xxmass Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 Hi all, I have always loved movies. I could watch the same film over and over and the next day watch it again. My family, Friends say that I live in the past when it comes to watching movies. I started wondering can they be right, am I living in the past? The films, actors, and actress's of today don'nt compare to the films, and stars like Bette Davis, James Cagney, Joan Crawford, just too name a few of the great stars of the past. Do you agree, disagree, what are your thoughts? I look foward to seeing what you all think. Are all movie lovers living in the past? As always, Larry / Xxmass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vallo13 Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 Xxmass,I agree being a classic lover myself,that some people don't understand.I live for the past (movies that is) but you're correct about todays(so-called) stars and the films that are being made.(dreck)Give me a old movies any time. And if people say I live in the past,so be it .I'm the one that is being really entertained. They'll just complain about sending $10.00 for a remake when I can watch the original on TMC. vallo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenwal34 Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 Speaking for myself,I love the movies that I saw as a kid and young adult moreso than anything made today. So I would say yes ,I live in the past as far as many pleasant memories go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsallieharding Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 Well I hope you are not living in the past because they used to lynch black people in the 1930's, 40's and 50's, just because they made direct eye contact. There have been actors like Anthony Hopkins, Ian Richerdson, John Malovick, Andie MacDowell, Peter Ustenov,Roy Sheider, Michael Cain, Julie Harris, Claire Bloom,Bridget Fonda,Susannah York, Daniel Day-Lewis, Alan Bates, Jill Clayburgh, Holly Hunter, MAX VON SYDOW, LIV ULLMANN, Al Pacino. Jack Lemmon, Alan Arkin, Venessa Redgrave, Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Steve Martin, just to name a few that are equal or exceed any one actor from the so called classic error. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetbabykmd Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 I did not read anything in Xxmass's post saying he longs for EVERYTHING that happened in the past. I also think there were better actors and better movies back then. There are maybe a handful of current actors that have talent nowadays, but they are few and far between. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmass Posted September 26, 2005 Author Share Posted September 26, 2005 Hi Sweetbaby, Just mainly films of the 30s and 40s. Larry/Xxmass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmass Posted September 26, 2005 Author Share Posted September 26, 2005 Hi Nsallieharding, In all do respect? of your post " What the hell does that have to do with what I asked in my post"? LOL very strange. Larry/Xxmass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracey65k Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 To get back to the original question, no I don't think watching and preferring old movies is living in the past any more than reading Shakespeare or listening to Beethoven. If something is good, it's worth watching or reading or listening to, no matter what it's age. Tracey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmass Posted September 28, 2005 Author Share Posted September 28, 2005 Bravo Tracey, I agree with you 100% Larry/ Xxmass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
useralx1172 Posted September 30, 2005 Share Posted September 30, 2005 The 1930s and the 1940s are considered the Golden Age of Hollywood, so it's not surprising that many people like the period. Besides, it's a free country, you can live wherever you want! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeEBrownfan Posted September 30, 2005 Share Posted September 30, 2005 I can definately relate to you! It's funny because I just wrote a paper describing my room (like my walls that have at least 3000 pics of old classic actors/actresses, directors, movie composers, etc). I just turned 18 and I feel like I should be 60 by the way my walls are covered. as you can tell by my sn...my fave is Joe E. Brown!! <3 - Rose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classickels42 Posted October 1, 2005 Share Posted October 1, 2005 Rose, I know how you feel. I'm in high school and my room is covered in classic movie pics, I have a magazine from 1945 that I read sometimes, and I have autographs from people that my friends have never heard of. I often feel somewhat sorry for them because they're missing out on some great movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elaine Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 I think I am beginning to feel that way too. Everything from music, tv and especially movies I like is from the past. I can't seem to really get interested in anything in my generation. Some of my friends say that I was born at the wrong time. I don't know if this is a personal issue; whether if it is just that I like things from the 1920s to the 1980s or that I am dissatisfied with what my generation has to offer. But its really hard being 17 and wanting to talk about all the cool movies I see on TCM and have no one to talk to about them. Hardly anybody knows my favorite actors: Jimmy Stewart, Laurence Olivier, Ingrid Bergman. So its really frustrating. Movies and