The Difference Between Movies and Films - An Essay

Many people ask me what my favorite movie is. That is a difficult answer for me to come up with. So many movie's make me laugh, cry, happy, and sad that it is hard to pick just one. I would probably say Ronin with Robert De Niro. Yes, way out of left field on that one I'm sure. It's an excellent movie, but fall's short of being a film in my opinion. Which brings up another point, these are all my opinion. You may totally disagree which is fine with me. Respectfully argue your point without becoming defensive and moronic and I will listen to every word you have to say. There is one huge distinction in my mind between the word film and movie. Here is my own personally definition of movie:

Movie - Moving pictures and sound meant to entertain an audience from the moment they start said movie, until it ends. It is nothing more or less, simply entertainment. There is no thought provoking argument to be made or intellectually stimulating images to be seen. They are simple entertainment for the average moviegoer.

Now before you start shouting elitist pig, I have nothing against movies or those that enjoy them. I do too. They are a great way to relax and have a good time. BUT, they are not art. On this issue I will not budge. The average movie will not be remembered ten years from now. It will be forgotten by all except a few. Example: Name a movie that came out in 1999 besides Fight Club, The Matrix, and The Green Mile. If you can I give you extreme credit because I couldn't. Granted I was 8 years old but I will not use that as an excuse. Now, why do you remember THOSE pictures from 1999? Are they simply movies? If you saw Fight Club in theaters did it not immediately make you want to discuss it for hours on end? Same with the Matrix, plus it had stunning visuals like we had never seen before. The Green Mile is also excellent fodder for endless discussion. Now, are those simply movies? Or are they more? Much more? I believe so. This distinction is what separates movies and films. The above mentioned pictures should be classified as films in my opinion. They achieve so much more than other movies released the same year. How excited were you when you first saw Blair Witch Project? That came out the same year. The Sixth Sense also came out that year. Do you have the need to see it again? Didn't think so. These movies were excellent at the time but as we reflect on them we see that they are exactly that: Excellent at the time, nothing more. Now for my definition of film:

Film - Moving pictures and sound meant to stimulate the mind of the audience. Films are not meant to be easy to watch, in fact, they are almost always hard to watch. This is because they do not use the cliche, sugar-on-top, cookie cutter Hollywood formula to tell their story. They are an honest look at a slice of life.

In short, films are art. Movies are entertainment. Consider this the next time you are asked what your favorite movie is. I would reply, "Well my favorite movie is probably Ronin. My favorite film is 2001: A Space Odyssey." Here are some examples to help you see the difference between movies and films.

Ex. #1: Movie: Star Wars
Film: 2001: A Space Odyssey

Ex. #2: Movie: The Dirty Dozen
Film: Apocalypse Now

Ex. #3 Movie: A Few Good Men
Film: 12 Angry Men

Ex. #4 Movie: Disturbia (yes re-make I know)
Film: Rear Window

That should give you a pretty good idea about what constitutes a film and a movie. I will repeat again that these are only my opinions. It is my hope that the film community will stop referring to stupid, idiotic movies like Avatar as films. It isn't. It's a movie and it's my opinion that it's barely that. Yes, you might have been entertained by the mind numbing three hour run time, but thwart did you take away from it? Don't cut down trees? Well, that was shoved in your face and basically said out loud throughout the movie, so don't think that you are some great person because you "got" Avatar. There is nothing deep or moving there. Lots of flashy graphics were the only reason you saw it. Obviously I won't argue that the graphics were incredible, they are. But simply having graphics doesn't make a film. There was little to no story that hadn't been done a million times before. The acting was the worst I have seen in a long time, literally the worst. There was no character development so most importantly I didn't care about whether the characters lived or died. The only reason you did is that Mr. Cameron played off your guilty conscience about destroying animals homes so that you could have your nice three story house in suburbia. Think about it. Did you really care or were you guilt tripped into caring? This is my case on the difference between movies and films. I used Avatar because it is just the most recent big, dumb, flashy blockbuster. Please use the terms films and movies more carefully.