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Last post Author Topic: It's about ... oldish films  (Read 24151 times)

Edvard

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #25 on: September 05, 2012, 05:42 PM »
Hands down, my favorite black and white film would be...
Harvey

 :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup:

Of course, I'm a big fan of black and white sci-fi movies as well, but Harvey just trumps everything.

barney

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #26 on: September 05, 2012, 05:58 PM »
I'm more a fan of b&w sci-fi, but I don't recall a Jimmy Stewart film I ever disliked.  And I don't recall anything in the last two (2) decades that approaches Harvey for quality  :P.

mahesh2k

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #27 on: September 05, 2012, 09:44 PM »
I am tired of reboot and the sequel movies that are in the multiplex these days. I was checking some of the oldies - "The shining", "2001" and "Clockwork Orange". I wonder why directors don't come out with some good movies like these.

40hz

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #28 on: September 05, 2012, 10:08 PM »
I'm more a fan of b&w sci-fi, but I don't recall a Jimmy Stewart film I ever disliked.  And I don't recall anything in the last two (2) decades that approaches Harvey for quality  :P.

+1 on Jimmy Stewart and the film Harvey. I still think it's his best. Even better than It's a Wonderful Life and easily as good as Vertigo.

For sci-fi there were some true B&W oldie classics. I was very partial to The Thing from Another World (1951) based on John Campbell's story Who Goes There. And let's not forget King Kong and all those wonderful truly awful Japanese "radiation monster" gems such as Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, etc. etc. etc.

There were also some really good horror flicks. :tellme: The 1962 original Carnival of Souls is surprisingly scary for such a low budget film. Much scarier than most horror flicks that came before or after. You can watch or download it from the Internet Archive website. Link here. If you haven't seen it yet be sure to give it a go. It's usually good for some weird dreams the night you watch it for the first time. :up:

barney

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #29 on: September 05, 2012, 11:59 PM »
I'm kinda partial to The Thing, with Matt Dillon aka James Arness as the monster.  The Kurt Russell release I saw left me cold - colder than the climate it depicted  :P.

barney

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #30 on: September 06, 2012, 12:01 AM »
Carnival of Souls ... an absolute orgy of delight  :Thmbsup:!

barney

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #31 on: September 06, 2012, 12:07 AM »
I miss the old horror movies - the ones that required some degree of thought, not just reaction to shock value.  Some had shocks, of course, but not just for the sake of shock.  Ya had to thimk!

cthorpe

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #32 on: September 06, 2012, 02:09 PM »
I love Singing in the Rain.  I have a publicity still autographed by Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, and Jean Hagen hanging in my office.

Another favorite is Bad Day at Black Rock imdb


Edvard

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #33 on: September 07, 2012, 12:49 AM »
For sci-fi there were some true B&W oldie classics. I was very partial to The Thing from Another World (1951) based on John Campbell's story Who Goes There. And let's not forget King Kong and all those wonderful truly awful Japanese "radiation monster" gems such as Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, etc. etc. etc.

YES, YES, YES!!  I remember spending saturday mornings at my grandma's house, me, my brother, and bowl after bowl of cocoa puffs for the cartoons, then my grandma would watch her game shows and fall asleep in her recliner, and then my brother and I would watch "Mystery Theatre" where they would replay all the old japanese monster movies.
 Aahhh... Memorieeessss...

40hz

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #34 on: September 07, 2012, 11:36 AM »
I'm kinda partial to The Thing, with Matt Dillon aka James Arness as the monster.  The Kurt Russell release I saw left me cold - colder than the climate it depicted  :P.


Warning! The following is mostly off topic.
 :P

Agree 100% With all due respect to Kurt, he did far better with his 'Snake Plissken' character in Escape from New York. Plus we got Adrienne Barbeau (Maggie) thrown in for some serious eye candy. Which is a fair characterization since she only said maybe 20 words in the entire movie despite "that gown" speaking volumes. (As my GF said when she saw it: "Well oh-kay then! 'Big Girl' dress huh?)

escape_from_new_york.jpg
Oh look! It's Kurt Russell. I didn't even know he was in this picture!

For modern antarctic thrillers, the 2009 Whiteout with the lovely and talented Kate Beckinsale as Federal Marshall Carrie Stetko is about as good as it currently gets.

kateb-whiteout.jpg

A fun flick even though it didn't even come close to meeting viewer expectations considering the budget and cast. Which just goes to show how great acting talent and a well written script still can't quite make up for a storyline that needed a lot more work.

