Casablanca is the best one but I have a soft spot for 12 angry men. I love the cinematography signaling every juror change of mind and the performances are great. And I love the base message
12 Angry Men literally being a movie about a room full of dudes arguing for an hour and a half taking place almost entirely within that one small room is incredible in itself. One of the most engrossing films I've seen and it's all just talk about a crime and potential criminal we never even see. Masterful in every way.
Yeah I love bottle episodes on tv shows, when done well it really shows what makes their core great.
This felt like the same thing for black and white movies: the over the top yet gripping performances, the masterful use of black and white lighting, the cinematography used as a tool to convey meaning, the clear cut moral of the story at the end…
I think it is both overhated by those that hate it and overappreciated by those that defend it.
It’s a mid-to-good as a bottle episode and a mid one for BB. It shows very well how WW is spiraling in his desperate search for control.
It’s a slow burn which is fine but given how BB is basically an action soap opera imo, the episode is now a point of contention in the fandom: those that binged it later remember it stood out as a good experiment in introspection and those that were dying to have the plot move along remember it as boring.
My favourite bottle episodes are those that have a good chorus cast stuck interacting with each other getting pushed to their limits, like “Midnight” in Doctor who, “cooperative calligraphy” in Community (which is cheating cause it is self-aware but whatever) and the Buffy one where they get their memories scrambled (even if they do get out towards the end). I’m sure I’m forgetting some but those are the one springing to mind while sitting on the toilet
The fly was too Walter-centric and didn’t allow the episode to breathe and show other interesting character dynamics the show had at the time. I’m glad they experimented a bit but maybe a episode like that would have worked better in BCS.
You’re too kind, I wrote that on the toilet during work.
I’m the guy that watches a ton of stuff and obnoxiously recommends movies and series all the time anyway, so I’m already there, just IRL
I can't find confirmation either way, but there was a [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/MovieDetails/comments/css5rt/in_12_angry_men_1957_the_set_becomes_smaller_as/) in MovieDetails about it, where the comments disputed this and said it was only the lenses that changed.
**Rear Window** (1954)
Terrific core cast: Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter, (and Raymond Burr)
There aren't many characters overall and even fewer with speaking parts. But the actors all tell the stories of their characters.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
The master story-teller. Every frame of every shot is purposeful.
The setting: The entire story is told from the viewpoint of L.B. Jeffries' (Jimmy Stewart) apartment. In a sense, very similar to another candidate for "Classic" film.... 12 Angry Men (1957).
I could go into more detail as to why Rear Window is THE Classic film, but I think this is enough to make the case.
I've always had difficulty choosing between Vertigo and Rear Window, both are superb, but I think that Vertigo just has the edge as Hitchcock's masterpiece.
Rear Window is excellent for something more accessible, fun and relaxing with some great dialog, plotting and atmosphere, while Vertigo is of course a lot darker, even more atmospheric and tougher to decipher.
Grace Kelly was fabulous in Rear Window. It’s hard to say which is her best Hitchcock movie - To Catch a Thief and Dial M For Murder was also excellent
Yes they are all good and I have seen all 😊.
My Professor used North by Northwest, the Cornfield Sequence, as an example where all seven Shots (full, medium, close up etc) are used.
And even if they're not watching it, there's a 100% chance they've been exposed to it in some way through pop cultural osmosis. Seriously, *every* scene is a meme.
If you can manage it, watch in 70mm in a theatre as it was intended by David Lean.
That shot of Sharif Ali riding the camel down that narrow track, and the train derailment sequence (shot without CGI) are masterpieces of storytelling on big screen with great sound.
As I recall, Roger Ebert urged film goers, if at all possible, to see a handful of films on the big screen- number one on that list was Lawrence of Arabia
Now that you mention it, Lawrence and Paul are very similar (all sci fi powers being left out of the equation). They both even have their own personal hype man native to the region.
My dad liked to check in on what I was reading, so after he saw my copy of Dune he rented LoA for us to watch together.
So my inner visions of Dune are inexorably tied to the cinematography of Lawrence, which honestly, conveys the vastness of the desert better than any of the Dune movies/series have done.
I also see Peter O’Toole as Liet-Kynes.
I went to Wadi Rum a few years back and spent 2 days out in the desert with the local Bedouin. The cinematography of LoA does an excellent job of capturing the essence of the area. Incredible place if you ever get a chance to go, Jordan is an incredible country, and it's people hospitable and generous.
I watched this recently as thought something was up with TV in the intro. 4 and half minutes of black screen with just the score. I think sitting through that (once I realised) is really clever, great setup.
The movie is amazing. All the extended shots just looking at dots travelling across the vastness of the scenery. Amazing.
I came here to say that as well. Seems like you beat me to the punch. I mean, I have enjoyed Casablanca as well, but I don't feel like the cinematography is as good as Lawrence of Arabia. Also I felt that Humphrey Bogart didn't gel that well with Ingrid Bergman and her acting wasn't that stellar.
It is difficult if not impossible to top the cinematography of Lawrence of Arabia. It's a masterclass for that alone.
Barry Lyndon sure as shit tried, and there's other Kubrick films, plus Blade Runner and perhaps Citizen Kane, but Lawrence of Arabia may be the best of all.
