Anyone look at movies differently now?

[Brian Sheridan]

I have found since coming to the Lounge and really get hepped up on vintage, I watch old movies differently now.

My wife looks at me strange when I start talking about the brim of some guy's hat or the cut of his suit - or heaven forbid - the belted back!

I have always loved old movies but now they are more than just entertainment to me - they are like a vintage clothing lesson, confirming for me the information I have read on the forum.

Anyone else find this happening to them?

 

[deadpandiva]

Yes. I am obsessed with ladies hats. I am always noticing the clothing, shoes and even the furniture in classic movies. I find that 1939 is my ideal year for style. Everytime I watch a movie from that year I want to get in a time machine.

 

[surely]

Yup, me too. I tend to watch old movies with the mute on so I can better study the background. I learned to do that during my Japanese building phase; would go to old samurai movies, wouldn't read the dialogue & just study the background details. The film noir are great because the backgrounds reflect the times the film was made.

 

[SamMarlowPI]

one reason i joined the Lounge is because i do that to old films already..lol

 

[skyvue]

one reason i joined the Lounge is because i do that to old films already..lol

Me, too. I've done that for years. I listen for interesting use of language and slang, too, and obsessively check out all billboards, marquees, posted advertising, etc. I see in old movies.

 

[dhermann1]

Funny you should mention

Me too. I was watching a couple of the Thin Man flicks recently, and reran the scenes in their apartment several times to checkout the decor. I've gotten an obsession lately with the distinction between Art Deco and Art Modrene, since I'm moving into a 1939 Deco/Moderne building soon. I want to fix it up just right. But also, cars, hats, background buildings, signage, you name it, I focus on it. One of my favorite things along that line is trying to notice details in the backgrounds of old silent comedies. They are time capsules of Los Angeles in the 1920's.

 

[skyvue]

One of my favorite things along that line is trying to notice details in the backgrounds of old silent comedies. They are time capsules of Los Angeles in the 1920's.

I'm with you there. I always wish I could figure out where LA street scenes were shot. Everything looks so new and unfinished.

I can sometimes recognize a location in a silent film set in NYC, but unless they're set downtown or along Hollywood Boulevard, LA silents mostly leave me guessing.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Every silent film fan should own John Bergison's books -- which take stills from classic silents, deduces the exact locations, and then show modern-day shots from the same perspective. His first volume, "Silent Echoes" focused on the films of Buster Keaton, most of which were shot in and around several blocks along Lillian Way in Los Angeles, and many of the buildings in those films still exist. He's done a second volume offering the same treatment to the works of Chaplin. Highly recommended!!!

 

[skyvue]

Those are good books, Lizzie. I used Silent Echoes to find the spot of my favorite Buster Keaton gag, from which I posted pictures in this thread:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=19943&page=2

They're toward the bottom of the page.

 

[The Wolf]

I, too, do that. Whilst watching "The Bishop's Wife" my wife and I started studying the how the library was decorated and decided we wanted that room in our house. Often in old movies or new movies that take place in the golden age I see a suit and say "I want that whole get up.".
Big pictures from the time are nice for beautifully designed rooms, whereas "B" movies or serials are great for looking a little more natural (aside from the death machines ).

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[Miss Crisplock]

Uh oh. I'm another one - I have always watched the backgrounds. Sounds like that attention to detail might be a common link among loungers.

 

[Brinybay]

Yes, as a matter of fact, I'm doing that also. Want to watch a good "suit" movie? Check out "The Man They Could Not Hang", starring Boris Karloff. I was rewinding and pausing it to get a better look at BK's double-breasted suit in the court room scene. I'm even looking at Marx Bros movies in a new light.

 

[Jovan]

Yeah, you're definitely not alone. It's a lot of fun, really. You see how the fabrics drape and move on the actors, the guys who left their top 6x2 button undone, how they casually (and not affectedly) tilted their hats, etc. Believe me, I take a lot of mental notes on these things. I fell in love with Stewart's peaked lapel three piece in Rope when I found myself constantly freeze framing. That will be my essential "Golden Era" suit should I have one made.

Hell, I pick apart clothing all the time in modern movies and TV as well. Unfortunately, it's mainly, "Damn, if only that coat had higher armholes..." lol Anyone else do THAT?

 

[Flivver]

Old movies have always served as a time machine for me. I love looking at all the details in the background.

The advent of DVD players has added to the fun. Now it's possible to step the movie forward or backward, frame by frame, then pause to study the details of a particular scene. This is great for identifying a car or a radio or looking around a shop the film's characters may be in.

Recently, this caused me to buy a used 36" CRT TV with the old 4:3 format. It allows me to really "step into" my favorite vintage films and have a look around!

 

[Foofoogal]

Those photo links are great. I love to look for antiques when I watch old movies and how they are displayed. I also love the gorgeous clothing and how it is all cut and especially loungewear. Those ladies sure knew how to sit around the house.

 

[Feraud]

Every silent film fan should own John Bergison's books -- which take stills from classic silents, deduces the exact locations, and then show modern-day shots from the same perspective. His first volume, "Silent Echoes" focused on the films of Buster Keaton, most of which were shot in and around several blocks along Lillian Way in Los Angeles, and many of the buildings in those films still exist. He's done a second volume offering the same treatment to the works of Chaplin. Highly recommended!!!

Thanks for the recommendations LizzieMaine.

 

[Twitch]

I'd say I notice the clothing more, no doubt.

 

[Lincsong]

Actually I used to watch old movies from the '30s and '40s when I was a kid in the '70s and I used want to dress like them. I used to say that and my buddy's Dad used to say; "you should have been born when I was born! You're 40 years behind your time".lol

 

[SamMarlowPI]

I used to say that and my buddy's Dad used to say; "you should have been born when I was born! You're 40 years behind your time".lol

thats me too...

 

[Hondo]

I look at old movies as a window, maybe like Alice in the looking glass,
but being for real about it in my state of mind, even if it isn't to others.
Like clothes, hats and the actors long gone. Thats how I spend or try to spend my time, boring as it may sound, call it a hobby. I think we can all learn something even something small from these films, call me strange [huh]