Movies. Are there any classic being made? (films, Hollywood, comedies)

[Cape Cod Todd]

After watching the Academy Awards Sunday night and seeing the tribute to the now 50 year old classic "The Sound of Music" I couldn't help but wonder what will be a classic 50 years from now?

Is Hollywood even producing classics anymore. They do make some terrific movies but I can't imagine any of them will have a song and dance routine in 50 years or even a mention.

In 50 years will people be talking about how pumped they were to see Fast and Furious 7 or Transformers or any of the Super hero movies?? How about "The Grand Budapest Hotel" or "American Sniper" ...
Will we look back at AVATAR and think how silly it was?

Is there such a thing as an ICON anymore? In the audience Sunday night was Clint Eastwood, he is an Icon. Was there anyone else?

What would you consider to be a Classic that will stand the test of time that has been made in the past say 10 years?

[citylove101]

I think its fruitless trying to figure out what the great movies will be 50 years from now. A classic is only revealed over time. Moreover, society's sensibilities change over time, making it really hard to know what will speak to generations hence.

Not a lot of love, for instance, for Hitchock's Vertigo when it opened, and its now considered one of the greatest of all time.
People loved Chicago, but in its initial incarnation as a Broadway musical years earlier it failed miserably, because folks thought it way too cynical.
And who wants to admit today that they actually liked Forest Gump, which won the best picture Oscar over Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption, arguably both much better moves that have aged well.

I don't think we can sweat what the next classic will be and neither, I suspect, do directors and producers either. Its like trying to figure out what the next big tech start-up will be or the next hot stock on Wall Street. If it were easy to do we'd all be rich. Let's just take our movies one day at a time. History will judge.

[Mark S.]

I can think of very few movies I've seen in the past several years that will be a classic. Scorsese's THE DEPARTED was one of his best movies, and that's saying something. THE LORD OF THE RINGS films will be classics; THE HOBBIT movies most definitely won't.

All the real talent in terms of storytelling is on TV these days. Movies are kind of in a rut. The Oscars this year were dominated by movies that critics loved, but audiences largely ignored. That isn't the making of a classic.

But definitely don't watch the Oscars to judge a classic. They have a really poor track record in this regard. CHICAGO was a well made snore. GLADIATOR was a silly snore.

No. If you want to see today's classics, watch TV.

One critic put it really well a couple of years ago: "I saw a lot of good movies this year, but I didn't see a single movie that was half as good as the last four episodes of Breaking Bad."

[Icy Tea]

LOL, it won't be "Ghostbusters 3". That looks terrible just from the cast alone.

[baileyvpotter]

Who really knows what future generations will think as classic or good old films. My guess would be:
Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Little Miss Sunshine
Pan's Labyrinth
Let Me In
Kill Bill (I and II)
Side Effects
The Road
Sin City
No Country For Old Men
Mary and Max

[Cape Cod Todd]

Thinking more on the classic film theme what made a classic to begin with? a big budget? big name actors? a cast of thousands?
I keep thinking about the big ones like
The Wizard of OZ
Ben Hur
Cleopatra
Cassablanca

Critics love Rosebud and it always makes the top of the best ever lists but??


I agree that the Lord of the Rings first 3 will be a classic but the book already was so all they could do was mess it up like they did with the Hobbit. The hobbit could have been done in 2 movies but the studio saw MONEY stretched it to 3.

I also agree that Forrest Gump is a classic just like National Lampoons Christmas Vacation and Pulp Fiction.
Some other huge hits like , the Kill Bills, Sin City, Chicago (loved it) Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, 300, Jaws, were ground breaking films and I can see them standing the test of time. The Clint Eastwood Westerns are also good.

Hollywood has been stuck for a bit making sequels and decent films that not many see. Special effects seem to rule and spending 100 million is the requirement to hit that Summer block buster. What they are forgetting all too often is that the plot and characters are more important than the explosions. Case in point Breaking Bad that Mark S brought up.
There is a reason why The Walking Dead is so good, it's not the zombies but how the characters deal with them and each other. It is a well written show like Breaking Bad was.

I guess we will need to stick around for another 50 years so we can see what will be a held high and what will be forgotten.

[Icy Tea]

I never thought " Citizen Kane" was as good as many think it was. I saw all the technique and thought it was forced, that you had a basically good movie that tried very hard to be incredible by over use of technique.

[katygirl68]

Originally Posted by citylove101

I think its fruitless trying to figure out what the great movies will be 50 years from now. A classic is only revealed over time. Moreover, society's sensibilities change over time, making it really hard to know what will speak to generations hence.

Not a lot of love, for instance, for Hitchock's Vertigo when it opened, and its now considered one of the greatest of all time.
People loved Chicago, but in its initial incarnation as a Broadway musical years earlier it failed miserably, because folks thought it way too cynical.
And who wants to admit today that they actually liked Forest Gump, which won the best picture Oscar over Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption, arguably both much better moves that have aged well.

I don't think we can sweat what the next classic will be and neither, I suspect, do directors and producers either. Its like trying to figure out what the next big tech start-up will be or the next hot stock on Wall Street. If it were easy to do we'd all be rich. Let's just take our movies one day at a time. History will judge.

What is it with the Forrest Gump hate on C-D? I don't get it. I proudly admit I like Forrest Gump, and it has aged well. I also liked Pulp Fiction and Shawshank Redemption, but still think the right movie won. I think Forrest Gump will be considered a classic in 50 years.

[MordinSolus]

The thing about "the classics" is that they're not the best movies, they just have the benefit of nostalgia and being some of the better movies of their time. That is to say, movies were not as good back then because of the limitations of the time. Production value was lower, performances were worse, and dialog was generally terrible. And Hollywood is in love with the old and hates the new. I would rewatch about 1000 movies before watching The Sound of Music again. I grew up with it already being a "classic" and have no real nostalgia for it so to me it's just an old movie that's decent. In 50 years I will care even less about it, but I'll probably still enjoy the hell out of Hot Fuzz and Iron Man in 50 years.

[Blinx]

Do classics = favorites? Award winners? For me, they're movies I watch over and over, no matter what the critics say.

I like both the "classic" screwball/romantic comedies from the 1930s (My Favorite Wife, Libeled Lady, Arsenic and Old Lace).
And the romantic comedies from more recent years (When Harry Met Sally, Four Weddings and a Funeral, You've Got Mail).

Some movies considered classics today got mixed/unfavorable reviews when they were release (It's a Wonderful Life, Sound of Music).