Classic Cinema Zone

Before computer graphics took audiences back to ancient worlds, Hollywood built massive sets and employed a literal cast of thousands. Fearful of the new medium of television, studios staged these films in order to draw people to theaters. It worked for a time, but by the early 1960s these epics proved too costly to make. Studios shied away from making these epics for decades, and it would take computer generated effects for studios to even think about doing such large scale movies again.

Turner Classic Movies continues 30 Days of Oscar with a great line-up for President’s Day. The morning is jam-packed with classic epics, starting with Mervyn LeRoy’s massive Academy Award-nominated look at the reign of the evil Roman Emperor Nero, Quo Vadis , starring Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr and Peter Ustinov. … Read Full Post

Known for his sweeping historical epics, David Lean directed some of the grandest movies Hollywood has ever known and possessed a technical command few were able to master. Lean’s blockbusters of the late 1950s and 1960s made an indelible mark on cinema and won the director two Academy Awards. While few may remember his name, Lean’s iconic movies and the powerful images they conjure remain infused in our collective psyche.

Terrific old movies and classic films that set the standard in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Comedies and romances, film noir and hardboiled detective dramas. Action, sci-fi and horror. Sweeping epics, sprawling sagas. Wartime adventures and tales of the American West, these are the classic movies every beginner must see — and every old fan should see again.

Terrific old movies and classic films that set the standard in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Comedies and romances, film noir and hardboiled detective dramas. Action, sci-fi and horror. Sweeping epics, sprawling sagas. Wartime adventures and tales of the American West, these are the classic movies every beginner must see — and every old fan should see again.

In the 1950s, sweeping epics, expensive musicals and dark dramas dominated the Best Picture category at the Oscars, along with one sleeper hit thrown in for good measure. Here are the ten classic movies that won the the top Academy Award in the 1950s – and some of the excellent films they bested.

One of the greatest sword-and-sandal epics ever filmed, ‘Ben Hur,’ stars Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins and Stephen Boyd in a magnificent, thrilling story of the Roman Empire and the birth of Christ. They just don’t make ‘em like this anymore.

‘Monty Python’s Life of Brian’ is a merry sendup of old-style Bibilical epics, and a biting satire on religion, politics and fanaticism. Rude, crude and side-splitting funny, it follows the life of Brian of Nazareth, an ordinary guy who is mistaken for the Messiah.

A quick guide to the genres and styles that define classic movies. Film noir, B-movies, epics, sci-fi, biopics, it’s all here, along with great examples in every genre.