Whatever happened to the CLASSIC?

[Darin]

I mean the real American Classic.

Raiders of the Lost Ark
ET
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Back to the Future
Ghostbusters
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Jaws
T2
ETC.

I haven't seen anything lately that has quite the impact these movies do.

Is the American Classic dead?

[Monotreme]

Is the American Classic dead?

http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/qq162/geofflubin97/emospiderman.gif

Yes.

[The Heart Collector]

Those movies are "classic" if we define classic as "a marginally decent movie I enjoyed when I was a little boy and now I am nostalgic about".

[bigred760]

I mean the real American Classic.

Raiders of the Lost Ark
ET
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Back to the Future
Ghostbusters
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Jaws
T2
ETC.

I haven't seen anything lately that has quite the impact these movies do.

Is the American Classic dead?

You do realize movies/classics were made before 1975, right?


I think they still make movies like The Godfather, Citizen Kane, and Bonnie & Clyde.

[SAI]

http://ticklebooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/no-country-for-old-men.jpg
NO.

[bigred760]

http://ticklebooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/no-country-for-old-men.jpg
NO.

Exactly.

[BakeTheMooCow]

Those films have had time to make an impact (except "Honey I Shrunk the Kids", wtf??). I don't know what you're expecting out of new films.

[echo_bravo]

Welcome to the rant section Darin!

But Honey I Shrunk the Kids:confused:
I wouldnt put it in the same class as those other films you mentioned but thats just me.

Some films that I think will be considered classics down the road from this decade...

Lord of the Rings trilogy
No Country For Old Men
Requiem for a Dream
Memento
The Dark Knight

Just to name a few

[Abbie Normal]

TF2 is a classic. A classic example of a mad man gone CGI crazy. Just kidding.


If we are lucky we get one classic every few years and I think that holds true through out the 80's, 90's and 00's. Part of problem is with the world we live in today, a classic like say Die Hard gets its rep watered down because of their imitators. As soon as a classic is made every studio copies it, badly and in the name of money. Or the studios will release shitty sequels also watering down the original.

Classics do not come out every months. They are meant to be special events, like The Dark Knight (classic comic book hero movie).

[Darin]

One of the last "American Classics" I thought was Pirates of the Caribbean. Anything after that you might consider?

[floydtheater07]

Although I often feel that there are no more classics being made, I have to remind myself that movies need time to establish their place in history. Films previously mentioned, such as The Dark Knight and the LOTR trilogy are definitely bound to be classics in their respective genres. I'd say the same goes for The Departed, even though I think it's not Scorsese's best film.

Then, there are overlooked films that should be classics, like 25th Hour and Zodiac.

[drc5145]

What exactly makes a movie a "classic"? I usually think it takes a lot of years to pass by and see how a film is received before it can be deemed a classic. Not to mention there's a lot of different views on which ones are a classic or not. The last movies I can think of that fit into the realm of what Darin posted are The Lord of The Rings (All 3) and The Dark Knight. It likely gets pretty different after that for most fans. I'd definitely consider The Departed and No Country as classics but I'm pretty sure many others would not say the same.

[Potzer! 37]

Films from the last Decade that I would consider classics:

American Beauty
Fight Club
Almost Famous
The Aviator
The Departed
Gladiator
Match Point
The Sixth Sense
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Magnolia
The Matrix
Requiem for a Dream
Unbreakable
O Brother Where Art Thou
The Royal Tenenbaums
Ghost World
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
WALL-E
Finding Nemo
Catch Me if You Can
War of the Worlds
Munich
Brokeback Mountain
Goodnight and Good Luck
Lost in Translation
Pirates of the Carribean
Eastern Promises
Little Miss Sunshine
Pan's Labyrinth
Moon
Up


And those are just from scanning recent Oscar noms (and Lord knows how many great movies don't get oscar noms).

