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Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: Chrille on Thu 26/06/2003 23:54:03

Title: Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: Chrille on Thu 26/06/2003 23:54:03
There are so many great movies that most people of my generation have never bothered to see partly because nobody hardly ever talks about them. List any older movies here that you think people really should see:

Some movies I saw last year, and again recently ;)

Once Upon A Time In America (1984):
Sergio Leone's crime drama masterpiece, it was just recently released on DVD and weighs at roughly 220 minutes. Stars Robert De Niro, James Woods etc.

Cross of Iron (1977):
Best war movie ever, enough said ;). James Coburn kicks (or kicked, rather) ass.

The Wild Bunch (1969):
Without doubt one of the best (and probably the most violent) westerns ever. Very entertaining! Stars Ernest Borgnine, William Holden, Warren Oates etc.
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: Trapezoid on Fri 27/06/2003 00:05:18
I'm not really a big fan of older movies... Most of my favorite films are post-Star Wars. Although "The Producers" is on my list.  ;)
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: D · Y · D · O on Fri 27/06/2003 00:39:25
Ah, my kind of thread!

An obvious choice would be Hitchcock:
I recommend 'North by Northwest', 'Rear Window' and 'Vertigo',
but ofcourse all his movies are interesting.

The ever brilliant Kurosawa epic:
'Shichinin no samurai' or better known as 'The Seven Samurai'

The groundbreaking movie:
'Birth of a Nation'

The still very original and well told:
'Citizen Kane'
or the other Orson Welles classic, which also features groundbreaking story-telling and photography:
'Touch of Evil'

Some of Frank Capra's work for example:
'Mr. Smith goes to Washington'
'It Happened One Night'

Frederico Fellini's work like:
'8 1/2'
'La Dolce Vita'

The controversial, though not really a movie:
'Triumph des Willens' by Leni Riefenstahl
She was decades ahead of the movie industry!

The Hollywood epics arose, as did Charlton Heston:
'Ben Hur' is still a rousing epic
'El Cid' has some luscious production design
'The Ten Commandments' heralded the SFX blockbusters.

No list is complete with some early Kubrick:
'Spartacus' goes well with the aforementioned 'Ben Hur'
'2001' is still one of a kind!

The classic 'Casablanca', the Hollywood formula to perfection.
While 'Gone with the Wind' is the opitomy of Hollywood decadent filmmaking.

See young Marlon Brando in 'On The Waterfront' and 'A Streetcar Named Desire'

Charlie Chaplin's greates, intellectual but still funny: 'Modern Times'

One of very few WWI pictures, made before the Second: 'All Quiet On The Western Front'

The visionary 'Metropolis' by Fritz Lang which might offer some inspiration for an adventure game.

That's all my brain can think of right now, but there's an endless supply of excellent movies out there. It's just they're so hard to find sometimes...

Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: DGMacphee on Fri 27/06/2003 02:08:06
I've mentioned him many times before, but I'll talk about Hal Ashby:

My favourite film of his is The Last Detail with Jack Nicholson -- here's the IMDB summery:

"Two Navy men are assigned to guard a young prisoner in transit to serve out his sentence. Along the way, they get to know each other and the young man, who begins the journey resigned to his fate, gets a taste of the world and why he might not want to spend his youth behind bars."

And it's very cool -- they buy the kid beer even though he's underaged, they teach him to fight, they get him laid by a hooker, they take him ice skating, and they take him on a picnic in the snow before taking him to the brig.

However, Ashby had a huge run of critical and commercial hits in the 70s, such as:

The Landlord - 1970 - haven't seen but the critics loved it

Harold and Maude - 1971 - cult classic film

THe Last Detail - 1973 - Mentioned above

Shampoo - 1975 - Warren Beatty movie where he plays a hairdresser that pretends to be gay in order to sleep with all the rich dudes' women.

Bound for Glory - 1976 - A biopic about folk legend Woody Guthrie

Coming Home - 1978 - An 'at home' Vietnam war movie about a woman who falls in love with a paralysed veteran while her husband is off fighting in the war. (Ashby was nominated for a directing Oscar for this film)

Being There - 1979 - Peter Sellers plays a simple-minded gardener working for this old man. When the old man dies, Chance goes out into the world with nothing but his knowledge of gardening and things he's seen on TV. Through a turn of events, he becomes a political advisor for a prominent businessman. Very funny satire!

