Classic/Non-Recent Movie Thread

[Doc Holliday]

One film I love is the 1973 version of "The Three Musketeers" with a great cast that includes Oliver Reed, Charlton Heston, Raquel Welch, Faye Dunaway, Richard Chamberlain, Frank Finlay, Michael York, Christopher Lee. It runs between almost a Mel Brooks comedy and deadly adventure in political intrgue. The actors made the film unaware that they were also making the sequel "The Four Musketeers", which it seems the director and producer failed to tell them, and they were only paid for one film having to fight to be paid for the second. I'm not sure if they ever were paid separately for the latter.

Of course I love historically based epics.

The storyline of "The Fall of the Roman Empire" 1964 with Sophia Loren, Stephen Boyd, Alec Guinness, James Mason, Christopher Plummer, Mel Ferrer, Omar Sharif is the basis of the much later "Gladiator" with much more emphasis on the decadence and intrigue of Roman politics than Gladiator with all of it's superman-like arena fights. I thought Christopher Plummer was excellent as the megalomaniac Emperor Commodus, outshining Joaquin Phoenix in the role.

"Lawrence of Arabia 1962" is definitely one of the best films ever made. it's bewildering how Peter O'Toole did not win Best Actor versus Gregory Peck in the excellent "To Kill A Mockingbird", though I like both.

I also loved the version of The Three Musketeers that you mentionned. I saw it only once, and later bought the DVD. I still haven't opened that DVD. The original version of The Three Musketeers that is my favorite is the one with Gene Kelly in the role of D'Artagnan, with Van Hefflin as Athos. The later version with Charlie Sheen and Kieffer Sutherland was also very well done.

I found "To Kill A Mockingbird" somewhat boring. I never really got the fascination with this movie. I've never really been a big Gregory Peck fan. However, i did like him very much in 'The Omen", "Roman Holiday" and "The Boys from Brazil", which i also consider to be classics.

As for "The Fall of the Roman Empire", i saw parts of it a few years ago....i had actually seen it when i was a kid, but didn't remember it much. What struck me about seeing it again was the fact that i realized (as you mentionned) that the storyline of the Oscar-winning movie "Gladiator" was nearly similar to that movie, with the same characters & all.

As for "Lawrence of Arabia", it remainds to this day one of my favorite classics. I'll admit that the movie is a bit long, but it had to be. The cinematography is breathtaking and Peter O'Toole is at his very best. Definitely one of David Lean's many masterpieces!!

 

[Doc Holliday]

Doctor Zhivago (1965)

This was possibly my favorite movie growing up. My parents had first bought the soundtrack's LP & it later played on tv. There was a time in the early 70's where it seemed that it played on tv every single year!

It stars Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Rod Steigher, Alec Guiness, Tom Courtnay & Geraldine Chaplin. Directed by the great David Lean, the movie is based on a novel written by Russian Boris Pasternak. The movie immediately created controversy when it was announced that Egyptian actor Omar Sharif was chosen to portray the role of the russian doctor/poet. We later learned that Julie Christie despised doing her love scenes with Sharif.

The movie is about the life of a Russian doctor/poet (Omar Sharif) who, although married, falls for a political activist's wife (Julie Christie) and experiences hardships during the Bolshevik Revolution.

The movie's musical score is absolutely great! Performed by the great Maurice Jarre, i attribute the movie's popularity as much to its musical score (Lara's Theme) than it's entire production, which was a considerable feat in itself. Without the great music, it's not the same movie.

In 2002, a remake starring Hans Matheson & Keira Knightley was shown on television & after viewing it on DVD, i concluded that it was as good as the original. Matheson as Zhivago was as believable as Sharif, and Knightley's performance surpassed Christie's. As i read the movie's reviews afterwards, i discovered that the movie was a better reflection of Pasternak's novel, which is why i found some parts of the storyline much different than the original.

So if you give me a choice, i'd chose the 2002 version over the 1965 version. But the older version is the true classic, and a good part of this is due to its great musical score, as i already mentionned. Take away the musical score from the original and transfer it to the 2002 version and i'd be willing to bet the majority of serious movie watchers would prefer the 2002 version also.

A couple of years ago, i purchased the 1965 version in blu-ray when it came out. I had read in its reviews that the cinematography looked absolutely brilliant in high definition. I've yet to watch it in blu-ray....maybe soon! lol

 

[EagerBeaver]

Doctor Zhivago

Back in 2005 a special 40th Anniversary DVD Special Edition of Doctor Zhivago was put out with a special forward on it that included narration by Omar Sharif. Sharif explained the background on how a lot of the scenes were filmed, and he provided a lot of interesting background information. It's a movie that is propelled by its soundtrack and its brilliant cinematography.

