There are many famous movie critics who will put a lot of very old movies at the top of their favorite movies list, but why is that? Are old movies objectively better than new movies? There have been many advancements in the film industry, but is the best story telling in the past?
Roger Ebert, considered the most famous film critic of all time, comprised a top ten movies of all time list. On that list, six were made before 1960. He died in 2013; however, his list remains very relevant to the topic. His top three consisted of Casablanca, Citizen Kane, and Floating Weeds. The first two are widely considered classics because of their amazing screenplays and storytelling. Many critics and others feel that modern movies rely on spectacle and CGI instead of truly great storytelling techniques, which is what made old movies great.
Many believe that Hollywood has declined in quality because of corporate greed. In the 2010s, Disney had a stranglehold on the box office. In 2019, seven of the top 10 grossing films were Disney or owned by Disney. Disney+, the company’s streaming service for all of their properties, was created in 2019, which may have contributed to the issue. One of the biggest offenders of the issue of corporate greed is Marvel (owned by Disney). Since 2021, there has been an oversaturation of Marvel content, most of which has been exhaustingly subpar. There have been twenty-five shows, movies, and short films released in the past four years by Marvel. The big issue here is quantity over quality. “I think Marvel has gotten a lot worse since (Avengers) Endgame.” Julian Neighbors (10). Most fans would rather get one really good movie or show a year than get five or six mediocre releases. Mr. Luckett (Staff) detailed how Disney seems to have discovered that they can still make a lot of money off of bad movies and shows, so why would they put in the effort to make one really good movie instead of five or six mediocre movies that make them a lot more money? This is the problem with most modern film companies, they are really in it for the money more than anything else.
Quentin Tarantino, a famed movie director, has said in recent years how we are in the worst era in Hollywood History. Tarantino is also a director that lives by a rule that he can only make ten movies in his career. They must be the best quality he can make them and as soon as he hits ten, he retires for good. It’s a shame that more directors don’t live by this rule.
On another note, general audiences may be starting to have the same fatigue that Tarantino and many others have with the film industry. The box office has suffered as a result of streaming services and Disney in particular has been reeling in much less revenue.
Modern movies should be better than old movies. There have been many technological advances that should put them over the top. However, instead of focusing on making a very good movie, the focus for most seems to be on making the most money. It is an unfortunate trend for the film industry considering how much potential it has.
