Help me find a movie!

A lot of old movies are far more cool than new movies.

Sounds like it might be To Catch a Thief (1955).

Another Hitchcock movie staring Cary Grant that doesn't get as much attention as North by Northwest but is still very good is Notorious.

You're talking about North By Northwest, starring Carey Grant.

yes it was north by northwest
i wouldnt say a lot of old movies are better than newer stuff in fact the majority cant hold a candle to recent stuff, take the above movie with the chase at mount rushmore its a total yawnfest compared to how it would be today.
i do like notorious better than NbNW
in saying that hitchcock + kurosawa + lang certainly were ahead of there time
case in point the first english movie with sound, hitchcocks 'blackmail' attempted rape + murder onscreen

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Original post by zedzeek i wouldnt say a lot of old movies are better than newer stuff in fact the majority cant hold a candle to recent stuff, take the above movie with the chase at mount rushmore its a total yawnfest compared to how it would be today.

Recent movies place greater emphasis on action sequences than character development.

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Original post by LessBread Quote: Original post by zedzeek i wouldnt say a lot of old movies are better than newer stuff in fact the majority cant hold a candle to recent stuff, take the above movie with the chase at mount rushmore its a total yawnfest compared to how it would be today. Recent movies place greater emphasis on action sequences than character development.

It's what sells. I remember awhile back, I was watching AMC or the History Channel, or something similar, and this person brought up a comment that there are movies. and then there are films. They were showing a clip of Top Gun at the time. A movie was something that people watched for entertainment value, might judge it as the best thing out, but it doesn't age very well. It's always replaced by the next best thing. Films tend to age better, as they're concerned with the plot, characters, etc.

I was thinking about this, and noticed how certain movies I own, I never really seemed to have watched after a year or two (Gladiator), and how many of the movies on IMDB's top 100 list seem to be relatively new, and judged on todays perception rather than a historical perception.

But I wouldn't say most movies today concentrate on action sequences. Rather, most summer blockbuster style movies. On Demand has been a great asset for me finding a lot of really good movies that I never knew existed.

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Original post by Nytegard It's what sells. I remember awhile back, I was watching AMC or the History Channel, or something similar, and this person brought up a comment that there are movies. and then there are films. They were showing a clip of Top Gun at the time. A movie was something that people watched for entertainment value, might judge it as the best thing out, but it doesn't age very well. It's always replaced by the next best thing. Films tend to age better, as they're concerned with the plot, characters, etc.

Top Gun was a movie up until Berlin - Take My Breath Away fades in. Then it becomes a film baby.

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Original post by Nytegard Quote: Original post by LessBread Quote: Original post by zedzeek i wouldnt say a lot of old movies are better than newer stuff in fact the majority cant hold a candle to recent stuff, take the above movie with the chase at mount rushmore its a total yawnfest compared to how it would be today. Recent movies place greater emphasis on action sequences than character development. It's what sells. I remember awhile back, I was watching AMC or the History Channel, or something similar, and this person brought up a comment that there are movies. and then there are films. They were showing a clip of Top Gun at the time. A movie was something that people watched for entertainment value, might judge it as the best thing out, but it doesn't age very well. It's always replaced by the next best thing. Films tend to age better, as they're concerned with the plot, characters, etc.

So the guy was saying that Top Gun was a movie? Does it really take an intellectual to make that distinction obvious?

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Original post by Nytegard I was thinking about this, and noticed how certain movies I own, I never really seemed to have watched after a year or two (Gladiator), and how many of the movies on IMDB's top 100 list seem to be relatively new, and judged on todays perception rather than a historical perception.

Does IMDB have a Top 100 or just a Top 250? Looking over that list, I'd say a lot of those movies are judged on historical perception otherwise something like Sin City would be higher on the chart, but you do have a point as it's hard to believe that Batman Begins ranks in the Top 250 movies of all time and that it ranks higher than On The Waterfront or The Big Sleep. It's also tough to believe that The 400 Blows is slipping off the list.

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Original post by Nytegard But I wouldn't say most movies today concentrate on action sequences. Rather, most summer blockbuster style movies. On Demand has been a great asset for me finding a lot of really good movies that I never knew existed.

