There's hardly anyone here. *sighs* The younger generation needs to watch older movies.
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voodoo_joe — 21 years ago(December 22, 2004 10:17 AM)
I agree that Michael Bay stands for everything that is wrong in cinema today, yet would Bay be the director he is right now if it weren't for DeMille? Michael Bay, James Cameron, Roland Emmerich, etc all owe their success to DeMille. Throughout DeMilles career he was thought of as a hack, or someone who is ruining cinema, just like his contemporaries I listed previously. While I in no means think Bad Boys, True Lies, or The Day After Tomorrow come close to The King of Kings, or Cleopatra. I would argue that DeMilles movies are far inferior to directors from his era, such as Eisenstein.
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swagner2001 — 21 years ago(December 29, 2004 09:13 AM)
The majority of movie critics have always considered Cecil B. DeMille a bit of a hack.
Here's a guy who would spend thousands of dollars on research to prove that safety pins existed in the biblical era.
He was good at making profitable films, but not necessarily good ones.
He used to say "if a ten year old kid on the street can't point out who the bad guy is and who the good guy is in the first ten minutes of the movie - it's evidently not a very good film. I hate all these new movies where every character is both good and bad."
He forced himself to stick to the same simple restricting formulas, and made a ton of money.
How is this different from Jerry Bruckheimer?
(I mean, aside from DeMille's recurrent bible angle?)
Don't be an age bigot - there are great and bad movies in every era.
Long Live DeMille!
"Master of Spectacle", "Great Showman", "the director who brought the bath tub to the screen."
http://www.cecilbdemille.com/ -
marcin_kukuczka — 21 years ago(March 21, 2005 08:42 AM)
I am 26 years old and admire DeMille's movies. He was the man that started everything that is powerful in world cinema. Since his productions, every movie that is successful nowadays has SOME source in Cecil B DeMille.
His films I like most:- THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
- CLEOPATRA
- THE SIGN OF THE CROSS
- THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH
- KING OF KINGS
Cinema is a good way of escaping from problems and sorrows of the world.
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kmokatieo33 — 21 years ago(April 08, 2005 12:55 PM)
Agreed. I'm only 15, so I still have a ways to go on my movie watching, but recently I've been trying to see as many as possible, and as wide a variety as possible. This is including old movies and new ones. I can safely say that I've seen more than most people I know. While older classics can still be excellent, some people seem to think that just because they are older, they are classics. A lot of older acting was completely over the top, and the plots all too dramatic. Not to say those things are perfect today, of course, but they weren't perfet back then, either. The difference is, some older movies are irrelevant now. For someone my age to watch a movie from the 50's is, honestly, a lot harder than watching a movie from the past five years. And also, going OUT to the movies rarely has anything to do with the movie you're watching. I'll go see ANYTHING. I love the movie theater, but it's best for seeing all the shiny new movies rather than older ones of better quality.
Since technology has gotten better, many movies have recently been depending on it, but there are still a great deal of movies that DON'T. Not all new movies are trash. Sure, some are just made to make a buck, but even those ones are still entertaining, if not all too good. I was thoroughly entertained by National Treasure, in a guilty pleasure sense, but I wouldn't see it again or ever say it's one of my favorites. With that said, my three absolute favorites are Reservoir Dogs (1992), 25th Hour (2002), and Requiem for a Dream (2000). They are all powerful, emotional b68films and probably the only ones I have ever loved the second I finished watching them. That kind of movie is my favorite.
It's unfair to expect people, especially the often bashed teenagers, to watch older movies when being entertained is probably more important than seeing a really good movie for most. Lord of the Rings (which I still realy liked) made FAR more money than the better Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It happens. You can't control what others do. Breathe.
(and Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle was REALLY funny. American Pie was not.) -
tripperM — 20 years ago(September 29, 2005 10:38 AM)
Untitled Transformers Film (2007) AKA: YET ANOTHER TOY MOVIE
The Island (2005) AKA: 6TH DAY REDUX
The Lionel Richie Collection (2003) AKA: NICOLE'S DADDY'S COMEBACK
Bad Boys II (2003) AKA: BAD BOYS, MORE OF THE SAME ONLY LOUD
Pearl Harbor (2001) AKA: BEN DOES AN "A" FLICK
Armageddon (1998) AKA: BRUCE TRIES ACTING
The Rock (1996) AKA: WHAT A HUGE ROCK OF CRAP.