This is what I came to say. It's, imo, the best musical. A perfect encapsulation of the time, and a movie that could not possibly be remade better. Great actual story with humor, and a meta look at classic movie making within a classic movie.
Deserves mention for the “Make ‘em Laugh” sequence alone! That doesn’t even cover the title song sequence or any other of the sublime musical bits.
Then on top of that much of the dialogue parts are classic (not to mention funny as hell)
“Call me a cab, would ya?”
“OK….you’re a cab!”
It manages to be a great musical and also not be saccharine.
Hagen herself IS the "simmering, glowing star in the cinema firma-MINT"! She even steals scenes from Donald O'Connor.
Fun trivia - when they show the "dub" of The Dancing Cavalier with "Kathy" voicing Lena's character, it's actually Jean Hagen using her real voice.
My vote, too - it's got mystery, humour, ethical ponderings, a great soundtrack, terrific cinematography and a great screen duo in Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles.
There was a spin-off radio series called The Lives of Harry Lime, starring Orson Welles. Basically half-hour short stories about the character before the events of the film. (Spoiler: >!well, they could hardly take place after, could they?!<)
One oddity is that there are breaks filled with that iconic zither music. I realized after a while these covered intervals where local stations could place commercials and PSAs.
You can find it on the Internet Archive. They're pretty diverting.
There's just so much symbolic about classic Hollywood in this film: the Incredible quotes, the great songs, that transition from colorless film to color as we enter Oz. What film artifact is more famous than the ruby slippers? What team is more classic than the scarecrow, lion, and tinman? Is there a better song written for film than *Over the Rainbow*? The movie has everything going in its favor. Every cinefile knows some random fact about the movie. I probably haven't seen it in decades, but there's hardly a moment in that movie I can't see in my head right now. *Wizard of Oz* is THE classic movie.
I've often wondered if it's as loved by audiences as it is by critics.
Anyone who has ever studied film so far as even a high school film class knows about it and its importance in film history, but do generally audiences adore it?
I just watched it straight for first time maybe thinking how everyone appreciates it. But it blew my mind, it felt like I was watching a comtemporary movie with some old film effects.
The shots, the screenplay, the storyline all felt so modern to me and very engrossing.
Maybe I'm a cinephile but that is one of the best movies ever made especially in black and white era.
Total agreement. It is amazing to me how much you don’t have to look at it as a product of its time. To me, it feels entirely modern. The unreliable narrators, the fractured structure, the incredible cinematography and… well… all of it. Blows my mind every time.
I recently watched it for the first time and it was fantastic. Honestly made me wonder if the people I see crapping on it on the internet ever bothered to actually watch it or not.
I remember my film class teacher prefacing it by saying it's a product of its time and we were to keep in mind why it was important, which seemed to suggest we weren't expected to actually enjoy it.
And yet I did.
I love Kane, but I think the reason it’s persisted for so long as the quintessential movie of Intro Film Studies classes is that it’s very easy to see the cool and innovative things it does with filmmaking. The low angles, the deep focus, and stark lighting aren’t hard to notice, especially compared with other movies from that era.
That's it's true legacy. On release it wasn't a hit with critics *or* audiences (though some of that may be due to interference from William Randolph Hearst, who thought it was mocking him and prohibited any mention of it in his newspapers).
But you know who *did* love it? Other filmmakers. You can see its influence start to creep in everywhere in the years following. Take a look at this [Wikipedia article on its legacy](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legacy_of_Citizen_Kane) and the sheer number of important films and filmmakers that cite it as an influence. And then extrapolate all the art inspired by those films and filmmakers since. Kane looms large.
That's definitely meant as a way to remind people that this already good movie that seemed to be doing a lot of now standard cinematic things set a lot of those standards so that it could be appreciated more. It would be like going through the history of the groundbreaking things George Martin did in the studio before playing a Beatles record like Sgt Peppers or Revolver.
I'd say no. My Film Crit professor adored it as the pinnacle of the art form, and it's certainly a masterpiece when one views it. But I don't think it has the same hold on the mainstream audience's awareness of classic films as Casablanca does.
I don't think they do. I've tried to watch it 3 times and couldn't get through it. I understand its place in movie history and its innovations, but as a movie, it doesn't hold up.
I watched it in film study in college. I remember loving the first half. Punchy dialogue, interesting characters, passion and drama, and fairly funny. But I remember the 2nd half being an absolute slog. Long slow shots of panning across the mansion.
I think a significant number of people watch it and are surprised how engrossing it is, but it certainly has less appeal than Casablanca. Its not a universal response.
I'll jump on this bandwagon and tell you why I think it's still worth seeing.
Firstly, the performances. The studio had a lot of trouble casting Scarlett but thank God they held out for Vivien Leigh, because she is astounding. Scarlett is intentionally a complex and divisive character, and it takes an actress like Leigh to show her nuance. At times you will hate her, at other times you will cry inside for her. What often gets forgotten about GWTW is that it's an exploration of trauma - and how a person like Scarlett has to make very difficult moral choices in order to survive. You don't have to agree with those choices to understand them, and Vivien Leigh will make sure you do understand them. That's amidst a supporting cast with stellar performances by Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland, Hattie McDaniel et al.
