Movies that succeed without the 3 act format.

[Bullitt68]

Way too many to name. Kubrick and Tarantino often eschew the three-act structure; movies with nifty editing often throw out the three-act structure (like (500) Days of Summer); actiony chase movies are basically all third act and often skip second acts entirely, or they have multiple mini three acts threading throughout the film (everything from an old school epic like The Sand Pebbles to more contemporary action shit like The Terminator and Premium Rush); gangster movies of the "rise and fall" variety are often, as the name suggests, two acts instead of three (from the old school like Little Caesar and The Roaring Twenties to newer school shit like Scarface and Casino); and then tons of international arthouse films mess with narrative structure altogether, from Bergman to Breillat and beyond.

And if you dare, Google the four act structure

I had a film class once.
He had everyone put there favorite movies and he went around and looked at them.
People had Clockwork Orange and bullshit like that.

My list was like Friday, Money Talks, Beverly Hills Cop, Tommy Boy, Boyz N the Hood, Goodfellas shit like that.

He made faces at my list.

As a film professor, I always hate hearing stories of bad professors and bad film classes. If you can't make a film class fun then you suck at your job and shouldn't be allowed to ruin classes. As it happens, I'm teaching a film history class that's literally at this moment watching both Boyz N the Hood and Friday as the assigned screenings for the current week on "American Cinema in the 1990s"

 

[HenryFlower]

As a film professor, I always hate hearing stories of bad professors and bad film classes. If you can't make a film class fun then you suck at your job and shouldn't be allowed to ruin classes. As it happens, I'm teaching a film history class that's literally at this moment watching both Boyz N the Hood and Friday as the assigned screenings for the current week on "American Cinema in the 1990s"

since i went to school “late” (i was in my mid-20s) & had almost a decade of film exploration/discovery/knowledge, i would just straight up drop a class & try again later if i thought the syllabus sucked or felt half-baked and/or i didn’t respect the professor’s handle on the class (i mean this in the least snobby way possible, i promise. i think you’ll know what i mean)

as a result, i ended up taking classes by the same handful of professors, which was prob the best thing for me because i developed meaningful relationships w/ each one. it felt very valuable to me & i’m glad i was as “no bullshit” as i was w/ my class selection strategy

 

[Bacco]

King Kong?

 

[Fedorgasm]

Forrest Gump
Old Boy
Se7en

 

[THEfightsAREfixed]

Rashomon

 

[Winston Wolf]

No Country for Old Men?

I dislike that movie, but I do think it fits the bill.

 

[Bullitt68]

since i went to school “late” (i was in my mid-20s) & had almost a decade of film exploration/discovery/knowledge, i would just straight up drop a class & try again later if i thought the syllabus sucked or felt half-baked and/or i didn’t respect the professor’s handle on the class (i mean this in the least snobby way possible, i promise. i think you’ll know what i mean)

as a result, i ended up taking classes by the same handful of professors, which was prob the best thing for me because i developed meaningful relationships w/ each one. it felt very valuable to me & i’m glad i was as “no bullshit” as i was w/ my class selection strategy

It's a good strategy as a student - I also went through school first asking "Is so and so teaching anything this term?" and then deciding "Is this class of theirs a class that I want/need to take?" rather than going by class first and then just crossing my fingers on the professor - and I can say now as a professor that it's always more fun and meaningful to have "repeat customers" because it feels like you're giving students a more comprehensive education if you get to take them through multiple classes of material, plus you ideally develop a rapport with them and so you enjoy having them back, they're more comfortable/confident in a second class with you and become sort of class leaders and help facilitate discussions...it's all to the good.

 

[Cole train]

Big tits at school volume 12

 

[HenryFlower]

It's a good strategy as a student - I also went through school first asking "Is so and so teaching anything this term?" and then deciding "Is this class of theirs a class that I want/need to take?" rather than going by class first and then just crossing my fingers on the professor - and I can say now as a professor that it's always more fun and meaningful to have "repeat customers" because it feels like you're giving students a more comprehensive education if you get to take them through multiple classes of material, plus you ideally develop a rapport with them and so you enjoy having them back, they're more comfortable/confident in a second class with you and become sort of class leaders and help facilitate discussions...it's all to the good.

100% on the money, my friend.

 

[HeroesNeverTap]

Napoleon Dynamite. Doesn't really have an overarching plot but the characters are quirky and interesting enough.

 

[BB in Crazy!!!!]

That switch in theory should have happened generations ago.

Do you know people used to watch their news in the theater? And then decided we're going to watch on it on the TV instead. For various cultural reasons that did not happen with movies. It kind of fascinates me tbh.

I think the one of the main issues is keeping up with the episodes. Streaming has seemingly made it possible to have the TV series movies over the 2-3 hour single movie.

 

[BB in Crazy!!!!]

Napoleon Dynamite. Doesn't really have an overarching plot but the characters are quirky and interesting enough.

Act 1. Loves weird life
Act 2. Best friend runs for class president, and has issues proving himself to everyone
Act 3. Proves himself to everyone and does heroic dance act for his friend.

 

[ferrisjso]

I think the one of the main issues is keeping up with the episodes. Streaming has seemingly made it possible to have the TV series movies over the 2-3 hour single movie.

Perhaps. But imagine if the book industry was dominated by short stories because people didn't like reading chapters?.

 

[BB in Crazy!!!!]

Perhaps. But imagine if the book industry was dominated by short stories because people didn't like reading chapters?.

True, except imagine if you missed that weeks chapter, you couldn't go back and read it unless you recorded it. Streaming is like having the whole book.

 

[SSgt Dickweed]

Did The Usual Suspects rip off Pulp Fiction?