Epic films... Still not as good as they used to be!
Discussion
So now we have new epics, like LOTR, Troy, and the like, is it just me that thinks the epics of old were far better visually. CGI is OK, and gets you so far, but the scenes with thousands of people still look wrong. The last few weeks I've been watching some older epics. Waterloo, Ben Hur, etc, and they do seem to kick their arse in the grand scale, despite not being as grand on the eye, if you know what I mean.
So.. Looking for epics in that style that I may have missed. Any suggestions?
("I'm Spartacus!", just to get that one out)
So.. Looking for epics in that style that I may have missed. Any suggestions?
("I'm Spartacus!", just to get that one out)
Quite simply, modern "big" films aren't epics. As you say, they are all CGi and no matter how good the animation, you sit there knowing that the thousands you see before you were created on a hard disk and not armies, choreographed to a monumental scale which takes the edge off the spectacle.
I watched the tail end of Waterloo a few months back, and was astonished at the sheer scale of the battle and all the extras - it was 'real'. So much so that I bought the DVD from amazon. There still does seem to be a world of difference between the modern CGI epics and the 'old school' type. Although I do admit, I like the Battle of Guagamala in the (very flawed) epic Alexander.
Have to say I disagree. (Apart for the fact that I think each film needs to be judge on its own merit, as opposed to what era it was made)
Ben hur for one just seems to drag on and on and on and on.
LOTR imho is pretty much the best "epic" movie there is.
Then there is the likes of the God Farther, that could be made today, and would have little or no need for CGI and would probably still be an awesome film, and on the flip side you have something like "When worlds collide" (guilty pleasure) that would probably be better off for being made today, so as said I think the era that a film is made in is pretty much irrelevant.
Ben hur for one just seems to drag on and on and on and on.
LOTR imho is pretty much the best "epic" movie there is.
Then there is the likes of the God Farther, that could be made today, and would have little or no need for CGI and would probably still be an awesome film, and on the flip side you have something like "When worlds collide" (guilty pleasure) that would probably be better off for being made today, so as said I think the era that a film is made in is pretty much irrelevant.
KrazyIvan said:
Have to say I disagree. (Apart for the fact that I think each film needs to be judge on its own merit, as opposed to what era it was made)
Ben hur for one just seems to drag on and on and on and on.
LOTR imho is pretty much the best "epic" movie there is.
Then there is the likes of the God Farther, that could be made today, and would have little or no need for CGI and would probably still be an awesome film, and on the flip side you have something like "When worlds collide" (guilty pleasure) that would probably be better off for being made today, so as said I think the era that a film is made in is pretty much irrelevant.
I am judging a film on it's own merit. What I am saying is that the cgi in my opinion, does not look as good, as real, or as intense as a real crowd, like they did back in the old days. When an epic like Alexander the Great, or Ben Hur was made, the people you see are real people. What you see is what you get. What makes it an epic over something like LOTR is that when you see a battle scene, that has all been choreographed, with people actually acting, as far as the eye can see. LOTR just copy and pastes more peop,e in. It steals from the effect, to me anyway. I love LOTR, by the way, but as much as the cgi helps the story, it detracts from the actual feel of the film.Ben hur for one just seems to drag on and on and on and on.
LOTR imho is pretty much the best "epic" movie there is.
Then there is the likes of the God Farther, that could be made today, and would have little or no need for CGI and would probably still be an awesome film, and on the flip side you have something like "When worlds collide" (guilty pleasure) that would probably be better off for being made today, so as said I think the era that a film is made in is pretty much irrelevant.
Some of the really old stuff with stop frame, like Jason and the Argonauts, are occasionally better visually than the modern CGi equivalent effects used now. Sometimes the overuse of camera gymnastics used in modern films irritate me as it effectively takes away your point of perspective and becomes disorientating for the sake of making the visuals appear more dramatic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yYeZMx1Y7U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yYeZMx1Y7U
RV8 said:
Some of the really old stuff with stop frame, like Jason and the Argonauts, are occasionally better visually than the modern CGi equivalent effects used now. Sometimes the overuse of camera gymnastics used in modern films irritate me as it effectively takes away your point of perspective and becomes disorientating for the sake of making the visuals appear more dramatic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yYeZMx1Y7U
I've just realised that the baddie is the priest from the beginning of The Fifth Element.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yYeZMx1Y7U
Blue Meanie said:
So now we have new epics, like LOTR, Troy, and the like, is it just me that thinks the epics of old were far better visually. CGI is OK, and gets you so far, but the scenes with thousands of people still look wrong. The last few weeks I've been watching some older epics. Waterloo, Ben Hur, etc, and they do seem to kick their arse in the grand scale, despite not being as grand on the eye, if you know what I mean.
So.. Looking for epics in that style that I may have missed. Any suggestions?
("I'm Spartacus!", just to get that one out)
That was on tv here the other night, I turned onto the channel just as they stood up...So.. Looking for epics in that style that I may have missed. Any suggestions?
("I'm Spartacus!", just to get that one out)
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