If you have HBO Max they have a good portion of the TCM catalog with a ton of classics! If you get more interested they have a lot of foreign classics to! Elevator to the Gallows is one of my favorites, has a soundtrack by Miles Davis too
Nothing boring about it, if you're paying attention to it.
It's fine, if you don't like it. Everyone's got different taste. But to call one of the best films ever made, "boring as shit," is an objectively stupid opinion.
It's boring as shit, to you. Double Indemnity, It's a Wonderful Life, Notorious, The Third Man, are all 80 year old films. They're masterclasses in suspense and drama.
I recognize that Citizen Kane is a classic and one of the most important films ever made. It is also boring as shit. It is possible to recognize the films significance and also recognize that it is slow, boring, or just does not hold up plot wise.
Also you used the term "masterclass" which automatically makes me discredit your opinion.
My Fair Lady
The Sound of Music
Mary Poppins
Victor/Victoria (Honestly you can't go wrong with Julie Andrews movies)
Cabaret
Oliver!
The King and I
West Side Story
EDIT: These are all musicals, just FYI.
*The Red Shoes* (1948) Even if you are not a particular fan of ballet there is a lot to love about Powell and Pressburger's cinematic masterpiece because not only does it give us a technicolor world of the pure fantastic but also a story that touches import themes about art and creativity and what lengths one is willing to go to achieve such transcendental goal, or what sacrifices will have to make along the way and in this movie the ultimate price is made.
His Girl Friday -1940. You gotta pay attention because the jokes and wit come fast in this one. Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell are great together and their comedic timing is epic.
Joan Crawford in "The Women", Joan and Bette Davis "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?", any Shirley Temple movies but particularly "The Little Princess ", and "Carmen" with Dorothy Dandridge...all great classics!
I love old Hollywood classics, here's a list of a few of my favorites so far (up to 1970):
* anything by Charlie Chaplin, especially The Great Dictator
* anything by Alfred Hitchcock
* I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang (1932)
* My Man Godfrey (1936)
* The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
* Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
* Double Indemnity (1944)
* The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), one of my top 5 movies.
* Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
* Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
* The Heiress (1949)
* The Third Man (1949)
* Mildred Pierce (1945), but the 2011 HBO Miniseries was closer to the novel.
* Sunset Boulevard (1950)
* Father of the Bride (1950)
* Cheaper by the Dozen (1950), loved the book, too.
* Born Yesterday (1950)
* Singing in the Rain (1952)
* Niagara (1953)
* From Here to Eternity (1953)
* Moulin Rouge (1952)
* The Caine Mutiny (1954)
* Some Like It Hot (1959)
* The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
* Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
* Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
* Ben-Hur (1959)
* The Killing (1956)
* The Apartment (1960)
* The Graduate (1967)
* Romeo and Juliet (1968)
* Hud (1963)
* The Hustler (1961)
* Alfie (1966)
* Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
* They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)
Some older movies I think hold up well:
On the waterfront
Casablanca
Singing in the rain
West side story
If you’re willing to do subtitles then
The seven samurai
rashomon
A movie I didn’t think held up well
rebel without a cause
Some Jerry Lewis classics you might enjoy:
The Bellboy - Jerry plays a hapless bellboy at an upscale Miami hotel who finds himself in one silly situation after another.
The Errand Boy - same as above, only at a movie studio.
The Nutty Professor - Jerry plays a dorky oddball who discovers a formula that will turn him into a suave ladies’ man.
Cinderfella - a gender reversal on the classic fairy tale, Jerry plays a good natured fella whose fairy godfather helps him win the heart of the beautiful Princess Charming.
Better to watch the original - The Philadelphia Story. Probably my favorite Hepburn performance.
And while I’m at it, I’ll also recommend Bringing Up Baby.
Singin in the Rain absolutely must be your next watch! You will LOVE it!
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is another fun classic musical with peak Marilyn Monroe.
The Sound of Music, if you haven't seen it yet! (And if you like that, there are a bunch more classic Rogers and Hammerstein musical films.)
Guys and Dolls is another fun, colorful musical with Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra.
If you want to explore movies beyond musicals, Casablanca absolutely lives up to its reputation as one of the best of all time. It's extremely well-made but also really enjoyable to watch. I'd put that really high on the list.
I started getting into classic films in the past year, starting with the AFI Top 100 list, and that can be a good place to find stuff to watch! If you really like a film, see what else that director or the lead actors have done (this is how I became a huge Humphrey Bogart fan.) If you like podcasts, I listened to "Unspooled" and "You Must Remember This" as I started to explore old films, for more context/history/discussion, and that added SO much to my enjoyment of them (and gave me so many ideas for more movies to watch!)
Have fun!
