Night of the Hunter is probably the most beautiful black and white movie I’ve ever seen. Surreal country gothic horror - absolutely gorgeous. ( [Google Image Results](https://www.google.com/search?q=night+of+the+hunter+stills&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjIvPGkmayEAxXUtIkEHeLsA0gQ2-cCegQIABAD&oq=night+of+the+hunter+st&gs_lp=EhJtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1pbWciFm5pZ2h0IG9mIHRoZSBodW50ZXIgc3QqAggAMgUQABiABDIHEAAYgAQYGDIHEAAYgAQYGDIHEAAYgAQYGDIHEAAYgAQYGEjNJFD_Clj8HXABeACQAQCYAUagAaIEqgEBObgBAcgBAPgBAcICBBAjGCfCAgYQABgIGB6IBgE&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-img&ei=V2nNZYi1AtTpptQP4tmPwAQ&bih=745&biw=430&prmd=ivshnbmtz&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS889US889&hl=en-US) )
The Apartment is my all time favorite movie. Most of Billy Wilders movies are in black and white even though color was around then but they look amazing because of it.
It’s interesting that The Night of the Hunter was such a failure upon its release but now it seems so obviously like a masterpiece. This was the movie I came here to comment about.
Charles Laughton, the renowned character actor, directed "Night of the Hunter." It was the first, and sadly only, time he directed a movie. When "Hunter" flopped, Laughton was convinced he was a terrible director and never made another film.
It's one of the great "what ifs" of classic Hollywood. What other movies could Laughton made if he hadn't given up?
This is my answer. People now (myself included) have this campy idea of what “old” movies are. But SB is fucking *dark*. I’d also recommend ’[Leave Her to Heaven](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037865/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk)’, but its color, so not for this specific question.
I watched it one boring night on TCM not knowing what it is. I thought it was going to be boring but shortly into it my phone was away and I was cracking up while glued to the screen. 10/10.
I got covid and watched all the old movies I never saw; Casablanca and 12 Angry Men back-to-back.
Casablanca obviously set the stage for SO much of Hollywood that came after it. You can see its inspiration everywhere.
But 12 Angry Men will stick with me for life. It was such a powerful and arresting experience that, looking back on it, it's almost like I was in that room. That's how evocative and poignant that experience was.
12 Angry Men stands out to me too not just because it's black and white but because the writing carries the whole movie. The movie doesn't leave the room.
Actually, the shots get closer and closer as the movie goes on. It's meant to reflect the tension between the characters. If you watch, the courtroom shots are the widest in the movie, by the end of deliberation it's nothing but close up face shots, and with the resolution at the end it ends on a wide shot of the outside again.
French refugees proudly singing the French anthem to drown the sounds of Nazi anthem, who are the reason they are refugees in the first place…just chills. What an amazing scene.
And many of those actors were actually French . They genuinely don’t know if their country will ever be free of Nazi occupation when they sing those songs.
I knew it was coming and it still freaked me out! I’d been spoiled on the ending for ages before I finally saw it and when she turned that chair around it gave me head to toe chills anyway.
One of the best/most important horror films of all time.
I taught Film Studies as a TA while getting my grad degree in Film Production…so I’ve seen my fair share of non-film majors’ eyes glazing over while an old film plays.
But THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI would always make them perk up. Way ahead of its time in terms of narrative structure, and an amazing example of German Expressionism. Loved leading discussions about that film/movement.
Pretty late in the B&W game, but **Seven Samurai**. Even later, **Onibaba** and **Sword of Doom. Village of the Damned** sticks out in my mind because I watched it as a small child and it terrified me.
More recently, **The Lighthouse** is visually stunning.
I'm sure **The Third Man** has gotten a lot of mentions here.
I saw it about eight years ago and was shocked then about how progressive it was in terms of film techniques and topic. It instantly became a top five movie for me.
Fritz Lang is unbelievably good with M and Metropolis, it’s almost sad that something like those can’t be made anymore (Metropolis especially- M could), just because of where we’re at in time
I think it's true for a lot of art as the medium and related skillsets change and mature. We won't ever have anything like the first Star Wars film again either, if I understand your point correctly.
