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Are some things better done retro?

A reversal of the discussion.

So, someone took a bunch of today's movies back into the past...

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(Go on, admit it: you really want to hear the line "Kneel before Zod!" delivered through clenched teeth.)
W4XKk
 
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^^ Groovy. :bolian:

James Bond is one of those characters like those I cited above who belongs in a particular era-- in this case, the Cold War. Saying that we can't have a story about fighting communists during the Cold War is like saying we can't have a story about fighting the British during the Revolution. :rommie:

Doubt it, and seeing as the only thing you remotely have to back success up is a two part episode from a show that was on it last legs and had pitiful ratings and fan films that aren't likely to attract anyone outside of the hardcore (which aren't enough for a successful movie) I don't see any reason not to doubt it.
I certainly have a lot more than that, but you're entitled to your opinion.

It maybe looks good for TV, not a sever hundred million dollar movie.
Spending several hundred million dollars on a movie is obscene to begin with, and nobody will ever raise that much on Kickstarter. What I'm looking for through Kickstarter is movies that focus on story and characterization, not vapid studio blockbusters full of CGI explosions. That's pretty much the whole point.
 
I respect modern films, particularity sci fi films, that seem to be done in a more old-school style in terms of the production.

My example, IN TIME, which was a film that was sold entirely on it's concept - that it was an allegory of economics and class and what would happen if you try to flood the market to change the system. They say it's set in the future, but it only makes sense if it takes place either inan alternate present of alternate future (because this monetary system would have to be around for along, long time).

However, for a modern science fiction film in an era where even moderate films can afford decent CGI, allowing the producers to really liven up the scenes and put more people in the seats, this film doesn't go there. They obviously had a limited budget, and the people involved didn't spend the money they had on a lot of CGI, or to really fancy up the environments. So the filmed it in a style that was more reminiscent of science fiction films of the 80's and the 90's, where the production designers would find unique, even plain-looking locations which would have a vaguely futuristic look to it. In the original Total Recall, the Earth scenes were filmed using the unique, stark, and monolithic architecture of Mexico City, but it kind of looked futuristic. In Time played by the same rules, filming many scenes near empty buildings, storage units, and underpasses. They didn't want to sell this film as a SFX blockbuster... they wanted to sell it on it's concept. You either want to see this film for it's ideas or you don't.

Whether you think it failed or whether you liked it as I did, I really respected this retro approach to science fiction film making, where the ideas were far ahead of the special effects in terms of priority.
 
(Go on, admit it: you really want to hear the line "Kneel before Zod!" delivered through clenched teeth.)
W4XKk

That'd almost be worth the price of admission on its own. :lol:

All of those are brilliantly and enviably well done!
 
I don't think people want a retro Bond because they want a more serious and realistic 007.... The details can vary but the essential image of the alpha male remains.

I think the real heart of this discussion comes down to what one thinks people get out of film and television and literature as well as media like comics and video games...

I have to disagree that Bond's appeal is a generalized alpha male fantasy. However it is true that this is where we disagree on the specific Bond issue and barring an extraordinaily elaborate, timeconsuming and expensive social science survey, we aren't going to find definitive answers.

In contrast lets look at something like Mad Men on television. It portrays a retro look at the 1960s in quite a fashionable way and yet it's not quite the same escapism a retro Bond flick would be.

I don't consider Mad Men retro, but a period piece. A period Bond done like this might even be good.

So, Stalin was justified in murdering millions of people? Mao? WWI killed roughly 15,000,000 people, Stalin killed 20,000,000 AFTER WWII and Mao killed 40,000,000.

China is justified in repressing its people and censoring the publication of IDEAS? Chavez was justified in shutting down television stations who disagreed with his ideas? Putin can jail anyone who disagrees with him? Correa can sue newspapers who disagree with him?

Back to the argument, a Bond film adaptation series staying true to the original novels can still portray a more nuanced view perhaps.

Making up your own facts doesn't mean you're making an argument. The notion for instance that Chavez shut down TV stations for disagreeing with him? That's a lie. The majority of TV stations in Venezuela have always disagreed with him. Some of the TV stations that openly supported a coup had problems, as they should have. You're like a guy who claims to have been jailed as a political dissident instead of a bank robber.:lol: However, the notion of Bond films having more nuance given your crazy ideas seems quite unlikely.

A reversal of the discussion.

So, someone took a bunch of today's movies back into the past...

movie6_zps8f7908f5.jpg


movie5_zpsed2592f4.jpg


movie4_zps97c153dc.jpg


movie3_zpsafc72a0d.jpg


movie2_zpsc192133d.jpg


movie1_zpsb8f1e79d.jpg


movie7_zps758d2452.jpg


(Go on, admit it: you really want to hear the line "Kneel before Zod!" delivered through clenched teeth.)
W4XKk

Quite amusing, congrats to the creator.

But not even Sean Connery could make The Fifth Element enticing to me.
 
