Boxoffice.com's Top 100 Films of All Time 2013 -- RESULTS PRESENTATION 4 PM PST/7 PM EST

[chasmmi]

My problem with a lot of older films is that they are not very well made or acted.  They might have been for the time but when you compare them to a lot of the greats from today, imo, many of them pale.  I think when it comes to acting, you can take some of the worst actors today and they are still better than some of the greats from the past.  The past was just so wooden and robotic when it came to acting.  I know that will piss some people off, but imo, it's absolutely true.

 

I've often had this thought and essentially my theory is that the lack of explosions, crashes etc... you know any special effects or stunt work hurts older films when you watch the acting as all they have to work with is a set and the actor next to them.

 

Even a great film with great acting like say Schindlers list is improved by better music technology, cinematic technology etc, so people can use cameras and music to either save or improve an acting performance.

 

Old movies relied almost solely on the actor (and possibly at times a very skilled director/cameraman) to do everything and thus it feels more like people delivering lines as that is all they can really do.

 

 

Having said that, I saw the opening 15 minutes or so of Casablanca once and all I could think was: I'm not really into this story but boy that man can actually act. He really really can.

[chasmmi]

Oh and Rizchnang:

 

You need to watch more Korean cinema

[riczhang]

Oh and Rizchnang:

 

You need to watch more Korean cinema

 

Hate it. That and most japanese films. I can't stand kim ki duk and co. 

[Plain Old Tele]

I have no idea what neo-realistism of Italian cinema.

 

It's a style of extreme naturalism -- very matter-of-fact, like a docudrama -- that began in the late '40s and early 50s in Italy. De Sica is one of the directors who really embraced it: movies like THE BICYCLE THIEF and UMBERTO D. are good examples.

[Blankments]

A little fun stat: Number of times a film has shown up in a top 10, based on posted lists

 

Goodfellas- 5

Pulp Fiction- 5

Casablanca- 4

Forrest Gump- 4 Seen bits of it

The Godfather Part II- 4

It's a Wonderful Life- 4

The Matrix-4

Schindler's List- 4

2001: A Space Odyssey- 3

Dr. Strangelove- 3

Fargo- 3

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King- 3

Rear Window- 3

Do the Right Thing- 2

The Godfather- 2

L.A. Confidential- 2

Lawrence of Arabia- 2

North by Northwest- 2

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest- 2

Spirited Away- 2

Sunset Boulevard- 2

Terminator 2: Judgment Day- 2

8 1/2- 1

Alien- 1

Aliens- 1

All Quiet on the Western Front- 1

Almost Famous- 1

Amarcord- 1

American Beauty- 1

Anchorman- 1 seen bits of it

Anatomy of a Murder- 1

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford- 1

Barry Lyndon- 1

Beverly Hills Cop- 1

Black Hawk Down- 1

Blade Runner- 1

The Breakfast Club

The Bridge on the River Kwai- 1

Carlos- 1

Children of Men- 1

Cinema Paradiso- 1

Citizen Kane- 1

City of God- 1

A Clockwork Orange- 1

Cruel Intentions- 1

Dancer in the Dark- 1

Dial M for Murder- 1

District 9- 1

Dogville- 1

Ed Wood- 1

Fight Club- 1

Garden State- 1

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time- 1

Gone with the Wind- 1

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly- 1

The Great Dictator- 1

Hannah and Her Sisters- 1

Halloween- 1

The Insider- 1

JFK- 1

JSA- 1

Kal Ho Naa Ho- 1

Kill Bill: Volume 2- 1

Lady Vegenace- 1

The Last of the Mohicans- 1

Little Miss Sunshine- 1

Lost in Translation- 1

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)- 1

Melancholia- 1

Monty Python and the Holy Grail- 1

Monty Python's Life of Brian- 1

Moon- 1

Napoleon- 1

The New World- 1

No Country for Old Men- 1

Pinocchio- 1

Predator- 1

Rashômon- 1

La Regle du Jeu (The Rules of the Game)- 1

Rosemary's Baby- 1

Saving Private Ryan- 1

Seven- 1

The Shawshank Redemption- 1

Taxi Driver- 1

The Third Man- 1

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy- 1

Trainspotting- 1

Ugetsu Monogatari- 1

The Usual Suspects- 1

Vertigo- 1

West Side Story- 1

Jurassic Park

Jaws

The Silence of the Lambs

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Psycho (1960)

Cloud Atlas

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

 

So... I haven't seen any of these movies

[DAR]

Hate it. That and most japanese films. I can't stand kim ki duk and co.

Not a Kurosawa guy?

[Plain Old Tele]

Also, one of the fun things about watching old movies as well is discovering how a particular technique or attitude first started. For example, THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS is 50+ years old, but it has balls of steel and explores the brutality of occupation and resistance in a way that most American films are simply scared to do nowadays.

[baumer]

It's a style of extreme naturalism -- very matter-of-fact, like a docudrama -- that began in the late '40s and early 50s in Italy. De Sica is one of the directors who really embraced it: movies like THE BICYCLE THIEF and UMBERTO D. are good examples.

 

 

Ok, I've seen those.  I had no idea that was a style of film.  Thank you for the edification tonight.  I like learning new things.

 

But on that note, I'm going to put JAWS on BR and go to bed.  

[DAR]

So... I haven't seen any of these movies

Son you got to put some work in

[Blankments]

Wait... I've seen Pinocchio

[baumer]

Also, one of the fun things about watching old movies as well is discovering how a particular technique or attitude first started. For example, THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS is 50+ years old, but it has balls of steel and explores the brutality of occupation and resistance in a way that most American films are simply scared to do nowadays.

 

See, that's how I feel about a lot of Italian horror films and directors.  Bava, Argento and Fulci are visionaries behind the camera and have made some terrific horror films.  

[XenoZodiac]

I couldn't list 1000 films ...and wouldn't want to even try ... so I'm certain all of them would make my top 1000.

I doubt that I have seen 1000 films my whole life.

[Plain Old Tele]

See, that's how I feel about a lot of Italian horror films and directors.  Bava, Argento and Fulci are visionaries behind the camera and have made some terrific horror films.  

 

Yes, there are all sorts of innovations in all sorts of genres.... and they're worth discovering.

[baumer]

I doubt that I have seen 1000 films my whole life.

 

How old are you if you don't mind me asking.  I'm in my early 40's and I can guarantee you I've seen about 5000 movies.  

[XenoZodiac]

I honestly cannot believe that masterpieces like All Quiet, Citizen kane, and Gone with the Wind appear only in my top 10. 

 

I have seen neither.

[DAR]

I doubt that I have seen 1000 films my whole life.

When people say they doubt they've seen 1000 films are you talking about watching a film from beginning to end? Or you caught part of a film on tv?

[baumer]

Yes, there are all sorts of innovations in all sorts of genres.... and they're worth discovering.

 

I even think that the sequel to Amityville horror (done by an Italian) is better than the original.  I have no idea if it's because the director is Italian, but he, imo, took more risks than Rosenberg.  

[baumer]

Ok, I really am going to bed lol.

[Sims]

All Quiet and Kane are in my top 30, if it makes you feel better ric.

[riczhang]

Not a Kurosawa guy?

 

Not particularly.