Do you ever feel like there is a shortage of movies?
- Thread starter GoodLuck
- Start date
Daniel Moore
Member
Yeah, "Sunrise," that's the one. Despite the fact that there was no dialogue (if I remember correctly), that was still a super entertaining movie to watch.
Thanks VGurcu, and thanks for nothing, lhryshko (j/k)
Looks like next on the list is "The Holy Mountain"
Thanks VGurcu, and thanks for nothing, lhryshko (j/k)
Looks like next on the list is "The Holy Mountain"
puredrifting
Major Contributor
Not sure what you are talking about. Defend what? This book is just a good starting point for beginning cinephiles, it's not the Bible. There are lots of good movies that are not in this book but people not versed in classic cinema , like 99.6% of the population, need to begin somewhere.
BTW, the title of the book is "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die". I don't think it mentions anything about the greatest movies.
Your post sounds like you have ingested many beers.
"Not that there is anything wrong with that."
Dan
BTW, the title of the book is "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die". I don't think it mentions anything about the greatest movies.
Your post sounds like you have ingested many beers.
"Not that there is anything wrong with that."
Dan
Blaine
Mr. Hollywood
Gord? Beers? :shocked:
:grin::grin::beer:
Jim Brennan
VHS Member Old Skool
Will do.
Most of my movie collection is pre-1980 and about 25-40% is pre-1955. There is so much to learn there. I know that many people don't see that stuff as being relevant anymore, but I have learned more from Hawks, Ford, Van Dyke and Wilder than I ever have (or probably could) from Tarantino et al.
But I really need to stretch into foreign and silents more. At least if I pay attention to the silent films, my writing won't rely so heavily on dialogue for exposition :beer: I just keep feeling like it's medicine or required reading. Never gave it much of a chance to see if I actually like it.
puredrifting
Major Contributor
Jim:
You bring up some great points. I produced all of the John Wayne/John Ford and John Ford box sets for Warner Bros. I interviewed Dan Ford, John Ford's Grandson, I was lucky enough to go through all of the Ford home movies as well. Ford was the master, a genius and definitely one of the top 2-3 filmmakers of all time. I think that anyone who calls themselves a director today should be required to study Ford and Ford's methodologies on set before they get their directors license. I can't tell you how many sets I have been working on with the director doing 50-100 takes of one scene with three or four cameras. That's not directing, that's camera pointing.
I also produced a documentary of Hawks that is inlcuded on the Rio Bravo DVD, another genius director. Read his biography and interviewed Bogdanovich about his adventures with both Hawks and Ford.
I think what the old school directors brought to the set that very few modern directors can bring is exposition through visuals, not from flapping the actors lips. Filmmaking was originally a visual medium, not a radio talk show with some pictures. Directors like Ford and Hawks both cut their teeth making silents so they were true filmmakers. Just like that great opening scene in Rio Bravo with Dean Martin. How long does it go without a single word of dialogue? About five minutes? Love it, love it. IMHO, a lot of directors today could really take their game up a notch or three by studying the masters. Murnau, Ford, Hawks, Walsh, Lubitsch, how many filmmakers today REALLY know the canon? How relevant is the canon? Very important. Cinema is cinema whether shot with a hand cranked silent era camera or with a 3D RED rig. The accent changes but the language is the same.
Dan
You bring up some great points. I produced all of the John Wayne/John Ford and John Ford box sets for Warner Bros. I interviewed Dan Ford, John Ford's Grandson, I was lucky enough to go through all of the Ford home movies as well. Ford was the master, a genius and definitely one of the top 2-3 filmmakers of all time. I think that anyone who calls themselves a director today should be required to study Ford and Ford's methodologies on set before they get their directors license. I can't tell you how many sets I have been working on with the director doing 50-100 takes of one scene with three or four cameras. That's not directing, that's camera pointing.
I also produced a documentary of Hawks that is inlcuded on the Rio Bravo DVD, another genius director. Read his biography and interviewed Bogdanovich about his adventures with both Hawks and Ford.
I think what the old school directors brought to the set that very few modern directors can bring is exposition through visuals, not from flapping the actors lips. Filmmaking was originally a visual medium, not a radio talk show with some pictures. Directors like Ford and Hawks both cut their teeth making silents so they were true filmmakers. Just like that great opening scene in Rio Bravo with Dean Martin. How long does it go without a single word of dialogue? About five minutes? Love it, love it. IMHO, a lot of directors today could really take their game up a notch or three by studying the masters. Murnau, Ford, Hawks, Walsh, Lubitsch, how many filmmakers today REALLY know the canon? How relevant is the canon? Very important. Cinema is cinema whether shot with a hand cranked silent era camera or with a 3D RED rig. The accent changes but the language is the same.
