Favorite Old Movies

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I like old movies...Got several favorites: "Philadelphia: Tom Hanks, Splendor in the Grass with Natalie Wood, I loved all of the "Brat Pack" movies as well from the eighties:The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles & Pretty in Pink" 8-]]
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Damn. Has time really went by so fast that the 80s and 90s are considered “old”? Oh no.

I was expecting this thread to be about movies pre 70s at least or maybe 50s and down...

Of what I consider old movies I really love Casablanca and To Kill a Mockingbird.



My favorite old movies are Battleship Potemkin and Metropolis
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I'm not sure exactly which date constitutes "old", but I'm sure these qualify. They're classic silents and so good that they don't need sound.

Nosferatu - Remade with sound. I don't know why anybody would remake it. I love the back story that the mysterious Max Schrek always appeared on the set in costume and in character, trying to create the illusion that he WAS the vampire.
The Phantom of the Opera - Remade 3 times other than the Broadway production, but Lon Chaney really aced this role.
Metropolis - THE classic, big concept, sci-fi story.



I like old movies...Got several favorites: "Philadelphia: Tom Hanks, Splendor in the Grass with Natalie Wood, I loved all of the "Brat Pack" movies as well from the eighties:The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles & Pretty in Pink" 8-]]
I'm older than most of those movies you mentioned...so I got to ask, what does 8-]] mean? I see you doing that in a number of post, I've not seen that before. Must be some text language thing?



Damn. Has time really went by so fast that the 80s and 90s are considered “old”? Oh no.

I was expecting this thread to be about movies pre 70s at least or maybe 50s and down...
Same!



I was talking about all old movies..The eighties was like 30+ years ago and I was a kid in the eighties, so movies from the eighties do seem old to me....But, I do like lots of old movies from 50', 60's, etc.--I loved "Gone With The Wind" and "The Wizard of Oz"..I believe these movies were made in 1939ish?? 8-]] I have never actually watched a silent movie, that was like in my great grandmothers times in the 20's..OO, when I do this 8-]] it is just kind of like my signature...8-]]



I was talking about all old movies..The eighties was like 30+ years ago and I was a kid in the eighties, so movies from the eighties do seem old to me....But, I do like lots of old movies from 50', 60's, etc.--I loved "Gone With The Wind" and "The Wizard of Oz"..I believe these movies were made in 1939ish?? 8-]] I have never actually watched a silent movie, that was like in my great grandmothers times in the 20's..OO, when I do this 8-]] it is just kind of like my signature...8-]]
As you love horror you should check out Nosferatu and Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari from the silent era. Two horror greats that shaped the genre.



Thanks for the recommendations---Can you get these movies on Netflix?? Would love to watch Nosferatu & Das Cabinet...sounds interesting...8-]]



I feel films from the 1930s and 1940s are better than the 50's and only thing good is horror from the late 60s.

Dragonwyck (1946) is a great gothic horror
The Uninvited (1944) & The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) are good choices

to name a few.



The trick is not minding
Damn. Has time really went by so fast that the 80s and 90s are considered “old”? Oh no.

I was expecting this thread to be about movies pre 70s at least or maybe 50s and down...

Of what I consider old movies I really love Casablanca and To Kill a Mockingbird.
I was thinking the same thing. I consider anything before the 80’s old. And even then, I’m still on the fence about considering the 70’s “old”.
As to the question at hand....too, too many to count.



You’re the disease, and I’m the cure.
What do you mean by an old film, I consider the 40's and before old, so I could say stuff like Dracula or Frankenstein due to being a big Universal Monsters fan.
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I guess the only thing about the 80s being the cut off for "old", is that so many of the films I've seen are pre-80s. To me, old is like 40s and earlier. There are some great films that laid groundwork and are well-regarded that aren't necessarily my favorites. But here are some old film faves that I like as films and not just as "film history" (sorry Battleship Potemkin!):

1900-1910:
A Trip to the Moon
The 400 Tricks of the Devil


1910-1920:
Cabinet of Dr Caligari
The Golem
M'Liss


1920-1930:
Nosferatu
The Kid
Wings
The Passion of Joan of Arc
Haxan
The Man Who Laughs
The Thief of Bagdad
The Phantom Carriage
A Page of Madness
The Adventures of Prince Achmed
Big Business
The Extra Girl


1930-1940:
M
Freaks
It Happened One Night
City Lights
All Quiet on the Western Front
Frankenstein
Bride of Frankenstein
The Lady Vanishes
My Man Godfrey
The 39 Steps
Testament of Dr Mabuse
Black Moon


Something that's kind of unfortunate is that some of these films pop up on places like Amazon Prime, but they are not good prints and so they look muddy. Something like Bride of Frankenstein is an absolutely gorgeous film. It sounds very "film snob", but seeing it in its best version is a real part of the experience.