David Lean had an 8 year span in which he made Bridge Over The River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Doctor Zhivago (1965). I would argue that is the greatest 3 films made in any 8 year span by any one movie director in the history of film. Two of the movies won the Academy Award for best picture and Doctor Zhivago, the 3rd, is considered a classic. Although Lawrence of Arabia is a great film and consensus top 10 film of all time, my personal David Lean favorite would be Bridge Over the River Kwai. I have seen the movie probably 8 times and the last scene is still in my mind open to interpretation as to what Alec Guiness's precise intentions were, and I think that is exactly how David Lean wanted it to appear to the viewer. It also has a brilliant and memorable soundtrack and superior acting by everyone in that movie.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Bmy personal David Lean favorite would be Bridge Over the River Kwai. I have seen the movie probably 8 times and the last scene is still in my mind open to interpretation as to what Alec Guiness's precise intentions were, and I think that is exactly how David Lean wanted it to appear to the viewer. It also has a brilliant and memorable soundtrack and superior acting by everyone in that movie.

Great movie also! Brilliant performances by both Guiness & William Holden. I believe the ending in the film is quite simple: Guiness realized that what he had been doing all along had been wrong & detrimental to the British/Allies war effort, and couldn't live with himself for being so naive & blew the hole thing up.....as a WWII suicide bomber would have done. He blew it (and himself) up for the 'cause'.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Spoiler alert- Bridge On The River Kwai

The whole point of the Guiness character in the movie is to prove British superiority by the building of that bridge. And he succeeds in doing that, and in keeping his men motivated through what becomes an obsession for him. So HE WAS NOT WRONG. You did not get this movie.

You do not know if his final act is voluntary, or if he is dead before he falls on the detonator and still views the bridge as his baby. That is the beauty of the film. He is killed by Holden and company because he is sabotaging the efforts of the Allied commandos, who wish to blow up the bridge. In his last clearly voluntary movement before being shot with an RPG, Guiness is seen revealing and stripping up the very wires that have been used to sabotage and blow up the bridge. He then realizes what the allied plot was, after he is shot by them, after not realizing what was going on. His last words as he falls on the detonator are "oh my God, what have I done?" The fall is arguably not voluntary as opposed to a fortuitous death fall due to having been shot by the allies. So the ending is not clear. I have watched the scene 10 times and David Lean intended it to not be clear and for this to be the tragic ending of this heroic character. Is the bridge still his baby, or did he intend what he did? All that we know is that he realized his mistake in his final dying moment after being shot. We do not know if he intended the bridge to be blown up. It is the ultimate tragic irony of the film, which I think you did not get.

By the ways that climactic scene in Bridge Over the River Kwai is one of the greatest scenes in movie history for all of the reasons I mentioned.

 

[Doc Holliday]

You may be correct. I haven't this movie in 20 years, so i'd have to watch it again since i only remember half of it.

 

[Siocnarf]

Alexander Nevsky (1938) by Eisenstein. A historical epic about the invasion of Russia by the german Teutonic knight. Prince Nevsky leads the resistance and finally defeats the heavy knights by leading them over the frozen lake. The final battle was quite impressive for movies of the time.

 

[EagerBeaver]

I never saw M or Alexander Nevsky and have added both to my queue. Both are considered classics.

 

[Siocnarf]

Being There (1979) I saw part of that movie on TV a long time ago. I only vaguely remember it, but it made an impression and I’ve always been meaning to see it again.

A very simple man lived all his life as a gardener on some estate without seeing anything of the outside world. When his boss dies, he is left out alone into the world. He says the most innocent observations and comments, mostly talking about gardening, but everyone think he is so deep and insightful. Even the president seeks his advice and wisdom and he becomes a sensation.

 

[marc7]

Brutally honest filmed about desperation from poverty, and the choices people make


Best Regards

Mellieres as beautiful way of filming favelas even with the film constant gardener with ralph fienes. Not with pity but with tenderness ! Great Filmmaker!

 

[steed]

The Blues Brothers !!
John Belushi , great music and more car wrecks than you can count . They were on a mission from God - to save the Penguin !

 

[Doc Holliday]

The Blues Brothers !!

I loved that movie!!! Funny as hell, and great tunes! I even bought the soundtrack! :thumb:

 

[dolt]

Blues Brothers is definitely a classic. I think their record for destroying the most cars in a movie still stands today.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Pulp Fiction actually was released in 1994. It's probably the best film of the last 25 years. It won the Palm D'Or at Cannes and should have won the Academy Award as well. It remains Tarantino's masterpiece.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Un Homme Et Une Femme (1966)

A Man And A Woman (1966)

I saw this one tonight. This French language film by Claude Lelouche, starring Jean Loius Tringinant and Anouk Aimee, won the Palm D'Or at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival and the 1966 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. It is the story of a widower and a widow, both in their 30s, whose young children attend the same school. They meet as a result of their children, and fall in love, but their budding romance is complicated by lingering memories of their tragically deceased spouses, especially in the case of Anouk Aimee. The background of their characters, and the tragic deaths of their spouses, is told in flashbacks - very similar to the technique used in Midnight Cowboy to reveal the backstory on the main character Joe Buck. What is most impressive about the film are the visuals and cinematography, and the soundtrack which contains the memorable theme song. The movie is shot in both black and white and color.

