And the Academy Award for Best Pacing in an Older-Era Film goes to...
December 6, 2014 10:09 PM Subscribe
The biggest obstacle to my watching older films is bad/distracting pacing. Recommend your best tightly paced movies from before this millennial was born.
Confession: given the choice between an unknown film of the 1980s and an unknown film of any decade previous, I'll watch the probably-bad 80s film because it's at least marginally less likely that the pacing will make me want to cry.*
Similarly, one of my favorite genres is heist movies, but that time I watched The Italian Job (the original version) felt remarkably similarly to my experiences of marijuana-induced time dilation. And not in a fun way. I accept that this may make me a philistine in the eyes of film buffs, but by the time I was done, I wish I'd just watched the 2003 remake. And so most of the time now, I'll do that, because I watch movies for my own enjoyment, not out of some desire to checkbox all the classics.
But reading through the comments in yesterday's post on the blue about love for 1970s films made me feel like I should seek some recommendations for older fare. What films from before 1980 would you say couldn't easily be pared down without losing something important?
I realize this seems biased towards faster paced movies (and to an extent I am), but for the sake of this question, let's define a film with perfect pacing as one that keeps the viewer's attention hooked from beginning to end due to each scene being essential to characterization or plot, regardless of the speed at which the story unfolds.
*Exceptions obviously abound. I've fallen asleep to Blade Runner twice, even though both the acting and worldbuilding are awesome.
Confession: given the choice between an unknown film of the 1980s and an unknown film of any decade previous, I'll watch the probably-bad 80s film because it's at least marginally less likely that the pacing will make me want to cry.*
Similarly, one of my favorite genres is heist movies, but that time I watched The Italian Job (the original version) felt remarkably similarly to my experiences of marijuana-induced time dilation. And not in a fun way. I accept that this may make me a philistine in the eyes of film buffs, but by the time I was done, I wish I'd just watched the 2003 remake. And so most of the time now, I'll do that, because I watch movies for my own enjoyment, not out of some desire to checkbox all the classics.
But reading through the comments in yesterday's post on the blue about love for 1970s films made me feel like I should seek some recommendations for older fare. What films from before 1980 would you say couldn't easily be pared down without losing something important?
I realize this seems biased towards faster paced movies (and to an extent I am), but for the sake of this question, let's define a film with perfect pacing as one that keeps the viewer's attention hooked from beginning to end due to each scene being essential to characterization or plot, regardless of the speed at which the story unfolds.
*Exceptions obviously abound. I've fallen asleep to Blade Runner twice, even though both the acting and worldbuilding are awesome.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Where Eagles Dare might fit.
posted by fshgrl at 10:35 PM on December 6, 2014
posted by fshgrl at 10:35 PM on December 6, 2014
North by Northwest
posted by RobotHero at 10:35 PM on December 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by RobotHero at 10:35 PM on December 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
The Taking of Pelham One-Two-Three.
Dog Day Afternoon.
posted by theclaw at 10:52 PM on December 6, 2014 [6 favorites]
Dog Day Afternoon.
posted by theclaw at 10:52 PM on December 6, 2014 [6 favorites]
Alien, Star Wars? Also, 1982, but, The Thing is pretty tightly edited, too.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 10:55 PM on December 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Jon Mitchell at 10:55 PM on December 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
The Sting
The Blues Brothers
posted by rhizome at 10:56 PM on December 6, 2014
The Sting
The Blues Brothers
posted by rhizome at 10:56 PM on December 6, 2014
Citizen Kane & Gone With the Wind
I can never watch "just 5 minutes" of GWTW, its pacing is so good I end up at intermission before I've realized it.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 11:02 PM on December 6, 2014 [2 favorites]
I can never watch "just 5 minutes" of GWTW, its pacing is so good I end up at intermission before I've realized it.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 11:02 PM on December 6, 2014 [2 favorites]
I wanted to add that to get around this impatience I learned to make it sort of a meditative state on its own. Suddenly the slowness is almost ASMR-like. It's like the Slow TV movement.
