Jailhouse Rock

_________________
"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public." ~ H.L. Mencken

No, I'm gonna have to disagree with you on Citizen Kane - I was very diappointed that it didn't live up to the hype...

Seriously. They're just not entertaining anymore. The acting is bad and most of the time over the top. The stories are simple and predictable. The plot "twists" are nearly non-existent. Most of them are racist. I could go on forever here...

_________________
This is my signature...

Fair enough...I can't say I've seen it sober, so I may be misremembering on that one.

_________________

The Grapes Of Wrath and To Kill A Mockingbird are two good b&w movies.

_________________
"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public." ~ H.L. Mencken

Treasure of Sierra Madre
Liberty Valance
Big Sleep
Top Hat
Bringing Up Baby
The Philadelphia Story
Key Largo
Sergeant York

_________________
You know me like that.

It's cool...I'm not going to fuck with you...I agree on them being racist, that was the era unfortunately. I still enjoy them for what they are.

That's the beauty of opinions...they are completely subjective. I don't like the NBA, but I'm not going to start a thread about why it sucks just to try and change anyone's opinion. Oh wait...

_________________

Schindler's List (not racist at all)
Wizard of Oz (sorta)
Grapes of Wrath (a great movie IMO)

_________________

Hockey sucking isn't an opinion, but I digress...


To Kill a Mockingbiird is a fantastic book and a disapointing movie. I know people love nostalgia and what not, but c'mon....I can't be the only one that feels this way......right?

_________________
This is my signature...

THAT'S a great list. All of them good, especially Bringing up Baby. In that same theme, His Girl Friday. Liberty Valance is one of the finest westerns ever made.

_________________
Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Neither is the NBA, but I'm not going to get into it.

_________________

It's ok if you like bad "sports" and horrible old movies. That's why America is great!

_________________
This is my signature...

I'm not sure how you could knock The Maltese Falcon. That movie and The Third Man started an entire genre.

_________________
Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Cricket started Baseball. That doesn't mean I like to watch it...


I'm sure these movies were very entertaining before the advent of television, sliced bread and nonsegregated water fountains. It's just that things have progressed so much in the entertainment industry since then that most of them are just a little boring now....

_________________
This is my signature...

To appreciate some of them, I think that you have to view those movies for what they are, in the context of the era in which they are made, I guess. You don't have special effects and that sort of thing, and the acting, well, there's a TON of shitty acting in today's movies. There are alot of over-rated films from back in the day that are still held in high regard, but there are also some keepers, IMO...

back in the day movies for one actor I haven't seen mentioned.

A Patch of Blue
In the Heat of the Night
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
To Sir, with Love (no one except maybe redneckmommy will like this)

In the Heat of the Night was great. A Raisin in The Sun, too...

_________________
This is my signature...

Haven't seen Raisin in the sun. Will put it on the view list.

In terms of Christmas movies I prefer Christmas Story. For me, It's a Wonderful Life has always been like Dr. Ken and good dolphin describe it. That introspective angle is what sometimes makes it difficult to watch. Dad was George whereas I didn't quite ring the bell. I just pass on it most times now.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is very interesting not only for the subject matter and they way and time that it was presented, but also for the aspect of it being Tracy's last film and Hepburn knew it and couldn't keep herself together for that final speech knowing it was the end for him and he would die soon.

_________________
You know me like that.

Speaking of Tracy, Inherit the Wind - another great B&W film.

_________________
You know me like that.

I like the old flicks. Inherit the Wind is on the list now too. Citizen Kane was a great flick especially if you take into consideration the time and subject matter. None of those movies stack up to today's cinematography, but can still be very enjoyable. Maybe a little interest in history helps too. Just watching some of those flicks and seeing what people wear, cars, household items etc is interesting too. Maybe that is just me.

I love history. I'm just hard pressed to think of many really old movies that I could sit down and watch from begining to end...

_________________
This is my signature...

For courtroom-type stuff, I actually liked Twelve Angry Men better than Inherit the Wind but they're both good.

As for cinematography, there are aspects in the film noir genre that you cannot do in color film with use of shadow that can add a very interesting aspect to a film.

_________________
You know me like that.

I hear you on the timing. I started getting into more of the older movies as I realized that I was being forced to watch current crap. If I know I may have to watch something new that potentially sucks I have gotten better at convincing "the" decision maker that maybe we can pick some well respected older movies that we may actually like.

Dr. Ken...recently saw 12 angry men and it is outstanding. Citizen Kane was a perfect example of the shadow technique you mentioned IMO.

Twelve Angry Men is an awesome movie. Henry Fonda was a brilliant actor.

_________________
"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public." ~ H.L. Mencken

If you like that stylized use of shadow and contrast of both light/dark and interior/exterior, then you should check out Double Indemnity.

_________________
You know me like that.

Well done. I may have made too general of a statement. There are a few good Black & White movies...

_________________
This is my signature...

Double Indemnity is awesone. Barbara Stanwyck is crazy evil.

_________________