[youngplaya21]

Social Network came out of nowhere. I didn't think it would even be remembered 5 years from now, let alone considered a classic in 30. Besides that, I agree with most of the other choices said before me, namely any QT flicks, the Matrix, Alien, and Saving Private Ryan

[cackhyena]

I mentioned it, what do I win?

My love.

[MIMIC]

The Matrix Inception Gladiator Lord of the Rings Avatar (sort of like Cleopatra - not great, but people remember it) Love, Actually District 9 (sort of like Planet of the Apes)

I can get on board with those.

[Loofy]

Bad Lieutenant

[Johnny Cage In The Shower]

The Adam Sandler Collection

[ViewtifulJC]

I get where you're coming from, but I really do find it hard to believe that movies of this day and age not being met with critical praise can be compared to movies like 2001, because movies like 2001 have happened. Every generation of movies is coloring our appreciation of what works and what doesn't work. When 2001 came along, people had no idea what to make of it, therefor giving it lackluster reviews. What I'm trying to say is, I'm having a tough time getting my head around the idea that something like (just to name an example, don't take it too literally) Prometheus, while getting very mixed reviews now, could be a classic in 30 years because it addresses deep philosophical questions. Again, just an example. And I realize this is me being stuck in the present. Doesn't change my opinion that I think a movie has to be good now to also be good then.

It's an odd thing to wrap your around because it's all based on opinions, predictions, and theorycraft. Everyone's opinion on what a "classic" movie differs, built on ideas and feelings expressed by people who seen the movie. Maybe they're influential, or they made a lot of money, or they won a bunch of awards, or they're a big cult favorite. Do we count how many times a movie shows up on AFI's Best Movies Ever lists? Do we go by the National Film Registry? RottenTomatoes? References in other films or forms of media that it reaches a saturation point that so many people are aware of it through pop culture, even if they haven't seen it?

Who knows? The only way we'll find out is in 20 something years or the movies generally accepted to be classic cinema. Until then, we're sitting around mentioning our favorite movies.

[24FrameDaVinci]

Midnight in Paris certainly will.

[SonicMegaDrive]

Planet of the Apes started with the slowest crash landing in the history of film. They can't all be perfect. Also, he clearly says "Earth". Don't be racist.

It has less to do with 'racist' as it does with 'lol oh that Will Smith and his unwarranted confidence'.


Now that's what I call a 'Close Encounter!"

I think Independence Day falls under "So bad it's good" classic status.

[Kazerei]

My love.

<3

[TangMeng]

Fight Club

[ShipTheCheese]

It's an odd thing to wrap your around because it's all based on opinions, predictions, and theorycraft. Everyone's opinion on what a "classic" movie differs, built on ideas and feelings expressed by people who seen the movie. Maybe they're influential, or they made a lot of money, or they won a bunch of awards, or they're a big cult favorite. Do we count how many times a movie shows up on AFI's Best Movies Ever lists? Do we go by the National Film Registry? RottenTomatoes? References in other films or forms of media that it reaches a saturation point that so many people are aware of it through pop culture, even if they haven't seen it? Who knows? The only way we'll find out is in 20 something years or the movies generally accepted to be classic cinema. Until then, we're sitting around mentioning our favorite movies.

True. I'm at the least confident in saying that I would be really, really surprised if something like LOTR isn't up there. A movie like Social Network is a lot harder to predict, IMO.

[not psycho]

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

It's old timey and therefore timeless.

[Qazaq]

People think I'm kidding with Mean Girls, but if you want to talk about a teen comedy that is one of the most quoted movies of all time with the current generation, then I'd say it's pretty much a classic. GAF is just too Y-chromosome filled to get it.

[nskinnear]

Midnight in Paris certainly will.

Why? It's mid-tier Allen and he's made a bunch of better movies since the 90's (Sweet and Lowdown will probably be considered his last "classic" film, whatever that means anyway).

[big ander]

This is cute.

you're cute

That's exactly what we're trying to find out. I'm really trying to avoid this becoming a "name your fav movie" thread. Even though we don't know what the world will be like in 30 years, I still believe its interesting to try and "guess" which movies can be classics based on their present merits and what they have brought to the world of cinema.

right. Hard to name specific films but I'd certainly join up with the people saying Coens and Tarantino will be well-remembered. hell, half their films are already pop culture stalwarts. Also Malick. my other picks would be PTA, Kieslowski and Wes Anderson. Those last three especially make films that aren't period-specific.

