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Frankly my dear...where are today's classics?

© Kaisha Green

"Rosebud." "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." "If I only had a brain." We've all heard those phrases before. They're classics. They're from the sorts of films our parents have seen, we have seen, and our children will see and enjoy time and time again. Instantly recognizable, often quoted...Hollywood just doesn't make movies like those anymore--or does it?

The Hollywood of today sure hopes so. Millions of dollars are spent on movies which the Hollywood community hopes will have that special spark. In the Golden Age of Hollywood (usually defined as the nineteen forties), movie studios didn't have to work as hard as today. They didn't have that much competition. Today we have television, videos, dvds....and the list goes on. The studios today are waiting with baited breath for movies like "Casablanca" to come along--motion pictures so popular that even the president wants to see them, films that take on lives of their own and weave themselves into the fabric of society. Though some modern films miss the mark, like "Pearl Harbor", Hollywood created "Titanic"--just one of today's films which shimmer and sparkle like the ones of yesterday--a "Modern Day Classic."

Like "Titanic", "The English Patient" is one of today's classics. Made long after the golden age of film, it has some of the timeless qualities that create a classic: star-crossed lovers, unbelievable odds and terrific triumphs. Based on the book by Michael Oondatje, it seems to borrow from older classics "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Casablanca". It creates a magical, touching story of love during war. Set in Italy, England, and Northern Africa, the film is as visually stunning as its plot is emotionally striking. There are images in The English Patient which are unforgettable: the soldier Kip hoisting the nurse Hana into the air to see the painted interiors of a church and the main character, Almasy, carrying Katherine in the desert. As in most classics, there are a few subplots which comment on various aspects of the human condition, such as the mystery of Almasy's background and the problems he encounters because of his name. Memorable quotes from "The English Patient" include the witty "it's a plumb plum" and "the heart is an organ of fire."

"The English Patient" and "Titanic" are but two of the films made in the past few decades which qualify as modern day classics. There are thousands of films churned out by Hollywood Studios, there are but a few current films that have an innovation, power, and timelessness which will reach into the next generation. In future articles, we'll look for new classics and explore why we'll still be saying "I'm king of the world!" when we're watching them with our great-grandchildren.

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