Also, Ashby used to be an editor for films, mainly for the work of Norman Jewison.

Ashby even won an Oscar for editing 'In the Heat of the Night' with Sidney Poitier and Rob Steiger.

So, that my love of Hal Ashby.

As for other famous old films, well, Jesus there are far too many to mention, but here's a short list:

60s and 70s:
The Godfather
Midnight Cowboy
Easy Rider
Five Easy Pieces
One Flew Over THe Cuckoo's Nest
Apocalypse Now
American Graffiti
The Last Picture Show
The French Connection
Annie Hall
2001: A Space Odyseey
A Clockwork Orange
Taxi Driver

Older:
Harvey
It's A Wonderful Life (MEERRRRYYY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!!!)
The Searchers
The Grapes of Wrath
Rebel Without a Cause
To Kill a Mockingbird
Moby Dick
Casablanca
Rear Window
Angels With Dirty Faces
Citizen Kane
Public Enemy
White Heat
Yankee Doodle Dandy
And any Chaplin, Buster Keaton, or Harold Lloyd

Foreign:
Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Rashomon, Ran (or anything Kurosawa for that matter)
Jules and Jim
Zorba the Greek
Week End (Godard is a very aquired taste)
La Strada
The Grand Illusion

And for animated films, I'd select most of everything from Chuck Jones, especially the masterpiece 'What's Opera, Doc?' -- it's heartbreaking as well as funny!

AND MANY MORE!
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: Helm on Fri 27/06/2003 02:13:56
Inherit The Wind. Great movie.
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: Pesty on Fri 27/06/2003 02:14:56
I love classic movies. I suggest "The African Queen",  "Sabrina",  "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "Charade" for the more romantic movies. Then there's "North by Northwest", "12 Angry Men", "All About Eve", and "To Kill a Mockingbird" for drama. And for comedy, my favorites "Harvey" and "We're No Angels". I know some of these have been mentioned before, but they deserve to be mentioned twice.

And DG, yay for Hal Ashby! "Being There" and "Harold and Maude" are two of my very favorite movies of all time.
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: Snake on Fri 27/06/2003 03:51:17
The Return of the Living Dead - 1984

Best zombie movie ever.

Click here (http://members.tripod.com/~evilbaby/ROTLDdvdReview.html) to read an awesome review of the movie itself, and a review of it's new DVD release.


--Snake
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: Trapezoid on Fri 27/06/2003 04:23:20
I don't think RotLD counts as an "older" movie yet. Night does though.
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: DGMacphee on Fri 27/06/2003 06:31:21
It's hard to debate 'older' movies.

Do we refer to 'older' as 'golden age of Hollywood'?

If so, then we count everything up to the 1979/80

However, various films released in the 80s could classify as older films. E.g. Ghandi, Chariots of Fire, Raging Bull, The Last Emperor, Kiss of the Spider Woman

It's hard to debate.
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: Nostradamus on Fri 27/06/2003 06:34:55
The Indiana Jones trilogy
The Amytiville Horror series
The original (1974) Planet of the Apes
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: Las Naranjas on Fri 27/06/2003 06:40:42
If we mention Birth of a Nation, perhaps we should add Triumph of the Will.

Both are brilliantly made and influenced countless films right up to the present, but there's alot in them that would encourage you to distance yourself from them.
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: aussie on Fri 27/06/2003 07:50:17
Anything by Frank Capra, really, "It's a wonderful life", "Meet John Doe"...

Also "Captain Courageous", "Quo Vadis" and "Casablanca"
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: GarageGothic on Fri 27/06/2003 09:23:50
These are the ones that came to mind, not to say that they really are the best. The top four pretty much inspired my game:

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Wiene, 1920)
Don't Look Now (Roeg, 1973)
Sunset Blvd. (Wilder, 1950)
The Third Man (Reed, 1949)
Easy Rider (Hopper, 1969)
La nuit américaine (Truffaut, 1973)
Psycho (Hitchcock, 1961)
Kiss Me Deadly (Aldrich, 1955)
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: Rincewind on Fri 27/06/2003 10:17:15
Ooh - Oldies...