[MIMIC]

People think I'm kidding with Mean Girls, but if you want to talk about a teen comedy that is one of the most quoted movies of all time with the current generation, then I'd say it's pretty much a classic. GAF is just too Y-chromosome filled to get it.

But would people put Mean Girls on par with how people today view Casablanca, The God Father, etc?

"Mean Girls" isn't an obvious choice, but I see what you mean. I see it as a "Breakfast Club" kinda thing: not an all-time classic, but remembered fondly, nonetheless.

[big ander]

People think I'm kidding with Mean Girls, but if you want to talk about a teen comedy that is one of the most quoted movies of all time with the current generation, then I'd say it's pretty much a classic. GAF is just too Y-chromosome filled to get it.

...no? From what I've seen people on gaf like Mean Girls plenty. Fey's a good writer. but classic? it being heavily quoted a few years ago means nothing, really.

Bah, just another quick one: It's not allusion in itself that hinders classic status -- it's the artist's mindset and vision being limited by previous experience, to some extent. The films that are classics were made by people who were defining film. They shaped, by definition, what movies are. I guess maybe to me that's more significant than even the quality of the films (within reason)? Dunno...

But I mean, the way you're talking about it makes it sound like film wasn't "fully shaped" until the 60s. film techniques were very solidly defined far far before that. Since they've been refined and modified and altered. people are still finding a wealth of new things to do with film.
A painter sitting down in front of a canvas isn't precluded from creating a masterpiece just because people nailed down the basics of putting color on canvas so many years ago.

[KevinCow]

People think I'm kidding with Mean Girls, but if you want to talk about a teen comedy that is one of the most quoted movies of all time with the current generation, then I'd say it's pretty much a classic. GAF is just too Y-chromosome filled to get it.

Mean Girls is Lindsay Lohan in her prime. I think there's plenty in Mean Girls for guys to fully appreciate.

But while it's funny, I dunno, it doesn't really feel like a classic to me.

[Gustav]

In the last ten years:

There will be blood
Inception
Tree of Life
Dark Knight
Pirates of the Caribbean
Lost in Translation
Etc.

In the last 28 years (my generation):
Too many to list them all

[Loofy]

People think I'm kidding with Mean Girls, but if you want to talk about a teen comedy that is one of the most quoted movies of all time with the current generation, then I'd say it's pretty much a classic. GAF is just too Y-chromosome filled to get it.

Shes All That started that whole genre and people have already forgotten about that movie.

[VALIS]

Some off the top of my head from the last 10 years...

There Will Be Blood
City of God
Band of Brothers
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Lost in Translation
The Lives of Others
The Departed
The Pianist
Amélie
Children of Men
A Prophet
Mystic River
Black Swan
The Illusionist
The Tree of Life
The King's Speech
The Artist
The Fighter

I don't love all of them and this wouldn't be my exact list, but they're all highly acclaimed movies that will likely stand the test of time, whereas I don't think movies like The Social Network will. No one is going to give a shit about the origin of Facebook in 50 if not 20 if not even 10 years. Would you find a movie about the origins of Yahoo and Altavista fascinating today? I doubt it. It's a good movie, but it's not that great a story if you don't give a shit about Facebook, and once FB becomes yesterday's news, there isn't that much here to hold it in any sort of "classic" status.

[RiZ III]

Jurrassic park
The Matrix ( only first one)

[Lion Heart]

You guys already listed what I'd post:

Matrix
LOTR Tril
Lost in Translation

I'll add Memento and The Prestige.

[vferrel]

No Country for Old Men I think will be remembered as the Coen Brother's best work, so I'd say it'll be considered a classic.

I think The Social Network is a pretty damn fine film, and will hopefully be remembered as such.

And most of the Pixar movies will be remembered.

I should also see The Tree of Life sometime soon.

[Qazaq]

But would people put Mean Girls on par with how people today view Casablanca, The God Father, etc? "Mean Girls" isn't an obvious choice, but I see what you mean. I see it as a "Breakfast Club" kinda thing: not an all-time classic, but remembered fondly, nonetheless.

Well I mean, I think there are many people that would consider the Breakfast Club a classic. It obviously depends on how you're framing it.

Personally, while I think people are way too liberal with their suggestions, one way of measuring a classic is pop culture impact and I think Mean Girls made a pretty lasting one for its genre. (As did Breakfast Club.)

If someone seriously thinks the movie was forgotten from something as blase as "She's All That", he/she's out of touch.

