What makes a movie "good"?

[DieSmiling]

A) A good story
B) Good acting
C) Good direction
D) Pretty visuals
E) The right tone/pacing (i.e. funny at the right parts, intense at the right parts, etc.)
F) All of the above coming together to make an entertaining movie that you want to see again.

And obviously personal preference will separate some from others, but that only matters so much. I think if people could be a little more objective we'd agree a lot more on which movies are "good." There are tons of "good" movies I don't like, and probably even more "bad" movies that I do like, but that says little about their quality.

For example, some people will tell you Titanic is a bad movie. They're wrong, it's not a bad movie, they just don't like it. I don't like it either, I don't own it, and I'll probably never sit through all four hours of it again, but I can still look at it objectively and recognize that it's a good, well-made movie.

 

[Tempest19]

D) Pretty visuals

I agree with you on all points but this. By pretty visuals do you mean it has to look like any other summer or winter film or just have good production value? Because little to no dramas have "pretty visuals", alot do have relatively good production value though.

Just really confused in what you meant by pretty visuals- production value or blockbuster epic look

 

[DieSmiling]

I agree with you on all points but this. By pretty visuals do you mean it has to look like any other summer or winter film or just have good production value? Because little to no dramas have "pretty visuals", alot do have relatively good production value though.

Just really confused in what you meant by pretty visuals- production value or blockbuster epic look

Pretty visuals just means the movie has a cool look to it -- doesn't have to be a summer blockbuster with CGI backgrounds and stuff. Just cool cinematography, something interesting... I don't know many good movies with a bland and uninteresting visual style.

 

[Tempest19]

So, in other words a good production value.

Production value is how good the actual production looks when finished- cinematography, setting, etc.

Production values is a media term for "production cost." It refers to the professional look, or "polish," of a production. Factors that affect perceived production value may include video and audio quality, lighting, number of errors, and amount and quality of special effects. The latest Hollywood film is likely to have high production values whereas a shaky home video is likely to have low production values. The production values of a piece of work do not necessarily correspond to its artistic merit; a film can look very polished but have a poor script, acting and direction. However, high production values do usually correspond to its large budget.

 

[Arkady Rossovich]

A good movie has a good director,acing,script,effects and publicity.

 

[Tempest19]

How does publicity effect whether or not a movie is good?

 

[bullets]

if its not being promoted right that might mean the studio doesnt have faith in the picture.
i disagree about personal preference though because goodfellas is a good movie whether you like it or not.

 

[Mr. Socko]

Uwe Boll.

 

[Tempest19]

if its not being promoted right that might mean the studio doesnt have faith in the picture.

That doesn't state whether or not a movie is good though.

The only has to do with marketing tactics and dealings with box office, not the quality of the film itself.

Publicity for Batman Begins, imo, that film was great and the publicity for it even though Katie Holmes was getting a bigger story due to Tom Cruise and everything- that did not make the film bad. That just meant the publicity went askew.

As stated before, I fail to see the connection between publicity of a film and the QUALITY of a film. Publicity has to do with marketing tactics and box office, not quality.

 

[Tempest19]

Uwe Boll.

Going for the controversial? t:

 

[Warhammer]

I think that some in this thread have no idea just how powerful personal preference is. It's not all about the director, how "good" the story is, if we can relate to the characters, quality acting, and so on. When you really break it down, they are all merely opinions no matter how you look at it. "Good" is an opinion, and nobody can really garner that opinion better than you can, personally. Not everyone can give "good" films (based on their P.O.V.) a rundown on a list that measures good direction, good acting, etc. My favorite film is Pulp Fiction, but I can't give it the basic rundown and say that it is the absolute best in all of the categories.

...just my two cents.

 

[L0ngsh0t]

I would narrow it down into three main categories:

CHARACTER: Good acting, relatable characters who we care about.

STORY-TELLING: Story. Direction. Music. Good production value.

PERSONAL PREFERENCE: Preference of genre.

My question to you is what is good direction?

Is good direction, a movie that wins an academy award or two, but no one watches it on DVD cause its 3+ hours long like, or is it some one who makes a movie like say Armaggedon, or Pirates, or Rounders where the critical reception might be mixed, but there is no doubt which movie people would rather watch

Is good acting where he really dedicates himself to his role and completely turns who he is into something else like say Capote, or Forrest Gump (great effin movie btw I am just using it to make a point), or is great acting making a character we will never forget even if it is done by a regarded as rangless actor, Keanu Reeves, in the Matrix?

