Castaway on a Desert Island… [Entertainment List]

Okay, so let’s presume I’m leaving. I’ve had it with society and I’m bound for a desert island where I can be alone, without all the distractions of “civilized” life. What should I take with me? Certainly a good sturdy knife and all the survival basics. Tools and fishing implements and such. But I’ll probably want some entertainment, too. And today I began thinking about what books I would take and, presuming I’d have the foresight to arm myself with a solar power generator, what DVDs would I take?

My first thought was that I wouldn’t have much room, so I couldn’t take everything on my shelves. I’d have to restrict myself to, say, five books and five movies. Granted, DVDs take up a lot less space than books, but I could protect the DVDs within the pages of the books, and I don’t want to damage the books by packing in too many…let’s just say five is the number.

I’d also want a variety. I love certain types of movies, yes, but I can’t say I’d take my five favorite because what if those five didn’t include a killer comedy? If I ever got in the mood for a comedy I’d be SOL. So, a variety of greats. And by great I mean GREAT. Like listening to a guitar solo by Randy Rhodes vs. one by Jack White of the White Stripes. When you listen to Crazy Train, you KNOW you’re in the presence of greatness. The White Stripes have turned out some decent tunes, but snappy tunes don’t make one great. You might as well be Men Without Hats or even the Bee Gees. Now granted, my idea of the awesomes and yours probably will be very different, but I’m talking about my favorites here. You can add yours in the comments below and tell me what a fool I am for my picks if you want to.

Also: I wouldn’t take my favorite book–The Old Man and the Sea–because I can read it in about an hour and a half. So in books I’d want longer works that I could read over and over.

Movies:

1. Napoleon Dynamite–This movie is remarkable. Every word spoken contributes to the story. There’s no filler at all, and everything ties perfectly together. Plus, it’s hilarious.
2. Pulp Fiction–So many dynamics, so much craziness, such a great movie.
3. The Lion King–IMHO, the greatest animated film. Evar.
4. Smokey and the Bandit–lowbrow humor at its absolute finest. I can laugh all day long at this classic, and I’ve seen it a dozen times and never get tired of it.
5. Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2–You might say I’m cheating here, but to me this is just one movie on two discs. So pffft. This is my action film.
6. 1st alternate, in case one of the comedies is unavailable: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective II.

Of course, I’d probably end up with one of those Endless Beach videos and nothing else, just an endless loop of nothing but beach scenes. On my deserted island.

Books

1. The largest volume of collected Shakespeare available–I pick this because it would take me a long time to read it. There’s a lot of meat there, and if I ever did return to civilization I would impress everyone with my amazing knowledge of Shakespearean works.
2. The Bible–Not for it’s religious doctrine, mind you, but because it’s so very long. And a lot of meat to work through. I’d probably go for the KJV.
3. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams–all five books in one neat volume that I could read over and over and over and over.
4. Watership Down by Richard Adams–Such an amazing book. Thick enough to take some time to read, too. Entertaining enough to want to read over and over.
5. The collected works of Jack London–Call of the Wild, White Fang, and don’t forget the short stories like To Build a Fire. All excellent, and a little taste of winter would probably be welcome on a tropical island.

Note: If I’m not on a tropical island, I’m probably going to commit hare kare anyway.

I should probably think about taking How To Escape From a Desert Island, but that would waste my valuable space.

So, that’s my list, what’s yours?