenneth Turan, movie critic for the LA Times and NPR's Morning Edition.

When I was a young movie snob, I preferred Siskel. Ebert liked everything, which proved he couldn't be a serious critic. No, not like Siskel--and me. As I grew older, however, I began to appreciate the virtues of enthusiasm. It would be unfair to say Ebert liked everything, yet he seemed to find waiting in everything something he could honestly like: one unsettling performance in a too-cutesy indie, the poetic cinematography of a ponderous epic, the breath-taking opening of a promising thriller before it skidded to a disappointing end. He never lost his joy in the dance of life or his reverence for its spiritual rhythms, and that joy and reverence is palpable in every review he wrote.

I feel the same way about Kenneth Turan. He is a reverent, joyful man who is comfortable with his own enthusiasms, and in Not to Be Missed, a book of fifty-four favorite films, he candidly shares his greatest enthusiasms with us.

Of course I liked this book because he includes many Hollywood films I greatly love which don't often make the list of first-rank official classics: Bombshell, Love Affair, The Shop Around the Corner, Strawberry Blonde, Random Harvest, Kiss Me Deadly, Seven Men from Now. But he chooses fine films from many places, including the animated masterpiece Spirited Away and a few relatively recent films that I am not familiar with, such as Beauvois' Of Gods and Men and Cedar's Footnote. Each of Turan's review-length essay conveys the essence of a film in such a way that you wish to see it for yourself. Or see it again.

[Tom Donaghey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not To Be Missed (2014) by Kenneth Turan. Los Angeles Times reviewer Turan has not only selected 54 of his favorite films from the vast number of movies out there, he has also added a bonus in an additional 54 spectacular films you should watch. And to round out his first 54, he came up with two more that tied for the 55th slot.
As with any guide to the movies, this book should be taken with a grain of salt and a high degree of skepticism. Mr Turan’s list of 100 top films includes many of my favorites, some that I outright dislike, and many that I have never seen, and in some cases there are titles I had never heard of. Of course he omitted many films I feel are in the top ten of all time, but everyone has their own opinion. When your work consists of watching and writing about movies, you are certain to view many films that the ordinary viewer never gets a chance to see. I live in a small town, it does boast a theater, but we get one movie a week and, in the case of a major release, that movie may be held over for a second or even third week.
Thanks to the various online and television movie services available, many more of this list of films is available for the general public. So this guide can assist you in finding a fine cinematic experience that you might have otherwise missed.
Each movie if reviewed giving reasons for into be selected, high points of the film itself and how it fits into the general world of cinema. Mr Turan is a fine observer and writer and this collection will only serve to enhance your viewing experience.

[Tom Stamper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those searching for a Roger Ebert substitute should give Kenneth Turan a look. He has an equal appreciation of big budget and art house films and therefore gives you good advice for whatever mood you are in.

If you are not familiar with Turan this isn't the best book to begin with. I would suggest Now in Theaters Everywhere for mainstream films or Never Coming to a Theater Near you for art house tastes. The movies here tend to be a little more of the obscure and forgotten with the occasional CASABLANCA or GODFATHER thrown in. I have seen 26 and I liked most quite a bit, although the inclusion of something like STRAWBERRY BLONDE surprised me. I have never really warmed up to ALL ABOUT EVE either, but it's a mainstream classic. Surprisingly there isn't any Chaplin, Capra, Hawks, Stevens, Wyler, or even Spielberg. But that makes room for movies you haven't seen and that's the point of reading this kind of book anyway.

I didn't know PASS THE GRAVY or STRANDED, but I really want to see them based on this commentary. SENNA was available to stream on Netflix recently and I hope it still is. THE FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS sounds like a really interesting film, but I have trouble trusting Von Trier after making me sit through 3 hours of DOGVILLE. I'll put it on the list though. Some of the others may go unseen forever. I had seen 88 of the AFI films of the century in 1999 and I still have 5 or 6 to go 18 years later. I don't know that I will ever have the patience for Birth of a Nation or the Jazz Singer so thankfully Turan doesn't name either of them here.

One great feature of the book is that each favorite film ends with a recommendation of other movies or films that are related. Having read and seen some of his suggestions I came away convinced Turan has good taste and my reading list is now bigger.

[Edwin Arnaudin · Rating 4 out of 5]

For fear of spoilers, I had contemplated only reading about films I've seen, but I'm glad that I put my faith in Turan not to ruin surprises and didn't limit myself. He of course rewarded that trust and got me interested about films of which I was either unaware or thought weren't for me and deepened my knowledge of and fondness for familiar titles. I've already corrected a few blind spots and plan to eradicate plenty more in the near future.

