Movies From the 21st Century That Will Be Remembered as CLASSICS

okay, this isn't just a place to list modern movies that you like.. i'm talkin' about movies that will be looked back on as bonafide classics.. movies that will be shown in film appreciation classes.. movies that will be screened in upscale theaters on special occasions.. movies that will be perpetually included in lists written by cranky old bastards.. movies that will be regarded, by general consensus, as GREAT films.. i'm sure i'm missing a bunch, but here are my Top Five:

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Amelie (2001)
Children of Men (2006)
Zodiac (2007)
The Wrestler (2008)

and, just in case i'm dead wrong, here's my backup five:

High Fidelity (2000)
American Splendor (2003)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
No Country for Old Men (2007)
WALL-E (2008)

annnnnd one honorable mention: The Departed (2006)

Lord of the Rings, I guess that one is kinda obvious. I would also throw in Prates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Probably The Prestige and Pan's Labyrinth. Maybe Last King of Scotland and Signs.

I second Children of Men (One of the best sci fi movies of recent years), and Eternal Sunshine.

My list would include the likes of:
There Will Be Blood (First and Foremost, one of the best directed movies I've ever seen)
Into the Wild
Shoot Em' Up (Classic Dark Comedy)
Gone Baby Gone
Brick
The Squid and the Whale
The Village
Requiem for a Dream
The Prestige
Atonement
The Prestige
Cast Away
Cars
The Illusionist
Little Miss Sunshine

I think that's all I can think of, probably more but that's a good starter list for me.

out of the movies mentioned, i definitely agree with The Prestige.. (packpal was so sure about that one, he listed it twice).. if Nolan continues the path he's on, maybe even Following will get some recognition..

Pan's Labyrinth and Little Miss Sunshine are possible contenders, too.. and maybe There Will Be Blood.. that's the definition of a flawed masterpiece in my book.. it was so close to greatness--but, at its worst, it sinks into the realm of (unintentional) self-parody.. and some of the score is just wildly inappropriate

Signs was good also Undeadmonkey, I do enjoy it every time I watch it.

NSpan, after my first viewing of There Will be Blood I thought that's a movie that could one day fight for top spot of all movies, but I don't think it will happen until Paul Anderson dies and all his works are looked together and compared, it will be then that it gets singled out as his greatest materpiece and then it's compared to the rest of cinema and there it will make it's claim.

You were saying the other day on the AFI movies about old cranky men voting on these movies but I think the actual reason some movies are looked at better than others is who's dead and who's alive. e.g. Was Psycho viewed at the materpiece of all materpieces of Alfred Hitchcock while he was alive. No, Vertigo was being shoved down our throats but once he died, we viewed all his works as a whole and from there what was the high point, that then is compared to the rest of cinema.

DDL acting makes up for any such flaws you speak about, the acting is, do I dare say the best ever in any movie of all time. Not that he's the best actor but him in that role was like that guy that painted the Sixteenth Chapal.

packpaljs wrote:NSpan, after my first viewing of There Will be Blood I thought that's a movie that could one day fight for top spot of all movies, but I don't think it will happen until Paul Anderson dies and all his works are looked together and compared, it will be then that it gets singled out as his greatest materpiece and then it's compared to the rest of cinema and there it will make it's claim.

despite my adoration for TWBB, I thought Punch-Drunk Love was one of the worst movies i've ever seen

You were saying the other day on the AFI movies about old cranky men voting on these movies but I think the actual reason some movies are looked at better than others is who's dead and who's alive. e.g. Was Psycho viewed at the materpiece of all materpieces of Alfred Hitchcock while he was alive. No, Vertigo was being shoved down our throats but once he died, we viewed all his works as a whole and from there what was the high point, that then is compared to the rest of cinema.

that's a good point.. it's the same in the music world.. nobody is a "genius" until they're dead.. (and if they die early, their lost potential is automatically assumed to be through the goddamn roof... see: Joplin, Hendrix, Morrison)

Never seen Punch-Drunk Love, I've heard that I need to, but just haven't pulled the trigger yet.

Here's a few off the top of my head:

No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Pan's Labyrinth
Adaptation / Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind [Group rate!]
Children of Men

Now that I look at some other posts, I see a few others selected some of what's on my list, and others that I would put on mine (The Royal Tenenbaums). I may add more to this thread when I really think about it (great thread btw, I'll also be adding to the sister thread later).

I think There Will Be Blood will be in contention for those cranky old bastard lists, whereas me, I appreciate it, but didn't really enjoy it at all. I definitely agree with The Wrestler, because well, I feel like I could write a small book about all the stuff that was right about that movie. I definitely disagree with Zodiac, as it pretty much bored me to tears. I don't know about No Country for Old Men. It will always be on my list, but I don't know if it will be counted amongst the all time classics. I definitely see Lord of the Rings in that category, as UDM pointed out. I think the Prestige has a shot, but it doesn't seem like a grumpy old men movie, but I could be wrong there. I think the Departed will be there.

As far as my opinion... I have to say The Dark Knight will be there. They can't continue to disregard the entire genre when a film that complete and brilliant exists. Memento is absolutely one that will be on those lists, for originality alone. Oldboy and City of God amongst the foreign films that I haven't seen. And possibly Ratatouille, which I think will definitely hold up better than Wall-E, because it was simply a better film.

keep in mind that the Coen brothers will be (and already are) regarded as two of the most influential directors of all time.. any list aiming to recognize achievement in film will have to acknowledge at least one of their films.. as it stands, Fargo has been considered (by cranky old men everwhere) to be that movie.. i think No Country might have the chops to dethrone it--or, as the case may be, join it in the ranks of "Classic" movie status..