I think most people consider "old" movies to be something from before their time or at least childhood. Even though those John Hughes movies (most of which I love) are practically ancient now they still aren't old movies to me. My favorites are the Film Noir classics like Kiss Me Deadly, Double Indemnity and Touch of Evil. I recommend Kiss Me Deadly to ever film lover I meet, you will notice it's influence in countless movies. I agree with Casablanca also. The comedy classics of the late 30's and 40's especially the ones starring Cary Grant (The Awful Truth, His Girl Friday). and lastly Hitchcock is still my favorite old Hollywood director so most of his work especially Psycho, North By Northwest and Strangers on a Train.



Very Interesting--I never got into Film Noir, I always wondered if the movies from this genre were any good...It is a crying shame that I have not watched Casablanca...I tried to watch Nosferatu on Netflix but had to turn it off because my mother thought it was too creepy...I always liked Hitchcock as well--I remember some of his stuff being on t.v. when I was a little girl--Wanted to thank Tacoma 11 for listing all of those old movies..8-]]



Yes film noir is a great genre if you have never explored it. I used to be obsessed with horror but I've been drawn to film noir for the last 5 years or so.
Also speaking of Hitchcock, check out his early years too. There are some good movies to be discovered. A lot of people have only seen the classics.



We just did a Noir Hall of Fame and had some great films nominated, all are well worth watching! Here are the films we watched and ranked:

Murder, My Sweet (1944)
Directed by Edward Dmytryk

The Stranger (1946) Directed by Orson Welles

Crossfire (1947) Directed by Edward Dmytryk

Double Indemnity (1944) Directed by Billy Wilder

L.A. Confidential (1997) Directed by Curtis Hanson

Le Corbeau (1943) Directed by Henri Georges Clouzot

The Asphalt Jungle (1950) Directed by John Huston

Spellbound (1945) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

The Big Heat (1953)
Directed by Fritz Lang

The Third Man (1949) Directed by Carol Reed

Angel Heart (1987) Directed by Alan Parker



Very Interesting--I never got into Film Noir, I always wondered if the movies from this genre were any good...
Noir comes in a real variety of films. There are much darker/cynical ones, there are more light-hearted ones.

I think that a good "intro" film is The Big Sleep (the one with Bogart and Bacall). It's funny ("She tried to sit in my lap while I was standing up"), suspenseful, and it moves along at a great pace.

This almost relates to the remake thread ("almost" because many are adaptations of novels, so not technically remakes), where there are some great 40s noirs and then some neat 70s versions of the same story. For example, the 1973 version of The Long Goodbye or Robert Mitchum's versions of The Big Sleep and Farewell My Lovely.



I think most people consider "old" movies to be something from before their time or at least childhood. Even though those John Hughes movies (most of which I love) are practically ancient now they still aren't old movies to me. My favorites are the Film Noir classics like Kiss Me Deadly, Double Indemnity and Touch of Evil. I recommend Kiss Me Deadly to ever film lover I meet, you will notice it's influence in countless movies. I agree with Casablanca also. The comedy classics of the late 30's and 40's especially the ones starring Cary Grant (The Awful Truth, His Girl Friday). and lastly Hitchcock is still my favorite old Hollywood director so most of his work especially Psycho, North By Northwest and Strangers on a Train.
Good point, Monteratu. And further, I think that people tend to be impressed and can even develop a longing feeling or fascination for movies made near their birth year or decade.

For example I'm crazy about 1940s films, and some early '50s. I love the style, the spirit and the attitude. I've loved films from other decades as well-- that is to say up to the present time (), but the '40s really do it for me.

~Doc