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What makes a classic film

7th January 2020
Posted by Aston Avery

How much do we know about cinema? We call ourselves a nation of film fanatics, with 80% of us describing ourselves as movie lovers. However, when it comes to must-see movies, more than a quarter (26%) of us have not had the chance to experience some of the movies widely recognised as classics from Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman’s Kramer vs Kramer (1979) to Ben Kinglsey in Gandhi (1982).

One in ten of us have not watched a black and white movie all the way through so the cold winter nights provide the perfect opportunity for us to take a look at such masterpieces as Angel Face (1953), starring iconic screen stars Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons.

Whether it’s watching it’s watching a film with our parents, grandparents, kids or partner, we tend to look at which stars are in it (49%) and whether it’s a Hollywood blockbuster (21%) rather than how many award wins or nominations it’s received (12%) or who the director is (16%).

The new Sony Movies Classic channel, launching on January 7th, celebrates the greats and the good of cinema from the 1940’s to modern day, and will feature some of the most iconic films ever made.

Aston spoke to Andrew Collins, film expert, writer and broadcaster to discuss the films on offer and what the ingredients are for a classic.