tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post2974960537797346378..comments2023-11-03T11:37:13.579-04:00Comments on Something Old, Nothing New: When Were Movies Invented? 1977? Or Later?Jaime J. Weinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15128500411119962998noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-84059109083924382582010-06-19T11:03:05.124-04:002010-06-19T11:03:05.124-04:00I think the people here being dismissive of contem...<i>I think the people here being dismissive of contemporary movies are being just as stupid as people who are dismissive of old ones - plenty of good movies are being made now, just as plenty good movies were made in the past. I think the problem is the fact that you're comparing the cream of the crop of old movies with the average contemporary film. Not every director was Hitchcock in the past, just as not every contemporary director is Uwe Boll.</i><br /><br />To some extent I concur -- but the difference is, in those days ('20s through the early '50s), films were made for a large, communal audience. TV changed all that, broke up the movie audience into niche groups far more than before. And gradually, especially with the rise of home video and DVDs, the moviehouse became less and less a destination for adults (other than the family-flick crowd). Movies are now largely tailored for adolescent tastes; "adult" theaters (and I don't mean porn) are more or less gone, save for the handful of art houses or places showing foreign fare. There are indeed plenty of good films being made now -- trouble is, it's <i>far</i> harder to find them.VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-14732585104105423252010-06-17T23:28:06.448-04:002010-06-17T23:28:06.448-04:00I was 12 when Rocky first fought Apollo Creed, in ...I was 12 when Rocky first fought Apollo Creed, in 1976, and I thought that was the greatest movie ever made. It also won for best Picture over Taxi Driver.<br /><br />Then in 1985, when I was 20, I entered the Rocky Universe as a Soviet Fight Fan, in Rocky IV, so in a way I made movie history.Albert Giesbrechthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17742338183833125104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-16111830725063781882010-06-01T10:30:26.798-04:002010-06-01T10:30:26.798-04:00I will agree with one point: It's not possible...I will agree with one point: It's not possible to be awash in old movies as once one could be. I was born in 1963 and old movies were constantly on television. It's how the local television stations filled up time. There was the afternoon movie and the late, late movie and weekends filled with them.<br /><br />As you say, it's now primarily one cable network, which does a terrific job, but it used to be that you could just switch around the dial (probably only 9 channels, as I recall, in L.A.) and just stumble across old movies.The Pop Viewhttp://www.thepopview.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-79176445357583953742010-05-24T19:44:51.831-04:002010-05-24T19:44:51.831-04:00I see two factors at work here:
The later you wer...I see two factors at work here:<br /><br />The later you were born after the 60s, the fewer black-and-white films were likely to be a part of your formative years of movie viewing, and seen more as some weird oddity out of the past. My stepdaughter didn't like b/w movies until she got bored a couple of times and watched Some Like it Hot and some Harold Lloyd movies with me (on TCM). But most kids won't grow up with parents who watch TCM regularly.<br /><br />And although TCM is a gold mine, there are so many options available for movie viewing that it's easy to favor the latest and most talked about if you're not a film buff. Back when the only options were (a) movie theatres, or (b) broadcast TV, the major networks regularly ran 2-3 year old films in prime time, and the independent stations ran whatever they could get, which was usually old and b/w. We saw a lot of movies simply because it was the only thing on at 2pm on a Saturday afternoon. In some ways that was limiting, but it also expanded our horizons to include movies we wouldn't have seen otherwise.Claire Doyle Raginhttp://cronereport.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-17249615949629755072010-05-22T15:50:50.987-04:002010-05-22T15:50:50.987-04:00I completely understand your point here, but I won...I completely understand your point here, but I wonder if you're looking in the wrong "corners" of the Internet?? Perhaps try <br /><br />-- academic blogs in cultural studies: http://www.henryfarrell.net/wiki/index.php/Culture%2C_Theory%2C_Literature<br /><br />-- Noir of the Week: http://www.noiroftheweek.com<br /><br />-- TCM's Classic Movie Blog: http://moviemorlocks.com<br /><br />-- Observations on Film Art: http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog<br /><br />As well, just last week, I wrote a post on why Gene Kelly gets me all hot and bothered. =) If you're interested, you'll find it here: http://kellimarshall.net/unmuzzledthoughts/popculture/film/genekellyKelli Marshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08269932900784757760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-26744041676460044722010-05-13T12:15:07.677-04:002010-05-13T12:15:07.677-04:00Perhaps it is "BEYOND THE FOREST" that h...Perhaps it is "BEYOND THE FOREST" that he is referring to.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-16482901115579693352010-05-12T21:08:52.983-04:002010-05-12T21:08:52.983-04:00All adaptations of plays usually are "stagey&...All adaptations of plays usually are "stagey"; It's a criticism of little consequence. The Petrified Forest with Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, and Humphrey Bogart was a film and a brilliant one at that.Ricardo Cantoralhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00518171797365794688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-45187658046216636392010-05-12T20:58:26.361-04:002010-05-12T20:58:26.361-04:00"The Petrified Forest" saved Bogart'..."The Petrified Forest" saved Bogart's career and provided a template not only for Bogie's future performances but for the portrayal of the American gangster in film but it was very stagey and as someone said was not really a movie movie.Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17101679014680448016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-1678297599049178282010-05-12T19:57:47.484-04:002010-05-12T19:57:47.484-04:00"Also, "The Petrified Forest" is a ..."Also, "The Petrified Forest" is a camp classic thanks to Bette Davis's truly over-the-top performance."<br /><br />Truly OTT ? Then you haven't watched a lot of Bette Davis films. Honestly, you need to re-watch that film.Ricardo Cantoralhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00518171797365794688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-68703553576566139022010-05-12T19:17:50.117-04:002010-05-12T19:17:50.117-04:00People who complain about how all movies today are...People who complain about how all movies today are terrible or pale in comparison to the Golden Age clearly aren't watching the right movies. There's a wealth of cinema out there beyond what's mentioned on "Access Hollywood."<br /><br />Also, "The Petrified Forest" is a camp classic thanks to Bette Davis's truly over-the-top performance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-27784135676581156232010-05-12T17:19:11.555-04:002010-05-12T17:19:11.555-04:00Didn't Agee once write that a good film is wor...Didn't Agee once write that a good film is worth seeing only once but a great film gets better with each viewing? Very few films would qualify as great under such a standard.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-66073442945637289342010-05-12T14:20:52.498-04:002010-05-12T14:20:52.498-04:00"The Petrified Forest is a filmed play not a ..."The Petrified Forest is a filmed play not a movie."<br /><br />Yes it is. It's a movie adaptation of a play.Ricardo Cantoralhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00518171797365794688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-83413080534136232162010-05-12T13:48:46.504-04:002010-05-12T13:48:46.504-04:00Took a film history class in college a few years a...Took a film history class in college a few years ago, with a bunch of hipsters/punks/alienated youth of my particular millennial generation. Watched John Ford's "My Darling Clementine" in that class, and you know what? The film worked: it got laughs in the right places, shudders, startled murmurs, etc. I was amazed in that class to see how great films can mesmerize an audience no matter what their frame of reference: Out of the Past, The Searchers, Invasion of the Body Snatchers...I think with Netflix that the way films are watched and people's individual film frame-of-reference mindset can be changed for the better...my "DVD Activity" list of watched movies over the last three weeks includes Some Came Running, Days of Heaven, Adventureland, Friends of Eddie Coyle, The Big Street (terrific cast, but gah! What an ending!) etc. I'm not trying to toot my own horn or whatever about my movie taste, but to show that film education has never been more available or easier. <br /><br />On the other hand, Jaime, I think you're 100% right about Agee and his ilk. It reminds me of how an interviewer remarked to US Senator Daniel Moynihan that it's a shame that Americans have such a short national memory, and Moynihan replying "Yes...and that's a good thing too!" I'm glad that the great films of the past have someone like you manning the barricades and, when duty calls, sounding the trumpet.Ernie Blitzernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-33752275764489823702010-05-12T13:27:34.255-04:002010-05-12T13:27:34.255-04:00The Petrified Forest is a filmed play not a movie....The Petrified Forest is a filmed play not a movie.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-7485340205979645712010-05-12T02:44:39.760-04:002010-05-12T02:44:39.760-04:00Yet another prehistoric artifact extends kudos for...Yet another prehistoric artifact extends kudos for this post.<br /><br />It wasn't until I held a job in public libraries for a few years that I realized there was a sizeable swath of the public that was only interested in whatever the newest thing is. It never mattered what that new release was - just that is was new. Videos, books, whatever. etc. that had been in release for more than three months were "old" and ready for the scrap heap, in the eyes of many. This struck me as a mindless viewpoint and it took attending classic movie events at the Castro Theatre (and other San Francisco venues) and seeing enthusiastic audiences encompassing all age groups to restore my faith in humanity.<br /><br />Perhaps we all favor whatever we grew up with. I saw tons of classic movies and cartoons (from silents through 1930's, 1940's and 1950's) as a kid in the 1960's and early 70's. To this day, I concoct film events out of all of the above, plus trailers, commercials, musical novelty shorts, WTF comedy, pre-Code stuff, etc. - and wouldn't have it any other way.<br /><br />There are times when I see a new movie on the big screen and enjoy it, but, when it comes to post-1980 entertainment, I feel much more of an affinity with series produced for the small screen: SCTV, The Black Adder, seasons 1-5 of Red Dwarf, long-passed individual seasons (and cast lineups) of Saturday Night Live, etc.Paul F. Etcheverryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16039423552957022688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-11240341984355347512010-05-12T00:49:04.001-04:002010-05-12T00:49:04.001-04:00"the problem is the fact that you're comp..."the problem is the fact that you're comparing the cream of the crop of old movies with the average contemporary film."