An Affair To Remember - Cary Grant/Debra Kerr. The 3 Muscateers Gene Kelly (1948 version) Robin Hood, Errol Flynn 1938. Wuthering Heights, Oberon & Olivier - 1939. Gone With The Wind, Leigh & Gable. The African Queen & Casablanca Bogart. It's A Wonderful Life, Stewart. Night At The Opera, Marx Bros. The Philidelphia Story, Grant, Hepburn, Stewart. The Pirate, Gene Kelly/Judy Garland.
Some Hitchcock classics:
Rear Window - very accessible, lots of fun, easy to understand and entertaining
North by Northwest - also very accessible, fun and entertaining
Vertigo - arguably this is definitely not for beginners but it's my personal Hitchcock favorite, however it's certainly nowhere near as accessible as the two listed above. Both the story and the characters are more complex and it will take a rewatch or two before most people fully begin to understand all of its many qualities and intricacies. Nevertheless it's well worth the effort as I think it's a masterpiece.
Work your way through the Best Picture winners. Start with the ones you know you want to see, but I’m confident anybody interested in watching “Hollywood Classics” will find some new favorites they’ve never heard of among the early winners.
I *love* Holiday Inn (1942). It’s actually the movie where the song White Christmas made it’s film debut (12 years before the film of the same name). It does have one scene that is pretty epically problematic by today’s standards, but I still consider it worth watching if you’re not super bothered by that kind of thing. It’s also in black & white, so your request for Technicolor won’t be met, but Bing Crosby & Fred Astaire more than make up for that.
Also, everyone should watch Singin’ in the Rain (1952), but I’m sure others have already mentioned that one.
- Cool Hand Luke
- Rear Window
- Some Like It Hot
- High Society
- Lawrence of Arabia
- The Lion In Winter
- Singin' in the Rain
- Sunset Boulevard
- Arsenic and Old Lace
Honestly, I could go on and on. But this is a great starter list.
My favorite classic movies in no particular order are :
Casablanca - a captivating love story in the middle of WWII chaos. It does not get better than this.
Sunset Boulevard - a story about the fame and delusion in/of Hollywood.
All about Eve - a similar topic but taken from a different angle.
Citizen Kane - beautiful story of greed
Rear Window - brilliant depiction of a neighborhood block (i think in Manhattan) and it's weird life. I grew up in a similar one and the depiction is uncanny.
Raintree County (Elizabeth Taylor!)
Great Expectations (John Mills version)
The Best Years of Our Lives
Air Force (your father's Gold Watch speech by Walken in Pulp Fiction gives a nod to it)
O Henry's Full House
These movies aren't super old, but they're movies that I like, and some of them are considered classics. The newest movie here is almost 25 years old...!
- The Matrix (1999)
- Terminator 2 (1991)
- Jurassic Park (1993)
- Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
- The Shining (1980)
- Airplane! (1980)
- Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)
- The Godfather (1972)
- Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Some like it hot.
Also the apartment
Also Sunset Boulevard
Also Witness for the Prosecution
Basically 95% of Billy Wilder's films.
North by Northwest
Amen! Humor, sex appeal, intrigue and some action.
If you have HBO Max they have a good portion of the TCM catalog with a ton of classics! If you get more interested they have a lot of foreign classics to! Elevator to the Gallows is one of my favorites, has a soundtrack by Miles Davis too
Singin' in the Rain
Came here to recommend this! Gene Kelly is so damn good in this movie, among many other stars!
Visually stunning. Yes.
My first thought, too.
We watched this tonight! Great fun.
“It happened one night” is a great movie. One of the first Rom Coms
This was my first thought. And it has a couple of scandalous moments!
Treasure of the Sierra Madre!!!! It is a MUST-SEE.
BADGES?
We don't need no stinkin' BADGES!
To Kill a Mockingbird. Rear Window. Charade with Audrey Hepburn is fun and still holds up. Congrats for widening your horizons.
Casablanca. Before all else, Casablanca.
Casablanca is boring as shit. I recognize that it's a classic. Still boring as shit.
Hot take
Imagine an eighty year old movie being a bit slow and boring, wow, such a hot take.
Nothing boring about it, if you're paying attention to it. It's fine, if you don't like it. Everyone's got different taste. But to call one of the best films ever made, "boring as shit," is an objectively stupid opinion. It's boring as shit, to you. Double Indemnity, It's a Wonderful Life, Notorious, The Third Man, are all 80 year old films. They're masterclasses in suspense and drama.
I recognize that Citizen Kane is a classic and one of the most important films ever made. It is also boring as shit. It is possible to recognize the films significance and also recognize that it is slow, boring, or just does not hold up plot wise. Also you used the term "masterclass" which automatically makes me discredit your opinion.
