I was going to jump right in and start talking about movies, but thought I’d better create an introductory “welcome” post, just in case someone other than me decides to visit my site. Unlike most podcasts, I’m creating mine for an audience of one: me. I’m sharing this in case they are of interest to others, but my primary reason for creating them is so I will better remember the movies I watch.
Awhile back I was listening to the Hardcore Literature podcast, and the host, Benjamin McEvoy, said something that jumped out at me. He mentioned that he used to forget the details of the books he’d read, shortly after having read them. I am plagued by the same phenomena, not only with books, but with films as well. I once was reading a book for the third time and realized I had no idea how it was going to end, and I’m the same with films. Within even a few months of watching a movie I can seldom remember more than the most basic aspects of what I’ve seen. I’ll watch a mystery and realize I have no idea who the killer is, despite having seen the film less than a year ago. I’ll see a clip of an iconic scene from a movie I’ve watched, sometimes more than once, and have no recollection of it whatsoever.
McEvoy said that he’d discovered a way to remember what he’d read, and at that I was all ears. His solution? Record a podcast! There’s a little more to it, as it’s the thought and preparation that go into creating one that help to cement the details in your mind, but as soon as he said it, it made sense. I’ve realized all my life that when I physically write something down I’m far more likely to remember it than if I only hear or read it, and when I speak something out loud, it definitely remains in my memory more than if I only think it. So I’ve decided to trust him and record a short video about each film I watch.
This decision dovetailed nicely with something else I’ve wanted to do for awhile, which is to go back to the beginning of film, and watch the history of cinema unfold chronologically onscreen. A couple weeks ago I sat down and spent the better part of a morning listing every “important” film I could think of, with important, of course, being a somewhat relative term. I’ve tried to identify the films that matter most, but any such list is going to be highly subjective. There are many obvious choices— you can’t discuss great films without bringing up Citizen Kane, or plenty of Alfred Hitchcock’s movies, but by and large there were a lot of judgement calls on my part. And the list is by no means complete. I’m still adding to it as films come to mind. Throughout the day I’ll think “oh yeah, that movie exists!” and I’ll go in and add it to the list, but I have a solid sense of the bulk of it, and I definitely know which silent films I’m going to watch, which are the earliest films, obviously, and I even have a good idea about which early talkies I’ll see, because that is an area of film that I’ve long been most interested in.
After that, there is a period from about 1950 to 1990, give or take, where I’m far less knowledgeable. I’m sure I’ll change my mind as I watch, but right now I have a sort of notion that films weren’t as good between the late ‘40s and early ‘90s. The collapse of the Hollywood studio system gave rise to some bad cinema, with many notable exceptions, of course, but I may think differently as I watch a large selection of films, and who knows? I may come out of this project with the conclusion that the ‘70s were the greatest cinematic era of all time. Who’s to say?
I’ll find out over the next, what? 15 years? How long will this take me? My list is exactly 1,600 films long right now (I had no idea it was such a nice, round number until I checked just now— crazy!), and I’m sure I’ll add more as I think of them, so even if I can watch, and then talk about, 3 movies a week on average, it will be 2033 by the time I’m caught up to 2022, at which point I’ll have another 10+ years of films that don’t even exist right now to work through. Basically, I’ve set myself up either to do this for the rest of my life, or bail on the project. But that’s okay; I’m up for the challenge!
See, I love film more than any other form of art or human expression, even books— my degree is in English, and I love reading— which are a close second. Since I was very young I’ve loved going to the movies. I can still remember my first trip to the movies. When I had just turned 7, my mom took me to see The Sting, which she had seen when it was new and considered to be her favorite film of all time. This was in the days before cable TV and VCRs, or at least before they were commonplace, and we definitely didn’t have either. Back then, films were still re-released for limited theatrical runs from time to time. So something that was a big movie, as The Sting, a huge, successful, Oscar-winning movie, was, would sometimes be given a nationwide rerelease.
I can’t say I was able to follow all the twists of The Sting’s complex plot, but I got the gist of it, and was in absolute awe of everything about it, the giant screen, the actors on the screen in their 1930s garb, even the big tub of popcorn— in short, the cinema experience in total. Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t long before I was back in a theater. It was the end of May, 1977 when I saw The Sting, and at about the same time, on May 25th, (my 7th birthday, actually), Star Wars came out. Like all 7-year-olds, and all little kids, and everyone really, went to see Star Wars during the summer. Star Wars became a huge deal, obviously, and I ended up seeing it three times that summer, and my lifetime love for the cinema was cemented.
Which brings me to an important point I want to make. There is a huge difference, a world of difference, really, between watching a movie at home and seeing one in a theater, and the latter is immeasurably better. You can watch a film at home on the biggest, best TV with the best sound system, and your experience won’t even be 10% of actually seeing a film in a theater with an audience. I know some will argue this point with me, “it’s better at home,” or whatever. 99% of the time my opinion is that no one is ever right or wrong, and everything is relative, and opinions are just opinions, on this point I’m adamant that I’m right and you’re wrong. Watching a movie at home is nothing when compared to seeing it in a theater.
That said, I’m going to have to watch nearly all of these films at home. It’s nearly impossible to find a local theater playing an older film to begin with, let alone a silent film, and let alone the exact film that is next on my list at any given time. So this is going to be an at-home project.
I’m still going to go to the movies, obviously. I go all the time, I went last night, I’ll still see all the brand new films, and I’ll see re-releases when I have the chance— I live in Austin, Texas, there’s a few theaters here that show older films— but to pull off watching over 1,600 films in the order they were released, I’m pretty much relegated to watching at home.
So there you have it, the introduction to my podcast. If anyone does see this, feel free to join me in watching all these movies. I’d love to watch along with you, and know what others think about the films, and will happily engage in discussions about them. If I had a catchphrase I’d insert it here, but instead I’ll just say, see you next time!
Coming Soon to a Podcast Near You