Comments on Movietone News: Modern films? Thanks, but no thanks

I'm sure there is awful british comedy but I l...

2010-08-30T17:32:57.189+01:00

I'm sure there is awful british comedy but I like what I've seen. I'm thinking of Miller and Armstrong and The Big Train for example. Maybe I have been lucky. My taste is ensemble and sketch formats and British comics are better at parody. As for sit-coms, I've simply never watched any US or UK shows.
If one is looking for an alternative to American comedy, British comedy is the most accessible. It's as simple as that.

Afraid I wasn't sharp/old enough to see the in...

2010-08-30T13:54:32.369+01:00

Afraid I wasn't sharp/old enough to see the insincerity of Star Wars at the time - or have any awareness of what it was copying.
It amazes me looking back at the films of the seventies and eighties, just how much of it is the work of people in love with old movies just like I am, and trying to recreate them just like I would if I had their jobs, and just not quite getting it right (not always their fault), and appealing to a new audience that does not have their knowledge of what is inspiring them, and loves it because they think it's something new. Serial-style action adventure, screwball comedy, sci-fi... it all came back and it was all just pastiche.
Still preferable to what followed, of course: truly modern, truly terrible films, made by the folks who were the AUDIENCES of Star Wars and Indiana Yawns.
As I say, I watch and enjoy newer films from time to time, but it's a totally diffferent art form. Nobody expects a music lover to like all music on the grounds that it's all music, (though they may enjoy the occasional pop song in an undemanding mood...)
But why do you Americans like modern British comedy so much? It's appalling, all of it!

My resolute indifference to movies, music, TV even...

2010-08-30T01:37:10.874+01:00

My resolute indifference to movies, music, TV even books after 1960 makes people think I am pretentious. Before I could vent on blog comments (because everyone else says everything so much better that I possibly could) I used to talk more to acquaintances about my fondness for old black and white movies and the response was mostly blank stares and they probably thought I was a crashing bore. To most people "Classic Movies" means Casablanca and Gone With the Wind which are merely the tippy tip of an iceberg. I just say "I prefer old black and white movies, especially the 30's". Due to parental rules, poor TV reception and living in a rural area, I have not seen TV shows or movies of the 60's -80's that are supposed to define my demographic. Even my musical tastes are far different - I love bagpipes and opera.
That said, I do love Southpark, Duckman, the first ten years of the Simpsons, lots of newer British comedy. I love a raunchy comedy fix.
I'm not stuck in a wayback machine, but if it's old, black and white, and features a Miklos Rosza score, I am hooked. I love the way Errol Flynn, Tyrone Power and Basil Rathbone can utter rousing swashbuckling lines in a completely believable and sincere fashion. Who can do that now on film?

I like Mykal's comment about "Star Wars". I was in high school when that came out. Some critic had compared Star Wars favorably to the old Flash Gordon serials, so my father and I optimistically went to see it. We hated it. It wasn't like the old time fluff, it was just people exchanging wisecracks with special effects. (After all, there is nothing wrong with tin space ships bobbing on wires with sparklers for rocket fuel. ) Of course, all my schoolmates raved about Star Wars, I thought it was stupid, they called me a smartass.

Well, a year on I'm sure of my opinion but the...

2010-08-24T15:35:25.548+01:00

Well, a year on I'm sure of my opinion but the basic paradox remains unresolved.
Basically, I think the silents are better, but I prefer to watch the talkies. Partly, but not solely, because I love it when he sings.
I do enjoy the Columbias, but they're obviously the products of a less happy age.

What I'd like to know, though, a year later, i...

2010-08-24T14:23:43.987+01:00

What I'd like to know, though, a year later, is...which do you like best, Charley Chase's silent shorts or the sound ones? And if the latter, Roach or Columbia (not such a tricky question)?

Yes, I absolutely loved it too. I expect I can sti...

