Just curious if it's just me ... Do you feel todays handheld "filming" is a cool style? I hate the modern feel with a passion. Watching films from pre 2000 or maybe even pre 1990 looks so much better. De Palma with his lovely slow moving tracking shots, cameras that's not pushed into the face in a wiggly way. And todays editing, hardly a scene longer than a second. Is it because actors can't do multiple lines in a row? It stresses my brain and I really enjoy such long scenes as Woody Allens Manhattan. Minutes long converstions. Stunning camera movement. Thumbs up for the old classic way, toilet flush for the new style from me

In some of the old movies (40s), you saw some very long scenes and wondered how the actor could remember their lines. I don't like this hand held stuff at all, makes it look amateur. Have you noticed modern films don't have the colour of the films from the 50s.

The whole feeling is wrong. For me, there is almost always a green or blue tint to newer "films"

Oh, you've really opened up a can of worms now Vidar! I HATE CGIs, and the hand held shaky camera shots, and quick zooms! I totally agree with you Vidar about Brian DePalma's directing style. I'm a big fan of Dario Argento's directing style in "Deep Red" a.k.a. "Profondo Rosso" (1975) and "Suspiria" (1977). The latter used color as well as lighting to its advantage. Tracking shots are essential to good filmmaking in my opinion. I also MUCH prefer actual stunts and special effects used over CGIs. When you see an actual explosion onscreen, it makes for a more believable production. I could go on and on about this subject!

So true, I cringe every time I see a CGI explosion. It just doesn't feel right at all. I do hope for close to no CGI in the new Star Wars film and I'd wish that was a film we could buy for Super 8 printing. I'd pay some for that :-) If it's directly from the negatives, how nice wouldn't that look.

Steadycam trumps "videocam" feel any day, if the must use a moveable camera. Crane shots too, looked better before.

Bring back the magic Hollywood

Oh yes, crane shots! Argento did an awesome continuous crane shot in "Tenebrae" (1982). The crane started at the window of the lower level of a two-story house, went up slowly over the side, over the roof, and back down on the other side. All while peering into different windows of the home. I think it took him two or three days to get it to his satisfaction. I like Argento just a bit, can you tell?

What about aerial shots? Love those when they are real! I've noticed aerial shots in recent productions that are TOTALLY CGI!

See, I'm on a roll now!

Keep it rolling :-) I think we hate the same things

Imagine Lawrence of Arabia remade I know. The introduction of Omar Sharif how many cuts would that get, along with the camera rotating around him. Just watched Star Wars IV the ruined version. The explosions are poor in some places and those silly CGI on the sand scenes look very poor.

Oh lads, you have hit it on the noggin, totally agree with your comments, "the shaky cam", the rubbish editing, mumbled lines, a great example just watched on TV, "The Trials of Jimmy Rose", a gangster type "Hard case" photoplay with Ray Winstone, Ray is hard work,
trying to decipher what the hell he's talking about is not easy, he mumbles in low "cockney twang", then for added effect, somebody
suggested he should eat a bag of crisps for Christ sake while talking! This is when subtitles or better still, dubbing would be a boon.
Ray used to be able to talk quite clearly, as in "Minder", but not now it seems. A thing that really gets me swearing is when the end of a
film nears, then the picture is crunched up into a corner of the screen, usually as the actors names are then too small to read, after the last name has gone, or clips from something else shown alongside, it resumes to full screen so that we can see who hired the cars out, who made the meals and who swept up! While all this is going on, the announcer is still droning on, sometimes even over closing dialogue! This is obviously something that came in from America and I wish they'd take it back.

just love your choice of phrase Hugh Ha ha! .. But of course, you are spot on with everything you so comically observe with this one.

Nicholas Cage does it for me every time...cannot understand a bloody word he's saying!! Ever watched "A City Of Angels? "

The color in most modern films look washed out and muted.CGI effects generally have that video game look and have a generic sameness about them from movie to movie. On the editing front,I think editors must follow a rule (post 1999) that no shot can last more than two seconds. Since when did the attention span of most adults shorten to five seconds? Call me a jaded old b*st*rd but that's my two cents on the topic.