“Watching old movies is like spending an evening with those people next door. They bore us, and we wouldn't go out of our way to see them; we drop in on them because they're so close. If it took some effort to see old movies, we might try to find out which were the good ones, and if people saw only the good ones maybe they would still respect old movies. As it is, people sit and watch movies that audiences walked out on thirty years ago. Like Lot's wife, we are tempted to take another look, attracted not by evil but by something that seems much more shameful -- our own innocence.”
-Pauline Kael

"How far are you going?"
"About thirty years."
-Back to the Future teaser trailer

Sunday, September 4, 2011

"Seventeen days? Hey man, I don't wanna rain on your parade, but we're not gonna last seventeen hours!"

Replace "days" with "weeks" and that's how much time, starting today, I have left to write about films from 1981 before a new year is upon me. My original plan was to start slow: about one film review (I mean impression) a week, especially since I have an apprehension about writing even though it satisfies me after I complete a piece. I wanted to start slow so as not to, unintentionally, overburden myself with this task. Initially I wanted to start this blog in earnest next week, but I feel compelled to cover as many 1981 films as possible with what little time I have left. So I'm starting a list.

If I continue with my original plan, I can cover about 17 films. I want to and may add more films but for now I'll aim for this number. So what 17 films to choose? Well I've taken a suggestion given to me to cover the 5 best picture nominees as a look back to what the film community felt was the best offered in 1981. At the end of the year I may offer my choice for what I felt deserved the Academy Award. As for the other 12, it will probably come down to personal preference and with a bias toward movies that I have experienced in theaters (a small amount for a ten-year old in 1981).

Hopefully I'll be able to add to the initial 17 films that I chose, and perhaps double that amount, to offer a healthy cross-section of the year in film that was 1981. I'll post the finished list of 17 films tomorrow.

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