A classic movie night is a great way to share an evening with friends, good
food, and watch some great old movies.
Starting Our Classic Movie Night
In early 2006 several of our friends and us decided to get
together for a night of entertainment. There were three couples
involved and we decided we would enjoy having dinner together and then
watching a classic movie. When we started we decided to take turns
hosting the evening and the host would provide the meal and the movie
choice.
Over the years the evening has evolved and now
our monthly evenings ended up being about 4-6 times a year. We also now all
contribute to the meal with one person bringing the entree, one the side
dish and a third the dessert. Over the years we have had breaks due to
health issues and Covid but we always get back to all wanting to have our
evenings together. Everytime we meet we have a great time and say we
must do this more often. But then, life happens and it ends up being
several months before we get together again.
Back in 2006, the first movie we saw was Casablanca with
Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. We felt it was the perfect movie
to start our "Classic Movie Nights"
Here is a link to Casablanca on Amazon. You might want to
choose it for your first "Classic Movie Night"
Casablanca
The first year we got together we would sometimes see two movies when we
got together. We have since decided that we would rather just watch one
movie, leaving plenty of time for a discussion on the movie and other
conversation.
Keeping Track of Our Movies
One of the things I started right from the beginning is
keeping a list of all the movies we watched. My daughter gave me a great
little book. This little journal book gives you a page for each movie
you see. I list the title, director, stars and date we watched
it. There is also places for ratings and comments. Over the
years we have referred back to this book whenever we are looking for another
movie to watch. When someone says we already saw that one as a group,
we just pull out the book and check. Our memories can sure play tricks
on us. Here is a link to this movie journal on Amazon.
Choosing the Movies to Watch
Choosing the movies to watch can be a fun part of the night
too. We all see each other at other times in the month so we will have
discussions on what to watch. We all prefer different types of movies
so we try to alternate who makes the final decision and we have each been
enriched by watching movies we might not of watched if we weren't in the
group.
One discussion we have had over the years is to determine what is and
isn't a classic movie. We have checked lots of lists online for
ideas but basically it comes down to an old movie that we really would
like to see. Usually we try for something at least 50 years
old.
One of our favorite movies we have watched is
12 Angry Men. This movie stars Henry Fonda, Lee J Cobb, Ed
Begley, EG Marshall and Jack Warden. When we talk about good movies we
have watched over the years 12 Angry Men always enters the
discussion. It was the movie we saw the second time we got
together.
Here is a list of some of our other favorites over the years. There
are many more and I would say that in the 40 plus movies we have viewed we
only found a couple that none of us liked.
- Breakfast at Tiffanys
- Stagecoach
- Fortune Cookie
- Double Indemnity
- Some Like it Hot
- Manchurian Candidate
- Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
- Pride of the Yankees
- African Queen
- Birdcage
- On the Waterfront
- Citizen Kane
- Sabrina
- Key Largo
- True Lies
- The Quiet Man
Theme Nights
Sometimes we have theme nights. Recently for a night near Valentines
Day we watched a romantic comedy.
When Harry Met Sally. During the political elections we
watched a comedy My Fellow Americans with Dan Akroyd, James
Garner and Jack Lemmon.
In December we try to watch a Christmas classic. Among
others we have watched Going My way and
The Bishop's Wife. Here is a review fellow reviewer Cynthia did on
The Bishop's Wife.
Future Choices
We are always looking for good movies to watch. If you have a
favorite please list it in the comment section so we can consider it for a
future "Classic Movie Night".
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
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What fun, Mary Beth. My daughter & son-in-law do a similar thing with a friend on Friday nights - dinner and a certain TV series they all follow. Love your classic movie idea. Several on your 'seen' list are favorites of mine I'd love to see again. #1 is "Breakfast at Tiffanies" - also really liked the 'Manchurian Candidate'. Suggestions for your list could be a couple Hitchcock movies - Rear Window and 'North by Northwest'. Oh, so many I'd love to see again and bring back such great memories!
ReplyDeleteThanks Elf. Funny you should mention North by Northwest. It is planned for our next Movie Night
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a wonderful way to get together with friends! I wish more if my friends still lived close enough to do this.
ReplyDeleteI love most of the movies you have listed. When I was a girl, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers was a favorite that I watched many times. Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Casablanca, The African Queen, Stagecoach, The Birdcage, Some Like It Hot, Sabrina, The Quiet Man and, of course, 12 Angry Men are beloved favorites of mine, too. Others I can recommend (that May or may not fit your criteria for “classic movies”) include The Sting, A Fish Called Wanda, Far and Away, It Takes a Thief, Charade, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Lilies of the Field, To Kill a Mockingbird, E.T., Out of Africa, Back to the Future, A Passage to India, Holiday Inn, The Glenn Miller Story and Harvey.
Margaret Thanks for all of your suggestions. We have watched a couple of them but you have listed a lot of great choices.
DeleteThis is truly awesome Mary Beth! I have always thought your book club was fabulous and now to see you also have a classic movie group is truly fantastic. I want to move to St. Louis and join both, please. I love classic movies and have found it odd that classics and antiques are starting to include things from my childhood. I have seen most of the movies you listed (during my lifetime) but wouldn't mind re-watching them to refresh my memory on what I liked best. The classic movie that stands out in my mind is "The Ghost & Mrs Muir". I'm sure there are more that I loved, but that is the one that comes to mind first.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your feedback. I wish you were closer to join the bookclub and movie night. I've never watched The Ghost & Mrs Muir. I will certainly try that one. Thanks
DeleteGreat idea, we used to do this with a Euchre night! It's fun getting together with friends, laughing and catching up. Now that things are getting a little less "crazy", it might be time to start this up again! Thanks for another great way to enjoy friendships, movies and getting together.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful idea to get together and spend time with great friends. One of my all time favorite movies is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
ReplyDeleteThat is a good one. I have seen it many times. Thanks for the suggestion
DeleteWow, what a fantastic idea for a regular gathering of friends. The fact that you discuss what qualifies as a classic movie is fun too. Everyone brings food - I love it! - This is something many of us should do. I love your list of movies as well, I've seen many of them - trying to think of a classic movie for you but can't come up with one right off the top of my head. Mom and I used to watch old movies all the time.
ReplyDelete