entertainment today are pretentious and boring. I can't explain why I like classic movies but all I know is that we're not crazy and that I'm not alone and that the past is not dead, but very much alive in our hearts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elaine Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 Sorry I have one more thing to add. The reason why they're called "classic" movies is because "classic" describes something that we, as humans can relate to no matter what time period it is. Just like classic novels like "Crime and Punishment." It's irrelevant that these movies are 70 or 60 years old, what matters is that its characters, plot and morals are still relevant and significant to today in society. That they are timeless and that we can still identify with them today. That is what makes them "classic." and that is why we are not living in the past, because the issues and stories are actually "current." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliamMcGuire Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 I think that the time period most of these classic films come from (the 20's to the 60's) and the American studio system represents a very special time and place in moviemaking that will probably never be duplicated again. You had a glut of the very finest actors, directors, producers, etc. all churning out picture after picture in different styles and genres like clockwork. I would keep two things in mind, however: 1. That great personal filmmaking is still being practiced today; you just have to be willing to look for it. 2. We're looking at the cinematic past of our country through rose colored glasses, so to speak. TCM doesn't show the many, many, many duds of the period. Remember, for ever CASABLANCA there's about four PASSAGE TO MARSEILLES. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lzcutter Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 William makes two excellent points. There are good movies being made today that will be considered classics further down the road. Just as there are good actors working today who will stand the test of time. But the Golden Age of Hollywood can never be duplicated because it was a different time and a different era. lynn in sherman oaks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chandler5710 Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 I told my mother that at night, my apartment becomes a '30s, '40s, and '50s movie house. From the time I was a child in the late '50s, I have loved all the old films. My first love was Tyrone Power. Bette Davis got me interested in film originally. I actually owe my work as a writer to these wonderful films and stars. I don't worry that people of today don't know who certain stars are. If you're introduced to film and become interested, you'll know. I think there are more really young people today who watch old films than there were when I was a kid, because we had no cable stations devoted to films - you were lucky if you saw one at 11:30 at night, cut to ribbons. No video. No DVD. And yet, I was interested and carried that interest forward. I'm so glad TCM has an education package that they give to schools. I think it's great to introduce old film to young people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenwal34 Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 I may have mentioneed this in earlier posts. One important thing is missing today in theaters .....ATMOSPHERE !!. Seeing a movie with clouds floating and stars twinkling overhead in an indoor theater [ie: our Lowes- United Artist],added a whole new dimension in movie watching for viewers like me in the the 40's. Projectionists loaded film by hand,tailored the sound to fit the film,and so on.In todays sanitized digital theaters all of this is lost. Sure ,we had our share of losers , but even they entertained thanks in great part to the atmospheric surroundings and the craftsmanship of those people in the projection booths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardny4me Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 I just read now that so many tv series have been released on dvd, people have been spending entire weekends home watching complete seasons of their favorite shows. LOL, it is an economical way of spending a weekend, they can save on gas. As I go to work in the morning I see the stacks of unopened DVD box sets and VHS movies and I groan at how many movies I own but never have time to watch. I too have made a concentrated effort to watch some of these films, and enjoy what I bought. I really get so much from these films, if anything I feel it expands my outlook, seeing how the culture was portrayed 40, 50 or 60 years ago. But I will say on very rare days when I watch 3 or 4 old movies in a row in one of those all-day sessions, I do feel I need to watch CNN, just to come back to reality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MovieHelen Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 I just enjoy watching films where people treated each other with respect even when they didn't want to. People used to have a lot more self control. That's probably one reason I like old movies. They also had much better dialogue than some films have today. In today's stressful world, I don't see anything wrong with putting on an old movie DVD and sitting back and enjoying it. It isn't immoral, illegal or fattening (OK, maybe the popcorn is fattening, but you have to have some vice in life, right?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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