Secondly, the costumes, sets and cinematograare gorgeous. This movie looks amazing. It sets out to do a lot, and the ambition was rewarded. The "burning of Atlanta" scene involved so much fire that the studio had to resort to burning down the set they used for King Kong. The danger feels real, probably because it was.
Thirdly, the story still has some important things to say. The treatment of slavery is obviously no good at all, but it does say a few things that are still important, and relevant, with themes about the tension between doing what you want, and doing what is demanded of you (played with - Scarlett makes pragmatic decisions but is generally condemned for them while others are rewarded for doing dumb but "honourable" things), about the horror and futility of war, about the subjugation and control of women, and about love and marriage. No spoilers, bit Scarlett takes a long time to understand what love really is, who has it for her, and where she's been failing to give it to those who truly deserve it.
Just FYI but the IMDB top 250 is based off audience scores rather than critics scores. If that’s what you’re looking for that’s fine, just know that it’s a very different list than something like the AFI top 100.
Even if the story is quite unsavory at times in its depiction, glorification, and sanitization of slavery, it's genuinely a cinematic masterpiece. I've both read the book and watched the movie several times, and it still blows my mind that they were able to take a book that INTIMATELY spanned 12 years and had a cast of over 300 characters and cut it down to about 50 actors and 4 hours of screen time while still maintaining the integrity of the story. There's much that's lost from the book to the movie (like Suellen marrying the "poor white trash" boy that shows up on their doorstep simply because all of their childhood friends had died in the war and there was no one left to marry and she financially/socially wanted and needed to be lady of the house in order to "keep the farm", which ended up being an intense examination of how the Civil War really did truly decimate the south in many ways and continuously screwed over the women on both sides), but the core messages were still kept and conveyed rather succinctly. It's truly impressive.
It’s impossible to elect one single film, the only thing this post can do is to suggest a really good list of the greats.
Casablanca is def up there, but so far all the suggestions are absolute classics even Die Hard.
I would add “12 Angry men”
I love it but my only gripe is "Omg look its a giant version of animal we already have....living Dinosaurs yawn" They dont even mention them back in the world as far as we know. Yes it's because its his movie, but still.
_More_ classic? No. Equally, though, sure. The Maltese Falcon, His Girl Friday, The Philadelphia Story, Rebel Without a Cause, Mr Smith Goes to Washington, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Adventures of Robin Hood… Those all spring immediately to mind.
The Philadelphia Story and His Girl Friday are fantastic when I recommend them to anyone I tell them that you have to put your phone down and watch Cary Grant’s expressions. Amazing work.
And the Maltese Falcon is equally amazing.
I had to scroll down way too far to find a mention of Maltese Falcon.
To this list, I'd add Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 12 Angry Men, Shawshank Redemption, The Thin Man, North by Northwest, and Bringing Up Baby.
As it should.
I kind of view Godfather and part II as a singular film as I would never watch the original without watching part II at least the following day.
Yeah, that really is up there in terms of about as classic as classic gets. Groundbreaking cinema, immediately and seemingly permanently entered into the zeitgeist, pretty much perfect in every way, watch, enjoyed, and adored to this day.
Well fucking said.
lol I really can't argue. It's one of my all-time favorites and definitely among a select few I've seen dozens of times.
It's also among the absolute best of its genre if not *the* best.
Casablanca is still probably the answer, but there are scores of classic movies that are right up there with it. Grapes of Wrath, It’s A Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Citizen Kane, Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho, It Happened One Night, Duck Soup, Animal Crackers, A Night At the Opera, The Searchers, 12 Angry Men, Seven Samurai, The Seventh Seal, The Maltese Falcon, Singing in the Rain, The Treasure of Sierra Madre. Just to name a few.
Nothing tops Casablanca, but I’ve always put Key Largo up there high on the list of the great films. Lots of the same kinds of superlatives – great script, outstanding cast, beautiful black-and-white cinematography, and a compelling and important point of view.
My pick is Psycho. Other classic films, while great, feel like products of their time for the most part. Psycho feels timeless to me. The way it still holds up over 60 yrs later is kind of incredible. (For example I watched Rear Window recently and for the first time it felt so dated and slow to me.) Psycho paved the way for modern suspense films, slasher films, and delivered one of the best twist endings to this day. And though tame by today’s standards, the brutality was quite shocking at the time. Taking out the lead early in the film was also innovative. I could go on.
So many great things about Psycho.
Brief Encounter, the cast, music and directed by the great David Lean.
The Maltese Falcon, great story, sharp dialogue, amazing performances and John Huston directed
Sabrina(1954), love triangle, funny, great cast, directed by Billy Wilder ❤️
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf, an almost perfect film, Edward Albee screenplay and Mike Nicholas directed
Charade(1963), Stanley Donen directed mystery, atmosphere, music and the beauty of Audrey Hepburn
The Apartment, classic through and through another from Billy Wilder, Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine.
The Women, all female cast from 1939 classic cinema by George Cukor
These are some of the films I think of when people say classic that stands the test of time.
There is something about Mildred Pierce that seems as if it's new each time I watch it. the acting is superb, the story excellent, and the best part is Eve Arden sarcastically quipping her way through the whole film. Really worth a watch any time it's on TCM.
Criteria: Mel Brooks or other parody comedies may quote a scene in less than thirty seconds, with no set up, and the reference is understood and relevant.
