There has been an evident deviation in the way horror movies are made today then they were made earlier in times gone by. Earlier the emphasis was laid on overt and explicit content, gore, blood, scary make-up and a scary story involving supernatural machinery. However, as time progressed and technology got better and better, directors took a leap into psychological thrillers and moved away from run-of-the-mill ghost stories and phantom chronicles. Modern directors did not completely do away with the supernatural and ghost trends but ventured to explore the horrific nature of human beings and dangerous potential of human beings. So we had this influx of movies dealing with the problem of the twisted mind and its devilish inclinations.

Following is a list of horror movies that have been famous for raising impulse rates and increasing heart beats. The list is not based on any sort of hierarchy or preference and the movies are randomly selected.

• The Ring (2002)
• The Exorcist (1973)
• Pet Cemetery (1989)
• Friday the 13th (1980)
• The Evil Dead (1981)
• The Omen (1976/2006)
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
• The Thing (1982)
• Psycho (1960)
• Dawn of the Dead (1978)
• The Haunting (1963)
• A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
• Les Diaboliques (1955)
• The Beyond (1981)
• Hell Raiser (1987)
• The Blair Witch Project (1999)
• Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
• Halloween (1978)
• The Sixth Sense (1999)
• The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
• Shaun of the Dead (2004)

The list mentioned above is by no means complete. There may be numerous other scary movies which have not been mentioned here. So, please free to add any movie that you think deserves mention here.

Movies like Troy, The Ten Commandments and Julius Ceaser, etc are movies that have been made on classical epics. These movies are made on wide scales and huge canvas. Directors of epic movies present the story in an out-of-the-world manner taking assistance of special effects, creating real-life sets, doing historical research and other field work to recreate the magic of epic as far as they can.

These movies that appear innocent on the surface, actually insinuate and glorify violence, beauty over talent or intellect, revenge, power of body over mind, universality of superheroes, etc. They create unrealistic stereotypes in the minds of children and have them in turn measure themselves according to these stereotypes. This is how movies corrupts the young and innocent.

The situation isn’t that bad at all and we should not prevent our children from watching movies. As parents we can educate them better against any sort of hegemonic ideals or promote in them a sense of respect for others and for themselves. So that they can distinguish between good and bad influence and respond accordingly. If one knows better, one does better. Hence, make your children aware of the harmful effects of violence and let them make choices of what is right or wrong.

Following is a list of movies that might prove good for children’s viewing:

• Adventures of Robin Hood
• The Bear
• The Black Stallion
• The Buddy Holly Story
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
• Chicken Run
• The Day the earth stood still
• Duck Soup
• Edward’s Scissorshands
• Emma
• E.T the Extra Terrestrial
• Fly Away Home
• Gandhi
• Ghostbusters
• Great Expectations
• A Hard Day’s Night
• Jurassic Park
• The King and I
• Lawrence of Arabia
• Lilo & Stitch
• Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings
• Mrs. Doubtfire
• The Music Man
• My Fair Lady
• Mary Poppins
• Peter Pan
• Pinocchio
• Rocky
• The Secret Garden
• Shane
• Shrek
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Singin’ in the Rain
• Steamboat Bill, Jr.
• Westside Story
• The Winslow Boy
• The Wizard of Oz
• Yellow Submarine

The list is not framed in order of preference and might differ from your evaluation. Please feel free to comment on the list and also give in your suggestions to improve the same.

However, institutions like the MPAA have decided to rate movies according to the use of Tobacco in them. In their defense, such a ban is justified as the young generation gets easily influenced by the smoking shown in movies. Movies rated PG, PG-13, etc are more strictly scrutinized by the censor associations, which are viewed by a majority of children and is accessible to a large population of youth.

It’s true that young minds are very vulnerable and often end up imitating without realizing whatever is shown on the screen. The issue of smoking is not as dangerous as other bad influences that movies endorse. Banning smoking on screen would not result in preventing children from smoking as much would warning them against it. A statutory warning before a film can easily suffice instead of a complete ban. Cigarettes sometimes help in the development of a character & add to its design. Therefore, banning smoking would definitely hurt the freedom of expression of artists. Sometimes, state of mind of a character is better expressed through smoke than words. Authorities should work on more serious issues that contaminate the minds of adolescents and teenagers. These could include, violent and destructive acts, exposure to indecent content,etc, than smoking which can be discouraged by medical and educational institutions.

The answers to these questions lie in simple knowledge of which movie can be qualified as a classic and which can’t. A movie can be called a classic if it has certain features which can classify it as a classic. However, a movie has its own individuality, appeal and power and hence, there are no specific rules or defined guidelines that can make a movie classic. Sometimes it is the story that makes an impact and strikes the right chord with audience as well as the critics, other times it is the acting, treatment or direction that matters. An ideal classic movie is one that has all the ingredients along with novelty, innovation and uniqueness. One of the most important characteristic of a good classic movie is that it is timeless and a-cultural. This implies that the relevance of a motion picture is not subjected to any particular time or place in history and is also not specific to any culture. The thematic strains of a classic movie are generally universal and deal with subjects that have become romanticized over a period of time. For instance, a lot of movies related to wars and epics were generally considered as classics. However, the word ‘classic’ connotes different things for different people. Sometimes, declaring a movie a classic also has a deep-seated political motives. There are many instances, which show that movies that were considered to be classics were in fact not as good as they were hyped to be, for eg, Gone with the Wind and Casablanca had better competitors. One can say that for a movie to qualify as a classic, 40% depends on the potential of the movie and the significant 60% depends on popular consensus and other external factors.