Blood Simple was too raw.. Raising Arizona was too silly.. Barton Fink was too artsy.. The Big Lebowski might be too "out there"--but, then again, it's probably No Country's strongest competitor in the long run.. O Brother, Where Art Thou was a failed experiment.. Burn After Reading was a(n intentional) throwaway.. Miller's Crossing had everything it takes but, for some reason, remains under-recognized..

don't get me wrong, my blunt dismissals of most of these movies isn't meant pejoratively--just speaking in the context of this thread.. in fact, these are some of my all-time favorites.. i'm just not sure there's room for them all to be appropriately recognized by the general public down the road

I don't know if The Big Lebowski is too out there. I think that these type of movies actually get rewarded for taking risks. That and it is simply one of the funniest films ever made. If I had to pick one, it would be the Dude. I do hope that No Country will be recognized as you say, as I believe it deserves it, I just don't know if it will.

agreed... personally, i think all of the Coens' best work was done in the 80s and 90s.. but, out of their 21st century films, No Country is easily the strongest contender

NSpan wrote:agreed... personally, i think all of the Coens' best work was done in the 80s and 90s.

Totally. Fargo, Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink, Blood Simple and The Big Lebowski are some of my favourite movies of the last two decades. And i personally don't think any one of them have aged badly. Miller's Crossing has probably aged the best. The closest a film in that genre has come to it since is probably Road To Perdition, which will also probably be hailed a classic in time.

This is always an interesting topic to me, because it's only after a movie has aged considerably that you can feel the impact of it on the future of film and on pop-culture. There are many movies that really need to be veiwed in the context of their time in order to be fully appreciated, but then there are others that can only acheive their intended purpose by being allowed to transcend generations.

Some of these are already considered classics, and will most likely continue to be regarded as such.

Memento(2000)
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind(2001)
Road to Perdition(2002)
Cold Mountain(2003)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind(2004)
Cinderella Man(2005)
Death Proof(2006)
Southland Tales(2007)
The Wrestler(2008)

Southland Tales, I haven't seen, should I??? IPKI$$

Some people will tell you no...Don't listen to them. It's incredible. I don't know how similar our tastes in film are, pack, but I think Southland Tales is an absolutely BRILLIANT and meticulously crafted satire of today's society from start to finish...Far and away better than Donnie Darko(same director).

I think myself and IPKI$$ are the only ones on this board that can see the quality in Southland Tales. If nothing you should find it an ambitious and sprawling depiction of society, even if you ultimately find it a failure, but to those that got it, it will be a true classic which really broke the boundaries of traditional film making. I loved it, but many hate it. I can certainly recommend it though.

I love ambitious films unless they are just trying to be disgusting and stupid.....Rob Zombie comes to mind. I'll see if my blockbuster has it next time I'm there.

never saw it... never really planned to... maybe i'll add it to the movie club calendar for 2012

eh, I watched Southland Tales twice in a row when I rented it. There is a really good story int here but the direction is so convoluted that it gets muddled in itself. I will give it credit for being innovative and bringing some interesting elements to plot and character development but I did not think it was effective in all the aspects it could. I did not "hate" it though. Especially after watching Heckler, "hating" a film is downright insulting and amateurish. That's why i choose to critique a film on it's finer points.

Anyways, here are my additions

Doubt
Dogville
Manderlay
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Unbreakable

oh yeah and the film that won 8 fucking Oscars
Slumdog Millionaire

I want to see Southland Tales, but need to read the comic first.

For those who don't know, the comic is a prelude of sorts to the movie...from what I understand, the movie is completely hard to understand without reading the comic first.

I mentioned this on the other thread, but I gotta throw in Lucky Number Slevin and V For Vendetta.

I think I'll enjoy Slevin as much ten years from now as I do Usual Suspects now. And the underlying theme behind Vendetta is something that isn't likely to change in our lifetime.

I would also second a lot of the Pixar films, especially Ratatouille and Wall-E, which I think will age better than some have alluded to. DreamWorks won't fare nearly as well... of their films, the only ones I might consider nominating are Kung Fu Panda and Over the Hedge, as they don't use pop-culture references as a crutch. Another animated film that might survive the test of time is Spirited Away, and possibly Horton Hears a Who (minus the REO Speedwagon singalong), given the timelessness of Dr. Seuss and its appeal with kids.

Dark Knight will age well. It's the paragon of the genre, how can it not? Spider-Man 1 and 2 may also last longer than much of the superhero genre, which will probably be played out in five years or so.

Spoof movies and disaster movies never age well, and action movies are a dime-a-dozen. Even really cool ones like Eagle Eye or Transformers would probably just be considered a passing fad, much like the Die Hard series was in the 90s.

For the "Oscar" winners? That's the toughest one to call. One can simply never tell which ones are classics as they are happening, and which ones aren't. Only time can do that. I, for one, will always love Lord of the Rings, and would watch them all back-to-back five times before I sat through Titanic even once more.

I think the comic is more of a companion, I've yet to read it, but I have a friend who did and he says its pretty much more-or-less the same thing...Kinda like the junior novelization of Balto.

Considering the amount of comics I read I have never gotten round to reading Southland Tales. However, I found the movie coherent enough without having done so. I will have to scout the comic out though, I've never seen it in my local comic store.

Shrykespeare wrote: The Dark Knight will age well. It's the paragon of the genre, how can it not?

I think it will look 10 years old in less than 5. It's going to be a replay of the original Batman series, which was also considered THE superhero/comic book movie at the time...and even moreso Batman Returns. In 20 years, people will think that every entry in any series of films look the same. People will like Batman Forever better than The Dark Knight and Moonraker or Live and Let Die better than Casino Royale...There will be no obvious differences.

That's the great thing about watching a movie long after its been released, you can watch it more objectively without all of the public opinions to sway your own expectations.