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classic movies thread?


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My daughter is 3, and just discovering the joys of The Wizard of Oz
I had to fight back tears of nostalgic joy when watching this with my three year old earlier this year, especially when Dorthy returns to Kansas and delivers all of that "...and you were there, and you!" It was absolute magic. "Momma, what are you crying for?" "Ummm...I'm not. Sniff..sniff." :wub
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Three Songs of Lenin, by Vertov? No, I haven't seen that one yet...

 

Speaking of Eisenstein's Nevsky, have you seen his Ivan the Terrible, Part One? That's probably my favorite Eisenstein. It chronicles Ivan's plan to shrink the power of landholding nobles and unify Russia under the powerful rule of a single Tsar. Unification always comes at a great price, and often requires an imposed will, which raises doubts about its desirability; Eisenstein focuses on those national stresses while simultaneously sympathizing with Ivan's personal stresses. It's a complex melodrama, juggling various plot strands with surprising clarity. Best of all, each image feels like the composition of a master painter--vibrant iconography, grotesque faces, and labyrinthine settings that turn the characters into mole rats.

Yep. Turner Classics had them on a few years back. I recall it having an almost other-worldly character to it.

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Old, and good. I tend to draw the line at 1970 or so, but I am old too.

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Old, and good. I tend to draw the line at 1970 or so, but I am old too.

I dunno.

 

Classic often means a work that has stood the test of time (old) or stands as a definitive exemplar of the art form (good), but not necessarily both. (I already believe that There Will Be Blood is a classic.) Classic could also mean a work that has lasting cultural significance--which suggests that an old yet mediocre movie that has somehow remained popular could also fit the bill. (An Affair to Remember comes to mind.)

 

I suppose it's one of those I know it when I see it scenarios.

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The other Mitchum movie that Vincent Price was in

That would be "His Kind of Woman". Price is totally over the top and fantastic in that.

I love just about all those Mitchum / Jane Russell films (Macao is another good one).

Of course Mitchum's "Night of the Hunter " is probably my favorite performance of his, right up there w/"Cape Fear"

 

My favs. would include just about everything Capra ever did along with most of George Cukor's films.

Trying to think of a few that haven't been thrown out there already: How bout some more screwball comedies ?

"My Man Godfrey"

"Born Yesterday"

"His Girl Friday"

"The Awful Truth"

 

Others...

"The Misfits"

"From Here to Eternity"

"Metropolis"

"Third Man"

"Gilda"

"The lady Eve"

 

God, don't get me started....I dig classic film. Just watched Barbara Stanwyck's 1933 film "Baby Face" last night for the very first time.

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what constitutes a classic

Working on the aforementioned "I know it when I see it" criterion, Shawshank Redemption doesn't qualify. I thought that movie kind of sucked.

 

I don't think a film has to be old to be a classic. One of my all-time favorite films, which I would definitely rate as a "classic," is from 2002: Infernal Affairs.

 

I think No Country For Old Men might reach that level for me, though I like the initial shine to wear off a bit before I go calling anything a classic.

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I third The Apartment. I just saw it again a few weeks ago.

 

My picks (to name a few) not to repeat some others already mentioned:

 

Heat

The Longest Day

Becket

The Man Who Would Be King

To Catch a Thief

Notorious

Blazing Saddles

Once Upon a Time in America

Straw Dogs

The Wild Bunch

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A couple of more-recent classics:

Babe

The Iron Giant

Yeah, they're "kids'" movies, but they're also amazing films.

 

And, for something COMPLETLY different:

Freaks

 

Now, I'm off to make an "Unseen Classics" thread, for recommendations of films that most have probably not seen. And I am looking forward to seeing your recs. and descriptions.

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