There have been many great movies over the years but there is a question that has yet to be answered. That question is what makes a movie great? I am sure that the Hollywood producers and actors already have a good idea on what makes the movies the release good and what makes them bad. The public however, besides the reporters and critics, have either not stumbled upon the answer or have not put any thought into much like myself. I have never left a movie theater after a good movie and asked myself, “Why was that movie so good? What about that movie made me want to watch it?” Was it the actors, the special effects, the plot or was it something else. Well now I have been forced to sit down and actually think about all the great movies I have seen and the ones that I have heard about and find an answer to this question.
After some long and tough pondering I have come up with a couple of things that I believe make the difference between a great movie and a bad one. First off when I think great movies I think special effects. When I leave a theater and talk about the movie with my friends the following day the scenes that first pop into my head are the ones with the huge explosions, scary monsters and amazing light shows. This is a result of my generation. I was lucky enough to be born into the era of technology where every explosion is bigger than the last and each day graphics and special effects somehow improves upon itself. Movies didn’t always have special effects like this so that is why movies like Star Wars were and still are so successful; they were at one point top of the line special effects which drew in crowds and are remembered for their special effects for their time.
It is true that special effects play a big role but there have been many great movies with either poor special effects or none at all. For example, Jaws. This movie almost didn’t happen because they could not get there mechanical shark to work properly. The special effects in this movie were borderline terrible but somehow this move is still one of the greatest thrillers of all time. The main reason for this is the cinematography. Because the shark was not working the editor of Jaws had to edit scenes so that you only saw flashes of a fin or teeth. This actually improved the movie by increase the suspense and the scariness of the film. I cannot imagine this movie without the superb editing.
Lastly the originality of movies makes them great. Star Wars and Jaws are truly great movies but the plot at its heart is relatively simple and predictable. However the movie series The Godfather is truly the first mob film of its kind. Every mob movie since The Godfather is strikingly similar. This originality makes this movie great. This is why movies like The Godfather and others with the same originality that I cannot think of off the top of my head are so great.
My word count is now well over 500 so to save Mr. Jewett some time I will now cut my blog short. Those are my three main thoughts on why some movies are just good and why some are fantastic.
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