AVS Discussions

General => Misc. Fun Stuff => Topic started by: Barry on June 18, 2025, 05:27:14 PM

Title: Old and New movies, I am glad I am here.
Post by: Barry on June 18, 2025, 05:27:14 PM: I love movies. And I appreciate this ste bvecause we discuss movies that arfe new, recently, timely, old, bjt jsut palin good.

Besides, anhy movie I ahve not seen is a new mvoie.

The first movie I ever saw was in the theatre: Fantasia. I feel in love with movies, animation and music. I went on to see Bambi, Peter Pan, Daddy Longlegs, Forbidden Plane and The Seven Voyages of Sinbad. I was hooked.

First, back then, the only movies we could see on our 10” Black and White TVs were generally from local stations. They were bad and faded prints of movies from the 40’s. They were cut up, censored and full of commercial breaks. CBS always had the “Late Show” at 11:30 PM (Before David Letterman) that had movies competing with the Tonight Show on NBC. We then got 4:30 movies on our ABC station, generally of “B” movies from the 1950s, cut to 90 minutes. Well, they were cut to 65-70 minutes with commercials.

We forget that the major studios “boycotted” TV, it was their competition.

The BIG deal was NBC’s Saturday Night at the Movies, which ran 3-5 year old movies, in color, but cut up tremendously…and censored.

Things changed in the 1970s. The movie studios started making TV shows and suppling movies. And the studios started making “cheap” TV movies that were so bas that they are generally not rerun today. (There ae exceptions: Brian’s Song, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and Duel.)

You may not believe this part. VCRs were introduced and there was a huge amount of press, newspaper and TV articles declaring that it would be a major failure. Critics claimed that people liked to hear MUSIC over and over again, but only want to see a movie once. VCRs took off in the 1980s when cheaper VHS machines came out and after a court decision. And many stores opened for rentals of movies.

The movies though, looked terrible. They were pan and scan, not showing the entire image and not looking as good as broadcast TV. The sound was bad too. I was still going to the movie theatre about once a week! But families were having “Movie Nights” and cheaply renting movies, making fresh popcorn and staying home.

In the late 1970s, PBS changed my view of old movies. They began to run, uncut and uninterrupted (no commercials) famous movies, including Citizen Kane, a movie I had ignored on commercial TV. A great print, and for the first time I heard the music in the soundtrack. I began to want to watch these old movies.

In the 1980s, the Laser machines came out. They gave a much sharper picture, often stereo sound and often letterbox so you saw the entire image, although on a 25-inch TV (now in color!).

Sadly movies became bigger and smaller at the same time! Especially after Star Wars, big screen movies appeared, in surround sound, such as Superman and Star Trek. We would travel to the theatre with the largest screen.

In Queens N.Y. however, movies got smaller, much smaller. More then half the theatres went “quad” dividing their big screens into four screens, but never adjusting the seats, so you often were facing the wrong way! It was horrible. And they stopped making their own fresh and hot popcorn. UGH.

Cable came a the end of the 1980s. While cable gave us great variety, Broadcast TV, to this day, ha a better picture and sound. But it a great way to catch up on older movies, newer ones were still Pan and Scan.

If I remember correctly, DVD were introduced at the beginning of the millennium and I started thing of building a home theatre. For the first time, instead of stereo, five channel sound was available. And I got my first projector, in 2005, a Marantz VP 12S3. The images and audio were good, but not great. But great movies were released and I loved the extras too. And then came Blu Ray and my JVC PROJECTOR DLA-RS66U in 2010. (I had bought the previous year the JVC DLA-RS60U3D, which failed after a few months. Instead of repairing it, JVC sent me a new model!). For the first time, I felt like I was getting the full movie theatre experience at home, but with fresher popcorn and frozen Raisinets. And I thought it didn’t get better than this. I was wrong.

Up until this time, the movie companies were being support not just by admissions, but by DVD sales, which were enormous. That began to fade. For the last ten or so years, movie theatres have closed and there are less movies. Some needed too, with their small screens, movies were better seen at home. But several big screen theatres have closed too.

Well, 4K came out and I got a JVC RS 4100, properly set up. And the pictures and sound are often incredible. And old movies look great. And I need it. You see, I love movies.

You see, I love movies and they are making fewer of them. And fewer that I really want to see. Very little original movies are out there, they are remakes, sequels, prequels and franchises. I now go once a month. But now I get to see great movies in my movie theatre at home at a time when they are not in the theatres.
Title: Re: Old and New movies, I am glad I am here.
Post by: bmoney on June 19, 2025, 08:37:26 AM: Thanks for the backstory. Hike theater wise it’s similar to mine.

I love movies. Very very much. I go through phases tho where I watch a new one every night. Then I’ll go weeks without seeing one.

