If you are passionate about cinema, you know that every decade contains pearls of the Seventh Art. And when it comes to classic or old movies, there are so many options that it can be difficult to know where to start. Check out below a list of 12 movie classics that the cinephile can’t miss.
1. Dirty Dancing – Hot Rhythm (1987)
The little baby was not delighted when her family decided to spend the summer of 1963 in a quiet resort in the Catskills. The place welcomes traditional families and seems to have a program more focused on seniors. However, Baby is surprised to meet dance teacher Johnny.
At first, the two do not get along, but she offers to help when Johnny’s dance partner has to leave the stage. While she is trying to learn the steps from him, the two eventually get to know each other better and begin to fall in love. However, their different backgrounds can be a problem for the baby’s family.
At the time of its release, the film was the first production to sell over 1 million copies on home video. The song the Time of my Life won the Oscar and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and a Grammy. And the dance scene, to which the song was the soundtrack, is still referenced in a wide variety of works today. Certainly a work that has earned its place in the list of the best old films.
2. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
In this classic film, which marked the career of James Dean, we trace a little the life of the restless Jim Stark. Because of the problems that Jim gets into, his parents have already moved with their son more than once. If you live in Los Angeles, Jim will eventually be arrested for disorderly conduct and drunkenness. What his parents did not expect was that the young man would find more reasons to follow this hiking trail, especially at the police station.
While in custody, Jim finally meets Plato, another rebellious young man who was arrested for shooting some dogs. The two also meet Judy, a girl who is angry with her own father. Jim is interested in Judy, but this puts him in trouble with the young woman’s girlfriend, a dangerous gang leader. From then on, any decision around the new rivalry can prevent or cause a tragedy.
3. Hiroshima, My Love (1959)
This film certainly deserves a place on our list of great movie classics. The Franco-Japanese work is one of the most influential productions of the new wave and is still considered one of the most important films in the history of cinema.
The plot follows a married French actress. Working in the city of Hiroshima, he has just finished his participation in a film about peace. And she also decides to end an extramarital relationship with a Japanese architect, who is also married. From then on, she remembers a tragic romance that she lived during the war.
Although the film is a novel, the work goes beyond the simple narrative and examines in detail the psychology, memory and behavior of people in the midst of trauma and lack of hope for the future. The film won the United Nations BAFTA Award in 1960.
4. Ghost (1990)
If you grew up watching movies about afternoon sessions, you probably watched this movie, maybe even more than once, and watch it again and again. One of the greatest novels in cinema, Ghost follows the young Sam Wheat. In a moment of professional growth and completely in love with his girlfriend Molly, Sam has just bought an apartment to live with her. Unfortunately, he is killed in a robbery shortly afterwards.
His mind remains in the world of the living, and Sam has to figure out why. During the investigation, he discovers that her death was a trap and that Molly is also in danger. To protect her, he enlists the help of a clumsy psychic, with whom he develops an unlikely friendship. The highest-grossing film of 1990, Ghost, earned Goldberg an Oscar, Bafta and Golden Globe for his incredible performance. Without a doubt, a good old movie that deserves to be seen and reworked.
5. Enjoying Life Adoidado (1986)
All the young people had a desire to do what only Ferris Bueller was capable of. To escape from a boring school day, Ferris pretended to be sick. It was enough for his parents to leave the house, and the teenager hurried to enjoy the day in a funny way next to his best friend and girlfriend. All this while the headmaster is trying to find her in the city.
Directed by John Hughes, the” master of teen films of the 1980s”, the film was described by several critics as a work that does not get tired of watching it again. Ferris Bueller’s Day of Fun reaches epic proportions in scenes that are still referenced in other films and series.
6. ET – The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
When an alien gets stranded on Earth, he strikes up an unlikely friendship with young Elliott. Gradually, the two good friends and even Elliott’s brothers will help to hide the visitor. However, the US government is trying to find ET, as it was called, for scientific research. And Elliott is running against time to help his friend find a way to return to his planet.
