I've gotten more into it, these last few years, but a lot of the "classics" we frequently hear referenced are actually still excellent.

Casablanca is my favourite movie of all time. To Catch a Thief is bloody good (Grace Kelly!), as is North by Northwest (Eva Marie Saint!). It's a Wonderful Life has grown on me, over time, and, as a Christmas movie, it's definitely above average, if rather bleak. Spartacus, while cheesy, is pretty good, too. The Magnificent Seven (original) is fucking great. Towering Inferno (original) is also, I feel, rather underrated, these days. Hatari (John Wayne) is great, too. Even Logan's Run (just before blockbusters really took off) is very good, if a little weird. Network is a biting satire, far ahead of its time. And the original Pelham 1,2,3 is ahead of its time, too. I didn't really like The Graduate, but the soundtrack is very good.

Even some silent films (notably Metropolis by Fritz Lang, Nosferatu, etc) are pretty good too, in hindsight.

So yeah, I'm not claiming that Hollywood was ever particularly "based", or anything like that, but some of these "Silver Age" and "Golden Age" Hollywood productions are actually very, very good. Credit where credit is due.

No real point to this - just saying, if you are yet to really give "classics" like some of that lot a go, well, maybe it's worth it, for a break from all the woke shit of Current Era, lol...

Any other recommendations welcome, ha.