Valuable as the book is, however, it's in need of an editor. I still don't know how typos and missing words make it through to works of this stature, but a few noticeable ones are evident in the middle chapters. More troubling is that while following up on one of Turan's first suggestions, the 1928 Max Davidson silent short "Pass the Gravy," I discovered several inaccuracies and misleading statements.

The film's opening credits show that George Stevens is the film's photographer, not editor as the text claims. Also, by saying Stevens "reached back and hired" the short's director Fred Guiol to cowrite the script for Giant (1956), Turan seems to suggest that the two hadn't worked together in the intervening decades when in fact they were frequent collaborators – Guiol served as writer, producer or associate director for many of Stevens' films.

Now I'm a little concerned that there may be other such not quite right or just plain wrong information scattered throughout the book.

[lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about my favorite movies, and I enjoyed learning more about movies I have never seen, or heard of, but I don't know why the publisher went to all the trouble to publicize or print this. I had never heard of the author, and while I liked reading his opinion on these movies, I didn't quite get the point of having a whole book published on it. It would have made a fine list online, or the beginning of a good blog (and then he could have included all the movies he clearly wanted to, that didn't make it into the book).

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Turan's reviews on NPR--accessible and smart. It was interesting to see how he handled limiting himself to 54 films (while David Thomson's _Have you Seen...?_ is 1,000 films strong) and to see which films in each decade made his list. Of course, the book led to a good number of additions to my Netflix and library queues, too. Thanks to Turan, I've already watched _The Lady Eve_, _Love Affair_, and _To Be Or Not To Be_ (Lubitsch's original); and there are more to come.

[Kristi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a huge film fan and am always looking for new ideas. I started listening to this book and was not finding leads to films I may have missed. Fantomas - NOT!! OK Buster Keaton was a classic comedy actor, but I have no desire to go back and watch his films. After about 1/3 of the book, I cheated and looked up the list of 54.... I agree with these titles as great films: Love Affair,The Shop Around the Corner, Casablanca, Bicycle Thieves, All About Eve, Sunset Boulevard, Singin' in the Rain, Seven Samurai, Vertigo, The Godfather, Chinatown, and Howards End. I have seen many of the other 54, but do not regard them as highly as Mr. Turan. I know he limited himself to 54 films, but so many wonderful films are missing. 1910's - J'accuse! - 1920's - 7th Heaven - 1930's - The Awful Truth. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington - All Quiet on the Western Front - The Blue Angel - 1940's - The Maltese Falcon - Arsenic and Old Lace - Rope - The Best Years of Our Lives ( One of the best movies ever!! ) - Hiroshima Mon Amour - Mildred Pierce - Children of Paradise - 1950's - On the Waterfront - Dial M for Murder - Mister Roberts!!!!!! - Diabolique - 12 Angry Men!!!!! - Wild Strawberries - A Place in the Sun - The Caine Mutiny - Rear Window - 1960's - Lawrence of Arabia - The Graduate - Persona - To Kill a Mockingbird!!!!! - Bonnie and Clyde - Charade - The Manchurian Candidate - Midnight Cowboy - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - Doctor Zhivago - West Side Story - Belle de Jour - Easy Rider - A Man for All Seasons - Becket - In the Heat of the Night - The Virgin Spring - 1970's - Taxi Driver - Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore - Cries & Whispers - Five Easy Pieces!!!!!!!!!!!!! - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - The Conversation - Apocalypse Now - The French Connection - Coming Home!!!!! - Klute - The Deer Hunter!!!! - Kramer vs. Kramer - Close Encounters of the Third Kind - American Graffiti - Little Big Man - Three Days of the Condor - The Last Picture Show!!!!!!!! - M*A*S*H - Patton - Annie Hall - Manhattan - Sleuth - 1980's - Raging Bull - E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial - Amadeus - Platoon - Cinema Paradiso - The Elephant Man - Das Boot - Tootsie - The Last Emperor - Gandhi - Raising Arizona - The Big Chill - The Princess Bride - Rain Man - Ordinary People - The Color Purple!!!!! - Chariots of Fire - My Left Foot - Glory - Jean de Florette - The Killing Fields!!!!!!!!!!!! - The Last Metro - A Room with a View - A Passage to India - A Soldier's Story - Driving Miss Daisy - Fanny and Alexander - Kiss of the Spider Woman - Moonstruck - Dangerous Liaisons - Out of Africa - 1990's - Pulp Fiction - Fargo - Life Is Beautiful - L.A. Confidential - The Big Lebowski - Saving Private Ryan - American Beauty - The Shawshank Redemption - Forrest Gump - Sling Blade - Schindler's List!!!!!! - Three Colors: Blue - The Usual Suspects - Waiting for Guffman - The English Patient - Edward Scissorhands - Glengarry Glen Ross - The Green Mile - Trainspotting - Philadelphia - Thelma & Louise - Nobody's Fool - 2000's - Slumdog Millionaire - Amélie - No Country for Old Men - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - A Beautiful Mind - The Pianist - Talk to Her - Hotel Rwanda - Little Miss Sunshine - Doubt - Little Miss Sunshine - In Bruges - 2010's - Moonlight - Green Book - The Shape of Water - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - The King's Speech - Manchester by the Sea - Philomena - Midnight in Paris - Hidden Figures - Amour - Lion - Phantom Thread - 2020's - The Lighthouse - Driving Madeleine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Plus every episode of the UP series. This is my list compiled in about an hour. I am certain I have missed treasures, but Mr. Turan missed many more than I did. Please may we have Roger Ebert back. Kristi & Abby Tabby

