>Uh.. James, you can't be serious. This is one of the silliest >dichotomies I have ever seen proposed. Thanks! I'll relay that to Oliver. >I think every film-maker that you >listed in the A. group would argue you into a hole. Maybe, maybe not. >All of them would >probably at least like to think they were making some kind of >political/spiritual statement (of course with the execption of the Mighty >Ducks II). Well, I'd didn't say anything about not making statements. What is a good film without a statement, a premise, and I listed some of the best film makers in the "movie" list. What I should have pointed out is intent. The movies makers intent is to entertain, first and foremost. The film maker's intent is to... teach? I can't think of a better word right now. Sure, one can do both, but _most_ (not all) times there is a weight to which they do more, whether they intend to or not. I suppose if I'd have stuck to contemporary movie makers, I'd have been ignored. But you start messin' with the masters and the hot water flows :-) >Oh yeah, you better rewatch John Ford's stuff before pigeon >holing him, he was one of the most self aware (as well as one of the >first of these) directors to ever make films. _Man Who Shot Liberty Valence_ is one of the best FILMS of all time, IMHO. Very, very self aware and very wonderful. It is a film. _The Searchers_ is gorgious, but the politics are... dicey. I know many, many Ford films and sometimes he was on, and sometimes he has these scenes that just make you cringe. >Just because many films >have the hi-pro glow Has nothing to do with it. >doesn't mean there wasn't an exessive amout of >thought that went into them. Has nothing to do with it. It's intent, thoughful or not. >And on the other side, if you work on a >couple sets you'll see, that no matter how ignorant the film's creator >may actually be he/she still attempts to have a solid rational basis for >what they're doing. I'll send you my resume if your interested in seeing how many film sets I've worked on, and they key word in your argument is _attempts_. There is more to film making than making films, sadly... > >Later, >Ian. > Cheers James