comment #1

Moises Chiullan says ...

When I'm 66 years old, I expect to hit up the local data center and log in a la Overdrawn at the Memory Bank to watch The Hurt Locker and growl at the apes watching the just-released third reimagining of Transformers.

comment #2

Travis Crabtree says ...

That's awesome.

"The George Raft Story"? I like Raft as much as the next guy, but he had a bio-pic? I guess I'm off to Wiki. Something really interesting must've happened.

comment #3

PastePotPete says ...

Wow, a Dr Mabuse/Things To Come double feature! That sounds great.

Frankly the only movies on these pages I care for weren't even really from these same decades.

comment #4

Imogen says ...

An interesting question. I think that you would have to say that four-quadrant, generational pictures stand the best chance of survival, The .best Pixar pictures, for example.. As for live action, it is hard to think of anything released in the time range you gave that will last the test if time. Realistically, whether you love them or loathe them, the only pictures likely to be around at that time are probably the Lord of the Rings from a few years ago, as they are very much loved by the public, tell a timeless story and have book sales that have enjoyed high sales for over fifty years and show no signs of slackening off. .

comment #5

Ephemerinko says ...

ONE, TWO, THREE is a classic for the ages. So is KISS ME, STUPID, the film Billy Wilder made a few years later. Ironically, in light of the recent Mann post, Wilder was considered to be in a slump at that point. In fact, these three films got him in such hot water with the Catholic Legion of Decency that many feel it harpooned his career. In any event, the films (gotta include THE FORTUNE COOKIE) have transcended their time to become ageless.

Oh, and don't mean to hijack the thread but I was away for a bit and missed the whole JULIA thing. You're missing nothing, it is one of the most astonishingly miscalculated genre efforts in recent memory. Swinton's bravery is her downfall, and the last few reels are truly unwatchable. Also, funny that nobody's mentioned the exploitative nature of the treatment of the kid. Hard to imagine a studio film getting away with such a thing.

comment #6

Ephemerinko says ...

Whoops, by "those three films" I meant to add IRMA LA DOUCE, which Wilder made between ONE, TWO, THREE and KISS ME, STUPID.

comment #7

The Hoyk says ...

John Waters has raved for years about A COLD WIND IN AUGUST, and how it was a perennial repertory favorite in Baltimore. MGM supposedly have the rights now, I wish they'd do a DVD or at least schedule it on their "this" channel.

comment #8

TM says ...

From 1962, there are at least 12 films i've seen (including those playing at a repertory house, I.e. "Magnificent Ambersons")

From 1955, I've seen or heard of at least 15 (a dozen of which I know I've definitely seen).

comment #9

berg says ...

There are some loulous to be sure. I will not rest until I have seen FIRE UNDER HER SKIN starring Gieselle Pascal. What's up with THE SHEEP HAS 5 LEGS ... what is that?, the prequel to O Lucky Man?

comment #10

Yuval says ...

The only "essential" films released in the last year were "Waltz with Bashir" and possibly Benjamin Button.

comment #11

lipranzer says ...

I've seen more from the '55 poster than the '62 one, though for the latter, any period that had a film as funny and pertinent as ONE, TWO, THREE is okay in my book.

One from the '55 poster I'd love to see sometime is THE SUSPECT. Robert Siodmak is one of the most underrated directors from the 40's and 50's, and while the plot is very similar to THE STRANGE AFFAIR OF UNCLE HARRY - man stuck in unhappy relationship (in SUSPECT, he's married, while in HARRY, he lives with his sister) falls in love with Ella Raines, and must resort to murder to get out of it - I liked HARRY, so I'm curious to see it. Also, Laughton is said to be quite good in it.

What the ads indicate, though, is every year is the same - there's a bunch of crap to wade through, but if you look in the right places, you can find the good films.

comment #12

Breedlove says ...

The Dark Knight, Man on Wire, Rachel Getting Married, I've Loved You So Long, Let The Right One In, Milk, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Che, Gomorrah, Watchmen, Public Enemies.

comment #13

Breedlove says ...

Oops, and The Hurt Locker.

comment #14

Markj74 says ...

Watchmen?! I don't think so. But I guess lots of films will still be around, there are lots of 60s films in my DVD collection that I watch regularly.

