The air is not quite as warm as it will be in another month, but you can feel the heat is coming. School is done for another year and we don’t have to think about that unpleasantness for a while. It is the third week of June, 1977 and there is a particular young man having a birthday this week. Along with gifts and cake, he will be treated to a movie. His choice, it is his birthday after all. There is a sci-fi movie that he has seen ads for, it looks really decent, maybe that one would be good? “My parents took me to the Oakbrook Theater to see Star Wars. I remember it clearly. We sat in the balcony, first row, and I was leaning as far forward as I could go, with my hands under my chin. I was completely blown away by the very first image. Still the best openings to a movie, ever. Talk about an impact.”
When I asked Mark Sievers, a friend and a former Blockbuster Video manager, about his earliest movie memories, he was not short on details. Like many people of his age, Star Wars had a great affect on him. It always seems a given, that when a person makes movies part of their work, they must be a fan. I wanted to get an idea how deep that impact ran.
“Well, growing up in Downers Grove, I had the Tivoli [a historic Illinois theater, that played second run films] right down the street. I practically lived there. I spent many Sunday afternoons seeing whatever was playing, I think that really helped me develop a wide taste in movies.” Afternoons spent absorbing whatever movie was playing helped him turn a pastime into lifelong love. He did admit that, over the years, his taste in movies changed somewhat with his personality, “I did like horror movies when I was younger but not so much now. I don’t know. They just aren’t scary any more; the real world is scary. I don’t need to escape to a scary movie when the real world is scary enough.”
It’s obvious that horror movies do not interest him now, what about the movies that still get a response out of him? I asked him what the last movie was that affected him is some significant way. Without much hesitation, “the most recent one that comes to mind is The Blind Side. That’s the one where the well-off family tries to do what they can for the kid that is basically homeless. It really got me choked up at times. The idea that there are people out there that would do that, go out of their way like that, it would be so easy to mind your own business. Most people would these days. The movie really worked for me.” Not as recent but even more loved, was one of his favorite movies; “Rudy. One of my top movies. This one got me emotional at times, too. It was just really inspirational. I know it’s a movie, and not pure fact but it is a movie that can push your buttons, and it doesn’t feel forced. I guess I see a trend here. I seem to like movies based on real events.”
I was starting to get a feel for where Mark was coming from as a movie fan and was wondering what he would think of a re-make of Rudy. “Hmmm, no. I wouldn’t want to see that. Maybe in thirty years. I don’t know. I just can’t see any reason to do it. But that’s a problem I have with Hollywood anyway, they like to do remakes instead of coming up with new ideas.”
As a follow up, I asked what he thought of movies as a whole today. Are they better or worse than he remembers them growing up? “Worse. Well, we just were talking about all the remakes. It’s obvious that movies are a business first. Just a way to make money. You really have to look at the smaller releases to see someone attempting to make something that is artistic.” He went on to say, “there are exceptions, Up was a huge movie and it was more than just a summer blockbuster. It had real heart. But really, it’s supply and demand. If we demand these monster summer movies Hollywood will keep supplying them, even if they are terrible.”
“To be fair, it’s not all Hollywood’s fault. A re-make is a good financial risk. You take a proven thing and try to repackage it. It’s too bad though.” In Mark’s opinion, this is a necessary evil for the movie business, but this gets away from the idea of movies as art. If there is nothing new brought to the film to make the movie more relatable to modern audiences other than a recasting of actors, then there is really no point in re-doing it. Rudy was well acted, had an adequate budget and did not rely on computer-generated special effects. Maybe it would be best to leave a movie like that alone.
An experience like seeing Star Wars for the first time is only possible from the perspective of a child. A child can see with fresh eyes and without bias. Almost everything is new to a child. I’ve often wondered if the day that I’m having might color the mindset I have going into a movie. It seems like that day in June was a special one for Mark. We bring much with us to the theater when we sit down to watch a movie. There are some basic things that are consistent with great movies, however. In trying to get down to the essence of what constitutes a great movie, Mark had this thought, “A movie needs three things to be good in my opinion: an original story, a good script and believable characters.” Based on these criteria it seems like a re-make is lacking the first component. Without that first component a well-executed Hollywood remake could, perhaps be entertaining, but try as it might it could never be original.
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