Your Favorite "Older" Movies

[Asita]

The new stuff always gets plenty of hype, rightly or wrongly, but every once in a while it's nice to look back and reminisce. As such, I thought it would be nice for us to look back at some old favorites. For the sake of this discussion, let's say that "older" means anything from before the 1990s. So Terminator (1984) would be fair game, but Terminator 2 (1991) would not. An arbitrary line, certainly, but we had to draw it somewhere.

At any rate, let's celebrate these films, whether because we think they still hold up, they're our guilty pleasures, or they're so bad that they become good again. Comedy, drama, action, horror, suspense...the only criteria are the cutoff date and your fondness for the the flicks. So tell me, Escapists, what are your favorite "older" movies, and why do they hold a place in your hearts?

 

[Barbas]

Basic Instinct.

Oh wait, you mean- oh...oh god, I see. In that case, The Great Dictator, because I thought it was a surprising and career-crowning film from someone who was used to making silent ones to the point that he was facing accusations of Luddism.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I'm a big fan of a certain kind of 70s American wave of "borderline" movies. M.A.S.H., Catch-22, Klute, Harold and Maude, The Long Goodbye, Three Days of the Condor, The Conversation, The Parallax View... all wonderfully challenging, thought-provoking, ultimately pessimistic movies. Movies that actually made a statement, that had a sense of urgency about them. They knew how to be entertaining and political at the same time. You don't see that filmmaking anymore.

I'm also a massive fan of pretty much anything graced by the hand of Werner Herzog, mainly Aguirre the Wrath of God.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Duck Soup, Night At the Opera, Night in Casablanca and Animal Crackers.
Those are some amazing 'older' movies, ya' damn kids.

 

[twistedmic]

Platoon (1984-1985) is my favorite older war movie, and Aliens and the original Robocop would be my favorite sci/fi movies. The 1970 version of Scrooge (the one with Albert Finney and Sir Alec Guinnes) is my all-time favorite Christmas movie hands down. I have watched it every December for over twenty years.

 

[KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime]

Duck Soup, Night At the Opera, Night in Casablanca and Animal Crackers.
Those are some amazing 'older' movies, ya' damn kids.

You left out Coconuts, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, and A Day at the Races which are more of the Marx Brother's better material. Everything after A Day at the Races isn't worth mentioning, including A Night in Casablanca, which is the best of their late MGM material. Most people say A Night at the Opera is their best, but personally I say Horse Feathers is better.

The 1970 version of Scrooge (the one with Albert Finney and Sir Alec Guinnes) is my all-time favorite Christmas movie hands down. I have watched it every December for over twenty years.

I have to say that that is hands down the best version of A Christmas Carol. Though you can't go wrong with the original 1947 version of Miracle on 34th Street, and It's a Wonderful Life is probably the goto Christmas movie.

OT: Off the top of my head for favorites there's; Mister Roberts, Operation Petticoat, The Shootist, the original True Grit, Blazing Saddles, To Be or Not to Be, the original The Producers, The Sound of Music, and Harvey.

I'd be remiss to not mention my favorite science fiction films: Forbidden Planet, Godzilla (1954)(English Version), Star Wars: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, Star Trek: II Wrath of Khan, III Search for Spock, IV The Voyage Home, and Alien.

 

[The Madman]

Oh jeez, you're allowing the 80's? Then tons and tons of movies, too many to easily list even. As far as I'm concerned around that time period was a golden age of movie making, it's not even fair to other movie era's. I mean that's got everything from Aliens to Die Hard and even Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Big Trouble in Little China. Again, not even fair to allow the 80's.

So to go with my 'oldest' favourite movie... hmmm.... Holiday Inn (1942) is probably my favourite traditional holiday movie. Then again that's almost cheating as it's got both Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire in it and I love those actors. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers is another classic combo that's almost guaranteed to ensure it's a movie I love.

The actors just have such charisma and the movies are just so simple and fun that even as someone not big into the whole 'song and dance' thing I absolute love a number of their movies, with Holiday Inn being my favourite of the lot for personal reasons.

 

[SweetShark]

12 Angry Men.
Movie around the 50' and it is a very good one. Even me I was surprised with it.
The majority of the movie take place inside a small room with 12 different people trying to decided if a child is indeed guilty for the murder of his father.
All of them from the very start plead guilty, except for one person. The whole movie is this one person to reason with the others for at least to discuss the case before make a final decision.
All the actors are perfect and unique from each other. And for that reason even if I watched only once, I still remember earch person and what kind of role they had.
Also the mystery around the case they try to discuss, is beatifuly explaiedn in great details by those frustrated men trying to find a solution. You don't see not a single location related with the case and you feel satisfied only with their words you trust. This is a great gift for a writter to accomplice this.
Also all the people, literally all the people have a role. There is not a single one that you would say "he wasn't neccessery for the film". All of them was.
A great movie which all must see for the people who love mystery and human interaction in general.

