What recent-ish films will be considered classics in the future?

[Peter Hitchens]

What films from recent years do you think will stand the test of time? Particularly films that were maybe not hugely popular or praised on release.

Blade Runner is the obvious example of an older film that has done this - mixed reviews when it came out, moderate box office performance, but now it's widely considered a classic and is a film most people have seen.

More recently Fight Club is perhaps one that is similar - a big release but not hugely successful, and praised by some but hated by other critics. But now it's a huge seller on DVD, very well known and very well regarded. Though Fight Club is an example that you might still think could lose its reputation or be forgotten in another 10 years or so. From the same year Three Kings is a film that didn't make a huge splash but seems to be quietly respected by a lot of film fans these days.

It's a hard one to call because the films that are remembered years down the line aren't necessarily better than other films that are forgotten, or the most successful at the box office, or indeed Oscar winners.

This was prompted by me reading a few posts about how great Children of Men is. Already that seems to be almost universally loved by film fans (or at least internet forums), but will it be considered alongside true classics in the future?

Or the Wrestler; for me not a film I'll forget easily and I'd consider it up there with anything, but it's very hard to predict whether it will just be a footnote or could grow in stature with time.

[mindgames]

Cue lots of people saying Speed Racer.

And quite right too.

[Headache]

Cue lots of people saying Speed Racer.

And quite right too.

It was the first thing that came to my mind when I read the title.

[biglime]

Equilibrium.

I'm being DEADLY serious.

[Kyouma]

Lord of the Rings too late?

[Jack]

Hotel For Dogs.

[SeanR]

Dunstan checks in

[Eighthours]

Cue lots of people saying Speed Racer.

And quite right too.

I haven't seen it, but I have seen the trailer. If Speed Racer is all about the CGI visuals then surely it'll age pretty badly in a few years time?

[Couch Corpse]

Taken. Shame you hate it.

[Comrade]

Lord of the Rings too late?

I doubt it, it's newer than Fight Club anyway. I agree though. It gets a lot of flack these days, but I was just thinking earlier about the sheer acheivement of those films, it really is incredible.

[Campfire_Burning]

AI.

Solaris.

Monster House.

Speed Racer, obviously.

[Venice Cull]

In Bruges?

Not widely popular, did nothing at the box office, but perhaps it'll find it's audience about 5 -1 0 years from now?

[Rudi von Starnberg]

On a similar level, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

[Sng]

What is with the Speed Racer love? It's so shitty.

[mayor_mike_haggar]

Shoot em up is the greatest film of the last 25 years

[Smitty]

What is with the Speed Racer love? It's so shitty.

WRONG

Chemical analysis reveals that Speed Racer was composed of 80% WIN and 20% ZOMG.

I rest my case.

[poppa_f]

Memento

[The-G]

In Bruges

Fight Club

Pi

Taken

[Capwn]

Pans labyrinth? Donnie Darko?

[Festoon]

There won't be a Bladerunner-type cult films, anymore. Wider and more means of distribution mean that almost everything gets an audience.

Speed Racer was unfairly dismissed - visually, it's going to be aped for years, certainly.

[lordcookie]

I made a thread a couple of years ago asking a similar question Reappraising ignored modern films so rather than repeat what I said in that thread I'll just add a couple of new ones.

Punch Drunk Love - It was quite well received by critics but totally ignored by the movie going public despite possibly being P T Anderson's best film to date (yes, even better than There Will Be Blood). Not only does it achieve the impossible by making Adam Sandler watchable but it is one of the most interesting romantic comedies of the last 20-30 years because it has a very bitter edge running through it yet at the same time hitting all the rom-com notes without feeling contrived. Visually it is a real treat and it has one of the most interesting and disorienting soundtracks in recent memory.

Speed Racer - Whilst it will probably never be recognised as a classic for its storytelling (although I think it is a lot smarter than people give it credit for) I do think it was ahead of the curve in terms of visuals. It is an amazing achievement and, if you are willing to go with it, will transport you back to your childhood.

