What makes a film Classic?

According to the IMDb top 250 films of all time the top ten list looks like this:

1. The Shawshank Redemption
2. The Godfather
3. The Godfather: Part II
4. The Dark Knight
5. Pulp Fiction
6. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
7. Schindler's List
8. 12 Angry Men
9. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
10. Fight Club

The ones in bold are films I have seen, the others I may see at some stage but I am not busting myself for not seeing them and I am not going to go onto Netflix right away to see if they are available for me to stream and watch, I care about film but I am not the sort of person who just because I am told a film is classic I will feel the need to see it, I never have and I never will.

Now this list is based upon other peoples perceptions and what they feel deserves to be in that top 250 so in that sense this list is flawed. If people dislike a film they are highly unlikely to go onto IMDb and rate it low however if you love it you are likely to go and rate it much higher.

I am unsure of what makes a film good, great or a classic across the board. I know what makes it for me but if I talk to people in work about cinema they often knock me down stating that all I watch is films with some of all of the following elements:

Black and white
Subtitles
Foreign films
Films no-one has ever heard of
Films they consider to be bad

Now I am okay with this, it doesn't matter to me, if anything I kind of find it funny because it shows how little they know about my cinema going experience but it also shows we have differing views. And I am okay with that.

For you though what makes a film a classic? How many of the top ten films above have you seen and would you agree with this list?

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Dude,you need to watch Godfather trilogy,you really need to.Now on topic,maybe new things,as you can see on that list every movie there made something new...That is kinda hard question to be honest.

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“By definition, you have to live until you die. Better to make that life as complete and enjoyable an experience as possible, in case death is shite, which I suspect it will be.”

I've seen all of the top 10. I'd maybe consider half to be great. It's important to note that the IMDB Top 250 has a minimum of 25 000 votes which rules out a lot of lesser known great films. The top 10 may not be different if that minimum was lowered but the overall list would be.

IMO a classic is a great film that has stood the test of time. So, I consider The Godfather to be a classic whilst Pulp Fiction isn't even though I prefer it. If people still love it in another 20 years than it will be a classic.

Right on the money

I'd say Pulp Fiction is a classic now.

I don't think you need 40 years for a film to become a classic. Though I agree with Sane that a film is a classic if it stood the test of time. However, the test of time is usually around a decade in my book, maybe a little more.

Pulp Fiction is a classic alright, 12 Years a Slave is not (yet, at least).

The IMDB top 250 is full of a mix of movies that might be classics or might be movies that are only popular at the moment. The Revenge of the Sith was in the top 250 in 2005, for instance.

I do think time is necessary. Some movies flash in the pan, but the ones that endure and become standards of comparison take a while to establish that. In consideration of our short memory span, I think 30 years is enough to become a classic. If it's still popular or a cult film after 30 years, it will probably last longer and be a classic.

I am unsure that time is a factor but I am also unsure that one list or that people will agree that a film is a classic. That being said last weekend me and my friend Alex showed his girlfriend "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" as she had never seen it and I think this is without a doubt a classic movie.

Is it just me or has There Will Be Blood already developed something along the lines of a distinctively classic piece a mere seven years after its release? Maybe it's because I recently gave it another viewing, but there is this sweeping undercurrent of timelessness about that film.

Definitely. Paul Thomas Anderson I believe said he intended to make a new American classic, and already there are great indications that he has succeeded. It appeared pretty high up on the critics/directors Sight&Sound polls for a new film as well I believe, maybe in the top 100 of one?

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What Makes a film "classic" ??

This is a personal reflection. No critic, no list, no studio will be able to decide for you what makes a film "Classic." Everyone is entitled to debate film technicality, actors' performance, directorial insight, etc,etc, but a classic is something unique to every individual. For me, a classic film, simply means something that either identifies with you and your personality and you have a certain affinity to that film, or/and it gives you the ability to watch that film over and over again, still enjoying it each time you see it. These reasons are your own, but for me a classic, IS a classic, because it holds up against time, for me. Having said that, these are a few films I consider classics, for my own reasons, either the message spoke to me, the characters I identified with, etc, but either way, these films are certainly ones I can watch over and over again.....just a few:

1. High Noon
2. Chinatown
3. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (I'm sorry this movie will always put me in stitches, the one liners are truly superb)
4. Aliens
5. Raiders of the Lost Ark
6. Goodfella's
7. Apocalypse Now
8. The Birds
9. Dracula (Coppola)
10. Big Lebowski

Scattered list, but for me, these are some of my classics, I can rewatch these movies and be completely satisfied with what they offer.

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Silencio

The top 10 IMDB is just the 10 movies that are the highest rated among the IMDB users. IT doesn't have anything to do with classic.

As for what is a classic I think it's subjective because we can't say if a movie is made 30 years ago and is still relevant it's a classic. It depends.

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You definitely need to watch the Godfather trilogy and THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION.

I'd say that some time needs to pass before a film can be labeled a classic.
The Dark Knight was probably still in the cinema when it made it into the imdb top ten list.