Saturday 17 October 2009

It's All So Cliched!

One thing I’ve noticed from some of my reviews, is bemoaning films that seem so clichéd, whether it be Glenn Close coming back from the dead for one last scare in Fatal Attraction or the plain bookworm who actually turns out to be a stunning beauty in Funny Face.
Yet I wonder if I am being too harsh here? Fair enough if I was talking about She’s All That or some horror remake, but all movie clichés had to start somewhere and perhaps in one of the movies on this list.
The bookish librarian turning into the femme fatale by removing her glasses and letting down her hair was, in my opinion, originated in The Big Sleep in a scene between Humphrey Bogart and Dorothy Malone.
What about the ‘back from the dead’ jump? It has been used so many times over the years but most critics agree that Carrie was the film that populated it, but had it been used before? Any ideas?
I’m watching films from a time period of 80 years, so I have to keep an open mind here and avoid talk of clichés when for all we know I could be watching the film that invented it!
Cliches have developed because plot devices like these have proven effective and popular with cinemagoers so of course they will be used over and over again, the trick is to put a twist on it to keep it fresh.

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