Overall I would rate this a chick flick and a movie for film students and film buffs. I do not really consider it a classic. It's really more of a character study than a plot driven movie. I also had a few issues with my DVD. Netflix sent me a fucked up disc, plus on my version which is French language with English subtitles, not all of the French dialogue is translated, notably the scenes in which Anouk Aimee's deceased husband sings to her in French. The words are not subtitled in English. So I have no idea what words were being sung. There are also a few other untranslated scenes. Of course if you are French, it should not be a problem. If you are a unilingual Anglophone, it may be.

 

[Siocnarf]

Fargo (1996) is my favorite movie from the Coen Brothers (even more than the Big Lebowski). A crooked car dealer hires a pair of incompetent criminals to kidnap his wife. He offer them a new car and half of the ransom, which he tells them would be 80k$. But his plan is to tell his rich father in law that the kidnappers are asking for 1 million dollars. Everything goes to hell when the kidnappers get pulled over because their new car has no plate. After they kill the cop, they get tracked down by the pregnant sheriff Marge (Frances McDormant).

It’s a perfect balance of dark humor and real drama. The stark flat landscape is the perfect scenery for that story. The story is good but I love it mostly for the idiosyncratic characters. William Macy is perfect as a fraudulent car dealer with his shit-eating smile. Steve Buscemi plays the little loudmouth cowardly thug who’s paired with the cold-blooded killer who barely says 3 sentences in the whole movie. I find the policewoman Marge and her husband form a negative copy of that duo. The husband also says only a couple of words and has the same deceptively dull appearance as the killer, but instead of expressing himself with murder he paints ducks.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I guess two of my favorites that have not been mentioned yet are scarface (1983) and pulp fiction (1984). Might have to wait a few more years for them to be old enough yo be considered classics.

Scarface (1983) is definitely a classic, just like its 1932 predecessor which was based on current gangster Al Capone.

Pulp Fiction is also a classic because it created a new genre of movies. While it certainly is a masterpiece, Tarentino's 'Kill Bill" is also quite deserving of the honor. Personally, i enjoyed both movies tremendously, and i may have even enjoyed 'Kill Bill' slightly better.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Fargo (1996) is my favorite movie from the Coen Brothers.......

I saw the movie when it came out & found it so-so. Maybe if i'd watch it again i'd come out with a different opinion of it. What the movie did is put the Coen Brothers on the map as bonafide big-time Hollywood directors. But like what Pulp Fiction did, it also created a new genre of movies. Definitely a classic.

On another note, i watched "A Star is Born" last week. The original version, starring James Mason & Judy Garland. I couldn't help of noticing how similar it was to the recent Oscar winner "The Artist", which i found absolutely brilliant. The movie's plot is nearly identical to the other. What struck me is that i don't believe ever hearing anyone mention a comparison between the two movies, or that The Artist was basically a remake of A Star is Born.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Here are two of my all-time favorite classics, both starring the great Ronald Coleman:

A Tale of Two Cities (1935)

An elaborate adaptation of Dickens' classic tale of the French Revolution. Dissipated lawyer Sydney Carton (Coleman) defends emigre Charles Darnay from charges of spying against England. He becomes enamored of Darnay's fiancée, Lucie Manette (Elizabeth Allan), and agrees to help her save Darnay from the guillotine when he is captured by Revolutionaries in Paris. Character-actor Basil Rathbone (who played the best Sherlock Holmes of them all) plays a great villain in this movie.

There have been other movie versions made of this classic novel by Darwin. I remember one starring Dirk Bogarde. However, the true classic is the one with Ronald Coleman. A modern-day remake of this classic is long overdue. I think Russell Crowe or Hugh Jackman would be great in the part of Sydney Carton.

Random Harvest (1942)

An amnesiac World War I vet (Coleman) falls in love with a music hall star (Greer Garson), only to suffer an accident which restores his original memories but erases his post-War life.

I first saw this classic as a teenager soon after watching "A Tale of Two Cities" for the first time. I absolutely loved it! I was surprised (and still am) that even though a true classic, it wasn't more well-known by classic movie enthusiasts. Coleman gives a very strong performance in the lead role, and Garson shows why she was one of the most popular movie stars of her day. They have very good screen chemistry & their love story is quite believable. I bought the dvd a few years ago and have seen it twice more since. I loved every minute of it, every single time i've watched it.

Both movies are very highly recommended! :thumb:

 

[simonpaul]

THE Circus(1928) AND The Great Dictator(1940) a satire of Adoll Hitler with one of the greatest actor of all time Charlie Chaplin.