Help me expand my knowledge of 'film classics'

[ReservoirAngel]

This one really is all in the title.

I've decided that I really need to start watching more old films. You know, the ones that everyone seems to regard as 'classics' because despite being a film student I have very few of these that I can claim I've seen.

Also I'm tired of not being able to understand classic film references when they're made on TV shows and things.

And because my knowledge and scope of this will always be smaller than the collective scope, I'm asking for assistance, in the form of people pointing out some films that are regarded as timeless classics for me to watch.

On the recommendation of my dad, I've just finished with my first ever watching of "Silence of the Lambs". I just thought I'd throw that in for reference in some way, I dunno how exactly.

 

[Colour Scientist]

Any of the 'Film Noir' movies are good, like Detour or the expressionist horror films like Nosferatu or The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari.

I would suggest Citizen Kane as it is a classic but I found it kind of boring.

For something more recent try The Godfather films.

 

[Marter]

A good starting point for some people is the <url=http://www.imdb.com/chart/top>IMDb Top 250 list. It covers a lot of older films that the majority of people liked.

 

[Ordinaryundone]

Nearly anything by Hitchcock is worth watching. They may seem cliched to a modern audience, but he INVENTED those cliches. Plus, the movies themselves are just fantastic. My personal favorite is North by Northwest.

Another good one is Blade Runner, if you have an interest in film noir. Its a bit more actiony than a typical entry in the genre, so its a bit easier to watch, but it doesn't lose any of the atmosphere.

That IMDb top 250 list is a pretty good place to start, but don't be afraid to get away from it. Remember that these were picked by popularity poll, more or less.

 

[ReservoirAngel]

A good starting point for some people is the <url=http://www.imdb.com/chart/top>IMDb Top 250 list. It covers a lot of older films that the majority of people liked.

Wow...looking at that list just drove home how few of them I've seen. Fuck, I got a lot of work to do...

 

[The Boy in the Hat]

I can hardly call this a true classic, since it's probably less than ten years old, but if you mean classic as in something that's stand-out, I recommend Belle-Ville Rendezvous (A.K.A The Triplets of Belleville).
It's a French film about a kidnapped cyclist and his grandmother. It also involves the French Mafia, aging music hall stars, an obese dog, and features some killer dark humour.
It's a lot better than it sounds.

 

[DanielDeFig]

My family is very much into movies, and my parent made sure to educate us well by presenting us with the classics. Here is a list off the top of my head:

The Godfather movies.
The original Star Wars trilogy.
The Indian Jones movies.
All James Bond movies before the Golden Eye reboot.
Romancing the Stone.
The Marx Brothers.
12 angry men.
Back to the Future movies.
Ghostbusters.
The Matrix.
Rain Man.
Monty Python movies.
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. (If u like it, look into other spaghetti westerns)
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Grease.
E.T.
Titanic.
Tron.
Most non-sequel Disney movies.
A Nightmare Before Christmas.
Arsenic and Old Ladies

I can think of a few other equally good movies that will probably become classics, but they are to recent to be yet.

 

[smearyllama]

The Road Warrior, all four Resident Evil movies, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Saving Private Ryan Jurassic Park, Dirty Harry, all four Alien movies, Terminator 1&2, Alone in the Dark, Night of the Living Dead, and Farcry.

PS: Don't forget Street Fighter: The Movie!

Disclamer: Smearllama's opinions on films are not to be trusted.

 

[ReservoirAngel]

God I'm just looking through these suggestions...for the life of me I don't even think I've E.T all the way through.

man do i suck

 

[Lukeje]

Plan 9 from Outer Space,
Manos: The Hands of Fate,
The Room.

My theory is that only by watching the worst films ever made can one truly appreciate the classics. Enjoy.

 

[ReservoirAngel]

Plan 9 from Outer Space,
Manos: The Hands of Fate,
The Room.

My theory is that only by watching the worst films ever made can one truly appreciate the classics. Enjoy.

I've already seen The Room. I had to see it in several sittings and while drinking heavily to numb the pain, but I can safely say I've seen it...and I'm probably worse off for the experience.

 

[TheRealGoochman]

if you want an awesome old school pirate movie (and one of my favorites) Disney made a movie called Kidnapped that is really good.
Also One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Patton, Life is Beautiful (recent I know but amazing), The Producers (the original film not the reboot)

 

[wolfister]

I have yet to see anyone say Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Casablanca, My Fair Lady, The Agony and the Ecstasy, Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago, Bridge on the River Quai, or the original Scarface (1938).

 

[Gahars]

Watch Stanley Kubrick films, especially the classics like A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Dr. Strangelove, etc.

 

[Coraxian]

I can hardly call this a true classic, since it's probably less than ten years old, but if you mean classic as in something that's stand-out, I recommend Belle-Ville Rendezvous (A.K.A The Triplets of Belleville).
It's a French film about a kidnapped cyclist and his grandmother. It also involves the French Mafia, aging music hall stars, an obese dog, and features some killer dark humour.
It's a lot better than it sounds.

Got that one on DVD Good movie, but I think we must both admit not a classic/referenced movie (yet). Athough I like you for posting it

I would recommend:
Evil Dead I, II and Army of Darkness.
Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs (although your name hints that you've already seen that one
the Blues Brothers
Cassablanca
Enter the Dragon
Big trouble in little China
the shawshank redemption
the seven samurai/the magnificent seven
the pink panther movies (the originals)

I tried to leave out classics mentioned earlier and to give a bit of a choise in genres.

Oh, before I forget: if you want to catch references, you have to see some Arny movies. Commando or Conan the Barbarian are the top Arny movies in my book .

Edit:

Some Uncle Buck and The Great Outdoors wouldn't hurt you either

 

[thedoclc]

Ok, see, depends on what you're calling classic. Hollywood for a while had a code that guaranteed American cinema was stifled until about the sixties, so a lot of the best movies before then were foreign. Start with Akira Kurosawa and Ingmar Bergman and wander from there. They're really easy to start getting into.

Seven Samurai may be Kurosawa's most accessible, since it's better known to most Americans as The Magnificent Seven. Ran and Throne of Blood are also easy to digest, being adaptations of King Lear and the Scottish play, respectively. For Bergman, start with The Seventh Seal.

 

[Kryzantine]

To be honest, it's less classic movies and more classic directors. You can watch almost anything by Bergman, Kurosawa, Coppola's 70s movies, Kubrick, Hitchcock, etc. and you would be in for a good ride. And then you jump an era, with guys like Ridley Scott, Scorcese, John Woo's Chinese-produced movies, even Christopher Nolan.

I'd probably start off with The Godfather 1 and 2, and then go back a bit. Hitchcock is difficult, especially because he was highly experimental. Bergman hit a very nice point with Wild Strawberries and The Seventh Seal, and those two movies are musts no matter what. Kurosawa just wins in general, though his films also can be a bit difficult to follow.

But John Woo's Chinese-produced movies are also classics. A Better Tomorrow is considered one of the greatest Chinese films ever for a reason. And Hard Boiled is an action romp that puts every single American action movie to tears in shame.

 

[Dr_Horrible]

anything Stanley Kubrick
evil dead movies
dead alive
pulp fiction
fight club
big trouble in little china
John Carpenter's The Thing
The shining
Casablanca
Mr. mith goes to washington
all monty Python
tron
everything disney (pre- michael eisner)
...and a lot more movies

EDIT: every single Mel Brooks movie