What films of the last 15 years will be seen as classics?

[Spoonsky]

I think this deserves it's own thread.

It's hard to know, isn't it? For me most of the greatest films of this decade have been pretty small-profile (and foreign) compared to the Avengers shite: Under the Skin, Ida, Force Majeure, the Great Beauty... I don't think that enough people have watched any of those for them to really become classics in a popular sense. The King's Speech is one that is nailed on. I'd argue for Her as well. I guess if you go further back there's There Will Be Blood, or Lost in Translation (though that seems to split opinions pretty well). Skyfall probably will go down as a classic. I love Wes Anderson but I'm not sure he's really made a classic film yet.

I was also barely sentient between 2000 and 2011 or so, so I'm sure to have missed a lot.

[QE Harold Flair]

If The King's Speech is a standard-bearer we're in trouble. It's not bad but I wouldn't watch it again. I've probably seen The Life Of Brian more times than films I've watched all the way through this year.

For me, Touching The Void (not really a film, but oh well) and Shutter Island would be up there.

[Reg]

I agree that The Great Beauty should. Lost in Translation is a good shout too.

Out of my suggestions in the other thread, I'd be quite confident in Skyfall and Django Unchained.

[Dark Soldier]

Incendies should but probably won't. Absolutely devastating piece of cinema. The LotR efforts will be held high for a long while due to the following they have.

City of God and Eternal Sunshine should be up there as well.

[Reg]

I liked Eternal Sunshine a lot.

Have you seen others by Sorrentino, Spoonsky? Worth watching?

[Dark Soldier]

Youth is getting superb feedback from those I trust on film, Reg.

[Spoonsky]

I have not. His new one looks... interesting, though. (Well hello there, DS.)

Keep in mind that this isn't about the best films of the last 15 years. There are plenty of brilliant films over the years that are never seen as classics for various reasons, usually because they're too low-profile.

[Demerit]

Does Forrest Gump/The Green Mile count or is that too old? Are they already classics?

From definitely post 2000 films I'd say:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Boyhood
There Will Be Blood
The Social Network (one of the most rewatchable films out there, mainly because of the DoP)
Pans Labyrinth
The Lives of Others
Sean of The Dead

[Demerit]

Youth is getting superb feedback from those I trust on film, Reg.

Who are they? Always on the lookout for good opinions.

Oh and yeah, City of God is a certain.

[Reg]

8 Mile could be. It'll get extra points for being the first really good film about hip-hop.

[Multi]

What the name of the film with that gay English fella who built a machine that killed all the Nazis?

I'll also throw Interstellar into the mix.

[Giggles]

I've only really liked stuff that would be ridiculed as mainstream here.

EDIT: Though, I see Interstellar mentioned, so we must all be open to ridicule. Biggest can of piss I've seen from the whole lot.

[Alan Shearer The 2nd]

The Departed

[Danny]

What the name of the film with that gay English fella who built a machine that killed all the Nazis?

I'll also throw Interstellar into the mix.

Not sure about the machine doing the killing but I think you mean The Imitation Game

[Dark Soldier]

Who are they? Always on the lookout for good opinions.

Todd McCarthy, Bradshaw of The Guardian (tad pretentious when it comes to blockbusters but he knows his shit re: art/euro cinema) are the two main ones I read, depends on the film really. A lot of the time I go off synopsis and the RT score.

[Spoonsky]

Interstellar had the makings of a classic but it got lost up its own arse.

[Dark Soldier]

Sunshine, if you discount the last 20 minutes, is a stunning piece of work. That should be remembered fondly.

[Alan Shearer The 2nd]

Forgot Gladiator was 2000

[Multi]

Interstellar was a proper event though, everyone was talking about it. Not a lot of movies generates that much hype and discussion, I think it'll be remembered in 15 years for sure at least. Classic I'm not sure of, but I figured I should mention it.

[Manc]

Fight Club. 1999

[Demerit]

Todd McCarthy, Bradshaw of The Guardian (tad pretentious when it comes to blockbusters but he knows his shit re: art/euro cinema) are the two main ones I read, depends on the film really. A lot of the time I go off synopsis and the RT score.

