I have recorded hundreds of classic movies now. I've gotten a bit obsessed. It started out with just favorites, but then I got the completist urge and had to get every movie by some particular star or director available. I've definitely become fondest of movies from the 30's and 40's. Getting into the 50's the actors start to look a little rough. Is it because they are getting older, or because the color just seems so garish after watching the beautiful moody tones of Black and White. I think it's the Black and White. It's as if it's a major character in the movies. Watching documentaries about Bette Davis and Joan Crawford and seeing them in living color is so jarring. They both had freckly faces that I never saw in Black and White. Also their hair changed colors, and they were both often sort of redheaded, which I totally didn't expect.
Yes, I've become obsessed. I'm even starting to get the topical jokes in the old movies, the ones that refer to the popular culture or other movies. The ones that only people living in that era might get. It's a bit sad on my part. On the flipside I also became obsessed with the whole Jane Austen marathon on PBS. Of course I taped all of those too- introduction by the icy Gillian Anderson and all. I swear that woman is made of some stiff material, she's so severe and it always seems as if she's about to kill you with a quick look or cry stoically, one single tear trailing down her perfect cheek. And her red, red hair is so vivid and smooth, I think she can use it as a weapon. Now, she looks good in color.
So my days and my psyche have been filled with the very prim lives of Jane Austen's characters (but always a happy ending!) and the not so prim lives of the 30's and 40's (but no swearing or nudity or red blood!) making watching real TV again very difficult for me.