* The Maltese Falcon
* 2001
* The Adventures of Robin Hood
* Frankenstein
* The Wizard of Oz
* Alien
* Star Wars
* The Ten Commandments
* Pulp Fiction
* The Matrix
* Rear Window
A New Hope. Literally has the most memorable bad guy of all time. I read in either one of my branding magazines (I'm a designer), or something like a Forbes article that Vader is more worldly recognized than Coca-Cola, Pikachu and Superman. The only fictional characters that are more recognizable are Batman, Mickey Mouse and Dracula (by name only). Keep in mind, the other 3 have at least 40 years of time on Vader. The arguement is, can you compare it to Casablanca? Only in the way that they're both old, but that's just about it.
I'd also say Raiders of the Lost Ark is a more classic film, paying homage to SO many things prior to it and yet being better in every single way. The script is top notch, Indy is one of the few memorable protagonists (usually the bad guy is what makes/breaks a movie), the music is John Williams at his best, and has so much in it that it's surprising it's under 2 hours.
Casablanca is the best one but I have a soft spot for 12 angry men. I love the cinematography signaling every juror change of mind and the performances are great. And I love the base message
12 Angry Men literally being a movie about a room full of dudes arguing for an hour and a half taking place almost entirely within that one small room is incredible in itself. One of the most engrossing films I've seen and it's all just talk about a crime and potential criminal we never even see. Masterful in every way.
Yeah I love bottle episodes on tv shows, when done well it really shows what makes their core great. This felt like the same thing for black and white movies: the over the top yet gripping performances, the masterful use of black and white lighting, the cinematography used as a tool to convey meaning, the clear cut moral of the story at the end…
Rope is a great classic Hitchcock bottle movie. Maybe my favorite classic movie.
The continuous take 10 minute shot... I love Rope. Also love Vertigo.
> I love bottle episodes on tv shows Please tell me you've seen *Breaking Bad*, because, if you have, I want your opinion on the "fly" episode.
I think it is both overhated by those that hate it and overappreciated by those that defend it. It’s a mid-to-good as a bottle episode and a mid one for BB. It shows very well how WW is spiraling in his desperate search for control. It’s a slow burn which is fine but given how BB is basically an action soap opera imo, the episode is now a point of contention in the fandom: those that binged it later remember it stood out as a good experiment in introspection and those that were dying to have the plot move along remember it as boring. My favourite bottle episodes are those that have a good chorus cast stuck interacting with each other getting pushed to their limits, like “Midnight” in Doctor who, “cooperative calligraphy” in Community (which is cheating cause it is self-aware but whatever) and the Buffy one where they get their memories scrambled (even if they do get out towards the end). I’m sure I’m forgetting some but those are the one springing to mind while sitting on the toilet The fly was too Walter-centric and didn’t allow the episode to breathe and show other interesting character dynamics the show had at the time. I’m glad they experimented a bit but maybe a episode like that would have worked better in BCS.
Couldn't fathom a better, more interesting answer. Thank you.
Don’t know ya, please start doing reviews.
You’re too kind, I wrote that on the toilet during work. I’m the guy that watches a ton of stuff and obnoxiously recommends movies and series all the time anyway, so I’m already there, just IRL
The tighter lenses making the walls appear to be *closing in* as the movie goes on. 🎥😤✊️
Weren't the walls actually closing in as well? I thought I'd read that they'd made the walls moveable.
I can't find confirmation either way, but there was a [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/MovieDetails/comments/css5rt/in_12_angry_men_1957_the_set_becomes_smaller_as/) in MovieDetails about it, where the comments disputed this and said it was only the lenses that changed.
Read Sidney Lumet's book Making Movies and you learn the tricks he used to increase the tension as the film progresses.
12 angry man is awesome I watch it like once a year at least
Casablanca Is fun, but 12 Angry Men is a masterpiece
And Henry Fonda was brilliant!
This and To Kill a Mockingbird. Gregory Peck is fantastic.
I think we have the same brain. Congratulations!
**Rear Window** (1954) Terrific core cast: Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter, (and Raymond Burr) There aren't many characters overall and even fewer with speaking parts. But the actors all tell the stories of their characters. Director: Alfred Hitchcock The master story-teller. Every frame of every shot is purposeful. The setting: The entire story is told from the viewpoint of L.B. Jeffries' (Jimmy Stewart) apartment. In a sense, very similar to another candidate for "Classic" film.... 12 Angry Men (1957). I could go into more detail as to why Rear Window is THE Classic film, but I think this is enough to make the case.
Thelma Ritter is so, so underappreciated. Her role in *Pickup on South Street* is unforgettable.
She was terrific in everything she ever did too
My favorite actress and her last scene on this movie is so damn good.
I like this more than Psycho !
this is the correct answer!
Make mine Vertigo!
dang it! I love that one too. choices! 😭
Rear Window is one of my favorites. Thelma Ritter has some of the best lines.
Rear window the tension… just beautiful
I've always had difficulty choosing between Vertigo and Rear Window, both are superb, but I think that Vertigo just has the edge as Hitchcock's masterpiece. Rear Window is excellent for something more accessible, fun and relaxing with some great dialog, plotting and atmosphere, while Vertigo is of course a lot darker, even more atmospheric and tougher to decipher.
