Clerks: No 23 best comedy film of all time

Shot in black and white for a cost of well under $30,000 (financed by writer/director/actor Kevin Smith maxing out any credit card he could lay his hands on), Clerks is still a dazzling and hilarious experience. It's a work-based comedy: anyone could relate to Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran) through a day behind the counter at the local convenience store. (It was the same one Smith worked at in real life, and the endless parade of oddballs who pass through the door are mostly based on real customers. While the budget and setting doesn't allow for much spectacle, Clerks gave Smith a perfect opportunity to display an impressive, natural skill with expletives, as whip-smart as any 40s screwball comedy. Most of the insults are expertly wielded by Randal (Jeff Anderson), from the neighbouring video store – "This job would be great, if it wasn't for the fucking customers"– and Jay (Jason Mewes), the ever-present pot dealer outside the store. Hell is other people. Comedy is having to serve them.