I have said before, and RTK may disagree with me, that screenplays were better in the old days because of the Production Code - the Code ruled out lazily relying upon sex-in-lieu-of-writing and forced the writers of those days to use a great deal more imagination...I also believe the old studio system helped, in that writers worked for a studio, knew its directors and actors/actresses under contract....And, not only the writers, but the directors, too.
The original Cat People had a great deal more suspense, heightened by the fact that it was shot in black-and-white....Night/fog, light/shadows - the elements of film noir, but also the build-up of the unknown....Those running tonight were B pictures, too, but were pretty good at suspense.....Hitchcock was able to take that suspense/fear of the unknown and make A pictures, using those fundamentals, thus becoming "The Master".
It could easily be done today, by a director who ruled out the explicit sex or the crutch of heavy profanity....I maintain that there are just as many good writers today as ever, but their talents are not utilized to the fullest.....
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::::>...is based on the lost opportunities of the '82 film. Yes, I know the remake pales in comparision with the original. Layered sexual tension always trumps explicitness.
::::>But any film with a David Bowie soundtrack is worth watching. Oh, if only they had cast Bowie in the John Heard role. Remember Bowie's acting performance in Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence? What a haunting performance. Imagine the possibilitie?
::::> A sexual tyrant afraid to face his past? Emotional distancy combined with sexual confusion? Paging Ziggy Stardust or Major Tom.
