Movies have provided entertainment and a means of learning about the world for roughly 130 years, since the Lumiere brothers started projecting movie pictures to audiences in 1895. Since then, cinema has taught people about cultures and people different from themselves, taken them back to the past and the future, and made them feel the full spectrum of emotions. Today, with the sheer magnitude of different movies, it’s hard to pick one to watch, let alone entice younger generations to check out movies made before they were born.
And yet the power of classic movies is undeniable. For one, a “classic film” has a broad definition. Some choose to define it as the Old Hollywood era, before the collapse of the studio system in 1965. Others choose to define it as anything made thirty years ago and beyond. For the purposes of this article, let’s cap things off before 1980, when blockbusters were building on each other and tech companies started gobbling up movie studios.
One of the easiest ways to introduce people to classic cinema is through silent films. Yes, this might be the genre that is one of the hardest to acclimate to considering its wordlessness, but it compels the viewer to watch free of distractions. It’s also an opportunity for anyone, regardless of hearing ability, to fall in love with movies. Films from the work of Harold Lloyd, such as 1923’s Safety Last or The Freshman (1925) are universally relatable and do a great job of showing some great practical stunt work. Filmmaker Charlie Chaplin’s features, especially Modern Times (1936) and The Great Dictator (1940) also look at things like social progress and WWII to create silent humor with a stark political impact.
Much like cinema today, classic films can be utilized to showcase historic events or people. The 1939 historical drama Young Mr. Lincoln tells the life of the Great Emancipator, played by Henry Fonda, with all the gravitas you’d expect. It’s a great complement to Steven Spielberg’s more contemporary feature, Lincoln, particularly in how both movies are able to look at elements like American slavery depending on the time period in which they were released. At the same time, another John Ford epic, also starring Henry Fonda, 1940’s The Grapes of Wrath adapts the John Steinbeck novel of the same name to give a heartrending and authentic look at the American Dust Bowl and can bring more vibrancy to social studies. The numerous classic adaptations of Shakesepare’s plays, like 1948’s Hamlet and 1953’s Julius Caesar can add a new dimension to the Bard, as well as show students how to read the playwright’s words.
You can also chart classic storytelling throughout time and locations by juxtaposing old movies with newer counterparts. Case in point, showing Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 feature Seven Samurai is a great way to teach kids about different countries, their history, and film styles. Not only is the movie a fantastic example of post-WWII filmmaking, Kurosawa’s love of Westerns means this can play alongside American Westerns like The Searchers (1956) to illustrate different views of the frontier, and the distinctions between how Americans saw Indigenous people vs. those who live in Japan. Concurrently, something like Seven Samurai can be played alongside George Lucas’s 1977 feature Star Wars as a means of illustrating the different ways to approach the hero’s journey and tell similar stories in different voices.
There’s also the fun of using classic films as a means of shaping the tastes of young film lovers. Movies like The Wizard of Oz (1939), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) or Casablanca (1942) not only show why actors like Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe and Humphrey Bogart endure today, but can challenge viewers to figure out what they think about genre, storytelling, and the art of performance. There are also numerous options for younger children to try out certain genres. Want to see if a child is into horror in a non-traumatizing way. The Universal Monster movies—Frankenstein (1931), Dracula (1931) or The Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)—have just the right blend of creepy and entertaining while some like 1942’s Cat People evoke a moody atmosphere with nuanced stories.
No matter how you bring them in, classic films can open up a whole new world to film viewers young and old. There’s a reason so many of these movies endure for decades, and turning on a new generation to classic tales is a magic all its own.