Bad Boys (1995) AKA: DRAGNET, LEATHAL WEPON, STARSKY & HUTCH (AD INFINITUM)
OK. HERES MICHAEL'S LIST. HE AND CECIL ARE THE SAME IN ONE WAY, THEY BOTH LIKE BIG, LOUD PRODUCTIONS WITH THE FEEL OF AN EPIC. I CERTAINLY DON'T THINK THAT MICHAEL BAY SHOULD BE ON THE SAME LIST AS PECKINPAH, DEMILLE, CAMERON, SCORSESE, AND KUBRICK, THOUGH. IT WILL TAKE TIME TO GET TO THE "A" LIST. PETER JACKSON GOT A BOOST TO THE TOP OF THE NEWBIE LIST BECAUSE HE TOOK CHANCES OUTSIDE THE SYSTEM WITH A NEW IDEA (NEW TO THE SCREEN - AND I DON'T COUNT THE ANIMATED MOVIES)AND AN EPIC PORPORTIONED PRODUCTION. MICHAEL BRAY IS A SYSTEM CAT USING THE STANDARDS TO CONVEY A SUBPAR STORY TO AN UNSUSPECTING AUDIENCE THAT GLADLY ACCEPTS THIS TRIPE WRAPPED IN PRETTY FACES AND PLENTY OF PYROTECHNICS.
I GOTTA AGREE THAT THERE IS NOT MUCH IN THE WAY OF NEW MOVIES THAT I'VE BEEN IMPRESSED WITH. I HAVEN'T BEEN TAKEN IN BY A MOVIE IN A LONG WHILE. AND I HATE THE FACT THAT THERE IS SO MUCH RE-HASHING. WE'VE LOST THE ART OF FILM MAKING AND HAVE TURNED IT INTO A MARKETING TOOL AGAIN LIKE IT WAS IN THE 30s WHEN THE STUDIO PICKED, GROOMED, AND MARKETED STARS.
IT DOESN'T TAKE MUCH TO MAKE A MOVIE ANYMORE. ANY MORON W/ A CAMERA CAN "MAKE A MOVIE" BUT DISPLAYING AN ART FORM IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. I BETCHA! NAME A RECENT MOVIE AND IT HAS A COUNTERPART IN EARLY HOLLYWOOD (AND PROBABLY BETTER DONE)
THE LAST GREAT MOVIES I SAW WAS THE LOR TRILOGY AND BIG FISH. HELL, THERE'S BETTER STUFF BEING PRODUCED ON THE TELLE!
live the life you love, use the god you trust,
and don't take it all too seriously -
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xerses13 — 18 years ago(June 08, 2007 05:54 PM)
After Dr. STRANGELOVE Kubrick did not make a good movie. Starting with that bore 2001 it was all downhill. 2001 was just a bunch of 'Chariots of the Gods' nonsense. If you need to take drugs (for the 'trip') or be drunk to enjoy a movie it must be crap. As for Peckinpah if he had not the perfect cast (all pros) in THE WILD BUNCH he would'nt be remembered at all. Except for expending more ammunition then this country did during the Spanish-American War. We saw both films upon there original release, they have not improved with time.
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Phalanx666 — 19 years ago(April 12, 2006 12:24 PM)
Indeed Heavely Creatures is great. Yes there are great movies in every decade, but they rarely are a hit in the theaters nowadays. 5 years after release people start discovering said movies and tout them as great. There's enough examples of that.
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LLink2411 — 19 years ago(April 14, 2006 11:09 AM)
I was going to post my view here, then I remembered why I stopped coming here a few years back (you should be able to understand that as I meant it with no explanation).
Seriously now, we need more directors; we cannot wait on old men to change their ways. There will always be the undesirables, but there will also always be change.
"To wish to live, and deny another that luxury is a sin that can 111cnever be forgiven." -
vinidici — 17 years ago(August 05, 2008 02:47 AM)
marcin_kukuczka: "I am 26 years old and admire DeMille's movies. He was the man that started everything that is powerful in world cinema. Since his productions, every movie that is successful nowadays has SOME source in Cecil B DeMille."
Actually, it would be more correct to attribute "starting everything that is powerful in world cinema" to D.W. Griffith. Every filmmaker since Griffith owes something to this great motion picture pioneer, including C.B. DeMille.