The other recommendation I have is the original Star Trek tv series. Yes it is slow, but they capture the action-reaction shots really well, so that something is always happening. I realized that this sort of nuanced reading of body cues and appropriate verbal / physical response is grossly missing in today's tv and movies and can be missing from day to day interactions as well, but it is a vital form of communication since it is a sensitive way to tune into another person. I know you asked for film, but the original Star Trek is a good way to get used to that kind of older (= slower) story-telling, where you get to know a character on a more subtle level. The first time I got back into it I thought nothing was happening but then I realized there was so much happening right in front of my face, but I had been looking at the wrong things.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 11:15 PM on December 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
The other recommendation I have is the original Star Trek tv series. Yes it is slow, but they capture the action-reaction shots really well, so that something is always happening. I realized that this sort of nuanced reading of body cues and appropriate verbal / physical response is grossly missing in today's tv and movies and can be missing from day to day interactions as well, but it is a vital form of communication since it is a sensitive way to tune into another person. I know you asked for film, but the original Star Trek is a good way to get used to that kind of older (= slower) story-telling, where you get to know a character on a more subtle level. The first time I got back into it I thought nothing was happening but then I realized there was so much happening right in front of my face, but I had been looking at the wrong things.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 11:15 PM on December 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
First of all, I completely agree! While there are a million negative things to say about today's Hollywood product, narrative film is a young art form and it has made incredible strides in pacing from the '80s onwards.
That said, check out Frank Capra! IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, to name two, feel incredibly modern and fresh. Underneath the alleged corniness, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE is a very dark movie filled with a lot of very nuanced, human characters. And MR. SMITH probably would have trouble getting made today because of what it has to say about American politics.
posted by drjimmy11 at 11:37 PM on December 6, 2014 [4 favorites]
That said, check out Frank Capra! IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, to name two, feel incredibly modern and fresh. Underneath the alleged corniness, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE is a very dark movie filled with a lot of very nuanced, human characters. And MR. SMITH probably would have trouble getting made today because of what it has to say about American politics.
posted by drjimmy11 at 11:37 PM on December 6, 2014 [4 favorites]
Casablanca. His Girl Friday.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 11:46 PM on December 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 11:46 PM on December 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
The only answer is The Taking Of The Pelham One Two Three.
Bonus points if you listen to The Greg Proops Film Club episode on the movie alongside. Genius!!
posted by jbenben at 1:00 AM on December 7, 2014
Bonus points if you listen to The Greg Proops Film Club episode on the movie alongside. Genius!!
posted by jbenben at 1:00 AM on December 7, 2014
Trouble in Paradise & Pickup on South Street! Both films are tightly-paced, witty, and unpandering—they kept a theater of sleepy college students fully entertained.
posted by brieche at 1:08 AM on December 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by brieche at 1:08 AM on December 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
You absolutely have to watch The Day of the Jackal.
Also, Escape from Alcatraz.
posted by invisible ink at 2:06 AM on December 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
Also, Escape from Alcatraz.
posted by invisible ink at 2:06 AM on December 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
Some Like It Hot.
posted by Melismata at 3:18 AM on December 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Melismata at 3:18 AM on December 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
The Women
Make sure you watch the 1939 B&W film and not the 2008 remake. Bonus points if you can find the original version which includes a ten-minute Technicolor fashion show as sort of an intermission. (The fashion show is often cut out when the movie is shown on TV.)
posted by fuse theorem at 4:00 AM on December 7, 2014
Make sure you watch the 1939 B&W film and not the 2008 remake. Bonus points if you can find the original version which includes a ten-minute Technicolor fashion show as sort of an intermission. (The fashion show is often cut out when the movie is shown on TV.)
posted by fuse theorem at 4:00 AM on December 7, 2014
You may not be able to tolerate It's a Wonderful Life--I love it, but it's not exactly fast-paced.
The Sting is a good one. Also Arsenic and Old Lace.
