I’ve been renting a fair number of older movies from Netflix (and lots of newer ones as weel), and some of them have really held up well, IMO. There are movies that I can really appreicate even without reading reviews or listening to the commentary track.Specifically:[ul][li]Cape Fear[]The Manchurian Candidate[]Casablanca[]Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (they put the fun in dysfunctional)[]To Kill a Mockingbird[/ul][/li]
A couple that haven’t held up so well, IMO, though I still enjoyed them: [ul][li]Rebecca (I’m a big fan of most of Hitchcock’s films - this is one of the few that I’d say hasn’t held up).Citizen Kane (I know, sacrilege!) [/ul][/li]
I enjoyed these movies a lot; but they seemed rather dated. I’m sure if I were a film student or file scholar, I would have appreciated CK in particialr much more, but I suppose I saw it out of that context and just looked at is as I would any other movie.
If Netflix send me my whole rental history I’ll probably be able to name a few more.
So what older classics were you somewhat disapointed with, and which ones gave more than you expeced, or lived up to their hype?
Star Wars (original trilogy) - I thought the special effects were fantastic back then, and I still think the model type special effects still look great now, even compared to the new digital effects.
Haw. I came into this thread expecting it to be mostly things like *Star Wars * and Caddyshack. I’m impressed by the OP and by El Kabong’s list, especially: *Wages of Fear * and *The Train * are too-little-seen classics.
Three of my topten favorite films of all time are silent films: The Crowd, The Passion of Joan of Arc, and Sunrise; a lot more from a slightly longer list are almost as old: The Scarlet Empress, Street Scene, Scarface–I’d recommend any of these movies to anyone who likes movies.
And then of course there’s the forties and fifties . . .
I’ll second Dr. Strangelove and Starwars.
I’d also like to add that Clockwork Orange has yet to be beaten as far as distopean movies go and it came out more then 30 years ago.
I don’t know, some people may just post things cause they’re classics. Trust me though I’m no film buff, if I like an old movie that means it qualifies.
Maltese Falcon. Its always cool to see a player do his thing. Where Eagles Dare
Monty Python
and yeah Dr Strangelove
Badlands
Blood Simple
Cool Hand Luke
The African Queen
The Conversation
The Godfather et al
Double Indemnity
Shane
Raging Bull
Twelve Angry Men
Rear Window
Some Like It Hot
Cabaret
I think some of the movies mentioned escape being dated now because they were ‘dated’ when they were made. A movie set in an earlier historical context (like Treasure of the Sierra Madre or the Civil War ones mentioned above) doesn’t really get old; if it was good when it was released, it’s likely to stay good. Many of those that fail are those that depend on a style or passing fad that’s current when they are made. The ones that succeed despite being tied to the time they were made usually do it by using the current situation to say something universal.
The Manchurian Candidate, I think, is a good example. The Cold War was at its height when that was made and the movie is all about that, but it keeps its appeal because people are always susceptible to feelings of helplessness and suspicions of unseen conspiracies going on around them.
