10 of the Best: Craig Anderson

We've asked some famous friends to recommend 10 videos for your watchlist, from the 900+ movies and documentaries available at SBS On Demand.

Craig Anderson in "My Japanese Diet" Source: Still

Award-winning actor and comedian Craig Anderson (Double The Fist, Black Comedy) is about to appear on our screens in My Japanese Diet – a Supersize Me-style dieting experiment, in which he sets himself the challenge of eating nothing but traditional Japanese cooking for 12 weeks.

Outside of trying to find a path towards a healthier life, Anderson is a self-confessed tragic movie buff, who lives in a warehouse filled with over 11,000 VHS tapes he's collected over the past 15 years. Check out his Instagram feed for a peek at his incredible collection.

His obsession with the horror genre in particular led him to direct his first feature, the slasher film Red Christmas, which stars Dee Wallace (E.T.) and is set for cinema release later this year.

With My Japanese Diet set to air on SBS and SBS on Demand, we asked Craig to pick ten of his favourite films from the 900+ available at SBS On Demand. (Click on images to access the video).

Head On

(1998)

"I absolutely love this film and think it represents an awesome politically and sexually charged style of filmmaking rarely seen in Australia. All hail Ana Kokkinos."

Source: SBS Movies

The Night Porter

(1974)

"Lilliana Cavani directs Charlotte Rampling, who delivers a stunning ghostly performance. This is an ethically challenging film about sexuality and power."

Old Boy

(2003)

"This would have to be the most intelligent action film ever made, not so much for plotting (which is great), but for its epic treatment of the themes- loss, vengeance, memory... and family."

Source: SBS Movies

An American Werewolf in London

(1981)

"The characters are very endearing and the cultural divide between the Atlantic really comes across. It also succeeds in being very funny and shocking, with the greatest werewolf transformation scene ever put on film."

Source: SBS Movies

The Thin Blue Line

(1988)

"If you're a fan of the recent spate of true crime documentaries (Making a Murderer, The Jinx, Serial), then you need to watch the grandparent of them all. And if you think 'recreations' are lame, wait till you see Errol Morris direct, and Phillip Glass score."

Source: SBS Movies

Dimboola

(1979)

"I love this Aussie film about a farcical rural wedding. A fantastic screwball study of Australian characters based on the 1969 John Hibberd play. This film is a great example of the spirit and lampoonery of the Australian stage of the 1970s."

Source: SBS Movies

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

(1974)

"If you like horror you need to see this. It's a film that screams back at you. Tobe Hooper advanced the horror genre with his gritty, voyeuristic study of 'rural vs city', 'poor vs rich' and 'old vs new'. Oh and a guy that wears a face made of people cuts up college kids."

Source: SBS Movies

Not Quite Hollywood

(2008)

"Long before Australian films were high quality dramas designed to entertain ageing baby boomers, there were a whole bunch of exciting genres designed to entertain the teenage baby boomers. Sure, some of them were exploitative, but all of them were brash and exciting. A must-see documentary."

Source: SBS Movies

Pusher

(1996)

"Like a Coen brother's film on speed. Nicolas Winding Refn's debut film is an adrenaline-fuelled tragedy about a desperate criminal who bites off more then he can chew."

Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship and Video Tape

(2010)

"As a child of the '80s there was no greater joy than a trip the video store, and the Horror section was the forbidden zone full of horrible images plastered across video covers. This documentary explores the societal drive to oppress dark ideas and imagery created during the home entertainment boom."

-> Bonus movie:

The Sinful Nuns of Saint Valentine

(1974)

"This is exactly the kind of film that used to screen late on a Friday night on SBS during the '90s. After a healthy dose of experimental shorts on Eat Carpet, SBS would follow up with a classic European exploitation film - it's where I saw my first Jess Franco, Amando De Ossorio and Lucio Fulci films."