[white dynamite]

Children of Men

[Izick]

-The Matrix

-Goodfellas/Casino (not sure if too old for question)

-The Dark Knight

-Inception

-LotR trilogy

-Inglorious Basterds

-Kill Bill series

Actually, just make that all the Quentin Tarentino movies if the 90's count.

-Oldboy

Many others but those are off the top of my head.

[Vicehii]

The Iron Giant

Not enough animation love in here.

[viciouskillersquirrel]

The Iron Giant Not enough animation love in here.

The Prince of Egypt should be up there with The Lion King, but only Scullibundo and I will remember it.

[Vicehii]

The Prince of Egypt should be up there with The Lion King, but only Scullibundo and I will remember it.

A thousand times 'yes'.
DreamWorks had an amazing run in their early days.

[Jzero]

The Social Network

Movie wasn't that good.

[Schweini]

Casino Royale.

[Dr.Acula]

I think anything by Nicholas Winding Refn (not very established... yet), Fincher, the Cohens, Wong Kar-Wai, Takeshi Kitano, Kore-Eda, Haneke (overrated IMHO), and probably Clint Eastwood post Mystic River (though I only really like the Iwo/Flags films and Gran Torino) films are easily gonna be looked favourably on by future generations. And of course Tarantino, rightly or wrongly (trust me, this cat your grandchildren will be watching).

So we had those cats in the 90s to today, Spiels, Spike, Scorsese, Kieslowski in the 80s and 90s. Lucas, Coppola, Altman, Bogdanovich, Friedkin, De Palma, Tarkovsky, etc. for the 70s/80s.

The Nouvelle Vague of the late-late 50s and 60s and the French directors who lead into them, Truffaut, Godard, Rohmer, Chabrol, Varda, Cassavetes and Bresson.

Post war guys, especially in Japan like Ozu and Kurosawa, Reed, Laughton, Hitchcock. Oh, I just named a bunch of Brits. Nearly glossed over the angry young men of the 50s, 60s, and 70s, Loach, Anderson, Richardson.

Baaasically. I think there are always good directors. People mythologize films like Easy Rider and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, they hail Altman and Hitchcock and De Palma as all-time greats, when they're just Von Trier, M. Night, and Tarantino today. And none of those guys were more original in substance or style than Lang, Gance, or Murnau.

It's easier for a director's filmography to stand up, rather than individual films. The Social Network being a well-regarded film (not my fav) really helps things like Fight Club and Panic Room in the future. Something like The Matrix (lol) will be lessened by crap like Speed Racer.

There's a reason people talk about Coppola's Apocalypse Now, and Cimino's The Deer Hunter is not quite as well known (even though it's better). Because Coppola gave us The Godfather and The Conversation, and Cimino gave us... Heaven's Gate.

[ShipTheCheese]

The Dark Knight.

As much as I love TDK, I don't know if that can be considered a classic in the likes of movies I mentioned in the OP.

I hate to say this, but I believe superhero movies, no matter how much it would try to transcend the actual genre, will ever be "classics" like the aforementioned. I feel that they are too trapped within their own genre to ever reach that pinnacle status.

*just realized Richard Donner's "Superman" exists*

Okay, now I'm just confusing myself.

[Dragonzord]

Oh, only one of the highest rated RT movies of all time

[Poimandres]

Another one that hasn't been mentioned yet:

- American Beauty

[Black Mamba]

I'm gonna go non-US classic for fun:







In the US, I think There Will Be Blood, Inglorious Basterds, and Lord of the Rings probably has best shot to be considered "classics" besides some of Pixar's entries.

[PhoenixPause]

Zodiac
No Country For Old Men
City Of God
Pan's Labyrinth
Inglorious Basterds

[KevinCow]

I feel like the way The Dark Knight and Batman Begins will be remembered rests on the shoulders of TDKR. A poor ending could sour people on the whole trilogy, much like how the Matrix and PotC sequels soured people on the first entries in those series. But an amazing ending could propel the entire trilogy into classic status.

[ShipTheCheese]

I feel like the way The Dark Knight and Batman Begins will be remembered rests on the shoulders of TDKR. A poor ending could sour people on the whole trilogy, much like how the Matrix and PotC sequels soured people on the first entries in those series. But an amazing ending could propel the entire trilogy into classic status.

This post just reminded me of Mass Effect.

:(

[Dr.Acula]

Here are a few films since 1990 that are probably already considered among the greatest films ever.

