My Favorite Classic Movies
- ellaschnoor9
- Nov 6, 2020
- 3 min read
I have never considered myself a big “film buff.” Growing up in the early 2000s, my proclivity for entertainment usually shifted towards cable TV and online games. However, most Friday nights were the sacred “pizza and movie night”, where trips to Blockbuster and Dominoes were finished laying on the floor, crowded around the TV in the family room. Although we occasionally got to watch a new release, my parents were more likely to show us the movies they grew up on, and I’m glad that they did. Despite being raised decades apart, the movies we love we love together. As a kid, we mostly watched ‘80s movies, but throughout my life, I have grown to love the movies made in the 30 years that spanned between 1960 and 1989. These are my top favorite classic movies.
-The Graduate
The Graduate is a romantic drama with ironic comedy that follows 21-year-old protagonist Benjamin Braddock post-college graduation. From the start, Ben is struggling to come to terms that the golden years of college have come to an end as he tries to juggle an unlikely affair with Mrs. Robinson, a long-time family friend, and manipulative dominatrix, all while he begins to fall in love with her daughter.
The soundtrack to the film was written by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, an emerging folk-rock pair, as well as composer Dave Grusin. Together, Simon, Garfunkel, and Grusin capture the isolation and emptiness felt by both Ben and Mrs. Robinson and the seductive, sexual tension seen on screen. Debuted in 1967, the film and soundtrack also reflect the revolution of the time period, as societal norms shifted towards cultural freedom and rebellion.¹
The Graduate is my favorite movie of all time, and it just so happens that it was made in the 1960s, one of my favorite decades of all time. It helped to popularize the music of Simon & Garfunkel, which is increasingly significant to me as Paul Simon is also one of my favorite musicians of all time. Overall, The Graduate truly holds the test of time- coming from someone who has seen it more times than I can count.
-The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a comedy musical that usually comes out of hiding during the Halloween season with its fan-participation events. Released in 1975, it encompasses all that is glam-rock and I love. it.² It has grown to be such an iconic piece of cult-movie history and for good reason, as it is the perfect amount of raunchy and sweet, hilarious and “scary” (if you can even call it that), and all-around has a great soundtrack with an unbeatable costume and set. I may be biased, as the ‘70s IS my favorite decade, but The Rocky Horror Picture Show is absolutely one of my favorite musicals.
The 1980s is my favorite decade for movies- these are the movies I grew up on, as my parents also grew up on them, and together we bonded over the wholesome, kid-adventure movies like The Goonies and The Gremlins. It was not an easy task picking only a few ‘80s classics for the list, but the ones I picked are the ones that I can remember playing in the background of my life the most.
-The Gremlins
I can remember The Gremlins as being one of the first “scary” movies I ever watched. It’s about these cute and fluffy little creatures, the Gremlins, that become evil if fed after midnight, multiply when they get wet, and are killed by bright light.³ As a classic 80s film released in 1984, the main character gets himself into a big problem, yet somehow, in the end, it all works out just fine. It’s wholesome and funny and is always at the top of my list for favorite ‘80s movies.
-The Goonies
The Goonies is another movie that reminds me of being a kid. It gives me a comfortable nostalgia, reminding me how excited the movie made me feel, and still fills my soul with the same childlike wonder as it once did. An ‘80s adventure movie released in 1985, it follows a group of kids on a wild and surprising quest all based on an old treasure map they found in their attic. The soundtrack of this movie, like The Graduate, was too composed by Dave Grusin, a genius in film soundtrack.⁴ It also features a song by Cyndi Lauper, the epitome of an ‘80s pop star who is well known for her hit, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”. It is everything I could ever want in an ‘80s movie.
¹Ebert, R. (1967, Dec 26). The Graduate Movie Review. Roger Ebert.
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-graduate-1967
²History- How RPH Became a Phenomenon. The Rocky Horror Picture Show Official Fan Site.
http://www.rockyhorror.com/history/
³Gremlins (1984). IMBD.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087363/
⁴The Goonies: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goonies:_Original_Motion_Picture_Soundtrack
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