Hitchcock:
"Suspicion" - Perhaps my favourite of Hitchs moives. A charming love story that evolves into a exciting thiller, where you in the end really don't know what to believe... Great acting by both Cary Grant and Joan Fountaine.

"Spellbound" - The whole psychoanalysis-theme doens't work quite all the way, but one cannot help but love the surreal dream-sequenses designed by Salvador Dali and all the cleverly shot scenes (i.e: Peck walking down the stairs with the knife in his hand, etc...)

"North By Northwest" - Already mentioned, but I'll just say it's one heck of a  good movie.

"Psycho" - Going from the previous one to this is one huge step, but Hitch does it brilliantly. Everything is perfect about this film. The bone-chilling music, the eerie black-and-white photo, the stunning performance from Anthony Perkins and all the other actors... Remarkable.

"Rear Window" - Hitchcock does his very own peepshow, and we are invited to watch... Another grand film, with both technical landwinnings and top-notch acting.

"The Birds" - Not only does he suffice by creating the very first "Psychotic Killer"-themed horror movie, he also does the very first horror film where a huge amount of seemingly "innocent" creatures go to attack against people...

Ok, as you can see, I'm very fond of Hitchcock... ;D

But of course there's not just his movies that earn a place on this list - Here's some other magnificent movies:

"Shichinin no samurai"(I saw it late one night on tv, and loved it... Got to buy it soon...)
"A Clockwork Orange"
"Casablanca"
"The Big Sleep"
"The Godfather"
"Citizen Kane"
"The Terminator" (I don't know if it counts as an oldie or not, but it's one hell of a movie. Better than T2, in my opinion.)
"Alien"
"Airplane!"(Yep, I'm considering that to be one of the best. Don't ask me why, but I just love that film.)

Well, that doesn't cover every good film, but it's some of them... ;D Hehe.


(And "Being There" is also a great movie - Too bad I just saw it once.)
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: on Fri 27/06/2003 11:07:10
very good taste DG and Rincewind!

Exorcist  (because it freaked everyone out at the time)
mad max1
alien
any of the pink panther films
Jaws
clockwork orange
kelly's heros (donald sutherland cracked me up as a ww2 hippie)
dirty harry
fist full of dollars, plus the others with clint
bullet
hammer horror films
tommy
ring of bright water(even i've got feeling :P}
stone
blues brothers
starwars very first one
great rock n roll swindle
italian job
get carter
yellow submarine
help


loads more but....
Paranoia
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: Chrille on Fri 27/06/2003 11:13:32
Poobungies, some of the movies mentioned, despite being excellent choices (Godfather, Indiana Jones, Taxi Driver among others) have most likely already been seen by a lot of people, which wasn't exactly my original intention with this thread :p.

So, more older movies that people never talk about anymore ;). Many great choices mentioned too of course, I'll keep a look out for them.
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: on Fri 27/06/2003 11:31:46
Quote from: Las Naranjas on Fri 27/06/2003 06:40:42
If we mention Birth of a Nation, perhaps we should add Triumph of the Will.

I already did. It amazes me how many people have seen and appreciate 'Triumph des Willens' (for it's technical achievements rather than it's - nowadays - disturbing content).

To expand on Chrille's post, perhaps we should avoid posting movies that have already been said. Oh and recommending the Godfather movies only works in Bhutan.
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: DGMacphee on Fri 27/06/2003 11:51:55
Actually, you'd be surprised of the number of AGSers who haven't seen the Godfather movies.

Even ones in the US.

Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: SSH on Fri 27/06/2003 12:06:08
I've only seen the third Godfather, somehow. And I haven't seen Taxi Driver.

I like the original "Gladiator": The Fall of the Roman Empire, with Alec Guinness and Sophia Loren.

Talking of Alec Guinness, The LadyKillers and Arsenic and Old Lace are great.

