Submitted by Graham Relf on 15 September 2008 - 3:44pm.
Within these pages I have made some not too kind remarks about commercial cinema. I have been critical of directors such as Spielberg and Lucas. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being simply entertained. However, there has to be more to the cinema than that. Film should also be a tool for enlightenment, education and illumination. It should touch the conscience and intelligence of the spectator. Not necessarily by being preachy but by observing life and by reflecting society. Continental cinema still achieves this to a marked extent but British and American film has lost that sensibility. This is a great shame.
The quality and success of a film should not be measured by profits alone. It is possible and, I believe, should be desirable for art and commerce to work side-by-side.What has been very damaging for the industry has been the huge pay-checks of stars.This has resulted in the investment of massive budgets attached to projects and the pressure to secure a huge financial return.The consequence of this is that smaller productions cease to exist or find it near impossible to get finance.
I am personally attracted to movies of the past because I believe that were better crafted. Also the people who made them generally didn't have one eye on the box office. They made films because they loved making them and did their utmost to create the best possible product. Directors like Lean, Wyler, Stevens, Kazan and Hitchcock defined their success by the quality their work and if financial success followed that was a bonus. They had not only self-respect but respect for their audience. They believed in the virtues of good writing, fine actors and accomplished cinematographers. Ask most people ( and I mean so-called film buffs, not just Joe Public ) and they would have a vague clue who D W Griffith and John Ford were. A sad state of affairs.
The future? Who knows! I am rather pessimistic. There is talent out there, that's for sure. So let's put craftsmanship first and profits second. I know it sounds incredibly naive but things have to change. So, here's to movies. GOOD movies.
THE CINEMA AS ART
Within these pages I have made some not too kind remarks about commercial cinema. I have been critical of directors such as Spielberg and Lucas. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being simply entertained. However, there has to be more to the cinema than that. Film should also be a tool for enlightenment, education and illumination. It should touch the conscience and intelligence of the spectator. Not necessarily by being preachy but by observing life and by reflecting society. Continental cinema still achieves this to a marked extent but British and American film has lost that sensibility. This is a great shame.
The quality and success of a film should not be measured by profits alone. It is possible and, I believe, should be desirable for art and commerce to work side-by-side.What has been very damaging for the industry has been the huge pay-checks of stars.This has resulted in the investment of massive budgets attached to projects and the pressure to secure a huge financial return.The consequence of this is that smaller productions cease to exist or find it near impossible to get finance.
I am personally attracted to movies of the past because I believe that were better crafted. Also the people who made them generally didn't have one eye on the box office. They made films because they loved making them and did their utmost to create the best possible product. Directors like Lean, Wyler, Stevens, Kazan and Hitchcock defined their success by the quality their work and if financial success followed that was a bonus. They had not only self-respect but respect for their audience. They believed in the virtues of good writing, fine actors and accomplished cinematographers. Ask most people ( and I mean so-called film buffs, not just Joe Public ) and they would have a vague clue who D W Griffith and John Ford were. A sad state of affairs.
The future? Who knows! I am rather pessimistic. There is talent out there, that's for sure. So let's put craftsmanship first and profits second. I know it sounds incredibly naive but things have to change. So, here's to movies. GOOD movies.