2009-08-28T18:33:36.907+01:00

Yes, I absolutely loved it too. I expect I can still quote whole chunks of it from the dialogue soundtrack LP. I'm just old enough to have seen it at the cinema on its first run - you, if my maths is correct, are just young enough not to have.
I really have no animosity for it at all in itself, only for its centrality in modern culture, for what that therefore reveals about modern culture, and for the notion that it is a work of great significance. I realise it's a figurehead, for both sides. I'd pick on something else if it made the point as instantly!

I love Star Wars, but my love for it over the year...

2009-08-28T16:44:52.605+01:00

I love Star Wars, but my love for it over the years has become inseparably linked with my childhood. I have no idea how I would feel about it if I saw it now, at (almost) 33. I saw (and for the most part hated!) the prequels.

thank you mykal :] Oh no worries i didn't tak...

2009-08-10T04:33:27.574+01:00

thank you mykal :]

Oh no worries i didn't take it personally, just in case you did read that comment i just wanted to clear myself anyway and note a sort of middle ground in the matter (i'm a libra, what can i say). You make a very interesting point about the vehement reaction that some people have towards older films which i hadn't really noticed but is absolutely right. There's a sort of fear in it that I hadn't recognized and now wish to experiment with in some devilish way.

Meredith - I really wasn't thinking of you, t...

2009-08-09T10:06:53.500+01:00

Meredith -
I really wasn't thinking of you, though you may have been the one that said that on a post somewhere... As I say, it's a standard objection I hear all the time.
I was just trying to pinpoint the strange reaction you get from a lot of people when you even begin to question the all round fabulousness of modern life, or imply that anything may have been better in the past. It's not just disagreement but something more primal; there's real anger in there, often, and a strange kind of fear almost. It's as if the game of pretending modern life is just the coolest needs only the smallest dissent to crumble...
As I said, this is usually unquestioned in most people, and old films routinely mocked with a severity rarely used in reverse. That's why it amuses me to do so some times. Newness really is one of the things I dislike about new films.
But this attitude of which I speak (and which, as I said, is at least as depressingly prevalent among the elderly as the young) is a very different kettle of fish (peculiar British expression, not sure if it ever 'travelled', apologies if not) from someone like you, who knows what they are talking about and is making a fair enough comment in a forum where all points of view are usually respected.
So I really wasn't singling you out at all and I'm really sorry if you took it personally. Your blog is great and it was not my intention!

Mykal -
You can speak for me on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and alternate Saturdays. But only if you use an English accent.

Meredith! Such a sweet woman! Good on you! Can'...

2009-08-09T00:09:28.557+01:00

Meredith! Such a sweet woman! Good on you! Can't speak for Matthew, of course, but as lover of the old over the new (for the most part), well said! -- Mykal

Just reading through your old posts so i'm rat...

2009-08-09T00:00:48.295+01:00

Just reading through your old posts so i'm rather late commenting but felt the need to defend myself a bit as i believe i'm the referenced poster on the calling people silly and elitist bit. I should not have made such a generalized statement as I did not mean it in the way you took it. You do not fit that description because you have chosen a preference (which i agree with) and have at least given newer films, mainstream and art house a chance. Clearly there's nothing wrong with knowing what you like, my problem only comes with people who aren't willing to give it any chance at all and will only use transformers as the model of modern american cinema as opposed to anything else (and i don't mean jumping straight to art house) which is what I find silly and elitist, simply hating newer films because they are new, rather than outlining the differences as you have. I do like newer films including some of the ones you detest like the deer hunter and american beauty, but you've made an excellent post and for the most part i'm walking away with my tail between my legs for sounding so stupid.

Archavist - I knew I was on a hiding to nothing a...

2009-07-12T09:36:53.609+01:00

Archavist -
I knew I was on a hiding to nothing attacking The Godfather but The Deer Hunter??? I didn't think anybody liked that anymore!!!

Jacqueline -
I agree almost completely. The point about Australia is especially important; that divorced from its true era, any attempt to recreate classical cinema comes off as pastiche. Titanic was another. I still prefer this to mainstream popcorn movies (never saw Australia but I'm sure I would have liked it to about the extent you did) but it's no substitute to the real thing.
But I also heartily dislike the sensibilities of modern films. Their list of ideological offences is plenty long enough, even without racial stereotypes.

