French movies kick ass

[Spiffor]

Hey, Paiktis, all French movies aren't psychagogia either
DanS : it's funny you speak of Euros as an intellectual elite... There are more Euros than Americans

An other distinction between Hollywood and French movies : Hollywood movies tend to offer grandiose plots, with good vs. evil, and the hero saves the world / the country / the city / the heroine / whatever at the end. That's why you can say they're telling stories, and best Hollywood movies tell these stories pretty well (I really enjoyed unbreakable.
OTOH, French movies tend to focus on the characters, not on the fate of the world. French stories can seem puny, but character depht is often much deeper than in Hollywood movies : at the end of the movie, you can still have a big surprise on a character's behaviour.
Another thing is that French movies are much more surprising IMHO than Hollywood ones : they're more varied (they range from action flicks to historical comedies or realistic social dramas). Also, the god ones are not bound to win eventually. In fact, it's rare there are good and evil ones in French cinema.

[DanS]

"There are more Euros than Americans"

That's right. A lot more. But y'all (except the French) go most to Hollywood movies. This wasn't always the case. It's a fairly recent phenomenon.

" Another thing is that French movies are much more surprising IMHO than Hollywood ones : they're more varied (they range from action flicks to historical comedies or realistic social dramas)."

Yes, perhaps more surprising. Then I'm reminded of movies like "Unforgiven" that are surprising.

Re variety, Hollywood puts out a lot of different kinds of movies, even though they may not make it to European theaters too much.

"and the hero saves the world / the country / the city / the heroine / whatever at the end"

I agree. That is a successful story formula that Hollywood uses, or rather perhaps overuses.

[Saint Marcus]

That's right. A lot more. But y'all (except the French) go most to Hollywood movies. This wasn't always the case. It's a fairly recent phenomenon.

That's cause there's no competition anymore. Only the French movie industry is still standing. It's tough competing with the millions of dollars that hollywood offers. Our best directors and actors leave for the states to make money.

Thank God the French at least offer us a good alternative.

I agree. That is a successful story formula that Hollywood uses, or rather perhaps overuses.

the problem with hollywood is, that as soon one movie brings something new, 10 copycats pop up. First you had Saving Private Ryan. Not a brilliant movie though, but it did offer something new (realistic view of war). Now copycats are popping up all over the place (Band of Brothers, We were soldiers, Black Hawk down).

It's even worse with teen flicks, dude movies, scream-style horrors, etc. One pops up, not long after the market is infested with them. And they are all the same.

Now the same is happening with comic books made into movies. First we had Spawn and Blade, now Spiderman. Soon The Hulk.

It's the American wya I guess. Find something that works and exploit it. It's America's biggest strength. And biggest weakness.