I prefer older films. Specially pre 1980.
Yah! How dare you!
I have zero problem with films that are older. Actually most of my favorite films are older (well think about it: 1 decade compared to 9 so technically I should like 1 new film for every 9 old ones, but actually I like more old ones than the math shows).
If I ever show more excitement for new films it is for this reason: I have seen the old work of the director so now there is new work. For example Tetro has given me more excitement than The Godfather this week because I had never seen it before, but it is in no way better.
New films to me give me excitement, not new films by release date. It just so happens all new films by release date are new to me.
I’m trying to neutralize my preference for older films, as lately I’ve realized that there are plenty of decent filmmakers working today that deserve attention now now now, something I denied in the past. I figure you can find great films in every decade, you just have to know where to look.
i’m completely out of step with the times. i prefer film history to contemporary cinema.
This was my experience too. I was born in the ‘70s, so my initial frame of reference was films of the late ’70s. It took me a while to work back into earlier films and come to experince them as “natural.” I wonder with younger generations growing up with home video always available if that doesn’t negate that to some extent.
I mainly like the older films. Generally, I avoid current Hollywood movies like the plague. I am always willing to give current filmmakers – esp. those I don’t know – a try. Since I almost never go out to see a current film – this is mostly in dvd. Most films I love are pre-mid 1980’s, with most in the 1960’s or before. These tend to have more resonance for me, with a few more recent exceptions, here and there.
I don’t think it has anything to do with what is objectively happening in film now – esp. on the world stage – but personal preferences formed over a life-time of seeing films. It’s more of an age/generational thing – just like people’s taste in popular music. This is good, because every generation needs to feel they are the first to really discover true meaning in something: whether it be film, sex, books, drugs, or contemporary music. But, a knowledge of some of the classics in any genre – film particularly here – never hurts anyone. Thank you Christopher Sepesy and all you other film instructors out there.
I tend to prefer older films over newer ones, films that have gone unnoticed by me. I love watching older movies and being able to study them, and their makers. It is great to be able to see from a clear distance the entire works of a man or woman, and how he may have grown or fallen by the wayside.
Now, though, looking at my list of top ten films, you might not know that, but that’s because I do believe that there have been some great films to come out recently, like Synecdoche, Lost in Translation, and Waking Life. Essentially, any list of my top ten films is completely arbitrary, anyway, and it just happens to be what I’m feeling at that moment, so it really doesn’t matter one way or the other.
Savvy
I’ve gotten into newer films, actually. I haven’t seen anything older than a couple decades in a while, other than Bringing Up Baby over the weekend. I think before that the only films I’ve seen in a month or so made before 1970 were the Stan Brakhage shorts in By Brakhage, and before that it was L’Avventura, La Notte, and L’Eclisse. Other than those I’ve really been boning up on my modern cinema. I really don’t have a preference, though. I’ll watch anything that’s good, I just know more about current Taiwanese cinema than I do classic Russian cinema, that’s all.
It’s funny that you would say this because my impression of this site is that most people here tend to like and talk about older films. While my favorite period of cinema is the late 60s and 70s, I love good films so it’s impossible to distinguish old versus new. There are older films that are great and there are newer films that are great. is this the most exciting time for movies in the history of cinema? Probably not. But there are plenty of worthwhile filmmakers out there doing interesting things and telling compelling stories.
I went through a phase in my life where I watched a lot of older movies – stuff from the 40s and 50s – and investigated specific directors (Hitchcock, Wilder, Capra) and actors (Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart). But I’ve grown out of that phase and am watching more newer films than I ever have. I think it’s just a cyclical thing; eventually I get into some groove and watch older films again.
I just like good films.
I’ve been a film nut since kidhood; used to sneak off at night and sit on the railroad tracks alongside the drive-in movie just to watch the images on the outdoor screen. My parents blanch when they remember the stunts I pulled just to get my cinematic fixes.
In high school (a private, Jesuit-operated, all-boys boarding school), I founded a “film society” that gave me a front for getting free tickets to the movie theatres in San Jose, CA., since I was reviewing and promoting the films at my prep school. It was then that I discovered foreign language movies. I believe my first was “Juliet of the Spirits”.
In college, I was drawn to the Drama Dept. and began my studies in acting. I wound up in Seattle at the UW, one of ten acting students selected from nationwide auditions to participate in a 3-year “professional actor’s training program”. I never took a class outside of theatre and, subsequently, never earned a degree. Yet, after the 3-year program, I immediately landed (paid) jobs in Cambridge, MA and New York in the theatre.
