Gone With The Wind stars Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh
The Artist is a black and white, mostly silent movie, the likes of which haven't been released, or at least not to success, since the end of the 1920s when 'talkies' originally took over, which is mirrored in the plot of The Artist itself.
With the rise of these modern takes on traditional methods, looking back over the last few centuries of film, it is interesting to see how genre, style, and quality have changed.
Picking movies from each decade as an example of the type of film made in that era is an incredibly difficult task.
Within each decade a wide range of genres is covered with classics, or modern classics, being born from pretty much every genre per decade. Although films have changed completely between the 1930s and the year 2000, Films that stand the test of time are constantly being produced.
Actors have drastically changed, in a very obvious way, unlike film itself. From the 30s to the 60s there is a clear level of sophistication given off by actors. They all seem to have an air about them, that perhaps comes from years of theatre training or similar before they got their roles in film. You see this in actors like Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, Clarke Gable, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Grace Kelly. Even into the 50s and 60s Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, James Stewart and Doris Day all had that same grace and elegance about them. Now, watching those classic actors at work there is a complete difference between the viewing of old films than there is modern ones, which in a way can't be compared.
Although there are a lot of great new releases this year, watching a few old favourites could open your eyes to a new view of modern cinema, and maybe even spark a love for classic movies that current cinema hits like The Artist or My Week With Marilyn are trying to portray.
Here is a small compilation of films from over the last few decades of history that are all must-sees for completely different reasons.
1930s
The 1930s bought us the likes of The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind, Bringing Up Baby and (the original) King Kong.
1940s
What are the greatest movies of all time?
The 1940s produced Casablanca, It's a Wonderful Life, Citizen Kane and Great Expectations.
1950s
While the 1950s had Singin' In The Rain, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Some Like It Hot and Rear Window (A Hitchcock classic).
1960s
The 1960s with a more modern edge gave us The Graduate, The Sound of Music, Breakfast at Tiffany's and Psycho.
1970s
The 1970s began to take on the less serious and straight-up side of cinema with Jaws, Towering Inferno, Grease, and Star Wars: A New Hope (the first installment).
1980s
A whole new genre came out in the 1980s bringing with it the Brat Pack. These films were all about High School aged characters and their lives and relationships, and during the 80s they were hugely popular and seemed to be ubiquitous. The ultimate Brat Pack film being The Breakfast Club, there were other films in the 80s in the way of Ferris Beuller's Day Off, Back to the Future and Indiana Jones.
1990s
The 1990s bought Thelma and Louise, The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction and Jurassic Park.
These films are all considered to be some of the greatest of their respective decades, and each one does indeed seem to stand the test of time. While clothing and surroundings are often a little dated, the content of the films is always surprisingly relevant.
Meanwhile, Empire asked the question "What are the greatest movies of all time?" to "10,000 Empire Readers, 150 of Hollywood's Finest, and 50 Key Film Critics" and the top five were:
5. Jaws
4.The Shawshank Redemption
3. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
2. Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark
And the greatest movie of all time was...
1. The Godfather