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was okay. I liked his style of writing in part because it is similar to mine. He likes to use long sentences which can be a little hard to understand sometimes. The book was divided into decade chapters (one decade per chapter) and at the end of each essay for each film there were a couple suggestions of other films to watch and sometimes a book as well. He also enjoys films for a different reason than I do. While I can, and do, enjoy films with a good story and good acting, I mostly watch films to escape for a bit and be entertained. Some of the films he mentions from the early years through the 1950's looked interesting to me, but almost none of the films from the 1960's on looked like something I would like at all.

[Charles Fischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice selections and excellent writing about film.

[Chris Cox, a librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering I've been through most of the 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list, I'm pleasantly surprised Turan has given me a few more to watch that I wouldn't have considered before.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only for those with a weak moviegoing history. Obvious and surface for cinephiles.

[Dana Clinton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review: Not to be Missed: Fifty-Four Favorites from a Lifetime of Film (Kenneth Turan) When I began this book in 2017, my intention was to watch all the films Turan recommended. I managed to acquire the first ones (Fantomas) but then was not able to track down the next. Meanwhile, I have gravitated towards more reading and less watching films, so I let go of that little whim and just read the savvy reviews presented in this nice compendium. Some of the films I had seen; many I had not. Some of these latter I think I would enjoy, but some I would surely not (too violent). I especially liked his comments on documentaries, and I liked his second list of 54 favorites at the end. This was a much appreciated gift from my daughter years ago.

[Quinton Baran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting, provocative, and exploratory book about a series of films across the decades. When I first got this book, I paged through to see what movies I recognized. There were a few, and I read a few of the entries haphazardly. I then became engaged in reading the book, and started from the beginning. I have added many of these films to my list to watch, and look forward to enjoying them.

I enjoy Turan's voice and story telling mode. He does not spoil the movies that he writes about, which is probably one of the most important qualities of a film reviewer.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm listening to this book. Kenneth, this is a good book but you *really* need to pick your narrators more carefully. So far this guy has said that Vivien Leigh was in "Waterloo BRIDE," pronounced Truffaut as Truffawt, Cocteau as Coctoo, and just now said "Mrs. Miniver" as though the I were long, as in Mrs. Min-I-ver.....

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Appealingly quirky selection of the movie critic's all-time favorites.

Movies that are on the list, just as I expected them to be:

* The Godfather
* Vertigo
* Casablanca
* Sherlock Jr.
* Sunset Blvd.
* All About Eve
* The Third Man

A movie that I had never heard of that this book inspired me to watch:

* Pass the Gravy (1928 short film, Leo McCarey)

Movies that I want to see based on Turan's reviews:
* The Strawberry Blonde
* Bicycle Thieves
* Random Harvest
* Children of Paradise
* Casque d'Or
* The Earrings of Madame de . . .
* Le Samouraï
* The Day After Trinity
* First Contact
* The Best of Youth
* Stranded: I've Come from a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains
* Make Way for Tomorrow

Surprising choices (to me, anyway):

* First Contact (1982)
* Senna (Really, Kenneth? This was really good, but I wouldn't classify it as one of the greatest documentaries ever made. But you are paid to have opinions--you aren't paid to have my opinions.)
* Sprited Away (I love this movie, so I was thrilled he picked it)

I was very happy to see Australian, Italian, and Japanese films on his list in addition to the usual American, British, and French picks.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well worn genre but Turan's "less is more" approach gave it a freshness and a thoughtfulness that others in this genre lack. There is a fatigue in hearing about 100-1,000 films "you shouldn't miss" but this selection makes careful choices. The writing has a just right amount feel too. He usually starts with some personal observation or unusual aspect of the film and then provides just enough synopsis to interest the reader and finishes with an observation that puts film in context. I liked that he added a further reading section to each as well as another film recommendation as that was an unexpected choice.

