At this time, the chief physical platform for movies is still the DVD. It is packaged with almost every Blu-ray release as an extra bonus for those out there who still don't own a Blu-ray player. And it is a slightly more accessible format for those who do not have portable devices equipped with a Blu-ray drive, in order to go on the road or on vacation.
At the same time, the Blu-ray is the best current format for home viewing that allows one to experience a film or TV series in the best visual and audio quality outside of a theatrical environment. But Netflix, Amazon, and I-Tunes are coming up fast as the better alternatives, due to instant downloads, large streaming libraries with monthly fees, and the ability to carry your entire collection on a single computer or hard-drive.
The question is, will there be another physical format to replace Blu-rays in the near future, or will everything go completely downloadable? Will people still crave a physical box to house their favorite films in on an expansive living room shelf? Or will they come to appreciate the convenience of the digital library, complete with a searchable database, and every single TV show and film they could ever want, not only for lower prices, but a smaller footprint and price-tag when moving from one home or apartment to another?
It is worth mentioning that 20th Century Fox is planning on releasing "Ultra HD Blu-Rays" which are the equivalent of current Blu-Rays but with 4K resolution. So in that sense, there are still physical releases being produced for movies. That being said, how successful it will be is another matter entirely, especially considering that the process of getting more people to upgrade formats is a slow one. And sometimes not all formats are successful: 3D Blu-Rays did not sell nearly as well as 2D Blu-Rays. I think it would be very interesting to look at how much digital media has grown over the years and also maybe find out if it is doing better than physical media today if you can find anything about it. – Seth Childers9 years ago
A lot of movies create sequels that take place years after the original, but do some match the times with the ages of the audiences? Toy Story and Monster's Inc. are good examples of movies with what seems to be time sensitive sequels. While everyone enjoyed Toy story, it was meant to be a movie for younger children when it first came out. By the time the third one came out, Andy was grown up and leaving for college. This was the same for a lot of the original children who watched the first Toy Story. Did Disney do this on purpose?
Actually, I think it is done on purpose. I think it is being consistent on how long it takes them to draw or computer animate a movie and they want children and adult alike to feel as though they still have some connection within the movie. However, in the Toy Story movie, the only thing that is accurate as far as time and age is Andy was 10 years old when the 1999 movie came out. However, with the time frame of 1999-2010 Andy should at be 21 years old instead of 17. I don't know why he couldn't be 21 when the movie came out, but I guess they didn't want to promote his college days to much... – Dreamersleepy9 years ago
In the mid-twentieth story auteur theory was developed, naming the director as the main author of a film work. In this theory, directors get named auteurs primarily through the development of an individual aesthetic. Does the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Marvel house style, achieve a similar individual aesthetic? Can Kevin Feige be considered the auteur of the franchise for his production decisions like naming directors and deciding which projects get produced? This can be supportive or critical of the Feige and the MCU.
It seems as though every week has a new superhero film debuting, and even though the different universes play host to a litany of different hero and villains, are filmmakers going to have to stretch in order to create new and compelling films? Are these franchise films going to dry the well for future hero/villain films? When are we going to become bored with the genre? The box-office is flooded with with comic adaptations and there are a plethora of new comic-related films in the works. Is there every going to be a lull in these made-for-film adaptations? This goes even further than film and is now plaguing television, with shows like Gotham, Arrow and The Flash.
I like this a lot, I feel as though since the universes are so expanded they can do so many things with the different characters that they have. You can even add if they work, what more can they do with these universes? What more can we expand on to the point where it's eventually just going to be a huge black hole full of different universes of superheroes. – scoleman9 years ago
This is an interesting topic. Personally I haven't gotten excited about any recent superhero movies (Ant Man? come on.) so this is absolutely relevant. – SomeOtherAmazon9 years ago
This topic is interesting to consider when you think of the vampire/wear wolf/zombie craze that seemed to have just ended. Could a parallel be made between these two trends? Think about the cycles of movies that have occurred in the last 10 years (the overwhelming abundance of Disney/Pixar sequels following in the same vein). I believe that there could be more discussed beyond the superhero movie craze. A good way to focus would be to take past ones in conjunction with this current hold over the box office/television/streaming(think daredevil) service overload. Why are we constantly being saturated in the latest craze? What does it say about our society? – UnapologeticallyGeneva9 years ago
Analyse the treatment of Muslims in various films. Does the treatment of Muslims have a significant impact on its viewers and how they proceed to view Muslims? Some may say that films like "American Sniper" may just be movies but they have a very real impact when it comes to anti-Muslim sentiment in the Western world.