But an even better modern cold climate flick (Northern Tundra this time) - in the whole enviro-disaster/horror/sci-fi/psychological thriller/did we leave anything out genre - might be the 2006 sleeper: The Last Winter. It's got Ron Perlman (ol' Hellboy himself) in a major role. Strange, slightly unpredictable, and semi-slow moving story - with an utterly bizarre ending.



Maybe it's not an oldie. But IMHO it's still a goodie! :Thmbsup:
« Last Edit: September 07, 2012, 05:43 PM by 40hz »

mahesh2k

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #35 on: September 07, 2012, 11:59 AM »
2 Good movies in my memory  - Donnie Darko and No country for Old man.

superboyac

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #36 on: September 07, 2012, 12:01 PM »
2 Good movies in my memory  - Donnie Darko and No country for Old man.
I need to revisit No Country.  I called it pretentious the year it came out, but I may have been a little unfair.  I was trying too hard to take a side, see here:
http://aram.dcmember...country-for-old-men/

40hz

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #37 on: September 07, 2012, 12:04 PM »
Couldn't quite relate to NCFOM despite three full viewings. Guess I'm just not a fan of plots that revolve around drugs or drug deals.

But a big +1 for Donny Darko. :Thmbsup:

40hz

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #38 on: September 07, 2012, 12:20 PM »
OMG - not exactly movies, but let's not leave out the TV classics either. Old B&W television still tried to retain a lot of the old Hollywood studio feel (i.e. limited set changes, static cameras, excessive background textures to compensate for lack of color, overacted characters, etc.) long after the real studios moved into more modern film making techniques.

So let's toss in ALL the episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Thriller, plus the original Twilight Zone and Outer Limits series. :greenclp:

Almost everybody who ever watched them has a favorite (or three) with each those shows.

Maybe it would be a better idea to start a new thread just for those? Anybody? Anybody? >:D

superboyac

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #39 on: September 07, 2012, 12:49 PM »
Dammit 40...I think you just ruined my weekend again!  Am I going to have to create for myself a Twilight Zone marathon weekend, followed by the Hitchcock marathon??!

I remember a couple of years ago making an effort to go back and watch the older shows and movies.  My first thought was "Boy, they talk a lot in these things."  Lots of talking, lots of explaining.

mahesh2k

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #40 on: September 07, 2012, 12:58 PM »
@superboyac, Yes, TWBB and Magnolia. Not oldie but good psychological sets.

40hz

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #41 on: September 07, 2012, 05:32 PM »
Dammit 40...I think you just ruined my weekend again!

What can I say? I'm just trying to keep you out of bars unless you're gigging in them.  ;D

Am I going to have to create for myself a Twilight Zone marathon weekend, followed by the Hitchcock marathon??!

Well...I've been told "chicks" dig that sort of thing. Why not invite a few brainy geek-goddess types over and make a long weekend of it? Sure beats making smalltalk with strangers in a room full of horn-dogs and loudmouths. Besides, like Irene Adler said in the new Sherlock series (A Scandal in Belgravia): "Smart is the 'new' sexy." (Oh yeah!)

I remember a couple of years ago making an effort to go back and watch the older shows and movies.  My first thought was "Boy, they talk a lot in these things."  Lots of talking, lots of explaining.

Yup. There was. We've since become more sophisticated in our viewing. We've learned a visual lexicon and grammar so things don't need to be spelled out quite so much any more. Time was, you needed to have pages falling off a calendar or see a moving line with an airplane on a map to understand the story was shifting to a new time or location. That trick gave way to "establishing shots," then to "quick cuts," and now to "jumps". (Hypertext and the web helped us get comfortable with discontinuous leaps and linking.) Our consciousness has evolved. We've learned to interpret cues and signals the old directors wouldn't have dared use for fear of losing the audience. Even the once avant-garde voice over technique is now seen as being old hat. No surprise. A voice-over is just a variation on the ancient Greek Chorus trick. Nothing new at all really. ;D

Same goes for explanations of: technical, medical, economic, scientific, political, psychological, and legal terminology and scenarios. We don't need as many of them as we used to. TV and print news with international coverage; widespread literacy; mandatory schooling to age 16; public libraries; the web; special interest groups; inexpensive telecommunications; yadda-yadda-yadda...the average person's "infoprint" is miles wide even if most of it is only inches deep.

We're all much more "up" on things than many in the previous generations were. Not so much because we're any "smarter." It's more because we're exposed to more information than any preceding generation. Small wonder so many are of us are breaking under the constant stimuli.

