True story: Once upon a time, I hated movies.
Well, not ALL movies. I developed a philosophy back in college that anything which entertains you must also edify you in some way. It isn't enough for a movie to be funny or exciting. It has to be thought provoking as well.
At the time, my opinion earned me a pretty sticky "snob" label - and, I don't know, maybe I deserve it. I do have a tendency to condemn movies that look stupid without ever watching them (*ahem*).
Recently, though, I've decided that it's a far better use of my time to talk about the stuff I LIKE rather than the stuff I think is silly - unless it's silly in a good way.
I don't talk about it much on the blog here, but I LOVE old silent comedies - Charlie Chaplin's quickly become one of my heroes. I've gotten a lot out of watching classic silent films. As with literature, when something's called a "classic," there's USUALLY a reason behind it (although every rule has exceptions).
There's been a bit of a gap in my film knowledge, though. I love silent films, and I love "modern" classics, but there are a LOT of classic movies that I know nothing about beyond the word "Rosebud."
So that's what this list is about. Here are movies I'm planning on watching to brush up a bit on film history. This is, by no means, a COMPREHENSIVE list - I'm ALWAYS open to suggestions (hint hint). Eventually, I'm hoping to get into some more international films, but I'm focusing just on American films for now.
- Citizen Kane
- The Graduate
- The Maltese Falcon
- Rear Window
- Vertigo
- The Manchurian Candidate
- A Night at the Opera
- Sherlock Jr.
- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
- The Wizard of Oz
8 comments:
You really haven't seen The Graduate? That's a great film. We had to watch it in one of my classes last semester.
I watched Citizen Kane my senior year of high school for extra credit. Someone had it taped from TV in the 1980s, and towards the end we (a group of extra credit seekers) ended up fast forwarding most of the movie and just watching the hilarious commercials from our childhood. Oh man, it was awesome.
Perhaps I need to rewatch it? I dunno, I feel I got the gist and didn't much care for it then.
xox
Ditto on The Graduate.
You have never seen The Wizard of Oz????
Have you seen Casablanca?
Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds??
Casablanca is awesome. I saw Wizard of Oz when I was 6 or so and don't really remember it.
I have no desire to see The Birds. Ever.
The Birds is a fine movie I'll have you know.
I also need to see Citizen Kane, in fact I have it now but havn't watched it yet. We should hang the £*#% out and watch it.
Also Vertigo is excellent (mostly because anything by Hitchcock that stars Jimmy Stewart CAN'T be bad).
Some Like it hot & Gentlemen Prefer Blondes-who knew Marilyn Monroe was more than a sex-symbol? The girl can act too.
Cat on a hot tin roof.
Funny Girl (Love or hate her, Streisand is BRILLIANT in it.)
Gone With the Wind-more than worth the time commitment.
Guys and Dolls-forget it's a musical. Brando. Sinatra. 'nuff said.
As soon as I can remember the hoardes of movies I watched while working at Hollywood Video I'll pass any more worthwile titles along.
Just a few suggestions:
The Philadelphia Story -- Jimmy Stewart won the Oscar for Best Actor for this role and he totally deserved it!
The Three Musketeers with Douglas Fairbanks -- all stunts and story-telling should be this good. (You said you like silent movies, so maybe you've seen this one already.)
The Great Escape -- too many reasons to count, starting with Steve McQueen's famous motorcycle jump.
Roman Holiday -- I don't know how you feel about romantic comedies, but Audrey Hepburn deserved her Oscar, too. And now I want to go to Rome.
I'm glad you have A Night at the Opera on your list. I saw it last year and STILL giggle about some of the gags. I want to be Harpo Marx when I grow up.
And I second all of Kristen's suggestions.
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