One of the best venues to watch both well-known and unknown movies from any era is Turner Best Classic Movies. Newcomers can get their first peek at everything on the channel. As a member of the Warner Bros. Discovery family, TCM has a carefully selected area on HBO Max that gives viewers a taste of the kinds of movies the channel has to offer. Some of the classics that are available on the channel are listed below.
1. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
Director- Elia Kazan
Based on Tennessee Williams’ play, this well-known drama follows troubled former teacher Blanche DuBois as she departs small-town Mississippi and relocates to New Orleans to live with her sister Stella Kowalski and her husband Stanley. The already tense relationship between Stella and Stanley is made worse by Blanche’s flirty Southern belle presence, which intensifies the strife in the Kowalski home.
2. The Red Shoes (1948)
Director(s)- Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell
Desiring to establish a name for herself in the competitive world of ballet, unknown but determined ballerina Victoria Page finds herself propelled to popularity by a stroke of luck. Vicky finally takes over as the company’s prima ballerina after the haughty entrepreneur Boris Lermontov’s star dancer abruptly retires. She enjoys the sweet taste of quick success with their production of Hans Christian Andersen’s charming fable, The Red Shoes. A passionate whirlwind romance and her selfless devotion to her work begin to tear the exhilarated ballerina apart, forcing her to make an unbearable choice. Victoria’s hallowed art now demands a price.
3. Of Mice and Men (1992)
Director- Gary Sinise
George, an itinerant worker, remembers his journeys with Lennie, a large, childlike man. During the Great Depression, the two guys wander around California looking for job. Lennie falls for the ranch owner’s daughter-in-law after they land jobs there. Lennie’s obsession with the stunning woman, however, poses a threat to George and Lennie’s ability to realise their dream of owning a portion of the ranch.
4. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Director- Victor Fleming
The vivid and brilliant Land of Oz is where Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto end up after a tornado tears across Kansas. They have to set off on a voyage to the Emerald City, where the Wizard of Oz lives, in order to figure out how to get back home. They are accompanied by a Scarecrow who seeks a brain, a Tin Man who seeks a heart, and a Cowardly Lion who seeks courage as they travel. The Wicked Witch of the West, who is out for vengeance on Dorothy since she unintentionally killed her sister, the Wicked Witch of the East, is following them and they are hoping that the Wizard will be able to grant their requests.
5. King Kong (1933)
Director(s)- Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack
Bold, accomplished director Carl Denham sails to an unnamed island in 1933 with a huge team, his friend Jack Driscoll, and actress Ann Darrow to film a movie. The people of the area kidnap Ann and sacrifice her to Kong, a large gorilla they worship. Carl Denham, who wants to bring the dinosaur to New York for an exhibition, Jack Driscoll, who is in love with her, and several of the crew go on a rescue mission into the dinosaur-inhabited jungle. King Kong develops feelings for Ann and defends her from perils. However, the gorilla is apprehended and taken to New York. King Kong escapes in the middle of a Broadway production, causing terror throughout New York City.
6. Seven Samurai (1954)
Director- Akira Kurosowa
A little town in 16th-century Japan is home to farmers who fear that a band of itinerant robbers will steal their crops once more. They decide to travel to the closest city to see if they can recruit samurai to guard them. The farmers can only provide food and lodging due to their financial situation, but they quickly hire Kambei Shimada, who determines that they will require a total of seven samurai to adequately secure the settlement. He slowly gathers additional samurai for their mission, and when it is finished, they go towards the village. There, they fortify the community and impart rudimentary self-defense training to the farmers. Despite being well-prepared, the bandits lose a lot of money when they attack.
7. 8 1/2 (1963)
Director- Federico Fellini
The renowned Italian director, Guido Anselmi, finds himself facing a brick wall because of his fears and his most recent box office triumph. Guido retreats to a tranquil spa resort to recover and find inspiration after losing faith in his most recent unfinished project and fearing that he will be made fun of by the Italian film industry. Instead, Anselmi is constantly interrupted by his wife, his mistress, and his producer, who begs him to get the movie done. This means that he will never be able to relax at all. Guido can only find comfort in the foggy world of dreams at this point because he seems to be locked in an endless, continuous creative rut.
8. Casablanca (1942)
Director- Michael Curtiz
The most well-known nightclub in town is run by exile American and former freedom fighter Rick Blaine in Casablanca during World War II. Two priceless transit letters gets obtaine by the cynical lone wolf Blaine. The sycophantic police captain Renault does everything he can to appease the Nazi Major Strasser when he arrives in Casablanca, including capturing Victor Laszlo, a leader of the Czechoslovak underground. Rick is in shock when Lazslo shows up with Ilsa, his ex-girlfriend. Ilsa abandoned Rick in Paris, and Rick is still very angry with her. However, after learning that Ilsa had a valid reason for doing so, they decide to leave together once more using the letters of passage. They had originally intended to do that. Casablanca is one of the best classic movies streaming in HBO Max.
9. House (1977)
Director- Nobuhiko Obayashi
Gorgeous, a bitter adolescent who has just learned she has a stepmother, decides to spend her summer break at the remote rural home of her estranged auntie Karei with six of her classmates. Gorgeous is in deep trouble by this decision. The lively girls will soon come face to face with the unfathomable powers of the supernatural there, where the perpetual demonic energy of the cursed site transforms the dusty home into a perilous death trap, unaware to them that the elderly, silver-haired woman is hiding a horrifying secret. Blood is now require by the wicked forces.
10. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Director- Stanley Kubrick
In this mysterious version of a short story by renowned science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, a massive black edifice serves as a bridge between the past and the future. Dr. Dave Bowman and the other astronauts gets dispatch on a mystery mission, but as they travel across space and time, HAL, the ship’s computer system, starts to act increasingly strangely. This tension-filled confrontation between man and machine is the catalyst for the mind-bending journey.
11. Citizen Kane (1941)
Director- Orson Wells
One of the richest and most influential men in America, if not the entire world, Charles Foster Kane was a newspaper magnate. In order to understand the significance of his mysterious final word, “Rosebud,” a newspaper reporter delves into his life. A youngster who was taken from his family to serve Mammon is shown to have been by him in evidence. Charles Foster Kane, as a man, decides to follow his idealistic passion by becoming a newspaper reporter. He gets marry to the nephew of the guy who would be president of the United States and gains power while losing his soul over time. Due to his loss of his youthful idealism and that of the America he is a metaphor for, Kane’s wealth and power do not make him happy.
