MovieChat Forums > Gone in 60 Seconds (1974) Discussion > Lowbrow 70s action movies: Not insulting...

Lowbrow 70s action movies: Not insulting to my intelligence?

posted 16 years ago by Resumption-of-Disbelief
6 replies | jump to latest

I agree with what most people have said on this board about CGI. To me, however, the most interesting (telling) difference between the 1974 and 2000 versions of the film is the motivation of the Halicki/Cage main character.

In the Halicki version, the main character is motivated to steal cars. Why? Because he can make a lot of money stealing cars. That's it.

In the Bruckheimer version, the main character is motivated to steal cars. Why? Not because he wants to steal cars, of course. That would make him a "bad guy." He is coerced to steal cars because of some contrived plot point about his brother being kidnapped by the "real" bad guy.

It's remarkable to me how much credit filmmakers gave even lowbrow car-chase movie fans 30 years ago; whereas today, outside indie films, each character's good/bad polarity must be identifiable to any 6 year-old in the first ten minutes of the movie. Sad.

[–] crimmond 16 years ago

Maindrian was a hell of a lot more interesting than Raines, simply because he wasn't a good guy. He is a bad guy. He's a car thief, chop shop operator and is a crooked insurance guy.

Raines was just an emo ex-car thief.

[–] daggers-1 15 years ago

Yeah. Pace's only good attribute is that he'll only steal insured cars.

Well, and he won't get mixed up in the heroin trade, though you could argue that's "smart" rather than "good."

http://www.MichaelZWilliamson.com

[–] macatfo 15 years ago

I don't believe it's possible today to make a movie where the viewer needs to think about the story. Just throw a lot of CGI on film and show it to the young zombies roaming our streets today.
Why have we lost the ability to imagine? That's what film was to me when I was a kid. Before TV my little Emerson radio broadcast mysteries that required you to imagine the places described and what the charactors were thinking, and what they looked like. You could be there with the hero, and see what he saw and did in your mind's eye.
The attention spans in kids today are about as long as the light from a flash bulb. That means you need to tell the story in great detail so as not to loose the viewer. And for Heavens sake don't get caught not being "Politically Correct". Vanishing Point's script couldn't be filmed today, to many "bad" things in it! But, what fun then!
Imagination, a lost art!

[–] ChakatBlackstar 14 years ago

Why have we lost the ability to imagine? That's what film was to me when I was a kid. Before TV my little Emerson radio broadcast mysteries that required you to imagine the places described and what the charactors were thinking, and what they looked like.

You know every time they introduce an improvement in media there are people who say this. "Back in my day we didn't need CGI to enjoy a movie." "Back in my day we didn't need color for a good movie" "Back in my day we didn't need motion pictures to enjoy a good story"

Now the fact is that entertainment is always going to evolve to bring in the newest latest thing. Now either you sit back and enjoy the ride or you you get labeled a cranky old man and get made fun of by those of us who were born since Nixon was President.

Now there are plenty of good old movies, there are plenty of good new movies, however this movie fits in neither category. Half the movie is the longest, most boring and unrealistic car chase I've ever seen, and the other half is just outright boring.

[–] Nakrophile 14 years ago

> Now there are plenty of good old movies, there are plenty of good new movies, however this movie fits in neither category. Half the movie is the longest, most boring and unrealistic car chase I've ever seen, and the other half is just outright boring.

I would tip the balance somewhat in the older category, but I agree with your assessment of the film. The end chase seemed to have some really mixed messages as well that were pretty confusing. The constant cutting back to the police and other emergency services helping the victims of the numerous crashes whilst the chase was still going on was quite strange as well. Oh well.

Having said tat, I respect the amount of effort that went in to the making of the film, I just don't think it was at all good. the chase was impressive but it was too long and as a result very boring, and even then the bits that were good were not worth watching the thing for. Oh well.

Yippee-ki-yay, mother - *sound of lift beeping*

[–] hawktalisman 13 years ago

Agree totaly with what you have said here. Not just an issue with this movie, they did exactly the same thing with the re-makes of "The Italian Job" and "Vanishing Point". Apparently Hollywood has lost a bit of courage when it comes to the morality of the lead roles in movies.