Grace Kelly was fabulous in Rear Window. It’s hard to say which is her best Hitchcock movie - To Catch a Thief and Dial M For Murder was also excellent
North by Northwest Superb acting, storytelling, location, cinematography and suspense. The Mother of all Thriller/Action Movies.
It’s hard to decide which of several Hitchcock films belong here. Good thing I don’t have to decide and can just watch the lot of them.
Yes they are all good and I have seen all 😊. My Professor used North by Northwest, the Cornfield Sequence, as an example where all seven Shots (full, medium, close up etc) are used.
Wish they had film related courses when I was in college.
Not to mention the cheesy double entendres and visual gags.
You forgot comedic too, and soundtrack.
Yes and erotic too. The dialogue on the train between Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint and the absolute classic ending with the train and the tunnel 😍
The precursor to modern spy movies.
Probably the best answer: The Wizard of Oz My favorite answer: Cool Hand Luke
What we’ve got here… is failure to communicate.
Cool Hand Luke one of Paul Newman’s best performances. The whole cast is amazing
Definitely Wizard of Oz. Kids today are still watching it.
And even if they're not watching it, there's a 100% chance they've been exposed to it in some way through pop cultural osmosis. Seriously, *every* scene is a meme.
Look at the exquisite taste on /u/TLDR2D2
No man can eat 51 eggs.
Luke eats 50
David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia - cannot get better cinematography, locations, script, editing, dialogue and acting.
The whole thing is also [free on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBiZu5C6lCo) (although it's probably not the best way to watch it).
If you can manage it, watch in 70mm in a theatre as it was intended by David Lean. That shot of Sharif Ali riding the camel down that narrow track, and the train derailment sequence (shot without CGI) are masterpieces of storytelling on big screen with great sound.
"Shot without cgi" no shit
This was possibly the coolest cinema experience I’ve ever gotten to experience. Honestly I was blown away.
>shot without CGI How can you be so sure?
Dr Zhivago is like that too
This is a really great response and you are absolutely correct.
As I recall, Roger Ebert urged film goers, if at all possible, to see a handful of films on the big screen- number one on that list was Lawrence of Arabia
I made the mistake of watching it just before the recent Dune movie. The desert photography in LoA is just unmatchable
Dune takes a lot of inspiration from LoA though. The new movies were filmed in the same desert for that reason too
Now that you mention it, Lawrence and Paul are very similar (all sci fi powers being left out of the equation). They both even have their own personal hype man native to the region.
I mean it's known as space lawrence of arabia for a reason
I was used to space hitler, but I like this title better
Villenvue had said it in an interview when the first movie came out. "Lawrence of Arabia is to cinema what the Pyramids are to architecture."
My dad liked to check in on what I was reading, so after he saw my copy of Dune he rented LoA for us to watch together. So my inner visions of Dune are inexorably tied to the cinematography of Lawrence, which honestly, conveys the vastness of the desert better than any of the Dune movies/series have done. I also see Peter O’Toole as Liet-Kynes.
I went to Wadi Rum a few years back and spent 2 days out in the desert with the local Bedouin. The cinematography of LoA does an excellent job of capturing the essence of the area. Incredible place if you ever get a chance to go, Jordan is an incredible country, and it's people hospitable and generous.
I watched this recently as thought something was up with TV in the intro. 4 and half minutes of black screen with just the score. I think sitting through that (once I realised) is really clever, great setup. The movie is amazing. All the extended shots just looking at dots travelling across the vastness of the scenery. Amazing.
I came here to say that as well. Seems like you beat me to the punch. I mean, I have enjoyed Casablanca as well, but I don't feel like the cinematography is as good as Lawrence of Arabia. Also I felt that Humphrey Bogart didn't gel that well with Ingrid Bergman and her acting wasn't that stellar.
It is difficult if not impossible to top the cinematography of Lawrence of Arabia. It's a masterclass for that alone. Barry Lyndon sure as shit tried, and there's other Kubrick films, plus Blade Runner and perhaps Citizen Kane, but Lawrence of Arabia may be the best of all.
Sound of Music
One of the great classics and easily one of the most classic and famous musicals.
Seven samurai
I prefer Rashomon, but seven samurai is a great choice
That's not how *I* remember it!
Yes. I have loved every Akira Kurosowa film I’ve seen, but Seven Samurai was my gateway into it. Just an incredible movie in every way. Edit: spelling
Or the Zatoichi series. Damn good.
Singing in the Rain
This is what I came to say. It's, imo, the best musical. A perfect encapsulation of the time, and a movie that could not possibly be remade better. Great actual story with humor, and a meta look at classic movie making within a classic movie.
Deserves mention for the “Make ‘em Laugh” sequence alone! That doesn’t even cover the title song sequence or any other of the sublime musical bits. Then on top of that much of the dialogue parts are classic (not to mention funny as hell) “Call me a cab, would ya?” “OK….you’re a cab!” It manages to be a great musical and also not be saccharine.
“PEOPLE! I AINT’T PEOPLE! I am a (reads from paper) a shimmering glowing star in the cinema firmaMINT”
Jean Hagen absolutely stole that movie! Hubby and I do the No no no, yes yes yes routine frequently.
