I have a blind spot for classic movies but some I really, really like. What ones have I missed? My current tops I have seen and the time period I am talking about. Casablanca Citizen Kane (was surprised how much I was into this movie) Street car named Desire. The Third man The Lost Weekend Breakfast at Tiffany's (Huge Aubrey Hepburn Fan) Gilda (I think Rita Hayworth might be the most beautiful woman ever) I have seen more that I can't remember the name, but I am sure there are tons I have missed. I have seen all Hitchcock's, so I left them out.
Define 'Classic'. Pre-1980's? Pre millennium? Shawshank is an all-time classic IMO. Star Wars came out in 1977.
The David Lean Trilogy Bridge over the River Kwai Dr Zhavago Lawrence of Arabia ... The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep M The 39 Steps The Thin Man Bringing Up Baby Only Angels Have Wings Anything by Frank Capra Anything by Billy Wilder
My Fair Lady is the best musical ever (as an aside, it helped an ex of mine learn proper English when she immigrated here at 11) The Philadelphia Story The Night of the Hunter (Gregory Peck is amazing, same with To Kill a Mockingbird). eta: dammit, I got him and Robert Mitchum confused for a minute
Not big on Musicals, actually I detest them. I have seen and the Night of the Hunter great movie have seen TPS. To Kill a Mockingbird as well.
Not a musical guy either, but that's a great one. Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn are amazing. Since you mentioned Orson Welles earlier, The Third Man and The Magnificent Ambersons Also, dozens of movies by John Ford and John Huston
My addendum list. If I can think of anything else I'll add it here: Treasure of Sierra Madre Key Largo Rio Bravo The Thing From Another World (remade in the 80s as The Thing) A Guy Named Joe (remade in the 80s as Always) Forbidden Planet High Noon is great, but apparently was much more shocking to viewers back in the day. Our Man in Havana, with Obi-Wan Kenobi as a vacuum salesman, really shows off his acting chops. On The Beach - extremely influential anti-nuke book/movie with Fred Astaire in a dramatic role. The Great Dictator - Charlie Chaplins masterpiece. Caine Mutiny belongs on the list, brilliant performance by Bogart as a paranoid petty tyrant. Maybe a little early, But Destry Rides Again from 1939 stars James Stewart as a sheriff who doesn't like guns, and was very subversive. Marlene Detrich in one of her signature roles, made fun of by Madeline Kahn in Blazing Saddles. Her entire role in that movie makes SO much more sense after you've seen Destry Rides Again. I already mentioned Frank Capra, but "It Happened One Night" sort of single handedly created the mismatched couple romance genre and was a huge, huge it. It's also pretty funny.
Great choice. One of Welles best (perhaps my favorite film from Olson Welles) and he drew a superb performance from Charlton Heston. The ‘50’s were filled with great movies, and great movie makers battling both the studios and government interference. A year earlier, Stanley Kubrick directed Kirk Douglas, in a film Douglas produced, that broke the Black List and gave us arguably Douglas’s finest performance in 1957’s stunning Paths of Glory.
