Films/DVD Asylum

I don't want to be a part of this argument, but...//

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MaxwellP

A

In Reply to: RE: Not a good film, but a major, incredibly important work. posted by RGA on December 13, 2018 at 23:49:50

You do make some good points. I am always suspicious of people who can only see "high art" in objects that are wrapped in the obvious garments of high art. Popular culture--particularly Hollywood--is capable of cranking out vast amounts of soulless, emotionless garbage, but amongst the dregs there is still the occasional film that celebrates writing, acting, directing, editing, music, etc.

To compartmentalise your taste for only those films that are all dressed up in art house filigree is to censor content needlessly. The joys and rewards of filmaking can be found in many different places.

Follow Ups:

RE: I don't want to be a part of this argument, but...// - RGA 20:29:10 12/14/18 (1)
The thing is though that in the west - we tend to get the cream of the crop from foreign countries - so the films that get a DVD release in the US and Canada are often the Cannes winners and nominees - we don't get the 500 films released in Poland in 2017 - we get the ten "good" ones if even that - the absolute horrific rubbish was sifted out FOR US.

Rinse and Repeat for every other country around the world - Bollywood I believe puts out more films than Hollywood - and yet how many of those films get any sort of press in the west - 5-6?

So people dump on Hollywood - yes because EVERY Hollywood film comes to our theaters and out of 20 of those movies - 1 might be considered good.

There is a difference though because films have different goals - just as music or any other form of the arts.

In the play/theater there are the 6 Aristotelian elements of the arts and much of Hollywood focuses on what Aristotle would view as the least important element - spectacle. So all these big loud marvel movies.

The mistake is dismissing them simply because "spectacle" is at the fore.

It's fine to like films that focus on character or theme etc.

And then there is subject matter - When comedy is judged against drama or horror - individuals place a hierarchy on the value that each genre possess. For years Drama was seen as more important than comedy - Shakespearea's Tragedies get more weight than his comedies. Romeo and Juliet often considered Shakespeare's worst play is the one that is taught mostly to students and usually the first play that is introduced.

Hollywood and Television through the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s was escapist entertainment - an escape from reality. Music was more thought provoking. That has been flipped - music is generally mindless background noise and television some movies are lot richer and deeper.

In the 1980s you had stuff like the Rockford Files now you have "enter your favorite Netflix/HBO" show - Broadchurch or Breaking Bad or whatever - None of that existed in the 80s.

And it's difficult to look back on even some classic films and see the acting quality in the 1950s and 1960s and the written dialog and not role my eyes - Casablanca or Citizen Kane or 8 1/2 - etc. The perspective you have at 75years old and 45 years old and 20 years old on these classics will very likely be different. It's tough to watch the stilted performances and some laughable dialog and in some cases unrelated to modern reality when watching any of these older films with a current eye.

Plays can be re-imagined and re-interpreted - film can't. No matter how great the film. And spectacle films that rely on spectacle have the least shelf life because the technology advances and the greatest special effects films of the 1940s look ridiculous now. So for those films to hold up - like Jaws - it doesn't hold up because of the stupid looking shark. In fact the fact that the shark didn't work - probably saved that film from obscurity. It still sells today and it still works today because of its dramatic elements.

I like all kinds of films and I like all kinds of music because I recognize what the intent of the genre is about. A horror movie is suppose to generate some tension and some scares - similar to why anyone gets on a roller coaster. Victor and people like him likely view amusements parks as a waste of space for the unwashed masses - dummies want to have some thrills in their life.

So it goes.
- RE: I don't want to be a part of this argument, but...// - MaxwellP 05:15:24 12/16/18 (0)
  "Hollywood and Television through the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s was escapist entertainment - an escape from reality. Music was more thought provoking. That has been flipped - music is generally mindless background noise and television some movies are lot richer and deeper."
  Many good points in what you say, though I would soften the stress a bit on the above quote. Television has transformed recently because it has freed itself from advertising via Netflix, HBO, etc. I don't think all Hollywood films from the 1950s through the 1980s were escapist. In fact, I think some very good films were made for adult audiences. The target age for most Hollywood films today is about 16.
  As for music, well, there has always been commercial garbage, but for those who search, there has always been quality performances. Not so sure anything has flipped.
  I have a long-time aquaintance who likes to think of himself as an educated snob. His attitude, however, only serves to put blinders on him and limit his exposure. In the end, he doesn't even have what I would call an inquiring mind. He relies on the same tropes and conventions over and over, and snubs his noise at anything that might challenge that.
  
  Edits: 12/16/18 12/16/18
RE: I don't want to be a part of this argument, but...// - Victor Khomenko 08:00:07 12/14/18 (0)
***Popular culture--particularly Hollywood--is capable of cranking out vast amounts of soulless, emotionless garbage, but amongst the dregs there is still the occasional film that celebrates writing, acting, directing, editing, music, etc. Popular culture--particularly Hollywood--is capable of cranking out vast amounts of soulless, emotionless garbage, but amongst the dregs there is still the occasional film that celebrates writing, acting, directing, editing, music, etc.***

Like it or not, but the proportion of garbage to good work in Hollywood production has changed dramatically over the decades. Therefore, while we LOVE and watch as many good old Hollywood films as we can locate (difficult task...), I simply refuse to waste my time digging through the piles of current garbage. Life is too short. I would rather spend it watching good films.

I do read the discussions of current films here, and I sometimes follow the recommendations of those participants, whose opinions I value, but the modern pickings among the US production are incredibly slim. :)

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