[Monotreme]

Okay, but you guys are going down a different path here. Sure, all these lists (especially Potzer's, very well compiled - and let's not forget There Will Be Blood) contain the modern classics, the quality movies that will be remembered years down the line - but the original poster wasn't asking why they don't make movies like Citizen Kane, 12 Angry Men, Sunset Blvd, The Godfather, Network or Raging Bull. He was asking about a certain, specific type of movie, the Hollywood blockbuster, which in its first couple of decades since its birth - 70's and 80's - brought us undeniable classics, from Jaws to Star Wars, Alien, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, ET, Ghostbusters, T2, and many more. And it seems these days that the counterparts to these movies, aside from the occasional Pirates of the Caribbean or The Dark Knight, are for the most part more like Attack of the Clones, Spider-Man 3, Revenge of the Fallen... and the point is that the movie magic, the wonder, the amazement of the first blockbusters is all but gone in their modern-day counterparts. And in that sense, I agree with the rant.

[RustyRazor]

http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/qq162/geofflubin97/emospiderman.gif

Yes.

I don't even need to say a word.
This post said it all.
Nice.
:D:D

[ilovemovies]

Films from the last Decade that I would consider classics:

American Beauty
Fight Club
Almost Famous
The Aviator
The Departed
Gladiator
Match Point
The Sixth Sense
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Magnolia
The Matrix
Requiem for a Dream
Unbreakable
O Brother Where Art Thou
The Royal Tenenbaums
Ghost World
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
WALL-E
Finding Nemo
Catch Me if You Can
War of the Worlds
Munich
Brokeback Mountain
Goodnight and Good Luck
Lost in Translation
Pirates of the Carribean
Eastern Promises
Little Miss Sunshine
Pan's Labyrinth
Moon
Up


And those are just from scanning recent Oscar noms (and Lord knows how many great movies don't get oscar noms).

A few those are kind of questionable choices don't you think. I mean I'd hardly call War of the Worlds a classic. Wrong Spielberg science fiction flick. Now Minority Report could possibly considered a classic.

And Pirates of the Caribbean? Really? I enjoyed it as much as the next person but a classic?

Ditto for Little Miss Sunshine and Eastern Promises. And as much I loved Catch Me If You Can, I don't think I would call it a classic.

There are other disagreements I have too but those are generally beloved movies by critics and audiences so I guess they might count even though I myself don't love them (Pan's Labyrinth, Good Night and Good Luck, Brokeback Mountain, Finding Nemo, Wall-E).

[Darin]

I think Monotreme gets it.

[Abbie Normal]

Films from the last Decade that I would consider classics:

American Beauty
Fight Club
Almost Famous
The Aviator
The Departed
Gladiator
Match Point
The Sixth Sense
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Magnolia
The Matrix
Requiem for a Dream
Unbreakable
O Brother Where Art Thou
The Royal Tenenbaums
Ghost World
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
WALL-E
Finding Nemo
Catch Me if You Can
War of the Worlds
Munich
Brokeback Mountain
Goodnight and Good Luck
Lost in Translation
Pirates of the Carribean
Eastern Promises
Little Miss Sunshine
Pan's Labyrinth
Moon
Up


And those are just from scanning recent Oscar noms (and Lord knows how many great movies don't get oscar noms).


I think you are confusing Classic with Cult Classic. Classics are movies that first must stand the test of time. By that definition, a movie needs to be out for at least 10 years before it can even be considered. I can't even pick one choice to be the worst choice to be a classic. There are like 10 worst choices here.


I don't mean to belittle your opinion of choices, but geez, that is probably the worst list I have ever seen.

[Monotreme]

I think Monotreme gets it.

Thanks. Had a feeling that was what you were talking about... and in that case, I totally agree with you, man!

[Cbenz]

I don’t think that the classic blockbuster has gone away; The Dark Knight, the original Matrix film, and the Lord of the Rings films were easily as good as any of the films listed here. I do think that they come around far less often now due to the merging of advertising and cinema.

