B&W Movies Did It Better: Why staffer prefers older films over new blockbusters

Let me start by defining what makes a movie good, just so we’ve established my standards. I want to be enveloped. I want to be swallowed up by my screen. Whether I’m embraced in a hug or tossed back out on my head, I want the movie to be impactful — or at the very least, intentional. The viewer should be able to see the director’s vision. 

I don’t ask for much else: I set no must-have parameters for a romance subplot or shocking twist. All I want is to experience the story and gain understanding of some kind. And I’ve noticed older movies are remarkably better at engaging viewers than newer blockbusters. 

Duality is the top secret ingredient of every black-and-white movie I’ve seen, from “You Can’t Take it With You” to “The Lady Eve.” Characters are easy to understand, yet complex. Settings are exotic, yet familiar. The contradictions mesh so well with compelling dialogue and plots that just like that, you’ve got a stellar movie. 

A prime example of this is the movie “Sabrina,” starring Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. The iconic film enchants the viewer, taking place physically in a wealthy family’s Long Island home and conceptually in Paris, France. Intentionally designed to be dreamy and elusive for working Americans in 1954, and me in 2023.

The storyline also dances between relatable and entirely out of reach. Two wealthy but drastically different brothers fall for the captivating chauffeur’s daughter Sabrina. She begins the film lost and hopelessly in love with the brother I was immediately rooting against, and ends the film found and happy with the brother she really connects with. Of course, it being 1954, her story’s resolution and personal happiness all rested precariously on a man.

But no matter how much storylines of female empowerment have grown since then — and thank goodness they have — timely scripts aren’t enough to save most new movies. They lack any sense of purpose and I leave the theater feeling nothing. 

Another, albeit nitpicky, vital movie ingredient is pacing. Old movies are paced impeccably. We actually get to see minutes upon minutes of dialogue, peppered with pauses in speech that feel like punctuation in a scene. Each movement, shaking hands, the pouring of a drink, the impact of a sigh: all are so well thought out it feels naturally theatrical rather than contrived. 

Next time you sit down to turn on a mindless movie and zone out on your phone, give a movie released prior to 1960 a try. I can promise you that your mind won’t wander until well after the final credits roll off the screen.