Posted on 09/03/2006 9:16:47 PM PDT by sonsofliberty2000
FILMS made today pale against cinema classics of the past because they are so lacking in dialogue, character and plot, Sir Michael Caine told The Times yesterday.
The Oscar-winning star has lost count of the number of times he has seen films such as Casablanca, On the Waterfront and The Third Man, which he never tires of watching. Which is more, he said, than can be said for todays banal films: I cant think of one I could see again, he said.
Casablanca has so many memorable lines that audiences can quote, he said, citing the moment when Humphrey Bogart, as Rick, recalls the day the Germans marched into Paris. Rick tells Ingrid Bergmans Ilsa: I remember every detail. The Germans wore grey, you wore blue.
Sir Michael, who won Oscars for Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules, asked: Who today writes such lines? He has now starred in more than 90 films, having got his big break in the epic production, Zulu. He found fame as Harry Palmer, the anti-hero, in the espionage thriller The Ipcress File, and went on to be showered with awards for classics such as Educating Rita, Alfie, Sleuth, and The Quiet American, in which he played The Times correspondent in Saigon.
Yesterday he spoke of having felt quite depressed on Saturday night after casting his eye over the Top Ten box-office hits in the US.
He said: I was struck by how stunningly banal and formulaic it all was.
The hits reflected Hollywood at its trashiest, with an emphasis on special effects, action and violence, he said. Singling out Beerfest, a comedy about excessive drinking, and The Worm-Eaters, a horror drama about boys who eat worms, he added: Some of the pictures are so gross.
The film industry has a responsibility to give audiences something better, he emphasised, lamenting how the pursuit of money is stifling creativity and imagination.
Too many good films, for people who understand dialogue, were being sent straight to DVD or television rather than to theatrical release in the assumption that no one will want to see them, he believes.
Sir Michael was speaking before his latest film, Children of Men, received its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival last night.
It opens in Britain on September 22.
Instead of a Lana Turner we have a Kathleen and Tina Turner
Instead of Marilyn Monroe we have a Madonna
Instead of Elizabeth Taylor we a Elizabeth Hurley
Instead of Bette Davis we have a Geena Davis
Instead of Susan Hayward we have a Susan Sarandon
Instead of Lauren Bacall we have a Laura Dern
Instead of Katharine Hepburn we a Katharine Ross
Instead of James Cagney we have a James Spader
Instead of Cary Grant we have Hugh Grant
Instead of Alan Ladd we have an Alan Alda
Instead of William Powell we have a William Macy & Will Ferrell
Instead of the likes of Orson Welles we have Quentin Tarantino (who I do like, but come on, lets be real)
Instead of John Ford we have Oliver Stone
Instead of Alfred Hitchcock we have .... Nobody
Then there were the Character Actors or 'co-stars', like Sydney Greenstreet, Edward Arnold or a Ward Bond. Now everyone is a 'star' (gag).
And how, short of selling one's soul to the Devil, that a Ben 'Aflac' (quack) can be a 'movie star' is beyond me.
(and anyone who evens mentions J-Lo should have their tongue cut out) /s
I finally quit Netflix because I'd seen all the classics and nothing newer than 1980 appealed to me. I also believe that
real Americans don't spend money on these anti-American,
pro-terrorist morons who run Hollywierd.
Blame it on Rio is something of a classic.
Michael Caine starred in many trite, commonplace movies concerning the military all his career.
Two that come to mind, The battle of Britain and The Eagle has Landed - in which he starred with Robert Duval.
Plan 9 was good in a really bad sort of way. I'm also partial to Santa Claus in outer space and Godzilla vs. the smog monster.
Or how about where McQueen says, "How many you got?" And Yul Brenner holds up one finger. McQueen, no dialogue, holds up two.
Thank you, yes. I suffered through Miss Congeniality and wondered WTF was up with someone of Caine's caliber grubbing about in such a "banal and formulaic" flick. Guess he read my mind.
Hey, he still has to pay the bills...
True. Before he signed for 'Bewitched' his electricity had already been shut off three times.
Of course that's not to take anything away from the truly talented actors and directors of today. I enjoyed Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind and Master and Commander, for example.
He's right...... and one great actor. I love the guy.
Some jobs need to be passed by with malice.
This makes perfect sense - if a movie's quality is in its dialogue, there's not a real need to pay a premium in order to see it on a 40 ft screen with popcorn crunchers all around you, is there?
Sounds like a rational consumer response. I will agree though that most movies are crap.
If it sells, one would think that money would buy creativity and imagination. I don't think I could handle funding a supposed money-maker that I was sure would lose money.
I don't disagree but in general Hollywood morals have probably improved over the years. Past years have seen some real sickness from Fatty Arbuckle to Bob Crane, one just didn't hear about it too much back then as the middle class still had a modicum of a sense of shame.
Now it seems that everything is a Jerry Springer moment and they let it all hang out.
Billy Jack 2 !!!
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