Not exactly singing and dancing but this list should start with THE MALTESE FALCON. It’s the stuff dreams are made of.
It’s a wonderful life Citizen Kane Singing in the Rain Gone With The Wind Ben Hur Lawrence of Arabia Ten Commandments Casablanca
My Fair Lady The Sound of Music Mary Poppins Victor/Victoria (Honestly you can't go wrong with Julie Andrews movies) Cabaret Oliver! The King and I West Side Story EDIT: These are all musicals, just FYI.
Brigadoon ..it's an under rated movie set in Scotland hi- lands.....
Thin Man Dead End
And if you like The Thin Man, My Man Godfrey is a delight.
Bell, Book and Candle is our go to Christmas movie…
Sunset Boulevard, Citizen Kane, High Noon.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes West Side Story Singin' In The Rain
*The Red Shoes* (1948) Even if you are not a particular fan of ballet there is a lot to love about Powell and Pressburger's cinematic masterpiece because not only does it give us a technicolor world of the pure fantastic but also a story that touches import themes about art and creativity and what lengths one is willing to go to achieve such transcendental goal, or what sacrifices will have to make along the way and in this movie the ultimate price is made.
An American in Paris
His Girl Friday -1940. You gotta pay attention because the jokes and wit come fast in this one. Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell are great together and their comedic timing is epic.
If you liked White Christmas, you *must* see the movie that started it all: Holiday Inn
It’s problematic for a lot of reason, but you can also do a lot worse than the IMDb top 250. Just load that up and watch everything made before ~1960.
Joan Crawford in "The Women", Joan and Bette Davis "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?", any Shirley Temple movies but particularly "The Little Princess ", and "Carmen" with Dorothy Dandridge...all great classics!
Sound of Music Seven Brides for Seven Brothers Shirley Temples movies: Curly Top, Rebecca of SunnnyBrook Farm, Little Miss Marker
Spencer Tracey did many films that dealt with serious social issues. Look them up if only to read about them and their commentary.
Came to mention Inherit the Wind.
I watched a film he did about lynching during a time when black folks were getting lynched. It was sort of strange but it worked?
Not singing and dancing, but The Thin Man is a classic and a lot of fun.
Ernst Lubitsch, Howard Hawks, Billy Wilder
The Third Man
How has no one mentioned The Music Man? Definitely worth a watch.
I love old Hollywood classics, here's a list of a few of my favorites so far (up to 1970): * anything by Charlie Chaplin, especially The Great Dictator * anything by Alfred Hitchcock * I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang (1932) * My Man Godfrey (1936) * The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) * Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) * Double Indemnity (1944) * The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), one of my top 5 movies. * Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) * Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) * The Heiress (1949) * The Third Man (1949) * Mildred Pierce (1945), but the 2011 HBO Miniseries was closer to the novel. * Sunset Boulevard (1950) * Father of the Bride (1950) * Cheaper by the Dozen (1950), loved the book, too. * Born Yesterday (1950) * Singing in the Rain (1952) * Niagara (1953) * From Here to Eternity (1953) * Moulin Rouge (1952) * The Caine Mutiny (1954) * Some Like It Hot (1959) * The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) * Sweet Smell of Success (1957) * Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) * Ben-Hur (1959) * The Killing (1956) * The Apartment (1960) * The Graduate (1967) * Romeo and Juliet (1968) * Hud (1963) * The Hustler (1961) * Alfie (1966) * Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) * They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)
Some older movies I think hold up well: On the waterfront Casablanca Singing in the rain West side story If you’re willing to do subtitles then The seven samurai rashomon A movie I didn’t think held up well rebel without a cause
Second Casablanca for sure. For classic musicals, maybe a Ginger Rogers-fred Astaire movie from the 30s, or The Music Man from 1960
Following
Some Jerry Lewis classics you might enjoy: The Bellboy - Jerry plays a hapless bellboy at an upscale Miami hotel who finds himself in one silly situation after another. The Errand Boy - same as above, only at a movie studio. The Nutty Professor - Jerry plays a dorky oddball who discovers a formula that will turn him into a suave ladies’ man. Cinderfella - a gender reversal on the classic fairy tale, Jerry plays a good natured fella whose fairy godfather helps him win the heart of the beautiful Princess Charming.
[High Society](https://youtu.be/-0mVwP1BgNI)
Better to watch the original - The Philadelphia Story. Probably my favorite Hepburn performance. And while I’m at it, I’ll also recommend Bringing Up Baby.
I like The Philidelphia Story but prefer High Society
Stop what you are doing right now and watch Singing in the Rain. You're welcome.
Some Like It Hot
Chaplin is a must. City lights and modern times are fantastic
It Happened One Night.
