speedracer5 Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 On a different thread on this board, it is being discussed what makes a film a classic. Are there tried and true criteria that a film must meet in order to be considered a classic? Is it subjective as to what one would consider a classic? One criteria that I brought up was the issue of rewatchability. In my opinion, if the film (regardless of its age) is one that you can watch over and over and never tire of it and it's as enjoyable the millionth time as it was the first time you saw it, then one could consider it a classic. Of course, a film that I can watch a zillion times might be one that another person watched once and hated it. It's all subjective. Anyway, the point of this thread: What films can you watch over and over again and never get sick of them? Here are mine: The Long, Long Trailer The Adventures of Robin Hood All About Eve Sunset Boulevard Sabrina Casablanca Clueless North By Northwest The Birdcage The Karate Kid Four's a Crowd Gilda Dirty Dancing Singin' in the Rain Picnic First Wives Club Cactus Flower Grumpy and Grumpier Old Men Smokey and the Bandit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arturo Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 I agree with all your choices except THE KARATE KID, the GRUMPY OLD MEN movies, SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT, and probably CLUELESS. With these, I just won't watch them if they are on, nor do I own them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arturo Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Among some I can watch over and over..... PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE BOMBSHELL PLATINUM BLONDE IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT THE THIN MAN movies MY MAN GODFREY LIBELED LADY THE ROAD TO GLORY PRISONER OF SHARK ISLAND The TOPPER movies The ASTAIRE/ROGERS movies LLOYDS OF LONDON LOVE IS NEWS CAF? METROPOLE SECOND HONEYMOON EASY LIVING (1937) THE AWFUL TRUTH NOTHING SACRED BRINGING UP BABY HOLIDAY IN OLD CHICAGO ALEXANDERS RAGTIME BAND SUEZ FOUR MEN AND A PRAYER JEZEBEL JESSE JAMES DAWN PATROL IDIOTS DELIGHT NINOTCHKA KIDNAPPED WUTHERING HEIGHTS THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES WIFE HUSBAND AND FRIEND DAYTIME WIFE THE WOMEN DODGE CITY STAGECOACH LOVE AFFAIR DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK JUAREZ THE ROARING TWENTIES THE RAINS CAME GONE WITH THE WIND THE STORY OF ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL These are just some for the 30s...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaytonf Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 You know, I was thinking of this as a thread topic the other day. Shows the results of procrastination. For me, whether a movie is great, or classic, or not does not have anything to do with my liking to watch it. There are some movies that I know aren't so great that I watch from time to time because, well, I just like 'em. Angel and the Badman, and HIde-out are two examples. A partial list includes: Trouble in Paradise The Red Shoes Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Funny Face The Lavender Hill Mob The Wages of Fear Treasure of the Sierra Madre I Know Where I'm Going! The Big House Wild Strawberries Light in the Piazza Intruder in the Dust Our Betters After Office Hours What Price Hollywood? Sporting Blood Top Hat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markfp2 Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 I think most of us have "secret pleasure" films that we love to watch even though others frown upon them. I know I do, but those will remain a secret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer5 Posted January 25, 2014 Author Share Posted January 25, 2014 I agree. I never said that all the films I love to watch over and over were "good" in the conventional sense. I could really embarrass myself by listing all the other ridiculous movies that I love watching. I love older films; but I also enjoy newer and new films as well. I just love movies. A lot of my more ridiculous movies like "Clueless" and "The Karate Kid" aren't movies that I'm claiming are esteemed or an amazing piece of cinema-- some I just love because they may bring back a memory or are nostalgia from childhood. Some films I love I know are dumb; but it doesn't take away from how much I enjoy watching them. Probably one of my biggest "guilty" pleasures (albeit, I don't feel much "guilt" from watching them) are probably the cheesy 80s and 90s teen movies (i.e. "Sixteen Candles," "Pretty in Pink," "Valley Girl," "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," "10 Things I Hate About You," "She's All That," and "Bring it On."). