Classic Old Movies Thread

[J.D.]

Just a thought: nominate your favourite old movies and give a run down on them and why you like them.

Let's make 1980 the upper limit. Anything before that is eligible. When you nominate your movies, please provide the year it was made to ensure its eligibility and to save confusion in cases where there have been multiple versions.

Any takers?

[richo]

Well for pure shit yourself suspense I pick Alien(1979) as one of my all time faves . To this day i still have the odd nightmare about running for my life being chased by those epic beasties .

I was quite impressionable at 16 ...

Life of Brian and Madmax are also remembered fondly , does that make them classics? Ahh Life of Brian so many gems in one movie i liked it so much i used to listen to it on vinyl (no CDs anyway so i,m not being trendy) .

[Bauer]

The Guns of Navarone (1961)

My fave WW2 movie. Dont know why but for me it is just a classic simple "mission" style movie. None of the newer fancy (often gory) visuals of todays movies, just a plain and simple commando style mission.

I probably like it, and remember it, as it would also be the war movie I have seen the most over the years.

The Eagle has Landed (late 70's) would be a very close 2nd, possibly equal in my book.

What else:

The Poseidon Adventure. Saw that when I was quite young. Was quite gripping at the time. The remake didnt cut it for me.
Lawrence of Arabia
Dirty Harry. Do you feel lucky? lol
Mad Max (had to check date - 1979)
Last of the Knucklemen was another one I remember as being a great film back then. Not what you would call a classic I guess as it wouldnt hold up today but I remember enjoying that one.

The above (except probably Lawrence of A) probably dont fit the term "classic" that you are looking for JD but I guess they are my classics

What are yours?

[J.D.]

I don't mind what people want to nominate. It doesn't matter if I like them or not. That said, there are a couple in your list which I really like. Mad Max for example, was a game changer.

Most people who know me know my favourite movie is The Third Man (1949). This was written by Graham Greene and directed by Carol Reed. It has more atmosphere and quality acting than any move I know of, with some Oscar winning cinematography by Australian cameraman Robert Krasker.

Dr Strangelove (1964) is probably the best satire movie ever made. "Peace is Our Profession" was the real life motto of SAC and Kubrick made it look as stupid as it really was. George C. Scott lampooned its inventor, Curtis Le May.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) is just so absorbing and beautifully shot (Freddie Young). A David Lean masterpiece.

Our Man in Havana (1959) is another brilliant piece of satire and another Greene/Reed co-production. Not as funny as Strangelove but every bit as witty.

The 39 Steps (1935) is an early Hitchcock classic which he later remade as North By Northwest (1959). It's a quality flick on its own with Robert Donat and the incredibly alluring Madeleine Carroll (she would have been beautiful in any era).

White Heat (1949) is a hard-as-nails James Cagney/Steve Cochran gangster classic with one of the best endings ever. Virginia Mayo is hilarious as Cagney's top-shelf bogan moll.

I'll nominate a few more later.

Don't forget to put the years in boys.

[Hazelb]

The Magnificent Seven...1960 I believe...

There were a few sequels, not quote as good as the original. Dad loves westerns, we would quite often line up to watch em! As a consequence, i also quite enjoy the odd western...

Also liked the WIld Geese (Roger Moore) from 78, saw that at the princess theatre... :0)

[Johnny X]

Sorry, no links, can't be Arsed....

The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
Forbidden Planet (1956)
This Island Earth (1955)
12 Angry Men (1957)
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Vanishing Point (1971)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Life of Brian (1979)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Grand Prix (1966)

That's enough for now. All listed because I would gladly sit down and watch any of them at any moment and even though I know them pretty much off by heart, I'll never tire of watching them.

[markus]

Can't believe no one has listed Great Escape or Das Boot (Yeah, 1981 - I know).

[Pinger$]

Star Wars (1977) - Need I say more?
The Great Gatsby (1974) - Classroom classic.
Le Mans (1971) - I wanted to be Steve McQueen. The ticking clock scene, for the race start, still makes my heart race.
Bullitt (1968) - more cars!

