Desert Island DVDs: Production Manager, Eli B. Michaud

DISCLAIMER: The following opinions have been approved for all audiences to critice, celebrate or debate. No VFX Artists were harmed in the making of this article.

Stuck on a desert island hunting for coconuts and fighting off the local wildlife would be tough, so I'd need some flicks that helped me escape from that. I'd want a few comfort films that would suspend my disbelief and take me somewhere away from the perils of island life and reminded me that I should be trying to escape to get back to friends and family even if my island tree house is really nice and the fresh fruit supply is fantastic.

I've narrowed my 3 desert island films to:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Peter Jackson

LOTR stands the test of time for me. I remember seeing the films in theatres when I was young and being blown away by the work that Peter and the crew created.

When watching there are many times where I asked myself, is that real? How the did they do that? Thankfully it's all been documented in the extensive appendices and many of my questions were answered. It would also give me hours of entertainment to shake off my failures to harpoon fish in shallow waters.

Even today, I'm still blown away with what they were able to achieve and find myself noticing more and more details that have been beautifully and faithfully crafted to tell such and amazing story and flesh out a mesmerizing world.

Its core values of fellowship and cameraderie would be great motivators to get me off this island.

Rear Window - Alfred Hitchcock

Rear Window is far less flashy than most films and is one I come back to because of how perfect the timing and suspense is driven. It's one of my favourites in terms of tight story and editing.

James Stewart and Grace Kelly have great chemistry on top of the story being fun to watch unravel.

Hitchcock proves you can do a lot with very little and a great story while asking the audience to be self-reflective of our desires to watch the world around us. I think I could relate a lot to Jeff being stuck helpless in his home and use the "less is more" theme to help me think outside the box and get off this godforsaken island.

There Will Be Blood - Paul Thomas Anderson

This one is a bit tricky because it might remind me that there are selfish (note to self: shellfish provide good protein) people in this world like Daniel Plainview and Eli Sunday and might make me want to extend my stay before my miraculous escape.

That being said, I don't think I could be stuck on an island without one of PTA's flicks playing on the jungle canopy above my camp. I admire his writing and graceful visual language and There Will Be Blood captures a nuanced exploration of the anti-heroes which would help me reconcile with the fact that I might not make it off the island that I'm deserted on.