Vista

Yesterday I watched Sunset Blvd. for the first time.  It was first released almost 60 years ago (1950) and so, unsurprisingly is very different to modern Hollywood fare.  Although one of the central characters is a very melodramatic former film star the pace of the film is generally pedestrian and fairly predictable; the two often jar.  Another peculiarity was the lack of protest from the male lead at having his independence stolen away from him.

All that aside, it was a pleasant Sunday afternoon film: beautifully shot, very glamourous and easy to follow.  Interestingly, the narration is so complete that it’s possible to almost entirely keep up with the plot without watching a single frame.

Recently some friends resolved to watch their way through iMDB’s Top 250 Movies over the course of this year; one film per week.   This reminded me that there are many old films that I have never seen – or have only part watched – and nudged me into finally doing something about it.

So, first things first: which films?  I had some vague ideas but no list and very vague criteria: older than me; probably black and white; not silent; “classic”.  Hmm…  Fortunately it’s possible to browse iMDB’s Best/Worst lists by decade.  Past that point, the selection process became pretty arbitrary but I do at least now have a list.  I’m not committing to watching them all, in full, but it’s a start.