User Panel
Posted: 10/10/2016 4:09:55 PM EDT
I submit that cinema (American at least) hit its pinnacle between 1985-1995. Movies were fun and told a story. These days movies are only about special effects and social justice.
Sure some good ones slip through the cracks, but those are few and far between. The whole green screen mess has made for lazy and pathetic excuses for movies. |
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I agree, but would even take it a little earlier than that - perhaps 1980.
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I submit that cinema (American at least) hit its pinnacle between 1985-1995. Movies were fun and told a story. These days movies are only about special effects and social justice. Sure some good ones slip through the cracks, but those are few and far between. The whole green screen mess has made for lazy and pathetic excuses for movies. View Quote There were plenty of masterpieces from the 1950s through the mid 1990s. The late 1970s and 1980s were amazing when it came to movies |
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The "New Hollywood" era of the late 70s to early 80s was when hollywood started to transition from "movies are art" to "movies are business".
They still love to claim that movies are art, but it is all about the almighty dollar now. |
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what was the turning point?
there has to be one single production that signaled the high point, what was it? time wise there were a lot of great 70s-80s the 90s dried out FAST... |
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You are correct. We must include Caddyshack, Ghostbusters and The Blues Brothers. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I agree, but would even take it a little earlier than that - perhaps 1980. You are correct. We must include Caddyshack, Ghostbusters and The Blues Brothers. As well as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Empire Strikes Back and Blade Runner. |
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what was the turning point? there has to be one single production that signaled the high point, what was it? time wise there were a lot of great 70s-80s the 90s dried out FAST... View Quote Heaven's Gate. The movie that singlehandedly murdered the New Hollywood movement, bankrupted United Artists and was the bell sounding in the distance that made studios and money men reign in creative people and start to prioritize "return on investment" as the ruling factor of movie making. |
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Ghostbusters is a perfect example. The music, the story, the characters. Less about visually wowing the viewer.
Contrast that with the recent abortion of a movie sharing the same name. While I haven't seen it, it is obviously a hotshot flick with no substance. Movies like Stand By Me, Big or The Naked Gun aren't made anymore. |
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As well as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Empire Strikes Back and Blade Runner. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I agree, but would even take it a little earlier than that - perhaps 1980. You are correct. We must include Caddyshack, Ghostbusters and The Blues Brothers. As well as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Empire Strikes Back and Blade Runner. I'll agree on two of the three. I haven't seen Blade Runner. |
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Quoted: Ghostbusters is a perfect example. The music, the story, the characters. Less about visually wowing the viewer. Contrast that with the recent abortion of a movie sharing the same name. While I haven't seen it, it is obviously a hotshot flick with no substance. Movies like Stand By Me, Big or The Naked Gun aren't made anymore. View Quote Perfect and simple. |
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So all I'm seeing here is a bunch of old-timers and nostalgia.
J/k but 13'ers gonna 13. |
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I'll agree on two of the three. I haven't seen Blade Runner. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I agree, but would even take it a little earlier than that - perhaps 1980. You are correct. We must include Caddyshack, Ghostbusters and The Blues Brothers. As well as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Empire Strikes Back and Blade Runner. I'll agree on two of the three. I haven't seen Blade Runner. Then you have no authority to speak about cinema! |
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Silence of the Lambs
Schindler's List Shawshank Redemption The Shining Full Metal Jacket Scarface |
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yeah, i think that was a real sweet spot of budget, experimentation, technology, audience expectation, and community (that is, a culture of going to the theater).
