🎬 Speaking of the past, I've been taking a non-credit film class all about silent movies. The film we watched last week was the Clara Bow classic IT (1927), a film I'd never seen. It was delightful, and also my first exposure to Miss Bow. Before the class started, one of my classmates, John, told the instructor that he hadn't liked any of the five movies that were shown so far. His reason was that he didn't see the point of examining the beginnings of the cinema when so many technical advancements were made in later decades. Now, keep in mind that this is a class for people over the age of 50. John's age is 81. You might assume that people in this age group would have an appreciation for old films. I commented to John that his mindset towards silent films was kind of like the way many young people feel about watching anything in Black & White. This prompted another classmate to say that he enjoys old B & W classics much more when they've been colorized. I was amazed by that comment. Several people in the class, John included, spoke out against the colorizing process. Fascinating discussion. Lesson learned: Never assume anything based on age.
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| Would IT be better in color? The eternal question. |
🎬 There is a very common compulsion among us DVD/Blu-ray collectors known as "double dipping". It means we have a tendency to buy more than one copy of a film or TV show. There are various reasons for this, but most often it means upgrading from DVD to Blu-ray, or more recently, to 4K. Many of us have sworn up and down that we will NEVER develop this rather expensive habit, only to fall prey to temptation. Case in point: I recently went to Wal-Mart and was looking at their display of steel books. I'm not all that fascinated with steel books and only have a few. Most of what was available didn't interest me very much. But then I noticed one featuring the 1954 sci-fi classic THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. It was a very cool item. Nice B & W cover art, and both the 3-D and regular viewing options. All for only $27.00. However, since I already have three good DVD copies, including the Universal Legacy collections, I sensibly put the steel book back on the shelf and went on my way. The next day, having decided that I could not live without it, I went back to Wal-Mart and bought the steel book. Buyer's remorse hit me before I made it out to my car. What in the world did I need this for? Oh well, at least it was only (!!) $27.00. I've made worse decisions about money, none of which I will talk about here!
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| Double (actually quadruple) dipping: the steel book for THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. |
I don't go to movie theaters very often anymore, mainly due to the fact there isn't much being released that makes me interested enough to go. Another main reason is that almost no one seems to know how to properly act in a movie theater these days.
ReplyDeleteThere have been a few new movies that interested me, but not enough to make the effort to go to the theater. I considered going to see Oppenheimer, but the long running time made me hesitant. Now I have the Blu-ray, but still haven't watched it. You're right that most people don't know how to behave. But I'm so used to watching movies at home in total privacy that just being in the theater environment is a distraction. Even muffled conversation can drive me crazy. I feel differently in my film classes, which are communal and learning experiences. Same with watching movies at the Bash last year. I enjoyed that experience. The Bash folks have so much reverence for films and behave accordingly.
ReplyDeleteI still think seeing movies in a theater is the best way to appreciate them. Unfortunately the films you and I love only got in a theater when they were originally released years ago!
DeleteWhenever a favorite old film is brought back to a local theater, I always try to catch it. I keep hoping for a Barbara Steele Film Festival in Champaign, but that's probably not going to happen anytime soon!!
ReplyDeleteColorization has always irked me. The idea that people who don't like black-and-white movies will watch them colorized is mostly flawed logic. That same audience just won't watch anything old.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen a contemporary film at the theater for years. I should make the effort, but a lot of new stuff just does not appeal to me. I do try to see some old classic or cult flicks when a local cinema shows them. At least that audience has enough appreciation for seeing something special that they can actually shut up and pay attention.
It pains me to say this, but sometimes even senior citizens can behave badly in theaters. My local movie palace, The Virginia Theater, has retrospective films shown at least once a month throughout the year. The majority of the attendees are seniors, and many of them chatter on while the movie is playing. You would think they'd know better and be respectful. It baffles me. There was one time I remember when the talking got so bad that a young woman sitting near me yelled out: "Shut up!!" How about that? She told off the old folks! I loved it! I sometimes wonder if the home video era has made people so relaxed when watching movies that they think they're still in their family rooms and they can do whatever they want. All things considered, I'm much more comfortable watching movies at home. As for colorization, I tried watching a few colorized films when I still had TCM on cable, and I thought they looked terrible. I objected to the whole idea on principal, but the results of the process were just badly realized. It's hard to believe that anyone actually liked it. There's a Youtube channel that offers old flicks in both B&W and color, and I always go for the B&W. I might check out a few minutes of the color version out of curiosity, but it's always like looking at a bad accident.
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