The art of film and its slow decline
Created | Updated Jul 13, 2005
Film was once a medium for expression, an artistic manifestation of the director's heart and soul. Today, amongst a money grubbing capitalistic agenda, cinema in all its worth has somewhat dissipated. In the beginning, with works such as "Le Voyage Dans La Lune," an early experimental piece (credited as the first real science-fiction movie), film had little to accompany it-short of its own esthetic integrity. There was little in the way of special effects, big budget camera tricks or overpaid actors. Directors had to command the screen with new ideas and captivating story lines.
This inventive presence remained throughout the course of time and altered slightly. Actors and actresses became necessary to maintain the interest of the audience (the success of a picture now relied on talented performers as well as the movie in question). One of the greatest films ever produced was that of "To Kill a Mockingbird" starring Gregory Peck-1962. The picture owes its triumph to a good screenplay (Horton Foote, Harpor Lee-who wrote the novel), a decent director with a keen eye for composition (Robert Mulligan), and an incredible cast. There was never a surplus of movies like this one, but they were certainly in greater numbers than today.
Occasionally a film of such structure will graze us by and surprise even the most avid movie watcher. After a while that movie may die away and then all that is left is another "chick-flick" or Brad Pitt movie to suck your thumbs around.
Although cinema in recent years has taken a lonelier path, it isn’t to say that the fault lies with the writers and directors of our echo boomer generation. Today's moviegoers are just as much to blame for this shortfall. With films such as "Fever Pitch and "A lot like love" (both films that received lower than 40 percent of favoring critic's reviews according to rottentomatoes.com) grossing over seventy million dollars combined-a lot can be said about the industry and where it lies with consumer values. Apparently, today's cinema is about as meaningful as yesterday's Revlon commercial. Some directors brave the now generic market with new ideas (Tarantino, Rodriguez etc.), but little is hopeful with only a few inventive ideas left.
What happen to the old days of movie magic and the theater experience? Why do people continuously travel to dreadfully cliché film events only to be disappointed with the outcome, time after time? Can the golden age of film be resurrected? The question still waits to be answered.
This inventive presence remained throughout the course of time and altered slightly. Actors and actresses became necessary to maintain the interest of the audience (the success of a picture now relied on talented performers as well as the movie in question). One of the greatest films ever produced was that of "To Kill a Mockingbird" starring Gregory Peck-1962. The picture owes its triumph to a good screenplay (Horton Foote, Harpor Lee-who wrote the novel), a decent director with a keen eye for composition (Robert Mulligan), and an incredible cast. There was never a surplus of movies like this one, but they were certainly in greater numbers than today.
Occasionally a film of such structure will graze us by and surprise even the most avid movie watcher. After a while that movie may die away and then all that is left is another "chick-flick" or Brad Pitt movie to suck your thumbs around.
Although cinema in recent years has taken a lonelier path, it isn’t to say that the fault lies with the writers and directors of our echo boomer generation. Today's moviegoers are just as much to blame for this shortfall. With films such as "Fever Pitch and "A lot like love" (both films that received lower than 40 percent of favoring critic's reviews according to rottentomatoes.com) grossing over seventy million dollars combined-a lot can be said about the industry and where it lies with consumer values. Apparently, today's cinema is about as meaningful as yesterday's Revlon commercial. Some directors brave the now generic market with new ideas (Tarantino, Rodriguez etc.), but little is hopeful with only a few inventive ideas left.
What happen to the old days of movie magic and the theater experience? Why do people continuously travel to dreadfully cliché film events only to be disappointed with the outcome, time after time? Can the golden age of film be resurrected? The question still waits to be answered.
