I grew up on BBC and Channel 4 drama and comedy, so I partly agree with you. But I think there's always good and bad (movie, tv, music, literature, art, etc.) experiences to be had, no matter where you live or what age you live in.
Of course there is something good everywhere. There are some good independent films in the US, and there certainly are awful programs in the UK. I merely sum up.
Britain made some unnerving films back then. As somebody who (still) hopes to be a screenwriter, I'm disheartened by current Hollywood's repetitious stable of high-concept, effects-driven sequel upon sequel and the endless series of remakes that has taken hold over the last fifteen years. I'm sure that there are countless great and original screenplays sitting idle while we prepare to sit though or avoid the next "Transformers" movie. As for British television, the attention to detail, especially in period dramas, the quality of the writing, and the level of acting is outstanding.
Unnerving is exactly the word I was looking for! Have any other unnerving film suggestions?
I know exactly what you mean. I find the details very important, and considering the wide array of period dramas, I try to find places where they slipped up. Every so often I think I caught something, then I google it, and find out it existed when it should have.
Check out "The Innocents" (1961) and "Children of the Damned" (1964), although I don't know if they'll pack the same wallop for an adult sensibility as they did to a kid staying up past his bedtime to watch these films. "Peeping Tom (1960) is another one, but it's more along the lines of a Hitchcock film. "The Wicker Man" (1973) is another particularly creepy film, more so because the hero is so upright and he's up against a town of looneys.
You'd have to be pretty sharp-eyed to catch the Brits out when it come to period details. A single episode of "Agatha Christie's Poirot" is rife with vintage cars, flapper dresses, candle-stick telephones, etc. somewhere in England, there must be a huge warehouse filled with this stuff.
I grew up on BBC and Channel 4 drama and comedy, so I partly agree with you. But I think there's always good and bad (movie, tv, music, literature, art, etc.) experiences to be had, no matter where you live or what age you live in.
ReplyDeleteOf course there is something good everywhere. There are some good independent films in the US, and there certainly are awful programs in the UK. I merely sum up.
DeleteBritain made some unnerving films back then. As somebody who (still) hopes to be a screenwriter, I'm disheartened by current Hollywood's repetitious stable of high-concept, effects-driven sequel upon sequel and the endless series of remakes that has taken hold over the last fifteen years. I'm sure that there are countless great and original screenplays sitting idle while we prepare to sit though or avoid the next "Transformers" movie.
ReplyDeleteAs for British television, the attention to detail, especially in period dramas, the quality of the writing, and the level of acting is outstanding.
Unnerving is exactly the word I was looking for! Have any other unnerving film suggestions?
DeleteI know exactly what you mean. I find the details very important, and considering the wide array of period dramas, I try to find places where they slipped up. Every so often I think I caught something, then I google it, and find out it existed when it should have.
Check out "The Innocents" (1961) and "Children of the Damned" (1964), although I don't know if they'll pack the same wallop for an adult sensibility as they did to a kid staying up past his bedtime to watch these films. "Peeping Tom (1960) is another one, but it's more along the lines of a Hitchcock film. "The Wicker Man" (1973) is another particularly creepy film, more so because the hero is so upright and he's up against a town of looneys.
DeleteYou'd have to be pretty sharp-eyed to catch the Brits out when it come to period details. A single episode of "Agatha Christie's Poirot" is rife with vintage cars, flapper dresses, candle-stick telephones, etc. somewhere in England, there must be a huge warehouse filled with this stuff.