CMBA profiles one member every month. This month's interview is with Jay who blogs at Cinema Essentials. Jay loves all genres but a few of his favorites include, spy films, thrillers, historical epics and more.
What sparked your
interest in classic film?
I've always had at
least some interest, as far back as I can remember. Classic films were a major
part of the TV landscape when I was a child, so I grew up watching them. I
didn't differentiate much between old films and new, unless they were in black
& white, which clearly marked them out as being "old". But 1960s
films like The Italian Job, The Great Escape or early Bond films
didn't seem that old to me.
I always liked spy
films and thrillers and the remakes of The 39 Steps and The Lady
Vanishes softened me up for the originals. So I was a Hitchcock fan from an
early age and also liked Hitchcockian films like 23 Paces to Baker Street,
Night Train to Munich and Charade. Charade was one of my
favourite Hitchcock films as a child. Until I found out that, inexplicably, it
wasn't actually a Hitchcock film, it just seemed like one.
Classic comedies also
helped to wear away my early resistance to black and white, particularly Ealing
comedies, Will Hay films and early Carry Ons. I also remember staying up
late (or what seemed late at the time) to watch Green for Danger when I
was 7 or 8. It was an old black and white film, but it was funny and
entertaining. More importantly, we could stay up late, which made it much more
memorable and interesting.
Older films seem to be
disappearing from the schedules in many places now, so people are less likely
to have that discovery through TV. So it often seems to be relatives or a class
that introduces them to classic films instead. When I read about other CMBA
members watching Singin' in the Rain in class, it makes me think I must
have gone to the wrong school. We never got anything like that at my school -
we had to do work! When I think about the amount of time I spent watching old
films as a child, I realise now it should really have been classified as
homework.
My family also had a
couple of editions of Halliwell's Film Guide, probably the most popular
film guide in the UK in pre-internet days. It was a huge book and packed with
so much information that it was effectively a potted history of the cinema. It
meant that I had an understanding of the scope of film history, and was aware of
the big famous films, and many not so famous, long before I actually got to see
them.
I think those old film
guides aided discovery and exploration, and helped to break down the barrier
between old films and new. The Jazz Singer and Metropolis could
sit alongside Terminator 2 and Rocky III. Although not literally,
of course, unless the author just didn't understand the concept of alphabetical
order.
What film genre(s) do
you favor?
I particularly like
thrillers, spy films, war films, horror, sci-fi, and comedies.
I think one of cinema's
greatest qualities is its ability to transport us, to eras long gone or future
or fantasy worlds that never were. So I like historical films, sci-fi or
fantasy that are good at world-building and can convince us that world is real.
I'm especially fond of
big historical epics. Something with huge sets, lots of people on horseback,
and men saying things like "My liege, the people are revolting" and
that kind of thing.
War films are a genre
that I think is often underrated, because when we think of them it's often the
generic men-in-tin-helmets type combat films that we think of. But it's a very
varied genre with many sub-genres. The Enemy Below, Paths of Glory and
I Was Monty's Double are all "war" films from the 1950s, but
they're not really in quite the same
genre.
I also love classic
British comedies, especially from the 1950s and '60s. Ealing comedies, the
Boulting Brothers' satires and almost anything with Peter Sellers, Terry-Thomas
or Alastair Sim.
Is there a James Bond book
in your future? (I say this because you mention the possibility on your
website) and who is the greatest James Bond?
I wrote that partly as a joke, but it was obviously at the back of my
mind, so it is a slight possibility. I'm hoping to get around to writing about
each of the films individually, and then maybe I could eventually work those
articles into a book.
But I deliberately haven't gone big on Bond on the site, because there
were other things I wanted to feature, so I've only written about The Spy
Who Loved Me so far. That was almost the first thing I wrote and I was
conscious of not making the posts too long. I don't really worry about that
anymore - as regular readers will know. I watched the film again recently and
there was a lot more that I wanted to say, so it needs expanding.
The greatest James Bond would have to be Sean Connery, as he originated
the part on film and helped to turn Bond into a phenomenon. He had a run of
five great Bond films from Dr No to You Only Live Twice that no
one else has matched. I also love John Barry's music and Ken Adam's sets, and
those elements were often at their best in the 1960s.
What is your “go to”
classic film when you need something to lift up your spirits?
As I mentioned, I'm very partial to classic British comedy, so it would
likely be something along those lines. If I had to pick one, it would probably
be Two Way Stretch with Peter Sellers, which is a work of rare genius.
