What makes a movie a "classic"?

[freddy47]

And the soundtrack is/was ridiculous. Who else gets chills when they hear it even today? It remains the only movie that I have ever watched that kept me awake for several nights afterwards.

Yeah that piano part is fucking creepy as all hell. It just tenses you up listening to it.

One movie that kept me up for nights the first time I watched it was 28 Days Later when it first came out. I had nightmares for days after that. Soundtrack for that was great as well. Especially that scene where he walks around in a abandoned London and East Hastings starts to play.

 

[enigmaticfreak]

Is Superbad a classic?

 

[Miss_vanilla]

I'm guilty of using this terminology to describe movies without really understanding why .. I think for a movie to be a classic it needs to be an original or the first movie of it's kind or it has to be relevant to the era it was made in. Hitchcock is a good example in that a lot of movies came after it and were inspired by his style. Also, if people are still talking about/know about a movie made 30-40 years ago there's a good chance it's a classic.

I think Easy Rider was a classic - it was made in an era of huge change which isn't relevant today but road movies are still so popular and I could name so many I've loved over the years which were likely inspired by Easy Rider in some way. Pulp Fiction (which I loved) is a good example of that particular style in the 90s (snappy dialogue, great soundtrack, fairly violent, darkly funny) which will go down in history as a quintessential 90s movie.

For me (and most people probably) a classic is a movie which affected them in some way when they were young - made them laugh, cry, be really scared, empathise in some way. I think everyone has made good examples here so far.

 

[axl blaze]

It's hard I think to determine what movies will remain "classics" a hundred years from now. Being that the medium itself is barely over a hundred years old right now.

Although 100 years from now I'm sure a lot of movies we see as "classics" today will still be seen as classics then. I don't think Pulp Fiction will be viewed as a "classic" although I love the movie personally.

Movies like Casablanca and Chinatown though IMO will definitely stand the test of time. More modern examples I think would be Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgement Day which both redefined action movies. Also films like Back to the Future that will always have universal appeal.

as usual, I agree on all points with this man!!

except for Pulp Fiction not being regarded as a classic... but... which relationship is 100 percent perfect these days??

 

[MrGrunge]

If the film is made by the Coens, its probably a classic. Those crafty Jews are national treasures.

 

[freddy47]

as usual, I agree on all points with this man!!

except for Pulp Fiction not being regarded as a classic... but... which relationship is 100 percent perfect these days??

lol

Don't get me wrong I love Pulp Fiction. One of my favorite movies.

I just don't see people a hundred years from now talking about it like people talk about Casablanca and Gone With the Wind today. Will the line "Zed's dead baby. Zed's dead." or Ezekiel 25:17 ever enter our culture as deeply as lines like "Frankly my dear I just don't give a damn." or "Of all the gin joints in all the world. She walks into mine."? I don't know. But I can go up to almost anyone and quote a memorable line from Casablanca and they will have a vague idea of what I am talking about even if they have never seen the movie.

But I go up to some random guy and start saying "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the blah blah blah" and A)He has seen the movie and will instantly get it. or B) He will think I am some sort of Christian evangelist trying to convert him/her. But who knows maybe one would have more luck with the "Royale with Cheese" bit.

Perhaps our grandchildren will view it as a pinnacle of film making in our time. Or maybe they will hate it. Only time will tell.

 

[MrGrunge]

"ENGLISH, motherfucker! Do you speak it!?"

I have yet to meet someone unfamiliar with that line, then again, I only hang out with cool people who have seen Pulp Fiction a lot.

I don't really see why lines from a movie determine how "classic" it will be viewed by future generations. From what I can tell, "Classics" are films which fill some niche in the cultural zeitgeist: Casablanca was filmed during WWII, Charles Foster Cain was based on an extremely prominent newspaper magnate, 2001: A Space Odyssey was released during the peak of the space race, etc. Pulp Fiction wasn't really based on or about anything, which makes sense given the time period it was released (the nineties were practically a cultural vacuum). There is no "big picture" with Pulp Fiction, which is a common theme in many popular nineties movies (Clerks, The Big Lebowski, The Usual Suspects, etc). People like say Pulp Fiction "defined" 90s, and I find it hard to disagree. The attitude, the cultural references, the dialogue, and the individual plot points all captured the time period perfectly.

 

[freddy47]

"ENGLISH, motherfucker! Do you speak it!?"

I have yet to meet someone unfamiliar with that line, then again, I only hang out with cool people who have seen Pulp Fiction a lot.

I have known people who are unfamiliar with the movie and I don't consider them uncool people. Just not that into movies I guess.

I don't really see why lines from a movie determine how "classic" it will be viewed by future generations. From what I can tell, "Classics" are films which fill some niche in the cultural zeitgeist: Casablanca was filmed during WWII, Charles Foster Cain was based on an extremely prominent newspaper magnate, 2001: A Space Odyssey was released during the peak of the space race, etc. Pulp Fiction wasn't really based on or about anything, which makes sense given the time period it was released (the nineties were practically a cultural vacuum). There is no "big picture" with Pulp Fiction, which is a common theme in many popular nineties movies (Clerks, The Big Lebowski, The Usual Suspects, etc). People like say Pulp Fiction "defined" 90s, and I find it hard to disagree. The attitude, the cultural references, the dialogue, and the individual plot points all captured the time period perfectly.

You misunderstand me. I'll try to be more clear.

I wasn't saying that lines and dialogue determine when a movie becomes classic (although it does play a part). I was saying that movies like Casablanca are deeply entrenched into our culture. So much so that even people who have not seen the film or even heard of it will will be vaguely familiar with it. Like they have almost become a part of our subconscious kind of.

Kind of like Star Wars. I had a friend back in high school and she had never seen a single Star Wars film. And yet when I make a joke about Darth Vader or Yoda she instantly knows what I am talking about. Movies like that exist within peoples minds regardless of whether or not they have seen it.

In comparison to painting, it is the same thing. I am willing to bet that even someone who has never heard of Leonardo Da Vinci will know what the Mona Lisa is.

I think time will determine whether or not Pulp Fiction will be considered a classic or not. This in the context of the OPs time period of 100 years, it will be hard for any of us to make a decision of whether or not Pulp Fiction is a classic or not.

But everything else I agree with you. Especially that part about the no 'big picture" part and of capturing the zeitgeist. And yes Pulp Fiction could be considered the quintessential 90s movie.

I guess I just feel the word "classic" gets thrown around too often these days.