I know there are a ton of books on the subject but I am trying to expand my filmic knowledge and want to start with the classics. I appreciate the Metacritic Forum community's taste in film (though I still am trying to figure out Mark's opinion on "ESOTSM") so would any of you guys who really know their classics make an "Essential -insert any number-". Including off beat choices and obscure films would be really cool!!

Thanks,

Sam

I'll come back to make a list later, but E, I have lists of 1930s films at "What are Your Favorite Classics?" and lists of several classic comedies at "What are Your Favorite Comedies?" There's several James Stewart classics at my post at the top of page 2 at "Recommendations/Questions". I just want to let you know that I've seen this, and I'll come up with something, but it might take some work to list things which don't duplicate the other lists. Until then, check out those lists and re-check some other posts at Classics. Most of these films are on TCM often.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mark f,

Offbeat and obscure classics which I don't believe I've mentioned in my previously-discussed lists include:

"The Night of the Hunter"(1955) Robert Mitchum as the murderous "preacher" who wants the money is almost as memorable as Charles Laughton's artistic, visionary direction. This is where the idea for "love" and "hate" on Radio's two knuckles in "Do the Right Thing" comes from. Mitchum never bargained for Grandma Lillian Gish being any tougher than mom Shelley Winters.

"The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp"(1943) This humorous, exciting and poignant film is brilliantly directed by the non-pareil Michael Powell. The story stretchs from WW II, back to the Boer War and then forward through WW I and back to WW II again. It tells about how soldiers' attitudes toward war and their enemy have changed through the years, but at its heart, it's a celebration of love and friendship (plus you get three Deborah Kerrs!)

"The Trouble With Harry" (1955) I know I listed this at favorite comedy, but it's the best underseen Hitchcock film. The story of a dead body, how it died, and why it won't stay buried, is a combo of beautiful New England fall scenery, Bernard Herrmann's quirky score, extreme black comedy, farce and some pretty risque sexual dialogue, mostly mouthed by a never-better John Forsythe to Shirley MacLaine in her first film. Added Bonus: Beaver (Jerry Mathers) plays MacLaine's space cadet son, who's a damn fine trader.

"People Will Talk" (1951) Cary Grant plays Dr. Praetorius in this wise, witty and way-ahead-of-its-time comedy-drama, which is about medicine, love, unmarried pregnancy, classical music, the logistics of prosecuting and carrying-out the death penalty, and many other surprising subjects. The cast of Jeanne Crain, Walter Slezak, Maurice Evans, Hume Cronyn, Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch from "The Wizard of Oz"), and especially Finlay Currie all shine in one the great American humanist films.

"Meet Me in St. Louis"(1944) Charming, heartwarming family film about the World's Fair coming to turn-of-the-last-century St. Louis and one special family who has to deal with the serendipity of love involving the two oldest daughters, as well as celebrating Halloween and Christmas in far-different ways than we currently do. Judy Garland never sang any more beautifully and her rendition of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", sung to her little sis Margaret O'Brien is archetypal.

I realize this may not be what you had in mind, but I'll add "Sitting Pretty"(1948- very funny with a hilarious Clifton Webb as Renaissance man Mr. Belvedere) and "Champagne For Caesar"[1950- Ronald Colman keeps winning on a precursor to "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", and the sponsor, soap tycoon Vincent Price (insanely laugh-inducing), has to sabotage him before he goes broke.]

This is getting a little long, so I'll add some more later. You guys can add some of your own or discuss these.

I'll second 'Night of the Hunter' and add:

Johnny Guitar
Lost Weekend
Naked Kiss

I'm not sure what date you want to go up to. I'll stop at a decade ago with this international list, of critically admired, important and/or popular films- most (but not all of which i also recommend)- and a few personal favourites.

