Jump to content

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 197
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • 1 month later...
  • 6 months later...
  • Members
Posted

Flesh and the Devil (1927) - Starring the infamous pairing of John Gilbert and Greta Garbo! It was really good, even if Garbo's character was infuriating, but also very gay and by gay I mean homosexual. The ending was amazing with the two best friends forgiving each other in very "intimate" scenes, all the while Garbo has drowned to the knowledge of no one. She got what she deserved!

  • 4 months later...
  • Members
Posted

With the recent death of Joan Fontaine I would highly recommend "Rebecca", in my opinion Alfred Hitchcock's best movie. Starring the aforementioned Ms Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, George Sanders, and Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers, among others.

Please register in order to view this content

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again......"

  • Members
Posted

Joan was also excellent in 'Suspicion' with Cary Grant. The book on which it is based is well worth reading also.

Eleanor Parker also passed recently.Her performance in 'Caged' and the movie itself are well worth watching.

  • 2 weeks later...
  • Members
Posted

A little question. What is your definition of a classic movie? Are all movies made/released before a certain year to be considered classics, or are there any more criteria they have to meet.

And what about more recent movies? When can they be considered classics? I know Disney often labels their theatrical releases as classics almost instantly, or at least they used to. But how old should a movie be, or does age have nothing to do with it? I'm sure most people would now consider movies like "Star Wars", "Jaws" and "E.T" as classics, even though they were released comparatively recent.

  • Members
Posted

I don't think there is a set in stone definition of a classic. Usually though they come from I would say before 1960 when there was still the studio system in Hollywood. Even then not all movies qualify: "Dracula" with Bela Lugosi is classic Hollywood, but "Son Of Dracula" with Lon Chaney Jr not so much. Then from more modern movies I think quality and if it is well remembered becomes a priority. "The Godfather" is a classic, but "The Godfather III" is not. If "Braveheart" is not considered a classic it eventually will be, but I don't think "Gladiator" will. "Goldfinger" is a classic, but almost no other Bond film is.

  • Members
Posted

IMHO, a "classic" is a work of art that will stand the test of time. For that to happen, there would have to be some level of quality to it. It also stands up to repeated viewings; something someone wants to see or hear time and time again. It is also a work that is highly influential and/or epitomizes a genre or style.

In this instance, Star Wars, Jaws and ET are classics, in that many people enjoy watching them repeatedly, their narratives have stood the test of time, and each of them are representative of ideas that would be referred to as a touchstone. Star Wars for science fiction genre, Jaws for the summer blockbuster and even suspense/horror, and ET for family films and all three as blockbuster movies.

Some movies can be labeled instant classics, because they are of such high quality and/or so beloved, they would fit the label. I'm thinking of when Schindler's List first came out. Many Christmas movies, despite the quality, fall under the "beloved" aspect. Christmas Vacation, starring Chevy Chase, comes to my mind as a "Christmas classic." It is also my opinion, however, the phrase "instant classic" is overused.

There is also a distinction between "classic" and "cult classic." For instance, Mommie Dearest is a "cult classic." Many of these movies are "so bad they're good" or beloved despite the quality (Pink Flamingos) or that they involve a certain actor (Clint Eastwood's spaghetti westerns) or genre (Blade Runner, Friday the Thirteenth).

When thinking of "classic films" for this thread, however, I believe the originator was thinking of movies that may have been prior to 1980. Possibly even just B&W movies. Most contributors have kept the thread in those areas.

  • 9 months later...
  • Members
Posted (edited)

I just watched Trader Horn, one of those films I've wanted to see for years because it was nominated for Best Picture at the 4th Academy Awards. The plot is exceedingly thin, ridiculous and really should only be watched by film enthusiasts. The only captivating parts, other than the truly horrible acting and the "HEY!, that's C. AUBREY SMITH" scene, are watching the wildlife. It is during these points where you see two Natives killed during filming. It's continuously sickening that you could almost instantly tell that they starved the lions to do their bidding because their ribs are in full view. The film being two hours was not kind.

Edited by Bright Eyes
  • 4 weeks later...
  • Members
Posted

The Devil Is a Woman (1935) - Queen Marlene Dietrich seemed to have so much fun in this one. A much lighter fare then I'm used to seeing her in, but she still excelled as always. One line completely cracked me up, "I came to see if you were dead. If you loved me enough, you would've killed yourself." And though it was a small role, Edward Everett Horton is always a treat.

  • 4 weeks later...
  • Members
Posted

75 years ago today "Gone With the Wind" had its premiere in Atlanta, Georgia, and went on to be the biggest box-office hit the world has seen. Some of its content may be questionable today, but it is still a magnificent movie....

Please register in order to view this content

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcuRaAi5MF0

and of course it has one of cinema's most famous lines (or maybe two..... tongue.png )

  • Members
Posted

It's a great, great movie. Classic Hollywood's greatest achievement and better than most movies before or since. GWTW gets knocked but it has story that just doesn't let up for a moment. Of the cast Olivia de Havilland is still alive, but she must be closing in on 100 by now. She is truly the last of old Hollywood.

  • 2 months later...
  • Members
Posted

A Tale of Two Cities (1935) - This was a damn good film. Ronald Colman gives one of his best performances, Donald Woods was a total babe, and in the best scene of the film, the great character actress Edna May Oliver, gets into a catfight with the villain of the piece. I never thought I'd get to see her like that, but it made my night. And Donald Woods, someone I either haven't seen or never took notice of before, struck me as someone that I easily could have pictured in the modern world, which can sometimes be hard to do with people in their "do's" from the past.