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So all I'm seeing here is a bunch of old-timers and nostalgia. J/k but 13'ers gonna 13. View Quote There are still good movies made today, but in almost every case you have good movies made "outside the system". Either by a studio taking a chance on a fresh new director with crazy ideas, or as independently produced movies that are purchased for distribution. The "system" of hollywood is all about keeping the system going. They will be all for "unique creative ideas" so long as the year's outlay has been covered by cookie cutter "safe" box office draws. |
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So all I'm seeing here is a bunch of old-timers and nostalgia. J/k but 13'ers gonna 13. View Quote Certainly my age plays a part. I grew up watching the stuff. And I'm certainly not saying I don't enjoy the movies of today. I love the Marvel stuff, movies that weren't really possible back then. Heck, look at Superman. Doesn't hold up today IMO. But I look back and watch a movie like Stripes or First Blood and think that such a flick wouldn't be made today. |
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Hard to identify the "pinnacle" of American cinema. . . lots of great movies spanning the1930's thru late 1980's. I submit it is far easier to say the decline of American cinema began in the 1990's when studios were unwilling to take a risk and simply began making sequels and remakes.
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Then you have no authority to speak about cinema! View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I agree, but would even take it a little earlier than that - perhaps 1980. You are correct. We must include Caddyshack, Ghostbusters and The Blues Brothers. As well as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Empire Strikes Back and Blade Runner. I'll agree on two of the three. I haven't seen Blade Runner. Then you have no authority to speak about cinema! Just never thought about it. |
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I just watched Breaking Away (1979) Perfect and simple. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Ghostbusters is a perfect example. The music, the story, the characters. Less about visually wowing the viewer. Contrast that with the recent abortion of a movie sharing the same name. While I haven't seen it, it is obviously a hotshot flick with no substance. Movies like Stand By Me, Big or The Naked Gun aren't made anymore. Perfect and simple. The Italians are Coming |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Ghostbusters is a perfect example. The music, the story, the characters. Less about visually wowing the viewer. Contrast that with the recent abortion of a movie sharing the same name. While I haven't seen it, it is obviously a hotshot flick with no substance. Movies like Stand By Me, Big or The Naked Gun aren't made anymore. Perfect and simple. The Italians are Coming |
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The "New Hollywood" era of the late 70s to early 80s was when hollywood started to transition from "movies are art" to "movies are business". They still love to claim that movies are art, but it is all about the almighty dollar now. Movies have always been a business. But they once were a business that had a willingness to risk. Now they are business that understand risk mitigation. The dawn of the "blockbuster" in the late 70s changed Hollywood. It used to be "I get paid to do what I love", now it is "I need to make a billion dollars to keep this machine running". |
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L.A. Confidential (1997) isn't too bad.
If you like film noir. |
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But they once were a business that had a willingness to risk. Now they are business that understand risk mitigation. The dawn of the "blockbuster" in the late 70s changed Hollywood. It used to be "I get paid to do what I love", now it is "I need to make a billion dollars to keep this machine running". View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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The "New Hollywood" era of the late 70s to early 80s was when hollywood started to transition from "movies are art" to "movies are business". They still love to claim that movies are art, but it is all about the almighty dollar now. Movies have always been a business. But they once were a business that had a willingness to risk. Now they are business that understand risk mitigation. The dawn of the "blockbuster" in the late 70s changed Hollywood. It used to be "I get paid to do what I love", now it is "I need to make a billion dollars to keep this machine running". agree here. the old paradigm was moviemakers doing business in order to keep making movies. now it's businessmen doing movies to make money. it's a whole different approach to risk, and the basis of the 'safe' approach to packaging. live, die, repeat was one of the best high-concept movies to come out in the last decade--superb both above and below the line--yet was a flop domestically. |
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The Wolf of Wall Street had a lot going for it, and was well received by Arfcom.