Three Colours Trilogy
Chungking Express
Goodfellas
Pulp Fiction
I'm gonna go ahead and give No Country for Old Men a nod here.
City of God looks to have a damn good shot, probably better than No Country, truth be told.

And these are all-timers. We're talking The Third Man, 400 Blows, 8 1/2, Three Colours territory (and yes, I'm comparing the Three Colours trilogy... to itself!!).

I feel like the way The Dark Knight and Batman Begins will be remembered rests on the shoulders of TDKR. A poor ending could sour people on the whole trilogy, much like how the Matrix and PotC sequels soured people on the first entries in those series. But an amazing ending could propel the entire trilogy into classic status.

Godfather III didn't hurt the first two.

[Adam J.]

Think the problem is that there are just too many damn good movies that have been released in our lifetime. Really who knows what will be considered classic... Definitely Titanic, but Avatar? Maybe. Depends on how the sequels pan out (keep forgetting that those are actually happening.) Disney and Pixar movies are a safe bet. LOTR trilogy probably. It's the less popcorn-y stuff that I have no clue about.

Citizen Kane didn't really become the "it" movie until years after its release. Can a rediscovery/celebration of a film even happen in our rapid-fire culture?

[ShipTheCheese]

Can a rediscovery/celebration of a film even happen in our rapid-fire culture?

That's the problem right there.

[Jawmuncher]

Jurrassic park The Matrix ( only first one)

Hell those movies are already considered classics now.

I'm going to go with The Dark Knight (The original batman film is considered a classic) so I have a good feeling this one will be to.

I also see Tron Legacy getting the sort of cult status that the original tron got.

[Idde]

No mention of Braveheart yet? Pretty much everyone knows the movie. Nobody saw it coming and it had a definite influence on pop culture. Perhaps not the most high brow and historically correct, but damn fun, dramatic and rewatchable. If Gladiator counts, so does Braveheart.

[Mister Saturn]

Yes, here's one of them:

[PantherLotus]

I think if you look back at the past 20-25 years of film, historians will observe a sea-change in cultural fears of technology realized. While the previous 25 years clearly reflect the cultural domination by the Cold War, and the 25 years before that reflect the fears of the nuclear age, this latest generation of film is somewhat predictive -- it sees the eventual replacement of the American worker, the automation of virtually everything, and what ultimately rises is a question of which reality is most important, and whether reality actually matters.

1990s-present - Fear of Technology/Questioning Reality - See: Terminator, Matrix, Inception, Lawnmower Man, Avatar, Eternal Sunshine, Truman Show, Memento, Children of Men, etc.

Just a thought. There's a lot of other little cultural threads running through each era (like the rejection of wall street wealth in the late 80s), but it's hard not to notice how the major game changers of the past twenty years have really been about humans taking technology too far, robots taking over, and/or the ability to manipulate and fall victim to computer-generated other realities.

Even period pieces like Titanic and Dances With Wolves were both somewhat about the hubris of mankind's love of technology, and what might be lost along the way. Hell, even Lord of the Rings has an undeniable march-of-technology aspect to it.

I dunno, I've thought about it a lot. To answer the question in the OP: Matrix, Avatar, Social Network, Inception, Titanic, Michael Clayton, Departed, LotR Trilogy. I think all of those will be held up as mostly representative of the era while also making a fine case for what we were afraid of at the time. Some of the others mentioned in the thread are fantastic, but will most likely be somewhat obscure in about 30 years (ie, Children of Men).

[GCX]

[goomba]

"Win" a nomination? Lol.. I'm not saying that if a film is awarded or even nominated by the Academy that that means it can never be a classic (Apoalypse Now for example was nominated by the Academy), what I'm saying is that you can't use those awards as a measure for determining the likelihood of which films will stand out over time. Their simply have been too many films that have won many awards and gone forgotten. The King's Speech is a well done film but it doesn't push any boundaries. It plays it completely safe and boring in a tale about an old king of England. It's really not something that you'd imagine to stand out over time, you know?

I know what your saying , i just disagree about what will be remembered and regarded well in the future. Stand out no, but will stay relevant because it's a true historical record (unlike social network) , I don't think the social network will be remembered or regarded to the same degree.

[PantherLotus]

I know what your saying , i just disagree about what will be remembered and regarded well in the future. Stand out no, but will stay relevant because it's a true historical record (unlike social network) , I don't think the social network will be remembered or regarded to the same degree.

Perhaps. Here's a test:

quickly and without looking, name three films from 1970-1975. GO!