So I recently watched Casablanca
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The Best Years of Our Lives -- surprisingly thoughtful for it's time. It's a 1946 movie about the difficult adjustments servicemen have returning from the war
Desk Set
The Philadelphia Story
Arsenic and Old Lace - the nephew of a couple of spinsters discovers that they've been poisoning men for years and burying them in the basement, using their brother who thinks he's Teddy Roosevelt building the Panama Canal.
Desk Set
The Philadelphia Story
Arsenic and Old Lace - the nephew of a couple of spinsters discovers that they've been poisoning men for years and burying them in the basement, using their brother who thinks he's Teddy Roosevelt building the Panama Canal.
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I can not recommend Wings enough, it's a great movie and features the first on-screen same-sex kiss, it was also the first movie (and only silent era movie) to win an oscar. it's a silent era movie but the newest blu ray release is great and has a great new audio track with an excellent score and also sound effects for scenes where they would have heard them (plane engine sounds and other things). Contrary to popular belief "Silent" movies when they were shown in many theaters, especially the fancy ones actually were not in fact silent. They had people that would create effects during scenes with instruments and things, so like if a character dropped something or a thunderstorm was going on you'd have someone making the sound effects for those scenes in the theater during this movie (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syPCZNB1ikE ), it was also dependent on the theater you went to, some could only have an organ with a few sound effects built into it rather then a lot of different ones for different things.
For something light, The Apartment (1960).
Jack Lemmon is one of the most likeable screen presences in the history of Hollywood.
Jack Lemmon is one of the most likeable screen presences in the history of Hollywood.
Notorious
MY MAN!
Such an underrated Hitchcock movie.
Notorious. A brilliant 1946 film by Hitchock that's got post-war fleeing Nazis, spies, and more. It stars Cary Grant and the same actress from Casablanca, Ingrid Bergman.
MY MAN!
Such an underrated Hitchcock movie.
Driving in the pothole hellscape of Toronto makes me think of this movie a lot.
The Big Sleep is a god damn treasure. So good. I want to live in that movie.
And (I just mentioned this is another thread recently) it's fun to find all the direct homages in The Big Lebowski.
Damn, that second GIF is amazing. Such a modern looking shot. I don't watch too many silent films but I really should check out Wings one of these days.I can not recommend Wings enough, it's a great movie and features the first on-screen same-sex kiss, it was also the first movie (and only silent era movie) to win an oscar. it's a silent era movie but the newest blu ray release is great and has a great new audio track with an excellent score and also sound effects for scenes where they would have heard them (plane engine sounds and other things). Contrary to popular belief "Silent" movies when they were shown in many theaters, especially the fancy ones actually were not in fact silent. They had people that would create effects during scenes with instruments and things, so like if a character dropped something or a thunderstorm was going on you'd have someone making the sound effects for those scenes in the theater during this movie (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syPCZNB1ikE ), it was also dependent on the theater you went to, some could only have an organ with a few sound effects built into it rather then a lot of different ones for different things.
I watched that last week, I got it from my local library and the added soundtrack with sound effects worked really well.I can not recommend Wings enough, it's a great movie and features the first on-screen same-sex kiss, it was also the first movie (and only silent era movie) to win an oscar. it's a silent era movie but the newest blu ray release is great and has a great new audio track with an excellent score and also sound effects for scenes where they would have heard them (plane engine sounds and other things). Contrary to popular belief "Silent" movies when they were shown in many theaters, especially the fancy ones actually were not in fact silent. They had people that would create effects during scenes with instruments and things, so like if a character dropped something or a thunderstorm was going on you'd have someone making the sound effects for those scenes in the theater during this movie (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syPCZNB1ikE ), it was also dependent on the theater you went to, some could only have an organ with a few sound effects built into it rather then a lot of different ones for different things.
Glad to see The Night of the Hunter get mentioned. the underwater sequence has imho some of the most beautiful & haunting imagery ever put to film. I was also struck by it's cynicism toward religion, seems rare for that era
Hey, I'm 25 and watched Casablanca for the first time last month too! I was actually kind of astonished at how great it was, didn't feel like it had aged a day.
Watch Ikiru (1952) by Akira Kurosawa.
I watched this a couple of weeks ago and it may be my new favourite film. I also went through 12 other works of Kurosawa for the first time and the consistent quality cemented him as my favourite director too, he is simply unbelievable.
A few other older films I recently enjoyed were:
Paths of Glory (1957)
Tokyo Story (1953)
Psycho (1960)
The Apartment (1960)
Watch Ikiru (1952) by Akira Kurosawa.
I watched this a couple of weeks ago and it may be my new favourite film. I also went through 12 other works of Kurosawa for the first time and the consistent quality cemented him as my favourite director too, he is simply unbelievable.
