A bit of a [rant]rant[/rant] here.. Sorry, I've been a bit dispirited by some recent discussions (off the forums.. damn real life.
)
I think in the main you're preaching to the converted with the regulars in this thread.
What's most depressing is that the attitude which dismisses the expression of these elements crops up almost universally.. Only the other day I heard La Dolce Vita & Rashomon were rejected out of hand as "Dreary bollocks the like of which only you and a few pretentious film students could bring themselves to watch and claim they enjoyed".
That by a friend who is far from poorly educated or unintelligent. Granted he's got an economics degree which tells you something I suppose
but even so I'd have expected him to take them on their merits.
I think we really have to ask, would Bergman, Fellini or Kurosawa have attained the success and status they did if they were starting out today. I doubt it.