And I know it's been done, but Cuckoo's Nest is great.

Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: Timosity on Fri 27/06/2003 16:32:31
The toxica avenger

pure class

how it never got an award astounds me
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: Darth Mandarb on Fri 27/06/2003 17:48:21
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Director: John Frankenheimer
Starring: Frank Sinatra, Janet Leigh, and Angela Lansbury.
I watched this movie on a recommendation and it was way worth it.
IMDB Entry: The Manchurian Candidate (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0056218)

That's about the only older movie I would strongly recommend that I don't think anybody mentioned before, but DG, Rince, Paranoia and others have suggested the obvious (and not so obvious) good ones.

DG - Ashby's Harold & Maude is a definate gem and certainly belongs on this list.  While the movie has always been somewhat disturbing to me, it's still a great movie.  Ruth Gordon was amazing.  She was also good in Rosemary's Baby (1968) by the great (and child molesting) Roman Polanski.

Pestilence - I'm glad you mentioned To Kill A Mockingbird.  It's such a great movie based on an even greater book by Harper Lee.  To any who haven't read/seen this gem ... DO IT NOW!!!

Now, as far as 'older movies' ... I would consider these to be movies that were made all the way up into the 90's.  Because there are kids who post in these forums who were born in the 90's!!

My favorite movie:
The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
Director: Michael Mann
Starring: Daniel Day Lewis, Madeline Stowe, Eric Schweig, and Jodhi May
The subtle (but incredibly powerful) love story between Alice and Uncas is just amazing and the fact the Eric Schweig (Uncas) and Jodhi May (Alice) were able to convey this powerful emotion without speaking is incredible.  The fire of romance between DDL and Madeline Stowe is so powerful and full of drama it gives me goosebumps.  When she goes to see him (when he's in the brig) and she says, "The whole world's on fire" ... very powerful.
NOTE - If you're a fan of the original version of this movie don't waste your time with the DVD ... for whatever reason it's been incredibly altered.  Why they did this I don't know ... but it destroyed the movie (in my opinion).
IMDB Entry: The Last of the Mohicans (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0104691)

Other recommendations:
The Natural (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0087781) (1984, Barry Levinson)
Red Dawn (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0087985) (1984, John Milius)
Big Trouble in Little China (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0090728) (1986, John Carpenter)
The Princess Bride (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0093779) (1987, Rob Reiner)
Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0114660) (1995, Gary Fleder)
Dangerous Beauty (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0118892) (1998, Marshall Herskovitz)
Harrison's Flowers (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0216799) (2000, Elie Chouraqui)


These are all I'm going to list now ... cause this is turning into a novel.  I could go on and on and on ...
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: Pesty on Fri 27/06/2003 19:43:32
I can do movies not many have seen. "Lost Horizons" is a brilliant movie that apparently is unknown (I bought it for 5 dollars from a bin at WalMart) by the masses. It's a very interesting and touching movie. More recent than most of my suggestions is "Murder by Death",  which I'm not sure if a lot of people have seen. I know when I talk about it or quote it people give me looks, so meh. A movie I forgot to mention in my first list was "The Maltese Falcon", which while isn't little known, more people should see.

"The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" is my favorite movie. I bought it for under 3 dollars at Sam's Club, which made me worried that people don't know what it is, so I'll add that too.

Gronk.
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: Chrille on Fri 27/06/2003 19:55:54
I'd also like to mention Chinatown, starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway, directed by Roman Polanski. Easily one of my top 10 favourites, I can't believe I forgot about it :P
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: Trapezoid on Fri 27/06/2003 20:04:44
Oddly enough I've managed not to see a lot of "ultimate classic movies" such as the Godfather films, and Casablanca, etc. I haven't even watched the Star Wars trilogy in a while.

If anyone wants to know what my favorite films are, see http://www.ymdb.com/user_top20_view.asp?usersid=2145&ce=y

Pesty, are you talking about the Terry Gilliam version? If so, right on.
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: OneThinkingGal and ._. on Fri 27/06/2003 21:43:22
Rebecca. (http://web.ecomplanet.com/X2923/ServerContent/MyCustomImages/X2923CustomImage0105923.gif)
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: Pesty on Fri 27/06/2003 22:39:47
Quote from: Trapezoid on Fri 27/06/2003 20:04:44
Pesty, are you talking about the Terry Gilliam version? If so, right on.

