View RSS Feed

A Mirror Floating in Water

Hitchcock vs. Modern Day Thrillers?

Rate this Entry
6 Comments
by
DanielBenoit
, 10-24-2009 at 11:07 PM (765 Views)
(Warning: Upcoming rant)

You know what really gets under my skin? When modern moviegoers can't stand to sit through five minutes of a film like Strangers on a Train or The 39 Steps, and yet enjoy shallow big-budget modern Hollywood thillers with familiar leading roles, who despite their good looks, are utterly one-dimensional and have no character whatsoever.

Modern thrillers are the bratty grandchildren of Alfred Hitchcock and are respected far more than their creator by the average moviegoer. They are plauged by an over-indulgence on handheld cameras and rip-offs of Hitchcockian devices and plots. They are students of Hitchcock; they know the words, but not the music.

Modern day thrillers are virtually remakes of Hitchcock's films; terrible remakes. They lack all of the charm, obsession, character, depth, style, idiosyncracy and even suspence of even Hitchcock's average films.

I don't know, I wouldn't be so mad if people weren't so glued to their seats when watching a bunch of meaningless action, while they are so eager to walk out on Vertigo.


(Btw, not all modern day thrillers are like this, only 90% of them. The true heirs of Hitchcock are films that aren't just copycats, but survive on their own as films, films like No Country for Old Men,The Departed and Match Point are true thrillers).

Updated 10-24-2009 at 11:58 PM by DanielBenoit

Categories
Uncategorized

Comments

  1. rimbaud's Avatar
    wow, this was a short one, surprisingly
    Like you said, not all modern thrillers are crap, I'm with you on The Departed and Match Point (haven't watched No country for old men, I know I should have).
    And I do like old movies, they have some flavor in them. My point is, a good movie is a good movie, no matter modern or old, and there are always going to be people who prefer bad over good, heck, there are people that prefer worse over bad. But what do they know? They are just consumers. On the long run, they don't count
  2. DanielBenoit's Avatar
    Oh of course, it doesn't matter whether if it is old or new. Back in classical Hollywood, there were also a number of mindless thrillers which came out every year, though they are forgotten now. It's just that today they are widespread common.
  3. gbrekken's Avatar
    I agree with the first guy.
  4. mtpspur's Avatar
    This may or may NOT have a bearing on it but there seems to also be a distinct dislike of people unwilling to watch a black and white movie versus color. I suspect at the heart of that is a belief they are getting less for their money.
  5. TheFifthElement's Avatar
    I love the old black and white movies. I think special effects and the predominance of image over story is accountable for the current state of the movie industry. Back in the old black and white days they didn't have the range of effects available now and as a consequence, for a movie to do well, it had to have a compelling story. That's no longer the case, sadly, though there are some excellent movies still being made. Pan's Labyrinth, for example, seems to blend an excellent story with fascinating visuals and I think, on the whole, you need to look towards movies not being made in English to find anything really decent these days. Maybe that will change, but sadly it seems that big names and big effects make money where a well crafted story doesn't.
  6. motherhubbard's Avatar
    I agree with Fifth. We have to think to follow a story and I don't think many people are willing to do that. They just want to see boobs and be shocked by something. I think it's the same with books.