Gen Zer Ryan Heffernan lists the 10 classic movies he rewatches most

Collider published a Jan. 29, 2026 piece by Senior Writer Ryan Heffernan in which, as a Gen Zer and film lover, he lists the 10 classic movies he watches most. Heffernan says he admires storytelling across eras—modern spectacles, 1980s blockbusters, 1970s intensity—but has a special place for early classics whose stories and performances, he argues, have aged gracefully.

Atop his list is Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights, which he calls his most-watched film. Close behind are It’s a Wonderful Life (a perennial Christmas viewing for him), Casablanca (Old Hollywood at its finest, with standout turns such as Claude Rains’s Captain Renault), Ikiru (Kurosawa’s somber, life-affirming drama with a pivotal mid‑point turn), Citizen Kane (noted for its non‑linear, unreliable narration and the mystery of “Rosebud”), and Billy Wilder’s The Apartment (praised for Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine and its memorable “shut up and deal” finale).

The rest of the top 10 includes Buster Keaton’s The General (Heffernan highlights its stunts and the train‑crash bridge moment and notes 2026 marks its centenary), Chaplin’s The Kid (Jackie Coogan’s acclaimed child performance and a powerful chase/music climax), Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (running close to three‑and‑a‑half hours with an engrossing assembly of the team), and Stanley Kubrick’s Dr.

Strangelove (Peter Sellers in three roles and George C. Scott’s Gen. “Buck” Turgidson, plus sharp, acidic writing).

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