But I agree. Good movies are few and far between. And I have said it elsewhere on this forum. I feel studios are favoring the series. Instead of the motion picture.
Title: Re: Old and New movies, I am glad I am here.
Post by: Barry on June 19, 2025, 10:26:17 AM: Quote from: bmoney on June 19, 2025, 08:37:26 AM

But I agree. Good movies are few and far between. And I have said it elsewhere on this forum. I feel studios are favoring the series. Instead of the motion picture.
You right! This is especially true when it comes to streaming. also, instead of giving us full stories every week when they stream, they seem to be giving us one story spread out to 10 episodes
Title: Re: Old and New movies, I am glad I am here.
Post by: AVSCraig on June 19, 2025, 12:01:37 PM: I love movies too. There are great older movies coming soon including Ben Hur!
Title: Re: Old and New movies, I am glad I am here.
Post by: bmoney on June 19, 2025, 06:00:27 PM: Love Ben hur
Title: Re: Old and New movies, I am glad I am here.
Post by: SRW1000 on June 19, 2025, 10:08:46 PM: Quote from: Barry on June 19, 2025, 10:26:17 AM
You right! This is especially true when it comes to streaming. also, instead of giving us full stories every week when they stream, they seem to be giving us one story spread out to 10 episodes
Yes, it sure seems like a lot of series were originally intended as a movie but padded into what used to be considered a mini-series.
Title: Re: Old and New movies, I am glad I am here.
Post by: SRW1000 on June 19, 2025, 10:10:42 PM: Quote from: Craig Peer on June 19, 2025, 12:01:37 PM
I love movies too. There are great older movies coming soon including Ben Hur!
There really are a lot of older movies getting some love as new 4K titles. Good to see them get their due.
Title: Re: Old and New movies, I am glad I am here.
Post by: AVSLaurie on June 20, 2025, 10:47:25 AM: I am willing to admit that I am a romantic at heart, my very favorite all time movie is An Affair to Remember with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr.

Several years ago, our local movie theater ran a special showing of this movie and Marc, God love him, suggested we go see it (he is definitely more of a Marvel kind of guy). I was so excited; we got into the theater, surprised by how many people were actually there, and right from the beginning of the show you could tell the train was barreling down the tracks. First, the sound starting giving out, then the film would intermittently stop; after about 25 minutes I realized this just wasn't happening - as did everybody else. We all started filing out requesting a refund.

I would have loved to see this on a really big screen, but I guess our theater room will have to suffice.

Thanks to everybody that contributes to this thread, I really enjoy reading your posts.
Title: Re: Old and New movies, I am glad I am here.
Post by: David Vaughn on June 20, 2025, 11:07:14 AM: Quote from: AVSLaurie on June 20, 2025, 10:47:25 AM
I am willing to admit that I am a romantic at heart, my very favorite all time movie is An Affair to Remember with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr.

Several years ago, our local movie theater ran a special showing of this movie and Marc, God love him, suggested we go see it (he is definitely more of a Marvel kind of guy). I was so excited; we got into the theater, surprised by how many people were actually there, and right from the beginning of the show you could tell the train was barreling down the tracks. First, the sound starting giving out, then the film would intermittently stop; after about 25 minutes I realized this just wasn't happening - as did everybody else. We all started filing out requesting a refund.

I would have loved to see this on a really big screen, but I guess our theater room will have to suffice.

Thanks to everybody that contributes to this thread, I really enjoy reading your posts.
What a bummer of an evening. I'd want a full refund plus passes to see another movie!
Title: Re: Old and New movies, I am glad I am here.
Post by: Barry on June 20, 2025, 04:49:57 PM: Quote from: AVSLaurie on June 20, 2025, 10:47:25 AM

Several years ago, our local movie theater ran a special showing of this movie and Marc, God love him, suggested we go see it (he is definitely more of a Marvel kind of guy). I was so excited; we got into the theater, surprised by how many people were actually there, and right from the beginning of the show you could tell the train was barreling down the tracks. First, the sound starting giving out, then the film would intermittently stop; after about 25 minutes I realized this just wasn't happening - as did everybody else. We all started filing out requesting a refund.

I would have loved to see this on a really big screen, but I guess our theater room will have to suffice.

I had great experiences at an older theatre.

Before Covid, the Jersey City Loews Theatre, an old palace from the 1920s was in the process of being restored. On weekends they had special screenings which were exceptional.

Forbidden Planet: In Stereo!
Forbidden Planet was a 1956 ci-fi movie that was one of the first to have stereo They actually had a mono soundtrack, but the left and right speakers would increase volume to simulate stereo. The theatre actually got an original print and played it as was originally made! They also had a guest answer questions about this.

Sunset Boulevard
They had a Film Noir night that featured Sunset Boulevard and another film that I have forgotten. There was a guest speaker, who answered questions, After all these years, Gloria Swanson was still big, it's the pictures that got small!

Laurel and Hardy
One of my favorite nights. To a full house, parents brought their children to see a double feature. When I was young, Laural and Hardy and Abbott and Costello were always on TV. No more. The kids in the theatre LOVED these movies.