Why I keep going back to older movies

As a self-proclaimed film buff, there is one thing I have been noticing over the years, and that is how I have been gravitating toward older films much more than newer ones. There is something more honest and artful about movies of the ’70s, ’80s and even ’90s.

I often wonder if it is the history degree in me, but I have always been fascinated by the dress, the language, the technology and the simplicity of the movies and television shows of past decades.

Modern horror films, for example, don’t work too well for me, particularly because now there are cellphones and cameras everywhere. I suspect that may be why most modern films are supernatural-based. You can’t arrest or shoot a ghost. I am a practical-effects fan too, and too much computer-generated imagery takes me out of the experience. It just looks fake and cheap (which is fake and cheap to produce).

Older films also, in my opinion, make better use of the runtime, while modern films are rather fast-moving affairs. Maybe this is a reflection of modern society. Today, waiting two seconds for a search result can feel like an eternity, which takes for granted the technology in the first place.

Everyone seems more in a hurry now, and it reflects in our entertainment.

Television shows used to have longer seasons, but today many have eight to 12 episodes. Though I concede that with a good writer, these smaller seasons can mean good pacing and tighter episodes with less time wasted. Longer seasons can meander, but with a good writer, it is just more good content to enjoy before its inevitable cancellation.

That leads me to another point: older things had more legs, more wiggle room, with many having multiple seasons. Today, I sometimes wonder if I even want to watch anything premiering because a large percentage of shows never even come back.

I also think we are at the point where Hollywood is basically out of ideas. Movies have been around for nearly 100 years, beginning with silent films in the late 1800s, so there have probably been thousands of movies made in each genre. As a result, we are currently in a time of remakes and sequels, of nostalgia. There will be misses like the latest “Star Wars” trilogy and hits like “Blade Runner 2049,” which I think stands nearly toe to toe with the 1982 classic. These are all subjective opinions, as “Blade Runner 2049” underperformed at the box office while being a critical and artistic success.

I do want to say that I am not suggesting great movies can’t be made today, but on a personal level I am drawn to the older era of films. There are still standout movies today like “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and the newer “Superman,” but they feel more like exceptions than the rule.

Now, to be clear, I wasn’t alive in the ’70s and have no memories of the ’80s, as my first memories would be the very early ’90s. But watching movies from that time evokes almost a false sense of nostalgia for a different time that I never experienced, but I think I would have loved.

Whether this was somehow passed on genetically or I am simply an old soul, the sense of comfort these older films provide is real and undeniable. Pass me the popcorn, please.