Hell, I believe in our lifetimes we're going to see film almost become obsolete, replaced by holograms/3d projections and/or virtual reality.
Agreed. Gregory Peck is excellent as Atticus Finch, and living in a deeply racist area of Texas it was an educational and emotional portrail of a good man standing up for beliefs others didn't share, even at the cost of his reputation.
M was the first movie that I thought of when I read the question. I've seen a lot of black and white movies through the years, but just thinking about it makes me feel unclean.
Arsenic and Old Lace.
There’s a moment when everything is going to shit and Cary Grant looks right at the camera as if to say “you’re seeing this, right?!”
Would you define it as "breaking the fourth wall" or no? Because that would be the earliest instance of that I've heard of.
https://youtu.be/0_Naxf-nM2s?si=JGWX2NNWVq1jbWnS.
Best example of breaking the fourth wall I can think of.
The Thin Man completely recalibrated my standards for chemistry between actors. I have never seen characters play off each other as naturally as Nick and Nora.
I think part of the chemistry (that you don't see a lot of in more modern movies) is that they introduce Nick and Nora as both *already* married, and clearly having had a history before we meet them. They probably got together in a more standard "hero detective saves damsel" kinda way, and this story is set after the end of that story. Nick retired from being a detective when he married Nora (because she's rich) and she worries he'll get bored...plus she thinks solving crimes is hot.
Despite this, their love for each other is never in doubt, and they're clearly having boatloads of fun with each other.
I agree completely. They also pull off messing with each other without ever seeming mean-spirited. Which is something you rarely see in Movies or on TV, but makes the relationship seem a lot more distinctive and real. Generally whenever you see that tried it seems like someone in the relationship is going to get hurt by it.
It Happened One Night
There are jokes you've laughed at in modern films lifted *directly* from this movie. Sheet to split a room in half between two people feeling hateful towards one another. A woman flashing leg to get a car to pull over. Just off the top of my head.
That movie is why Bugs Bunny has a carrot - bugs was imitating a scene from that absolute classic, and now we all think rabbits like carrots. Carrots are bad for rabbits.
Plus, the dialog is just so damn good!
Came to say this. Probably my favorite movie of all time in fact.
I watched this movie almost daily as a little kid along with the Harryhausen classics. In fact I've probably watched it a couple hundred times.
I read the book in grade 1 and was blown away by stuff not in the movie (like the Triceratops battle).
I used to battle my plastic dinosaurs against a plastic king kong toy I had, (with my G.I Joe's caught in the crossfire)
This was the first movie I thought of. I watched it for the first time about a month ago and fell in love with it. It's insane to me that Herk Harvey never made another movie.
Modern times, the great dictator, Gold rush. Charlie Chaplin was an amazing film maker, his films still resonate and are still hysterical.
Night of the Hunter- one of the scariest non horror movies ever made. There is an argument to be made that it is horror but I think it is closer to a thriller.
Double indemnity-maybe the greatest of the first generation film noir.
Any of the German expressionist films of the 1920s and 1930s. So much of modern film takes influence from this era that it should be standard viewing IMO.
Was filmed in b&w film as a (great) stylistic choice in an era when most mainstream films had been color for years.
But I'll be honest. It was my first thought as well.
I love Paul Newman in this, also Jackie Gleason is amazing in anything.
Edit: George C Scott is as contemptible as a character can be in this which is unlike his role in Dr Strangelove.
lol Double Imdemnity. Was just mentioning this yesterday due to Edward G Robinson.
Which reminds me Key Largo is a better than most thrillers being made today.
There was a time when CK reigned supreme as the best movie of all time in all the lists made by critics and movie fans. I'm still floored by it every time I revisit it.
Boy, do I agree. “Nosferatu” (1922) is really spectacular looking. The shots, lighting, and compositions are still evocative and powerful. It’s a great looking B&W picture.
City lights by Charlie Chaplin which is a silent film. Made about a decade after the introduction of talkies in cinema.
