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!