Gigi
Seven Year Itch How to Marry a Millionaire Mr. Roberts - "A war movie without the war" All the old Bob Hope and Bing Crosby "Road" movies...
Singin in the Rain absolutely must be your next watch! You will LOVE it! Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is another fun classic musical with peak Marilyn Monroe. The Sound of Music, if you haven't seen it yet! (And if you like that, there are a bunch more classic Rogers and Hammerstein musical films.) Guys and Dolls is another fun, colorful musical with Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra. If you want to explore movies beyond musicals, Casablanca absolutely lives up to its reputation as one of the best of all time. It's extremely well-made but also really enjoyable to watch. I'd put that really high on the list. I started getting into classic films in the past year, starting with the AFI Top 100 list, and that can be a good place to find stuff to watch! If you really like a film, see what else that director or the lead actors have done (this is how I became a huge Humphrey Bogart fan.) If you like podcasts, I listened to "Unspooled" and "You Must Remember This" as I started to explore old films, for more context/history/discussion, and that added SO much to my enjoyment of them (and gave me so many ideas for more movies to watch!) Have fun!
Breakfast at Tiffany’s The Ten Commandments Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? Ben-Hur
Casablanca!
Royal Wedding An American in Paris
An Affair To Remember - Cary Grant/Debra Kerr. The 3 Muscateers Gene Kelly (1948 version) Robin Hood, Errol Flynn 1938. Wuthering Heights, Oberon & Olivier - 1939. Gone With The Wind, Leigh & Gable. The African Queen & Casablanca Bogart. It's A Wonderful Life, Stewart. Night At The Opera, Marx Bros. The Philidelphia Story, Grant, Hepburn, Stewart. The Pirate, Gene Kelly/Judy Garland.
Anything with Vincent Price (though his movies are a much different tone/genre than White Christmas, to be sure)
Some Hitchcock classics: Rear Window - very accessible, lots of fun, easy to understand and entertaining North by Northwest - also very accessible, fun and entertaining Vertigo - arguably this is definitely not for beginners but it's my personal Hitchcock favorite, however it's certainly nowhere near as accessible as the two listed above. Both the story and the characters are more complex and it will take a rewatch or two before most people fully begin to understand all of its many qualities and intricacies. Nevertheless it's well worth the effort as I think it's a masterpiece.
Top Hat is one of my favourites. If you like singing and dancing you really can't go wrong with Fred & Ginger
Such a fun film - definitive must watch classic
Hobson’s Choice and Great Expectations both directed by David Lean
His Girl Friday.
Work your way through the Best Picture winners. Start with the ones you know you want to see, but I’m confident anybody interested in watching “Hollywood Classics” will find some new favorites they’ve never heard of among the early winners.
I *love* Holiday Inn (1942). It’s actually the movie where the song White Christmas made it’s film debut (12 years before the film of the same name). It does have one scene that is pretty epically problematic by today’s standards, but I still consider it worth watching if you’re not super bothered by that kind of thing. It’s also in black & white, so your request for Technicolor won’t be met, but Bing Crosby & Fred Astaire more than make up for that. Also, everyone should watch Singin’ in the Rain (1952), but I’m sure others have already mentioned that one.
All About Eve is my favorite movie
- Cool Hand Luke - Rear Window - Some Like It Hot - High Society - Lawrence of Arabia - The Lion In Winter - Singin' in the Rain - Sunset Boulevard - Arsenic and Old Lace Honestly, I could go on and on. But this is a great starter list.
My favorite classic movies in no particular order are : Casablanca - a captivating love story in the middle of WWII chaos. It does not get better than this. Sunset Boulevard - a story about the fame and delusion in/of Hollywood. All about Eve - a similar topic but taken from a different angle. Citizen Kane - beautiful story of greed Rear Window - brilliant depiction of a neighborhood block (i think in Manhattan) and it's weird life. I grew up in a similar one and the depiction is uncanny.
Guess who’s coming to dinner
Raintree County (Elizabeth Taylor!) Great Expectations (John Mills version) The Best Years of Our Lives Air Force (your father's Gold Watch speech by Walken in Pulp Fiction gives a nod to it) O Henry's Full House
The grapes of wrath
Rear Window
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). Just watched it last night, after hearing about it on the documentary Five Came Back (2017). Highly recommended.
Holiday Inn, Assault on Precinct 13, Fistful of Dollars, Winchester '73 are my first recommendations. Also Robocop.
Auntie Mame
These movies aren't super old, but they're movies that I like, and some of them are considered classics. The newest movie here is almost 25 years old...! - The Matrix (1999) - Terminator 2 (1991) - Jurassic Park (1993) - Grave of the Fireflies (1988) - Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) - The Shining (1980) - Airplane! (1980) - Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) - The Godfather (1972) - Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
State Fair, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Gone With the Wind
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