When thinking of classic films, most connect it to the period between the1930s to the 1950s, which is referred to as the “Golden Age of Hollywood”. It takes a variety of different elements that makes a classic and it just so happens that the Golden Age had a great selection of actors, actresses and advancements in the movie industry that the audiences fell in love with the movies. Although not every movie was a hit several still have an impact on the viewers.

Columbia, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal, and Walt Disney Company’s Buena Vista Motion Pictures have resulted in a “Big Six”. These companies still produce some of the best movies today. In order for a film to become a classic the film has to be twenty five years old from the original release date in order to even qualify through the National Film Registry.

From the beginning of the year 1990 to now the Walt Disney Studio has produced 350 full length films. That’s a lot of films to choose from. The number one favorite is the Lion King followed by Aladdin, Beauty and The Beast, Inside Out, and The Little Mermaid. Although Tangled and Frozen are popular now they have slowly been getting farther away from the number one position. The new purchase of the Star Wars rights made it possible for the movies to be redone. Just because both Star Wars and Disney are huge might make it an everlasting film. Disney bought the Marvel movie rights in 2009. Since then the Marvel Studios has evolved into a growing film division under Disney. The Marvel movies include some audience favorites like; Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, and The Avengers series.

Disney isn’t the only company that produces well made films. Films like Sound of Music and Gone with the Wind are favorites because they are about topics and true events in history. Perhaps some people would rather see history on a screen and not in a history book. Some recent movies that may still be popular based on history could include; 42, Lincoln, and the number one hit for most of 1998, Titanic.

Many movies have been based off books that are well liked. For example, The Princess Bride was written in 1973 and wasn’t made into a movie for over a decade. Another favorite and long lasting classic today is the Wizard of Oz. The well liked novel was transformed onto the screen during the “Golden Age” starring actress Judy Garland. Recent films and even entire series have reached the top of the popular lists and could very well make it all the way to the rank of classic. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy was written in a span of twelve years. Fifty years later computer graphics and technology made the book come to life in just three years. The Harry Potter series took off and become a whole era on its own. The well written books inspired both young and old. The film industry liked the books and saw the great movie potential and filmed the first five movies before J.K Rowling published the final book. Some other and more recent book and movie films that could last a while could include the Twilight and Hunger Games series.

The movie industry is a huge part of our lifestyle today. Some movies come in and never die while others struggle to get ratings. Casablanca and It’s a Wonderful Life were both movies produced in the 1940s. When the movies were released people didn’t see the potential that those movies have today. It’s hard to say what kind of movies will make it into the classic rating but at least we can have an idea.