[luxsol]

As others have mentioned, definitely Children of Men.

No one has mentioned Shawshank Redemption yet? It's on TV right now.

[viciouskillersquirrel]

huahuahuahuahua lol

People consider Breakfast at Tiffanys and Lost in Translation to be classics, even though for various reasons I think both movies are steaming turds. My opinion doesn't change the fact that they're classics.

On that note:

Forrest Gump
Saving Private Ryan

[EYEL1NER]

Big, award winning film of a director who will have a celebrated filmography, and have a historical element. Titanic will also be up there, for the same reasons.

But people aren't even going to know what the Titanic was after that amount of time.

[SonicMegaDrive]

What are we counting as "our generation"? Would Jurassic Park count, or is that too old? Because Jurassic Park is definitely a classic.

To me, "current generation" is probably 2000-today. But that's me.

[Count Dookkake]

That shit isn't current generation

That shit isn't reading the OP.

[EnderWiggles]

Brokeback Mountain

[Scullibundo]

Schindler's List has already reached classic status. Snowman be damned.

And yes, LotR.

[B.K.]

The Star Wars Prequel Trilogy. History will redeem George Lucas!

[trinest]

Moon.

[Vic]

LOTR comes to mind.

[wenis]

FREDDY GOT FINGERED

In a perfect world people would have seen this american classic for the amazing thing that it was and it would have gotten that fabled Criterion Directors Cut...


but we don't live in a universe where people have a sense of humor.

[ShipTheCheese]

Schindler's List has already reached classic status. Snowman be damned. And yes, LotR.

Wow, Schindler's List is from 1993?

I feel really old, all of a sudden.

[Biggest-Geek-Ever]

I'd say The Dark Knight is already there. I know a lot of people who talk about it in that kind of light, and the fact that it came out right before two massive, generation defining events (the global recession and Obama's election) only help its status as a classic, IMO.

[SonicMegaDrive]

The Man From Earth should be a classic sci-fi film. One of the best I've seen in the past decade for sure.

[Nappuccino]

Memento
Fight Club
Children of Men
Rushmore
La Haine

[Tesseract]

groundhog day

it's rated G. G I SAY.

[HIGH DEF JEFF]

I'd say The Dark Knight is already there. I know a lot of people who talk about it in that kind of light, and the fact that it came out right before two massive, generation defining events (the global recession and Obama's election) only help its status as a classic, IMO.

Expand on why this matters regarding TDK.


Classics by way of "Blade Runner" (read, came to be appreciated later):
Speed Racer
Miami Vice (already mentioned, surprisingly.)

[Eric Walton]

There Will Be Blood will be regarded as one. I don't think No Country For Old Men will be, which is weird because I held NCFOM in higher regard.

maybe Inglourious Basterds

[Srsly]

Black Swan

[KevinCow]

To me, "current generation" is probably 2000-today. But that's me.

That's a fair definition.

I think Iron Man and The Avengers will be classics in the same way Die Hard and Terminator and Star Wars are. Not really considered classics by the elite film buffs, but remembered fondly by pop culture as a whole as damn good action movies.

[Backwards Marathon]

Toy Story

[ShipTheCheese]

I'd also put in the original Toy Story, for ushering in a new era of animated movies.

Also, it's great.

edit: shiiiiit beaten hardcore.

[Kazerei]

The Social Network and The Lord of the Rings trilogy are the best answers IMO.

Even if Facebook fades away, it'll still be remembered as one of the pioneers of social networking. And a very well-made film depicting how Facebook began will be remembered too.

The Lord of the Rings is a classic epic fantasy series, and the films are some of the best book-to-film adaptations ever. Also was quite successful at the box office and the Oscars.

[Battersea Power Station]

Just for discussion's sake, I'll say no.

Those classic films have something unabashed in them because they were made in the early days of the big studios. They didn't have to acknowledge the existence of other greats in them because there were none. Anything we make today will somehow be referential to other works, even in the influences it excludes.

There's a beautiful innocence and lack of pretense in that sort of "adolescent" period of a medium, that avoids cynicism and throws itself blindly into the works, bumping up against the walls and pushing the limits of the available resources.

Classic rock survives from the early days of electronic music. And I'm sure music aficionados can tell us how Kid A is much more significant than Dark Side of the Moon, just as someone call tell us the same thing about There Will Be Blood over Lawrence of Arabia, but there's no questioning that those classics resonated and still do in a very particular way.

I also thing the same thing happened with Super Mario 64, in the early days of 3D gaming. That's a classic, yo.

[tdrdrgn]

Mullholland Drive

[ViewtifulJC]

I'd also put in the original Toy Story, for ushering in a new era of animated movies. Also, it's great.

Most of Pixar's canon is very highly-regarded and will be probably be enjoyed by future generations for years to come.

[Forceatowulf]

Dark Knight
There will be blood
City of God

[DrForester]

The Lord of the Rings, and probably the Harry Potter series will be remembered as timeless classics. Most of Pixar's stuff will be remembered like the Disney Golden Age of the Early 90's, most notably Toy Story.

[Good Job Bob]

That's a fair definition. I think Iron Man and The Avengers will be classics in the same way Die Hard and Terminator and Star Wars are. Not really considered classics by the elite film buffs, but remembered fondly by pop culture as a whole as damn good action movies.