Notorious is still available On Demand. There were a dozen Hitchcock's available earlier this year.

Yup, it was North by Northwest. New movies seem so formulaic sometimes. The industry's been around so long that stuff makes it into the movie just because it'll sell. Older movies are probably the same, but the old formulas are new to me, so they seem unique. The timing and the dialog of North by Northwest are really fantastic.

heres what i think of the top 25 (which ive all seen)

The Godfather (1972) // very overrated film, but perhaps in the top 250 (nea bottom)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) // ok
The Godfather: Part II (1974) // better than gf1
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) // excellant epic film
Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966) // great film not as good as once upon in the west though
Casablanca (1942) // deserves in top250 only cause of the famous lines (but suffers from the fate of a lot of oldish films, bad directing + acting, lack of onscreen chemistry, bergman is a good actress though, it has peter lorre i think who is brilliant)
Schindler's List (1993) // sentimental crap
Pulp Fiction (1994) // great film
Shichinin no samurai (1954) // not kurosawas best, but reasonable
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) // good film
Star Wars (1977) // overrated
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) // good but a bit sentimental
Rear Window (1954) // stylish but not hitchcocks best
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) // reasonable
12 Angry Men (1957) // sentimental crap
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) // good action flick
The Usual Suspects (1995) // huh, preditable twist
Cidade de Deus (2002) // good film, the documenturay on the dvd is good also
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) // good but drags a bit
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) // not so good
Goodfellas (1990) // reasoable
Psycho (1960) // great for its era, havent seen for years though
Citizen Kane (1941) // most overrated film ever (wells 3rd man is his best)
C'era una volta il West (1968) // brilliant film, havent seen for a few years (havent seen it in the video store)
North by Northwest (1959) // i can remember the cropdusting scene + remeber thinking at the time WTF

out of the top250 ild choose the following as great films ( ive seen all except for ~20)

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il
Pulp Fiction
C'era una volta il West
Fight Club
The Matrix (except keanus acting)
M
The Shining
All About Eve (old film with good acting)
On the Waterfront
Fargo
Brazil
Harold and Maude
Ikiru
Yojimbo
The Big Lebowski // bad non ending though
All Quiet on the Western Front // except for the main guys acting

these aint my personal favourites
looking at that top250 theres some real stinkers
All the President's Men, Magnolia, The Philadelphia Story, Cool Hand Luke, The Great Dictator

The other day I saw the 1st part of Gone with the wind.

That's a good movie in almost every sense.

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Original post by owl The other day I saw the 1st part of Gone with the wind. That's a good movie in almost every sense.

"Frankly, Charlotte, ..." [smile]

I suppose that line would make more sense if you'd seen the entire film.



Cool Hand Luke - A Stinker? Inconceivable!!! "What we have here is a failure to communicate..."

gone with the wind is another case of an overrated racist old film,
check out vivien leighs acting its terrible
i do like gable though, looks like a clown im reminded of him whenever i see this guy http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000114/ (who is a good actor)

true some of these films are great for there time, but in the last fifty everything has improved (acting/directing schools) effects eg take all about eve (also NbNW i think, hitchcock used it a lot) u know often when ppl are driving in cars theres just a screen behind them showing the road moving, which looks crap (they still do this btw) a lot of these old films they do the same stunt when a persons walking down the street ie the actors are marching on the spot in front of a screen, which looks terrible as u can imagine, films are meant to draw u in, make u believe what youre seeing is happening

btw good thread, ive now set myself a task watch all the films in the top250 (prolly gonna take a while since im in a town of 40,000 thus the video stores selections are limited)

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Original post by zedzeek i do like gable though, looks like a clown im reminded of him whenever i see this guy http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000114/ (who is a good actor)

I find that association quite strange.

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Original post by zedzeek btw good thread, ive now set myself a task watch all the films in the top250 (prolly gonna take a while since im in a town of 40,000 thus the video stores selections are limited)

Is there a New Zealand version of Netflix? My brother tells me that the international version of Amazon.com offers dvd rentals. You might want to check that out.

Check this out: Online DVD rental: New Zealand