The Revenent took risks as art over money. Overall, DiCaprio adds to the quality of modern film, as does Daniel Day-Lewis. |
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But they once were a business that had a willingness to risk. Now they are business that understand risk mitigation. The dawn of the "blockbuster" in the late 70s changed Hollywood. It used to be "I get paid to do what I love", now it is "I need to make a billion dollars to keep this machine running". View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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The "New Hollywood" era of the late 70s to early 80s was when hollywood started to transition from "movies are art" to "movies are business". They still love to claim that movies are art, but it is all about the almighty dollar now. Movies have always been a business. But they once were a business that had a willingness to risk. Now they are business that understand risk mitigation. The dawn of the "blockbuster" in the late 70s changed Hollywood. It used to be "I get paid to do what I love", now it is "I need to make a billion dollars to keep this machine running". Sorry but no. Hollywood was always a bottom line business. Movies were just a means to an end. That end was making money. 90% of all the movies Hollywood has done since the beginning were artistic crap. But they put butts in seats, most of the time. We remember of the good movies from what ever era we care to think about. We forget about all the drek Hollywood has made over the years, just like we forget about the crappy guns that have been made or the crappy cars. |
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The "New Hollywood" era of the late 70s to early 80s was when hollywood started to transition from "movies are art" to "movies are business". They still love to claim that movies are art, but it is all about the almighty dollar now. Movies have always been a business. True, this. George Lucas went to Universal to get his Star Wars project launched and they turned hi down. He then went to 20tyh Century Fox and launched a franchise empire. Some exec over in Universal is probably kicking himself every night since then. The same way some M&M exec is doing for turning down Speilberg's ET product placement request making him go to Reeses. |
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Quoted: True, this. George Lucas went to Universal to get his Star Wars project launched and they turned hi down. He then went to 20tyh Century Fox and launched a franchise empire. Some exec over in Universal is probably kicking himself every night since then. The same way some M&M exec is doing for turning down Speilberg's ET product placement request making him go to Reeses. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: The "New Hollywood" era of the late 70s to early 80s was when hollywood started to transition from "movies are art" to "movies are business". They still love to claim that movies are art, but it is all about the almighty dollar now. Movies have always been a business. True, this. George Lucas went to Universal to get his Star Wars project launched and they turned hi down. He then went to 20tyh Century Fox and launched a franchise empire. Some exec over in Universal is probably kicking himself every night since then. The same way some M&M exec is doing for turning down Speilberg's ET product placement request making him go to Reeses. |
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what was the turning point? there has to be one single production that signaled the high point, what was it? time wise there were a lot of great 70s-80s the 90s dried out FAST... View Quote Citizen Kane in 1941. ETA 1940-1970 was filled with great films. ETA2 I'll throw the '30's in there as well. |
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As a millennial, I have to say that some of my favorite movies came from before I was born; Die Hard, original Star Wars series, Goonies, many many James Bond movies, Alien/Aliens, Back to the Future, the Vacation movies, etc...
There are good movies from the past 10 years no one can argue with that but I think new movies back then were better more frequently. |
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Certainly my age plays a part. I grew up watching the stuff. And I'm certainly not saying I don't enjoy the movies of today. I love the Marvel stuff, movies that weren't really possible back then. Heck, look at Superman. Doesn't hold up today IMO. But I look back and watch a movie like Stripes or First Blood and think that such a flick wouldn't be made today. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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So all I'm seeing here is a bunch of old-timers and nostalgia. J/k but 13'ers gonna 13. Certainly my age plays a part. I grew up watching the stuff. And I'm certainly not saying I don't enjoy the movies of today. I love the Marvel stuff, movies that weren't really possible back then. Heck, look at Superman. Doesn't hold up today IMO. But I look back and watch a movie like Stripes or First Blood and think that such a flick wouldn't be made today. For sure, just had to play up the back in my day a little bit. What I see is that good movies are good movies regardless of the time period, but I guess movies that make it to the big screen today are a lot less varied. I spend a lot of time finding and watching the lesser known 1,2 and 3 star movies that don't make it the theater. Sure there is quite a bit of dregs to work through, but there is the occasional gem. The one that makes me glad that making a movie can be done fairly cheaply. That good writing, decent acting and a director with the nuts to try something, is still possible. |
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Silence of the Lambs Schindler's List Shawshank Redemption The Shining Full Metal Jacket Scarface No Godfather? Come on I believe in America Fuckin A. Best first line in cinematic history so far |
