Films/DVD Asylum

In general terms, does the movie making industry going down hill ?

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Heidi2000

(A)

I'm not the most fastidious movie goer or DVD collector myself, but what I noticed recently is that all the special effects in modern movies seem to take away all the warmth that were abundance in older movies.
Take for instance, in the past we have family movies like: the sound of Music, You light up my life, gone with the wind, on Golden Pond etc. all the way down the line to the most offensive films made, such as: the Accused, Last house on the left, I split on your grave, Cannibal Holocaust etc.
Now we have films like the Residence Evil, The Gladiator, Brave Heart etc, which full of computer generated images (which are digital in nature). In addition, the story lines or plots also seem to put together with lesser care in modern movies.
So the question is: do most of you prefer older movies or modern movies for serious movie watching, ie, not just to see someone's head got blown off etc.

Follow Ups:

You have to look to wider sources now... - Corbu 14:26:44 10/28/04 (0)
for example I am looking at more Asian made films these days .There seems to be an increase in good films coming from China , etc.
It's always been downhill . . . Indie influence has pulled it up over the years. n - mr grits 10:10:24 10/23/04 (0)
n
( huh? )
Re: In general terms, does the movie making industry going down hill ? - Jack G 09:52:18 10/22/04 (0)
As others have said, there are still good movies being made-they are just a small minority. One tends to have to go out of their way to find them, since they usually aren't best sellers or big money makers. As Troy said, this has probably always been the case. You may have better luck with independant films and/or imports.
Jack
No - Troy 09:26:52 10/22/04 (1)
Hollywood has ALWAYS been about $.
There has always been lots of bad movies. It doesn't matter which decade is your favorite, lots of junk movies were made then too.
The difference is: TIME.
Time has allowed the bad movies to disappear. All those awful serials and lame sci-fi and horror movies are lost forever. All the bad comedies that relied on current events and "in-jokes" of the times that are meaningless today. 1000's of corny westerns that told the same story of range and indian wars over and over again were made. All gone.
What remains are the great films of those times. Consider yourself lucky that you don't have to watch all the really bad movies from the 60s or 30s. Figure that there's maybe 100 great films from every decade. For every one that survives today there were 100 that sucked and didn't deserve to survive.
Today is no different. Do you really think that anyone will be watching Resident Evil, Freaky Friay or Bad Boys II in even 10 years, let alone 50? Not a chance. Just like in 1934 or 64, it's about making a quick buck.
There are great American films being made today by a handfull of great directors like The Coens, PT Anderson, David O Russell and others. Enjoy them and ignore the rest.
Yeah, Gladiator and Braveheart won the oscar. But so did Ben Hur. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
- Sure, Ben Hur was schlock, but WHAT schlock! - tinear 05:12:05 10/23/04 (0)
  Today, the race woulda been digital....yawn.
By the way, even porns were better in the old days too - Heidi2000 09:12:31 10/22/04 (4)
There were better actors in the 60's like Peter North, Randy West, and also a guy named John (forgot his last name), he died from Aids. Now all you see is some rough guys and rough gals that are a bunch of body builders. What a shame, not that I watch them, but just to point out the facts.
- Peter North wasn't in the 60s - tunenut 11:13:45 10/22/04 (1)
  I knew the guy in the early 80s before he got famous.
  - The BeerCan was most certainly not in the 60s... - ToshiroMeyers 16:46:25 10/22/04 (0)
    tunenut,
    Next thing you know...Nina Hartley was making films in the 50s.
    Speaking of porn...watched Boogie Nights again last night and I still think it kills Wonderland.
    Tosh Diggler
    "I think this place is restricted Wang, so don't tell them you're Jewish"
- Re:Yes! Where are the " Fritz the Cat " now? nt - patrickU 10:56:26 10/22/04 (0)
  nt
- Pretty specific description for someone who doesn't watch... - Jack G 09:55:46 10/22/04 (0)
  BTW, Its John Holmes. He died the same week as Devine-it was a bad week for B-movies. The funny thing was, while not too many people knew who Devine was, EVERYBODY knew who John Holmes was.
  Jack
Profit driven! Hollywood - Bambi B 09:01:38 10/22/04 (1)
Heidi2000,
Despite claims of a liberal Hollywood, the truth is there is only one agenda- that of profits. And nothing will stand in the way of what is affectionately referred to as "BO". Practice this at home:, "The BO has got legs." That means the box office return is steadily increasing. I have nothing against success, but the current run of idiotic, computer generated, hyper-edited, eight screenwriter comic book adaptations is a Dollar contest pure and simple, with few bright spots in which something that has not been surveyed, polled, multiple tested endings, and committee approved can happen.
It appears the committees have decided that we are all 13 year-old boys waitng for cars to crash and heads to explode and that we must be motivated to see this same thing 31 times. And if the superhero can have huge breasts- all the better. As opposed to a liberal agenda, Hollywood really has a cleavage and death agenda.
There are independent makers like the Coens who offer something with some teeth, but these are rara avis.
I dream of the far-off days of Capra, Wilder, Ford, Hitchcock, even the young Lucas and Spielberg, but the "small" movie with real people as actors, and a personal vision has to be searched out and they ae few. I end up watching more movies with subtitles than anything else these days!
There is hope though- through video/DVD and once in awhile there is a movie with only a little death and mayhem like "Adaptation" that breaks the rules.
Cheers,
Bambi B
- See my note below on "Primer" -- Fine, fine movie, cost $7,000 to make. No FX... nt - clarkjohnsen 09:43:53 10/22/04 (0)
  z
Re: In general terms, does the movie making industry going down hill ? - Victor Khomenko 08:42:33 10/22/04 (2)
The situation is no different from other aspects of our lives, where Best Buys are taking over and forcing mediocre mass-produced stuff down our throats.
But just like in other areas, there are still alternatives. if you are not satisfied with the wave of mass-oriented movies, there are plenty of good ones to be found. Most of them will not come to the Super-16 near you, but it usually ony takes small amount of legwork to find them.
Will they survive ten years from now? I certainly hope so, but the pressure to become a homogenious LOTR society is strong and don't underestimate it.
- Re: In general terms, does the movie making industry going down hill ? - rico 08:48:21 10/22/04 (1)
  My thoughts exactly. You just have to be judiciaous and diligent. There has always been a plethora of junk.
  - Re: For intelligitent films.... - patrickU 09:16:18 10/22/04 (0)
    We mostly have to look outside the US or Europe, but what I miss there is our own culture even if humanity is a common language and the sheer professionalism we are able to achieve. But form without substance is just a dead end.

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