What's the general consensus on Kermode? I listen to his podcast which I enjoy.

But what does everyone actually think about his opinions.

[Demerit]

Dark Soldier finding it hard to find recent McCarthy reviews.

[Mazuuurk]

The Lord of the Rings trilogy, surely? Say what you will about them, but they were pretty special films all things considered.

[Max Power]

I liked Eternal Sunshine a lot.

Have you seen others by Sorrentino, Spoonsky? Worth watching?
Il Divo is excellent. Consequences of Love is very good. The one with Sean Penn is a bit rubbish though

[Reg]

Il Divo is excellent. Consequences of Love is very good. The one with Sean Penn is a bit rubbish though
Cheers. :thbup: Might watch one of those tomorrow.

[Dark Soldier]

Dark Soldier finding it hard to find recent McCarthy reviews.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/critic/todd-mccarthy/

[Boydy]

12 Years a Slave

[Boydy]

I watched The Great Beauty recently and while I thought it was good I didn't think it was as great as the hype on here auggested.

[Jeet]

Skyfall made no sense. Great action film, but plot had too many holes.

[Manc]

12 Years a Slave

I'll second this. Not ashamed to say I got teary eyed at the cinema.

[mugbull]

Interstellar was garbage. Inception was way better and will definitely be a classic. Boyhood will be considered a classic, but not enough people have seen it so it might forever just be a niche choice.

[Pepe]

The Social Network (one of the most rewatchable films out there, mainly because of the DoP)

:harold:

[Pepe]

The King's Speech is one that is nailed on.

What makes it 'nailed on?' Don't recall it being particularly interesting.

[Pepe]

Are we talking Citizen Kane or Back to the Future type of classic?

[Magic]

I think I'd claw my own eyes out before watching the Social Network again.

[phonics]

City of God is a definitive classic.

[Lewis]

Probably none. I can't see the films of my childhood being beaten. Not when they were objectively perfect.

[Spoonsky]

What makes it 'nailed on?' Don't recall it being particularly interesting.

It's just one of those films that everybody knows and has seen, I think. It was also one of the most recent films to have been posted in that "Great film monologues" thread, which I think shows that people already think of it that way.


Probably none. I can't see the films of my childhood being beaten. Not when they were objectively perfect.

Alright, Harold.

[Boydy]

Alright, Harold.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3b8ovwtp1uo/Uc776Sr2bTI/AAAAAAAANp4/fSHHrO0G6I0/s320/thats-the-joke.gif

[Baz]

Four Lions.

[Yevrah]

City of God will definitely be one.

The number of Hollywood classics inducted from this decade will definitely be down due to everything being a superhero/comic book movie though.

[phonics]

Fast And Furious 5 will be remembered in the same vain as those classic action movies. It's a masterpiece.

[Smiffy]

.....

[QE Harold Flair]

City of God will definitely be one.

The number of Hollywood classics inducted from this decade will definitely be down due to everything being a superhero/comic book movie though.

It really won't. Not enough people have seen it.

[QE Harold Flair]

Fast And Furious 5 will be remembered in the same vain as those classic action movies. It's a masterpiece.

I guarantee it won't.

[ItalAussie]

FF5 probably won't be remembered due to the fact that it's in the middle of a long-running franchise.

However, if there's any franchise that can reasonably be considered the spiritual successor to the old explosive action movies, it probably is the Fast & Furious series. Especially once they hit the fourth one and started embracing that particular identity.

[Yevrah]

It really won't. Not enough people have seen it.

It really will, they have.

[Yevrah]

I've still never seen a Fast and Furious movie.

[QE Harold Flair]

It really will, they have.

How do you know? There's no way it will garner viewing figures comparable with the likes of the films I listed.

[ItalAussie]

Is it all about numbers? City of God has a huge amount of critic-cred. There's more than one way to be a classic. Citizen Kane famously didn't break the box office. Shawshank Redemption and Blade Runner didn't even make back their budget in the box office either. Wizard of Oz and Fight Club did, but they didn't fare much better than that.

[QE Harold Flair]

I think numbers is a big part, yes. It's about what films will be seen as classics rather than what you personally think are classics. If most people don't know the film it won't be seen as a classic.

