"Films were longer in the past because there was emphasis on character development, and time was spent building up the situation before it led to any action. If today's movies don't feature an explosion or car chase within the first ten minutes, they are written off as "too long" or "boring." There seems to be a need for constant sensory stimulation in addition to the decreased attention span."
Pretty much. My problem with 2+ hour Hollywood blockbusters now is the exhausting and boring CG spectacle. I haven't been dazzled by CG in over a decade now and it's gotten where the fights often bleed into one another. However, I also admit I'm burned out on those kinds of movies these days, so it could also be me that's the problem.
I'm one of the dreaded millenials people complain about, but I don't mind long films at all so long as they justify their length. I love SEVEN SAMURAI, HIGH AND LOW, and RAN, all long Kurosawa movies, but they have great characters and intriguing storylines. It really just goes down to telling a good story.
In fact, plenty of people my age also binge watch TV series all the time, sitting through 5-7 hours of whatever's on streaming. People can still watch longer media, I think.
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jonathan_k80 (6436)
3 years ago
I agree that there is overuse of CGI. This is no longer the era of Terminator 2 when audiences were wowed by the technology. Hollywood has proven its point... studios now possess the capability to digitally create characters and backgrounds, so give it a rest.
If the movie setting is, for example, an ancient civilization, then digitally recreating the classic architecture and other background components would be justified. But just throwing in a bunch of flashy effects for the sake of flashy effects, and to pander to those who must have constant sensory stimulation, results in two hours of mindless filler. I prefer something with substance.
I, too, have grown tired of these overblown "blockbusters." I can no longer sit through the superhero stuff and was finished with Star Wars years ago.
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ElizabethJoestar (946)
3 years ago
I always say movies that are mainly made to dazzle you with effects are doomed to age poorly if there aren't other factors to engage your attention. The effects in the original Star Wars have aged, but the characters and story are solid, so that hardly matters. The same applies to classic era genre movies like The Wizard of Oz.
I'm in the same boat regarding the modern blockbuster tentpole. At this point, I'm just fatigued with the blockbuster genre, though if other people still like them, they've no need for fear. Hollywood has them covered.
Luckily, it's easier than ever to seek out alternative entertainment. You can find hidden treasures on streaming. I often also use my library and YouTube to seek out older classics I've missed as well.
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Kawada_Kira (7282)
3 years ago
I think you hit the nail on the head. The problem isn't with movies being long, it's with certain kinds of movies, these blockbusters that are all carbon copies of each other and rely way too much on CGI. Great point about binging TV series too. It's not the length, it's the quality. If a movie is just CGI and spectacle, without a great story to back it up, it's not good quality, it's boring and forgettable. That's why nobody even really remembers Avatar despite it being touted at the time as a guaranteed epic because its budget was the equivalent of the GDP of a small country. Just throwing money at something doesn't make it good. It makes it wasteful.
Man I remember the first time I watched Breaking Bad. I don't think I've ever binge-watched anything quite so hard. I also binged The Man in the High Castle pretty hard too, to the point where I actually got kind of exhausted and needed to take a break from TV for a couple days. They were great stories. When the story is good, it doesn't matter how long it is.
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kukuxu (5409)
3 years ago
In fact, plenty of people my age also binge watch TV series all the time, sitting through 5-7 hours of whatever's on streaming. People can still watch longer media, I think.
This ^^
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