Godfather, Jaws, Lassie? How to define a classic film

Charlie Dorf & Francesca DeRosa
Arts and Entertainment Editors

The art of painting has been around for thousands of years, and yet debate still rages over what is a truly “classic” piece. Some claim the works of El Greco or Raphael, while others counter with Picasso and Dali. Film, on the other hand, has been around scarcely a century, but debate over what defines a classic movie ranges just as widely as the debate over its artistic ancestors.