Danny Boyle has blind ranked his own films from 1 to 5, but one of his lesser known films gets a special mention.
At the premiere for his film 28 Years Later earlier this month, Boyle was asked by VT to blind rank some of his most well-known pictures.
The first film up was 1996’s Trainspotting, Boyle placed this straight in at second place. Trainspotting follows a heroin addict, Mark Renton, (Ewan McGregor) as he struggles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts amogst his unreliable friends – Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), Begbie (Robert Carlyle), Spud (Ewen Bremner) and Tommy (Kevin McKidd). The film has received widespread critical acclaim for its cultural impact, bold direction, and captivating performances.
Next up was Slumdog Millionare, Boyle placed it firmly in at number three. 2009’s Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire follows 18-year-old Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) as he answers questions on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” while featuring flashbacks that depict how he got there and the moments that have led up to this point of his life.
127 Hours was next up for debate, taking the director by surprise. He placed it at number four without knowing which films were to appear next. The gruelling film, released in 2011, follows Aron Ralston (James Franco), a mountain climber, who, while on a hiking adventure in Utah, becomes trapped in a canyon and is forced to take desperate measures to survive. The film was both critically and commercially acclaimed for Boyle’s direction and Franco’s performance.
Boyle then said: “This is getting a bit predictable, you’re gonna have to throw something odd in.”
The Beach was then added into the mix, with Boyle awarding it number five. His 2000 movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio received mixed reviews upon its release, with some saying it was a poor adaptation of the novel. The film follows Richard, a young man who has travelled to Thailand and finds himself in possession of an odd map with directions potentially leading to an island paradise, but not all is as it seems.
Then the final movie was to receive the number one spot, but when the interview stated the film was 28 Years Later Boyle said: “It isn’t actually, it’s a little film called Millions.
“A very tiny, little family film. If you haven’t seen it, watch it.
“It’s dead beautiful and it’ll make you cry as well.”
The lesser-known film directed by Boyle was released in 2005.
Its synopsis reads: “When 9-year-old Damian (Alex Etel) finds a bag of money in his backyard, he and his brother Anthony (Lewis Owen McGibbon) decide to try to spend it without telling their father (James Nesbitt).
“Seeking advice from the imaginary saints with whom he converses, Damian struggles with his own morality and attempts to spend his money in a more altruistic way. News of the mysterious loot inevitably attracts attention, however, and Damian is faced with an increasingly hairy situation.”
Millions is available to purchase on Amazon Prime Video.