In a Manner of Speaking

I'm a movie buff. In my opinion, the greatest movies were made before the sixties. Don't get me wrong. A lot of influential movies came from the seventies, eighties and nineties. Star Wars, Back To The Future, Raging Bull, The Godfather. The list is almost endless.

I got an email from Amazon.com stating that the 70^th Anniversary Edition of Gone With The Wind, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and TheWizard of Oz are coming out this year. I found it hard to believe it's been that long since the movie came out. Each film came out in 1939. Three of the greatest movies of all time.

One thing got me thinking about this. Gone with the Wind caused a lot of controversy because of one specific word. It's the word at the end of the famous exiting scene of Rhett Butler. "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a d---" It's a great line, one of the best out there. It was voted the greatest quote of all time by the American Film Institute.

So what does that have to do with the last seventy years? In 1939, when the film was being made, the filmmakers were forced to pay a hefty fine of $5,000 (hefty at that time) by the Motion Picture Association in order for that line to be used in the film. The fine was paid, and history was made. The line, as stated before, is highly regarded and respected.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington caused a lot of controversy over the poor portrayal of the United States Senate. It was labeled as Anti-American and Pro-Communism. The Senate Majority leader at the time called the film "silly and stupid" and "makes the Senate look like a bunch of crooks."

The Wizard of Oz was controversial more for the way it was made rather than how people perceived it. The film was shot to get a surreal feel to the beginning and the end. In between is the classic colorful set that is now known as Oz.

Looking back over the last seventy years, you can see just how far movies have come. Since a time where you were fined for using profanity in a movie, we're to the point where it's not a "good movie" unless there is some form of swearing in it, whether a lot of a little. There are several movies that have set records for the profanity used in it (the band Blink-182 reportedly got their name from the number of swear words used in the movie Scarface.)

Dozens of movies have been made about corrupt politicians and Communism. The Godfather II has a classic scene in which a Senator is set up by Don Corleone. The Senator becomes a pawn in the underworld. Another example is the political epic, All The King's Men. The movie is about a man who rises from the bottom of the ladder to the top of the political platform. Along the way, he becomes exactly what he protested: corrupt.

Saving Private Ryan, one of the many great epics created by Steven Spielberg, is noted for having the most graphic and realistic war scenes ever depicted. Spielberg wanted it that way to give the audience a feel for what it feels like to be out there.

Over the last seventy years, films have made a drastic change. On the downside, films are now more graphic and only films rated PG-13 and up are considered good. Twenty years ago, Driving Miss Daisy won the Oscar® for Best Picture. It was the last PG movie to date to win the award.

On the upside, films have become much more realistic. Films such as Star Wars gave us a new perspective on visual effects. Watching as the spaceships fly right into the screen captured the imaginations of millions over the course of thirty years.

I personally think the greatest films were made before the sixties. I enjoy watching movies made over the last thirty years. Toy Story is still my favorite movie of all time. But you can't get better than classic epics like Ben-Hur and Gone With the Wind.

Just my opinion.