I've fallen asleep to Blade Runner twice
That makes at least two of us!
posted by chaiminda at 4:15 AM on December 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
The Sting is a good one. Also Arsenic and Old Lace.
I've fallen asleep to Blade Runner twice
That makes at least two of us!
posted by chaiminda at 4:15 AM on December 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
Footlight Parade! It's from 1933 (aka pre-Code) and the pacing is very tight. You could fast forward through the epic Busby Berkeley numbers but don't skip the final one as Jimmy Cagney dances in that one.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 4:22 AM on December 7, 2014
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 4:22 AM on December 7, 2014
Another Hitchcock suggestion: To Catch a Thief. It moves pretty quickly and, ironically, the point where I find it drags the most is during the car chase. But that's only a few minutes long.
And Charade, which is sometimes called "the greatest Hitchcock film that Hitchcock never made." It's a parody of the thriller/suspense genre.
It's been awhile since I've seen it, but I think Roman Holiday moves pretty quickly, too.
posted by lharmon at 5:10 AM on December 7, 2014
And Charade, which is sometimes called "the greatest Hitchcock film that Hitchcock never made." It's a parody of the thriller/suspense genre.
It's been awhile since I've seen it, but I think Roman Holiday moves pretty quickly, too.
posted by lharmon at 5:10 AM on December 7, 2014
The French Connection
Point Blank (1961). Not the Mel Gibson kind-of-remake Payback.
posted by elendil71 at 5:37 AM on December 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
Point Blank (1961). Not the Mel Gibson kind-of-remake Payback.
posted by elendil71 at 5:37 AM on December 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
Try the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone; the "Dollars Trilogy" (A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) starring Clint Eastwood, and Once Upon a Time in the West.
Here's a not-very-good-quality YouTube clip of the second half of the first 12 or so minutes of Once Upon a Time in the West - the pace can be almost glacial, but it's absolutely intentional as a way to create tension and as contrast to sudden bursts of violence. If you can get into the rhythm of the films, they're masterpieces.
posted by soundguy99 at 5:57 AM on December 7, 2014
Here's a not-very-good-quality YouTube clip of the second half of the first 12 or so minutes of Once Upon a Time in the West - the pace can be almost glacial, but it's absolutely intentional as a way to create tension and as contrast to sudden bursts of violence. If you can get into the rhythm of the films, they're masterpieces.
posted by soundguy99 at 5:57 AM on December 7, 2014
That said, check out Frank Capra! IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON
I was actually going to suggest Lost Horizon.
posted by LionIndex at 7:14 AM on December 7, 2014
I was actually going to suggest Lost Horizon.
posted by LionIndex at 7:14 AM on December 7, 2014
I was born in 1982 and have this problem too! I also fell asleep to Blade Runner twice, and I feel bad because I know I would like it. I watched Rosemary's Baby and couldn't believe people actually enjoy it or thought it was scary. I kiiiinda liked Streetcar Named Desire and Casablanca but my art school husband made me watch them. I think for some of us, it's too late. We grew up on all those neon colors and explosions, man! I can't watch some beigey guys in fedoras for very long at all!
posted by masquesoporfavor at 7:54 AM on December 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by masquesoporfavor at 7:54 AM on December 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
Double Indemnity.
posted by whistle pig at 7:55 AM on December 7, 2014
posted by whistle pig at 7:55 AM on December 7, 2014
Oh yes, and nthing The Thing a million times. I've seen it more than once and always on the edge of my seat.
posted by whistle pig at 7:56 AM on December 7, 2014
posted by whistle pig at 7:56 AM on December 7, 2014
OP, I think older heist/action movies are going to suffer the worst in comparison to what you're used to in modern movies, and you would have better luck with comedies and dramas.
Marx Brothers movies - there's usually some mundane plot featuring non-Marx brothers characters for story structure, but you can fast-forward through them if you get bored, the vaudeville comedy stuff moves pretty fast.