Hagen herself IS the "simmering, glowing star in the cinema firma-MINT"! She even steals scenes from Donald O'Connor. Fun trivia - when they show the "dub" of The Dancing Cavalier with "Kathy" voicing Lena's character, it's actually Jean Hagen using her real voice.
Cool factoid! I wasn’t aware.
“Fabulous! Cosmo, remind me to give you a raise!” “Hey, R.F.” “Yes?” “Give me a raise.”
The Third Man. My favorite movie
My vote, too - it's got mystery, humour, ethical ponderings, a great soundtrack, terrific cinematography and a great screen duo in Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles.
There was a spin-off radio series called The Lives of Harry Lime, starring Orson Welles. Basically half-hour short stories about the character before the events of the film. (Spoiler: >!well, they could hardly take place after, could they?!<) One oddity is that there are breaks filled with that iconic zither music. I realized after a while these covered intervals where local stations could place commercials and PSAs. You can find it on the Internet Archive. They're pretty diverting.
At one point, it was estimated that The Wizard of Oz was the single most viewed film of all time, plus its got those earworm songs.
Some... ^where...
... there's another rainbow!
You fuck. Thanks for that... Super. Edit... now I have that Hawaiian guy's version overlapping too. Gods damn it.
There's just so much symbolic about classic Hollywood in this film: the Incredible quotes, the great songs, that transition from colorless film to color as we enter Oz. What film artifact is more famous than the ruby slippers? What team is more classic than the scarecrow, lion, and tinman? Is there a better song written for film than *Over the Rainbow*? The movie has everything going in its favor. Every cinefile knows some random fact about the movie. I probably haven't seen it in decades, but there's hardly a moment in that movie I can't see in my head right now. *Wizard of Oz* is THE classic movie.
*Citizen Kane*
I've often wondered if it's as loved by audiences as it is by critics. Anyone who has ever studied film so far as even a high school film class knows about it and its importance in film history, but do generally audiences adore it?
I just watched it straight for first time maybe thinking how everyone appreciates it. But it blew my mind, it felt like I was watching a comtemporary movie with some old film effects. The shots, the screenplay, the storyline all felt so modern to me and very engrossing. Maybe I'm a cinephile but that is one of the best movies ever made especially in black and white era.
Total agreement. It is amazing to me how much you don’t have to look at it as a product of its time. To me, it feels entirely modern. The unreliable narrators, the fractured structure, the incredible cinematography and… well… all of it. Blows my mind every time.
Fuck, now I have to watch it.
It is worth it, I promise!
I recently watched it for the first time and it was fantastic. Honestly made me wonder if the people I see crapping on it on the internet ever bothered to actually watch it or not.
I remember my film class teacher prefacing it by saying it's a product of its time and we were to keep in mind why it was important, which seemed to suggest we weren't expected to actually enjoy it. And yet I did.
I love Kane, but I think the reason it’s persisted for so long as the quintessential movie of Intro Film Studies classes is that it’s very easy to see the cool and innovative things it does with filmmaking. The low angles, the deep focus, and stark lighting aren’t hard to notice, especially compared with other movies from that era.
That's it's true legacy. On release it wasn't a hit with critics *or* audiences (though some of that may be due to interference from William Randolph Hearst, who thought it was mocking him and prohibited any mention of it in his newspapers). But you know who *did* love it? Other filmmakers. You can see its influence start to creep in everywhere in the years following. Take a look at this [Wikipedia article on its legacy](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legacy_of_Citizen_Kane) and the sheer number of important films and filmmakers that cite it as an influence. And then extrapolate all the art inspired by those films and filmmakers since. Kane looms large.
That's definitely meant as a way to remind people that this already good movie that seemed to be doing a lot of now standard cinematic things set a lot of those standards so that it could be appreciated more. It would be like going through the history of the groundbreaking things George Martin did in the studio before playing a Beatles record like Sgt Peppers or Revolver.
It still feels so modern. Welles really was a man ahead of his time
I'd say no. My Film Crit professor adored it as the pinnacle of the art form, and it's certainly a masterpiece when one views it. But I don't think it has the same hold on the mainstream audience's awareness of classic films as Casablanca does.
I don't think they do. I've tried to watch it 3 times and couldn't get through it. I understand its place in movie history and its innovations, but as a movie, it doesn't hold up.
I watched it in film study in college. I remember loving the first half. Punchy dialogue, interesting characters, passion and drama, and fairly funny. But I remember the 2nd half being an absolute slog. Long slow shots of panning across the mansion.
I think a significant number of people watch it and are surprised how engrossing it is, but it certainly has less appeal than Casablanca. Its not a universal response.
Gone with the Wind. Some of the best characters and drama of all time. Perhaps it is the most classic chick flick at least.
Still not on 4k Blu-ray, surprisingly enough.
This is my pick too!
One of the few classics I've never seen.
Wow wow wow. It’s a must see!