[J.J. Lair]

Based on book, I watched "Pass the Gravy" and "Sherlock Jr." On iTunes. It was laugh out loud funny.
That's the biggest and best thing to say about this book.
This book describes why I should care about some of these movies that I eventually looked up. I'll admit some of the movies, I'm not interested. I can appreciate someone that cares so much and can write about this art so well that I went to find these movies. I enjoy movies and I guess I'm not the cinema fan that this author is. The more obscure movies didn't interest me.
The hardcover price was too much for this book, so I'll definitely recommend it as an ebook or soft cover, but I'll recommend it

[Avi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt like this book was often being written for the author instead of an audience and that it often did a lot of film industry name dropping (not that that's necessarily bad, but there are other movie lists that do that in a more thorough and organized way). 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die is far more useful than this. However; he mentioned some movies I haven't seen before that sounded interesting, so I'm still glad I skimmed this.





[For personal use:]

Find these:

Pass the Gravy
I am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang
Heroes for Sale
Love Affair
Persuasion
Strawberry Blonde
Bombshell
Kiss Me Deadly
Footnote
The Gatekeepers

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lists are fun. They almost always work. Just ask Buzzfeed. Or Casey Kasem. And now you can add LA Times Film Critic Kenneth Turan to the list of excellent listmakers. His eloquent, enthusiastic and spoiler-sensitive reviews were a joy to read and they come in bite sized chunks so this is an easy book to put down and come back to.
The thing about lists is while you're reading one you're invariably making your own, playing the "if this was MY list" game. So, I walked away with a dozen films I have to check out from Turan's list and another 20 of my own.
Time to get busy.

[Jeannette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not finished reading this book because it's not that sort of book. It's one to dip into and read about a film from a certain era that you might or might not have heard about. I started at the beginning and am working my way through, trying to see as many of Turan's films as I can get hold of. Alas, many arent easily available. Still, his essays about them are excellent guides to the excellence of many different movies.

[Spiros · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice overview of cinema, in which Turan goes to bat for 54 of his favorite movies, and makes persuasive cases for all of them. Each selection is "paired" with a thematically linked "What to Watch Next" movie, as well as a book (or books) which ties in with the selection. Very engaging and "user friendly".

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whoa. Just arrived today. Thought I was a film buff, but there are quite a few movies on this list I've never even heard of, and many that I haven't seen. The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964)? First Contact (1981)? Random Harvest (1942)? And I will definitely watch Vertigo (1958) again--it is my least favorite from Hitchcock, but it's the author's favorite.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Los Angeles Times film critic, Kenneth Turan picks his fifty-four favorite films that span decades and genres. Turan writes a short essay introducing the films of each decade and then provides a critical review of each film chosen from that decade. I picked this book up at the library's new book shelf because I always enjoy Turan's film reviews on NPR and I was not disappointed.

[Garrett Cash · Rating 2 out of 5]

He doesn't say anything too different about any of these films that you wouldn't hear anywhere else, and his list is of course extremely biased. Tons of films I outright hated and missing many films that were life changers. Same old story. But I was grateful to add several titles that I had never heard of to my list of films to watch.

[Adrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kenneth Turan organizes NOT TO BE MISSED logically by decade with a brief introduction at the start of each new time frame. He offers companion movie and reading suggestions at the end of each essay for those of us who, like him, have an endless appetite for the world of our favorites. Turan's pieces are short, smart, and offer a look into as many lesser known films as those widely familiar.

[Eddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed Turan's essays on the 54 films. These films aren't necessarily your own favorites but are those that Turan likes to revisit from time to time. There is a second list of 54 films but no essays to go with these films. For myself, I would agree with some of his choices but make a whole different list of movies I want to see again.

[Lorenzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turan's insight into these classic films is great. There are a some films that I have seen, some I have heard of and other I had no idea about. That is what makes me like a book like this. Its great to read someone gush about a film they love, especially when they know so much about them, like Turan.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must confess that I read only the chapters covering movies I have seen and enjoyed. It was fun to learn a bit more about them. (If I had more reading time, I would have read the whole book, and maybe discovered some great films, but alas...)

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to a limited number of movies from the earliest films to present broken down by decade. I added a few to my list o' movies to watch based on the various essays. There isn't a lot of depth here, though, for anyone looking for a rich analysis of films and/or film history.

[Steve Cline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good source of Netflix candidates