What Makes a Film Classic?

For nearly seventy years, what might be called 'the canon' of greatest films has been arbitrated by an international poll of critics delivering a 'ten best' list every decade, published in the BFI's Sight & Sound. Before the next such poll, due in 2022, this lecture considers what factors have made certain films and their makers 'classic'; and why the fifty-year reign of Citizen Kane was ended in 2012 by Hitchcock's eerie melodrama Vertigo.A lecture by Ian Christie 18 JanuaryThe transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/film-classicsGresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollegeSupport the show