oldies but goodies

A

Atari

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Does anyone else bemoan the lack of really good dialogue in movies today? The total dependence upon action? I would love to see some views on the old movies that you remember for the sparkling dialogue, regardless of creaky sets!
"Now Voyager." Who could forget Paul Henreid, on learning that Bette Davies' elaborate jacket is not hers..."so your wings are borrowed?"
All about Eve...any more suggestions? Don't these oldies leave such films as "War of the WorlRAB" in the dust? AND I :) 'M NOT THAT OLD!
 
i love all the great 90's movies:

Romper Stomper
Lock Stock
Trainspotting
Pulp Fiction
Reseviour Dogs

etc, 90's was great for cult classics :)


oh but classic,classic films id say A wonderful life
 
I've got to admit that over the past couple of years or so on Sky, I find myself watching TCM and Sky Cinema more than the movie channels that show recent releases.
I've also discovered how good some of those old stars were. Richard Widmark has become a fave of mine and he's probably at his best when playing a thug. I caught him with Sidney Poitier in No Way Out (1950). Widmark is brilliant as a vicious racist crook.
Or Detective Story (1950) with Kirk Douglas- a gritty cop drama that felt like it could have been made in the '70s. One of the things I love about some of these old films is that they can be surprising in terms of the subject matter they deal with. We take for granted that they've been making hard-hitting films way before the '60s.

Also, for me, a film like Arsenic and Old Lace with Cary Grant easily stanRAB up to any of the best comedies made today and I can't see anyone beating Grant's performance in it.
Or the wonderful 'Road' Movies with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.
Or the excellent Night of the Hunter with Robert Mitchum in his best role...
 
Yes, thedoctorr, I too have been delighted by the channels you mention. For instance I recently caught "The Rose Tattoo" with Burt Lancaster and Come back little Sheba. The quality of the acting and the writing you don't come across so often these days. I mean, you do, but the emphasis is on action sequences so much.
 
I'm a bit of a film noir buff and recently caught Build My Gallows High with Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas- absolutely excellent. And you're right, here the dialogue is great, the pace is tight and satisfying without the need for big explosions.
 
Breakfast @ Tiffany's -Absolutly wonderful .

Animal House - Funniest movie i ever seen

The Great Dictator (charlie Chaplin) - its a lighthearted punch in the arm of Hitler.
 
Haven't seen Clash By Night in absolute years, but I caught Lang's The Big Heat not too long ago with Glenn Ford and a nasty Lee Marvin- top notch stuff. It's great to wach films that are gritty and have a kick without the need for the excessive violence that seems to be the thing nowadays.
Although not a Lang movie, I'd also recommend Rogue Cop with Robert Taylor as a bent cop out to avenge the murder of his brother. It's a great film noir with Taylor in his best role, in my opinion.
 
I'd say half of the movies in my top 20 list were made before 1980.

So of the best being Psycho (1960) (or anyone by Alfred Hitchcock for that matter), Marry Poppins (1964), The Sound of Music (1965), Rebel Without a Cause (1955), What Ever Happened To Baby Jane (1962), Breakfast at Tiffanys (1961), etc...
 
The Ladykillers is brilliant - the dialogue is sharp and funny. I really like the Odd Couple too - the line about taking him 10 minutes to work out that F.U was Felix Unger is classic! Ooh, and the Third Man.

Actually, I like the dialogue in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang as it kind of harks back to a different era of films, where the dialogue is king.
 
Even before I cancelled my sky movie subscription, TCM was always a must on the schedule, where else would you get a 'Double Indemity' followed perhaps by 'Brief Encounter' then maybe 'The French Connection'.

Older movies seem to me to be more story led, much more crammed into your 90-120 mins without the need for gratuitous sex scenes or explosions a la Pirates of the Carribbean 2 - you won't get explosions like they had there in 'Jamaica Inn' for example

Pacy thrillers, great acting, intelligent stories with real stars. Could you imagine how they would remake, for example. Rebecca - doesn't bear thinking about.
 
A remake of Rebecca- I suppose technically speaking it would be superior, as all remakes tend to be. Glossy, with fine locations in Cornwall. But they would put Katie Holmes or Nicole Kidman in the Joan Fontaine role, or someone equally inappropriate, and I bet there would be a happy ending!
 
Sister Carrie starring Laurence Olivier and Jennifer Jones - it is just superb but they hardly ever show it on TV. It is a bit like the story of A Star Is Born - his career goes down as hers goes up. I sobbed my heart out at the end.
 
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