The New Classics: Part II

I know you have all been sitting patiently by your computer, hitting the refresh button every 7.5 seconds, awaiting the most eagerly anticipated list since the scene in "10 Things I Hate About You" where we found out exactly what were the 10 things she hated about him. Without further ado, our list of new classics (see rules and criteria in previous post) in alphabetical order:



Beauty and the Beast
This qualified as our animated feature. Not necessarily the most popular of Disney’s dominant run of hits (Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Lion King), but was (and remains) the only animated feature to ever be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Timeless story, fantastic characters, memorable songs, and quotable (“I want to do something for her, but what? Well, there’s the usual things: flowers, chocolates, promises you don’t intend to keep”).

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
A defining comedy of the 80s, yet has incredible staying power. Infinitely quotable (“Mind your Ps and Qs, and remember who you’re dealing with”), and filled with famous scene after famous scene. Much imitated, but never duplicated.

The Matrix
Just snuck in at the end of our time window, and was a point of debate since SciFi films don’t tend to age very well. But this film changed movies in a number of ways. One of the first “cult” hits of the internet age, and interest was fueled by a viral marketing campaign (What is the Matrix?). Completely re-invented special effects technology and was mimicked by dozens of films thereafter.

The Natural
We figured there should be one sports movie on the list, and it came down to this, Field of Dreams, and Bull Durham. We felt this film will stand the test of time better than the others due to the themes of promise, failure, and redemption. The star power is impressive, with Robert Redford, Glenn Close, and Robert Duvall, and the cinematography is breathtaking.

Pulp Fiction
Qualified as Mike’s exemption. Does not fit into any particular category, which is probably why we included it. Very dark, very funny, with characters that are memorable and told in a unique non-linear storyline. Unforgettable monologues. Changed the landscape regarding the viability of independent films and launched endless debates about what was in the briefcase.

The Princess Bride
This was Andrea’s exemption, although Mike probably wouldn’t have disagreed. Clever storytelling and fantastic, quotable dialog (“Inconceivable!”). One of the most re-watchable films ever.

Raiders of the Lost Ark
Redefined the action film to be both fun and smart. Some of the most famous action sequences ever filmed, including the escape on the truck and search for Marion in the market. “Snakes…why did it have to be snakes.” Plus, the latest Indy flick (Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) makes this movie look 73 times better.

Saving Private Ryan
A game-changer when it comes to epic/war films due to its extremely violent and graphic content. But the film goes where few other war films have gone with its breaking of war movie rules: heroism is not rewarded, the good guys don’t always win, and nothing is as clear as black and white. Contains one of the most memorable monologues in the past decade when Tom Hanks finally reveals what he used to do before becoming a solider.

Schindler's List
Extremely powerful, moving film with career-defining performances from Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes. I have to admit, it is hard to re-watch, but seeing it once is enough to stick with you for a long time.

Star Wars Epsiode V - The Empire Strikes Back
There is no avoiding Star Wars when Mike is involved. Empire is an extremely rare film where the sequel is actually better than the the original. Classic story telling with marquee names like Harrison Ford, and is very re-watchable (Mike estimates he has seen it 20 times). As with Raiders, it looks even better in comparison to the subsequent films that followed in the franchise.

And that's it folks. We're sure we have missed a few and raised a few eyebrows with inclusions of some of our choices. Let us know where we went wrong!

The New Classics

While washing dishes tonight, we got into a discussion about classic movies. We have been on a classic movie kick lately, watching Casablanca, Vertigo, Holiday Inn, etc. Our discussion centered on a very simple idea: what are the new classics? We came up with some interesting results, so we thought we'd share.

First, we had to define what a "new classic" is. To do so, we came up with a few rules and selection criteria. First, the rules:

Rule #1
The movie has to have been made in our lifetime (since 1980) but excluding the past decade (too recent to make a judgement), thus we settled on 1980-1999.

Rule #2
We will narrow down movies based on selection criteria below to arrive at 10 films we think will be classics. Both of us have to agree on every movie in the final list with one exemption each (so Mike can choose 1 movie that Andrea cannot veto, and vice versa).

Rule #3
A series/franchise cannot be counted as a single entry, but each movie in the series is open to consideration. However, sequels and prequels do affect legacy.

After setting up the rules, we perused various websites that listed movies from the 80s and 90s and began making a list of potential candidates by using the following criteria:

1. Re-watchability (Do we enjoy watching this movie again and again)
2. Longevity (Do we still feel strongly about this movie now and is that feeling likely to last another 10-15 years)
3. Star Power (Are there major stars in the movie that make it a must-see)
4. Impact on culture (Is this movie a defining film for that era)
5. Impact on other films (Did this movie start a trend that was copied by many other films)
6. Quotability (Does Mike frequently quote the movie in daily life)
7. Diversity (When in doubt, diversity in theme/style/plot on this list is a plus)

We narrowed down our list to 10 films, which I will post next time (I know, the suspense is palpable). For now, here is our honorable mentions (last 5 cut from the list) with some notes on why we liked them and what ultimately led to us leaving them off.

Honorable Mentions

The Breakfast Club
One of the defining movies of the 80s and featured the "Brat Pack" that made a dozen films. Funny and poignant, has been imitated countless times. Was left out because it was too similar to one of the films on our list that edged it out regarding longevity.

Dances with Wolves
Fits the bill as far as epics are concerned, and Kevin Costner is actually believable as a Civil Ware vet. Great music and the film is remarkably very quotable ("Ta-tonka....Buffalo...Ta-tonka"). We ended up with too many dramas on our list, so this one had to go.

Jurassic Park
One of the few examples of a Michael Crichton novel that translated well to the big screen (Timeline, Sphere, and Congo are all great books that did not end up as great movies). Blockbuster at the time, has not aged well and the dialogue seems too cheesy to be a classic.

Top Gun
Definitely a trend-setter for high octane action films, and very quotable ("That's right, Ice-man, I am dangerous"). Very re-watchable, however a lot of the serious scenes are unintentionally funny.

Toy Story
We had a hard time leaving this one off the list. Was immensely popular and opened the door to computer animation, which is now a staple of the film industry. Ultimately, we left if off because we don't really feel like watching it again, and we felt the only films that could be seen once and still make the list had to be hard-to-watch dramas.