 

[Warhammer]

^Agreed.

 

[Tempest19]

DEFINITION OF A GOOD DIRECTOR:

"Good" has it's ranges from 'average' to 'good' to 'great' and there are also variable genres to take into direction. So there is no real easy answer.

A great action director, for example, might suck at making a dramatic film. And vice-versa. That is not always the case, but it sometimes is which leads me to the next point...

A good director is someone who makes an exciting film that captivates and entertains the audience. This can be accomplished through being a off the hook action flick like Transformers. Or being a powerful and moving film about fathers and sons, such as 'Resurrecting the Champ'.

A good director is someone who understands the story that they are bringing to life and creates a great film that their respective audiences will love.

That's about the only way to sum it up. Awards don't come into play, the PEOPLE are the only ones that matter. Have you given the people- your core audience- a film that they will love? If the answer is yes, that is the makings of a good director. People come first, critics second. Sometimes you please both, but if you only please one it is better that that one is THE AUDIENCE.

ACTING

There are TOO MANY METHODS to choose from. Some are chameleons, others just read their lines off of index cards and are still able to have outstanding performances, some are abstract, others just prepare the old fashioned way.

Thus, similar to directors there is only ONE way to define a good actor:

Someone who you believe is the character. If you believe that actor is the character for the duration of the film, then they've done their job. If the actor doesn't fit with the character then they've done a bad job.

An actor 'phoning it in' often doesn't fit with the character since it makes the line delivery come off fake.

Which brings me to story....

STORY-TELLING

This is the KEY to telling a good film. You can have an actor that you can buy as that character, but if the character isn't relatable in some way that character is going to suffer as a result. If the story is bland and uninteresting, if a horror film isn't scary, if a comedy script doesn't make you laugh- the film won't no matter whether or not the directing is good or bad. One can only elevate the source material so much.

Thus, the way I broke it down. There are three main components that make up a good film that all must work together- synergy- or it will fall apart....

CHARACTER: Good acting, relatable characters who we care about.

STORY-TELLING: Story. Direction. Music. Good production value.

PERSONAL PREFERENCE: Preference of genre.

The best films are the ones that do have this synergy between all of these working parts.

 

[블라스]

Boobies!

 

[L0ngsh0t]

DEFINITION OF A GOOD DIRECTOR:

"Good" has it's ranges from 'average' to 'good' to 'great' and there are also variable genres to take into direction. So there is no real easy answer.

A great action director, for example, might suck at making a dramatic film. And vice-versa. That is not always the case, but it sometimes is which leads me to the next point...

A good director is someone who makes an exciting film that captivates and entertains the audience. This can be accomplished through being a off the hook action flick like Transformers. Or being a powerful and moving film about fathers and sons, such as 'Resurrecting the Champ'.

A good director is someone who understands the story that they are bringing to life and creates a great film that their respective audiences will love.

That's about the only way to sum it up. Awards don't come into play, the PEOPLE are the only ones that matter. Have you given the people- your core audience- a film that they will love? If the answer is yes, that is the makings of a good director. People come first, critics second.

ACTING

There are TOO MANY METHODS to choose from. Some are chameleons, others just read their lines off of index cards and are still able to have outstanding performances, some are abstract, others just prepare the old fashioned way.

Thus, similar to directors there is only ONE way to define a good actor:

Someone who you believe is the character. If you believe that actor is the character for the duration of the film, then they've done their job. If the actor doesn't fit with the character then they've done a bad job.

An actor 'phoning it in' often doesn't fit with the character since it makes the line delivery come off fake.

Which brings me to story....

STORY-TELLING

This is the KEY to telling a good film. You can have an actor that you can buy as that character, but if the character isn't relatable in some way that character is going to suffer as a result. If the story is bland and uninteresting, if a horror film isn't scary, if a comedy script doesn't make you laugh- the film won't no matter whether or not the directing is good or bad. One can only elevate the source material so much.

Thus, the way I broke it down. There are three main components that make up a good film that all must work together- synergy- or it will fall apart....

CHARACTER: Good acting, relatable characters who we care about.

STORY-TELLING: Story. Direction. Music. Good production value.