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The most telling thing is the fact that the current endless batch of remakes totally suck dick in spite of the fact that the new movie director already has an example of exactly what to do
when they made the first Robocop movie, they had to think up a script and then think up all set designs and all the special effects and how to direct it when they made the remake, all of that was already done for them and they still fucked it up how is that even possible? |
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Sorry but no. Hollywood was always a bottom line business. Movies were just a means to an end. That end was making money. 90% of all the movies Hollywood has done since the beginning were artistic crap. But they put butts in seats, most of the time. We remember of the good movies from what ever era we care to think about. We forget about all the drek Hollywood has made over the years, just like we forget about the crappy guns that have been made or the crappy cars. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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The "New Hollywood" era of the late 70s to early 80s was when hollywood started to transition from "movies are art" to "movies are business". They still love to claim that movies are art, but it is all about the almighty dollar now. Movies have always been a business. But they once were a business that had a willingness to risk. Now they are business that understand risk mitigation. The dawn of the "blockbuster" in the late 70s changed Hollywood. It used to be "I get paid to do what I love", now it is "I need to make a billion dollars to keep this machine running". Sorry but no. Hollywood was always a bottom line business. Movies were just a means to an end. That end was making money. 90% of all the movies Hollywood has done since the beginning were artistic crap. But they put butts in seats, most of the time. We remember of the good movies from what ever era we care to think about. We forget about all the drek Hollywood has made over the years, just like we forget about the crappy guns that have been made or the crappy cars. And I'm not disputing that, I'm saying that the coming of the blockbuster in the late 70s shifted their business model. They used to be all about risk... small movies with small budgets made for small, easily mitigatable loss. If a ten million dollar movie that barely had half a mil in advertising didn't make 10.5 million dollars back that was not that bad of a thing... especially when you had ten to fifteen such movies rolling out in a year. You had your family movies, your comedies, your arthouse fare, your period pieces, et al. But since the dawn of the blockbuster movies cost more and more to make, even "simple" movies that shouldn't have all these special effects and budget crippling things. So now you have one or two gargantuan 150 to 200 million dollar movies bolstered by a 50 million dollar advertising budget... and the studio is expecting to make not just that back, but two and even three times that because all their other cheaper movies (of which there are perhaps four now) are all paid for from those blockbusters. And if a studio's cash cow doesn't turn a profit then the studio circles the wagons and tries even harder to create a mass appeal money film that will bankroll their loss as well as their future operations. And you can only "gamble" on a few small pictures when your big pictures are making bank. |
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usually it seems like good movies are the product of a good director
there are guys who would consistently turn out good movies like James Cameron was a 100% reliable director, everything he made was packed full of solid entertainment value etc |
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Quoted: Fuckin A. Best first line in cinematic history so far View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Silence of the Lambs Schindler's List Shawshank Redemption The Shining Full Metal Jacket Scarface No Godfather? Come on I believe in America Fuckin A. Best first line in cinematic history so far |
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I submit that cinema (American at least) hit its pinnacle between 1985-1995. Movies were fun and told a story. These days movies are only about special effects and social justice. Sure some good ones slip through the cracks, but those are few and far between. The whole green screen mess has made for lazy and pathetic excuses for movies. View Quote I partly agree, but I'd say it is genre-dependent. I think the main thing that has improved from before 85 was the pace of the films for action and drama. But I still like the gentler comedies of the 40s. One subset of action/drama are war movies, and I think their pace is better, but their message in more muddled. SciFi is better. Horror...I think it's lost some of it's impact because of science and SciFi. |
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I'm going to say 1975 - 1989. The sheer number of great films from this time is unbelievable. In 1986 alone you had Top Gun, Ferris Bueller, Crocodile Dundee, Platoon, The Fly, Iron Eagle, Back to School, Stand by Me, Big Trouble in Little China, Cobra, The Money Pit, Ruthless People, and The Wraith.
This was also the period of modern horror (Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween), buddy movies (Lethal Weapon, Bevery Hill Cop), futuristic Sci-Fi (Star Wars, Terminator, Alien), and just outright action (Die Hard, Rambo). It is almost impossible to go down a list of movies released each year and not find a dozen or more that still seem entertaining today. Things went downhill pretty quick after that as film companies focused on the sure hits and sequels, and CGI became more prevalent and movies started looking like they had been made on a computer. |
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I am watching The Fisher King (1991) with my dad.
Wow. How did I miss this one? Great movie.
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