The 3 key paths to movie greatness

[zen007]

There can be more, however, let's discuss these 3 key paths to movie greatness:

a) Epics: Here we are talking about films like Gone with the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia, and Seven Samurai. Viewers are presented with a great screenplay, great cinematography, a great score, and some great acting over 2.5-4 hours. Many elements of the film mesmerize the viewers esp. on the big screen. Films such as Godfather I & II are a part of this category as well. Anyways, I tend to see Godfather I & II as one long film released in two parts.

b) Experimental: Here you are thinking about films such as Bergman's Persona. These films can even challenge the viewers to discover more on each viewing and even discuss what type of genre the film represents as it could present a connotation of multiple genres. Films such as Citizen Kane, Bicycle Thieves, 12 Angry Men, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Stalker, In the Mood for Love, and The Grand Budapest Hotel can be clubbed in this segment too. You get the picture.

c) Fun: This is the broadest category of the three as here the films are primarily designed to be fun and entertaining. In doing so, they also tick other boxes which makes them great. Examples include films such as The Great Dictator, Casablanca, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The Third Man, Singin' in the Rain, and Vertigo (Hitchcockian elements). And of course, there are various other varieties.


Which category of (or the path taken by) films do you gravitate toward more esp. when thinking about great films? Where do most of your favorites come from among "great" films?

[DR Herbert West]

1. A bottle of J&B has to make an appearance
2. Ill tempered monkeys
3. Nic Cage

[RossyG]

But isn’t 2001 an epic?

And I thought Grand Budapest Hotel was fun.

[moreorless]

I think you could argue though that "experimental" and "fun" actually end up being quite close together. They might often be quite different in their intensions but there is I think often more of a sense of experimentation within genre cinema than their is in nominally more credible mainstream drama.

Really the latter has always tended to be the area I have least interest in, mainstream drama that just seems formulaic in its production, films were the visuals, the score and the performances never really show great ambition. Films that almost seem to make themselves without much in the way of flair shown.

[levcore]

Boobs

[Martoto]

One of those things has to be a house or a car blowing up and someone yelling "My house/car".

I guess that's two things then.

[zen007]

Originally Posted by RossyG

But isn’t 2001 an epic?

And I thought Grand Budapest Hotel was fun.

Many films can slot into multiple categories. To illustrate my point better, I have kept those respective segments as:

a) 2001: There is a lot of experimentation like the opening sequence. The minimum use of words (for e.g. many times the conversation is driven by HAL), and a lot is left for viewers to explore (esp. the ending).

b) Grand Budapest: In general, I tend to view a Wes Anderson film as a different type of film. In this film, he has experimented with or used different aspect ratios to highlight different timelines. Used both color and B&W images. The film is a mesh of multiple genres - comedy, adventure, mystery, …

[zen007]

Originally Posted by moreorless

I think you could argue though that "experimental" and "fun" actually end up being quite close together. They might often be quite different in their intensions but there is I think often more of a sense of experimentation within genre cinema than their is in nominally more credible mainstream drama.

Really the latter has always tended to be the area I have least interest in, mainstream drama that just seems formulaic in its production, films were the visuals, the score and the performances never really show great ambition. Films that almost seem to make themselves without much in the way of flair shown.

At times, it can depend on how the “package” turns up. For e.g. Casablanca could be said to lean towards mainstream but has achieved greatness.