I don’t mean to trace my complete history, but I’ve always been a “cineaste”.
There have been significant stretches of time in my life when I was too occupied by starting a business (and still running it, after 30+ years) to fully maintain my movie-going habits. Yet I substituted that with collecting films (first VHS, of course, then laserdisc, DVD and now Blu-Rays). My library of cinema is extensive by any measurement. I add to it constantly, both new and old titles. One of my biggest joys is to introduce many of my younger friends (in their 20’s) to films they’d never otherwise encounter. “Seven Beauties” seems to galvanize young people, especially.
The fact of the matter is that there are still 100’s of “older” films that I’ve never seen. I just spent a total of 6 or 7 hours this past week exploring the Blu-Ray release of “The Searchers”—first the film itself, then Bogdanovich’s commentary and then the “extras” on the disc. If not totally enthralled, I was left with a deeper appreciation for Ford, Wayne, the eras of both the movie’s timeframe as well as when the film itself was produced. Last Monday, I went to an actual cinema and saw “The Hangover”. Last night, for the first time, I watched “Team America—World Police” on DVD and, this morning, all the behind-the-scenes docs. Fascinating, by the way. Utterly fascinating.
My point is that, no matter your age, there is an ever-increasing (never fully-consumable) platter of cinematic nourishment available to all. You delve, shy away from nothing, learn, experiment, enjoy and grow more qualitatively astute.
I add this proviso. For film to function most importantly in our lives is to allow it to inform our lives and shape our responses to life. For that to occur, we mustn’t let film overtake our lives. To enrich, yes. To lead us out of the cinema’s dark auditorium into the webs and sunrises of our own individual lives, towards other people, into empathies and love and communication. For example, when I first saw “Ironweed”, I was stunned beyond belief. Ever since, I’ve never dismissively walked by a “homeless” person or become irritated by a “panhandler”. I’ve actually befriended “street people” where I live, in parts of town I frequent. “Ironweed” enriched my life, not only my cinematic knowledge.
I’m in my early 20’s, still I prefer the older ones. It’s nice to actually find your own favorites, instead of them finding you. I’m sick and tired of advertisement everywhere nagging about Transformers or whatever. Of course, there are some really great new films, too, but it’s not the same as when I find an obscure film from the 50’s or something that I never even heard of, and one that hasn’t already been hailed as a masterpiece by every living critic. The last “discovery” I made was propably The Cremator (1968). But sure, Superbad was an awful lot of fun, as well.
I guess I feel like a real snob for mainly going for Criterion Collection releases for the past year and a half. But I feel I have genuinely gotten more enjoyment out of watching films like Haxan, Pandora’s Box, The Rules of the Game, Ugetsu, and Sansho The Bailiff than I have other newer movies I’ve seen. I really enjoyed Watchmen, Coraline, I Love You, Man, and Star Trek, and maybe we’ll see some latent things in movies like those 20 years on.
Just as a little parameter, I’d consider movies from 1980 to now to be the “contemporary” movies we’re talking about, like Scarface, Natural Born Killers, The Lives of Others or Gremlins, as opposed to the “older” movies like The Deer Hunter, The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Deliverance, all the way back to L’Age d’Or, The Last Laugh, Spellbound, The Battle of Algiers, et al. Agreed?
I’ve attempted over the years to keep my film viewing as ecumenical as possible. None the less, I still go through some big phases where all I want to see is noir pictures, or some directors, or whatever.
There are two things that I really love. 1. Film history. But since even yesterday is history, I believe it’s important for me to keep up with new films. 2. Good movies. This is the real key to my viewing. I don’t care if it’s old or new, foreign or domestic, directed by an auteur or directed by some flash in the pan – I don’t care if it’s a genre film or an art house film, includes star actors or neo-realist acting. As long as it doesn’t completely insult my intelligence, I’m happy.
Pfff, only older films for me! All this new stuff sucks! [/Auteurs Sarcasm]
I’m still exploring older films (there are so many) and any foreign film (because relatively I have seen so few). Contemporary/American films have left me disappointed for the most part, even the ones that I have liked, with a few exceptions of course.
I too find recent films disappointing. Much of the world cinema gems made this decade have not revealed themselves yet. The films of my favourite filmmakers are not too old per se; Godard, Bergman and Resnais were all most active or well-known during the 60s. When it comes to contemporary films, I, like most here, much prefer the more independent filmmakers such as Lynch, Jarmusch and/or those that wield a lot of creative control over their work such as Wong Kar-wai or Kieslowski (wielded).
