Quality Movies--Then and Now

I was asked to rank quality movies today from a broad selection of movies, many of which were classics from the 1940s and 1950s--usually available from Turner Classic Movies.  I was amazed at how many of the "classic" films I consider to be of better quality than newer films.

Avatar is a new movie with new technology and may be in a different category from The Bishop's Wife.  Both are high quality movies, though of very different genres.