Classic Films

As a 20 something college student, I'm surrounded by people with no appreciation of classic films and it really gets to me. I've begun to build a film collection on Blu-Ray (the best hard media we're likely to get) and a real focus for me has been collecting classics on Blu. I've gotten all the Godfather films, Gone With the Wind, Wizard of Oz, Bullit, Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind etc. My friends on the other hand would prefer me to get trite crap like the Italian Job remake. While those might be good for a rental (and hell I own a few like the Fast and Furious films) for the most part I don't care about them.

I'm wondering if people on this board share the same appreciation of the classics. Just to let y'all know a little more, my most wanted include Casablanca (one of the best films ever), North by Northwest, the African Queen, Spartacus and The Wages of Fear.

I'm a college student too and I've always left my friend's and neighbours perplexed by my taste in older movies. On the second list I've only seen North by Northwest and African Queen. African Queen is OK, but this was the movie that beat Lawrence of Arabia for best picture! Well given the high expectations I was surprised to find a movie that simply cannot compare to Lawrence of Arabia. Still, African Queen is a nice fun adventure type movie. North by Northwest. Well, words cannot describe this legendary movie! They say it was the inspiration for the James Bond movies, and that Sean Connery was chosen to be Bond because of his resemblance to Cary Grant. Another movie not on this list, but that just popped into my mind is Fitzcaralldo which is simply one of the best!

Lawrence of Arabia has yet to come out on Blu, so I really don't have any choice when it comes to the matter. I did see it recently though, and it does an excellent job of making you seem lost in Arabia with Lawrence.

Originally Posted by Publius Clodius Pulcher

Lawrence of Arabia has yet to come out on Blu, so I really don't have any choice when it comes to the matter. I did see it recently though, and it does an excellent job of making you seem lost in Arabia with Lawrence.

Lawrence of Arabia is not Avatar, there's no reason why you can't just get it on DVD.

Originally Posted by War&Politics

Lawrence of Arabia is not Avatar, there's no reason why you can't just get it on DVD.

You've obviously not seen the difference that an excellent Blu-Ray remastering can make on a film. Gone with the Wind in particular looks amazing on Blu-Ray, and it was produced in 1939. Besides, why waste the money on a copy which will be outdated very soon? Blu is likely one of the last physical media formats for some time (considering 3-D fits on Blu and Digital Downloads are being emphasized)

the good the bad and the ugly
the longest day
Torra Torra
Bridge over river kwai
Predator
close encounters of the 3th kind
ET
.....

Terminator 2
The Lion King
Forrest Gump
The Great Escape
The Magnificent Seven
Apollo 13
Ferris Beuller's Day Off
Gandhi
Independence Day
The Godfather
Scarface


- Cussa

Terminator 2

I'm not sure how it can be classic - it retreads the original and has logical holes you can drive a truck through - and that's even accepting the premise of the original at face value.

Forrest Gump

Too much baby boomer pack patting the book was far more funny with less tacked on seriousness.

The Magnificent Seven

I don't know it a good version of the seven samurai - but... I mean there are better westerns and as a remake seems like it should not be first choice as westerns go.

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Seeing as Great Escape and Bridge over the Bridge over river kwai got mention - it seems like adding Stalag 17 makes sense - go for a trio of top POW movies.

I'd add

Doctor Strangelove
I not sure I d call either ET or Close encounter classics - but Jaws not there is the architype of the summer blockbuster...
Some Noir(ish) - How bout Cape Fear or the Big Sleep

Black Dynamite is an homage to classic Blaxploitation



A classic film, imo.

Originally Posted by conon394

I'm not sure how it can be classic - it retreads the original

Not really. Except for the "being chased by a robot assassin from the future" thing, but that's the premise of all Terminator films. That's like saying that that Jurassic Park films retread each other because they involved dinosaurs eating people on an island. In the actual, critical details of the plot, they're all different from each other.

and has logical holes you can drive a truck through - and that's even accepting the premise of the original at face value.

So does Citizen Kane. Hell, that movie's plot hole is arguably worse and so damn big you can safely fly a B-52 through it.

I'll just spew some out here.

2001: A Space Odyssey, Patton, Ben Hur, Chinatown, Dracula (1931), Dr. Strangelove, The Last Detail, Alien, Rosemary's Baby, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Unforgiven, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (I had to get that one in there! ), Planet of the Apes (1968), The Thing, The Rear Window, The Hustler, The Pink Panther Strikes Again, and many more!

