For most of us in the American school system, summer break has ended or is about to end. But before we grieve, or reminisce as we buy our next batch of notebooks, let’s savor the time and freedom we have. Personally, I’ve taken this time to read some of my favorite books, watch classics, and prep for the SAT as well as I’m proud to say…learn Calculus! Schoolhouse offers sessions in both SAT prep and Calculus, by the way!
Though I haven’t run through the whole list of movies and shows I need to watch–(a list which grows at a rate I can never hope to catch-up to)--I’ve watched about 20 classics so far. Here are my top five! As with most good movies, I would highly recommend watching these in bed, cozied up, preferably at night, or when it’s rainy. Also, there may be a few SHW community sessions hosting sessions about movies, if you like to discuss them!
1. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) by John Hughes
Admittedly, I did watch this movie a couple of years ago, but that was before high school, so that doesn’t really count. It didn’t resonate as much with me at the time. The characters in the movie are slightly older than me, but all my friends are in the same age-range, so I’m able to relate much more than I did before. Anyways, without giving any spoilers, it’s about…well… teen adventure. It’s probably one of my favorite movies now that I watched it again, and I finally understand why it’s a classic. Most of the movies in this list are, which must be why I’ve enjoyed them so much. One last thing: I also really liked the soundtrack, especially Beat City by The Flowerpot Men.
2. Heathers (1988) by Daniel Waters
Perhaps best known for its dark humor, what astounds me about this movie is both the intensity of the movie and its ability to make social commentary while still being interesting and easily understandable. In fact, the movie was so influential in popular culture that it inspired the 2000s “mean-girl” generation of shows and movies. One thing that I was interested in finding out is that the protagonist, Veronica Sawyer, played by Winona Ryder, also plays Joyce Byers in Stranger Things.
3. Before Sunrise (1995) by Michael Lehmann
Before Sunrise describes perhaps the essence of what it means to be a romantic. Without spoiling it too much, it tells of two young adults who fall in love in one day. The scenery certainly doesn’t hurt as they travel through Viena. I usually don’t watch Romcoms (romantic comedies) because I find them to be either shallow or missing a side of the story (where either the man or the woman, usually just the woman, is the one who is looking for a partner because all her previous relationships have been horrible). But Before Sunrise isn’t like that: it’s untainted by reality. In many ways, that’s why I think it’s the perfect romance–because it sacrifices the truth with a fast, heavy ideal (of love), and for me, that’s what it means to be a romantic.
4. Grave of The Fireflies (1988) by Isao Takahata
I think Grave of The Fireflies is perhaps the saddest and most tragic movie I’ve ever watched. I don’t recommend this movie if you’re on a low; the movie will certainly put you there if you weren’t already. I recommend it though because it’s a cinematic masterpiece, and its tragedy is what makes the movie so powerful and its ability to evoke sympathy between the victims is what best conveys its message about the tragedy of war.
5. Seinfeld (1998) by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David
To counter the tragedy, here’s a comedy. Seinfeld, perhaps one of the best known comedies of all time, is unique in that it’s “about nothing.” For those who don’t know what that means, look forward to S4EP3 and you’ll know.
If you liked those in the list, here are five more:
- St. Elmo’s Fire (1985) by Joel Schumacher and John Hughes
- Stand By Me (1986) by Rob Reiner (based on a Stephen King novella)
- Weekend at Bernie’s (1989) by Ted Kotcheff
- The Truman Show (1998) by Peter Weir
- The Breakfast Club (1985) by John Hughes (My favorite movie!)
In case you want to see the full list, here’s the link to the google doc where it’s at. I put little comments at the side of each one, in case you’d be interested, and I cross each one after I’ve watched one. If you have any movie or book suggestions (classics highly encouraged!), you can send me a message here on Schoolhouse or on Slack!
By the way, in case you were wondering, the way I got this list was either just by ear (what are the classic movies and shows), or by watching the movies featured by song fan-art. Anyways, have a super-duper day, and stay on the lookout. I might do a full-on film analysis of one of these eventually;)