Modern movies fail to meet quality of vintage cinema

If you are like me, you are sick and tired of your parents and assorted other "old people" telling you about how everything was better when they were young: the streets were safe, ladies were ladies (until marriage, that is) and movies were always great and important. They may have something on that last one.

Movies from the big studios today are made for one reason and one reason only: money. Generally speaking, we must rely on the independent film houses such as Miramax or October Films for a quality movie. One only needs to look at last year's Academy Awards Ceremony to see that the major studios only had one movie nominated for best picture.

Clint Eastwood, starring here in "Unforgiven," looks far from good, incredibly bad and even slightly ugly. In fact, his performance in the 1967 film "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" ranks among the finest in great western classics.

"Jerry Maguire" was fantastic, but when we think back over the last few years, how many movies measure up to "great," or "I'll definitely rent it when it comes out on video," or the even more rare "I must see that one again, and soon"?

Unfortunately for our generation, the desire to attain the almighty dollar has had at least one casualty: the lost art of filmmaking. The films of yesteryear not only were of greater content, but also were a visual splendor. Every movie today borrows in one way or another from the groundbreaking films of the past.

When great movies are being discussed, the one movie that should be mentioned more than any other is Orson Welles' classic "Citizen Kane." "Kane" is simply a movie about the life of a man. It does not have explosions, aliens or terrorists, yet it revolutionized moviemaking like no other film. The story is entrancing despite its simplicity, and it is thus a visual masterpiece. No other movie has been parodied more, and as the old folks love to say, "Imitation is the greatest form of flattery."

The real moneymakers of today are the shoot-'em-ups. These movies generally incorporate the use of "buddies" through whom a story is told. One is smart, the other dumb; one reckless, the other cautious. There have been numerous carbon copies of this formula since the original, but no movie has ever managed to capture the buddy-essence like "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."

This story of two outlaws (Robert Redford and Paul Newman) during the peak of their lives showcases the two men's relationship, and uses the action of their lives as the backdrop (unlike today's films, in which more time is spent on the final explosion than on the script). The ending of the film is fantastic because the director refuses to allow the action to overshadow the story.

Film fanatics cannot deny that there are few things more American than western dramas like "Butch Cassidy." Starting with the early classics of "High Noon" and "The Searchers," and moving toward the darker "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly," Westerns have mimicked the feelings of audiences, ensuring that they were always very popular.

Westerns, however, have also fallen to the wayside as films' stories are superseded by superficial action. Those select few who saw "Last Man Standing" can tell that it could not stand up to the original "Fistful of Dollars" - incidentally, a fantastic remake of "Yojimbo."

Shoot-'em-ups are not the only movies that rake in the dough nowadays. Comedies are huge cash cows; however, the lost art of satire seems to have stepped aside for crudeness and physical comedy.

Pop in Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove," and witness what may be the greatest display of satire ever. Kubrick, with the aid of George C. Scott and Peter Sellers (in multiple roles), took a subject not generally considered funny (nuclear holocaust), and made it into one of the funniest movies of all time. And none of the actors got paid $20 million to make lame jokes and stupid comments.

Perhaps the best example of a classic filmmaker is the late, great Alfred Hitchcock. The raw emotion he was able to evoke in his films separates his classics from all others. The formulaic, ordinary-man-in-an-extraordinary-situation plot didn't seem so formulaic when seen on the big screen. "Rear Window" belongs on a canvas; it is beautiful to the eye and relies solely on a story to keep the audience riveted. "Psycho," "North by Northwest" and "The Birds" showcase the talents of the greatest filmmaker who ever lived. Is it any wonder that every actor in the world wanted to work with him?

Sure, there have been truly amazing movies made in our lifetime, and there are a few filmmakers who make extraordinary movies: Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. And there is hope in the new generation of filmmakers that tries to look back at the movies of old for help (Spike Lee, David Fincher and even Kevin Smith). Until audiences support a higher quality of filmmaking, audiences can expect the same cookie-cutter movies that the big studios produce.

Perhaps the thought is old-fashioned. Perhaps it is less than vogue. It is, nonetheless, classic, and that is how movies get remembered.

10-02-97