<br /><br />Well I am not. There are some bad, bad movies in the past. The internet archive of film-noir is chock full of 'em. However, even the merely decent ones show more personality then a lot of today's garbage.Ricardo Cantoralhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00518171797365794688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-53893991777742673422010-05-12T00:45:36.908-04:002010-05-12T00:45:36.908-04:00I think the people here being dismissive of contem...<i>I think the people here being dismissive of contemporary movies are being just as stupid as people who are dismissive of old ones - plenty of good movies are being made now, just as plenty good movies were made in the past. I think the problem is the fact that you're comparing the cream of the crop of old movies with the average contemporary film. Not every director was Hitchcock in the past, just as not every contemporary director is Uwe Boll.</i><br /><br />Never said any of that and knew that card would be pulled. <br /><br />The things I love most about American film usually happen best in films made before the 80s, but that's not saying movies today can't have that kind of quality. I thought Polanski's "The Ghostwriter" embodied a lot of what I like about film, just to use a very recent example.<br /><br />The bottom line is that what plague a lot of young people's lists of favorite movies just aren't good movies by any standard, and they're usually C grade comedies that would be rightfully completely forgotten if they were made 40 years earlier. When their favorites lists are frontloaded with this crap, it makes me view my peers as unenlightened, and it's painful. <br /><br />When I see "Goodfellas" on people's lists, I can see the reasoning behind that. But when I see things like "Billy Madison" on every other person's list, I keep thinking to myself, "These people would probably enjoy a blank screen!"Thadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04443425643665474645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-44302993277350610652010-05-12T00:38:59.693-04:002010-05-12T00:38:59.693-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Ricardo Cantoralhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00518171797365794688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-38842829837685719752010-05-11T22:47:20.036-04:002010-05-11T22:47:20.036-04:00I think the people here being dismissive of contem...I think the people here being dismissive of contemporary movies are being just as stupid as people who are dismissive of old ones - plenty of good movies are being made now, just as plenty good movies were made in the past. I think the problem is the fact that you're comparing the cream of the crop of old movies with the average contemporary film. Not every director was Hitchcock in the past, just as not every contemporary director is Uwe Boll.moopothttp://moopot.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-59500704870377941542010-05-11T19:16:50.476-04:002010-05-11T19:16:50.476-04:00"Fuck my generation's taste in movies. I&..."Fuck my generation's taste in movies. I'll say it."<br /><br />God bless you Thad. <br /><br />Of course I have some modern day films that I like but mostly because said films has actors from a past generation; I'll watch just about anything with Charles Bronson.Ricardo Cantoralhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00518171797365794688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-55134641272989206092010-05-11T18:29:59.042-04:002010-05-11T18:29:59.042-04:00The reason I didn't really like movies until I...The reason I didn't really like movies until I was 17 or so is precisely because I didn't like the movies I was growing up with. I knew full well that cartoons didn't always suck (and that they don't have to now either) - I finally figured it out it was the same with movies too.<br /><br />In fact I'd say the opposite of your post's title - movies pretty much died in 1977 in America (I'll give it to 1980 though).<br /><br />Fuck my generation's taste in movies. I'll say it.Thadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13776842321547777703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-68222127373767298652010-05-11T18:03:18.383-04:002010-05-11T18:03:18.383-04:00P.S.
Though I wouldn't be upset if someone na...P.S.<br /><br />Though I wouldn't be upset if someone named Casino Royale. It's really one of the great Bond films and unlike Goldeneye it's not crappy time capsule of the action films of that era.Ricardo Cantoralhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00518171797365794688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-89197578541943862482010-05-11T17:59:39.596-04:002010-05-11T17:59:39.596-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Ricardo Cantoralhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00518171797365794688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-4920219640181799732010-05-11T17:40:16.662-04:002010-05-11T17:40:16.662-04:00Blech. This post makes me sick. It reminds me of t...Blech. This post makes me sick. It reminds me of the 18-25 year olds who say Goldeneye is the best James Bond film ever; that is my age range BTW. You can't beat From Russia With Love or Doctor No.<br /><br />Also as for my overall favorite film, The Petrified Forest. It's almost the only film with more than three ideas that dosen't fall apart.Ricardo Cantoralhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00518171797365794688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-61815556774519498292010-05-11T16:14:36.064-04:002010-05-11T16:14:36.064-04:00Noel,
You may be out of place but I think you pick...Noel,<br />You may be out of place but I think you picked the greatest moment in musical history - and one of the greatest in film history.Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17101679014680448016noreply@blogger.com