Old movies are better. I’m not sure why. They are usually in black and white. Actors tend to be overly dramatic. The special effects are not up to the current “tobacco”. But still, old movies are the best. Well, not all old movies. Some are rubbish.
Actors:
Woody Allan, June Allison, Fred Astaire, Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart, Wallace Barry, Humphrey Bogart, Charles Boyer, James Cagney, Charlie Chaplin, Gary Cooper, Montgomery Cliff, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Marlene Dietrich, Henry Fonda, Glen Ford , Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, Judy Garland, Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Charles Laughton, Katharine Hepburn, Buster Keaton, Ray Malland, Fredrick March, Shirley McClain, Marilyn Monroe, Merle Oberon, Martha Ray, Red Skelton, Barbara Stanwyck, Jimmy Stewart, Elizabeth Taylor, Shirley Temple, Rudolph Valentino, Robert Wagner, John Wayne, Jane Wyman,. Some of these are still among the living.
One good thing is that Ted Turner kept a lot of old movies and we can see these actors without commercials appearing on TV.
Thanks, Ted!
What a great contribution to the people of the world who like old movies. Instead of rotting in cans in some warehouse, they are preserved for generations to enjoy. I could just hug Ted Turner and all those who have preserved our film heritage.
Sadly, some movies are lost forever.
I know you can add many names to the above list. Who are your favorite actors from the past?
The directors
Truth be told, I don’t pay much attention to directors, except Alfred Hitchcock, whose name will only drag me into his films. Some well-known directors include Woody Allan, Frank Capra, Charlie Chaplin, George Cukor, Victor Fleming, John Ford, Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, Michael Powell, Nicholas Ray, Preston Sturges, and Billy Wilder.
Some of these are still at it.
Many actors are also directors. Many actors and directors are also writers. Billy Wilder is a famous writer. I think he directed the very funny Some like it hot.
That’s all I know about the writers, except that they were branded “communists” by a dangerous United States senator who destroyed many careers with a “blacklist.” I will not give you the honor of mentioning your name.
The dialogue:
Writers are key to a good movie, and while I’ve mostly ignored them so far, here is some of their dialogue courtesy of [http://famous-movie-quotes.org:]
White House: (1942)
Renault: What the hell brought you to Casablanca?
Rick: My health. I came to Casablanca for the waters.
Renault: The waters? What waters? We are in the desert.
Rick: I was misinformed.
Ferrari: We might as well be frank, sir. It would take a miracle to get you out of Casablanca, and the Germans have forbidden miracles.
Ilsa: Play it (again), Sam. Tap “As Time Goes By”.
Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
Montag: Well, it’s a job like any other. Nice work with a lot of variety. On Monday we burned Miller. Tuesday, Tolstoy. Wednesday, Walt Whitman. Friday, Faulkner. And Saturday and Sunday, Schopenhauer and Sartre.
No Country for Old Men (1007):
Moss: If I don’t come back, tell Mom I love her.
Carla Jean: Your mother is dead, Llewelyn.
Moss: Well then I’ll tell you myself.
Good dialogue still exists, but you may find it in short supply at this time. Writers create good dialogue but destroy it with dirty words. We all know that some people have a bad mouth, but we don’t need to hear it and neither do our children. Filmmakers want to make things as realistic as possible. I mean, make it unrealistic but nice.
Is it true that old movies are better?
I do not believe it. Private Ryan is a fairly new movie, but from my point of view as a former combat infantryman, it will become a classic just like it did. All calm on the western front. The great performance of Tom Hanks and the great direction of Steven Spielberg made it so.
There are many old movies that have been remade, like Mutiny on board Y Titanic. I like the remakes of the first but not so much, of the second. The special effects in the latest version of Titanic was what it was all about, but I like the older versions more compelling. (Yes, I also like the latest version).
So what do you think? Do you think old movies are better?