How to become a film expert over the summer holidays

There is an ocean of "content" available online these days, but sometimes it can feel like surfing a tsunami to find anything good.

Unfortunately, one thing that the rise of streaming and the demise of video rental stores has tended to do is blur out huge chunks of cinema history. Want to find the latest Marvel movie or Oscar winners? Not too hard.

Want to watch some Alfred Hitchcock, Akira Kurosawa or Billy Wilder classics? Good luck finding them on Netflix. If you aimlessly end up surfing top streamers, you may think cinema was only invented after 1980 or so, as the vast majority of movies from before then barely exist on major platforms.

There are options for movie lovers. If you're looking for classic New Zealand film, you can't go wrong with NZ On Screen's vast repository of local movie history. There are also excellent local streaming video platforms like Academy On Demand and AroVideo On Demand which feature a wide selection of classic, art and NZ films for rent, or the global streaming platform MUBI, which also hosts a diverse selection of exotic films.

You can of course still find a lot of classic Hollywood out there free on YouTube or other online video, although the quality can be dodgy (and sometimes the provider is not entirely legal), or you can rent them online from various services like Google Play and Apple TV.

But OK - let's say inflation is a problem, you're on a budget, you're not a tech genius and can't go adding any more subscriptions. If you need to stick to your established platforms, here's a sampler of some stone cold cinema classics from the last century that every movie lover should see at least once.

Make it your mission to tick a few off your scorecard this summer season on those lazy evenings when you're sunburnt and ready to zone out.

Disclaimer: Movies come and go like the wind on streaming platforms, but these are all currently available on the listed services as of December.

Netflix

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) - Honestly, if you haven't seen this, you've probably been mystified by many of the winking references to it your friends keep making. That's because the anarchic, go-for-broke inventiveness of this comic romp still seems as fresh as it was decades ago, and is ground zero for much of what we still consider funny today.

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) - If all you know Alec Guinness from is Star Wars, you need to check out this Oscar-winning epic about prisoners of war forced to build a railway bridge in Japanese-occupied Thailand. Guinness - who won Best Actor - is astonishing as a fanatically dedicated British commander.

Jaws (1975) - The modern blockbuster begins right here. If you've never seen Jaws, you may be surprised at what a controlled and tense slow-burning film it is, rather than an action-movie thrill ride.

Walkabout (1971) - This gorgeously filmed Australian epic helped introduce a new perspective to world cinema, telling the story of two young white children lost in the Outback and the local youth who aids them. The colonial and Aboriginal world collide with dreamlike power in Nicolas Roeg's haunting drama.

Neon

Rebel without a Cause (1955) - Did James Dean invent the teenager? It's hard to overstate the influence of this angst-filled, rebellious young man, even if parts of this film might seem overwrought to today's teens. There's a wounded, timeless heart to the performances of Dean, Sal Mineo and Natalie Wood - all of whom died young - that still makes this Rebel worth rooting for today.

Bonnie and Clyde (1967) - Many critics were horrified at the violence and raw sexuality of Arthur Penn's electric gangster drama starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. It's one of the movies that kicked open the door for more confrontational cinema and is still a thrilling burst of energy, darkly funny and heartbreaking.

All The President's Men (1976) - The days of Richard Nixon might almost seem quaint now in the age of Trump, but Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman's intelligent, thorough look at the Watergate investigation is one of the great journalism movies and manages to be a tense thriller without a gun in sight.

The Shining (1980) - One of those movies you might know more from memes and parodies of Jack Nicholson's career-defining performance as a hotel caretaker who slowly loses his mind. Stephen King still hates the way it adapted his book, but Stanley Kubrick's icy cold touch gives the mind-bending horror a real kick.

Disney+

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937) - Sure, Snow White is annoyingly sweet, but here's the thing - every single image you see here was laboured over by hand long before computers, and this film's colourful, dazzling craft is the foundation that Disney's empire today is built on. After this, check out other early animation classics like Pinocchio, Dumbo and Fantasia and marvel at the art.

The French Connection (1971) - Gene Hackman's Oscar-winning antihero cop was shocking 50 years ago and is shocking today, with his crude racism and brutality. This helped define the dark wave of realism that rode through much of 1970s film, but this is also one of the best sheer action movies ever made, with a car chase that still has to be seen to be believed.

M*A*S*H (1970) - If you grew up on the TV show, the more adult, less sitcom tone of the film that started it all may feel off putting at first. But let yourself be carried away by the rhythms of the great Robert Altman's direction, which excels at evoking the scattered feelings of real life, and you'll find a delightfully iconoclastic anti-war classic.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) - It's hard to believe this is coming up on 50 years old, because it's still pretty boldly transgressive. It's still best to see this in a crowded cinema at midnight, but if you've still never seen Dr Frank N Furter strut his stuff, it's certainly one to add to your bucket list.

Amazon Prime

His Girl Friday (1940) - It's a real shame so many movies from Hollywood's "golden age," roughly the 1930s to '50s, are hard to find on big streaming services, where apparently black and white films don't exist. But you can't go wrong with this hilarious screwball farce starring smooth Cary Grant and rapid-fire dialogue that practically dances off the screen and paved the way for a million romantic comedies.

Goldfinger (1963) - Amazon added the entire catalogue of James Bond movies recently for NZ viewers. Many of them are gems, but if you want to get a feeling for why Bond has endured for decades now, his third adventure, Goldfinger, is your best bet. It's the platonic ideal of a Bond movie - dry quips, sexy co-stars, baroque villains and daring escapes, all wrapped up in the late Sean Connery's hard-edged charisma.

A Hard Day's Night (1963) - Beatlemania was a lifetime ago, but as soon as that distinctive chord at the start of the song A Hard Day's Night kicks in, it's like you're there in the thick of it again. Richard Lester's cheeky musical comedy practically vibrates with life, and those Beatles still seem bold, dazzling and oh, so young.

It's A Wonderful Life (1946) - There are TV stations in America that still play this classic Christmas-set "what if" story 24 hours a day during the holiday season. Sure, it's sappy, but somehow Jimmy Stewart's immensely likeable, sincere performance sucks you in. Who out there hasn't imagined what their lives would be if things unfolded a little differently? Perfect family holiday viewing.