Would be interesting to explore different national cinemas for comparison. Do American films treat and depict the Muslim community in a different way than Europeans do, or Asians, or anywhere else in the world? What about Middle East cinema? – Rachel Elfassy Bitoun9 years ago
Definitely worth talking about. – Winter9 years ago
This doesn't need to be confined to films of a recent vintage, either. It may be more helpful to look at how popular films of the past -- "The Thief of Bagdad" (1924), "Wee Willie Winkie" (1937), "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962), "The Black Stallion" (1979). All of these films contributed to the relative ignorance of Western audiences when it comes to the public perception of Muslims. – John Wilson9 years ago
It would be useful to compare different film genres before and after 9/11 and how Muslims/Islam is represented in relation to that disaster. – Maryam9 years ago
"Not without my daughter" is the best pre-9/11 movie to analyze islamophobia. – T. Palomino2 years ago
In Martin McDonagh's action-tragicomedy film "In Bruges," the assassin Harry represents the overbearing State-figure that philosopher Friedrich Schiller warns about in his Fourth Letter in "On the Aesthetic Education of Man." Harry's employees, Ray and Ken, are "The Man," subjected to Harry's authority. How does the movie express these characters as Schillian archetypes?
Really really happy someone wants to discuss this movie. Actually after reading the script and re-watching, I had an idea for a similar article, but comparing it to Dante's Inferno. I've never read Schiller, so I'd love to learn about it in this context. – Travis Cohen9 years ago
Have you taken a look at McDonagh's screenplay A Behanding in Spokane? I think you might be able to find some similarities between the two sources. Attempt to tie his writing into multiple sources. – LukeRMcLaughlin9 years ago
Or have they already? Experimental film techniques often show up in advertising and film. Would Hollywood ever market an experimental film in its own right? This decade's "Meshes of the Afternoon," "A Movie," or "Entr'acte" might not have a home in Hollywood, but could they? Would their exclusion be less to do with profit margins and more due to the online success experimental films have now? Are experimental films viable as a market to begin with? Should they be?
This topic would be interesting to read about, and could touch on a lot of issues about experimental film. For example, which editing, production processes, etc. that originated in experimental film before hitting mainstream Hollywood films? How does the expense of an increasingly digital experimental film industry affect independent cinemas that would show experimental films but cannot always afford to purchase digital or 3D projectors? – Marcie Waters9 years ago
I shure hope not! "Art" and mass media of the 21st century already deceived and alienated enough audiences without combining them. – LuizRosa9 years ago
I believe it will happen eventually. Look into experimental animation techniques. At some point a studio will pounce on a "new" (but tested) experimental form of animation. – LukeRMcLaughlin9 years ago
There are multiple different types of film adaptions of novels from faithful, to loosely based on, to only using the same title to draw in an audience. How accurate does the film need to be to the source text and how much artistic license should a director take for an adaption?
I think this would be a very interesting article to write as people are often very disappointed with films when they do not follow the plot of the novel and introduce new characters etc. Perhaps highlight the fine line between a director who is filming his own interpretation of a novel and one is using the skeleton story as the structure for their film, allowing them to include what audiences like (more action, more romance etc) – mpill139 years ago
The author should also remember that being 100% accurate isn't always the best either. Changing mediums means drastic changes to content. Thats one of the many reasons the A:TLA movie was so awful, it tried to follow a season of the show in just over 2 hours of movie. – Cojo9 years ago
Derek Landy, author of Skulduggery Pleasant, once said that books don't make good films, films make good films. It's worth exploring that side of things as I do believe that he is quite right. Books and films, being two different forms of media, have different rules and expectations after all. – mattdoylemedia9 years ago
