How to Get into Old Movies...Part 3

Part 3: Compare Old Movies to Their Current Day Remakes

Whenever anybody brings up seeing movies that he or she believes everybody should see, my girlfriend often makes the joke that there are only two movies she has ever seen: [random movie] and The Women from 1939. This always makes me think that if the cinematic powers that be were willing to pony up a remake to The Women (not a knock at all), it's amazing that just about every classic movie hasn't been remade in some way, shape or form.

That being said, it is amazing how many old movies - both great and not so great - have been remade or aped in some way. Some have been shot by shot, such as the 1998 Psycho with Vince Vaughn. Some have updated the effects and made the story more topically relevant to the current state of the world, like 2008's The Day the Earth Stood Still. Some have merely copied the historical topic, such as 2006's 300 and 1962's The 300 Spartans.

Now not many people realize that many of these new movies have cinematic ancestors. Therefore, this could be a perfect opportunity to usher in an old movie or two for a friend.

If your friend is a female, I would suggest watching the 1994 version of Little Women, alongside either the 1933 version with Katherine Hepburn or the 1949 version with Elizabeth Taylor and Janet Leigh. For guys, I might suggest last year's version of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, along with the Walter Matthau original. If your student is a little younger, try comparing last year's Race to Witch Mountain with the Disney original Escape to Witch Mountain.

How to Get into Old Movies...Part 2

Part 2: Use Movies Still Well Known in Popular Culture

It's been more than 70 years since The Wizard of Oz was first released in theaters. Yet, just about everybody, regardless of age, can tell you the basic plot of this movie, which happens to be in the top 10 of the American Film Institute's Top 100 American movies list.

There is not always a definite pattern that can help one to determine which movies resonate and will continue to resonate 10, 20, even 50 years past their release date. However, some do. Some become synonymous with the Christmas season (It's a Wonderful Life), some are known for their quotes (Casablanca) and some represent a rite of passage of sorts for young women (Gone with the Wind).

However, to those who may not know any different, some movies become nothing more than an hour-and-forty-five-minutes block of time on the TV Guide channel or a dusty VHS tape on a grandparent's shelf. And, oddly enough, many of these movies are and were considered stellar pieces of cinema, some ever garnering Best Picture or acting Oscars.

Take Goodbye, Mr. Chips. The 1939 movie about an initially stingy schoolteacher nabbed Robert Donat the first and only Oscar win of his too brief film career. And all this despite being in a competitive category with acting names that are still considered legendary to this day, and many even easily recognizable to young people nowadays: James Stewart, Laurence Olivier, Clark Gable and Mickey Rooney. Yet Robert Donat won, which would beg the question from young moviegoers nowadays...who is Robert Donat, and (going back to the movie itself) what is Goodbye, Mr. Chips?

Basically, in order to appreciate, or even be able to identify, a Goodbye, Mr. Chips, you have to work your way through the Singin' in the Rains and the Psychos. Other than being great building blocks for cinematic appreciation, these movies do a lot of great things in helping you get into old movies.

First, they train your eyes to get used to the look and feel of old movies. Second, they introduce you to actors you will soon begin to identify more frequently as you watch more and more old movies.

One theme I will continue to reiterate as I expand this list is that many of these tips can be used simultaneously. Therefore, you can start your journey into old movie appreciation by starting with well-known classics and then get more entrenched by looking back into the filmographies of some of the actors. We will continue to see links like this as we go on. Stay tuned until then...