These should be films that, say, a bright teenager of today might enjoy. They should be things you’ve re-watched or (even better) seen for the first time within the last 10 years.
Video stores and Netflix have made it easy to screen old movies, and I’ve watched dozens of “classics” made between 1915-1965. A lot of them do almost nothing for me, and I’m sure would do even less for someone younger than myself.
I picked 1965 as the cut-off date because that’s about the time color films were taking over, and because the 60’s bought in a lot more open sexuality in film. It’s a soft cut-off date really, but I’d rather hear about earlier films rather than later.
Last week I rented Sturges’ The Miracle of Morgan Creek from the library. The Video Hound books say it’s an hilarious social critique and give it 4-stars (top rating.) If it came out today, I’m guessing it would get rated closer to 1.5 stars. Not funny, not insightful, but a fairly cute lead actress.
Here some pre-1965 films that I’ve enjoyed and that often my teenager daughter has enjoyed with me:
Rear Window
Duck Soup
Nosferatu
Casablanca
Wizard of Oz
High Noon
Hard Day’s Night
Father Goose
Harvey
There are a lot of pre-1965 movies that a generally entertaining. The trouble is most the great movies are considered great because they were original and/or ahead of their time. Unfortunately, that doesn’t help them age well.
True. However some films from that era will honor intelligent plotting and match up to more modern films in that regard. Compared to books, movies from all eras generally cut corners regarding logical behavior and character consistency. Generally movie makers (or the viewing public) don’t value logic and consistency as much as authors.
Which makes me think of the film My Fair Lady. I don’t know exactly when it was released, but it’s one of my daughter’s favorite films and it holds up beautifully. For me, that’s chiefly due to the rigorous integrity of the Rex Harrison character… he believes what he believes and is consistent, “logical” and happy in his beliefs. I’ve not seen the theatrical version, but I assume that the virtues of the movie are mainly due to respecting the words of a talented, principled writer.
Nice songs too.
There’s a similar dynamic in Father Goose. It has some silliness, but the scenes of the U.S. Navy officer manipulating Cary Grant into doing his bidding are better thought out than the plot machinations of most current Hollywood blockbusters.
•Metropolis
•Gojira
•The Bedford Incident
•Forbidden Planet
•The Trouble With Harry
•The Court Jester
•The Thing from Another World
•Plan 9 From Outer Space
•The Agony and the Ecstasy
I agree that The Thing still works very well. I haven’t watched Forbidden Planet in 15 years, but it was pretty good when I saw it. I tried Metropolis within the last six months, and thought some of it’s visuals were amazing for it’s time and still good today, but after an hour I was wandering in and out of the room.
I haven’t tried Trouble With Harry. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve heard of it. Hitchcock was a great director, but even so most of his movies haven’t held up well enough for me to recommend them over something more modern. But I’ll try Harry and Rope.
I couldn’t disagree more, and here’s the fallacy of your way of thinking–the morals and context of the story means that it would make no sense for someone to make this movie in 2009, so the “if it came out today” standard is non-sensical. Modern Times or Dr. Strangelove are no less brilliant now than when they first came out, but if they “came out today”, it wouldn’t mean the same thing and they wouldn’t be as important in the same way. But that doesn’t make the writing any less brilliant or all 3 movies any less hilarious. Long after people have forgotten The Hangover (or any comedy from this year thus far), MoMC (in fact, virtually all of Sturges’ films) will still be a model of construction, sophistication, and sly bawdiness.
So pre-1965 movies that hold up? I can think of hundreds upon hundreds, though the OP’s mileage would obviously vary.
Well, Mr. ArchiveGuy, you raise an interesting point, and I definitely welcome discussion of why or why not a movie “holds up.”
I did type my comment on Miracle of Morgan Creek understanding that it would be essentially impossible for it to be made and reviewed today…
But still, if an independent film maker in 2010 was to produce a film set in 1944, imitating classic hair styles and cinematography and using the same script… I believe contemporary audiences would find it an interesting novelty but view the story and dialog as not very entertaining and find the characters generally annoying. Cute lead actress though.
I deliberately led of my original post by asking if a “bright teenager” of today would enjoy the film. That meant does the film work as a contemporary entertainment instead of as document of historical interest.
And…I haven’t seen *Modern Times *in 30 years, but I remember it as holding up pretty well.