I guess the Citizen Kane is overrated, people just pretend to like it trope is almost as conventional as the opposite at this point.
I honestly really really like that film and can’t think of many (if any) films from around '41 that have aged that well. In some ways it’s almost more relevant today and still perfectly constructed.
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Casablanca?
I think there was a lot of technical innovation around that time. I suppose that there were a lot of films around then that were either upbeat entertainment or just propaganda, for obvious reasons.
But there are a few that were pushing what was possible technically. Disney’s Pinocchio came out around then. The Maltese Falcon, How Green Was My Valley, The Thief of Bagdad. There were quite a few pushing the boundaries that still stand up.
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I watched Angel Heart again over the weekend, I think on Canal+. I miss classics like this. Will have to see if Mississippi Burning is available or Birdy.
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Personally think the technical innovation bit is not necessarily that relevant in itself, it’s a bonus. The way the film uses these bits is motivated to tell a story or sometimes tell another story beneath that or just condense storytelling. Loads of mediocre films use flashy technical stuff, but it’s not much except just that.
There’s so much in that movie about media, control, power, politics,relationships , it’s still relevant and somewhat prophetic, beyond just Hearst. I could go on, but I’m already boring myself. I just think it’s still a really good movie, who cares about lists.
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Yeah and I think you have to understand what it did in its historical context. By the time people of our generation saw “the greatest film of all time” for the first time, there would have been 50-60 years worth of cinema borrowing from the narrative approach Wells introduced making it seem mundane to a more contemporary audience.
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The John Wick series for me. It’s just a generic action movie with almost no storyline.
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I just found the violence in Jonn Wick rather repulsive.
I loved the first one but didn’t really enjoy the rest of the series.