February 8 is The Birth of a Nation’s 94th birthday and Jules Verne’s 181st birthday. The first was a groundbreaking and controversial movie, a landmark in cinema history. The second was an original and imaginative writer.

What makes a classic? What makes for a movie that gets taught in film schools and stays in public awareness for more than its 15 minutes of fame?

Here is a tour of some of the most controversial and groundbreaking movies of all time - framed as tips for the beginning director who aims at immortality.

Tip 1 – Don’t be afraid of controversy

The Birth of a Nation (1915)

This landmark film from silent film director D.W. Griffith was the first movie blockbuster, and the first real historical epic. But we remember it not because of those facts, but because it was – and still is – one of the most groundbreaking AND controversial movies ever.

Technically, the film’s achievements are nothing less than amazing. It practically created contemporary film language, from the use of close-ups for dramatic purposes to crosscutting editing technique. Also the use of gigantic sets and the first orchestral score.

Thematically, it’s also a highly controversial film – and rightfully so. It features the Ku Klux Klan as legitimate heroes of the movie, and is full of racial stereotypes representing slaves as those responsible for tearing the nation apart. Even in 1915, such notions were outrageous and many riots and protests followed the release of the film.

One thing is certain: this film is not forgotten and continues to stir controversy even today, 94 years later.

Tip 2 – Adapt a story from one (or if possible two) outstanding authors

A Trip to the Moon (1902)

It’s common opinion that no matter how good the direction or acting, the first and most important element of a film is the story. It’s possible to ruin a good story, but it’s nearly impossible to create a great movie from a bad story.

So naturally, one of the obvious ways to create a good movie is to adapt an already popular story. Think Lord of the Rings, The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind…

In this case, Georges Méliès’ A Trip to the Moon uses stories from not one but two great authors – Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. In doing so, Méliès actually invented a cinematic genre. This is the first sci-fi film ever, and it is groundbreaking in many ways. It seems Méliès was so inspired by these writers that he tried to achieve the same level of inventiveness in his film, with outstanding special effects and animation he created by himself.

The originality of both the story and the special effects make this a movie that is still watched and admired today.

Tip 3 – Mix never-before-seen special effects and philosophy

The Matrix (1999)

Continuing the line of thought, good special effects obviously contribute a lot to a movie. And when the special effects are not just “good” but mind-blowing and groundbreaking – is that enough for a movie to be remembered?

In 1991, Terminator 2 proved the answer is yes. But it only set the ground for the best example in this category - The Matrix. Today, any B action movie uses bullet time tricks. But when The Matrix came out, those visual effects were entirely new and the response was overwhelming. The Matrix became a huge critical and financial success. Today it’s #30 in IMDb’s top 250 films and an entire franchise is built around it.

But perhaps the most definitive proof of The Matrix’s staying power is the huge influence it had on films that came after. The dance-like choreography for the fight scenes was later used in films like X-Men and Daredevil. Special effects like spinning cameras, slow motion and the bullet-time mentioned earlier became the basis for modern visual effects.

Stunning effects aren’t necessarily enough. If you want the movie to be truly memorable, it’s a good idea to combine mystical and philosophical ideas about destiny, man vs. machine and nihilism. That way, people don’t come away feeling they saw a shallow, good-looking special-effects spectacle. Instead, they feel they were a part of an intense philosophical debate about our place in the world – and the more they debate it, the better the chances for the film to become a landmark.

Tip 4 – Make a movie that looks like no movie did before

Toy Story (1995)

It’s nearly always good to be first. In film, audiences usually respond to originality: a story, effect or look they haven’t seen before.

This was the case with Toy Story, the first feature-length film to be fully computer-animated.

Since the release of Toy Story, computer animation has become increasingly popular. It was considered a synonym for high quality until it became the “default” way to create animation. The traditional hand-drawn animation almost disappeared, though lately it’s reemerged as a technique in films for grown-up audiences like Persepolis and Waltz with Bashir.

Toy Story will always be remembered as the movie that started the revolution and gave us the new look that less than a decade later had already become the dominant look for animation. It’s also a good movie in itself.

Tip 5 – Do religion, it’s always controversial

The Da Vinci Code (2006)

What do the following films have in common: The Passion of the Christ, Dogma, Life of Brian and The Da Vinci Code? The answer is, of course, religion and controversy! All of those films deal with religion, and all of them got angry responses from all kinds of religious groups that didn’t like the way their religion is portrayed in the film.

The Da Vinci Code rises above them all: according to Wikipedia, no less then 13 organizations and countries spoke out against the movie, before it was even released!

Among the protesters were The National Organization for Albinism that did not like the portrayal of the albino as the bad guy, the Opus Dei organization that appears in the novel and apparently actually exists, and of course the Vatican.

