schindler’s list
EQUATION OF A FILM CLASSIC
Mention the word “classic” in different circles, and the responses you’ll get will be as varied as Tara Reid’s bajungas. Go on, try it out; I’ll wait - ‘sides, I gotta light my stogie anyhow. What’s that? Not in a circle right now? Me neither, though I do pal around with a few squares (no offense, Dean).
Golfer Ben Hogan is undeniably a classic, but so equally is Tiger Woods. The Twilight Zone; classic, classic stuff…but couldn’t the same also be said about The Sopranos? See what I’m getting at here?
Jimmy Stewart in It’s a Wonderful Life
Just so I’m clear…
One saying “They don’t make ‘em like they used to” is something else entirely. Hell, I catch myself saying that all the time (being the old soul that I am.) Understand one thing though: Classic doesn’t necessarily equal old…and being old sure as shit ain’t an auto-qualifier for classic status. Cinematically, I could point you to many an old turd. On the other hand, every decade does sire true blue classics (even, gasp, this decade we call our own.)
Many who know me know me as “The Classic Film Guy”. Often I will be asked to talk about the golden age of cinema or the studio era; both of which I’ll babble on and on (and on) about. But eventually I pause long enough to order another drink. It is at this point that I turn to my co-conversationalist(s) and (in my best Cleavon Little) say, “Excuse me while I whip this out!” I then proceed to pull out my now infamous Callaghan Top 100 Movie List (yeah, so I carry it around in my wallet…what’s the big deal?) I always am quick to point out that my film picks straddle the vast chasm that spans from the 1930’s right up to the aughts (twenty-aught one, twenty-aught two…)
Are you not entertained ?
You know how we look to the renaissance masters’ paintings to really get under the skin of fifteenth and sixteenth century life? Well, in the distant future, historians will study our film classics as the art form of our civilization. It’ll happen, just wait. You can’t convince me otherwise.
So what does make a film a classic? Many critics consider the year 1960 to be the “1 AD” of the film world. I have already spelled out my distaste for this vintage = classic malarkey. I think that, like the overly clichéd pornography definition, you know a classic when you see it. Simple as that. An authentic classic will retain its magic through multi-generational screenings; and, like Andy Dufresne, will “…come out clean on the other side.”
Dude, you spelled Hitler wrong.
Casablanca, It’s a Wonderful Life and Singin’ in the Rain…classic, classic and classic. Those are give-me’s. Now consider if you will all the film classics that came out in the 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Schindler’s List and Gladiator respectively, just to name a few. Like their older brethren, they will stand the tests of time.
So next time you think classic, think epic, timeless, filmic goodness. If, on the other hand, you are in need of a word to describe an older film…might I suggest the term “vintage”. I guess now that makes me the “Vintage Film Guy”. Now if only I could find me a circle…
Cheers,
Callaghan
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Although JAWS is my all-time favorite film (for so many reasons) I find Schindler’s List to be director Steven Spielberg’s greatest achievement; a masterpiece on every level and a film that must be put into a time capsule for future generations to bare witness.
Schindler’s List is a 1993 biographical film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian, telling the story of Oscar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than one thousand Polish Jews during the Holocaust. It was based on the novel Schindler’s Ark by Thomas Keneally, and starred Liam Neeson as Schindler, Ralph Fiennes as Schutzstaffel officer Amon Göeth, and Ben Kingsley as Schindler’s accountant Itzhak Stern. The film was both a box office success and recipient of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Score.
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