I think you must look for great recent cinema (just like anything). Directors like Hou, Hong, Tsai, Tarr, Yang, Apichatpong, Ceylan, etc… are all creating profound works, and can stack up against any filmmaker of any era.
I tend to favor Modern Film due to the fact that I am currently experiencing modern times. While I do enjoy older films, it is more difficult to truly appreciate the risks taken then, because I have been spoiled, desensitized, corrupted by new filming methods, different acting styles, big explosions. Just like you said Howard Fritzson. But really the stories never change only the circumstances they are presented in do.
I’m 17, and I prefer old films to new ones any day.. The 60s was my favorite decade, and most films pre (that I’ve seen) seem to be better than post (in my opinion).
Personally, I use this site mainly to explore older cinema and comment on it. I rely on movie news sites like aintitcoolnews.com and chud.com to keep me updated on current releases and on films that are in production.
I love films of any era but this is a common hurdle for some. I think some people tend to look at older films with the notion that if the directors had modern equipment they would do it differently. I have had friends who watch an older film and say “that was great but they should remake it.” What’s interesting when you look at some of the better filmmakers of today, such as the ones Anonymity mentioned, is that many of them are very influenced by Ford, Hawks, Hitchcock, Ozu, etc. People who find older films slow or slowly paced should realize that, like it or not, many of these films weren’t slow because the filmmakers had ancient equipment but rather because they felt this was the best way to tell a story. When you look at a film like Eyes Wide Shut you must realize that Kubrick had every opportunity to avail himself of bullet time or whatever modern technique is cool and chose not to use them. I have to believe that if Fritz Lang were alive and filmed M, still ahead of practically every film with a similar theme made today, he would make it exactly the same. It’s a cliche but it’s true that there are no old films, just films you’ve seen and films you haven’t seen.
I love older films compared to the new stuff, the market is so flooded with crap movies that only your art house movie theaters are what I’m in to. Unless it’s a movie by a well respected director, than I dish out the money to go see it somewhere else. I personally like films from 1920-1950’s. But theres a lot of great stuff after that.
I have a bit of a problem with newer films (2000 onwards), as I usually don’t find them as interesting as anything old.
Somehow I’m also not overtly interested in future projects. I’d rather read about how older films got to be made.
I prefer good films. Doesn’t matter if a film is old or new. Each period is worth exploring.
I have An Unseen Enemy (Griffith, 1912) next to Anything Else (Allen, 2003) next to Aparajito (Ray, 1956) sitting on my DVD shelf.
“I prefer good films. Doesn’t matter if a film is old or new. Each period is worth exploring. "
Smartest thing said on these forums in a while.
“I prefer good films. Doesn’t matter if a film is old or new. Each period is worth exploring. "
“Smartest thing said on these forums in a while.”
I absolutely second that. Problem is, 99% of all films is bad. Any decade or film period you pick. For every Gone with the Wind, there were 100 pieces of crap coming out that same year (maybe even that same month). For every good French New Wave film, there were probably 100 bad French New Wave films. Art is art. Same thing for every Mozart, for every Rodin, for every Molière… The limited bad art that is preserved is usually not seen by most people years later. We film enthusiasts are the masochists who look into the archives and dig up everything that’s old and consider it gold. And some of it might be, which is why it’s worth going through it. Händel’s operas were conveniently “rediscovered” 20 years ago and are now a staple in halls around the world. But the man had contemporaries who we are all lucky to not even get to know.
So, the fact that we live in an age when the act of preservation is not only easier to accomplish (i.e. paper that resists aging longer, the ability to digitize everything), but also encouraged (thanks to “Antiques Roadshow” no one will ever throw anything out—ever), coupled with the fact that we’re living in the now (which means that our short term memories retain everything we see, regardless of quality), and adding the fact that still a lot of good art isn’t publicized properly while bad art is, means that in everyone’s perception everything that gets made and seen today is crap. Which, funny enough, was the exact same situation 500 years ago.
That’s why it’s so much fun when you happen to land on a great movie.
Yes, a great movie is a great movie, whether it was released yesterday or 1920.
Howard Fritzson
I am asking this because I have been following the forum for a while and I see that many of the participants are responding most fully to the latest films or reacting strongest to future projects. I understand this because, as a young filmgoer, I experienced this too. What is new and unknown is exciting. I also know that you have to adjust to respond to older films. Many people are not naturally comfortable with black and white or silence, or older acting styles. Sometimes, you may condescend to them without realizing it.