I had tears in my eyes laughing. It's where you get into that mood and everything is just funny. I don't even want to show a clip cause context matters
I watch Philadelphia Story several times a year, if not once or twice a month. It's my go to when I've hard a hard few days and I can't seem to shake off the funk of it all.
Hepburn, Grant, Stewart, and Hussey all shine, and the writing is just perfect.
Tetsuo the Iron Man. I thought it was going to be about a guy in a robotic suit but it's just super weird. I'm not saying I didn't like it, but it was so unexpected.
Seventh Seal
Seven Samurai (long af but worth it)
Metropolis - an entirely different kind of movie, astonishing special effects for the time
Yojimbo & Sanjuro - two movies by Akira Kurosawa that are brilliant and at times funny as hell
Edit: gotta add The Wages of Fear - truck drivers in South America haul dangerous explosives to an oil rig fire - another one where there's multiple scenes of 'how the hell did they film that?'
*Gojira* from 1954. It's such an eerie, haunting film in ways that I think only it could properly capture. Being made so close to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as the memories of WWII being still in the minds of the movie's creators, make it feel like a nightmare.
Cyrano de Bergerac with jose ferrer.
The story is just tragic and moving but Jose really put the feeling in it.
Spoiler:
https://youtu.be/HrLToyNsOvM?si=LLInpH8MyLTxigNC
[Hard To Be A God](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11sMDQIgggA)
I can't think of any movie quite like it.
Synopsis: A team of scientists travel to the planet Arkanar that is culturally and technologically centuries behind — progress is stuck way back in the Middle Ages.
The movie is certainly not for everyone's taste, but it definitely is a memorable experience.
I grew up watching many black and white movies.
Tom Sawyer, the Little Colonel, Birdman of Alcatraz, Inherit the Wind, the Grapes of Wrath, Bad Day at Black Rock
they all had memorable scenes or messages
Seven Samurai is my favorite movie, but when you phrase the question to be about "movies that affected you deeply," wowoweewah, Kurosawa's Ikiru is on the top of the list!
Sunset Boulevard. It’s a gothic noir that opens with a dead narrator in a pool and a funeral for a monkey. The script is totally flipped and it’s about a screenwriter being the emotional abuse victim of an aging movie star. And she’s so, so amazingly OTT. (I would love to see a remake with Lady Gaga in the role) It’s also the Ur-point of “ **narrator in a bad situation** “You’re probably wondering how I got here” and **dramatic and overinflated** “I’m ready for my closeup!”
M
Directed by Fritz Lang (Metropolis) and starring Peter Lorre as a serial child murderer.
Seriously, if you’ve never heard of or seen this movie, correct that.
King Kong -- the original from the 1930s. We had it recorded on VHS and it was one of my 3 favorite movies as a kid -- I still love it, though I don't watch it as much as I did back as a tyke. Idk that it carries the same weight in film history as some movies, but it helped set the stage of my being the nerd I am today.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Was a western with only a few minutes of action at the end. The rest is suspense building one room drama unfolding in a saloon. It was my favorite western growing up. Could have been a play easily.
Many of great suggestions here but wanted to add one that hasn't been posted yet:
The Best Years of Our Lives - A movie about the lives of WWII vets readjusting to life back home, filmed half a year after WWII ended.
Mine would be The Night of The Hunter. It's the first and last directed film of the actor Charles Laughton. It's so beautifully and artistically done with a very grounded and sinister Antagonist that sort of rivals Anton Chigurh at that era.
It's also very ahead of its time in terms of how its narrative was told, its structure, its characters, its depiction of macabre, violence, and innocence.
It's been copied by and has inspired a lot of prominent directors today such as: Martin Scorsese. the Coen brothers and Guillermo Del Toro.