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimminginaqua Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Rear window The long long trailer The clock Best years of our lives Bachelor in paradise The egg and I ...and many more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyM108 Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 The only movies that wore me out from overwatching have been Casablanca and The Lady Eve, though it took about a dozen viewings in each case to do it. I still love them, but I now ration them to about once every 2 or 3 years. But I still can't get enough of these movies, which I've already seen at least 3 times and can't wait to see again: The Battle of Algiers (seen at least a dozen times) Reefer Madness (seen close to 100 times, though mostly for profit) Angi Vera (stuck on about 10 viewings because of lack of availability) Kapo The Killers Out of the Past Goodfellas A Bronx Tale Mean Streets It's a Wonderful Life Breaking Away Short Cuts Boyfriends and Girlfriends 42nd Street A Star Is Born (Garland version) Nightmare Alley Bombshell Libeled Lady Sons of the Desert The Fields segment in If I Had a Million The Sheep Has Five Legs All About Eve Baby Face Mildred Pierce Sudden Fear The Search The Asphalt Jungle Thieves' Highway Laura Bringing Up Baby So Big (Stanwyck version) Hard Times The Hard Way Gilda Bringing Up Baby Every Kurosawa / Mifune non-Samurai collaboration Every Jean Gabin movie TCM showed in August of 2012 The Crowd The Unholy Three (either sound or silent version) The Penalty (Chaney) Greed (the 4 hour version) Time Limit Pandora's Box M (Lorre version) And probably at least 100 more, not counting films I've only seen once or twice and want to see again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arturo Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 A few I left out from the 30s:: TROUBLE IN PARADISE RED.DUST RAIN DINNER AT.EIGHT ANNA KARENINA CHINA SEAS MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN CAMILLE DODSWORTH SAN FRANCISCO YOU CAN'T HAVE EVERYTHING STELLA DALLAS YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU BLUEBEARD'S EIGHTH WIFE MIDNIGHT THE WIZARD.OF OZ DARK VICTORY HOLLYWOOD CAVALCADE Edited by: Arturo on Jan 25, 2014 11:46 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorch Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 I limited my list to ten titles. I've seen some of these movies at least 50 times over the years. I own copies on VHS, Laser Disc, DVD and Blu Ray and I still tune in whenever one of them is being shown on TCM. I can recite whole chunks of dialog from each of them (much to the embarrassment of my kids). They are: Arsenic and Old Lace The Four Feathers A Night to Remember The Magnificent Seven The Great Escape The Wild Bunch The Searchers The Alamo (1960) Lawrence of Arabia The Adventures of Robin Hood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 OY! Arturo started listing them by DECADE! Yeah, there's some I can never get tired of seeing over and over. Many were already listed by others here, so I will try not to repeat. Some that I don't think made the lists: THE GODFATHER (just the first one, for some reason) CITIZEN KANE SHANE RIO BRAVO NORTH BY NORTHWEST OCEAN'S 11 (2001) THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO ( both 1934 and 2002) IMMORTAL BELOVED THE OUTLAW JOSIE WALES ON THE WATERFRONT TORA! TORA! TORA! PAYBACK THE GREEN MILE THAT THING YOU DO LILLIES OF THE FIELD THE FRENCH CONNECTION THE ODD COUPLE A FACE IN THE CROWD THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951) LITTLE BIG MAN THE DEFIANT ONES As I said, many others were already listed. Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Are films that "one never gets tired of" synonumous with one's favorite films? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 I don't think so. At least, not in my case. On my list was THE GODFATHER and in parenthesis I stated just the first one. Even though GODFATHER II is among my favorite movies, I, for some reason, can't watch it with the FREQUENCY of the first one. And I have many other "favorites" that I don't always feel like seeing as often as the ones I listed. If that makes any sense... Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyM108 Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Are films that "one never gets tired of" synonymous with one's favorite films? Not always. In a lot of cases the only reason I'm not yet tired of them is that I haven't seen them enough times to give them a true test. I had Casablanca on my Top 10 list for many years, but now after seeing it for about the 13th time it doesn't even make my top 50, and maybe not even my top 100. It's not that I think any less of it, but now doesn't grab me the way it did the first 10 or 12 times. Same with The Lady Eve, though that one's only slipped from my 2nd favorite comedy to about my 4th or 5th. It may be just that I've never been a big fan of Henry Fonda, even though in this case he's perfectly cast as Stanwyck's foil. As a general rule, if a "serious" movie can make it past a second viewing, it's likely to be one that I can watch at least once a year forever. OTOH an "entertainment" movie has an easier time making it through 3 or 4 viewings, but after that I get kind of wary of seeing it without a long lapse in time, for fear of the "Casablanca" effect. Of course I'll never, *ever* get tired of Reefer Madness. There are just too many great lines and scenes for it ever to wear thin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyM108 Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 I limited my list to ten titles. I've seen