Doubt it, and seeing as the only thing you remotely have to back success up is a two part episode from a show that was on it last legs and had pitiful ratings and fan films that aren't likely to attract anyone outside of the hardcore (which aren't enough for a successful movie) I don't see any reason not to doubt it.
I certainly have a lot more than that, but you're entitled to your opinion.

Care to share any of it?

It maybe looks good for TV, not a sever hundred million dollar movie.
Spending several hundred million dollars on a movie is obscene to begin with, and nobody will ever raise that much on Kickstarter. What I'm looking for through Kickstarter is movies that focus on story and characterization, not vapid studio blockbusters full of CGI explosions. That's pretty much the whole point.

If you're thinking kickstart will let you make a Trek movie, I hope you relize that Paramount and CBS can say no.
 
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The 5th Element is awesome. Fact.

But "John Wayne Superman" can piss the hell off. :barf:
 
So, Stalin was justified in murdering millions of people? Mao? WWI killed roughly 15,000,000 people, Stalin killed 20,000,000 AFTER WWII and Mao killed 40,000,000.

China is justified in repressing its people and censoring the publication of IDEAS? Chavez was justified in shutting down television stations who disagreed with his ideas? Putin can jail anyone who disagrees with him? Correa can sue newspapers who disagree with him?

Back to the argument, a Bond film adaptation series staying true to the original novels can still portray a more nuanced view perhaps.

from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-...chavez-tv-station-globovision-being-sold.html

Chavez in 2007 shut down RCTV by revoking its broadcast license after he said the channel supported an attempted coup against him in 2002. Two other channels, Venevision and Televen, toned down their criticism of the government to remain on air.

Have you lived in Venezuela. Do you know what it is like not to know if basic food items are going to be in your grocery store from week to week? Not to be able to publicly discuss your opinions about a government for fear of reprisal. I do.

If you want to have this debate, you can open a thread elsewhere. This is not the place.
 
So, Stalin was justified in murdering millions of people? Mao? WWI killed roughly 15,000,000 people, Stalin killed 20,000,000 AFTER WWII and Mao killed 40,000,000.

I would point out to you that Mao was very much the darling of the Western media and that he rose to power mainly because the western newspapers had Washington convinced that he was a reformer and that backing Chiang was not an option. You could certainly say the Americans were more responsible for his murders than the Russians. But of course it's just another statistic to most Americans unless they want to get outraged about Obama/socialism/income redistribution.

China is justified in repressing its people and censoring the publication of IDEAS?

But China doesn't do that. It's censorship is aimed mainly at information that could create mass gatherings and threaten the public safety. It certainly doesn't censor ideas.

Chavez was justified in shutting down television stations who disagreed with his ideas?


Not a fan of Chavez, but most of the tv stations he shut down were owned by plutocrats who were opposed to him in the beginning and were disseminating lies and falsehoods about him. In most nations there are restrictions about the media outright lying, I know you aren't use to that in America with the hyper-partisan media such as Foxnews.
 
No.

But of course, using an historical setting is not the same thing as "retro." ;)

Yes, you are correct. The recent Captain America, for example, was not retro. Doing a Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers movie in the style of the original serials would be--and that would be kind of a cool movie to see as well.
 
I've often thought that the Bond books done as a period piece, one book per (6-7part) series would be pretty good, especially as that guy is different to the one we see in the movies. The movie Bond has parts of the same character, but not all at the same time, and moist don't look like, as Fleming suggested, Hoagy Carmichael.
 
Doubt it, and seeing as the only thing you remotely have to back success up is a two part episode from a show that was on it last legs and had pitiful ratings and fan films that aren't likely to attract anyone outside of the hardcore (which aren't enough for a successful movie) I don't see any reason not to doubt it.
I certainly have a lot more than that, but you're entitled to your opinion.

Care to share any of it?
Mostly what's obvious: TOS is an iconic and instantly recognizable part of pop culture that has been around for nearly fifty years, and inspired several generations-- not only with its optimism and social allegory, but it also inspired many to pursue careers in science and engineering and even politics. Its fans have included people from Carl Sagan to Stephen Hawking to Barack Obama to the King of Jordan to all those talking heads on Science Channel. It has a unique and engaging aesthetic. Plus, even in this day and age, a large audience can be found for colorful and Humanistic stories, as evidenced by the success of, for example, the works of Pixar.

It maybe looks good for TV, not a sever hundred million dollar movie.
Spending several hundred million dollars on a movie is obscene to begin with, and nobody will ever raise that much on Kickstarter. What I'm looking for through Kickstarter is movies that focus on story and characterization, not vapid studio blockbusters full of CGI explosions. That's pretty much the whole point.
If you're thinking kickstart will let you make a Trek movie, I hope you relize that Paramount and CBS can say no.
Well, I never said anything remotely like that, but thanks for the digression into obviousness. :rommie:
 
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