[Yevrah]

How do you know? There's no way it will garner viewing figures comparable with the likes of the films I listed.

It's at number 21 in IMDB's list, with half a million votes. It's a classic already.

[Yevrah]

Given it's barely in the last 15 years though Hazza, it hardly invalidates your argument, so I wouldn't worry.

[QE Harold Flair]

It's at number 21 in IMDB's list, with half a million votes. It's a classic already.

Well IMDB is for film buffs more than the general public. I reckon most people wouldn't even know the film exists.

And yea it just about fits in. I just don't think foreign films will ever garner enough popular attention to fit the criteria.

[ItalAussie]

That just means that it becomes a Metropolis, Battleship Potemkin, or Das Boot style classic instead. That's still a classic.

You can get classics based on popular appeal, and classics based on critical reception. Those are both perfectly valid avenues to be remembered.

[QE Harold Flair]

A real classic will be both those things in my view.

[Yevrah]

A real classic will be both those things in my view.

Yet you listed Shutter Island as one in your first post in this thread?

Mmmkay.

[ItalAussie]

A real classic will be both those things in my view.

If your definition of a real classic knocks out Citizen Kane, Vertigo, Blade Runner, Wizard of Oz, Battleship Potemkin, Shawshank Redemption, Metropolis, Fight Club, Seventh Seal, Das Boot, Brazil, and Seven Samurai, then you're going to find that it's a pretty niche definition.

I do see what you're driving at, but I think a film should be able to shine so much in one category that it can't be ignored. Pushing the Top 20 on the IMDB list is a strong indicator that it's too highly critically-regarded to be left aside.

[QE Harold Flair]

Well it doesn't personally, no. But for the purposes of this discussion, yes. I'm not sure about the validity of your claims regarding the likes of Fight Club and Blade Runner, though. They have been seen by a lot of people and are, I put it to you, very well known worldwide.

[ItalAussie]

Well it doesn't personally, no. But for the purposes of this discussion, yes. I'm not sure about the validity of your claims regarding the likes of Fight Club and Blade Runner, though. They have been seen by a lot of people and are, I put it to you, very well known worldwide.They did tank at the box office - neither of them even made their production costs back in movie tickets. They've become more popular with age, as their critical and popular reception took hold.

The films I listed above are all either films that tanked in the box office, or films that are considered to be among the most influential classics (even by the standards of classics) in film history. Or in the case of Vertigo and Citizen Kane, both. I have to think that any definition of a classic which ignores that is lacking somewhat.

[SvN]

Fight Club tanked?

[ItalAussie]

Fight Club tanked?

Apparently. Production costs in the 60 millions, and box office in the 30 millions. I pulled that from an article though - I definitely didn't know it off the top of my head. It comes up in a lot of "classic films that were box office flops" lists.

[SvN]

After looking into it, the $30million was domestic gross. It made $100million worldwide. Still lower than I expected, but I'm not sure it constitutes a box office disaster.

Source: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=fightclub.htm

[Henry]

Popular culture will probably regard all of the shite that Marvel has released as being "classic", and maybe some of Tarantino's output.

More legitimately, the Nolan Batman films, the LoTR trilogy, 12 Years a Slave, The Departed, No Country for Old Men, City of God...

There are others that I liked as much or more, but I recognise that they are niche.

[Lewis]

We've had plenty of 'classics'. They might not permeate popular culture to the same extent, because it's not 1953 and we 1) have more choice; 2) don't need idealised versions of the Second World War reminding us that we're still important, but I'm sure we will still be watching Gladiator in fifty years.

[QE Harold Flair]

I didn't like Gladiator, so I won't. I prefer well done, factual documentaries about these things, personally.

Film versions are always embellished with pretentious directors changing the real story for no good reason.

Touching The Void and The Beckoning Silence - that's how it should be done as far as docu-films go.

[Yevrah]

Why do you bother watching films in the first place then?

It sounds like you don't like them that much.

[QE Harold Flair]

Why do you bother watching films in the first place then?

It sounds like you don't like them that much.

I do. I was talking about a specific type of film there. It always annoys me when directors change the real story when the real story doesn't need changing.

