Turning old movies into new family fun

The Best Old Movies for Families: A Guide to Watching Together, By Ty Burr, Anchor, 375 pp., $16.95

In this practical, insightful, and often quite funny guide to watching old movies in a family setting, Globe film critic Ty Burr champions classic films as "the antidote to the Disneyfied pap and computer-generated overstimulation that passes for children's entertainment these days." Classic films, notes Burr, introduce children to a shockingly different world where storytelling takes precedence over rampant product placement and marketing-driven movie tie-ins.

Yet Burr, a father of two daughters (now 9 and 11), understands that parents pushing their kids into, say, Errol Flynn's " The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938) rather than the latest "Spider - Man" blockbuster will be facing resistance: "In all likelihood," admits Burr, "your kids will give you the Blank Stare of Death when you float this idea past them." Burr shows you how to get past their defenses and on to enjoying great classic films. Burr has meticulously organized this guidebook into films appropriate for different ages, from toddlers, to tweeners, to teenagers. He also divides the suggested films into genres, including comedy, musicals, horror/sci-fi, and even foreign films.

Much of the charm of Burr's book comes not from his encyclopedic knowledge of film, but from his own film-watching experiences with his kids. After showing them "West Side Story" (1961) , writes Burr, "Eliza cried buckets, which we were coming to understand was her stamp of approval, and Natalie demanded that I sing 'Officer Krupke ' every night for the next six months, which I did." Burr, in addition to providing pithy, dead-on plot descriptions, offers advice on how to discuss the films with your children and what impact they might have. Watching Flynn's "Robin Hood," for instance, "will cause an immediate uptick in backyard swordplay. Hide the shish - kebab skewers."

On a more serious note, Burr believes films such as "The Grapes of Wrath" (1940) and "High Noon" (1952) can trigger important discussions about history, economic injustice, and standing up for yourself. When describing the classic 1959 melodrama "Imitation of Life" Burr notes that "the movie's so astute about mother-daughter dynamics that it may be painful for a mother and daughter to watch together." He also explores classic films that are tinged with troubling stereotypes, such as "Gone With the Wind" and "Gunga Din" ("looking at the people of a differently colored country as a mass of uncivilized potential maniacs is dangerous business nowadays" ), and suggests how to broach these tough topics with kids.

Classic Westerns present a particular challenge in today's more tolerant cultural landscape. In his "pause-button explanation" of "Stagecoach" (1939) , starring John Wayne, Burr advises parents that "Geronimo and company are old-fashioned movie Indians rather than modern politically correct Native Americans, so do whatever ethnocultural spadework you feel necessary; at the very least, now's the time to point out who got the short end of history's stick." Burr humorously contends that the 1935 pirate classic "Captain Blood" (with Flynn playing "good" pirate Peter Blood ) can teach kids important lessons about the corporate world: "Blood lets others do the nasty work before coming in for the glory and the girl. If that isn't a management training seminar, I don't know what is."

Burr's book is a valuable resource for family film-viewing, and highly recommended as such. His flexible, highly informed approach, combined with his palpable enthusiasm for classic films, will help guide parents into a world of celluloid discovery. If you've ever felt lost wandering the aisles of Blockbuster in search of great family viewing, Ty Burr's guidebook can help you find your way.