Printable View
I've been expanding my horizons lately by going back and watching some timeless classics. I just finished The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, Dr. Stranglove, and All the President's Men. Now I'm looking for my next set to watch. I actually have a few under my belt but I thought it would be interesting to hear from the good people of EoFF what films I should check out.
It depends what your cut-off point for "classics" is (some people would refuse to consider any film after 1965 to be "classic"), but here are some suggestions. 2001: A Space Odyssey, which came out in 1968. Lawrence of Arabia, which came out in 1962. Spartacus, 1960. Ben Hur, 1959. The Graduate, 1967.
The oldest film I actually enjoyed watching was It's a mad mad mad mad world. Most other old films I might find thematically and historically interesting and fun to discuss with other people but pacing is a bit too off for me and I can't actually enjoy the actual viewing just by itself like I would a modern movie. This one had enough zany characters and impressively filmed stunts to keep me invested
Twelve Angry Men is one of the all time classic movies. A must see.
Pretty much everything I would have mentioned has been covered.
Not sure how far back we're going with this, but I'd recommend 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' too. In fact, I'd recommend the whole Dollars Trilogy.
I'm a sucker for all of the classic universal monster movies. I still need to see a lot of the other classics though.
"Classic" in this case would be anything from before the 2000s, and you can even shoot me all the way back to the silent film era if you want. Genre doesn't matter and I don't mind if it's a cult classic either instead of a Hollywood darling.
Here's a few I've seen to make this a bit easier:
Casablanca
Maltese Falcon
All the President's Men
Dr. Stranglove
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Godfather
A Clockwork Orange
The Thin Man
Metropolis
The Wizard of Oz
Arsenic and Old Lace
Ocean Thirteen (Original)
and probably a few more I've forgotten.
Also, don't bother with Disney Classics, I'm well versed thank you. ;)
Thank you all for the suggestions so far.
Thin Man
Man Who Came to Dinner
My Man Godfrey
Everything Marx Bros., W.C. Fields, Chaplin, Keaton
the older Laurel & Hardy (not the colorized musicals)
Pretty much any silent film, but in particular: Metropolis, Nosferatu, Häxan, the beforementioned comedians.
Breakfast at Tiffany's is kinda cute. And Some Like It Hot with Marilyn Monroe is pretty awesome. I also vaguelly remember being obsessed with Singing in the Rain as a kid, and speaking of musicals, Hair is cool.
Oh, oh also, The African Queen with Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn is fantastic.
Roman Holiday - Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck from 1953
If you like musicals, any of the old Rogers and Hammerstein musicals from the 50's and 60's.