These days, most coming-of-age films tend to have a comic or hopeful tone to them. It’s hard being a teenager, but the kids persist. There’s always something or someone to live another day for. The Last Picture Show doesn’t share that upbeat outlook. Set in 1951, at the outbreak of the Korean War, the teenagers we follow are still curious and ambitious like most young people, but they’re surrounded by jaded adults in the middle of nowhere in Texas. The Last Picture Show captures the truth of the ‘50s—when films were epic and gay, most people (especially those far from big cities and coasts) were just trying to get by and see where they fit in a fast-changing world. TVs were moving into technicolor, but life was still black and white. As dreary as it sounds, The Last Picture Show is a moving watch. Anyone who’s dared to dream of a life beyond their reach will have their heart twinge at the doom and desire this film (and this decade) evokes.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Ben Johnson, Bill Thurman, Cloris Leachman, Clu Gulager, Cybill Shepherd, Eileen Brennan, Ellen Burstyn, Frank Marshall, Helena Humann, Jeff Bridges, John Hillerman, Kimberly Hyde, Noble Willingham, Peter Bogdanovich, Randy Quaid, Sam Bottoms, Timothy Bottoms

Director: Peter Bogdanovich

Rating: R