OK, I’ll Say It: Old Movies Are Unwatchable
ABOUT TOM WOODS
Thomas E. Woods, Jr., is the New York Times bestselling author of 11 books, including The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History and Meltdown (on the financial crisis). A senior fellow of the Ludwig von Mises Institute, Woods has appeared on MSNBC, CNBC, FOX News, FOX Business, C-SPAN, Bloomberg Television, and hundreds of radio programs…Â (Read More)
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OK, I’ll Say It: Old Movies Are Unwatchable
30th March 2014 Â Â 
  by:
Tom Woods   
 Â
I am a heretic on the “old movies are awesome†question. I find old movies unwatchable.
(1) Plot twists are exceedingly rare. It’ll be a courtroom drama, and the defendant looks clearly guilty. Oh, you think, there’ll be some twist and he’ll turn out to be innocent! Nope. He’s guilty.
(2) The acting is wooden. I am supposed to like Humphrey Bogart, but did he ever utter a line the way a real human being in that situation would have?
(3) Turn off that racket while people are speaking! I don’t need violins playing through the whole movie.
OK, have at me in the comments.
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I totally agree with you on this. The acting is, for the most part, horrible. They act like they are acting. And you hit it on the head with the plot twists, or the lack thereof. I honestly don’t get what is so great about “old films.†I thought it was just me, but I’m happy to see I’m not the only one.
That movie should be required viewing for all jurors.
I agree. And yes, definitely important for those on a jury. Excellent movie!
http://youtu.be/RelOJfFIyp8
Ding! Ding! Ding!We have a winner!
I’d recommend some of the old Kirk Douglas flicks. For starters, check out ‘Lust for Life’ and ‘Young Man With a Horn’ (whose title refers to a trumpet player, not a half man/half unicorn)! ‘Blackboard Jungle’ featuring Glenn Ford and Sidney Poitier also comes to mind as something that may be a good start in swaying a sceptic to be somewhat more sympathetic to classic cinema. I’m sure you’re aware that Rand’s ‘The Fountainhead’ was made into a film starring Gary Cooper. I’m of the opinion that there was more of a sense of diplomacy and a general attitude of respect toward fellow man in those days as opposed to now. Dignity and integrity seemed to be more revered. This attitude in the personal lives of yesteryear’s actors carried over into their professional lives as well, lending much depth and character to their roles. There were exceptions of course. (There’s Van Johnson grinning wide and tap dancing while singing a little ditty featuring the lyrics “we’re gonna slap the Jap right off of the map.†A memorable scene in another WWII era film celebrates the savage beating of a very diplomatic and intellectually persuasive war protestor.)
I agree, but for a different reason. I have gotten so used to the action moving along at such a fast clip in new films that watching the old an old flick is like watching paint dry. Maybe that’s just me.
That’s called ADD.
No it’s not sad, we’re sick of talking about economics. Most people don’t care so it’s pointless.
Tom you have to understand that people were radically different back then. “Men were men and women were women†as they say. Cultural Marxism hadn’t taken hold yet, that’s why I like old movies personally (late 30′s to late 50′s at least). And if you don’t think there are any plot twists I suggest you check out some of the ‘film noir’ genre which are my favorite.
I also like movies from the 70′s, 80′s and early 90′s. Anything after 1995 I don’t bother with.
Finally someone breaks the taboo on film. Old movies are indeed
unwatchable. The stagy wooden acting; unrealistic dialog; the fake
emotions. Some people claim that black and white is better. Complete
nonsense. How can being deprived of the full pallet of colors available
be better? Is it better to be color blind, or blind period, than to see
normally? Black and white sucks.
I see classics from the past and
wonder what the big deal is. After a long time i finally saw “Psychoâ€
which was not even THAT old of a movie comparatively, and thought it was
massively overrated. The first section was dull as dish water, and the
movie capped it off by spoon feeding every detail of Norman Bates’
personality disorder to the audience.
In my opinion, movies didn’t start becoming good until the 60s and really came into their own in the 70s.
I should note that the 80s was, in my opinion, the last decade of good film making.
“I bet you are a democrat in disguise.â€
I guess that is supposed to be worse than being called a Republican.
“Clearly you haven’t seen Capra’s movies or you wouldn’t have wasted our time with this drivel.â€
If you had seen Capra’s movies, you would have agreed with me. If you still wouldn’t have, it “proves†how smart i am and how dumb you are.
Take that for a brilliant argument.
Agreed. I would never watch movies again if I was completely regulated to old movies. I think at least some of the appeal is from nostalgia. But I can’t make it through a ten minute stretch of one of those older movies without being completely thrown out of it by some of the things you brought up in OP. the biggest problem stemming from terrible acting, IMHO. I end up going Mystery Science Theatre on old movies every time I see one.
The stilted, melodramatic acting of old movies seems more of a way to put an emphasis on the story in my opinion. The actors of old movies play their parts more like the way you would read a character in a fiction novel. The stage actors of today play their parts the same way. As far as the plot twists in modern movies most of the time they are so predictable that it makes you feel stupid for sitting through the whole thing to figure out something that you already knew. Most of the rest of the plot twists are so absurdly unpredictable that they feel more like an over-done appeal to the pretentious ass clowns that make up the entirety of the hollywood elites.
People prefer to be entertained than learn. It’s a very hedonistic society now.
You must not be watching the same old movies I am.
Whew! I was beginning to worry that Tom Woods was right about everything. Smart people always have at least one blind spot. Ayn Rand didn’t like Beethoven. Tom Woods doesn’t like old movies.
The Twilight Zone in many ways has far more sophisticated storytelling (and dares to take on tougher issues) than most TV shows do even today.
The special effects are laughable by modern standards, but people are going to be watching those black and white episodes until the end of time.
The following article by James Leroy Wilson came to mind:
http://partialobserver.com/article.cfm?id=2845