God no.

The action in IM1 is shit. The action in Avengers is better but in no way is it even close to being on par with Die Hard, Terminator or Star Wars.

[RBH]

The Ace Ventura movies might, as may American Pie or The Hangover. But then again, I saw Liar Liar again the other day and that movie has not aged well...

Liar Liar will always be great.

[Schweini]

Superbad

[HIGH DEF JEFF]

The Social Network and The Lord of the Rings trilogy are the best answers IMO. Even if Facebook fades away, it'll still be remembered as one of the pioneers of social networking. And a very well-made film depicting how Facebook began will be remembered too. The Lord of the Rings is a classic epic fantasy series, and the films are some of the best book-to-film adaptations ever. Also was quite successful at the box office and the Oscars.

While I don't think it will ever be considered a classic, I find it interesting that if someone watches this for the first time in 20 years they will just assume that the movie is completely factual.

[Tesseract]

vegas vacation
the frighteners
waterworld

[WoodenLung]

Toy Story

Yup, that's one I feel pretty certain on.

[Srsly]

The Wrestler

[KevinCow]

In 30 years, Speed Racer will finally receive the respect and recognition it deserves.

[jgminto]

Lord of the Ring movies
Saving Private Ryan
Forrest Gump
The Matrix
Jurassic Park
Terminator 2
Most Pixar movies
Pulp Fiction/Reservoir Dogs
Avatar
Fight Club

But I'd say any movies that were popular in the 90s and are popular now with people who were too young/weren't born then will remain popular.

[Ninja Scooter]

That shit isn't reading the OP.

I don't agree with the OP. Want to fight about it?

[Schweini]

In 30 years, Spider-man 3 will finally receive the respect and recognition it deserves.

Fixed.

[Maxim726X]

FREDDY GOT FINGERED

To this day- Might be the worst movie I've ever seen.

To the OP- Absolutely... There are a lot of movies that will be considered classics in 30 years. I think there's a lot of great stuff coming out today.

[Count Dookkake]

I don't agree with the OP. Want to fight about it?

Irrelevant.

Owned.

[Good Job Bob]

We all know this will be considered a masterpiece classic in the future.

Surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet.

[Battersea Power Station]

While I don't think it will ever be considered a classic, I find it interesting that if someone watches this for the first time in 20 years they will just assume that the movie is completely factual.

Heh, I love this effect, because our image of how people acted in the '40s and '50s is almost completely from the movies, but if we think of those times, we take it as "factual" that it's how people talked, behaved, communicated, and dressed.

The thought of future generations thinking we conversed a la Sorkin dialog is hilarious, although it's unlikely since there's so much more candid video nowadays.

[goomba]

The kings speech

[Ninja Scooter]

Irrelevant. Owned.

You son of a bitch.

[SonicMegaDrive]

Yeah, Toy Story.

Amazingly, that film actually gets better and better as the years go on. At the time, you might have thought it was a novelty, and that it would be outclassed quickly in terms of it's animation and production values(which in that respect, it has). But the story and depth of the characters make it a classic, imo.

[Kazerei]

The Godfather, Lawrence of Arabia, 2001, Casablanca, The Good The Bad and The Ugly. Movies like these are generally to be considered as classics by the general public, with many more that can be added to that list. However, it can get tricky when trying to predict if any films of our generation (and to narrow it down I'm specifically talking about the 90's until now) will fall into that category as well. Or if it's going to happen at all, for that matter. So GAF, in 30 years' time, will we still be citing the same list of classic movies, or will it be filled up with some more recent entries of the current generation?

I failed at reading the OP :(

For the 90's, I would say Jurassic Park, Toy Story, and The Titanic, all for their technical achievements and huge box office success.

As for action films, I think Armageddon, Independence Day, and Heat really stand out.

[Good Job Bob]

The kings speech

Oh come on.

It's a well made movie but in no way will it be considered a classic. It's a drab old film.

[WoodenLung]

Fixed.

Spider man 3 and speed racer... They will be thinking it was the worst movie period ever.

[ShipTheCheese]

Just for discussion's sake, I'll say no. Those classic films have something unabashed in them because they were made in the early days of the big studios. They didn't have to acknowledge the existence of other greats in them because there were none. Anything we make today will somehow be referential to other works, even in the influences it excludes. There's a beautiful innocence and lack of pretense in that sort of "adolescent" period of a medium, that avoids cynicism and throws itself blindly into the works, bumping up against the walls and pushing the limits of the available resources. Classic rock survives from the early days of electronic music. And I'm sure music aficionados can tell us how Kid A is much more significant than Dark Side of the Moon, just as someone call tell us the same thing about There Will Be Blood over Lawrence of Arabia, but there's no questioning that those classics resonated and still do in a very particular way. I also thing the same thing happened with Super Mario 64, in the early days of 3D gaming. That's a classic, yo.

Bingo.

This is what I was trying to get at, but you've worded it very nicely. edit: While there have been some terrific examples mentioned already, I feel only a few can be considered to reasonably exist in the whole "Movies you must have seen: Godfather, 2001..."