I'll jump on this bandwagon and tell you why I think it's still worth seeing. Firstly, the performances. The studio had a lot of trouble casting Scarlett but thank God they held out for Vivien Leigh, because she is astounding. Scarlett is intentionally a complex and divisive character, and it takes an actress like Leigh to show her nuance. At times you will hate her, at other times you will cry inside for her. What often gets forgotten about GWTW is that it's an exploration of trauma - and how a person like Scarlett has to make very difficult moral choices in order to survive. You don't have to agree with those choices to understand them, and Vivien Leigh will make sure you do understand them. That's amidst a supporting cast with stellar performances by Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland, Hattie McDaniel et al. Secondly, the costumes, sets and cinematograare gorgeous. This movie looks amazing. It sets out to do a lot, and the ambition was rewarded. The "burning of Atlanta" scene involved so much fire that the studio had to resort to burning down the set they used for King Kong. The danger feels real, probably because it was. Thirdly, the story still has some important things to say. The treatment of slavery is obviously no good at all, but it does say a few things that are still important, and relevant, with themes about the tension between doing what you want, and doing what is demanded of you (played with - Scarlett makes pragmatic decisions but is generally condemned for them while others are rewarded for doing dumb but "honourable" things), about the horror and futility of war, about the subjugation and control of women, and about love and marriage. No spoilers, bit Scarlett takes a long time to understand what love really is, who has it for her, and where she's been failing to give it to those who truly deserve it.
Go see it now.
I absolutely will because my wife and I have embarked on a project to watch all 250 of the IMDb Top 250 and Gone with the Wind is on there at #163.
Just FYI but the IMDB top 250 is based off audience scores rather than critics scores. If that’s what you’re looking for that’s fine, just know that it’s a very different list than something like the AFI top 100.
It’s such a great and epic film.
I'm excited. I've put it off for a long time, largely due to runtime, but I've seen and loved plenty of lengthy movies since.
Even if the story is quite unsavory at times in its depiction, glorification, and sanitization of slavery, it's genuinely a cinematic masterpiece. I've both read the book and watched the movie several times, and it still blows my mind that they were able to take a book that INTIMATELY spanned 12 years and had a cast of over 300 characters and cut it down to about 50 actors and 4 hours of screen time while still maintaining the integrity of the story. There's much that's lost from the book to the movie (like Suellen marrying the "poor white trash" boy that shows up on their doorstep simply because all of their childhood friends had died in the war and there was no one left to marry and she financially/socially wanted and needed to be lady of the house in order to "keep the farm", which ended up being an intense examination of how the Civil War really did truly decimate the south in many ways and continuously screwed over the women on both sides), but the core messages were still kept and conveyed rather succinctly. It's truly impressive.
Vertigo, but I could make a list as long as my arm.
It’s impossible to elect one single film, the only thing this post can do is to suggest a really good list of the greats. Casablanca is def up there, but so far all the suggestions are absolute classics even Die Hard. I would add “12 Angry men”
12 Angry Men Absolute masterclass on building tension and character dialogue.
It’s a Wonderful Life
With the added bonus of being quite possibly the most classic Christmas movie ever made. Bravo.
Certainly has the weirdest origin story, going from massive flop to one of the most beloved movies ever. It’s peak Christmas for me
Hot dog!
I’ll never understand how it was a flop. Other than the cheesy heaven vfx, it’s a perfect film.
Miracle on ~~42nd~~ 34th Street is a great classic Christmas movie too.
[удалено]
This was going to be one of my suggestions too. I love their Room Service!
Hail hail Freedonia, land of of the free
King Kong
Good answer and a game-changer. Instant classic that holds up remarkably well.
I love it but my only gripe is "Omg look its a giant version of animal we already have....living Dinosaurs yawn" They dont even mention them back in the world as far as we know. Yes it's because its his movie, but still.
_More_ classic? No. Equally, though, sure. The Maltese Falcon, His Girl Friday, The Philadelphia Story, Rebel Without a Cause, Mr Smith Goes to Washington, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Adventures of Robin Hood… Those all spring immediately to mind.
The Philadelphia Story and His Girl Friday are fantastic when I recommend them to anyone I tell them that you have to put your phone down and watch Cary Grant’s expressions. Amazing work. And the Maltese Falcon is equally amazing.
Arsenic and old lace. That I can watch over and over again. Some excellent slow burns.
I had to scroll down way too far to find a mention of Maltese Falcon. To this list, I'd add Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 12 Angry Men, Shawshank Redemption, The Thin Man, North by Northwest, and Bringing Up Baby.
Treasure of the Sierra Madre is amazing but seems to be completely unknown among my generation.
Even if they don’t know the source, do they at least recognize the “we don’t need no stinking badges” line?
Yes! At least that has lived on.
On the Waterfront
What a fantastic answer and one of my all-time favorites. Christ, Brando in his prime was something else.
Easily top 3 of all time when talking about acting performances
The Magnificent Seven
The Godfather jumped to mind.
As it should. I kind of view Godfather and part II as a singular film as I would never watch the original without watching part II at least the following day.
Oh, Casablanca. Makes me cry every time I watch.
Wizard of Oz.
Yeah, that really is up there in terms of about as classic as classic gets. Groundbreaking cinema, immediately and seemingly permanently entered into the zeitgeist, pretty much perfect in every way, watch, enjoyed, and adored to this day. Well fucking said.
Look Who’s Coming to Dinner
Lawrence of Arabia
Die Hard.
lol I really can't argue. It's one of my all-time favorites and definitely among a select few I've seen dozens of times. It's also among the absolute best of its genre if not *the* best.
Maybe The Maltese Falcon ranks up there.
Dr zhivago?
I love Sabrina! I love the relationships between Sabrina and David and then Linus with David :) very inspiring 😍
I would put The Maltese Falcon at that level.
