10 Classics for 2015
My 2014 list provided some terrific viewing experiences. I really loved half of the movies on the list, and there was only one I didn't enjoy very much. My viewing last year was enriched by a couple of silent films, a foreign film, classic Westerns, and more. The 2014 list and reviews are all here.
Time to post this year's list of films I'm committing to finally seeing for the first time in 2015! This year I'm going to check out a couple more silent movies and also work on filling in some unseen titles by great directors such as John Ford, Ernst Lubitsch, William Wyler, and more.
The list also includes films I've never seen starring two of my all-time favorite actors, Tyrone Power and Joel McCrea, not to mention other favorites like George O'Brien and Ray Milland.
I also chose another foreign film for this year's list; I picked THE HIDDEN FORTRESS (1958) as I've never seen a Kurosawa film. This one is said to be somewhat lighter in tone than some of his films so it might be more likely to appeal to me, and I'm intrigued as it's considered a significant influence on one of my favorite movies, STAR WARS (1977).
As for EL DORADO (1967), for years my attitude has been why watch that when I can just watch the wonderful RIO BRAVO (1959) again? Time to finally check out Hawks and Wayne's later variation on the story. I'm the only person in my family who hasn't seen it!
The list for 2015:
3 BAD MEN (John Ford, 1926)
FLESH AND THE DEVIL (Clarence Brown, 1926)
THE LETTER (William Wyler, 1940)
THE LOST WEEKEND (Billy Wilder, 1945)
COLORADO TERRITORY (Raoul Walsh, 1949)
THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (Christian Nyby and Howard Hawks, 1951)
THE LONG GRAY LINE (John Ford, 1955)THE HIDDEN FORTRESS (Akira Kurosawa, 1958)
EL DORADO (Howard Hawks, 1967)
As I have done in previous years, I'll be returning to this post as I see each film, linking each title to its corresponding review.
Thanks to Blake Lucas and members of my family for their input on this year's list, and to Mel for sending me THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD.
Kristina of Speakeasy coincidentally also chose THE SMILING LIEUTENANT for her own "10 Classics" list, and we're going to try to blog about it in tandem next month.A couple other bloggers thus far have also posted "10 Classics" lists; they're linked here. Readers are welcome to post their own 10 Classics lists in the comments, and bloggers are welcome to provide links to 10 Classics blog posts.
This is a fun project which I've really enjoyed over the last few years, and I highly recommend giving it a try.
Previous "10 Classics" lists: 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011 (the 2011 list is at the end of the linked review).
Update: Le has now posted her list at Critica Retro. If needed, there's a handy translation button at the top of the page.
Update: Check out the new list at Classic Reel Girl.
posted by Laura @ 10:28 AM
11 Comments:
There are so many classics I haven't seen, including all of these! I think I want to concentrate on Best Picture Winners and movies in the National Film Registry, as well as some other lists I'm working through. Most of all I want to watch all the movies I already own that I haven't watched yet!
Flesh and the Devil is just perfection. It was one of the best films I watched last year, so breathtaking, with such a great beauty.
I always catch a glimpse of The Lost Weekend whenever it's on TV. It's a fabulous movie, and maybe someday I'll know it by heart!
I have to confess that I often mistake El Dorado and Rio Bravo... and I've watched both!
Good luck with your list!
Kisses!
That sounds good! My oldest daughter has a checklist of Best Picture winners and nominees she has been working on a bit at a time for years. :)
Happy viewing!
Best wishes,
Laura
Yes, thanks for the mention, and we will do the SMILING LT. two-fer for sure, "there is no try." Great stuff on your list, you'll have a good time with lots of these.
I was wondering if you might have The Treasure of the Sierra Madre on here. :) I haven't seen any on your list except El Dorado, and that many years ago; but I read an interesting review of Three Bad Men and have always been a bit curious about The Lost Weekend because of its "classic" status.
I won't make a yearly list, because movie viewing at our house is more when-we-feel-like-it than following any kind of pattern, but these are ten classics that I would like to catch up with sooner or later:
My Darling Clementine (1946)
Battleground (1949)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
3:10 to Yuma (1957)
Singin' In the Rain (1952)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Key Largo (1948)
The Clock (1945)
The Great Escape (1963)
I'll Be Seeing You (1944)
Thanks, Kristina! Looking forward to checking these movies out. :)
Elisabeth, THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE is a great idea for the future, not least because it was an important role for Tim Holt.
There are some outstanding titles on your "want to see soon" list. In particular THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD is one of my all-time favorite films, I suspect you'll really enjoy it.
Best wishes,
Laura
You've got some good watching ahead of you! I think you'll really like El Dorado. It does have a lot of similarities with Rio Bravo, but I mean, that's not really a bad thing! I watched it for my Blind Spot list two or three years ago, and it was one of my favorites.
I'm about to complete Billy Wilder's filmography, but The Lost Weekend is high on my rewatch list - I remember being really impressed with it when I saw it, but it's been a while.
Wow, you've got three of my favorites on there:
The Thing
Colorado Territory
El Dorado
It's gonna be a good year, Laura!
Thanks, Jandy! I'm really looking forward to EL DORADO. Love Mitchum as well as Wayne so I just needed a good excuse to look past RIO BRAVO toward this title. :)
I'm curious to see how I'll respond to THE LOST WEEKEND -- I hope to see it as soon as this weekend's UCLA screening.
Best wishes,
Laura
Toby, that is awesome to hear that I've chosen as many as three films so high on your favorites list. Getting even more excited to get started on this batch -- I'm determined to spread them out more this year and not leave half for my Christmas vacation LOL!
Best wishes,
Laura
A very diverse list! I still need to figure out what I want to see. It was definitely a great experience doing this last year, even if I didn't end up writing about all of the movies.
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