# Movies that truly stood the test of time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 17, 2005, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748 "2005-04-17T08:45:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748/21 "2005-04-18T06:39:34Z")
Plenty of excellent examples here. **SPOOFE** , as much of a _Star Wars_ fan as I am, I have noticed that people watching it for the first time nowadays miss a lot of the magic. I’m starting to believe that our love for it consists mostly of nostalgia. That said, I’m going to claim it’s a marvellous movie until they put me to bed with a shovel. **Zsofia** , totally agree on _Blade Runner_ (provided we skip that plastered-on faux happy ending with the crappy voiceover); that one’s going to dance forever. **Lobsang** , _Clockwork Orange_ is a brilliant example. No matter how much the world changes, this piece of cinema will still be hypnotic. **Tentacle Monster** , while _Airplane!_ isn’t as tied to its time as most parody movies, it will be less dated than, say _Hot Shots_, but I think it will be less funny with time. On the other hand, I did rewatch it a couple of months ago and it has held up amazingly. **kunilou** , I haven’t seen _To Kill a Mockingbird_ in ten years, but your post reminded me of why I love that film. I agree with you, it probably is timeless. I’d better get myself over to the rental shop. **RealityChuck** , agreement on the Chaplin films (not too familiar with Keaton). _The Great Dictator_ will never get old. ---
**Author:** ![Alias](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Alias](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alias)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748/22 "2005-04-18T14:16:30Z")
I watched it last night, and I thought I’d add The Caine Mutiny to our list. That movie is wonderful, and timeless. Certainly one of Humphrey Bogart’s greatest performances, Fred MacMurray is perfect, and Jose Ferrar owns every scene he’s in. The story is riveting, the acting suburb, and even though it takes place in the 40s, it never feels dated. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748/23 "2005-04-18T16:17:12Z")
My 14-year-old daughter came into the room while I was watching **Nosferatu** to fetch something. I sensed her standing behind me. Then she moved over to the couch and stood there. Then she sat down. A few minutes later, “You know, this is really well done.” “Yesssssss!” I thought… ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748/24 "2005-04-18T16:47:00Z")
_It’s a Wonderful Life_ was dated when it was new. _Some Like It Hot_ will always be funny. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748/25 "2005-04-18T17:03:04Z")
The Princess Bride Ghostbusters Monty Python’s Holy Grail. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748/26 "2005-04-18T19:18:12Z")
It’s a period piece, so it’s a little harder for it to become dated (in terms of costumes and styles) but _Chinatown_ looks like it coud have been filmed yesterday. _The Godfather_ and _The Godfather, Part II_ hold up very well (even if they do romanticize the Mafia) and _Apocalypse Now_ is and will remain one of the most wrenching, nihistic films ever made. _2001: A Space Oddessy_ looks great, even for having been filmed in the pre-CGI age, and has a timeless message. (Those looking for a plot will, as Mark Twain writes, be shot.) The same cannot be said for most of Kubirck’s work, though _The Killers_ and _Paths of Glory_ come close. I’ll second _The Great Escape_, **Lobsang** , and raise you _The Wages of Fear_, which still inspires great tension every time I see it. _Rear Window_ is timeless (despite many of the sly jokes referring to the morality of the time), and I suspect _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ will be popular for a long time yet. (Gah, I hope they don’t go ahead with plans to make a fourth one.) There are too many more to mention, including numerous selections from the filmographies of the visionary Lang, the daredevil Keaton, and the rogue epic storyteller Kurosawa, but I’d like to make special mention of _The Wild Bunch_, _The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly_, and _The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance_ as each having an immutable place in the pantheon of Westers. It’s not my favorite genre (being so stereotyped–am I the only one who largely can’t stand John Wayne?) but these films shattered the notion of pure good and evil in Westerns, and all are so beatifully filmed that they could be confused for being only a few years old. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748/27 "2005-04-18T19:27:16Z")
**The Wizard of Oz** ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748/28 "2005-04-18T19:28:38Z")
:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748/29 "2005-04-18T19:49:40Z")
\*\*The Day The Earth Stood Still \*\* is really “Sci-Fi Noir” that is still just as relevant today as the 50’s. Like so many brilliant innovative movies and TV shows, it sometimes appears cliched because it has been imitated so much. **Double Indemnity** will always be worth watching because the story itself is timeless: murder for love and/or money. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748/30 "2005-04-18T19:59:51Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > _2001: A Space Oddessy_ looks great, even for having been filmed in the pre-CGI age, and has a timeless message. What, pray tell, is the “timeless message” of 2001? As more than one reviewer has pointed out, not only does it not make sense, but it is impossible to construct a scenario under which it COULD make sense. Awful pretty, though. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748/31 "2005-04-19T13:09:52Z")
Besides many listed here: \*\*A Man for All Seasons The Seven Samurai King Kong Forbidden Planet Psycho A Night at the Opera \*\* And you people who said **Pitch Black** – are you serious!!! I _hated_ that movie, so my personal opinion inclines me against it, but even so, I don’t see anything that makesd it a “classic” ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748/32 "2005-04-19T13:28:41Z")
The Bridge on the River Kwai. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748/33 "2005-04-19T14:03:07Z")
**The Shining** ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748/34 "2005-04-19T14:55:55Z")
**The Crimson Pirate**. It’s a big-budget action-adventure-comedy with lots of great stunts, huge explosions and the occasional cross-dressing - a movie that’s truly 50 years ahead of its time. The most dated thing about it is the Technicolor photography. ---
**Author:** ![bclouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@bclouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bclouse)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748/35 "2005-04-19T19:34:01Z")
**A Christmas Story** - it’s not a super old movie but I think it’s timeless. I can’t image it ever going out of style. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748/36 "2005-04-19T19:41:51Z")
Can we submit modern(ish) films that we think will stand the test of time? If so I’d like to submit **Donnie Darko**. I just finished watching it again. It creeps me out, in a good way. It makes me feel sad… in a good way. It makes me a bit confused… in a good way. ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748/37 "2005-04-19T20:15:30Z")
Anybody else feel like I do - that while Hitchcock’s movies are still riveting - they also feel extremely dated - very much products of their time? ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748/38 "2005-04-19T20:21:58Z")
Anybody else feel like I do - that while Hitchcock’s movies are still riveting - they also feel extremely dated - very much products of their time? ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748/39 "2005-04-19T20:23:01Z")
Crap. I thought it hadn’t gone through the first time. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748/40 "2005-04-19T20:36:17Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > What, pray tell, is the “timeless message” of 2001? As more than one reviewer has pointed out, not only does it not make sense, but it is impossible to construct a scenario under which it COULD make sense. So as not to hijack this thread I’ve started a new thread on the topic [post=6073320]here[/post]. Stranger [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-truly-stood-the-test-of-time/299748.md?page=3)