Of course I am. It's a masterpiece!
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: DGMacphee on Sat 28/06/2003 07:20:49
Today I bought an older movie on DVD -- 'The Defiant Ones'.

I recommend it very much.

Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: Rincewind on Sat 28/06/2003 10:12:54
Ok, here's two old and classic(But not so well-known...) movies:

"The Kennel Murder Case" - 1933
William Powell is perfect as amateur detective Philo Vance, who has to solve a mysterious case, where everything points at suicide, but where Vance points at murder. Atmospheric, exciting and a great detective story.

"The Cocoanuts" - 1929
I love the Marx Bros, and this one, their first feature film, is by far my favourite. Filled to the brim with classical gags and jokes, and with brilliant performances from Groucho, Harpo and Chico.  

"Do you understand everything now?"
"Yes, everything except the why a duck."

Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: DGMacphee on Sat 28/06/2003 10:23:40
Midnight Express.

I just remembered that one.
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: Miez on Sun 29/06/2003 14:41:03
Peter Greenaway's "Prospero's Books" - seen it twenty times, prepared to see it at least 20 times more ...

Kubrick's "Lolita" - not what you might think, just watch it ...

"Brazil", "Evil Dead", "A Clockwork Orange" (which seems to be a favourite, it's been mentioned a dozen times already)


Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: PeaceMan on Sun 29/06/2003 15:33:13
Convoy
The Dirty Dozen
Battle of the Bulge
The Shining
Glory
Hamburger Hill
Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail
The Life Of Brian
Crimson Tide
Captain's Courageous
Platoon
Dirty Harry
The Mean Machine
The Naked Gun (whole series)
Police Academy (whole series)

and probably a few others I can't remember the names of.
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: Gonzo on Sun 29/06/2003 15:40:35
I'm a big fan of old, classic cinema, and I tend to believe "they don't make 'em like they used to" (although there are some modern movies I enjoy, I don't totally despair at the state of films nowadays).

For various reasons, I think these films are just really enjoyable. Not all are typically regarded as the pinnacle of artistic expression, but not all great films have to have something deep about them, they can be just fun, or have excellent cinematogaphy, genius comedy, etc.:

'Double Indemnity'
'North By Northwest'
'Rear Window'
'The Ladykillers'
'Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid'
'Where Eagles Dare'
'A Hard Day's Night'
'Back To The Future' (essentially the original, but parts 2 and 3 are fantastic too)
'Goldfinger'
'Jaws'
'Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade' (again the whole trilogy's cool though)
'The Empire Strikes Back' (ditto)
'Blazin' Saddles'
'This Is Spinal Tap'

Can't think of anymore just at the moment, need to go down the video store and jog my memory. I haven't taken anything out in months to be honest.

Also I'd like to take this opportunity to ask if anyone can help me out finding a film's name. I watched it ages ago, in English class when I was about 11 but remember it being a neat little 'golden oldie'. It followed this guy who was bumping off a certain number of people for some reason, and wrote memoirs chronicling how he killed each one. IIRC, at the end of the film, it suddenly occurred to him that he'd left the memoirs somewhere where they'd be found/read and it ended just there...  Any ideas?
Title: Re:Older movies that everyone should see
Post by: PeaceMan on Sun 29/06/2003 15:46:43
Quote from: Gonzo on Sun 29/06/2003 15:40:35

Also I'd like to take this opportunity to ask if anyone can help me out finding a film's name. I watched it ages ago, in English class when I was about 11 but remember it being a neat little 'golden oldie'. It followed this guy who was bumping off a certain number of people for some reason, and wrote memoirs chronicling how he killed each one. IIRC, at the end of the film, it suddenly occurred to him that he'd left the memoirs somewhere where they'd be found/read and it ended just there...  Any ideas?

It was "Kind Hearts and Coronet's"

I think I spelt it right.