With streaming platforms adding new films and TV shows on a near-daily basis, it can be overwhelming trying to narrow down something good to watch. You can't go wrong, though, with a tried-and-true classic movie, particularly if it's one with a coveted 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Though no film is objectively "perfect," joining the "100% Club" on the review aggregation site is a pretty good benchmark of a film's greatness, and these standout titles — from mid-century musicals like "Singin' in the Rain" to old-school romantic comedies like "The Philadelphia Story" to a radical courtroom drama like "12 Angry Men" — are no exception. Here are five Certified Fresh masterpieces to add to your next movie marathon.
'The Philadelphia Story'
Katharine Hepburn took her famous role of Philadelphia socialite Tracy Lord from the stage to the screen in this 1940 adaptation of the Broadway play of the same name. Serving as her rom-com foils are Cary Grant (as Tracy's confrontational but charming ex-husband C.K. Dexter Haven) and James Stewart (as the prying but attractive tabloid reporter Macaulay Connor), both of whom complicate her wedding plans to the boring but wealthy George Kittredge (John Howard). As Hepburn's Tracy navigates her feelings for all three men, hijinks hilariously ensue in a witty, enduring rom-com that scored six Academy Award nominations, winning one for Stewart's supporting performance.
Watch on Tubi
'Pinocchio'
Walt Disney Productions came out the gate strong with its first two animated features: "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and this 1940 musical fantasy film based on Carlo Collodi's 1883 Italian children's novel, "The Adventures of Pinocchio." Widely considered one of the greatest animated movies of all time, this delightful and delicately crafted film centers on a mischievous wooden puppy (voiced by (Dickie Jones) who comes to life after his creator Geppetto (Christian Rub) wishes upon a falling star. For all its kid-friendly charms, though, the cartoon has surprising depth, as Pinocchio gets tempted by darkness and must learn how to follow his conscience when choosing between right and wrong.
Watch on Disney Plus
'Seven Samurai'
Akira Kurosawa's sweeping 1954 masterpiece transports viewers nearly 400 years into the past and up to a village high in the Japanese mountains, where desperate farmers offer to feed hungry samurai warriors — seven of them, obviously, portrayed by the likes of legendary actors Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura, among others — if they'll help them fight off a bandit gang from stealing their harvest crops. It seems a simple enough conceit, but Kurosawa incomparably weaves the thrilling action scenes of his adventure epic with fierce humanity and playful humor that transcends the specificity of the film's time and place.
Watch on Max
'Singin' in the Rain'
What a glorious feeling it is to sit back and take in all of the spectacle, spirit and song-and-dance numbers of this famed 1952 musical, about a trio of performers — played by Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and a 19-year-old newcomer named Debbie Reynolds — as they navigate Hollywood's transition from silent-film stardom to the rise of "talkies." A clever, good-natured takedown of the movie industry, "Singin' in the Rain" is also a laudation of all that's possible when both screen and, yes, sound come together. The choreography, a collaboration between co-directors Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, is equal parts giddy and gymnastic, and the tunes are just as technicolor as the sets: that umbrella-twirling, lamppost-swinging title number is exuberant proof.
Watch on Max
'12 Angry Men'
The only thing more astonishing than just how taut and tense director Sidney Lumet manages to make a legal drama set almost entirely inside one single room is the fact that "12 Angry Men" was Lumet's first film, full stop. Adapted from the 1954 teleplay of the same name, the 1957 feature focuses on an all-male New York jury (led by Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley and Jack Klugman) that's deliberating the case of an impoverished, inner-city teen accused of killing his abusive father. Given that a guilty verdict will result in the young man's death, questions of not only legality but also morality are posed throughout Lumet's directorial debut, with Fonda's Juror 8 proving the importance of standing up for one's beliefs in the face of ridicule and rejection.
Watch on Prime Video
More from Tom's Guide
