Recent Films That Will Never Be Forgotten
Submitted by lukeprog on Sat, 09/04/2004 - 08:30
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- Certain films that have stood the test of time could not have been predicted when they premiered, but here are my guesses for the films most certain to stand next to the enduring classics of today, 50 years from now:
- The Lord of the Rings trilogy - duh.
- The Matrix - Whatever it's current critical consensus, trust me on this one - it'll stand next to Blade Runner in 50 years.
- Toy Story - first fully 3D animated movie and a fantastic tale, perfect for children. An important turning point in cinematic history.
- Saving Private Ryan - will be remembered as one of the great war films of all time.
- Titanic - as much as it pains me to say it, it's legendary budget, box office gross, and oscar wins will make it stand out in the anals of film history.
Author Comments:
Only considering films to be released in 1995 or later. This WILL be a short list, and not easily added to.
Suggestion!
Lost in Translation
Yes, possible. I considered it, seeing as how well Brief Encounter as held up. But, since we already have Brief Encounter, do we need Lost in Translation? Will it be remembered? I'm less certain of that than of the films already on the list, so for the moment I'll leave it off. Good suggestion, though, and one I definitely considered.
Heres some more for you to mull over, maybe they deserve to be in?
Se7en
Fight Club
Passion of the Christ
Blair Witch Project
Now My Reasons:
Se7en David fichers first successful movie
Fight Club Has a huge cult following
Passion of the Christ The Violence
Blair Witch Project The Promotion and pre-production promotion methords used, for example saying it was a real event, using the internet for hype
hmmm... also some very good suggestions. Passion of the Christ might make the list, we'll see...
NEW CULT FILMS:
Donnie Darko
Amelie
Requiem for a Dream
Trainspotting
Office Space
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Also good choices, but who knows? None of these are the 'sure bets' of the ones I've listed, I think, which is kind of what I'm going for.
For example, I'm sure that when Gone with the Wind came out, MGM knew they had a movie that wouldn't be forgotten (despite the fact that it took decades to make back its enormous production budget). Smaller, enduring films are less easy to predict. I'd bet at least half of these (if not all) will fall into relative obscurity within 50 years. They'll be 'classics', just not popular classics that non-film-nerds/buffs born after 2030 won't be aware of.
The anals of film history? Nice Freudian slip.
I actually argued that Titanic WOULD be forgotten in 50 years on some other list. I think there were plenty of ridiculously expensive films with ridiculously high grosses, even some that have won Oscars, that are not nearly as well-known today as hundreds of box office flops. I mean, take a look at this list of the highest-grossing films after adjustments for inflation (the one on the right). Even the #5 film, "The Ten Commandments", is kinda famous, but I could definitely see its reputation dying off within 50 years.
Go down the list a bit and you'll find some pretty obscure films that were big moneymakers in their times. For example, have you ever heard of The Robe (#44)? Or Let's Make Love (#56)? I haven't. I think that, several decades into the future, people will see through its hokey drama just like we see through some of the corny or preachy 30s films that are all but forgotten today. And the special effects won't be nearly as impressive.
I could be wrong, of course, but I sure hope we never see Criterion release a newly-restored "Titanic."
What can I say? I agree with all your thoughts. But it's just so hard to really predict something like this. I may end up taking Titanic off the list. We'll see.