The funny thing is, the movie itself is not that great. Or in other words, it sucks. But it’s based on the bestselling novel that started the controversy, Q.E.D. it also remains in public consciousness for much longer than it deserves.

Tip 6 – Add sex and nudity, in large doses

Basic Instinct (1992)

If an alien came down to earth in 1992 and saw the public reaction to the thriller Basic Instinct, and especially the reaction to that famous interrogation scene, his conclusion would probably be that no man on earth ever saw female genitalia before.

This is, perhaps, the best proof for the common saying: “sex sells.” If your movie has a sex scene that is explicit enough, or features a famous star taking her clothes off, it will likely receive at least some attention.

But over the years it’s become increasingly hard to surprise audiences with an original or controversial sex scene. Today we see sex all over, and if in the past seeing a naked star was an event, now it’s banal thanks to the paparazzi and the internet. But if you can nail it (no pun intended) and create a sex scene that once again sparks people’s imagination, I bet your movie will be remembered even if other things about it are not that great.

Tip 7 – Include as many catch-phrases as possible

Gone With the Wind (1939)

Where would Casablanca be without “We’ll always have Paris”, Citizen Kane without “rosebud” and Gone With the Wind without “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn” and “Tomorrow is another day”?

They would probably still be considered good movies, but one reason they are remembered for so many years is their really good catch-phrases. People like memorable lines that can be quoted afterwards, over and over. In some cases, the quotes become so well known that everyone in the Western world knows what they mean, even if they have never seen the movie.

Gone with the Wind might be the strongest case. When The American Film Institute published its list of top 100 movie quotations in American cinema, “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn” was selected as no. 1 by 1500 filmmakers and critics.

So, if you don’t know how to make your movie memorable, at least make sure that a few lines from it are.

Tip no. 8 – Use Charlie Kaufman scripts, the movie will definitely be original

Being John Malkovich (1999), Adaptation (2002), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Synecdoche, New York (2008)

If you want your movie to be remembered for its originality, contact Charlie Kaufman. Not only is he responsible for some of the most original screenplays in the last decades, some say his scripts are becoming weirder with every one he writes. So no worry that he’ll suddenly start writing conventional rom coms or family adventures.

He’s won 45 awards so far for his work as a writer, including one Oscar (for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). But the best thing about a Charlie Kaufman script – as can be learned from his last work – is that even if the movie does not succeed (or if, to be blunt, it’s a pile of nonsense) you can always say it is a misunderstood work of art and talk for hours about the complexities of the story lines and the depth of the characters. Kaufman being the original and complex writer that he is, no one will dare argue with you.

Tip – Add a surprise twist that makes viewers see the whole film in a different light

The Sixth Sense (1999), The Usual Suspects (1995)

Of course, M. Night Shyamalan and Bryan Singer did not invent the surprise ending when they created The Sixth Sense and The Usual Suspects respectively. But they did it in such a way that people can watch these movies again and again, seeing new perspectives and appreciating the skillful execution.
By the way, both could have been mentioned under tip 7. “I see dead people” was mocked in so many ways and “Keyser Soze” is probably better known than JFK – quite an accomplishment for a mysterious character.

After such amazing success, end twists became Shyamalan’s trademark, while Singer didn’t try to relive the magic. And rightly so. Shyamalan used them in Unbreakable, Signs and The Village. Audiences kept hoping for another The Sixth Sense, but were more disappointed with each new film.

To sum up, these tips result in a philosophical sci-fi film, based on a Charlie Kaufman script, which controversially deals with religion and sex, has plenty of catchy lines alongside groundbreaking special effects, and ends with a twist (not devised by M. Night Shyamalan). Hmm, maybe it’s time for the last tip then:

Tip no. 10 – Ignore the tips above!

Titanic (1997)

After spilling so many words about how to make a successful and memorable movie, and after emphasizing the importance of originality, creativity, inventiveness and controversy in filmmaking, we have to admit there’s an easier (if slightly more expensive) to create a movie that will last.

The recipe:

Take the hottest and most good looking male actor among 12-to-18-year-old girls. Add a tragic, tearjerker love story, set against a backdrop of legendary disaster, throw in some thrilling action sequences to satisfy your mature audience, scatter a huge budget (preferably the highest to date) along the way, and voila! you have the highest grossing movie ever, with the largest number of Oscars.

If you can pull that off, you really don’t need any of our tips. You can just sit back and watch dollars pile up in your bank account – that is if you didn’t forget to ask for a percentage of gross revenues…

Have any more tips you’d like to share? Think the annoying Memento or the trash recycler Tarantino are missing here? Dare to comment and let us know.

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