I asked a question in my other thread which only one person attempted to answer (thanks Campfire Burning) but it is quite relevant here so I'll repost it:

Peeping Tom, Citizen Kane and a whole host of older films were ignored or given bad reviews upon release yet are now deemed as classics. Because these older films could, at the time, only be viewed on the big screen it could take years for them to be reappraised (often by another generation). For example, It's a Wonderful Life only became a real hit once it appeared on TV decades after the theatrical release. So here is the question - with modern films appearing in all distribution channels (cinema, DVD, download, TV) within 18 months of its initial release is it more likely that we won't miss the qualities of a film anymore? Or, because a film can go through the channels so quickly it means that if we had missed a classic during this time it will be harder for the film to be reappraised in the future?

[Peter Hitchens]

There won't be a Bladerunner-type cult films, anymore. Wider and more means of distribution mean that almost everything gets an audience.

This is a good point, in fact Fight Club probably demonstrates that because even though it wasn't a big box office success, it only took a couple of years before it was already well known and widely appreciated, probably because of the impact of DVDs. In comparison to Blade Runner gradually gaining more of a following over 20 years...

But still inevitably there will be some films that fade away and some that gain greater recognition. What will be the films that people look back on from this decade in the way that they look back on Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, etc?

In Bruges is quite a good example even though I personally don't like it much; it's the sort of film I could imagine people holding up as a 'forgotten masterpiece' in a few years.

Whoever said Taken, I agree that on a smaller scale it could be a film that a lot of people remember and sticks around for years. Obviously it'll never be thought of as a masterpiece but it could be considered a minor classic of the genre.

[Peter Hitchens]

Peeping Tom, Citizen Kane and a whole host of older films were ignored or given bad reviews upon release yet are now deemed as classics. Because these older films could, at the time, only be viewed on the big screen it could take years for them to be reappraised (often by another generation). For example, It's a Wonderful Life only became a real hit once it appeared on TV decades after the theatrical release. So here is the question - with modern films appearing in all distribution channels (cinema, DVD, download, TV) within 18 months of its initial release is it more likely that we won't miss the qualities of a film anymore? Or, because a film can go through the channels so quickly it means that if we had missed a classic during this time it will be harder for the film to be reappraised in the future?

It's hard to say.

Punch Drunk Love for example, is already very well respected by 'serious' film fans, but whether there would be anything to trigger it gaining wider recognition later on is hard to say. I'd think there's no reason that couldn't just happen organically, if people who own it on DVD and love it are still watching it in a few years time.

I find it hard to tell because I'm too young to really remember the process happening before. Like; there are a handful of 70s films that are talked about as must see classics of their era, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of other films from the same period that are just as worthy of attention. It's hard to imagine at what point Taxi Driver, for example, became not just a well regarded film but one of THE most well known, highly rated films of its time.

[squirtle]

The Mothman Prophecies. One of the most genuinely eerie and unsettling films I've seen in recent years, and really should be appreciated by more people.

[Kyouma]

Shoot em up is the greatest film of the last 25 years

YES!!!!!

[Festoon]

The Mothman Prophecies. One of the most genuinely eerie and unsettling films I've seen in recent years, and really should be appreciated by more people.

That was surprisingly good, I agree.

Shoot Em UP is just a Bugs Bunny cartoon so it's not particularly original. Funny though.

[Timmo]

There Will Be Blood, clearly.

Magnolia was so close too, but something was missing. Need to see Punch Drunk Love again.

[the_debaser]

There's a few obvious ones like Wall-E, The Departed and No Country For Old Men.

Perfume: The Story of a murderer was very interesting, even if the ending was garbage. It's about some weird kid who has a great sense of smell and kills loads of women to make the ultimate perfume. Its a bit artsy and bizarre for the sake of it but it's pretty great.

[lordcookie]

The Departed

Really? If anything over time opinions will be much more critical of the film. Even ignoring the superior original and the fact it is one of the director's weakest films to date it is still a very average thriller.

[Timmo]

I thought The Departed was utterly so-so.