What are some great film classics? I'm not old enough to have heard of most of them, but for English we have an assignment on one, and I'd like something interesting to do.
It has to have 'stood the test of time' and use good cinematic and narrative techniques.

As an example, we just looked at The Third Man.
I'm thinking maybe Mary Poppins? Star Wars? That sort of thing, but anything else too.

More modern suggestions are great if they aren't too modern. I think Schindler's list would probably be ok, because it's pretty classic, but something like The Piano might not be, because it's not exactly a masterpiece (though I do love it)

Thanks!

Citizen Kane would certainly be a strong contender, or possibly All About Eve or Sunset Boulevard. I have a personal affection towards 12 Angry Men and A Streetcar Named Desire, but I don't know if they fit all of your criteria, as they are more performance-driven than anything.

More modern titles might include The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, and most of Stanley Kubrick's films, although some of them might be considered controversial.

I suppose a Classic Film is an unforgettable one, one you could see again and again. Maybe?
For me it is "On the Waterfront" with Brando.
Oliviers' "Hamlet" and "Henry V". Lots of others but those are unforgettable to me.

The stand-out 'contender' for me would be 'Casablanca'. Pretty much got everything. Romance,war,music,history,tension,betrayal,politics,solid characters - well,everything!

Good classic for me would be the original version of "The Postman Always Rings Twice". Lana Turner is the female lead and I can't remember who played her husband or her lover. Much better than the 70s (I think) version.

I'll throw out there "Rebel Without a Cause" and "White Heat" with James Cagney.

I would add a couple of westerns. John Wayne in The Searchers or Red River. Couple of my favs.

There are so many! I would have a list that includes:

Gone With The Wind
Mutiny On The Bounty (Errol Flynn version)
The Caine Mutiny
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex

It seems to me that so many movies that are "re-made" just don't come up to the original. I'd also add John Wayne in Stagecoach.

I'm with Jar on Gone With the Wind. It is still so watchable almost 70 years later. One of those rare piece of perfections which I doubt anyone would be silly enough to try a re-make.

Another oldie, but goodie is "Some Like it Hot" with Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis.

The Sting is always great fun. And one of my all time favorites "Network". It is amazing how accurately that movie depicts modern day television fare.

The Sting, oh yes: and Butch Cassidy too...

Elmer Gantry starring Burt Lancaster
From Here to Eternity Burt Lancaster/Frank Sinatra
The Way We Were Robert Redford

You might want to have a look at this film. Widely regarded to be one of the best black comedies of all time. A true classic and definitely one of Stanley Kubrick's best. Dr. Strangelove.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97Rnn8MGat8

Definitely The Wizard of Oz. Those scary flying monkeys, that terrible witch...still such a great movie. Hard to believe it was made just about the time color started in movies. The Oz books were wonderful, too.

Hello - I'm knew here. I'm attempting to find out the title of a really good movie that I saw years ago. I would like to purchase the movie. - It's about a young man in high school and his friend who are reviewing an old high school year book for some reason. One of these young men sees a photo of a really beautiful girl who was a student at the time the year book was published and falls in love with her. The young man does some research and finds out that she was killed in some sort of accident when she was a student at this high school. Through his research, he finds out where she's burried and visits her grave site. If memory serves, while he's at the grave site, he expresses his love for her, and at some point, she appears before him in a spirtual body. They get togther as a couple but learn that evil spirts are lurking to snatch her away from him and this world and want to take her to hell. She and the young man were given a special ring to wear on there hands, so that if they ever got surrounded by these evil spirits and their lives were in danager, there love for each other along with putting these rings in contact with each other would release a power that would distroy the evil spirts and save her from hell. Who could help me with the title of this movie? It came out during the 70's or 80's.

If you're looking for a more modern classic than those mentioned above, I'd go with "Forrest Gump". I've seen in multiple time and will never tire of watching it.

For me its Titanic. This movie is very special for me. It is all time favourite and classic for me.

For me it would be Cat On A Hot Tin Roof with Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman and Portrait of Jennie with Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten.

I've always loved the way "Lawrence of Arabia" was filmed by David Lean- lots of wide angles and some innovative cinematography.
And Peter O'Toole was awesome as the title character.

The General with Buster Keaton is a silent comedy, and yes that might sound a bit meh (yes pun intended), but damn if it ain't funny.
Citizen Kane and Casablanca are usually on the top of "classic" lists.
For SciFi you could go Metropolis, or another silent classic The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. Of course if you doing an English thing maybe dialogue would be an advantage.
A Clockwork Orange by Kubrick would be an interesting choice, lots of social issues and a great big pile of alternative slang to boot, plus its a good movie.

I realize this is a pretty old thread, but I second any Kubrick film (especially Dr. Strangelove), Citizen Kane, the silent classics like quogequoz mentioned (Metropolis, Dr. Caligari, Phantom of the Opera). My all time favorite movie, which is probably a more modern classic, is Scorsese's 1980 film Raging Bull. You could definitely have some controversial topic discussions with that one.