A couple of things have changed since the golden era of the blockbuster. First, product placement has turned the blockbuster into a series of commercials. This commercial cinema spends just as much time trying to sell you things as it does telling its story. I hypothesize that this type of cinema emerged due to the fact that many studios could not finance the type of classic blockbusters that raked in the cash, so they made a partnership with the devil (advertisers) to compete in a cinematic marketplace that was yearning for special effects and big budget adventures. The trade-off was that the over-the-top product placement cheapened the films. There are actually more blockbusters now than ever before, only they don’t seem as special.

Secondly, the trajectory of film directors has changed drastically with the success of MTV. This path was once: Film School --> Independent Film(s) --> Blockbuster Success.

It is now comprised of two paths:
# 1: Film School --> Music Videos/Commercials --> Big Budget Feature (commercial cinema)
#2: Film School --> Independent Film(s) --> More Independent Films/Television --> Eventual Blockbuster

If films are now about selling products, who could be more suited to the job than commercial directors and music video directors? Hell, rap videos are commercials anyway! The eventual classics come only after the real directors have slaved away on no-budget Indies for years and years.

That is why it feels like there are no more blockbusters.

[The Heart Collector]

Okay, but you guys are going down a different path here. Sure, all these lists (especially Potzer's, very well compiled - and let's not forget There Will Be Blood) contain the modern classics, the quality movies that will be remembered years down the line - but the original poster wasn't asking why they don't make movies like Citizen Kane, 12 Angry Men, Sunset Blvd, The Godfather, Network or Raging Bull. He was asking about a certain, specific type of movie, the Hollywood blockbuster, which in its first couple of decades since its birth - 70's and 80's - brought us undeniable classics, from Jaws to Star Wars, Alien, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, ET, Ghostbusters, T2, and many more. And it seems these days that the counterparts to these movies, aside from the occasional Pirates of the Caribbean or The Dark Knight, are for the most part more like Attack of the Clones, Spider-Man 3, Revenge of the Fallen... and the point is that the movie magic, the wonder, the amazement of the first blockbusters is all but gone in their modern-day counterparts. And in that sense, I agree with the rant.

this is like if i mad ea thread asking why they don't made good heavy metal albums before, and then said "and by heavy metal, i mean doo-wop".

[Natty]

I know what you mean but I think there are movies nowadays that will have the impact and generate the excitement that those films did (The Dark Knight being the best example).

As for whether or not we can call a film classic yet, I think you can tell in some cases but I know what you mean when you say they need to 'stand the test of time'. However, the movies Potzer listed aren't cult classics, a cult classic is when a film is initially unsuccessful and goes on to be successful with fans years after it was released. Up is already successful.

I much prefer doo-wop to heavy metal.

[Potzer! 37]

I think you are confusing Classic with Cult Classic. Classics are movies that first must stand the test of time. By that definition, a movie needs to be out for at least 10 years before it can even be considered. I can't even pick one choice to be the worst choice to be a classic. There are like 10 worst choices here.


I don't mean to belittle your opinion of choices, but geez, that is probably the worst list I have ever seen.
I don't like you. Just an over all wrong tone to your posts...

In any case, of course these are not "classics" now, since they are so recent. But I think all of them will be remember down the line as great...I for one LOVED War of the Worlds. Thought is was a massive summer action movie with great effects, memorable scenes and characters and it was a big hit. Same on the Pirates movies...of course the list is subject to personal taste (which is why I left off Dark Knight and There Will Be Blood, since while I enjoyed them, I don't think they're "classic" in the timeless and re-watchability sense for me).

The blockbuster classic has gone by the way side because they've become more and more expensive to make...you can't take as many creative risks any more. There is also the whole notion of age...I imagine a lot of kids my age that aren't movie buffs have no interest in any big movie Pre-Jurassic Park...they just weren't there to enjoy them in theaters...I've had many discussions about how Lord of the Rings is better than Star Wars and The Matrix is better than Blade Runner (which wasn't a hit anyways).

I dunno...I think there are a lot of great movies coming out consistantly and decades from now, film fans students and movie fans alike will remember most (if not all) of the films I listed as being great and better than whatever the current movies happen to be.

