Six classic films the writer calls flawless

Collider highlights six classic films it rates as flawless, arguing each still "works on a modern brain with modern attention span" and feels so intentional that no scene could be removed without breaking the whole.

The list includes Singin’ in the Rain (1952), praised for joyful opening stretches, its ruthless take on Hollywood illusion, and musical numbers that advance character; Casablanca (1942), set in Rick’s Café Américain where Rick’s indifference masks a deeper wound and Victor Laszlo’s portrayal forces Rick’s choice to be about values; Sunset Boulevard (1950), centred on Norma Desmond and Billy Wilder’s portrait of Hollywood as a place that discards people; Psycho (1960), which flips viewer expectations and makes ordinary spaces feel creepy through Norman Bates’s unsettling realism; Seven Samurai (1954), noted as the blueprint for team-as-assembly stories with chaotic, muddy action and memorable characters like Kambei Shimada and Kikuchiyo; and Citizen Kane (1941), described as the best who-was-this-guy-really story that shows different facets of Charles Foster Kane and leaves viewers sitting with its ending.

The selection is framed by whether the writer could "throw one of these on tonight and still get wrecked, delighted, or hypnotized," and the pieces are described as ranging from warm to brutal, formally daring, and emotionally stimulating.

Key Topics

Culture, Citizen Kane, Seven Samurai, Psycho, Casablanca, Sunset Boulevard