COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS OF OLD MOVIES

Before I get into the other topics of old movies, I wanted to explain a few misconceptions surrounding them. There are a few reasons why people are not drawn to older films. Below I have listed a few. I have included my thoughts as well as the thoughts of others. Feel free to comment in on your own feelings.

Is it in black & white?:

This question suggests that B+W = Boring. This is the question my wife use to ask me when it was movie night. I couldn't blame her though, she grew up in a different household. Since then, she has seen beyond the coloring and into the story. In fact, she was the one to introduce me to the clip below.


First of all, not all old movies are in black & white. Somehow we have grouped the two together. Since the 1940's, studios capitalized on the new technology of color films. This means that there are at least three other decades of old films unaccounted for.


Now to attack the boring aspect. If you think the absence of color makes a picture boring, watch an Alfred Hitchcock or a Frank Capra some time. If you don't know who these men are, don't worry we will get to that later. Allow me to let Steven Spielberg sum it up.

Low quality picture:

With the introduction of HD & Blu-ray technology, we have come to believe that the newer the movie the better the quality of the image. I must admit that their are some DVD's out there with extremely low quality. This however has nothing to do with the original production, but everything to do with the amount of time, money and work put in to make the film available on DVD.


In essence, Hollywood is staggering to keep up with the newest technology. Once they finally put a classic on DVD, there is already a better quality available. The process to transfer is both timely and expensive, so only some classics make the cut. This all happens while the other countless movies are grouped onto one disc in a rapid production. So in truth, we have yet to create a cheaper form of technology to transfer the movie from stock.


For another explanation on movie quality, click HERE to be directed to a brief history on black and white movies.

Old movies are only for old people:

For some reason we think of old movies in the same way that we think of old technology. We have no more need of the cassette or VHS and soon DVD's may be obsolete. They no longer pertain to us or are even applicable in our day. If these items were to disappear, there would be no outcry. Old movies cannot be compared to these objects, largely because they are not objects but art.


You may enjoy a good painting or a randomly snapped picture. These are the finished products of someones hopes, hard work and imagination. Through a movie, though, you get to see the paint being applied to the canvas. Here you get to see the whole process before the final stroke of the brush. And it is old movies that have the richest techniques.

As I said there are a number of misconceptions of old movies that keep them from our screen at home. I hope to encourage you to look beyond them and discover the work of early Hollywood.


I promise you, that if you give yourself a moment to watch a classic movie, you will be hooked from the first frame.