Film: Past v. Present, and just how do the networks fit into it all?

My relationship with old movies is an interesting one. While some people who love listening to high quality headphones and nice home stereos are called Audio files. I would consider myself to be a Video file. I bought the highest quality monitor I could afford, I love fancy Television and viewing screens, and I ask for computer parts every Christmas. That said, watching old movies is a task I find extremely difficult. As nothing throws me off more than poor special effects. My mom blames it on video games. My Dad blames it on my mom. Both are correct.

This has led me to have never made it through a Star Wars movie, or the harry potter movies despite having enjoyed the books. The older movies that I prefer are ones not meant on special effects. Movies like Scarface, The Matrix, Rush Hour. Those kinds of movies did require too much special effects, relying on camera work and traditional “movie magic” of shot manipulation. While at times in Star Wars you may even get a glimpse at a string holding a character or prop in the air.

Though while I am unable to be interesting in movies that have special effects that doesn’t mean I despise them all together. The clips we watched in class were actually really interesting. For the videos to be so old, some even around 1903 the scenes were made out extremely well. With setting being done as correctly as possible many times even being filmed onsite no matter the danger. Or with the scenes outside windows, even putting an effort to project things onto walls to simulate an outdoor scene. Or in the example we watched a train going outside the window of the set, before leading the characters outside and continuing the scene at the tracks with the real train on site. Whereas now they’d simply build a set with a single train car and use CGI to make the train appear as a full train.

I also liked talking about how in the early days of the film industry some companies were able to form basically monopolies over broadcasting and movie production. With Fox, WarnerBros, and MGM being just a few of the companies that still hold power today. Something that’s been changing in more recent times has been the disruption that the streaming world caused. Taking some of the power away from these production giants. Movie companies and Movie Theater companies alike are feeling a large pressure from streaming services.

Overall, this week’s topic was interesting. While watching the old films in class was difficult for me, I was aware that my boredom stems from being spoiled with media and high-quality effects. Causing me to almost force myself into an analytical view rather than trying to view the piece for entertainment. Allowing me to appreciate the film for what it is. I love movies, I really like old movies, my top ones even though no one asked to consist of.

1. Paid in Full
2. Goodfellas
3. Blow
4. Predator
5. The Matrix
6. Alien