For 11 years, ET was the highest-grossing film of all time. The film was displaced in the ranking only with the release of Jurassic Park, also by Spielberg, in 1993. The following year, the National Film Registry selected the work for preservation as culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.
7. Home Alone (1990)
The holiday season requires a marathon of the two films in the original Home Alone franchise. The film that marked Christmas for so many generations follows the McCallister family. On a trip to Paris, there are so many children in the family that it turns out that young Kevin is accidentally left behind. While Kevin’s mother does everything to return and find her son, the boy enjoys the freedom of being at home alone.
However, the fun is interrupted at some point when a pair of famous housebreakers keep an eye on the McCallister residence. Although he misses his family and is afraid of burglars, Kevin devises an incredible plan with ingenious traps all over the house. For 21 years, the film was the highest-grossing comedy in the United States. To date, he is considered one of the best comedy, family and Christmas films, conquering new generations every year.
8. Pretty Woman (1990)
Vivian Ward worked as a prostitute in Hollywood, with the dream of one day resuming her studies. Her life changes when she meets wealthy businessman Edward Lewis. Having hired the young woman for one night, Edward simply enjoys her company and entertainment. Then he makes an unexpected proposal: hire her so that she can pretend to be his girlfriend at social and business events in which he has to attend.
From then on, the two get to know each other better. Despite her difficult life, Vivian is a happy and positive woman who takes pleasure in everything around her and respects everyone. Edward, although he can buy everything he wants, is a lonely man with past traumas. Over time, the two fall in love, but their different backgrounds can present major obstacles. To date, Pretty Woman is one of the most popular films in the history of cinema and one of the most successful romantic comedies.
9. The Godfather (1972)
A classic of the classics. This film follows a family of gangsters who are trying to expand their power in the United States after World War II. When the family patriarch Vito Corleone is murdered and incapacitated, his sons Michael and Sonny have to take over the business.
The film won the Academy Award for Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor. To this day, he is considered one of the best gangster films of all time and one of the most important films in the history of cinema. It was selected by the Library of Congress of the United States to be kept in the National Film Registry because of its cultural and historical significance.
10. Dead Poets Society (1989)
This film is one of the films that took the path of the brilliant Robin Williams in the cinema and follows the arrival of the new English teacher John Keating at a preparatory school for boys. The institution is extremely traditional and relies on the pressure of teachers and parents to keep students engaged. However, Keating uses unorthodox teaching methods. He begins to help his students overcome fears and shyness and follow their dreams, regardless of external pressure.
The film was acclaimed by both the audience and critics and remains one of the top recommendations for classic films to this day. Nominated for four Oscars – Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor – it won the Statuette in the Best Original Screenplay category.
11. Psycho (1960)
And if we talk about horror, we can not cross out Psycho from the list of the best classic films. The film follows a woman who stole $40,000 from the company she worked for and plans to use the money to marry her boyfriend. During her escape on the street, the young woman, due to a storm, decides to stop at the Bates Motel, a simple accommodation.
She is taken in by the nervous Norman Bates, a young man who has a difficult relationship with his mother and is interested in taxidermy. The following events surprised the audience and left their mark on the history of cinema, with scenes from the guest’s horror night recreated and referenced in many later works.
To date, the film is considered one of the horror classics and received a prequel spin-off series. The Bates Motel series ran for five seasons and featured Fredie Highmore as Norman Bates and Vera Farmiga as his mother Norma. The plot followed Norman’s youth and everything that he went through with his mother before the film.
12. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The banker Andy Dufresne was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife and her lover. Over the course of two decades, we see how he befriends the hermit and smuggler Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding. Red is part of the money laundering system organized by the prison guard.
The film was nominated for seven Oscars and was highly praised by critics and audience, as well as selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. To date, it is shown on television in different countries and is popular among those who have already seen this classic film.
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