The Gold Rush (Chaplin, 1925)
Battleship Potemkin (Eisenstein, 1925)
The General (Keaton, 1926)
Metropolis (Lang, 1927)
Sunrise (Murnau, 1927)
The Passion of Joan of Arc (Dreyer, 1928)
City Lights (Chaplin, 1931)
King Kong (Cooper, Schoedsack, 1933)
L'Atalante (Vigo, 1934)
It Happened One Night (Capra, 1934)
Top Hat (Sandrich, 1935)
A Day in the Country (Renoir, 1936)
Grand Illusion (Renoir, 1937)
Bringing up Baby (Hawks, 1938)
Rules of the Game (Renoir, 1939)
Gone with the Wind (Fleming, 1939)
The Wizard of Oz (Fleming, 1939)
Story of the Late Chrysanthemums (Mizoguchi, 1939)
Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941)
The Maltese Falcon (Huston, 1941)
Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942)
Double Indemnity (Wilder, 1944)
Children of Paradise (Carné, 1945)
It's a Wonderful Life (Capra, 1946)
The Big Sleep (Hawks, 1946)
A Matter of Life and Death (Powell, Pressburger, 1946)
Letter from an Unknown Woman (Ophuls, 1948)
Bicycle Thieves (De Sica, 1948)
The Third Man (Reed, 1949)
Kind Hearts and Coronets (Hamer, 1949)
Late Spring (Ozu, 1949)
Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, 1950)
Rashomon (Kurosawa, 1950)
Singin in the Rain (Donen, Kelly, 1952)
Tokyo Story (Ozu, 1953)
Ugetsu Monogatari (Mizoguchi, 1953)
The Band Wagon (Minnelli, 1953)
Seven Samurai (Kurosawa, 1954)
Sansho the Bailiff (Mizoguchi, 1954)
Rear Window (Hitchcock, 1954)
Night of the Hunter (Laughton, 1955)
Apu trilogy (Ray, 1955-9)
The Searchers (Ford, 1956)
The Seventh Seal (Bergman, 1957)
Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958)
Touch of Evil (Welles, 1958)
Some Like it Hot (Wilder, 1959)
North by Northwest (Hitchcock, 1959)
Breathless (Godard, 1960)
L'Avventura (Antonioni, 1960)
Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960)
Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962)
8 1/2 (Fellini, 1963)
Dr Strangelove (Kubrick, 1964)
Persona (Bergman, 1966)
Andrei Rublev (Tarkovsky, 1966/9)
Bonnie and Clyde (Penn, 1967)
The Graduate (Nichols, 1967)
2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968)
Once Upon a Time in the West (Leone, 1968)
Aguirre Wrath of God (Herzog, 1972)
The Godfather 1+2 (Coppola, 1972,74)
Chinatown (Polanski, 1974)
Mirror (Tarkovsky, 1974)
Celine and Julie go Boating (Rivette, 1974)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Forman, 1975)
Jaws (Spielberg, 1975)
Taxi Driver (Scorsese, 1976)
Star Wars/The Empire Strikes Back (Lucas, Kershner, 1977,80)
Apocalypse Now (Coppola, 1979)
Manhattan (Allen, 1979)
Raging Bull (Scorsese, 1980)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (Spielberg, 1981)
Blade Runner (Scott, 1982)
Fanny and Alexander (Bergman, 1982)
Once Upon a Time in America (Leone, 1983)
Paris Texas (Wenders, 1984)
Brazil (Gilliam, 1985)
Blue Velvet (Lynch, 1986)
Dekalog (Kieslowski, 1988)
Cinema Paradiso (Tornatore, 1989)
Goodfellas (Scorsese, 1990)
Schindler's List (Spielberg, 1993)
Three Colours trilogy (Kieslowski, 1993-4)
Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1994)
Toy Story (Lasseter, 1995)

you could do worse than study the list of 1000 top films at "They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?" website, or the 2002 Sight and Sound poll, or the current poll of top 10's at "Senses of Cinema" site.

Try watching Apocalypse Now Redux (originally released in 1979 under the title "Apocalypse Now").

You just helped me at the other thread.

loved the recommendations, I haven't seen all the movies on the list but am going to catch up.

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