Art throughout history has had to revolt against some form of force or the other. Cinema, specifically due to its widespread influence and significance is targeted more often than any other medium of artistic expression. People easily get influenced by movies due to their less complicated nature and overt manifestations. The clarity of medium and the pervasiveness of movies is another point that justifies the importance of censorship in cinema. Generally the restrictions that filmmakers have to face are related to sex, violence, religious and communal content. The censor board has to make sure that there is nothing in a movie that can hurt the sensibilities of any section of community. However, in their exercise they should also understand the creative license which every artist is entitled too. Rather than imposing bans irrationally on movies and destroying their story-lines . It would be much better, if censor-boards also took the responsibility of educating the audience and infusing a more tolerant and patient outlook in them. It is high time that the public takes some responsibility and becomes mature in its perception of a film. This way the filmmakers, censor-boards and the public will benefit. After all, it does not always have to be cat and mouse, does it?

Movies are basically made with a sole purpose of entertaining the masses. However, there is a considerable percentage of movies that are made with an objective other than entertainment.  The objective can be social awareness, revelation of a corrupted system, or addressing certain issues that have been sidelined for far too long. Whatever may be the objective or purpose, but it is not entertainment and goes beyond providing people visual pleasure. Some movies that are not made with an intention of social purpose are then made for aesthetic pleasure. These movies are watched with an intellectual insight. Hence, whatever may be the object of the director one thing that is common is the fact all the directors use the medium of visual arts and motion pictures to put across their point and tell a story in the manner it should be told. Directors choose this medium primarily because of the the entertainment factor that is so strongly associated with motion pictures. Therefore, you can take the entertainment out of movies but you cannot take movies out of entertainment!

What we are interested in is not the two-way process of influence and impact but the sole role that movies play in inspiring or molding mass culture. Some movies develop a cult following and are considered as socially transforming. They present an ideology which becomes the popular notion that governs the collective psychology of society. Not only do movies help in spreading a cultural perspective in a nation but also help in dispersing it to other countries and regions. Movies are the best way to spread your cultural roots in foreign countries. Cinema is considered one of the most powerful tools in introducing your culture in a strange land. People get an idea about others through a visual medium that precedes language in understanding. Mass culture is so easily established in a society through cinematic representation because people connect to the medium of movies very readily.

For example, American movies outside America have done greatly well and are successful in making people aware of the American culture. Within America, movies such as Fahrenheit 11, etc. completely turned the political ideologies and affiliations of people. Hence, movies and mass culture go hand in hand. Probably the existence of mass culture among other things is also significantly dependent on movies.

So, how does it determine whether a movie is worth watching or not? It does because, for a movie to do well in reality, requires the appreciation of both the viewers as well as the critics. It will also help us to become better at assessing the worth of a movie and would help us to enjoy it for the right reasons. Awareness is bliss in this case and if you feel that a movie is worth watching on all levels and not just pleasure then well you can be sure of some good quality fun!

Undoubtedly, various film industries across the world such as Hollywood, Bollywood, etc. are some of the most proliferating industries in the world. Every year dozens and dozens of movies are churned out for the benefit of the movie buffs and the progress of the film industry.

There are certain movies in the course of history that are considered landmarks and are truly movies with magic. There appeal is timeless and can be rightly hailed as classics. Some are inspirational, some are sentimental and emotional, some are funny while others are just simply subtle but loaded with meaning. Whatever, it may be, but there is something extra-ordinary in those which sets them apart from the rest. Following is a list of movies that have been considered by people as Top movies of all times. This list is of course based on judgment of a few and is liable to be deficient. Please add any movie that you feel should have made it to the list.

List of Top movies of all times

• City of God
• The 400 Blows
• The Ten Commandments
• Singin’ in the Rain
• Pyaasa
• Farewell my Concubine
• Ulysses’s Gaze
• Nayakan
• Goodfellas
• Taxi Driver
• Psycho
• Schindler’s List
• The Lord of the Rings
• Finding Nemo
• Drunken Master II
• The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
• Million Dollar Baby
• Seven Samurai
• Lacombe
• Hard Times
• Finding Nemo
• The Incredibles
• Shrek
• Lawrence of Arabia
• The Godfather
• It’s a Wonderful Life
• E.T – Extra Terrestrial
• Bande A Part
• The Shawshank Redemption
• The Terminator
• Silence of the Lamb
• A Clockwork Orange
• Modern Times
• City Lights
• The Wizard of Oz
• Citizen Kane
• The Lion King
• To kill a Mockingbird
• One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest

The list mentioned above is not based on any kind of hierarchy and simply mentions the names of good feature films.