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What's the best pre-60s movie on DVD?

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What's the best pre-60s movie on DVD?

Old 02-15-05, 07:49 AM
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What's the best pre-60s movie on DVD?

I'm totally into the classics all of a sudden. What are the best movies that were made before 1960 (or there about) that are on DVD?

I'm looking first and foremost for good quality movies, but I'm also interested in good DVDs (nice transfer with a few extras, or better yet, loads of extras).

Last edited by James W. Powell; 02-15-05 at 07:50 AM. Reason: need a question mark
Old 02-15-05, 08:00 AM
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There are hundreds of movies that could be suggested. What genres do you like?

You could try some of the Warner Night at the Movies collections like the Gangsters, Musicals and Comedies (the later 2 have not been released yet though), Robin Hood, Sierra Madre and Yankee Doodle Dandy. These all have a newsreel, a couple of shorts, a cartoon and the feature. Just like it was when your parents or grandparents went to the movies.

But like I said you'll get better responses if we know how your tastes run.
Old 02-15-05, 08:12 AM
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Bride of Frankenstein.
Old 02-15-05, 08:23 AM
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You could start with the pre 60's movies on the AFI 100 list.
Old 02-15-05, 08:34 AM
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100s of movies. However the best pre-1960s DVD would arguable be the recently released Gone With the Wind.
Old 02-15-05, 08:43 AM
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The de-facto answer would have to be Citizen Kane.
Old 02-15-05, 08:54 AM
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METROPOLIS
THE WIZARD OF OZ
FANTASIA
CITIZEN KANE
Anything from Alfred Hitchcock
Old 02-15-05, 09:06 AM
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Originally Posted by Filmmaker
Anything from Alfred Hitchcock pre-Psycho
fixed

Incidentally, the answer is "Casablanca".
Old 02-15-05, 09:06 AM
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Ooops, I hadn't thought of giving my tastes. I'm actually open to anything. I love Hitchcock and I'm already going through his entire run of DVDs. I've got CITIZEN KANE and DAY EARTH STOOD STILL and loved 'em. Heck, I even watched BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S last night and enjoyed that. So I guess I don't have any specific genres I'm looking for. I just like old classics all of a sudden and want to see the best ones.

I like the idea of the AFI 100 list....
Old 02-15-05, 09:16 AM
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My favorite... Vertigo.
Second to that... Casablanca.
Old 02-15-05, 09:58 AM
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Fritz Lang's:

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse Criterion Collection (2 disc)
M Criterion Collection (2 disc)
Old 02-15-05, 10:04 AM
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The Third Man, Casablanca, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Killing, the Warner Brothers Gangster Collection, the Warner Brothers Film Noir Classic Collection (which you absolutely need to get), The Gold Rush, City Lights, A Night at the Opera, the Big Sleep, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, the Night of the Hunter, Seven Samurai

That should be enough to keep you going for a while. All are absolute classics, and most have pretty packed DVD's (save for the Big Sleep, Night of the Hunter and the Killing which are all available for a relatively cheap price). And I didn't bother mentioning Hitchcock since you said you already have a bunch of those, but of course many of his films are essential.
Old 02-15-05, 10:05 AM
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Casablanca
Old 02-15-05, 10:21 AM
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Passion of Joan of Arc
Notorious
City Lights
The Great Dicator
The Third Man
Singing in the Rain
Nosferatu
Metropolis
Citizen Kane
Casablanca
Gone With the Wind
Wizard of Oz
Rashomon
Seven Samurai
Black Narcissus
Arsenic And Old Lace
Roman Holiday
Pillow Talk
Kiss Me Deadly
Sunset Boulevard