[J.D.]

For all that it wasn't very well received at the time, the 1974 version of The Great Gatsby is a lot closer to the book than the Baz Luhrman offering.

I thought it was quite good.

[Crowella]

From the movies I've seen:

A Clockwork Orange
Mad Max
King Kong (the Original)
Star Wars.

More will come to my head when I get home and find them in my collection.

[J.D.]

Bonnie and Clyde (1967) was a more or less fictitious account of these two notorious outlaws of the 1930s. Influenced by Truffaud's "Breathless", it was one of the rebellious films of the 1960s which challenged the establishment (FBI, Hays Code) and introduced new levels of violence and style. Directed by Arthur Penn.

[Johnny X]

Forgot Easy Rider (1969) from my list.

[Cutter]

I stumbled on IMDb top 250 movie list.
I was amazed by how many I'd not seen.

http://www.imdb.com/chart/top

So off I go with "Se7en, Momento and Leon the professional", ready for a cold weekend.

[DexterPunk]

Fight club out ranks Star Wars? List is wrong!!


Sent from Han Solo using TK-421's phone.

[NeilPearson]

Fight club out ranks Star Wars? List is wrong!!


Sent from Han Solo using TK-421's phone.

Nah

[J.D.]

Pre 1980 please guys, otherwise we'll end up with a trainwreck.

[DexterPunk]

A post 80s movie can't be a classic?


Sent from Han Solo using TK-421's phone.

[J.D.]

Okay, duly altered to "Classic Old Movies Thread".

The idea was to see if anyone here was interested in older movies - sometimes generically referred to as "classics" - and I thought 1980 was a good datum point. The logic for me was that the majority of people on this forum were born around that time or after. I also saw it as a sort of point where special effects, product placement and other gimmicks started to be more prevalent, perhaps to the point where they start to dominate.

A post 80s movie can't be a classic?

Of course it can but it rather defeats the purpose of why I started this.

I didn't really want to go down the path of arguing which version of Terminator was better, if you get my drift. That sort of thing can be found nearly anywhere. How many people have seen movies from the 1930s, for example and if they like them, why?

I just wanted to try something different.

[NeilPearson]

I didn't really want to go down the path of arguing which version of Terminator was better.

First one for me.

[DexterPunk]

Haha shit stirrer! I was tempted to say second one


Sent from Han Solo using TK-421's phone.

[Nigel]

Anything by Sergio Leione
Anything by Hithcock

Star Wars
Rocky
Taxi Driver
The Sting
A Clockwork Orange
Dirty Harry
Double Indemnity
White Heat
Out of the Past
Don't Look Now
China town
In the Heat of the Night
The Good The Bad and The Ugly

And can I sneak in Bladerunner?

[Johnny X]

And can I sneak in Bladerunner?

No.. because I wanted to (along with Dune)

..but nice work with the Sergio Leone stuff

[J.D.]

Anything by Sergio Leione
Anything by Hithcock

Star Wars
Rocky
Taxi Driver
The Sting
A Clockwork Orange
Dirty Harry
Double Indemnity
White Heat
Out of the Past
Don't Look Now
China town
In the Heat of the Night
The Good The Bad and The Ugly

And can I sneak in Bladerunner?

Nice selection Nige. I'd have taken a bet on you having some interesting ones in your list. You too, Johnny.

Taxi Driver, A Clockwork Orange, Double Indemnity, White Heat...we're agreed on all of those. Don't Look Now is an amazing movie. An absolute head spinner. Bought it on Blu-ray as soon as it came out.

And yeah, I'll watch anything by Hitchcock too.

Keep 'em coming boys.

[Rots]

Kelly's Heroes (1970)

Some of its stars include Clint Eastwood & Donald Sutherland. Classic action/comedy movie about a bunch US troops sneaking into German lines to steal gold.

[richo]

And the first movie I saw at a cinema..

Great movie and Donald Sutherland is awesome in it.