MGM - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - is one of the greatest film studios, with the roaring line as iconic as some of their films.
The studio, which was founded back in 1924, is celebrating ninety triumphant years in the movie business, and we take a look at some of their biggest and movies.
- Gone With The Wind (1939)
Gone With The Wind remains one of MGM's biggest successes and most iconic movies. It may have been released back in 1939, but it is a film that is as loved today as it was all those decades ago.
Directed by Victor Fleming, Gone With The Wind was an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Mitchell Pulitzer, and saw Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh play Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara.
Butler and O'Hara are two of cinemas greatest characters, and this love story is one of the most epic.
Gone With The Wind was met with praise and went on to be a big box office success - it remains one of the most successful films in box office history.
Gone With The Wind also enjoyed Oscar glory, as it scooped Best Picture, Best Director & Best Actress, amongst others.
- The Wizard of Oz (1939)
The Wizard of Oz is widely regarded as one of the greatest musicals of all time, and hit the big screen back in 1939.
The movie was an adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Ox by L. Frank Baum, and saw Judy Garland take on the central role of Dorothy Gale: which is still her most famous role.
However, the movie was not a box office success when it was first released - despite receiving positive reviews from the critics.
It was MGM's most expensive movie at the time, and it did initially fail to recoup its budget. However, re-releases over the years have changed all of that.
The Wizard of Oz is now a much-loved piece of cinema, and remains one of MGM's most iconic films.
- Ben-Hur (1959)
There was a time when CGI didn't exist and everything was filmed for real - no film shows that off more perfectly than Ben-Hur.
Of course, I am talking about the chariot race, which remains one of the most exhilarating moments in movie history. This is a sequence that still sends a shiver down my spine.
Ben-Hur was an adaptation of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace, and saw William Wyler in the director's chair.
Charlton Heston took on the title role, while Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, and Stephen Boyd were also on board.
Ben Hur has the largest budget for any movie at the time, but the money spent bringing this epic to the big screen was worth it. It went on to be the highest grossing film of 1959 and went on to win eleven Oscars: a feat that wasn't repeated until Titanic came along.
It scooped, Best Picture, Best Director & Best Actor for Heston.
- - North By Northwest (1959)
Alfred Hitchcock was widely regarded as the master of suspense, and is one of the most highly regarded directors of all time.
North by Northwest is just one of his catalogue of terrific films, as he reunited with Cary Grant back in 1959.
North By Northwest is one of the most visually iconic of all of Hitchcock's films - the plane scene with Grant being the moment that everyone remembers.
On top of that, North By Northwest is gripping from start to finish, and remains one of Hitchcock's best.
- Doctor Zhivago (1965)
David Lean had a knack of making epic movies - Lawrence of Arabia and The Bridge on the River Kwai being two great examples - and Doctor Zhivago was another such movie.
The movie was based on the novel of the same name by Boris Pasternak, and was adapted for the big screen by Carlo Ponti.
Omar Sharif took on the central role of Dr. Yuri Zhivago, while Julie Christie and Alex Guinness were just a couple of the other names on board.
This sweeping romance/drama has remained hugely popular through the years, and is one of Lean's most memorable films.
Doctor Zhivago was nominated for ten Oscars, winning five. However, it did miss out on Best Picture and Best Director.
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Stanley Kubrick is one of the greatest directors of all time, and 2001: A Space Odyssey remains one of his biggest achievements.
2001: A Space Odyssey was released back in 1968 and was based on The Sentinel by Arthur C. Clarke, and dealt with themes of technology, intelligence, and human evolution.
Hard to believe, but 2001: A Space Odyssey was met with mixed reviews upon release, but has gone on to gain a cult following over the years.
It is now widely regarded as one of the greatest science fiction films of all time, as well as being one of the most influential films ever made.
- Skyfall (2012)
More recently, one of MGM's biggest successes has been Skyfall. The twenty-third Bond movie saw MGM team up with Columbia Pictures... and Skyfall is widely regarded as the best Bond film of all time.
Daniel Craig was back as 007, while Sam Mendes was in the director's chair to helm his first Bond movie - they will both be back for Bond 24.
Skyfall was a box office smash when it was released in October 2015, as it won over critics and audiences. The movie went on to gross over $1 billion: it is the first Bond movie to surpass the billion-dollar mark.
Sadly, it was overlooked for Best Picture at the Oscars, but it did scoop Best Original Song & Best Editing.
Other terrific MGM movies include Singin' In The Rain, The Philadelphia Story, Thelma & Louise, Meet Me in St. Louis, and Moonstruck.
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