What movies are classics?
Posted in response to a forum thread asking which films should be considered classics
I tend to despise ‘Hollywood’ from around 1990 onwards so it’s kind of difficult for me to find mainstream modern classics. The only recent ‘classic’ blockbuster I can think of is The Dark Knight, but, as amazing as the film was, I don’t see it lasting for as long as say… Casablanca. Oh and I agree with you about Lord of the Rings. Star Wars… not so sure.
Pan’s Labyrinth is a modern classic in my opinion. Other than that… Rear Window, Blade Runner, err… it’s really incredibly difficult to identify what films you think will last the ages. I think The Matrix (excluding the sequels) is a land-mark in modern sci-fi. Toy Story, simply because it is Pixar’s first movie.
Jaws is a classic. The same goes for The Exorcist. I don’t think they will stand the test of time as far as visuals/effects go, but I think there’s no doubt that they will remain as major features on the map of the horror genre. The same goes for Alien because it was kind of the first sci-fi/horror crossover to really make the big time.
It’s so much easier to identify directors, actors, screenwriters etc. Because obviously you’ve got Hitchcock, Fellini, Kurosawa, Leone… unsure if I would include Tarantino or Spielberg in this list, i’d be faster to include Cronenberg or Fincher. Obviously you can’t leave out Roger Corman. Actors would include Orson Welles, Bogart, Streep… I would put money on Daniel Day-Lewis being in this list.
You can’t really identify modern movies as classic status requires retrospect but I need to go away and think about this…