As for Imogen I don't think the Lord of the Rings films will be particularly popular come 50 years time. Nobody really talks about them now do they? They had a massive impact when they came out but suffer when rewatched. And they will probably be remade in stereo 3D in the next 20 or 30 years anyway.

comment #15

Markj74 says ...

@Imogen: I do agree that some of the best Pixar films will be around though, in the same way that the best Disney films are still part of the public consciousness today.

comment #16

Cde. says ...

The films that will be remembered are not necessarily the ones that seem like obvious picks today.

comment #17

EdHavens says ...

I want to know what the hell that Life with Caesar is that's listed on the second 1955 page. I thought I had seen and heard of all the Tati's movies, and I can't find hide nor hair about it on his IMDb page, his Wikipedia page or even the official Jacques Tati web site.

comment #18

dinovelvet says ...

The only one I can think of is Quantum of Solace, simply because it will be part of the 43 holodisc Bond box set with 5D amorphographic vision released in 2049.

comment #19

MrTribeca says ...

markj, I can see Watchmen getting a Blade Runner-style reevaluation over the coming years, particularly when the Director's Cut is more widely seen.

comment #20

Uncle Larry says ...

But that's the nature of cinema, Jeff: There are never more than about 10 percent great films in any given year. Good films, films that touch you - sure. But actual great films whose names will be referenced 50-60 years from now? In fact, 10 percent may be generous. That's why I have to hand it to film critics, who have to watch that 10 percent - and the other 90 percent as well - and still try to maintain standards and sanity on a day to day basis.

comment #21

Glenn Kenny says ...

So what are you saying, Jeff? You don't like Minnelli's "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?"

Call me quaint, but a lot of the putative dross on any of those pages somehow strikes me as more appealing than "The Proposal," or some such.

comment #22

Bilge says ...

I feel like I've heard of most of these films, but there are a couple that threw me for a loop -- in particular a supposed Eisenstein film called TIME IN THE SUN, which turns out to just be one of those many edits of his QUE VIVA MEXICO footage.

And yeah, THE GEORGE RAFT STORY -- wtf? I guess maybe that was that era's answer to GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN'.

comment #23

Spongebob Cubiclepants says ...

Who knew that 'frank' and 'delicate' were so titillatin'?

Everything happens in...The Bed

A daring and delicate story of life, libertines and the pursuit of happiness!

THE FRANKEST SORT OF HUMOR!

Secrets D'Alcove

An all-star lineup of actors and directors was responsible for the omnibus feature Secrets D'Alcove. The film is made up of four separate playlets; the only "character" common to the four stories is a huge bed. The characters whose behavior is governed by being in close proximity of this bed include a soldier (Richard Todd), a philanderer (Vittorio de Sica), a professional co-respondent (Dawn Addams), a cour(t)esan (Martine Carol) and a truckdriver (Mouloudji). Naturally, the screenplay contrives to have the film's female characters appear as underdressed as possible, none more so than the curvaceous Martine Carol. The basic premise of Secrets D'Alcove was later adopted, after a fashion, by the American TV anthology series Love American Style (1979-72).

DELICATELY FILMED...with frankness

Hon Dansade en Sommar

Better known as One Summer of Happiness, Hon Dansade en Sommar was the most popular and financially successful of Swedish director Arne Mattson's romantic films. Based on the novel by Per Olof Ekstrom, the story revolves around the romance between college graduate Goran (Folke Sundquist) and farmer's daughter Kerstin (Ulla Jacobsson). Their plans to marry are stymied by the opposition of a local clergyman (John Elfstrom). Only after a devastating tragedy occurs does Goran realize the folly of allowing others to make decisions for him. Though Arne Mattson could have spent the rest of his career turning out Bergmanesque exercises like this one, he decided to switch creative gears and concentrate on Hitchcockian thrillers.

synopsis from AMG

comment #24

George Prager says ...

I've seen THE GEORGE RAFT STORY. It won't knock your socks off. No startling revelations, and Ray Danton looks the same at the end (when he gets SOME LIKE IT HOT) as he did in the beginning of the film. Some good dancing though!

comment #25

Cadavra says ...