Maybe we don't understand everthing that gets put in front of us on a screen. But it isn't too often we haven't at least heard something about what we're looking at.

That little bit of exposure goes a long way in a movie. Especially when it comes to "laying pipe" as the industry refers to it when informational or background footage is scripted into a movie purely to get the audience up to speed enough to follow whats going to happen next.

« Last Edit: September 07, 2012, 05:50 PM by 40hz »

40hz

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #42 on: September 08, 2012, 04:03 PM »
This one is off topic and  for barny

Ok you old Juliet Prowse admirer, here's one not many people remember: Juliet doing her thing to the Hollies classic song Stop, Stop, Stop (All the Dancing).



This aired in the 60s on US television and just about pushed the absolute limits of what the TV network censors would allow - both for dancing and the amount of skin (even with a bodystocking) being shown. It received glowing compliments (and some protests to the FCC) for several weeks after it aired. Most people felt that if it were anyone other than Juliet Prowse, that sexy little dance (choreographed by Ed Kerrigan) would have never made the airwaves.

Thank goodness it did. It shows yet another facet of the versatility and talent that was Juliet Prowse.
« Last Edit: September 08, 2012, 04:08 PM by 40hz »

barney

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #43 on: September 08, 2012, 04:42 PM »
Ok you old Juliet Prowse admirer, here's one not many people remember: Juliet doing her thing to the Hollies classic song Stop, Stop, Stop (All the Dancing).

Thank you, sir  :-*!  Lost that clip (not near the quality, though) many crashes agone, and somehow forgot it existed.  Think I just gave up searching for it.  It's fun to watch, and a pelvic thrust or two (2) in there could well have been cause for FCC complaints, considering the period - folk wanted that stuff, but didn't want to admit they wanted it.  Methinks those who screamed loudest were the ones most wanting  :P.

40hz

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #44 on: September 09, 2012, 03:43 PM »
It's fun to watch

Yup. But I want to shoot the director. Since this is a Balinese/Javanese/Indian "temple dance" inspired mashup, the intricate footwork is everything. And the cameras kept losing it until the director finally figured out (mostly) what the cameras should be focusing on about two-thirds of the way into it.

Same thing goes for most TV coverage of dance. Even with ballet, the directors often keep trying to turn a dance into a "drama" by doing tight closeups on the dancers' faces! Totally asinine since that deprives the viewers of seeing that all essential 'line' and overall movement that is the thing that makes ballet ballet. Jackasses!

Why is it 'old' Hollywood understood how to film a dance number, and so many of our modern directors - with all their film theory and technology - can't manage to get it together? :-\

superboyac

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #45 on: September 09, 2012, 03:59 PM »
soul.

barney

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #46 on: September 09, 2012, 08:44 PM »
soul.
-less

barney

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #47 on: September 09, 2012, 08:50 PM »
Why is it 'old' Hollywood understood how to film a dance number, and so many of our modern directors - with all their film theory and technology - can't manage to get it together? :-\

One (1) of Fred's demands was that there never be a  closeup while he was dancing.  He thought, as do you (and many others, as well), the idea was to present the dance, not the person.  He was adamant about it. 

Modern directors seem more interested in showing the incipient pimple on your nose than your fancy footwork.  Sigh[n] of the times, I guess  :( >:(.

40hz

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #48 on: September 09, 2012, 09:36 PM »
One (1) of Fred's demands was that there never be a  closeup while he was dancing.  He thought, as do you (and many others, as well), the idea was to present the dance, not the person.  He was adamant about it.

I've been told he was an absolute prick to work with. But you know what? When you're right - you're right.

And Fred was absolutely right about that.

(Note: Please 'scuze my mini-rant about that. We have professional dancers in my family and that's a topic that comes up regularly at family get togethers.  ::))

4wd

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Re: It's about ... oldish films
« Reply #49 on: September 09, 2012, 09:44 PM »
For sci-fi there were some true B&W oldie classics. I was very partial to The Thing from Another World (1951) based on John Campbell's story Who Goes There. And let's not forget King Kong and all those wonderful truly awful Japanese "radiation monster" gems such as Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, etc. etc. etc.

Let's throw in:
  • Bamboo Saucer
  • Earth vs The Flying Saucers
  • The 27th Day
  • Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
  • The Fly (1958) (the claw in that gave me the absolute creeps as a kid  ;D )
  • Out of the Unknown (only 21 episodes seem to have survived the great BBC purge of the 70s)
  • The Trollenberg Terror
  • The Blob (1958)