[Spoonsky]

Not to prove Harold's point but I've barely heard of City of God.

[Pepe]

I've barely heard of Das Boot.

[Pepe]

From what has been mentioned so far:

BTTF style:
Lord of the Rings
Harry Potter
Gladiator

CK style:
City of God
Memento
Eternal Sunshine

[ScousePig]

Love Actually.

[phonics]

Is The Notebook this millennias Casablanca?

[Spoonsky]

I don't think the Notebook is nearly as well respected as Casablanca.

[Spoonsky]

Napoleon Dynamite is a perfect example for this. Midnight in Paris seems to be another one that's embedded itself in the public imagination.

[Dark Soldier]

Not to prove Harold's point but I've barely heard of City of God.

Stop everything and watch it.

[QE Harold Flair]

No, don't!

[Dquincy]

New James Bond film is shit.

[Toby]

How do you know? There's no way it will garner viewing figures comparable with the likes of the films I listed.

The films you listed being Touching the Void and Shutter Island?

Scorcese and Di Caprio give the latter massive viewing figures, but Touching the Void is hardly a household name. City of God outperformed it if we look only at box office figures.

[QE Harold Flair]

The films you listed being Touching the Void and Shutter Island?

Scorcese and Di Caprio give the latter massive viewing figures, but Touching the Void is hardly a household name. City of God outperformed it if we look only at box office figures.

I mentioned those films in a different thread about a different topic.......

[Toby]

You didn't, but I accept the unnecessary extra thread caused the confusion. Putting forward Touching the Void does suggest you don't really believe what you're arguing though.


If The King's Speech is a standard-bearer we're in trouble. It's not bad but I wouldn't watch it again. I've probably seen The Life Of Brian more times than films I've watched all the way through this year.

For me, Touching The Void (not really a film, but oh well) and Shutter Island would be up there.

[QE Harold Flair]

Yes, I fully believe it. As I said before, I consider is as classic but others wouldn't. The title of this thread isn't what I personally consider classics but I was just giving my opinion. They won't be considered classics generally, I doubt. I did say 'for me', which ought to have been enough.

[Toby]

So you just liked it then.

[ItalAussie]

I'll be disappointed if Inception doesn't have the staying power to belong in this discussion. It should.

[Spoonsky]

I'd say it definitely does. "-ception" has basically become a modifier for anything meta.

[ItalAussie]

I also feel like The Martian is intentionally designed to occupy the same cultural space as Apollo 13 did twenty years ago, and does so successfully - if you think Apollo 13 is a classic now (I definitely do), then you'll likely think the same about The Martian in the future.

[QE Harold Flair]

So you just liked it then.

No, I would consider it a classic. Don't start this again, I made it very, very clear.

[Yevrah]

I also feel like The Martian is intentionally designed to occupy the same cultural space as Apollo 13 did twenty years ago, and does so successfully - if you think Apollo 13 is a classic now (I definitely do), then you'll likely think the same about The Martian in the future.

Having just seen it, I'd agree. Well, to a point - it's a much better film than Apollo 13.

[ItalAussie]

Having just seen it, I'd agree. Well, to a point - it's a much better film than Apollo 13.I totally agree with that. It's probably in my top five all-time films, but I appreciate I have a certain bias in this regard. :D

[Yevrah]

I totally agree with that. It's probably in my top five all-time films, but I appreciate I have a certain bias in this regard. :D

I don't think it's anything to do with bias, it's just a brilliant film, that barely puts a foot wrong.

[Toby]

No, I would consider it a classic. Don't start this again, I made it very, very clear.

Yeah, based solely on how much you liked it. Its fine, everybody can consider classics in their own terms, it's just amusing that you police other people's choices on the back of it.

[Spoonsky]

And that the whole premise of the thread is about popular classics. He basically responded to the other thread's question.

[QE Harold Flair]

It's a fairly serious matter, all this.

[Toby]

You were certainly acting as if it were, hence pointing out your hypocrisy.

[simon]

The Dark Knight
Inception
The Departed
The Wolf of Wall Street

[Pepe]

Fuck off Toby.

[Toby]

I don't remember that one, have you got an IMDB link?

[Pepe]

Bantz. :cool: