Help Please - Classic Movies

[addicted2dvd]

I am fairly new to the classic movies.. used to be... not that long ago... that I wouldn't watch something made before 1980.  But I did see the error in my ways and started to see the wonders that the older movies movies actually had in store for me. But because of this my knowledge of the classics is extremely limited.

Several years ago there used to be a magazine called Total Movie & Entertainment and they offered a 40 movie (on 20 DVDs) boxset free for subscribing... I heard many subscribers never got this boxset... but I was one of the lucky ones that actually did get this set (although the cheap cardboard packaging was ruined).



Anyway... I figured this weekend.. Probably starting tomorrow (Friday) I would do a marathon of movies from this set. Of course I am expecting crap quality... but at least I will see what they consider classics (if not truly classics). But I need your help... as I said there is 40 movies in the set and there is just no way I can manage to watch all 40 movies in the weekend... 

So to all you classic lovers out there... which of the following movies should I be sure to watch this weekend for some great classic entertainment?
Note: I am a true horror lover... so I will definitely be seeing at least some of the horror ones 

The Movies include:

1. Battleship Potemkin
2. The General
3. Intolerance
4. Dr. Jekyll
5. Scrooge
6. Farewell to Arms
7. Cyrano
8. Road to Bali
9. AFrica Screams
10. At War With The Army
11. Pajama Game
12.  Dressed to Kill   
13.  Kennel Murder Case
14.  Dick Tracy Detective
15.  Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome
16.  Meet John Doe
17.  His Girl Friday
18.  The Stranger
19.  Beat the Devil
20.  Suddenly
21.  Angel and the Badman
22.  One Eyed Jacks
23.  Boy in the Plastic Bubble
24.  Cause for Alarm
25.  Sabotage
26.  Sherlock Holmes and the Woman in Green
27. Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
28. White Zombie
29.  Carnival of Souls
30.  I Bury the Living
31.  God Told Me To
32.  Little Shop of Horrors
33.  Bucket of Blood
34.  The Terror
35.  Dementia 13
36.  Gian Gila Monster
37.  Killer Shrews
38.  Assassin of Youth
39.  Reefer Madness
40.  Brain that Woudln't Die.

[Touti]

I'm afraid I don't know any of there 

Did you check them out on IMDB to see which ones a (supposed to be) good ?

[addicted2dvd]

At this point I am still putting all the disc into Profiler.. which I can't upload (No UPC on boxset profiles so uses first Disc Id) but if anyone here that has these sets wants the profiles I would be glad to send them to you... so I haven't really had the chance to check out what IMDB says yet... though I don't hold much stock in their opinions... as I normally disagree with the ratings/reviews there.

[James]

1980 has been your cut-off?  I feel so old. If you get hooked on classics  Warner Bros. has been putting out high quality classics for several years now. I recommend all of their releases pretty much.  Paramount's classics are usually cheap.  Columbia is usually has a high SRP. 

I would start with these:

1. Battleship Potemkin - watch this to compare with the baby carriage on the stairs scene from The Untouchables 
2. The General - Charlie Chaplin? If so,  
3. Intolerance - D.W. Griffith, important in film history. don't know about entertainment.  
4. Dr. Jekyll
5. Scrooge
6. Farewell to Arms - Helen Hayes and Gary Cooper 
7. Cyrano
8. Road to Bali - The "road" movies are great
9. AFrica Screams - I love A&C 
10. At War With The Army - Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis  
11. Pajama Game - I love Doris Day 
12.  Dressed to Kill   
13.  Kennel Murder Case - William Powell 
14.  Dick Tracy Detective
15.  Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome
16.  Meet John Doe - Gary Cooper and "Miss Barbara Stanwyck"  
17.  His Girl Friday - Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell 
18.  The Stranger - Orson Wells, Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young 
19.  Beat the Devil - Humphrey Bogart and Jennifer Jones 
20.  Suddenly - Frank Sinatra 
21.  Angel and the Badman - John Wayne 
22.  One Eyed Jacks - Marlon Brando 
23.  Boy in the Plastic Bubble - John Travolta  Actually, I remember seeing this on broadcast TV when it came out.  It was a breakthrough role for him.
24.  Cause for Alarm - Loretta Young 
25.  Sabotage - Hitchcock 
26.  Sherlock Holmes and the Woman in Green
27. Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
28. White Zombie
29.  Carnival of Souls
30.  I Bury the Living
31.  God Told Me To
32.  Little Shop of Horrors
33.  Bucket of Blood
34.  The Terror
35.  Dementia 13
36.  Gian Gila Monster
37.  Killer Shrews
38.  Assassin of Youth
39.  Reefer Madness - I think everyone should see it once. Maybe just a few minutes. 
40.  Brain that Woudln't Die.

[addicted2dvd]

LOL... yeah I was a kid of the 80's... ma have dabbled a little in the 70's stuff... but not much till recently.

Thanks for your comments James... will be looking into at least some of them this weekend for sure! 

[addicted2dvd]

2. The General - Charlie Chaplin? If so,  

Actually it is Buster Keaton... not Charlie Chaplin. But I did the profile for this one already... and the tiny pieces I saw of it looked to be pretty funny... so I am hoping to get to this one.

[James]

2. The General - Charlie Chaplin? If so,  

Actually it is Buster Keaton... not Charlie Chaplin. But I did the profile for this one already... and the tiny pieces I saw of it looked to be pretty funny... so I am hoping to get to this one.

Ah.  I confused it with The Great Dictator. Well, it's nice to have some Buster Keaton. 

Don't be discouraged by the quality of these PD movies. I have one of those 50-movie packs and the quality can be pretty low. You can get great quality on the studio releases. One good way to find good ones is to go through the Academy Awards lists.

[addicted2dvd]

yeah... definitely not expecting much on these... but that is ok... I can definitely forgive considering the set was free.

Yeah... just may have to do that (Academy Awards list).... sounds like a great way to get a lot of the best classics.

[SailorRipley]

That's an interesting collection of movies, I wouldn't say they're all classics but it's a fairly good package. Sadly quality should be crappy since these are all public domain titles, but hey, if you got this for free, enjoy them! Some of my definitive recommendations would be:

Battleship Potemkin - Absolutely essential. Maybe it would be helpful to be familiar with Eisenstein and the context of his movies. This is a highly politically charged film and very moving. Maybe it can seem terribly dated now, but Eisenstein was pretty much the granddaddy of modern filmmaking so his use of very precise editing, the way music is supposed to work within films (all his music vs. image theories are still relevant today) and the grandiose dramatic texture make it one of the truly great classics.

The General - Buster Keateon was such an expert comedian and filmmaker and this is my favorite of his little jewels. This one still manages to be surprising just because of the whole inventiveness of it and it still provides many laugh-out-loud moments.

Intolerance - Well... Approach this one carefully. I believe it's a very relevant and important film in a historical context but this is a hugely racist movie in every single way, don't expect to be entertained for it. In these times it can become burdersome and moving. Not casual entertainment but interesting.

Dr. Jekyll - I'm guessing this must be the John Barrymore 1920 film. If so, YES, just for the amazing performance of Barrymore.

Cyrano -Not sure. If this the José Ferrer title? If it is, his performance is very good but the film has dated badly.

His Girl Friday - Fun retelling of The Front Page, one of the best screwball comedies. Very fast dialogue!

Sabotage - An absolute yes, a very early Hitchcock but full of sweet moments. I've never managed to watch a copy in good condition of this one, so expect a particularly crappy  image.

White Zombie - This is a great horror title and stands proudly as the first ever film about zombies. It is one of my very favorites, and is highly sophisticated for its time. Oooh, those cool camera moves!

Carnival of Zombies - Not an all-out horror film but still verrry creepy. It was done independently on a very tight budget but keeps brimming with ideas and cool visuals. This one is all about the mood.

God Told Me To - If this is the 1976 Larry Cohen film, I hope you'll love it as much as I do. It's sort of a horror/sci-fi tale about a serial killer. I'm not sure why but it's a blast. If you're familiar with Larry Cohen and you end up enjoying this, I'd recommend the remastered Blue Underground release filled with some cool extras.

Little Shop of Horrors - Don't miss this one! Classic Roger Corman cheapie and lots of fun!

Dementia 13 - Another cool Corman cheapie, but famous for being the first feature film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. I think it remains to be really cool and enjoyable. Beware of the axe-wielding maniac! Again very moody chiller.

The Brain That Wouldn't Die - Crazy mad scientist horror film. This is one of those movies that are so terribly bad, low Z-grade trash that it's a complete riot! Get some popcorn and have fun with it.

Hope you have fun!

Oh, one question, Dressed to Kill? Is that the DePalma film? I don't think so but I don't remember a previous version of it.

[addicted2dvd]

 

Thanks for all the suggestions.... I think this weekend will be fun! I will be starting the first movie at some point this morning. Looking forward to it.

Oh, one question, Dressed to Kill? Is that the DePalma film? I don't think so but I don't remember a previous version of it.

To be honest... I don't know... all I see is a double sided disc with the title only on it. (original packaging got destroyed in shipping so they are in a CD Binder). But I will find out... and let you know as soon as I watch it... or profile it... which ever comes first. According to IMDB there is 4 movies with that title... and a 5th coming in 2008. There are same titles/different versions for... 1928, 1941, 1946 and 1980. The DePalma version is the 1980 so being a classic collection... it could be... but  I have to doubt it. Will let you know.

[addicted2dvd]

Dr. Jekyll - I'm guessing this must be the John Barrymore 1920 film. If so, YES, just for the amazing performance of Barrymore.

I just profiled this one... and yes this is indeed the 1920 film. I am going to try to get to this one at some point this weekend.. I always did like this story. The DVD is just labeled Dr. Jeckyle but the film credits has the complete title of Dr. Jeckyle and Mr. Hyde. This is another Silent movie I have.... I actually have a bigger collection of silent movies then I thought.

[James]

The DePalma version is the 1980 so being a classic collection... it could be...

You're killing me here. 

[addicted2dvd]

 

I profiled Dressed to Kill a little earlier today. It is the 1946 Sherlock Holmes movie