some of these movies at least 50 times over the years. That is truly amazing. The only movie I've watched more than a dozen times without getting tired of it is Reefer Madness, and that's probably because 99% of the time I was collecting a dollar from every college student I was showing it to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 If the question here is what movie can one see over and over again, my choice would be The Big Sleep based on the criteria of; "There are just too many great lines and scenes for it ever to wear thin". I view the movie as if I'm Bogie with the story line being secondary to the overall vibe of the film, the fine looking ladies in scene after scene (especially Martha Vickers), the style used in the action scenes all leading up to the hero getting even. Each time I see the movie on TCM I say to myself "I'm not really going to watch this again!', but I can't turn away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traceyk65 Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 This definitely the thread for guilty pleasures...hmmm, movies I would watch anytime? Not all are classics, I'm afraid. *The Lion in Winter* *Casablanca* *A Foreign Affair* *The Lost Boys* *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban* *To Have and Have Not* *The Letter* *The Last Starfighter* *Aliens* Indiana Jones 1 & 3 *The Princess Bride* *The Empire Strikes Back* *Aladdin* *Beauty and the Beast* *Raising Arizona* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer5 Posted January 25, 2014 Author Share Posted January 25, 2014 "Reefer Madness" is amazing. My friend had a copy of it and one of the taglines on the back of the DVD case was "Marijuana turns girls into brazen hussies!" Hilarious. I think the movie is on Netflix Instant Queue right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurelnhardy Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 There are sooo many that i'll never get tired of, but the ones that I can almost recite word for word because i've watch them so many times are: Psycho Psycho 2 Rear Window Vertigo Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein Abbott and Costello's Hold That Ghost!! Arsenic and Old Lace It Happened One Night Safety Last (silent) Murder On The Blackboard Penguin Pool Murder Ghost Breakers Laurel and Hardy (their entire collection) Whistling In Dixie Whistling In The Dark Having Wonderful Crime and soooo soooo many more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelissaW. Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Soooo many. All About Eve Casablanca Mr. Smith Goes to Washington The Quiet Man Notorious All This and Heaven Too Gaslight The Miracle of Morgan's Creek The Miracle Worker The Little Foxes Anastasia Roman Holiday North by Northwest Philadelphia Story Showboat (1951) The Thin Man Now Voyager etc. etc. etc. I do also have those "guilty pleasures" that I'm a little ashamed to own up to. My number one guilty pleasure is The Greatest Show on Earth. Heaven help me, I adore it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LonesomePolecat Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 There are lots of films that I have seen 700 times and could watch 700 more. These are the ones that come to mind that no matter what, if they're on, I can't help getting sucked in: Singin' in the Rain Seven Brides for Seven Brothers Rear Window 12 Angry Men Manchurian Candidate Ball of Fire Palm Beach Story The Apartment Some Like It Hot Philadelphia Story Adam's Rib ....and so many others I can't even list them all! ADDITIONAL: Ones I thought of since: Lili Remember the Night It Happened One Night Anatomy of a Murder Laura American in Paris White Christmas Court Jester Edited by: LonesomePolecat on Jan 26, 2014 4:18 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geralddddd Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 In no particular order: Commando Victor/Victoria To Have and To Have Not Casablanca Baby Face Pandora's Box Any Hitchcock 50's film (Including NBNW ) Any Bogart gangster film Any Fred and Ginger or Fred dancing film Cabaret Saturday Night Fever Any Dietrich club singer film Any Rat Pack film Off of the top of my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeHolman Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 *The Ten Commandments* *Ben Hur* *Shane* *The Searchers* *The Hanging Tree* *Patton* *The Sand Pebbles* *Gone With The Wind* Jake in the Heartland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo2 Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 DR. STRANGELOVE...'cause somehow I never seem to tire of going through my own personal survival kit and checking off its contents as Slim tattles off that list of his! (...anybody else with me here???) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arturo Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Jumping.ahead decades, last.night I watched LA CONFIDENTIAL.for.the umpteenth time. I always find this movie so compelling; I guess this would fall under guilty pleasure, as I overlook the anachronisms, usually offputting to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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