Learn English with Classic Films

Classic Films are often distinguished or unique works of cinema that have transcended time and trends, with indefinable quality. Classic films are often universal favorites.

State Fair (1945)

Set during the annual Iowa State Fair, the story concentrates on the Frakes family: father Charles Winninger, mother Fay Bainter, and grown-up children Jeanne Crain and Dick Haymes. Each has his or her own reason for attending the fair: Winninger intends to win the “prize hog” ribbon, Bainter hopes to defeat her longtime snooty rival in the food contest (she wins when the judges get schnockered on the alcohol in her entry), Crain falls in love with fast-talking journalist Dana Andrews, and Haymes woos footloose and fancy-free vocalist Vivian Blaine. Musical highlights include the Oscar-winning “It Might as Well be Spring,” “It’s a Grand Night for Singing,” and the title number.

FULL MOVIE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMtuq3xX6eY&list=PLPO0RnHLGw24P_e8WVR2vQ27bCgTRuWic

Operation Petticoat (1959)

It’s hijinks on the high seas when a U.S. submarine has to take on a collection of female nurses. Somehow or another, the sub gets painted pink in the process.

FULL MOVIE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p2JpYJpcFM

West Side Story (1961)

A musical in which a modern day Romeo and Juliet are involved in New York street gangs. On the harsh streets of the upper west side, two gangs battle for control of the turf. The situation becomes complicated when a gang members falls in love with a rival’s sister.

FULL MOVIE: https://www.netflix.com/title/1111583

Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

When the transition is being made from silent films to `talkies’, everyone has trouble adapting. Don and Lina have been cast repeatedly as a romantic couple, but when their latest film is remade into a musical, only Don has the voice for the new singing part. After a lot of practice with a diction coach, Lina still sounds terrible, and Kathy, a bright young aspiring actress, is hired to record over her voice.

FULL MOVIE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLOh-kIJ9-g

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

When a tornado rips through Kansas, Dorothy and her dog, Toto, are whisked away in their house to the magical land of Oz.

They follow the Yellow Brick Road toward the Emerald City to meet the Wizard, and en route they meet a Scarecrow that needs a brain, a Tin Man missing a heart, and a Cowardly Lion who wants courage. The wizard asks the group to bring him the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West to earn his help.

FULL MOVIE: https://vimeo.com/150423718

The Sound of Music (1965)

A tuneful, heartwarming story, it is based on the real life story of the Von Trapp Family singers, one of the world’s best-known concert groups in the era immediately preceding World War II.

Julie Andrews plays the role of Maria, the tomboyish postulant at an Austrian abbey who becomes a governess in the home of a widowed naval captain with seven children, and brings a new love of life and music into the home.

FULL MOVIE: https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Music-Julie-Andrews/dp/B0044XRIMW