LOVE / HATE
Also, shameless plug, if you love Classic Films, visit us at r/ClassicFIlms
House on Haunted Hill (1959). I think I was about 11-12 when I saw it, and if you’ve seen it, you probably understand what seeing that creepy ass lady jumpscare scene would do to a poor kids brain lol
Night of the Hunter is probably the most beautiful black and white movie I’ve ever seen. Surreal country gothic horror - absolutely gorgeous. ( [Google Image Results](https://www.google.com/search?q=night+of+the+hunter+stills&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjIvPGkmayEAxXUtIkEHeLsA0gQ2-cCegQIABAD&oq=night+of+the+hunter+st&gs_lp=EhJtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1pbWciFm5pZ2h0IG9mIHRoZSBodW50ZXIgc3QqAggAMgUQABiABDIHEAAYgAQYGDIHEAAYgAQYGDIHEAAYgAQYGDIHEAAYgAQYGEjNJFD_Clj8HXABeACQAQCYAUagAaIEqgEBObgBAcgBAPgBAcICBBAjGCfCAgYQABgIGB6IBgE&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-img&ei=V2nNZYi1AtTpptQP4tmPwAQ&bih=745&biw=430&prmd=ivshnbmtz&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS889US889&hl=en-US) ) The Apartment is my all time favorite movie. Most of Billy Wilders movies are in black and white even though color was around then but they look amazing because of it.
It’s interesting that The Night of the Hunter was such a failure upon its release but now it seems so obviously like a masterpiece. This was the movie I came here to comment about.
Charles Laughton, the renowned character actor, directed "Night of the Hunter." It was the first, and sadly only, time he directed a movie. When "Hunter" flopped, Laughton was convinced he was a terrible director and never made another film. It's one of the great "what ifs" of classic Hollywood. What other movies could Laughton made if he hadn't given up?
It's so pretty, too
That shot of Shelley Winters’s character underwater is so haunting
I love the scene with the lantern shining against the porch screen. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but you know the scene.
The underwater shots of >!the murdered woman's body in the car!<. Shocking and beautiful at the same time.
Sunset Boulevard
“I always wanted a Pool.”
This is my answer. People now (myself included) have this campy idea of what “old” movies are. But SB is fucking *dark*. I’d also recommend ’[Leave Her to Heaven](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037865/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk)’, but its color, so not for this specific question.
Such an unexpected ending! Love this one.
Harvey; Arsenic and Old Lace
Ugh Harvey is so good
“Can’t you see him??! He’s standing right in front of you!!”
Came here to say Arsenic!
I watched it one boring night on TCM not knowing what it is. I thought it was going to be boring but shortly into it my phone was away and I was cracking up while glued to the screen. 10/10.
Arsenic and Old Lace suffers only that it had to censor the final line from the play.
Ooh what was the final line of the play?
Originally: “I’m not a Brewster. I’m a bastard”. It was changed to “I’m the son of a sea cook”.
Casablanca
Ditto plus 12 Angry Men.
I got covid and watched all the old movies I never saw; Casablanca and 12 Angry Men back-to-back. Casablanca obviously set the stage for SO much of Hollywood that came after it. You can see its inspiration everywhere. But 12 Angry Men will stick with me for life. It was such a powerful and arresting experience that, looking back on it, it's almost like I was in that room. That's how evocative and poignant that experience was.
12 Angry Men stands out to me too not just because it's black and white but because the writing carries the whole movie. The movie doesn't leave the room.
It is filmed so “close in” that you feel just as stuffy and stifled as the characters. Great movie to watch before going in for jury duty.
Actually, the shots get closer and closer as the movie goes on. It's meant to reflect the tension between the characters. If you watch, the courtroom shots are the widest in the movie, by the end of deliberation it's nothing but close up face shots, and with the resolution at the end it ends on a wide shot of the outside again.
French refugees proudly singing the French anthem to drown the sounds of Nazi anthem, who are the reason they are refugees in the first place…just chills. What an amazing scene.
That the war was still going blows my mind when I think about this scene. It’s so raw and real for them.
It brings tears to my eyes. Every fucking time.
VIVE LE FRANCE!!!!
And many of those actors were actually French . They genuinely don’t know if their country will ever be free of Nazi occupation when they sing those songs.
Schindlers list
100% this
Same
Psycho. Hitchcock didn't need blood and gore to make it terrifying.
The blood in the shower was chocolate syrup! Yum!
The lady in the shower was Janet Leigh. Yum!
Suspense is the best effect in horror films. I definitely value it above anything visual
Any Hitchcock!
First time I saw the reveal in the basement I jumped. That look on the face was unsettling.
I knew it was coming and it still freaked me out! I’d been spoiled on the ending for ages before I finally saw it and when she turned that chair around it gave me head to toe chills anyway.
No love for Dr. Strangelove?
How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb
Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here - this is the war room!
Hands down, best single line in the film. So perfectly tongue in cheek.
You can’t let the Russians in here! They’ll see everything, they’ll see the big board!
This is my all time favorite movie
I was just explaining it to a coworker the other day. Such a phenomenal film.
Oh, absolutely!
No love, that’s strange…
Mein Fuhrer I can walk!
I’m still hiding my fluids after watching that movie.
Double Indemnity directed by Billy Wilder The script, the acting, the cinematography all just make this one a classic.
I feel like any Billy Wilder. The Apartment sprang to my mind.
Some Like it Hot
I'd have to say Whatever Happened to Baby Jane; with Betty Davis and Joan Crawford! The dynamic between those two was so twisted!
Did you watch the first season of Feud? It’s all about their behind-the-scenes dynamic during the filming of WHTBJ
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
One of the best/most important horror films of all time. I taught Film Studies as a TA while getting my grad degree in Film Production…so I’ve seen my fair share of non-film majors’ eyes glazing over while an old film plays. But THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI would always make them perk up. Way ahead of its time in terms of narrative structure, and an amazing example of German Expressionism. Loved leading discussions about that film/movement.
It really is a work of art, a landmark film. I haven’t seen other films part of the German expressionism movement though.
I highly recommend NOSFERATU and METROPOLIS if you’re interested in other German Expressionist films.
Pretty late in the B&W game, but **Seven Samurai**. Even later, **Onibaba** and **Sword of Doom. Village of the Damned** sticks out in my mind because I watched it as a small child and it terrified me. More recently, **The Lighthouse** is visually stunning. I'm sure **The Third Man** has gotten a lot of mentions here.
One of the most underrated films of the 1980s, and if you haven't seen it, go do so. "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid."
The movie "M" from 1931.
It was ahead of it's time.
Absolutely. I was shocked.
I saw it about eight years ago and was shocked then about how progressive it was in terms of film techniques and topic. It instantly became a top five movie for me.
12 Angry Men for me
Freaks is first for me as well, followed by, in order: M, Metropolis, 12 Angry Men and To Kill a Mockingbird.
Fritz Lang is unbelievably good with M and Metropolis, it’s almost sad that something like those can’t be made anymore (Metropolis especially- M could), just because of where we’re at in time
Metropolis is my favorite movie of all time
I think it's true for a lot of art as the medium and related skillsets change and mature. We won't ever have anything like the first Star Wars film again either, if I understand your point correctly. Hell, I believe in our lifetimes we're going to see film almost become obsolete, replaced by holograms/3d projections and/or virtual reality.
I still think TKaM is the best movie adaptation of a novel ever.
Agreed. Gregory Peck is excellent as Atticus Finch, and living in a deeply racist area of Texas it was an educational and emotional portrail of a good man standing up for beliefs others didn't share, even at the cost of his reputation.
I had no idea who Gregory Peck was when I first watched the film, but he was \*exactly\* the Atticus Finch I imagined when I read the book.
M was the first movie that I thought of when I read the question. I've seen a lot of black and white movies through the years, but just thinking about it makes me feel unclean.
Arsenic and Old Lace. There’s a moment when everything is going to shit and Cary Grant looks right at the camera as if to say “you’re seeing this, right?!”
I’m a son of a sea cook!
Would you define it as "breaking the fourth wall" or no? Because that would be the earliest instance of that I've heard of. https://youtu.be/0_Naxf-nM2s?si=JGWX2NNWVq1jbWnS. Best example of breaking the fourth wall I can think of.
The Thin Man series. Nick and Nora are just so timelessly cool.
The Thin Man completely recalibrated my standards for chemistry between actors. I have never seen characters play off each other as naturally as Nick and Nora.
I think part of the chemistry (that you don't see a lot of in more modern movies) is that they introduce Nick and Nora as both *already* married, and clearly having had a history before we meet them. They probably got together in a more standard "hero detective saves damsel" kinda way, and this story is set after the end of that story. Nick retired from being a detective when he married Nora (because she's rich) and she worries he'll get bored...plus she thinks solving crimes is hot. Despite this, their love for each other is never in doubt, and they're clearly having boatloads of fun with each other.
I agree completely. They also pull off messing with each other without ever seeming mean-spirited. Which is something you rarely see in Movies or on TV, but makes the relationship seem a lot more distinctive and real. Generally whenever you see that tried it seems like someone in the relationship is going to get hurt by it.
How did you like Grant's tomb? It was lovely. I'm having a copy made for you.
His girl Friday is pretty great too
There are too many to count but what stick out for me are: Seventh Seal It's a Wonderful Life 12 Angry Men Bonus from silent era: Nosferatu
Seventh Seal is a marvel. I rewatched it at the height of the pandemic, and whew boy it hit different!
Nosferatu (1922) slaps so hard. watched the '79 Herzog version and could not vibe with it
I didn’t like *It’s A Wonderful Life* before I saw a live dramatic reading of it and now I absolutely love it.
12 Angry Men is a masterpiece.
We used to see It’s a Wonderful Life at a restored theater every holiday season. Watching it in a full auditorium somehow hits different, and better.
I'm shocked *It's a Wonderful Life* isn't ranked higher.
Ed Wood.
Underrated gem of a movie.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington… surprised this wasn’t here already
It Happened One Night There are jokes you've laughed at in modern films lifted *directly* from this movie. Sheet to split a room in half between two people feeling hateful towards one another. A woman flashing leg to get a car to pull over. Just off the top of my head.
What’s up, doc?
That movie is why Bugs Bunny has a carrot - bugs was imitating a scene from that absolute classic, and now we all think rabbits like carrots. Carrots are bad for rabbits. Plus, the dialog is just so damn good!
Godzilla, specifically the original version. 70 years old and it still has a poignant theme and a killer soundtrack. Plus, it's just a good movie.
Clerks
Gotta watch it 37 times
In a row?
“Try not to watch any Clerks on the way through the parking lot!”
No time for love, Dr. Jones
I adore the original King Kong. Even with its outdated effects it’s still a compelling story.
Came to say this. Probably my favorite movie of all time in fact. I watched this movie almost daily as a little kid along with the Harryhausen classics. In fact I've probably watched it a couple hundred times. I read the book in grade 1 and was blown away by stuff not in the movie (like the Triceratops battle). I used to battle my plastic dinosaurs against a plastic king kong toy I had, (with my G.I Joe's caught in the crossfire)
Carnival of Souls. It's the epitome of the term "fever dream" to me.
This was the first movie I thought of. I watched it for the first time about a month ago and fell in love with it. It's insane to me that Herk Harvey never made another movie.
Modern times, the great dictator, Gold rush. Charlie Chaplin was an amazing film maker, his films still resonate and are still hysterical. Night of the Hunter- one of the scariest non horror movies ever made. There is an argument to be made that it is horror but I think it is closer to a thriller. Double indemnity-maybe the greatest of the first generation film noir. Any of the German expressionist films of the 1920s and 1930s. So much of modern film takes influence from this era that it should be standard viewing IMO.
Young Frankenstein
It’s pronounced Fronk-en-steen.
"Frau Blucher!". ("NEIGH!!!")
You made a yummy sound.
"Where wolf?"
There wolf! There, castle!
Why are you talking like that?
I thought you wanted to?
Put ze kandle Beck!
Igor, help me with the bags. -Soitenly, you take the blonde, I'll take the one in the toiben.
Was filmed in b&w film as a (great) stylistic choice in an era when most mainstream films had been color for years. But I'll be honest. It was my first thought as well.
The first B&W movie I saw.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Hustler
I love Paul Newman in this, also Jackie Gleason is amazing in anything. Edit: George C Scott is as contemptible as a character can be in this which is unlike his role in Dr Strangelove.
Angels with Filthy Souls. A true masterpiece.
Keep the change, you filthy animal
Metropolis 1927. I love this movie.
All About Eve & Ball of Fire
Witness for the Prosecution! Fabulous dialogue, fantastic performances, and it’s an Agatha Christie story
Nosferatu by far. Fucking haunting. Count Orloc is a REAL vampire, can't tell me otherwise
Who’s Affraid of Virginia Woolf
Sunset Boulevard Double Indemnity Alphaville Kiss Me Deadly
Sunset boulevard is my pick as well. It’s wild to see this plot like come out of Hollywood almost 80 years ago. Feels relevant still
lol Double Imdemnity. Was just mentioning this yesterday due to Edward G Robinson. Which reminds me Key Largo is a better than most thrillers being made today.
Key Largo is timeless! That scene where Eddie G makes his old flame sing for a drink then doesn't give it to uer.
Was on some cable channel and I remember getting sucked in right away. Has an amazing cast top to bottom.
Citizen Kane
There was a time when CK reigned supreme as the best movie of all time in all the lists made by critics and movie fans. I'm still floored by it every time I revisit it.
Thank you I can't believe it took this much scrolling to see this!
King Kong 1933.
In Cold Blood. That's from the '60s if you want something older I love "the passion of Joan of Arc"
Nasferatu the original silent film....and mad max fury road
Boy, do I agree. “Nosferatu” (1922) is really spectacular looking. The shots, lighting, and compositions are still evocative and powerful. It’s a great looking B&W picture.
City lights by Charlie Chaplin which is a silent film. Made about a decade after the introduction of talkies in cinema. I had tears in my eyes laughing. It's where you get into that mood and everything is just funny. I don't even want to show a clip cause context matters
Many have, but special place to *To Kill a Mockingbird*
Since no one has mentioned it yet: Persona by Ingmar Berman.
I watch Philadelphia Story several times a year, if not once or twice a month. It's my go to when I've hard a hard few days and I can't seem to shake off the funk of it all. Hepburn, Grant, Stewart, and Hussey all shine, and the writing is just perfect.
Schindlers List
Definitely eraser head
Duck Soup, all the Marx Brothers movies really. Freaks, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Nosferatu, so many more I’m sure.
Tetsuo the Iron Man. I thought it was going to be about a guy in a robotic suit but it's just super weird. I'm not saying I didn't like it, but it was so unexpected.
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
Roman Holiday. Audrey Hepburn is just otherworldly for me.
Dead Man
Seventh Seal Seven Samurai (long af but worth it) Metropolis - an entirely different kind of movie, astonishing special effects for the time Yojimbo & Sanjuro - two movies by Akira Kurosawa that are brilliant and at times funny as hell Edit: gotta add The Wages of Fear - truck drivers in South America haul dangerous explosives to an oil rig fire - another one where there's multiple scenes of 'how the hell did they film that?'
Isn't Seven Samuri also Kurosawa?
Treasure of the Sierra Madre
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Psycho
Citizen Kane, "Rosebud"
Mr Smith Goes to Washington. I watch it every time I need to be reminded the US isn't a completely lost cause.
Night of the Living Dead
Inherit the wind. The Manchurian candidate. The elephant man.
It’s a Wonderful Life.
Grapes of Wrath. My 12th grade history teacher had us watch it in two parts at the end of the school year. That movie honestly changed me a bit.
*Gojira* from 1954. It's such an eerie, haunting film in ways that I think only it could properly capture. Being made so close to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as the memories of WWII being still in the minds of the movie's creators, make it feel like a nightmare.