Great post, well-written with some excellent point...

2009-07-10T13:16:35.857+01:00

Great post, well-written with some excellent points. I think one aspect of "classic" films which makes that era distinctive is the unselfconscious storytelling, the showmanship, that makes the "artificial" element of the old Hollywood studio productions irrelevant.

Today's films seem weaker in part because of a self-conscious element to the look of the films. They try too hard to be blockbusters, or social commentaries, or the next new Happy Meal toy. There is no emotional connection to the film by the audience which is so sophisticated that it knows it's being marketed, not entertained.

It's interesting that some of the most beloved films of the last 20 years or so are animated features, which carry big-name stars for the voiceovers. The storytelling here at least is more bold.

A modern film like "Australia", which, even though I enjoyed, was in it's telling of a story circa 1940-41, unable to be little more than parody and camp. Granted, director Baz Luhrmann's style runs to the cartoonish anyway, but the excessive CGI and sense of self-conscious flippancy kept this film from being what it would have been if it had been actually filmed in 1940 - a grand, swashbuckling adventure presented with unabashed showmanship, yet focused on the characters, who stand in for us.

Of course, it might have also been littered with racial stereotypes. This is why I wish we could find a comfortable combination of modern sensibilities and the classic Hollywood style of filmmaking, without condescending parody, without the weak storytelling, without the obsession over current fad, without the marketing.

I agree fully - I've very little in my massive...

2009-07-09T19:10:50.455+01:00

I agree fully - I've very little in my massive DVD collection that comes after 1976 - Star Wars ruined the cinema you know. But man not liking The Godfather Deer Hunter - be real!!!

Matthew: It is indeed time (thanks for noticing). ...

2009-07-06T19:00:19.135+01:00

Matthew: It is indeed time (thanks for noticing). Check back later today. -- Mykal

Kate - Hurrah! So glad you approved!!! And thanks...

2009-07-06T18:18:34.853+01:00

Kate -
Hurrah! So glad you approved!!! And thanks as ever for your support!

Mykal -
Completely agree that the lowering of the age target was a feature of 'the big change' - would have added that if I'd thought of it.
I have an identical memory of Star Wars - I too saw it on release, and loved it. In truth, I have no ill-will for it even now. It's just that I'm 36 now...

By the way, taking a leaf out of your book... time for some more Radiation Cinema posts say I!

Matthew: I love good movies, old or new. I just ...

2009-07-06T12:48:34.956+01:00

Matthew:

I love good movies, old or new. I just find, for many cultural, economic, and sociological reasons, I find more to love in the older movies.

I have a theory and a memory that you might enjoy: First the theory (it's hardly my theory, but I subscribed to it). Because of the advent and competition presented by television, film makers lowered their demographic target by about ten years (thinking that kids wanted to get out of the house more) - from thirty to about twenty (or less). Thus, movies prior to about 1960 had a more mature target audience.

Now for the memory: I remember seeing Star Wars (you know, that film with the light sabers) when it first came out with a friend. There was one large movie house where I grew up, none of this multiplex shit with pimply-faced shits talking on cell phones.

Anyway, this was the first movie that I can ever remember having a huge line - wrapped damn near out of the parking lot into the street. My friend and I were so intrigued by this, we spent an afternoon in line, just to see what the hubbub was about.

Afterwards, we were walking home, and I asked him what he thought.

He shrugged, thought a moment.

"I hate that kiddy shit," he said.

--Mykal

What an insightful post!! You captured everything ...

2009-07-04T19:10:16.992+01:00

What an insightful post!! You captured everything I had wanted to say in mine but couldn't-- I'm going to add your link to my post and post the link to this on twitter too...

ps. Those few comments I got that you mentioned about being silly for only watching old movies, etc. You notice they never commented on anything of mine before, like there are actually people who feel THAT adamant about making people watch new films, or trying to make jabs at people who only watch old films that they'd ONLY leave a comment when I did this post? It's bizarre!!