This also must be one of the first narrative films to use narration. I was almost caught of guard when Colman's calming voice talked and the end.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • One more thing on Tuesday's episode, did anyone else notice the weird blocking? Belle and Eric were thanking Sarah, and worrying about Lyme Disease (which must be a red herring, I can't believe we're watching a PSA about inspecting for tics).  Then, Belle turned to EJ and threatened him with a lawsuit.  EJ acted as if he hadn't heard the entire conversation that was happening two inches away from him.   I like EJ, but a little of silly/mean EJ goes a long way.  His sarcasm during that scene felt out of place, regardless of Eric's presence.  When he bugs his eyes, and feigns innocence, it is a little too OTT for my taste.  I understand that he was the punching bag for most scenes, but EJ feels more mature than resorting to funny faces.  And, isn't rather quick to worry about Stephanie's sales, she just debuted the book yesterday in their timeline?
    • I dont think he knew Leslie was staying there. I know this is all for the drama and mess which Im here for, but Vernon really could have easily rented a small studio space where he and Sharon could practice lol.
    • I understand that no one could ever replace Bernau, but Ron Raines is somewhat of a different beast. Still great (to me) though. He spent his entire TV run in one role, that was impossible to do justice correctly. 
    • Again, Bernau's illness impacted that. It's pretty obvious Pilon was always meant to be temporary. I read an article from that period that said he was working on both Ryan's Hope and GL at the same time. So he wasn't on contract for either show. (Maybe that explains somewhat why his performance was so low energy, because he was overworked doing two soaps). Later, they put him in the opening and in commercials for the show. That must have been because they were certain Bernau was not returning. Around that time, they approached Zaslow about being the permanent replacement for Bernau. He turned them down and suggested coming back as Roger. Pilon stayed so they could re-introduce Roger and write an exit for Alan. I'm guessing if MZ had not wanted to come back, they would have had no choice but to keep Pilon (which I don't think they wanted, or maybe Pilon wasn't interested) or send out a casting call for a new Alan. I think they wanted to avoid that because they were really determined not to let the nature of Bernau's illness to become public knowledge. At this point, they were still keepin up the fiction that he was going to return even while this stuff was happening BTS.   Yeah, it seems crazy now, but people forget how stigmatized AIDS was back then. I'm convinced the idea to ask Zaslow to take the role came about so they could replace Bernau as quietly as possible. Everyone would have been so surprised it would have taken the focus off Bernau not returning. It makes a kind of twisted sense. Still, thank goodness Zazlow said no and they said yes to his suggestion to return as Roger. The way everything worked out gave GL a few more strong years. I guess it's the nature of soaps, you never know what things in real life will end up strongly impacting the show, both negatively and positively. (Something just occurred to me. If Zazlow HAD said yes to playing Alan...he would have had to play being in love with Reva.

      Please register in order to view this content

      )
    • I truly do not understand why this has not happened. It's so un-Carly-like not have confronted Joss already. 
    • He definitely had it going on back in the day
    • I have long given up on logic and Mayor Laura Collins! It makes about as much sense as Luke being elected mayor over Lee Baldwin in the 80’s, maybe even less sense. She committed manslaughter as a teenager, was involved with a mobster (I guess credit for them taking Smith down), had a shoot out in her home and killed another mobster in self defense, thought she bludgeoned her stepfather to death, then was catatonic for years. Her current husband had a twin that was a serial killer, had his own breakdown that threatened lives, and most recently hid his brother for treatment and that allowed Ryan to escape and kill again. And had hook killer Esme as a houseguest and is raising her child. I don’t care for Sonny anymore but their relationship is just another thing that involves suspension of belief to watch the show. I wish someone on this show would remind these adults that they used to pull way worse stuff than this! I would love a scene where Laura is sitting with Lulu and tells her while she is not happy this is nothing compared to what she got up to when she was young, and maybe even some understanding that she would also do stupid stuff if she believed in the cause. Olivia reminding Dante that he was wild as a teen and this isn’t that. Felicia reminding Anna that they were being shot at when pretty close to Emma’s age. These characterizations are just so basic. Have some fun with the actual history of the show. That kind of wink would mean more to me than just name dropping some random fact.
    • There are no dumb questions here, we've all known each other long enough to fill in information without shaming each other.  We want you to be happy @carolineg.  Your POV as one of the few women here is vital. So, please, I hope you never feel as if any question, idea, or opinion is ever silly or stupid.  Your daily reminders about the realities of manicure and menstrual management has become a part of the personality of this thread. As for Hank, while I'm confident there's a plan in place.  It is frustrating that they announce these casting so far in advance that it is tough as an audience and wait it out until the thing happens.  I'm happy they didn't blow it the second Mike was in town, a week after meeting Liam. So, it is a slow burn. And, conveniently, he lets us know when his episodes air. 

      Please register in order to view this content

        Speaking of silly stuff, is anyone bothered by the placement of Tony's pocket on his shirt?  It is so odd that whatever bargain bin they found it, would choose to place a huge black pocket over the floral design?
    • I think his full name is Chadwick.  I remember, back when the previous actor was playing him, someone called him Chadwick a couple of times.  It may have been Stefano.  
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy