A Fi1m list
The classics, without the homework
The canon, chosen for pleasure rather than duty: the films from before 1970 that are as alive tonight as anything on a streaming front page.
Read the piece. The classics, without the homework, the essay this list goes with.
The list
- 1
Casablanca 1943We would recommend *Casablanca* without asking anyone to make allowances for its age. Bogart and Bergman make the wartime romance hurt, while the wit carries the film past some decidedly convenient plotting.Fi1m 93 - 2
The Third Man 1949Carol Reed’s mystery is gripping, funny and alert to the harm friendship can excuse. Joseph Cotten makes its writer worth caring about, though a few relationships deserve more space amid the intrigue.Fi1m 92 - 3
Some Like It Hot 1959We would recommend Billy Wilder’s farce to almost anyone: the jokes are exact and the three leads make them seem spontaneous. The gangster business occasionally interrupts the pleasure of watching Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe.Fi1m 92 - 4
Rear Window 1954Alfred Hitchcock’s courtyard thriller is exceptional: funny, unsettling and exact about how it makes us watch. James Stewart and Grace Kelly keep it warm, though some neighbours are drawn rather broadly.Fi1m 94 - 5
Vertigo 1958Hitchcock’s romance makes a detective’s fascination deeply uncomfortable, with James Stewart and Kim Novak giving it painful conviction. The mystery is far-fetched and some journeys drag, but we would not trade its patience for a brisker thriller.Fi1m 92 - 6
Psycho 1960Alfred Hitchcock’s *Psycho* remains frightening, with Anthony Perkins making its quieter encounters especially uncomfortable. A few passages labour the mystery, but the performances and the precision of its shocks deserve their reputation.Fi1m 90 - 7
Singin' in the Rain 1952Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly’s musical makes the arrival of sound in Hollywood funny, troublesome and a reason to dance. The romance is slight, but the comic timing and pleasure of the performances make this an easy recommendation.Fi1m 93 - 8
Sunset Boulevard 1950Billy Wilder’s Hollywood drama is funny, frightening and merciless about the need to be remembered. Watch Swanson makes its faded star painfully human, though the screenplay sometimes enjoys humiliating her more than it should.Fi1m 93 - 9
12 Angry Men 1957Sidney Lumet makes a jury’s deliberations gripping enough to recommend to almost anyone. The writing sometimes arranges its disagreements too neatly, but Henry Fonda and the ensemble make the responsibility of listening feel urgent.Fi1m 91 - 10
On the Waterfront 1954Marlon Brando makes Elia Kazan’s waterfront drama painfully human, and we recommend it for the performances alone. The moral lecturing is harder to accept, particularly when the acting has already made the point.Fi1m 89 - 11
Brief Encounter 1945David Lean’s romance makes falling in love feel ordinary and frightening, with Give Johnson giving Laura’s anxiety painful weight. Alec is less fully drawn, but this is still a film we would urge a stranger to see.Fi1m 90 - 12
Kind Hearts and Coronets 1949Robert Hamer’s comedy about killing for a dukedom is precise, cruel and persistently funny. Dennis Price makes its appalling logic sound reasonable, although the delight in Louis’s scheming sometimes leaves the other characters short of attention.Fi1m 91 - 13
The Red Shoes 1948Powell and Pressburger make a dancer’s ambition feel urgent, seductive and dangerous. We would recommend *The Red Shoes* to anyone, despite dialogue that occasionally sounds too pleased with its own seriousness.Fi1m 92 - 14
Lawrence of Arabia 1962David Lean’s desert adventure earns its length through Peter O’Toole’s unsettling performance and an extraordinary command of scale. A few speeches explain too much, but we recommend surrendering an evening to its patience and nerve.Fi1m 90 - 15
Citizen Kane 1941*Citizen Kane* deserves its reputation because it makes the business of understanding a powerful man so absorbing. Orson Welles gives the technical ingenuity a human centre, though the elaborate structure sometimes keeps us at a distance.Fi1m 93 - 16
Bicycle Thieves 1948Vittorio De Sica’s drama about a father and son searching for a stolen bicycle is painfully affecting. The music presses too hard, but the performances make its account of poverty difficult to shake.Fi1m 92 - 17
Tokyo Story 1953Yasujirō Ozu’s family drama makes ordinary neglect almost unbearable without turning anyone into a villain. Chishū Ryū and Setsuko Hara are finely judged, though the deliberate pace needs a little patience at first.Fi1m 92 - 18
Seven Samurai 1954Akira Kurosawa’s *Seven Samurai* earns its 207 minutes by making the recruitment as absorbing as the fighting. Mifune can be overemphatic, but we would recommend this humane, exciting adventure to almost anyone.Fi1m 95
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