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[papajoemambo]

In a conversation about our movie influences and the stuff that made us fans, one of my local Live Journal pals, 32elvismovies, asked the question "Why would anyone ridicule Elwy?" after I had mentioned that Elwy Yost, the former host of TV ONTARIO's SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES is sometimes mocked by people who see themselves as more movie-literate than he is

Comments

[32elvismovies]

That was a very insightful and sincere post, and I hope plenty of people read it. My friend and I were talking about critics yesterday, about how it has become a form of entertainment all into itself. It seperates itself from the form which it is either helping or harming.

Elwy is my kind of critic. Critic isn't the right word, actually, he's just like you and me, a film fan, who showcases the films he loves and the films that have helped him through some rough times. I can come across as a pretentious ass when it comes to music and film, and well, generally anything, but that's because of the stygma attached to anyone who likes anything out of the norm. I'm always open to new ideas, new films, new sounds, and people like Elwy instilled that in me from a very young age. Saturday's I always watched SNATM, and Friday night's I'd watch Film International on TVO while Geoff Pevere was host (early 90's). It opened me up to a whole new world of films. I lived in rural northern Ontario. Jumbo Video had a terrible selection of non-hollywood films. There wasn't anything you could do. TVO was my outlet.

Do you know if that documentary is available anywhere? I'd love to see it. SNATM still plays, and I do watch it occasionally. Recently they played THE FRONT starring Woody Allen [are you a Woody fan?]. There's still so much stuff out there.

I feel sometimes that these critics just don't care. Do they even like films? Mostly everything I read in print or on the web (Salon and such), or whatnot, sounds like regurgitation from an IMDB message board (which imho, is the worst place in hell). Is it possible that these critics have become so jaded by seeing so many films every week that they are just purely cynical towards the genre now?

I watch at least a half dozen films a week, and I just couldn't imagine that happening to me.

It's shock-writing, isn't it? It's done purposely to incite reaction, to pan something because you happen to know that that one sub-plot was tackled in a Goddard film from 1968.

God bless Elwy Yost.