[ilovemovies]

Well if I went with what I love then I'd say The Girl Next Door, The Majestic, Nurse Betty and Cinderella Man will all be classics. But as much as I may love them, I doubt that they will be considered classics.

The Dark Knight and There Will Be Blood are not 4 star movies to me (but I would give them 3.5 stars) but they undeniably will very much likely be considered classics in the future. I think you can pretty much count on that.

[Potzer! 37]

You're probably right...I just don't think I will consider them as such. Hell, my parents, who are both movie fans and not morons about it, have certain classic films they don't really like, films like Raging Bull and Clockwork Orange...will TWBB and TDK be on best of lists and retrospectives and such? Sure. But are they going to be classics in the "timeless" sense? I'm not so sure. TWBB could very easily be looked upon as the Citizen Kane of it's time (considered great by many and though of as over long, boring and over hyped by a lot more) and TDK, I think, is just a very flawed movie, not even the best superhero flick of 2008, let alone a classic in the genre.

[53rdand3rd]

How is Honey I Shrunk the Kids an American classic? I mean...really...

[CyclicNightmare]

Potzer and Abbie, keep it respectful.

[project 86]

films like

LOTR Trilogy
The Matrix
TDK

will be or are classics

[Heisenberg]

when movies like the Godfather and Die Hard first came out, nobody thought they would be certified classics. They were 'just another mob movie' or 'just another action movie'. Only time will tell what our generations classics will be.

I'd guess Fight Club, The Matrix, The Dark Knight, No Country For Old Men, There Will Be Blood, The Wrestler and Finding Nemo will all be remembered as classics with generations to come.

[Derek237]

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/Derek237/td070616.gif

[Galactica]

American Beauty
Fight Club
Almost Famous
The Aviator
The Departed
Gladiator
Match Point
The Sixth Sense



---------------------------------
boxset4less.com (http://www.boxset4less.com)

[rocknblues81]

Films from the last Decade that I would consider classics:

American Beauty-Maybe.Seems to have a lot of haters though.
Fight Club-See above
Almost Famous-Probably
The Aviator-N/A
The Departed-Yes
Gladiator-See American Beauty
Match Point-N/A
The Sixth Sense-Yes
The Talented Mr. Ripley-N/a
Magnolia-N/a
The Matrix-Yes
Requiem for a Dream-From what I hear
Unbreakable-No
O Brother Where Art Thou-Yes
The Royal Tenenbaums-N/A
Ghost World-Cult classic?
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-From what I hear
WALL-E-Yes
Finding Nemo-Yes
Catch Me if You Can-No
War of the Worlds-No
Munich-No idea
Brokeback Mountain-Yes
Goodnight and Good Luck-No Idea
Lost in Translation-Cult classic?
Pirates of the Carribean-No idea
Eastern Promises-NO
Little Miss Sunshine-Maybe
Pan's Labyrinth-No idea
Moon-No idea
Up-No idea


And those are just from scanning recent Oscar noms (and Lord knows how many great movies don't get oscar noms).

[rocknblues81]

I'll say:

-In The Bedroom
-Little Children
-The Dark Knight
-No Country for Old Men
-There Will Be Blood
-The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
-The Departed
-Wall-E
-Ratatouille
-A.I. Artificial Intelligence
-A History of Violence (It has a lot of haters, but it's on a lot of top lists for the decade)
-Memento
-Hotel Rwanda
-Shaun of the Dead
-Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
-Master and Commander:The Far Side of the World


Just to name some. There are a couple of these i haven't seen... But I'm going about peoples reaction and what I've read about them.

[labialover]

I almost look at this and the way a movie is considered a classic and the way an athlete is voted into a hall of fame the same way. Give the movie between 5-10 years to make a determination on if it's classic or not.

Does no one think Children of Men will be considered a classic? I haven't seen it on anyone's lists of possible classics.

[MightyCelestial]

I gotta be honest with you guys (& I truly believe that I've been part of this website long enuff to be truly honest with you guys...http://prince.org/i/s/icon_grouphug.gif),
I really enjoy watching the classics.