Don't Forget The Anniversary
Highlighting Classic Movies That Reached Milestone Anniversaries in 2023
A New Year is upon us. But before that, I have to contend with The Ghost of Christmas Past. By that, I mean that I tested positive for Covid-19. For the second time. Ugh. That’s so 2021 of me. At least it finally gives me time to catch up on new releases like May December or American Fiction.
But mostly I’ve filled this quarantine by feverishly binging comfort movies and television. I guess that’s how one reminisces at this point. It’s an appropriate way to cap off the year because I’ve spent a not-insigificant amount of 2023 writing retrospectives on pivotal films that celebrated milestone anniversaries this year. I wrote a tribute to The Exorcist for Polygon outlining how it serves as The Godfather of Elevated Horror. I wrote about the tragically misunderstood Hulk movie by Ang Lee right here on Substack. I even ranked every single King Kong movie for Fangoria to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the original masterpiece.
Yet, I only scratched the surface. 2023 saw the anniversary of many of my favorite and formative films: charmers that shaped my childhood and my sense of humor, thinkers that inspired me creatively and professionally, and provocateurs that still keep my Third Eye glued to the screen. So to wrap up 2023, I’ll be briefly highlighting some of the movies that saw major anniversaries this year.
Superman: The Movie - 45 Years
Made during that whimsical time when feature film adaptations were still called “Blank: The Movie,” Richard Donner’s Superman might feel quaint to anyone who’s been raised on the MCU. Superman doesn’t even appear in his iconic tights until 40 minutes in. It’s a remarkably patient and even restrained film that treats The Man of Steel’s saga with the weight of a biblical epic but the grace and humor of a classic Hollywood spectacle. Krypton is a lavishly realized universe that’s manifested by a variety of old-school techniques from matte paintings to miniatures. The sequences of Superman in action, save for a few hokey shots, still make you believe that a man can fly. The most impressive special effect is still Christopher Reeves himself.
A total unknown at the time of his casting, Reeves was given the task of humanizing a character that was born out of a comic strip. We’re probably jaded to this after not one but two actors won Oscars by playing The Joker, but what Reeves did was unprecedented. In a stacked cast that includes Gene Hackman, who hams it up, and Marlon Brando, who phones it in, Reeves elevates the character with grace, poise, and perfectly tuned instincts. He shares wonderful chemistry with Margot Kidder, even if their romantic flying session is one of those scenes I always skipped as a kid.
Reeves’ performance is just one of many elements that Dick Donner employed to make Superman a truly cinematic experience. There’s John Williams’s legendary score, which has remained the official anthem for all things Superman. There’s the lavish cinematography from Geoffrey Unsworth, who brings just as much reverence to the material as he did 2001: A Space Odyssey. But the most finely tuned element at play here remains the characterization of Superman. The character hasn’t exactly been en vogue for, well, most of my lifetime. After all, he’s so powerful and so wholesome that it seems impossible to write him without making him corny. So let me tell you about the scene from this film that’s always stayed with me.
A young Clark Kent, still ignorant of his Kryptonian heritage, has just been given the “with great power comes great responsibility” speech by Pa Kent, played by Glenn Ford. They’re walking along the cornfields of Smallville, Kansas in what could be a scene from Field of Dreams. It’s a touching moment between father and son, but then, Pa Kent just collapses. Clark, despite being faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive, can do nothing while his father dies of a heart attack. Cut to the funeral, where Clark attempts to comfort his grieving mother. But he can’t forgive himself. He says, more to himself than anybody: “All those powers. All those things that I can do. And I couldn’t even save him.”
Now that’s how you write Superman.
School of Rock - 20 Years
It’s hard to overstate how much of a classic School of Rock was in my household growing up. The only other comedy I can compare to in that regard would be Napoleon Dynamite. So this is the one that wins the makes-me-feel-old award. Though it should’ve been winning Academy Awards. Written by Mike White and directed by none other than the great Richard Linklater, School of Rock stars Jack Black as a failed rock star who impersonates a substitute teacher and ends up tricking his class of preppy kids into becoming kick-ass rock band. What follows is the most loveable, goofy, and open-hearted movie about a man breaking child labor laws ever.
I can’t think of a vehicle that does more to showcase the unique charisma of its lead actor, in this case Jack Black. He was a staple of my childhood and continues to be a welcome presence in movies, even mediocre ones like the Jumanji sequels. This is still his masterpiece and his definitive performance. He has dynamite chemistry with the cast of child actors, all of whom excel in one way or another. The cast also features some of my favorite performances from Joan Cusack and Sarah Silverman. I can’t forget to mention the soundtrack, which just has banger after banger. School of Rock was also my gateway to classic rock and was the first time I’d heard the likes of Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and Stevie Nicks.
Speaking of, I had the privilege of seeing Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical adaptation of School of Rock. Yeah, that’s right. Andrew Lloyd Webber. Sooner or later, everything gets entangled in his Andrew Lloyd Web. That being said, I haven’t checked out the sitcom version of School of Rock. Nor do I plan to.
The alums of School of Rock have found continued success. Jack Black just won his first Emmy for Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight. Richard Linklater, who was already a critical darling thanks to practically inventing the modern indie hit with Slacker, went on to make his magnum opus with Boyhood. Miranda Cosgrove, who plays as the band’s “manager,” starred in Drake & Josh and then more famously iCarly. Perhaps most impressively, screenwriter Mike White has gone on to craft one of the most hyped shows on television, The White Lotus. But I was a Mike White groupie long before. If the only thing he’d done was School of Rock, he’d still have a permanent place in my heart.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Gabriel’s Substack to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.