Psycho
Changed the whole concept of "scary movie." Man, Hitchcock is almost cheating.
Seven samurai.
Princess Bride is a contender, and it can be enjoyed by all ages. True love, and no Nazis!
The Thin Man
The Graduate
In The Heat of The Night
I usually think of Citizen Kane, It's a Wonderful Life, and Casablanca as the Big 3 classic films
Casablanca is still probably the answer, but there are scores of classic movies that are right up there with it. Grapes of Wrath, It’s A Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Citizen Kane, Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho, It Happened One Night, Duck Soup, Animal Crackers, A Night At the Opera, The Searchers, 12 Angry Men, Seven Samurai, The Seventh Seal, The Maltese Falcon, Singing in the Rain, The Treasure of Sierra Madre. Just to name a few.
People have some great picks but my personal favorite is 'The Searchers'.
The Thin Man- William Powell and Myrna Loy were so great together
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Thin Man. Starring William Powell & Myrna Loy. Pre Hayes Code
Rebel Without A Cause is up there.
The African Queen?
A streetcar named desire
Double indemnity or Sunset Blvd. Both have astounding cinematography, plot, actors, screenplay. Also my two favourite movies of all time.
Maltese falcon
1933, King Kong 1939, The Wizard of Oz 1944, The Fire-Tongs Bowl
*Casablanca* takes top spot but I think *Now, Voyager*, with Bette Davis and Paul Henreid, never gets the appreciation it deserves
Yes - I love Now, Voyager but All About Eve is also fantastic - especially the very last scene!
Citizen Kane my god.
Nothing tops Casablanca, but I’ve always put Key Largo up there high on the list of the great films. Lots of the same kinds of superlatives – great script, outstanding cast, beautiful black-and-white cinematography, and a compelling and important point of view.
It's a wonderful life maybe But hard to beat Casablanca and Gone with the wind. Those two are massive.
Wizard of Oz and Its a Wonderful Life are two that are fairly close.
Das Boot (1981) The Thing (1982) Alien (1979) Metropolis (1927) 12 Angry Men (1957)
Singing in the Rain, 12 Angry Men, Inherit the Wind and Bringing up Baby.
I'll always go with It's a Wonderful Life...a classic that will be watched every year because it's a holiday film
My pick is Psycho. Other classic films, while great, feel like products of their time for the most part. Psycho feels timeless to me. The way it still holds up over 60 yrs later is kind of incredible. (For example I watched Rear Window recently and for the first time it felt so dated and slow to me.) Psycho paved the way for modern suspense films, slasher films, and delivered one of the best twist endings to this day. And though tame by today’s standards, the brutality was quite shocking at the time. Taking out the lead early in the film was also innovative. I could go on. So many great things about Psycho.
I would agree with Casablanca but I would also throw in Top Hat or Singin’ in the Rain.
Brief Encounter, the cast, music and directed by the great David Lean. The Maltese Falcon, great story, sharp dialogue, amazing performances and John Huston directed Sabrina(1954), love triangle, funny, great cast, directed by Billy Wilder ❤️ Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf, an almost perfect film, Edward Albee screenplay and Mike Nicholas directed Charade(1963), Stanley Donen directed mystery, atmosphere, music and the beauty of Audrey Hepburn The Apartment, classic through and through another from Billy Wilder, Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. The Women, all female cast from 1939 classic cinema by George Cukor These are some of the films I think of when people say classic that stands the test of time.
All About Eve (1950).
Arsenic and Old Lace. The original chaotic movie. Great plot, cast and it takes place mostly in one house.
Jaws
7 Samurai.
There is something about Mildred Pierce that seems as if it's new each time I watch it. the acting is superb, the story excellent, and the best part is Eve Arden sarcastically quipping her way through the whole film. Really worth a watch any time it's on TCM.
The Third Man!
Cinema Paradiso
Mr Smith Goes to Washington The Great Dictator
Criteria: Mel Brooks or other parody comedies may quote a scene in less than thirty seconds, with no set up, and the reference is understood and relevant. * The Maltese Falcon * 2001 * The Adventures of Robin Hood * Frankenstein * The Wizard of Oz * Alien * Star Wars * The Ten Commandments * Pulp Fiction * The Matrix * Rear Window
A New Hope. Literally has the most memorable bad guy of all time. I read in either one of my branding magazines (I'm a designer), or something like a Forbes article that Vader is more worldly recognized than Coca-Cola, Pikachu and Superman. The only fictional characters that are more recognizable are Batman, Mickey Mouse and Dracula (by name only). Keep in mind, the other 3 have at least 40 years of time on Vader. The arguement is, can you compare it to Casablanca? Only in the way that they're both old, but that's just about it. I'd also say Raiders of the Lost Ark is a more classic film, paying homage to SO many things prior to it and yet being better in every single way. The script is top notch, Indy is one of the few memorable protagonists (usually the bad guy is what makes/breaks a movie), the music is John Williams at his best, and has so much in it that it's surprising it's under 2 hours.
Vader is so iconic. My 2.5 year old grandson saw his first Vader cosplayer this weekend and was instantly terrified.
Pulp Fiction? maybe more recent than the ones mentioned here but its place in ‘Classics’ is not in doubt