GUEST COLUMN: Why Old Movies Are More Useful Than Modern Ones?

Why Old Movies Are More Useful Than Modern Ones?

by Susan Laurel

A lot of movies are released every year and some of them manage to enter the competition for Oscars or Golden Globes. Some are better than others, have a more interesting plot twist or story and flabbergasting special effects. The last decades and all the technological advancements have changed the way movies are produced nowadays. Directors have changed their way of making movies and this is obvious if you compare modern movies with older ones.

New technology, bigger budgets and a cast of iconic actors can make a modern movie great, besides special and sound effects. The movie subjects are similar and not that much, but opinions are divided. Some people struggle to watch an old movie, while others think that the older the movie, the more they will enjoy it. Some people think that old movies are outdated and old-fashioned and do not compare visually with the newer ones. Which is true.

But, they have some lessons that you hardly find in modern ones, but which are still topical. And all these lessons give older movies a special aura and make you think that they are more useful than modern ones. Let’s delve deeper into the subject. Why are old movies often more useful than modern ones?

There Is Nothing Rushed

One characteristic of old movies is that the action is not rushed. It is true, some scenes can prove to be more boring than the others. The conversation between characters lasts three minutes and the scene is filmed from a single take from the same angle. This can bore a lot of people, especially youngsters.

In modern movies, everything that happens seems rushed and you hardly understand the main topic from the beginning. There is often no more time for deep conversations, only for action and special effects that please your eyes and brain.

Older movies emphasize the conversation, on the characters and also on the action. But they were filmed differently, assuming that people have enough time and desire to spend 3 hours watching a black and white movie.

However, there are modern ones which also emphasize the conversation between characters, only the action is adapted to our everyday life. We have to admit that times have changed and so did the way movies are made nowadays. Film editing techniques have developed and jump-cut techniques are overused.

The pacing in modern movies is pretty alert and this is because of the way society has evolved. There are a lot of things that catch our attention and people demand shorter scenes that ease the process of focusing the attention. They demand action scenes that are easier to hold attention on.

The perception that you do not have time is common nowadays because there are things that affect the quality of our lives and we must take action now to prevent bigger disasters. This perception translated into the way modern movies present the action, thus being more fast-paced.

Older movies present you a topic slowly and with a lot of additional details, but this does not make an old movie boring. Indeed, they are different in many aspects from the more modern ones, but they are everything but boring. Of course, this is not valid for all old movies, nor do the assertions about modern movies apply to all.

Different Subjects

The difference between the topics that old movies were presenting is obvious. People nowadays want fast-paced movies that are entertaining and have that stress-relief side.

For sure you can find some old movies that have these characteristics too, but most topics were about war or love and they were always presenting an introspective perspective of the main characters. You could empathize and identify yourself with their story. They present different cultural norms and habits, some of those are long-gone nowadays. And this is one of the reasons old movies are more useful than modern ones.

They introduce us to a different world that existed a few years ago, where social norms and society were different, even though some scenes or replies were censored (a downside of older movies).

Also, the plot story was original and more interesting than modern ones. Modern movies are mostly remaking of old ones with minor or big changes due to technological advancements.

Old movies present and develop a topic that inspires and motivates you to follow your dreams. The truth is, thanks to the internet, today it is easy to know the latest news and discoveries around the world. It is easy to identify the opportunities you have and follow them.

But a few decades ago, old movies opened the eyes of a lot of teenagers. They showed them what you can do with art and also presented taboo topics like sexuality, beauty, and excess.

There are pioneering movies like La dolce vita or It’s a Wonderful Life that cannot be exceeded in magnitude. But people nowadays are more drawn to superhero movies, with lots of action and special effects.

Different Effects

We could say that the one goal of old movies was to create a believable story you could identify yourself with. A story that inspires you to become better or fight for your dreams and country. All effects aimed to create the perfect scenes, along with a great screen-play. They took the time to place the characters and underline some of their characteristics with special effects, that were not so developed as they are now.

For example, horror movies presented real people, of course with make-up and all that to appear horror. The difference is that nowadays the effects are so special that a horror movie kind of becomes an SF one. Ghosts and vampires have unreal features, and so does the storyline. And because the movie industry is constantly producing a lot of movies every day, it is difficult to find a good one.

Even though the technology was not as developed as it is today, old movies have something special. All the special effects, like huge dinosaurs or war scenes, seem much more realistic than the ones in modern movies today.

It is important to note that there are modern movies which are better than the old ones when judging the special effects. But having so many possibilities of improving the visuals of a movie, it is hard to know when to stop using them.

Different Acting Style

Indeed, acting in old movies was pretty different from the one in modern movies. It was part of an Acting System developed by Constantin Stanislavski. His system was based on the idea that humans cannot control their emotions, so he proposed a system to summon emotional inspiration.

He proposed, based on the concept of Affective Memory, the concept of Emotional Memory. This means that actors were encouraged to use emotional memories from the past to recreate the emotions of the character. They were also more natural because fewer special effects were used.

There is a famous story with Laurence Olivier, who played more than fifty emblematic cinema roles in movies like Wuthering Heights, Hamlet, or Rebecca. He got a role in one of Dustin Hoffman’s movies who was having a more modern approach to movie making. The character of Laurence was depicted looking as if he had not slept for three nights in a row, so Laurence went on and lived the story of his character. The reply of Dustin Hoffman is a good sum-up of how modern movies have evolved. When he saw that Laurence had not slept for three nights to make his character look more credible, he said: “Try acting... It is much easier”.

The acting in old movies is more genuine and natural because of the cultural and social norms that were that time. Of course, every period has its actors and we cannot say that there are actors that do not have good acting because there are a lot. Only that the acting style cultural and movie-making norms were different, and they pushed actors to exceed their physical and emotional limits.

Paving the Way to Success

Maybe the most important reason why old movies are more useful than modern ones is that they paved the way to the state of cinematography, as we know it today. Indeed, special effects and music soundtracks are more entertaining and impressive nowadays. And so, do the acting and directing.

But old movies are classic because they stand the test of time. Of course, not all of them are considered masterpieces, but some are iconic and representative for the period they were created.

Directors recreated the culture and society from a few years ago and opened the door to a new way of making art. They have addressed topics that inspired the population to follow their dreams and expand the art of making movies.

Even though they are a little longer than usual and some might think that they are boring, they opened a new perspective. Some people think that the nudes and sex scenes were more interesting and appealing in old movies, so they still remain a landmark for modern ones.

Conclusion

There is a common misconception that old movies are boring, too long and the playing is awful. But it is your perspective that changes the way you perceive a movie. A few decades ago, there were different acting techniques, as well as other technological options. There are quite a few old movies that stood the test of time and remain a classical watch.

They are useful in a lot of ways. They describe a forgotten society and its cultural norms we would completely forget if there were not masterpieces like To Kill a Mockingbird or Casablanca. They point to the beginnings of cinematography and acting. The present SF subjects in a more natural way. And also, the dialogue and placing of the characters were done carefully, although it made the movie longer.

Movies nowadays want to satisfy the viewers’ needs for relieving stress while being entertaining. And while there are some majestic and impressive movies done nowadays, most of them lack a meaningful dialogue or story and they do not have characters you can identify with.

The way movies are made has changed along with the evolution of society and cultural norms.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Susan Laurel is a full-time digital marketer with a great passion for cinematography. Susan lives in Houston, Texas, but she spends most of her spare time traveling around the globe and meeting new people and cultures. As a passionate marketer, Susan is eager to share the professional experience with her readers at Dissertation Today. She has gained a lot of knowledge from her cultural trips.