Auntie Mame starring Rosalind Russell is one of those movies I will watch whenever it shows up on tv, funny and sweet.
Anything with Myrna Loy & William Powell - they're most well-known for playing Nick & Nora Charles in the "The Thin Man" movies, but some of the other ones they did together are pretty hilarious too - "Love Crazy" and "I Love You Again" show up on TMC.
Hitchcock movies can be hit or miss, I think. I was bored out of my mind watching Psycho (I'm sure it was suspenseful and ground-breaking at the time, but man does it drag on now), but I'll watch "Notorious" whenever I come across it on cable because knowing the ending doesn't ruin the love story going on between Cary Grant & Ingrid Bergman.
I think it also helps if you can find an actor/actress that you find compelling, because they will suck you into the movie and keep you captivated even when things are moving a little slowly.
posted by oh yeah! at 8:13 AM on December 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
Marx Brothers movies - there's usually some mundane plot featuring non-Marx brothers characters for story structure, but you can fast-forward through them if you get bored, the vaudeville comedy stuff moves pretty fast.
Auntie Mame starring Rosalind Russell is one of those movies I will watch whenever it shows up on tv, funny and sweet.
Anything with Myrna Loy & William Powell - they're most well-known for playing Nick & Nora Charles in the "The Thin Man" movies, but some of the other ones they did together are pretty hilarious too - "Love Crazy" and "I Love You Again" show up on TMC.
Hitchcock movies can be hit or miss, I think. I was bored out of my mind watching Psycho (I'm sure it was suspenseful and ground-breaking at the time, but man does it drag on now), but I'll watch "Notorious" whenever I come across it on cable because knowing the ending doesn't ruin the love story going on between Cary Grant & Ingrid Bergman.
I think it also helps if you can find an actor/actress that you find compelling, because they will suck you into the movie and keep you captivated even when things are moving a little slowly.
posted by oh yeah! at 8:13 AM on December 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
A very good, somewhat overlooked 70s-on-the-cusp-of-80s movie is Richard Rush's The Stunt Man. Tight editing when it needs to be, some spectacular, bravura directing, it's a real fun house of a film. Plus, Peter O'Toole!
(Don't feel bad about falling asleep during Blade Runner; of the +12 times I've watched it, I've fallen asleep easily a third of the time. That dreamy Vangelis score, the multiple different versions of the movie -- which one am I watching this time? Does it matter? It's a post-modern rite of passage to fall asleep to Blade Runner.)
posted by Bron at 9:19 AM on December 7, 2014 [2 favorites]
(Don't feel bad about falling asleep during Blade Runner; of the +12 times I've watched it, I've fallen asleep easily a third of the time. That dreamy Vangelis score, the multiple different versions of the movie -- which one am I watching this time? Does it matter? It's a post-modern rite of passage to fall asleep to Blade Runner.)
posted by Bron at 9:19 AM on December 7, 2014 [2 favorites]
soundguy99: "Try the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone; the "Dollars Trilogy" (A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) starring Clint Eastwood, and Once Upon a Time in the West."
If your concern is pacing, your safest start is A Few Dollars More.
posted by RobotHero at 9:46 AM on December 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
If your concern is pacing, your safest start is A Few Dollars More.
posted by RobotHero at 9:46 AM on December 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
Seconding "The Thin Man" series, especially the first 2 or 3.
posted by bleep at 11:13 AM on December 7, 2014
posted by bleep at 11:13 AM on December 7, 2014
Seconding "The French Connection". And for 70's thrillers I'll add "All the Presidents Men".
posted by Petersondub at 1:01 PM on December 7, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Petersondub at 1:01 PM on December 7, 2014 [2 favorites]
For 70's thrillers I'd say Three Days of the Condor, but I don't remember if it drags at times or not. It probably does because urban, paranoid, epi-Nixonian cold war America almost requires a few brooding shots of leafless trees and the symphony of the city. Lots of running and shooting and chasing and double-crossing though.
posted by mumkin at 2:25 PM on December 7, 2014
posted by mumkin at 2:25 PM on December 7, 2014
Pacing to me is all about whether they've involved me in the film. If they have, the pacing is always perfect, whether it is breakneck or leisurely.
