dhmac

A good friend recently said to me that he thought movies are getting better, a statement which surprised the hell out of me, because I think movies in general are getting worse. To me, newer movies seem to be over-stylized and over-edited, with too much CGI-work in place of in-camera creativity, as well as overly shallow characters with poorly written dialogue. And I like the more deliberately slower pacing of older movies, which I think develops stories and characters better. But I can understand someone thinking that this just makes movies too slow and preferring the faster pace of newer movies.

So that's my view - what do you think?


BTW, I chose 1989/1990 as the splitting point, even though almost any year during the 1980s could be argued as the splitting point, due to overlap. So if you think my split is off by a few years, just look at the poll as "Older" vs. "Newer" and don't worry about where you think a better split would be. (I would hate for this thread to devolve into a debate over what I think is a minor detail.)

T1000

I don't know about worse, but it seems some films now are becoming over reliant on CGI, which is really annoying.

I just prefer the whole atmosphere of 80's films.

FinkPish

Someone starts a thread like this every once in a while, decrying the new Hollywood for the old. People always seem to forget that there were just as many shitty movies made in the 80s as there are now; they just aren't on people's lists of "new classics," because they have been largely forgotten. Just like 10-15 years from now, no one will remember White Chicks or Son of the Mask because they were shitty movies.

Jaymole

Well, if you are talking about films made just by the major hollywood studios, then I think the vast majority of those films are as dreadful now as they were back in the 80's. The late 70's is when things started getting bad, especially for adult film, and it hasn't let up since.

However, if you are talking about all films released, then things have gotten better since the late 80's due to the infusion of independent films. Back in the 80's these were few and far between.

I find that a lot of people in their 20's & 30's have a nostalgic view of the 80's which influences their critique of the films of that era. Some great films were released, but overall it really was the low-point of American film.

uberjoe

It's the same. A few good ones, and bunch of lousy ones. And I agree with FinkPish that sometimes the older ones seem better because people simply forget most of the garbage.

I will say that the 80s was the absolute best decade for action movies. No other period comes close.

Cygnet74

it depends where you're looking.

dhmac

I agree that any year has crappy movies, but what about great movies? My view is when it comes to truly great movies, fewer were being made in more recent years than in the past.

T1000

Agreed.

Lethal Weapon, Beverly Hills Cop and Die Hard.

Can't get much better that that.

FinkPish

If you could give me an idea of what you see as great, both then and now, it would help me respond to your question better.

Aside from that, it all depends on your point of view and, like Cygnet74 said, where you are looking. If all you are looking at in movies is coming out of the Hollywood system, then I can see why you are disappointed with the current crop, but there are many more "great" movies coming out of other countries and just as many coming out of independent productions.

Mr. Cinema

I thought there were more "good" movies in 2005 than in 2004. 1998 and 2000 also had many excellent films. Those 3 years stand out to me over the last several.

The Bus

Nowhere is this more apparent than CGI films. It was simply too expensive to do properly twenty years ago. Ten years ago, we started seeing some short subjects. Five years ago, and we have great movies (Toy Story 2) and not so-great ones (Antz). Nowadays, we more great movies and many many bad ones.

dhmac

Great movies since 1990 on the level of The Godfather, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Chinatown, Apocalypse Now, Taxi Driver? Great foreign-language films on the level of the movies of Fellini, Bergman, Kurosawa?

Sorry, I just don't see it.

FinkPish

I think you are "nostalgizing" some of those; you consider them better because they are older and have more of a history. There are plenty of movies on the level of those, but we are too close to them to have to hindsight to say they are great. A few from my list since 1990: Goodfellas, The Shawshank Redemption, The Usual Suspects, Memento, Fight Club, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, L.A. Confidential, etc. Foreign Films: City of God, Amelie, Downfall, Breaking the Waves, Three Colors Trilogy, etc. To me there are plenty of good films around now, you just need to look for them.

dhmac

Out of that list, there are good movies, true, but I'd only put Goodfella on the level of the films on my list, and it was a 1990 release, right on the edge of my splitting point.

And even if you look at genres in general, instead of individual movies, older movies were better. Horror movies - best years were in the '60s and '70s. Action movies - best years were in the '70s and '80s. Political dramas - best years were in the '60s and '70s. Thrillers - best years were the '50s through the '80s. Sci-Fi films - best years were the '50s through the '80s. The only genre I can think of that has without a doubt been better post-1990 is the Superhero genre, and that's a genre not exactly in the realm of the greatest movies.

And I don't think it's necessarily nostalgia at work in my case. I didn't even see The Godfather until 1990, for instance, and I don't put it on a pedestal like others do (I don't think it's even close to being the greatest movie ever made), but I do acknowledge its high quality, which is much higher than newer films.

FinkPish

Then I don't know what to say. You seem to be discounting these films almost automatically, just so you can say that we are in the dire straits of filmmaking. I guess it just comes down to personal preference.

Jon2

I'm old enough to remember when people were saying the same thing about movies with "special FX".

As I recall, it was during the eighties.

Then, as now, the point was pretty well pointless. Back then, numerous movies utilized "special FX"and nobody noticed because the movies weren't SF/fantasy. Same with CGI. This is because (in general) SF/fantasy films must noticibly utilize "special FX" (CGI) to achieve their filmic vision, while the "special FX" (CGI) used in non-SF/fantasy movies are unnoticed because they are used to achieve the look of everyday, mundane reality.

mndtrp

I'm going to agree with about everything FinkPish has said in this thread. Older movies are great, but I'm sure there are a shitload that I haven't seen that are terrible. I'm sure there are more movies today that stink, but there are more movies in general today.

Drop

I voted for Just As Many Good Movies. I basically agree with FinkPish. You just have to look. With films easier to obtain now a days, some of those great films can be lost within the bad films.

Giles

seeing all the 'Hollywood' trailers for this spring /early summer - it pretty much looks bad.

matome

Just as many good movies. As time goes on we remember only the good ones from the past decades and forget all the other turds that were released at the same time. With more recent years the bad ones are still fresh in the memory.