Movies: Errol Morris

NEWSWEEK

From the magazine issue dated May 5, 2008

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In " Standard Operating Procedure, " Oscar-winning documentarian Errol Morris ( " The Fog of War " ) turns his lens on the photographic legacy of the Abu Ghraib Prison scandal. His list:

My Five Most Important Movies

1. "Make Way for Tomorrow." The most depressing movie ever made, providing reassurance that everything will definitely end badly.

2. "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp." The most romantic movie ever made.

3. "Dr. Strangelove." The most relevant movie ever made because it's turning out to be a documentary. Jack D. Ripper seems positively benign compared with some of the political characters around right now. Say, Dick Cheney.

4. "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." The most powerful antiwar movie ever made. Plus: Eli Wallach didn't know he was cast as "the ugly" until the premiere.

5. "Billy Madison." The stupidest movie ever made, but I love it. "Back to school, back to school"—I feel like singing it right now.

A film you always return to: "Detour." It has an unparalleled quality of despair, totally unrelieved by hope.

A film you hope parents will show their kids: Everything I have made. I need the business.