Lawrence of Arabia is endlessly fascinating and I really care what is happening. To others the pace may seem slow.
My son, who only likes breakneck paced movies loved The Great Escape because he became so involved in the characters.
A lot of the above are great for fast paced movies. Among them, I'd recommend Casablanca, His Girl Friday for their wonderfully reckless pacing.
My own contribution would be One, Two, Three by Billy Wilder. The pacing is a little slow at first, but becomes faster and faster, until it is runaway.
Also It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. It is practically a car chase beginning to end.
And virtually anything by Billy Wilder or Preston Sturges.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 2:34 PM on December 7, 2014
Lawrence of Arabia is endlessly fascinating and I really care what is happening. To others the pace may seem slow.
My son, who only likes breakneck paced movies loved The Great Escape because he became so involved in the characters.
A lot of the above are great for fast paced movies. Among them, I'd recommend Casablanca, His Girl Friday for their wonderfully reckless pacing.
My own contribution would be One, Two, Three by Billy Wilder. The pacing is a little slow at first, but becomes faster and faster, until it is runaway.
Also It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. It is practically a car chase beginning to end.
And virtually anything by Billy Wilder or Preston Sturges.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 2:34 PM on December 7, 2014
Older movies are time capsules of the, uh...time they were created in, so to some extent I'd expect the pacing of the movie to be commensurate with the pace of life in that era. No text messages popping up while other things are happening on screen a la Sherlock.
That said, Bullitt, Dirty Harry, nthing "Three Days of Condor", the original Thomas Crown Affair.
That scene where McQueen's character crosses the road into a dinner to make a call. Essential? I'd say so. The massive american cars, cool jazz in the diner and the act of dialling the payphone itself. It's like a time machine, I love it!
PS: You might want to try joining movielens.org. It asks you to rate a bunch of movies and the provides recommendations based on your preexisting selection. You can also chose years that you're interested in, as well as genres.
posted by aeighty at 9:07 PM on December 7, 2014
That said, Bullitt, Dirty Harry, nthing "Three Days of Condor", the original Thomas Crown Affair.
That scene where McQueen's character crosses the road into a dinner to make a call. Essential? I'd say so. The massive american cars, cool jazz in the diner and the act of dialling the payphone itself. It's like a time machine, I love it!
PS: You might want to try joining movielens.org. It asks you to rate a bunch of movies and the provides recommendations based on your preexisting selection. You can also chose years that you're interested in, as well as genres.
posted by aeighty at 9:07 PM on December 7, 2014
Response by poster: I'm not marking any best answers because this is an ongoing exploration, but I just wanted to thank everyone for the suggestions. I got a good laugh out of hearing I'm not the only one to fall asleep repeatedly to Bladerunner, and while I'm sure not all of these movies will work for me (Once Upon A Time In the West? Really??), I am looking forward to working through a lot of them in due course.
For those interested, I've done a quick sort of the major streaming subscriptions and see the following available for "free" viewing:
His Girl Friday (netflix)
Escape from Alcatraz (netflix)
Roman Holiday (netflix)
Midnight Express (hulu)
The Stunt Man (hulu)
Three Days of the Condor (amazon)
Thomas Crown Affair '68 (HBO Go)
posted by deludingmyself at 6:04 PM on December 26, 2014
For those interested, I've done a quick sort of the major streaming subscriptions and see the following available for "free" viewing:
Escape from Alcatraz (netflix)
Roman Holiday (netflix)
Midnight Express (hulu)
The Stunt Man (hulu)
Three Days of the Condor (amazon)
Thomas Crown Affair '68 (HBO Go)
posted by deludingmyself at 6:04 PM on December 26, 2014
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posted by bleep at 10:29 PM on December 6, 2014 [3 favorites]