The Enchantment Under the Sea Post

I was scanning through my favorite channels on the cable menu the other night. Network channels have sucked since the Olympics started. Actually, they have sucked MORE than usual, since most every one is airing repeats against the Olympics. So I jumped over to check out what was on Turner Classic Movies - my dependable standby.

All 6 of you who read this blog regularly know that I recently declared "DVR + TCM = Great Television" and this is still true today.

On this day, I was pleasantly surprised (almost shocked) to see that TCM was airing Back to the Future.

I LOVE this movie!

I remember seeing it at the Westgate Mall in Brockton when it was first released in 1985. Later, Ben Edlund, Bridget Young and I went to see the Boston premiere of Back to the Future III at an event called Back to Back to Back to the Future which showed all three films with a 15 minute intermission between each. That was a great, geeky night.

I think that the sequels are okay but in my mind they failed to meet the charm of the original. I will always stop and watch a rerun of the original; I have never gone back to watch the sequels after my 2nd viewing of each. The original rocks!

But Back to the Future on TCM?

Granted, TCM does spotlight Oscar-winning films in February. During the Oscar campaign of 1985, Back to the Future won nominations for Best Original Screenplay, Best Sound, Best Song, and Best Sound Effects Editing (the only Academy Award it won). So it is an Oscar winner - but is it a classic?

Back to the Future is an acknowledged 4 star movie. As I said, I love it and I totally support its 4 star rating. Katie, on the other hand, is not a fan. She finds it "trite". So seeing Back to the Future on TCM started a debate between us on the merits of this film being considered a "classic". I won't bore you with the details. Suffice to say, we do NOT agree on this issue; specifically is Back to the Future a "classic film"?

So I am looking for opinions - your opinions - on this topic. Will future generations look upon this film the same way they do as Casablanca, Gone With The Wind and Citizen Kane? Is it a worthy successor to North by Northwest, Gaslight and It Happened One Night? Just what is a "classic" movie, anyway?

And, whatever your definition, is Back to the Future a classic film?