The original Star Wars still works as well. It transports me back
to my childhood in a way that almost no other film can. And yes, Star Wars
is definitely a classic film! It's just a shame that it's deliberately been
made so difficult to see the original version. As we all know, the
"Special Edition" is an abomination, and a serious crime against film
history.
For a Bond film, I would probably go with Octopussy. The first
Bond I encountered was Roger Moore, so I've always been fond of his films. Octopussy
is one of the ones that most people forget, or if they remember it, it's
because they don't like it. But there's something about its cheesy humour,
strange mashing of genres and its flabby geniality that obviously appeals to
me.
Or The Spy Who Loved Me, a Bond epic that doesn't take itself too
seriously. It's also one of the best designed films in the series, so there's
plenty of eye candy for Ken Adam fans. I sometimes put that one on just to look
at the sets. Although I never tell my girlfriend that, because it sounds a bit
sad. I just tell her I'm ogling Caroline Munro.
Name three films that
most classic film fans love, but you hate, and if you can tell us why?
This is not a very popular opinion, but I do genuinely believe that Bringing
up Baby is quite a bad film, and everyone else has lost their minds over
that one. I first watched it when I was very into Cary Grant and screwball
comedy, but found it very strained and desperate.
I watched It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World recently and thought that
was fairly bad. I don't know if it's considered to be a classic though. Most
people who come to it now would probably find it very laboured and unfunny, and
it just goes on forever.
Rio Bravo is one I've seen on a couple of greatest ever film's lists and it's very
average. It's probably not even the best western of 1959, let alone one of the
best films ever. I don't hate it though, it's just too mediocre to have any
strong opinions about.
I wrote about the 1931 Dracula recently, and thought a lot of that
was bordering on bad, although admittedly it has a fairly strong opening.
That was actually four films, but I like to give people value for money.
Do you have a favorite
film period?
Probably from the 1940s to the early 1970s. The quality isn't necessarily
better in the later years. In fact, the average or below average film was
probably better quality in the studio era. But as the studio system breaks down
and there's no longer any kind of a production line, each film becomes more its
own individual thing, and I like that very much.
The 1940s has some of the best film noir, it sees the western start to
mature as a genre, and the second half of the decade is a peak for some of the
leading British directors, Lean, Reed, Powell. The '50s is a fascinating
transitional era in Hollywood, and the '60s is very interesting
internationally, and an important decade for British cinema.
In the '50s and '60s you also have an interesting mixture of styles, with
small scale black & white dramas rubbing shoulders with colourful
widescreen spectaculars. And fashions change quickly in the 1960s and '70s and
no one knows what's going to work anymore, which leads to some fascinating
flops, misfires and films that just turn up at the wrong time. (I'm the only
person I know who deliberately seeks out flop films. If a film really tanks,
then I always want to see it!)
Some of the big historical films of the 1960s and early '70s can also be
reasonably literate and intelligent and not just empty spectacle. No one does
that better than David Lean in Lawrence of Arabia. But there are other
epics from that time, like The Charge of the Light Brigade, Nicholas
and Alexandra, Battle of Britain, The Last Valley and Oh!
What a Lovely War that all need more love.
Why should people care
about “old” black and white movies?
They shouldn't! That's
not the answer you were expecting, is it?! Not if they don't want to anyway.
I'm not a film fascist who gets indignant because people don't like what I
like.
But old films can be a
revealing window onto the past. They can give us a sense of their era, the
attitudes and language and dress of their time, and they can be worthy works of
art in themselves. They can also just be really entertaining.
And if you only watch
recent films, then you're missing out on a lot. Because you have to go a long
way to find a drama as compelling as Twelve Angry Men, a romance as
charming as Roman Holiday, a crime film as stylish as The Third Man,
a comedy as witty as Kind Hearts and Coronets, a psycho-drama as
fascinating as Vertigo, or a totally contrived thriller handled quite so
brilliantly as Rear Window.
Do you have an interest in
any other arts that you can share?
I do a lot of reading,
mainly non-fiction. History, politics, culture, wildlife, philosophy, etc.
I'd like to explore
writing fiction. I did start work on something last year, but I never quite
found the shape of the story, and then I got distracted by other things. I
enjoyed playing the omniscient narrator though, so it's something I hope to
return to.
I'm intrigued by ancient
sites and prehistory, so I have an interest in ancient, prehistoric and early medieval
art and sculpture. I've also become more interested in classic TV in the last
couple of years, I like poetry in moderation, and like most people I enjoy
music. I'm also very good at loafing, I consider that to be an art.
