Hollywood actors of the past are better than those of today.

[Pryderi]

I don't really know as if that's true, but when I watch older movies such as "Inherit the Wind" or "Casablanca", I notice that there are far fewer "cutaways" from scenes.

If you watch a recent tv show or movie, there seems to be a cutaway shot after every line. If you watch an older tv show or movie, the actors have to remember a much greater chunk of dialog before the camera cuts.

[Spider Jerusalem]

1. Either that, or directors were better...

or screenwriters were (being influenced by the stage rather than television, with its constant commercial breaks). I think it's probably the influence of other media on film, and the seemingly decreased attention span in our modern world of information overload and media saturation, that are to blame.

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

2. Depends on the series, I think.

ER was famous for its long running shots of continuous dialoge with multiple actors, few cuts, and continuous pacing. The West Wing did that in many of its episodes, too.

I remember an episode of The X-files where they did that, and I was amazed until I realized they used Hitchcock-style cuts (someone moving really close to the camera, passing in front of the shot) to blend multiple takes together into one long scene.

[skygazer]

3. There are also far larger budgets today

Which means more cameras, more takes, more sets, etc. Technology is better which means you can edit better. I think a lot of modern actors suck but I also think there are many very talented ones out there. Also styles have changed. A lot of old movies are over-acted, the players seeming more like stage actors than real characters.

[jackelope72]

4. Not necessarily.

I know that I'm in the microscopic minority here, and I'm probably inviting plenty of flames on this subject, but I find Sir Lawrence Olivier's acting to be incredibly overdone, laughably melodramatic, and thoroughly unconvincing. The same goes with Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, and many others who are considered among the pantheon of early film actors and actresses.

[NYCGirl]

6. What Olivier movies have you seen?

Check this out:

It's his favorite role and, IMO, his greatest performance.



I'm not much of a Leigh fan, but Gable can be great, and my favorite, Robert Mitchum, is as modern as today. You'll never catch Mitch "acting."

[Telly Savalas]

7. Don't forget this guy.

I'll take Brad Pitt over him any day of the week, thank you very much.

[4_Legs_Good]

10. I agree to a degree...

I think most of those old films are way overly melodramatic and wholly unbelievable, but don't necessarily blame the actors. Lawrence Olivier in "Clash of the Titans" as well as the other powerhouses in that film did very well, I think.

I think it was more the method of filmmaking back then. I find MOST, but not all, older actor driven films almost unwatchable. Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, etc. among them. There are many notable exceptions, though. I just watched "Sunset Boulevard" which blew my mind, and there are many others, "Citizen Kane", most Hitchcock, etc. among them.

david

[Shell Beau]

5. Maybe it is the movies and shows that they

are in. I think there are a lot of really talented actors out there, but the movies these days suck b/c they have all been done before. There is no originality anymore.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

8. bah! the movies went to shit when they added sound

[AllieB]

9. Gregory Peck, Cary Grant, and Burt Lancaster

they don't make actors like that anymore.