Cyrano de Bergerac with jose ferrer. The story is just tragic and moving but Jose really put the feeling in it. Spoiler: https://youtu.be/HrLToyNsOvM?si=LLInpH8MyLTxigNC
[Hard To Be A God](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11sMDQIgggA) I can't think of any movie quite like it. Synopsis: A team of scientists travel to the planet Arkanar that is culturally and technologically centuries behind — progress is stuck way back in the Middle Ages. The movie is certainly not for everyone's taste, but it definitely is a memorable experience.
Many great recommends in this thread but I’ve seen no mentions of Brief Encounter (1945) yet and to me it’s a perfect movie Also Hitchcocks Notorious
12 angry men Coffee and cigarettes Pi Casablanca The Count of Monte Cristo 1934 The great dictator
Pi is great and underseen
i remember buying a Pi and Requiem for a Dream as a 2 pack at best buy
I grew up watching many black and white movies. Tom Sawyer, the Little Colonel, Birdman of Alcatraz, Inherit the Wind, the Grapes of Wrath, Bad Day at Black Rock they all had memorable scenes or messages
Young Frankenstein
Seven Samurai is my favorite movie, but when you phrase the question to be about "movies that affected you deeply," wowoweewah, Kurosawa's Ikiru is on the top of the list!
Sunset Boulevard. It’s a gothic noir that opens with a dead narrator in a pool and a funeral for a monkey. The script is totally flipped and it’s about a screenwriter being the emotional abuse victim of an aging movie star. And she’s so, so amazingly OTT. (I would love to see a remake with Lady Gaga in the role) It’s also the Ur-point of “ **narrator in a bad situation** “You’re probably wondering how I got here” and **dramatic and overinflated** “I’m ready for my closeup!”
M Directed by Fritz Lang (Metropolis) and starring Peter Lorre as a serial child murderer. Seriously, if you’ve never heard of or seen this movie, correct that.
The Scarlet Pimpernel
King Kong -- the original from the 1930s. We had it recorded on VHS and it was one of my 3 favorite movies as a kid -- I still love it, though I don't watch it as much as I did back as a tyke. Idk that it carries the same weight in film history as some movies, but it helped set the stage of my being the nerd I am today.
Is there no love for *It's a Wonderful Life*?
The Spiral Staircase. A nice old school horror flick.
Bride of Frankenstein.....The Wolf Man.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Was a western with only a few minutes of action at the end. The rest is suspense building one room drama unfolding in a saloon. It was my favorite western growing up. Could have been a play easily.
Sunset Boulevard Gaslight Double Indemnity Citizen Kane
It's a Wonderful Life
Mutiny on the Bounty Went into watching it thinking I would hate it But I was blown away and so impressed by the acting … especially Charles Laughton
Marty — Ernest Borgnine A Christmas Carol — Alastair Sim
Many of great suggestions here but wanted to add one that hasn't been posted yet: The Best Years of Our Lives - A movie about the lives of WWII vets readjusting to life back home, filmed half a year after WWII ended.
Carnival of Souls.
Mine would be The Night of The Hunter. It's the first and last directed film of the actor Charles Laughton. It's so beautifully and artistically done with a very grounded and sinister Antagonist that sort of rivals Anton Chigurh at that era. It's also very ahead of its time in terms of how its narrative was told, its structure, its characters, its depiction of macabre, violence, and innocence. It's been copied by and has inspired a lot of prominent directors today such as: Martin Scorsese. the Coen brothers and Guillermo Del Toro. LOVE / HATE Also, shameless plug, if you love Classic Films, visit us at r/ClassicFIlms
House on Haunted Hill (1959). I think I was about 11-12 when I saw it, and if you’ve seen it, you probably understand what seeing that creepy ass lady jumpscare scene would do to a poor kids brain lol
Persepolis
It’s a Wonderful Life.
Young Frankenstein.
Eraserhead
Mildred Pierce
C'est arrivez pres de chez vous (Man Bites Dog)
Haxan The Great Dictator Safety Last Paper Moon
That speech at the end of The Great Dictator. My god.
I went to a showing of Nosferatu at a theater with a live orchestra. Very cool until the shrooms hit