 

[Scarim Coral]

PRetty much Back to the Future for me and aswell the smash hits films back then like Predator, Terminator and Die Hard etc.

 

[Albino Boo]

Ok an old movie is one that I saw in the Cinema when it was released, cries into my whisky. Largely depends on my mood but I was a male war bride, Mr Blandings builds his dream house, anything with Terry Thomas Bedknobs and Broomsticks, the Jungle book are the ones that come time mind at the moment.

You left out Coconuts, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, and A Day at the Races which are more of the Marx Brother's better material. Everything after A Day at the Races isn't worth mentioning, including A Night in Casablanca, which is the best of their late MGM material. Most people say A Night at the Opera is their best, but personally I say Horse Feathers is better.

Night at the Opera contained the first film appearance of this seasonal classic

I'm a big fan of a certain kind of 70s American wave of "borderline" movies. M.A.S.H., Catch-22, Klute, Harold and Maude, The Long Goodbye, Three Days of the Condor, The Conversation, The Parallax View... all wonderfully challenging, thought-provoking, ultimately pessimistic movies. Movies that actually made a statement, that had a sense of urgency about them. They knew how to be entertaining and political at the same time. You don't see that filmmaking anymore.

I'm also a massive fan of pretty much anything graced by the hand of Werner Herzog, mainly Aguirre the Wrath of God.

The 70s was the golden age of the conspiracy thriller, one of the few times that hollywood made big budget films with a brain. My personal favorite in that style is the slightly earlier point blank

 

[javecantrell]

Some of the best out there (along with a few I wasn't particularly fond of).

http://www.afi.com/100years/movies10.aspx [http://www.afi.com/100years/movies10.aspx]

I'm especially fond of the old Bogart movies.

 

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

You left out Coconuts, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, and A Day at the Races which are more of the Marx Brother's better material. Everything after A Day at the Races isn't worth mentioning, including A Night in Casablanca, which is the best of their late MGM material. Most people say A Night at the Opera is their best, but personally I say Horse Feathers is better.

Toss up between Duck Soup and Monkey Business, in my humble opinion. They're the two that I don't get bored of.

Going to have to throw the original Pink Panther movies into the mix. I seriously would love it if physical comedy made a bit of a comeback.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Anything before 1990? Awesome, than I can say Batman is my favorite DC Comics movie! Other than Batman, I really like Vincent Price movies. Mostly anyway...I love Comedy of Terrors, Dr. Phibes and its sequel, House of Wax, those are some great movies. My favorites though are Mel Brooks movies. I'm talking things like High Anxiety, Silent Movie (watch this movie right damn now), Young Frankenstein...All are cinematic gold (except Silent Movie and Young Frankenstein which are black and white but you know what I mean)

12 Angry Men is my favorite drama by the way.

 

[Dizchu]

My favourite film of all time is Fantasia, from 1940. When I first watched it as a kid though it didn't seem out of place with films like The Black Cauldron, Fox and the Hound, etc. Like classical music, it's pretty timeless. Well, apart from a few... "awkward" parts.

 

[Queen Michael]

Star Wars. The sfx isn't as good as I remember it--I'm talking about some of the aliens in the Mos Eisley cantina--but on the whole it's still fantastic.

If we're talking black and white, it's Duck Soup.

 

[Xeros]

Duck Soup, Night At the Opera, Night in Casablanca and Animal Crackers.
Those are some amazing 'older' movies, ya' damn kids.

Came here to say Duck Soup. Was pleasantly surprised to see it's not only the 3rd response, a few others are familiar with its glory.

OT: Everything the Marx Brothers have done, aaand... Fuck it, let's throw Predator in there. Why not?

 

[TheVampwizimp_v1legacy]

Where's the Monty Python? Meaning of Life and Holy Grail are two of the best comedies ever. And Spaceballs.

My favorite pure horror movie is also 'old.' The Shining is the only movie I've watched as an adult that actually scared me.

 

[DrownedAmmet]

I love silent movies, and I love 70s movies, but honestly I can't think of a single good movie that came out between 1930 and 1970. Practically the dark ages for movies.

 

[KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime]

Where's the Monty Python? Meaning of Life and Holy Grail are two of the best comedies ever.

Don't come in here, mention Monty Python, and leave out their best movie: The Life of Brian. I'm pretty sure that's illegal in England.