I think the 50's represented a glacial change in cinema (in America, not the rest of the world) and it wasn't until the 60's, and things like the sexual revolution, civil rights and Vietnam came along and ruptured the Good Old America trope to prevalent in the day. This is a generalisation, though, and hardly specific. The style of film between, say 1951 and 1959 tended to remain fixed in a steady, workmanlike style without offering anything game-changing, at least overall. Sure, some films came along and captured lightning in a bottle here and there (check out Sinatra in The Man With The Golden Arm, a film so on-topic about drug use it's actually shocking, as an example) but the overall rigidity and inability of 50's Hollywood to really explore their potential is a bit of a let-down.

Admittedly, films like Ben Hur and Cleopatra and Kwai and Godzilla became classics due to their scope or size or visual dynamism, but to my mind they were the exceptions that proved my point. Without giving things away, easily the most profound shifts in cinema of the post-war era (again, in my opinion) were the 60's and the 90's. I'm not that knowledgeable on 50's cinema, though, so take that with a grain of salt. 😉

I think many modern directors could learn a thing or two from William Castle – offering free funerals to people bored to death during their films might be the way to go! LOL

I saw the original Gojira on Blu a few weeks back (Criterion offer a stellar HD version) and was amazed at what the Japanese were allowed to get away with in terms of narrative and spectacle. I have not seen the US-version of this film (with Raymond Burr) but I hear tell it's abysmal, so I guess I'll have to see it for shitz-n-giggles!

Glad you're enjoying these, mate! They've been really great putting together!

I got to watch a movie (a really dry doc on the universe) in a planetarium today with the picture taking up the entire inside of the dome. I imagine seeing a film in cinerama must have been a similar experience. The whole time I was watching it, I kept remarking to myself how great it must be to watch a good movie on that thing. Said all that to say I would love to have seen something in cinerama with today's technology. Could be a couple steps ahead of IMAX.

The tidbit on William Castle offering free funerals might be the greatest thing I've ever learned. This dude is PT Barnum to the nth power.

And I still need to see a James Dean flick. Sigh.

Looking forward to the next one of these.
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LOL thanks man. I recalled your (less enthusiastic) review on BOTRK and I had to smile as I wrote this. I haven't officially review the film here, but I think it's a terrific piece of propagandist heroism (whether it's cliched or outdated, I guess is subjective) and stands the test of time – at the very least, it's a showcase for Alec Guinness's fantastic work.

The 50's films are tough nuts to crack, I guess. Many of them conform to that regimented, oft-rigid American social uprightness that comes with the suit-n-hat brigade depicted in the dramatic films of the era. They can be impenetrable to a degree, I agree, but I think closer retrospective inspection and examination can lead to an appreciation of thematic material that seems visually staid and boring but stimulates the intellect with terrific effect.

As I've researched these posts it's become obvious to me that each year/decade is stuffed full of cinematic gems (and a fair amount of turkeys, it must also be said). It's hard to really get a handle on which period of Hollywood's history has produced the most creatively successful output – the silent era films arguably had the toughest job because the actors had to emote *without* dialogue to aide them, while the more recent eras had the benefit of bigger and better technology and visual effect capabilities to draw on, in order to tell the story. I think for a sheer explosion of different forms of cinema, it's hard to go past the post-war 40's and 50's, with the exposure of European films and subcontinent Bollywood stuff just going gangbusters in what we might call "mainstream" box-office, as well as different styles and genre's being introduced.

It's been interesting thus far, at least.

Oh, and Bridge on the River Kwai "as one of the great films of all time," was a hilarious line. You crack me up sometimes.