A few other older films I recently enjoyed were:
Paths of Glory (1957)
Tokyo Story (1953)
Psycho (1960)
The Apartment (1960)
I need to get through my watchlist, I have 102 movies on it.
Edit: Added more, now at 108.
Edit: Added more, now at 108.
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Also a few more recommendations:
City Lights
Metropolis
Cabinet of Dr Caligari
Nosferatu
I also have to recommend some movies my distant relative worked on as well,
From Here to Eternity
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045793/?ref_=nm_knf_t2
In a Lonely Place
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042593/?ref_=nm_flmg_cin_64
All the King's Men
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041113/?ref_=nm_knf_t4
He was the cinematographer of these movies, won an Oscar for From Here to Eternity and then later in his career won again for Bonnie and Clyde, though I never met him or anything since I wasn't even born til after he had passed away.
City Lights
Metropolis
Cabinet of Dr Caligari
Nosferatu
I also have to recommend some movies my distant relative worked on as well,
From Here to Eternity
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045793/?ref_=nm_knf_t2
In a Lonely Place
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042593/?ref_=nm_flmg_cin_64
All the King's Men
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041113/?ref_=nm_knf_t4
He was the cinematographer of these movies, won an Oscar for From Here to Eternity and then later in his career won again for Bonnie and Clyde, though I never met him or anything since I wasn't even born til after he had passed away.
We watched it at some point in school and I absolutely loved it as well.
I just went through the whole thread and I was going to say not to sleep on It's A Wonderful Life. One post too late.
I watched this for the first time last year. I didn't really dig it. This is probably a bad complaint but Rick just came off as a creep to me. Like I know he wasn't necessarily supposed to really be likable but in 2018 his behavior just read as disturbingly obsessed, possessive, and sexist to the point where it hurt my ability to enjoy the movie. As a whole I also found the thing kind of uninteresting, for a while, though it picked up at the end.
Citizen Kane I also watched last year though and was excellent. Charles Foster Kane is extremely well defined and you can totally "get" a character like him.
My favorite classic movie is probably City Lights though. I can't believe a silent movie was able to convey such emotions so strongly, and Chaplin is an all-timer.
Citizen Kane I also watched last year though and was excellent. Charles Foster Kane is extremely well defined and you can totally "get" a character like him.
My favorite classic movie is probably City Lights though. I can't believe a silent movie was able to convey such emotions so strongly, and Chaplin is an all-timer.
Bicycle Thieves is incredible.
Il Posto is amazing.
Sansho The Bailiff has really stuck with me, even though I only watched it once.
A Patch Of Blue is a great love story.
La Strada is a must see.
Il Posto is amazing.
Sansho The Bailiff has really stuck with me, even though I only watched it once.
A Patch Of Blue is a great love story.
La Strada is a must see.
Not as high-brow as many of the other suggestions, but still an ace watch:
Whatever Happened To Baby Jane 🤔
Whatever Happened To Baby Jane 🤔
I haven't seen anyone recommend 'On the Waterfront.' The story and acting are at the highest levels here. Brando was a powerhouse.
I also want to parrot anyone who recommends Kurosawa and 'North by Northwest.' 'Seven Samura' might be the best movie ever made. I know 'Dreams' isn't highly regarded among his works (also not old), but there are a few vignettes in there that get me emotionally every time (Village of the Watermills and The Tunnel).
I also want to parrot anyone who recommends Kurosawa and 'North by Northwest.' 'Seven Samura' might be the best movie ever made. I know 'Dreams' isn't highly regarded among his works (also not old), but there are a few vignettes in there that get me emotionally every time (Village of the Watermills and The Tunnel).
Lots of great recs in here, I love finding old movies that feel more modern in their sensibilities.
Dig all the film noir suggestions in the thread. I presume someone mentioned Kiss Me Deadly - it's a great noir tinged with nuclear paranoia. Also has a macguffin that influenced Tarantino with the glowing suitcase in Pulp Fiction.
As well as the awesomeness of Kurosawa (High & Low!) check out Ozu, I love his movies, generally small slice of life tales. Might as well start with Tokyo Story.
Branded to Kill by Seijun Suzuki is a great, offbeat Yakuza movie.
Naked Kiss and Shock Corridor by Sam Fuller are great low budget flicks.
Funeral Parade of Roses is a trippy look at Tokyo drag/gay/artsy folks in the late 60s. Has a lot of visual style that influenced Kubrick heavily on A Clockwork Orange.
French New Wave is full of brilliant movies - 400 Blows, early Godard (I <8 Vivre Sa Vie), Renais, Tati.
Sweet Smell of Success by Alexander McKendrick is really great.