PERSONAL PREFERENCE: Preference of genre.

fair enough but pretty much err thang you wrote comes down to personal preference

what you think is sweet makes a movie sweet

in my mind there is no difference between American Beauty, Armaggedon, resivour dogs, and remember the titans-I think all movies kick ass, about the same, if you where to how ever see where they are on the "good scale" there would be a drastic difference between the movies

 

[Mike]

My preference. Humor, heart, relating to the characters,and ass kicking.

 

[Untilteld]

leather jackets, it's all about the leather jackets.

 

[Tempest19]

Exactly and that's why I didn't narrow it down to specifics for THAT reason, it leaves the rest open for 'interpretation'. I'm speaking GENERALLY.

Those three are just the main building blocks. Story effects audience member in one way or another- "ahh, scary!" "oh hell yeah, that's awesome!" "this is definitely going to win an award", the director tells the story so that it makes that effect and the actors are believable as the character so that the audience is in the world of the story to recieve that effect.

Thus, the key of what makes a film good (varying from average to great) is one that creates a world that the audience is inside of from beginning to end with no distractions.

These distractions can come from a falter of one of those key components: if a movie that is meant to be 'clean' looks like home video footage, if the actors phone it in, if the story doesn't flow and seems choppy, if the music is dark and the film is happy, etc. THE KEY ESSENCE IS KEEPING THE AUDIENCE WITHIN THE WORLD OF THE MOVIE.

The is no "good scale," since everyone- more or less- has their own "good scale." The key thing is whether they are in the world of the film, aren't distracted by any negative components that seem out of place, while having their own personal preferences in various matters.

A film is ALWAYS aimed at a specific audience in general. Depending on whether or not you reached that audience- therein lies the rub. That's where the preference begins to set in.

 

[Warhammer]

Suit-up/arming up montage scenes.
Like the beginning of this scene:

 

[Cinemaman]

So, we always see comments tossed around like this or that movie sucked...
but what makes a movie GOOD?

What makes the movie Aliens better than Alien Vs Predator? Surely it's not the story...both were nothing incredible, but served their purposes, same with the acting. So what makes many people say that Aliens was better?

On a more general side of things...what makes some movies better than other movies...Is it story? Because there are many great films that don't have great stories...is it character dynamics? Action? Camera angles? what specific attributes make a film "better" than the others in it's genre?

Just read several books about writing and making movies and you'll get the answer.

But honestly, try to find the answer asking yourself, not others

 

[The Amazing Lee]

Personal Preference isn't what makes a movie good. Just because you like a film, it doesn't make it a good film.

A good film is about getting the perfect balance...being about to craft a decent story but always having the characters as the main focus. The character's have to be relateable or at the very least, you have to be able to feel for the character. The story has to capture the mood and also has to keep the audience wanting more.

A good film is one that knows when to take itself seriously and when not to, that applies for comedy especially. I always treat films like a set of scales. There has to be a perfect balance, depending on the theme, genre and genre conventions.



There is alot more to add to that, but I made add this in a later post.

 

[Warhammer]

Personal Preference isn't what makes a movie good. Just because you like a film, it doesn't make it a good film.

A good film is about getting the perfect balance...being about to craft a decent story but always having the characters as the main focus. The character's have to be relateable or at the very least, you have to be able to feel for the character. The story has to capture the mood and also has to keep the audience wanting more.

A good film is one that knows when to take itself seriously and when not to, that applies for comedy especially. I always treat films like a set of scales. There has to be a perfect balance, depending on the theme, genre and genre conventions.



There is alot more to add to that, but I made add this in a later post.

"Good" is an opinion, therefore, what you said is wrong.
Not everybody thinks that The Godfather or Raging Bull were good films.

 

[Jimothy]

"Good" is an opinion, therefore, what you said is wrong.
Not everybody thinks that The Godfather or Raging Bull were good films.

It doesn't work that way.

Those films are good films whether some people like it or not. They are universally liked, for several reasons. The direction, acting and other factors are inherently good, and some guy not liking those movies doesn't change that.

I didn't care for Blade Runner, but I understand that its a good film.

 

[DorkyFresh]

It doesn't work that way.

Those films are good films whether some people like it or not. They are universally liked, for several reasons. The direction, acting and other factors are inherently good, and some guy not liking those movies doesn't change that.

I didn't care for Blade Runner, but I understand that its a good film.

very well said...


....personal preference plays a big role on wether or not a film is good, but personal preference can only go so far. some films are good regardless of personal preference.