... Or Are Classic Movies Constantly and Wrongly Overlooked?

Anyone who knows me will know that my passions in life are films and music, and it is the former which this entry will surround today. I have watched a huge variety of film styles and genres, from the wonderfully avant-garde to the unnecessarily weird, with many favourites spanning several of these categories. It has got to the stage that the simple question of 'what's your favourite film/actor/genre?' is a question which causes my brain to implode slightly and in so failing to send any comprehensible words to my lips and tongue and I end up sounding like Scooby-Doo having an allergic reaction to some Peanut Butter which has coated the inside of his mouth. Aaaanyway, I really must say that pre-judging films on aesthetics such as genre, prominent actors and most importantly whether it is displayed in colour really gets up my metaphorical 'hooter'.

Taking the latter of these examples as the most common reason for disliking a feature film by using the borderline ignorant excuse of  'black and white films bore me' or 'I can't get into films that aren't colour' is something that leaves me scratching my head or even rolling my eyes like old Doris who lives down the lane. There is something inherently awesome about the old days of black and white film-making; firstly the wondrous clarity of the picture, which levels really have only been matched by today's Blu-Ray discs, simply gave these films a classic feel. I also believe the lack of colour and the resulting distraction leaves the audience in a position to be completely engrossed by the quality of acting and equally captivating script. These two features have unfortunately in certain contemporary examples, taken a backseat (wrongly) as more and more film-makers have prioritised big actions sequences, fire, flames, explosions, gunfights, and killing helicopters with car scenes. But I digress.

I must concede that yes, the effects in these classic movies are 'of their time' shall we say. But isn't a triumph that these films are still championed (by most of us that is) despite their technological disvantages by today's standards and continue to be in our age of bright lights and spoon fed narratives. There seems to be far too many features these days which rely on their special effects supervisors and teams to create captivating moments and edge of your seat sequences. I believe this is wrong. Besides all these classic film makers; Hitchcock et al, managed to thrive for years without explosions and huge budgets for special effects and arguable create more tension, excitement, sorrow and delight for audiences than the new kids on the block.

That's all for this entry, for the capitalist clock ebbs ever closer to work time for me. So until next time,
      Keep on Keeping on.