to name a few
Old 02-15-05, 11:57 AM
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Second, Passion of Joan of Arc
Old 02-15-05, 12:36 PM
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Geez, what a crazy question. Just as bad as asking what the best post-1960s movies are. Each question could produce hundreds, possibly thousands, of responses.
Old 02-15-05, 01:04 PM
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Originally Posted by Walter Neff
Geez, what a crazy question. Just as bad as asking what the best post-1960s movies are. Each question could produce hundreds, possibly thousands, of responses.
Good, that's just what I need. I want ideas for things to pick up. If everyone had the same two or three movies, that wouldn't help me. I plan to look into these movies and start watching more and more classics, so I appreciate everyone's input so far.
Old 02-15-05, 01:04 PM
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Originally Posted by Walter Neff
Geez, what a crazy question. Just as bad as asking what the best post-1960s movies are. Each question could produce hundreds, possibly thousands, of responses.
Some of us actually enjoy these very open ended questions. I'm sure the OP didn't expect five people to respond "Citizen Kane" without further discussion. I like to see the various opinions, and sometimes see suggestions that wouldn't occur to me.
Old 02-15-05, 01:39 PM
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heh, most good movies were pre-60s, so this is very difficult. I recommend any film noir, especially Double Indemnity, my favorite. You should buy the new warner gangsters collection too, all great films.
Old 02-15-05, 02:06 PM
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While by no means an exhaustive listing, the following would get my highest recommendations for films released before 1960. All are (or will shortly be) available on DVD in Region 1. They are listed by director (or star, in a few cases), and then roughly in order of my preference (YMMV):

Ingmar Bergman: Wild Strawberries, The Seventh Seal, Smiles of a Summer Night

Robert Bresson: A Man Escaped, The Diary of A Country Priest

Marcel Carné: Children of Paradise

Charles Chaplin: City Lights, The Gold Rush, The Kid

Henri-Georges Clouzot: The Wages of Fear, Le Corbeau, Diabolique

Michael Curtiz: Casablanca, Mildred Pierce, The Adventures of Robin Hood

Vittorio De Sica: The Bicycle Thief

Stanley Donen: Singin' in the Rain

Carl Theodor Dreyer: The Passion of Joan of Arc, Day of Wrath

Federico Fellini: Nights of Cabiria, I Vitelloni

W.C. Fields: It's a Gift, The Bank Dick

John Ford: Stagecoach, The Searchers

D.W. Griffith: Intolerance, Way Down East

Howard Hawks: His Girl Friday, Only Angels Have Wings, Red River, Bringing Up Baby, Twentieth Century, To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep

Alfred Hitchcock: Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest, The 39 Steps

John Huston: The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Elia Kazan: A Streetcar Named Desire

Buster Keaton: The General, Sherlock Jr., Steamboat Bill Jr., Go West

Akira Kurosawa: The Hidden Fortress, Ikiru, Rashomon, The Seven Samurai

Fritz Lang: The Big Heat

Charles Laughton: The Night of the Hunter

David Lean: Brief Encounter

Ernst Lubitsch: The Shop Around the Corner, Trouble in Paradise

Sidney Lumet: 12 Angry Men

Rouben Mamoulian: Love Me Tonight

The Marx Brothers: Duck Soup, Horse Feathers, A Night at the Opera

F.W. Murnau: Sunrise, Tabu, The Last Laugh

Yasujiro Ozu: Tokyo Story, Early Summer, Floating Weeds

Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger: Black Narcissus, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The Red Shoes

Nicholas Ray: Rebel Without a Cause

Satyajit Ray: Pather Panchali, Aparajito, The World of Apu

Carol Reed: The Third Man

Jean Renoir: The Rules of the Game, Grand Illusion, The Southerner

Preston Sturges: The Lady Eve, The Palm Beach Story

Jacques Tati: Mon Oncle

François Truffaut: The 400 Blows

W.S. Van Dyke III: The Thin Man

Dziga Vertov: The Man with a Movie Camera

Jean Vigo: L'Atalante

Luchino Visconti: La Terra Trema

Billy Wilder: Sunset Blvd.

Orson Welles: Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil

Last edited by FilmFanSea; 02-16-05 at 12:51 AM.
Old 02-15-05, 05:14 PM
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Here's a link that lists the AFI Top 100 as well as the 400 nominated films.

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/T...s/97afi100.htm
Old 02-15-05, 05:33 PM
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Originally Posted by natevines
I recommend any film noir, especially Double Indemnity, my favorite.
Yes! You absolutely MUST see this film! Unfortunately, the DVD is very rare and contains no extras Turner Classic Movies will be showing Double Indemnity a week from today (Feb 22nd).
Old 02-15-05, 09:50 PM
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I too vote for Casablanca (new 2-Disc) and Fritz Lang's M (new 2-Disc Criterion). Both editions are top notch and the movies are my two favorites that are available from the specified time frame. Double Indemnity would fill out that top 3, if it were available. The OOP version is on par with a VHS tape transfer so, wait for a new edition... if we ever see one.
Old 02-15-05, 10:06 PM
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The Adventures of Robin Hood.
Old 02-15-05, 10:31 PM
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if you want some variety, throw some Ed Wood movies in there.

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