Some of the world’s most stylish men reveal their top movies.

With Cannes festival coming to a close for another year, we thought we would hold an extra, alternative awards ceremony to continue the celebration of cinema. So as not to get your hopes up, we will admit right away: there is no red carpet. You will not see Rihanna. There isn’t even a party to attend. But what we can offer up is five of our Style Council members talking about their favourite films in a frank and passionate manner. But then who needs art-house movies you’ll probably never get around to seeing when you’ve got Cool Hand Luke?

**Mr David McKendrick – creative director, B.A.M **

“Billy Wilders’ challenging, dark romantic comedy The Apartment might be my all-time favourite film. I love it because it reminds me of the fact that love isn’t that straightforward. For a mainstream Hollywood movie made in 1960, depicting excessive infidelity must have been controversial. Jack Lemmon is sublime in it. Although nominated, he didn’t win an Academy Award. But almost 40 years later Kevin Spacey dedicated his win for American Beauty to Lemmon.”

**Mr Neil Wenman – senior director, Hauser & Wirth **

“I am a great fan of Paul Newman and this film shot in 1967 is full of American nostalgia and mood. Based on a screenplay co-authored by ex-convict Donn Pearce, the reticent loner is given a two-year sentence to work on a chain gang (Division of Corrections, Road Prison 36) with 49 other prisoners. The pace of the scenes elude the heat and boredom of life in the camp, and Newman, as anti-hero, as renegade, commands the film throughout.”

Mr Luca Venezia – musician

“Visually, this is a masterpiece of cinema, and could be seen as an abstract piece of video art. It is supported by an incredible soundtrack by Philip Glass, telling a story of humans’ destructive relationship with nature. The captivating imagery and haunting message it tells without any dialogue makes it unique. It’s extremely fresh and continues to be timeless even two decades later.”

**Mr Cristopher Canizares – senior director, Hauser & Wirth **

“I saw this film in the theatre when it came out and have seen it about a hundred times since then. It wasn’t very popular initially, but has developed into a cult classic. Three versions of the film were sent out to theatres, each with a different ending, so you had to see the film at least three times in order to get the full picture. The comedic timing is pretty much perfect throughout the whole thing.”

Mr Tony Ward – model, actor and designer

“An unusual remake of the classic Á Bout de Souffle, this is very different and most purists would pan it versus the original, but there is something that really appeals to me. It’s an unrequited love story, it’s kooky and romantic and I love Jessie’s eternal optimism about love. He isn’t serious about much in life except his relationship with Monica. I love Richard Gere in this devil-may-care role – which I find endearing.”

Mr Alex Bilmes – editor-in-chief, Esquire

“This is a cool as an ice cube in your negroni, as cruel as a punch in the jaw. It is as smart and tough and hard-bitten as the most cynical hack, as despairing as a widow, as glorious as an orchestra. It is a portrait of corruption and depravity, mid-century Manhattan style. It concerns a venal little PR man for nightclub acts, Sidney Falco, played by Tony Curtis, and his efforts to flatter, cajole, get into the good books of a monstrous gossip columnist, JJ Hunsecker, played by Burt Lancaster. Hunsecker's innocent sister — let’s say his feelings for her are complicated — is dating a blameless jazz musician. Falco is charged with splitting them up. All does not go according to plan. The movie is an anguished howl of despair, but it fizzes with wit, crackles with energy. To me it is near perfect: Curtis and Lancaster are peerless, never better. The screenplay by Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman contains more memorable lines than Shakespeare. (‘Match me, Sidney!’) Elmer Bernstein’s score is a blast from a jet engine. And James Wong Howe's photography is noir in excelsis.”

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