INTRODUCTION
Scenario 1:
It’s Friday night. Like many parents, you like to put your feet up and chill with the kids who don’t have to get up early the next day. You pop some popcorn or make some hot chocolate, and you spend a couple of hours watching a movie together. It’s fun, it’s relaxing, and everyone enjoys it. But you’ve run out of movies. You’ve finished streaming the recent releases and you’re wondering, can we watch some older films? You vaguely remember a few films you enjoyed as a kid, maybe even some in black and white. What were they? Charlie Chaplin? It’s a Wonderful Life? You’re thinking, maybe it would be cool to watch some classic films with the family, but which ones? Which ones are fun? Which ones won’t make the kids want to roll their eyes or leave the room after five minutes? Which ones will you enjoy too?
You know there are movies like Casablanca and Citizen Kane, but you’re not sure your kids are ready for those yet. Is there anything lighter, a kind of gentle way of introducing the kids to the idea that films don’t have to be in color and they don’t have to take place in the present or in some complete fantasy elvish-forest or space-telephone-booth realm? Well, look no further. This is the book for you. Here are 20 films that almost anyone can enjoy.
What’s that? How do I know you’ll like these? Well, you’re right. Movies, like books or music, are a matter of personal preference. And while I can’t guarantee you’d put all these movies in your personal greatest films of all time list, these films are generally considered to be “good,” having been chosen as part of top 100 film lists by the American Film Institute and the British Film Institute, nominated for Academy and Golden Globe Awards, and received the honor of being named as films worthy of preservation by the Library of Congress. These are films that for one reason or another have been enjoyed by many people, including filmmakers themselves, film critics, and audience members of all ages. So it’s a good bet you’ll like a lot of them too.
On a purely personal level, all of these films made my son laugh aloud at some point, and unsurprisingly, most of the films in this list are comedies. Some kids may never have seen a black and white film before, and you may have to ease them into the concept. And there’s a movie for that. You can watch Hugo (2011, dir. Martin Scorsese) together, to start thinking about the history of film.
This collection begins with Singin’ in the Rain, a film that shows cinema’s past and how movies used to be made. There’s more than one interesting theme in each film, and I think you’ll find many, many things to talk about as a family with each screening, including humor, ethics, how things work, and how you want to live your life. But most importantly, you’ll laugh together, and I can’t think of any better reason to get in the comfy seats, and enjoy the show.
Scenario 2:
You’re young. Not that young, but not quite old enough yet for film school, either. You want to make movies, or work on a movie, or you just really love movies. You want to learn more about movies and moviemaking. Maybe you want to improve your own filmmaking skills. Maybe you want to learn from the greats about storytelling, about visual communication, about acting, photography, design, and any other number of filmmaking techniques. Maybe you do actually want to go to film school or maybe you just like storytelling, not necessarily in films, but on paper. You write stories, you think up stories, maybe you have a blog where you tell stories. And maybe you like watching movies at home with the family, but you’re sick of predictable kiddy fare. Perhaps you like a few of the older films you’ve seen; you wonder if there are other good ones out there. Maybe you just want to watch a bunch of fun old films. Whatever your reason, this book has got 20 films you’ll enjoy watching with your family on movie night, or watching on your own, with a few tips for each film about solid storytelling and great moviemaking. Enjoy!
Tradition and Trains:
When my son was about three or four, we started our Friday movie night tradition. I was raised with movies, since my parents were movie-lovers and my dad worked in the film business. I went to USC film school, and eventually worked in the film industry for about ten years. Later I got my PhD in film from UCLA and taught film to students of all ages from middle school up through college. Movies are one of my greatest passions. When we decided our son was old enough to watch films, we thought hard about which films he might enjoy at such a tender age. Watching black and white films wasn’t an issue — black and white or color, young kids tend to be fascinated by anything on a screen. At the time, he loved trains. Being British, my husband suggested an English comedy from Ealing Studios, The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953, dir. Charles Crichton).
Our son was fascinated — for about 30 minutes. Then he toddled off in the middle of the movie to go play with his trains. And that is how it was. Every Friday evening we’d gather round the TV and watch some movie classic. Sometimes our son would stay and watch the whole film, sometimes he’d get bored and go do something else. Sometimes we’d watch the first half, take a little break — for an hour or even a day — then watch the second half. Often he loved the films so much he wanted to watch them many times, which was fine by us, as we tend to like watching films we enjoy lots of times, too.
Here then are some of our family favorites. For this collection, I’ve thought of young filmmakers from about 11 years old on up through high school and college. The movies are mostly comedies of various sorts, and although mostly light-hearted, these movies also engage some meaty themes. Most are considered “classics” and they were made between 1933 and 1998. Of course, there will be films in this list, as in any list, that you personally might not enjoy, and some films you might enjoy more than others. However, I think it’s safe to say that if you’ve picked up this book, and you aren’t adamantly opposed to films being in black and white or brilliant Technicolor, you’ll find titles here that will tickle your fancy and that you can enjoy with the whole family. I hope that applies to all of these films, and that they bring you years of pleasure, as they have for me and my family.