Powell/Pressburger movies are visually stunning and interesting, varied stories - Life & Death of Colonel Blimp and Black Narcissus are good ones to try.
Dig all the film noir suggestions in the thread. I presume someone mentioned Kiss Me Deadly - it's a great noir tinged with nuclear paranoia. Also has a macguffin that influenced Tarantino with the glowing suitcase in Pulp Fiction.
As well as the awesomeness of Kurosawa (High & Low!) check out Ozu, I love his movies, generally small slice of life tales. Might as well start with Tokyo Story.
Branded to Kill by Seijun Suzuki is a great, offbeat Yakuza movie.
Naked Kiss and Shock Corridor by Sam Fuller are great low budget flicks.
Funeral Parade of Roses is a trippy look at Tokyo drag/gay/artsy folks in the late 60s. Has a lot of visual style that influenced Kubrick heavily on A Clockwork Orange.
French New Wave is full of brilliant movies - 400 Blows, early Godard (I <8 Vivre Sa Vie), Renais, Tati.
Sweet Smell of Success by Alexander McKendrick is really great.
Powell/Pressburger movies are visually stunning and interesting, varied stories - Life & Death of Colonel Blimp and Black Narcissus are good ones to try.
Kurosawa's Kagemusha.
Melville
Passolini
Phantom of the Paradise :)
And his Pistol Opera as a complementary piece : a 2001 movie about a female assassin filmed like a 60s trippy experimental theater piece.
Melville
Passolini
Phantom of the Paradise :)
And his Pistol Opera as a complementary piece : a 2001 movie about a female assassin filmed like a 60s trippy experimental theater piece.
Some will say that Citizen Kane is the greatest film by Orson Welles. Those people have not seen the Chimes at Midnight.
Loving the love and suggestions in here for 12 Angry Men. One of my all time favorites.
I'm directing a stage production of it (well, 12 Angry Jurors, which is the same but allowing for a mixed gender cast) for my local theatre, and I couldn't be more excited. The themes are (sadly) still so relevant today, the dialogue is crackling with tension, it builds perfectly, and demands the highest levels of acting ability. Such a good movie to have as a reference point.
I'm directing a stage production of it (well, 12 Angry Jurors, which is the same but allowing for a mixed gender cast) for my local theatre, and I couldn't be more excited. The themes are (sadly) still so relevant today, the dialogue is crackling with tension, it builds perfectly, and demands the highest levels of acting ability. Such a good movie to have as a reference point.
....or The Third Man.
Some will say that Citizen Kane is the greatest film by Orson Welles. Those people have not seen the Chimes at Midnight.
The Third Man is really freaking good. But Orson Welles only stars in it, it's actually directed by Carroll Reed.
It's a perfect movie, down to the final line. It's next to impossible to not leave that film head-over-heels in love with Shirley MacLaine.
Notorious (1946) - Staring Cary Grant and a Alfred Hitchcock movie.
Ninotchka (1939) - Staring Greta Carbo
Ninotchka (1939) - Staring Greta Carbo
my pre 1960s list (even though I've included 2 films released in 1960)
Casablanca- my absolute favourite older film. I consider it a better film that Citizen Kane.
Citizen Kane is still an excellent film, just Casablanca is better.
Bridge of the River Kwai- one of the few war epics that holds up well today.
North By Northwest is my all time favourite Hitchcock film
Psycho is also great.
The Time Machine
Shadow of a Doubt is a really interesting Hitchcock film about a stranger up to no good who is doubted only by a young girl whom no one believes.
The Day the Earth Stood Still is probably the first great SciFi film about aliens that isn't total cheese.
War of the Worlds is slightly cheesier but beautifully made.
The Third Man
I haven't seen it in 30 years but Goodbye Mr Chips (1939) will likely make you cry
Casablanca- my absolute favourite older film. I consider it a better film that Citizen Kane.
Citizen Kane is still an excellent film, just Casablanca is better.
Bridge of the River Kwai- one of the few war epics that holds up well today.
North By Northwest is my all time favourite Hitchcock film
Psycho is also great.
The Time Machine
Shadow of a Doubt is a really interesting Hitchcock film about a stranger up to no good who is doubted only by a young girl whom no one believes.
The Day the Earth Stood Still is probably the first great SciFi film about aliens that isn't total cheese.
War of the Worlds is slightly cheesier but beautifully made.
The Third Man
I haven't seen it in 30 years but Goodbye Mr Chips (1939) will likely make you cry
Believe me when I say Morocco doesn't look, feel, or in anyway resembles the movie Casablanca, by a long shot. Unless you live in a literal dictatorship, you'd be downgrading in all aspects by moving to Morocco. Except for food, I guess. The locals are great too outside the obvious tourist trappers.
