Whatever happened to simple “story” films?

I like Summer. Virtually every blockbuster big concept picture comes to my favorite bargain theater, the University Mall Theater in Fairfax, VA– for three bucks on Tuesdays. Everything shows up in this suburban palookaville of summer movies sooner or later. Having just seen TRANSFORMERS 2 this week, and STAR TREK last week, we will likely catch the HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE this weekend before the school year starts. As I was driving home from Transformers, I started pondering– what happened to great, low-concept story movies, the kind I grew up with? Every movie I’ve seen this Summer has featured the world in peril, lots of explosions, and non-stop CGA from start to finish. Fun stuff, but like movie popcorn, it’s tasty but hardly filling. Does the world have to be in jeapordy constantly? I miss a good movie that tells a simple story about a few characters in a novel conflict that gets to the heart of the matter in 90 to 120 minutes. No sequels, few explosions, great dialogue, great characters.

So that had me pondering in turn what representative examples of a “story based film” is. Not a shocker considering my age, just about every movie I’m thinking about was produced in the 1970s. Go figure!

In no particular order, here are a few great Story Films.

THE CONVERSATION (1974)

Francis Ford Coppola directed this wonderful little mystery thriller about an electronic surveillance expert named Harry Caul (played with subtle dignity by Gene Hackman) who uncovers a secret during the course of what seems to be a routine surveillance job. This Watergate-era movie explores many angles — paranoia, human relationships and the ethics of surveillance chief among them. The twist at the end is wonderfully crafted.

TAXI DRIVER (1976)

Martin Scorsese’s signature story of the spiraling descent into violence of one Travis Bickle, taxi driver. I don’t think I need to say much about this one — Robert DeNiro’s performance is almost like a monologue as we see him move from lonely introvert to crazed vigilante is arguably the finest of his career. Great character, great performance, great story.

THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971)

William Friedkin’s neo-realistic crime drama tells a fictionalized story of real life events surrounding the dismantling of the “French Connection” between Turkey, Marseilles and New York. Gene Hackman’s excellent portrayal of tough-as-nails NYPD Detective “Popeye” Doyle makes this movie great.

THE STING (1973)

George Roy Hill’s twisty caper film starring the Paul Newman and Robert Redford as a pair of grifters orchestrating a complicated con on a powerful mobster is an excellent period revenge comedy.

SLAPSHOT (1977)

Another George Roy Hill movie, Slapshot is simply the best sports comedy ever made. Paul Newman’s performance as down on his luck Coach Reggie Dunlop is a reactive, low-key portrayal. The stars of this picture are the “Hanson Brothers”, a trio of hockey playing thugs who bring a new escalation of violence to the sport of hockey. Slapstick is profane, brutal and hilarious.

These are just a few “story” films I could must out of the top of my head– they were all made in the 1970s because that is my favorite era of American film. You’ll note, not a second of CGI is present in any of these movies– no pyrotechnics, giant stunt sequences (okay, the car chase in French Connection is the stuff of epics, but that’s not what the movie is all about), hordes of undead or planets exploding. Just simple stories about simple people dealing with a range of problems. Why can’t we make movies like that any more? Some of us are sick of the Hype Machine.