The operative point here is the astonishing variety of movies, old and new, on these two pages. Nowadays our choices are mostly limited to fart comedies, aliens/robots/explosions tentpoles, movies based on TV shows, comic books and toys, and crap slasher films (many of THEM remakes). And the art houses mostly play depressing movies that just make us feel worse about things. It takes three cans of spinach just to get my ass out of the house.

comment #26

shermy says ...

The films that generally stand the test of time are key works of major actors/directors and those with cult appeal. Additionally, we could add those films which adhere to a mythic structure.

Look at a film like Key Largo. Today, it's notable for the strength of the pedigree: Huston, Robinson, Bogart, Bacall, and Barrymore. Few remember that Claire Trevor's performance actually won an Oscar- or even consider it to be a highlight. As someone noted above, the qualities that seem important at the time do not always survive.

Think of Universal's output in the 1930's. The studio's "B" movies are still quite popular, while most of its "A" productions have fallen into obscurity. Many of the 1940's crime dramas would likely be long forgotten, were it not for the convenient cult label "Film Noir". And I'm sure many directors in the 1950's never thought their efforts would be outlived by less 'serious' films such as This Island Earth, It Came From Beneath The Sea, or Invaders From Mars.

Myth endures, reality changes. This is something Ray Bradbury has said for years. The science in The Martian Chronicles is completely absurd...and yet the novel has outlasted many works of Bradbury's peers which strove for scientic realism.

Speaking of myth, 1939 is often cited as a pretty memorable year in film. So let's take a look at some of those films we think of as heavy-hitters today: The Wizard of Oz, Gone With The Wind, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington. All of them include elements of the "monomyth" that Joseph Campbell would later help to popularize. Jefferson Smith and Scarlett O'Hara go on as much of a hero's journey as Ulysses or Luke Skywalker.

It makes you wonder just how many of today's "gritty" and "realistic" movies will still be championed 50 years from now. Ironically, we place a greater emphasis on aspects which do not endure very well, while scorning the kind of escapism that (historically) does.

comment #27

nemo says ...

They certainly knew how to come up with evocative titles for dramas back in those days, even for pretty poor films.

The titles alone make me want to see A Cold Wind in August or Sail a Crooked Ship, even though everything else I see from their IMDB listings says that they deserve their obscurity.

This takes me back to being a kid in the 1960s, when these poorly printed ads were the only thing you had to go on in choosing a movie. I remember when I was 10 or 11 peering at those tiny smudged drawings (like Julie Harris smoking a cigarette in I Am a Camera) as I tried to decipher what on earth a movie could be about.

comment #28

nemo says ...

By the way, out of the many dozens of movies appearing in those ads, I've only heard of maybe 9 of them, and I've only seen 4. And I flatter myself to think I know a thing or two about movies from that period. Even the foreign films in those ads are mostly obscure and forgotten.

One Two Three and maybe La Notte are the only movies in those ads I'd ever be interested in seeing again.

But hell, I already feel the same way about 2008 and 2009. There just haven't been that many movies that were worth the trouble of going to the theater to see. The new movies I did see I enjoyed, but only because I took a pass on so many others. Most of the time it's more worthwhile to watch an old movie or read a book.

In another thread Wells talks about great directors in a slump. The whole industry is in a slump these days.

comment #29

hunterd says ...

I will be showing Coraline to my children. And UP. Brothers Bloom could become a cult film, but that really depends upon the pop culture movements of the next couple decades. It's entirely possible that cult films could die out and thus none of these films will be all that well remembered outside of academic types, (IE, me).

Tim Burton's films will likely be remembered, in a Hal Ashby type way.

comment #30

wenwen says ...

ed hardyed hardy

Gucci HandbagsGucci Handbags

Louis VuittonLouis Vuitton

Columbia SportswearColumbia Sportswear

Links Of LondonLinks Of London

comment #31

free online games says ...

Could you please provide more points about this area? Also your web portal is stunning. Best regards.

comment #32

dd says ...

Swinton's bravery is her downfall, and the last few reels are truly unwatchable. Also, funny that nobody's mentioned the exploitative nature of the treatment of the kid. Hard to imagine a studio film getting away with such a thing.

Designer Handbags

comment #33

istanbul says ...

travesti genclik kolları başkanı sayın travesti carpici aciklamalarda bulundu nolcak bu vip travestiler in hali bilmiyorum. travesti

comment #34

Natali Watson says ...

Great article!) Thank you!
listen to free music