I like classic crime/noir movies like Chinatown, Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, L.A. Confidential (i know its not old but i love it ) and also classic courtroom drama movies like 12 Angry men, Judgment at Nuremberg, To Kill a Mockingbird, A few good men (also not so old but w/e) etc
Am i awesome or what

No "Once Upon a Time in the West"? For shame...


No "Some Like it Hot"? For double shame....

What about Eastwood's, High Plains Drifter? It kicks ass. Why wouldn't a movie with Eastwood as a vengeful ghost (is he a ghost? ) kick ass? You can add Dirty Harry in there too.

Umm... The French Connection, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Princess Bride, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting.

check out the AFI's top 100 list. This list has been maintained for many years with a few updates. With the exception of a couple headscratchers, it is a very good compilation. The one draw-back is that it is American films only...not taking away from those films, but the list does not include any non-American productions...so is missing some great flicks. But it is still worthy of a glance. Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFI%27s...0%A6100_Movies

I'll add A Fistfull of Dollars, Pale Rider, The Outlaw Josey Wales *had the best poster*, Singing in the Rain, Halloween 1978 version, The Blob, Death on the Nile, For a few Dollars More, The Great Escape, Life of Brian, Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

A few Directors i really enjoy are Sergio Leone, John Carpenter, John Hughes and Stanley Kubrick.
I pretty much grew up watching all the classic films and i totally adore them.
Needless to say, im not particularly happy about Hollywood remaking them.

Not really. Except for the "being chased by a robot assassin from the future" thing, but that's the premise of all Terminator films. That's like saying that that Jurassic Park films retread each other because they involved dinosaurs eating people on an island. In the actual, critical details of the plot, they're all different from each other.

But that's the point the Original film has a certain freshness - unless the sequel is palpably better I don't see how it can be a classic.

So does Citizen Kane. Hell, that movie's plot hole is arguably worse and so damn big you can safely fly a B-52 through it.

I would argue time is a factor in medium. Take something really early like Dracula - its stilted and practically a play on film but given the newness of medium it remains a classic - similarly I cut Citizen Kane equal slack. The problem with T2 is that it plot issues were self evident on first view and defied the established plot of the first. How could the technology for the thinking machines be based on the Terminator? How could the Liquid Terminator come back - Time travel only allowed living matter not metal? etc these are jarring points - the fact is the movie exists simply because somebody said A: that movie made money and B: gee wizz look what we can do with a spiffy SG workstation (If I recall correctly but maybe it was a SUN box).

The problem with a second movie is that it makes little sense - the first one was appropriately self limiting a desperate act by a losing side right before it lost the ability to send more. But than suddenly there is apparently not just more time machines, but technology so radically advanced and different from anything before as to make the ideal of Sky Net losing in the first place silly.

Originally Posted by Publius Clodius Pulcher

As a 20 something college student, I'm surrounded by people with no appreciation of classic films and it really gets to me. I've begun to build a film collection on Blu-Ray (the best hard media we're likely to get) and a real focus for me has been collecting classics on Blu. I've gotten all the Godfather films, Gone With the Wind, Wizard of Oz, Bullit, Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind etc. My friends on the other hand would prefer me to get trite crap like the Italian Job remake. While those might be good for a rental (and hell I own a few like the Fast and Furious films) for the most part I don't care about them.

I'm wondering if people on this board share the same appreciation of the classics. Just to let y'all know a little more, my most wanted include Casablanca (one of the best films ever), North by Northwest, the African Queen, Spartacus and The Wages of Fear.

I think you've got pretty good taste, I own a couple of hundred films most of them probably pre 1980. A great deal of them are from the 40'/50's/60's but I also have a penchant for late 60's/1970's US Cop films (Bullit/French connection/Sepico types of films) and classic westerns. (I'm not into sci-fi)

I'd also rank Casablanca as one of my all time greats.

Older films might lack the CGI and explosions of today but they did drama better.

Try to name them all, First 100 Years of Movies presented in this nice video showing some of the greatest Highlights in American Film history. I remember when Turner Classic Movies used to play this so many years ago randomly on the 100th Anniversary of Movies in General.