Hollywood, year after year, produces blockbuster hits with explosions, fantastical stunts, and quippy one-liners against the bad guys. They also continue to produce cliché comedies with the stereotypical jokes to get audiences to laugh. Let’s not forget the “hard-hitting” and emotional dramas for more sophisticated movie-goers. Yet, modern Hollywood keeps going back to Old Hollywood and making movies thatdocument real filmmakers' lives or processes or, more generally, as we saw inBabylon, the movie-making atmosphere of days long gone. So, why is it that modern movies are obsessed with the past?
Hollywood has been respecting and celebrating classic pieces of worklikeCitizen Kane, which won Best Picture at the 91st Academy Awards. The film industry seems to love and recognize movies about its own industry. Self-interested stories can be traced all the way back to the 50s exploring any avenue within the entertainment industry likeA Star is BornorTwo Weeks in Another Town. Other classic films about Old Hollywood feature some of the darker aspects hidden behind the gold and glamour likeWhatever Happened to Baby Jane?. Even so, what has attracted filmmakers today to continuously go back to Old Hollywood?
Why Do Filmmakers Put Old Hollywood on a Pedestal?
Hollywood seems to be obsessed with itself, and continues to make biographical dramas that document a real filmmaker’s life or movie making process.Far Out Magazinerefers toMank, Netflix’s recent-ish film shot completely in black-and-white, as the newest biographical film that details Herman J. Makiewicz’s process forCitizen Kane. As soon as critics hear of a film about a film, a heavy expectation and respect is placed upon it. Audiences also look back on Old Hollywood with fondness and romanticize what the “good old days” were like. Women were dressed up in beautiful gowns, and men wore tailored suits, making it a beautiful memory. Should our own human nature romanticize Old Hollywood and keep it on a pedestal?
Marie Clairecalls out Hollywood for allowing audiences to only see Old Hollywood for the glitz and the glamour while, in reality, it’s filled with tragedy. The combination of drama, Old Hollywood glamour, and fictionalized reality TV seemed simply irresistible for the creators of the new showFEUD: Bette and Joan. As the creators continued to dig deeper, the pedestal of the beginning years of Hollywood didn’t seem as shiny anymore. However, they felt compelled to tell the tragedy of it all. Hollywood seems to be moving on from romanticism to showing the truth of abuse in its Golden Age.
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Movies Through the Years that Paid Homage to Old Hollywood
Self-interested collection of stories can be traced back to the 50s.A Star is Bornexplores other areas of the entertainment industry in 1959. A story of Hollywood in the Tiber era about its stars was made in 1962 calledTwo Weeks in Another Town. The obsession continues with making films about the women stars who were featured in the classics.Actress Judy Garlandreceived her own drama,Judy, which documented the years afterThe Wizard of Oz.Blondetellsa controversial interpretationof the “true” story of Marilyn Monroe.
Films likeLa La Land, a modern-day tribute to the years of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, automatically capture the audience of film buffs. It is guaranteed that biographical dramas about the film industry are going to get widespread attraction. These type of stories are familiar to audiences and will attract certain fans from directors and even stars. Hollywood’s latest movie about itself,Babylon, is set in the 1920s as the city is transitioning from silent to sound movies.
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Old Hollywood’s Impact on Filmmakers and the Art of Storytelling
Movies about making movies is one of Hollywood’s oldest stories. They continue to come back to this Golden Age of Hollywood with the costumes and the music that made Hollywood what it is today.CollidercallsOnce Upon a Time in Hollywoodas a love letter that recreates life in 1969 in Los Angeles. Filmmakers seem to be obsessed with this time period in movie making as Hollywood was evolving quickly and being more fast-paced than ever. Post-war Hollywood also has its own sense of charm and dazzle, especially for the Coen brothers.Hail, Caesar!as it takes viewers through all the back-lots and Malibu enclaves of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
Storytelling in Hollywood has become more of a reflection of its past self. They take pride in reviewing its history and paying homage to those who started this adventure before them. Going through the memories, Hollywood tends to gloss over the deception and tragedies that make up the Golden Age. Instead, they immortalize the glitz and the glamour that consume an era of movie making. Filmmakers brighten up the Golden Age with outrageous costumes and lively music that audiences have a hard time forgetting, Hollywood’s obsession with itself is a film genre that will not go away anytime soon.