Dan
You wanna get yourself a job as a film festival programmer. The amount of crap i've had to watch must be nearing triple figures in terms of hours.
I'm all for less dialogue, but not just for the sake of it. The main problem are directors and writers putting scenes into their movies with no motivation, scenes which just don't add anything to the story. I've sat through films where only several words have been uttered for 30 minutes, and have been bored out of my mind because nothing really happened.
I'm all for less dialogue, but not just for the sake of it. The main problem are directors and writers putting scenes into their movies with no motivation, scenes which just don't add anything to the story. I've sat through films where only several words have been uttered for 30 minutes, and have been bored out of my mind because nothing really happened.
Jim Brennan
VHS Member Old Skool
Well said.
My wife got me that Rio Bravo DVD for Christmas. I haven't watched it yet, and it has been years since I've seen that film. It just went to the top of my list.
The other thing I admire about the old school directors was how well they did with different genres. I know that the model has changed. Now studios want a director who has "action experience" or a "romcom touch" to try and insure the film's success, so they may not get the opportunities that the old masters had. They just got a movie, sometimes because they were next on the studio list, and they were expected to make it work regardless of the genre. The great ones did that, and through that process got to the roots of what makes all great films work. They transcended the genre-specific devices (some would say crutches) that many modern directors count on.
puredrifting
Major Contributor
I agree totally. How many directors today could have the diversity of:
1. Scarface
2. Bringing Up Baby
3. His Girl Friday
4. Sergeant York
5. To Have and Have Not
6. The Big Sleep
7. A Song is Born
8. Gentleman Prefer Blondes
9. Rio Bravo
Hawks was an astoundingly accomplished filmmaker in ANY genre. I haven't seen many directors since him that can even come close to this kind of track record in diversity in creating classic film.
Dan
1. Scarface
2. Bringing Up Baby
3. His Girl Friday
4. Sergeant York
5. To Have and Have Not
6. The Big Sleep
7. A Song is Born
8. Gentleman Prefer Blondes
9. Rio Bravo
Hawks was an astoundingly accomplished filmmaker in ANY genre. I haven't seen many directors since him that can even come close to this kind of track record in diversity in creating classic film.
Dan
Jim Brennan
VHS Member Old Skool
Three of those (The Big Sleep, To Have and Have Not and His Girl Friday) are among my all time personal favorites. He was so great at giving us a sense of the relationships between the characters. For me, that is what makes a movie memorable.
The only director I see today that shows that type of diversity is Spielberg. When you can do E.T., 1941 (which I like), Schindler's List, Private Ryan, and Raiders, that's transcending genres. I was almost going to say the Coens, but even though they have never made the same movie twice in terms of genre, there is still so much "Coen" in their style that it doesn't really count. It draws so much attention to itself that it becomes its own sub-genre.
The only director I see today that shows that type of diversity is Spielberg. When you can do E.T., 1941 (which I like), Schindler's List, Private Ryan, and Raiders, that's transcending genres. I was almost going to say the Coens, but even though they have never made the same movie twice in terms of genre, there is still so much "Coen" in their style that it doesn't really count. It draws so much attention to itself that it becomes its own sub-genre.
Gord.T
Still "Senior Member"
Ofcourse I had multiple beerskis. I don't actually talk like that unless I have had, lol.
I just meant I find it unbelievable that there would be 1001 great movies, or as you say 'must watch' movies. I don't know about that.
I think it's a way to sell a book. I have trouble finding a good 100 list, sort of.
Close but, not 1001.
The ones I have are ones I'll rewatch, even if they aren't great movies.
Examples include 60's sci-fi. A have a few of Vincent Prices movies. Not greats but may be considered classics, at least to old sci fi /horror fans.
The Pit and the Pendulum, The Fly, House of Wax ect.
Anyways, -cheers.
puredrifting
Major Contributor
Gord, gotta open those horizons, it sounds like there could be an entire world of films that you have never considered, tried or know about that could really change your life. How you get there is up to you.
I am very proud that when my daughter was home sick from school last week, stuck in bed and feeling miserable, she begged me to let her watch the entire Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection that I produced for New Line. She is 15, a normal kid who likes bad pop music, American Idol and bad movies. She spends way too much time texting and on FB. But she loves silents because I exposed her to them and she saw how great some of them could be. Another one to spread the word.
Dan
I am very proud that when my daughter was home sick from school last week, stuck in bed and feeling miserable, she begged me to let her watch the entire Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection that I produced for New Line. She is 15, a normal kid who likes bad pop music, American Idol and bad movies. She spends way too much time texting and on FB. But she loves silents because I exposed her to them and she saw how great some of them could be. Another one to spread the word.
Dan