>Citizen Kane comes out in 1941
>85 years later, only like 8 movies have come out that are nearly as good
Why is it so hard to make a good movie? Billions are poured into film production and yet it seems like it's always a gamble whether a movie turns out good. Even studios that seem 100% set on making the best "serious" movies possible (A24, Searchlight) often churn out slop.

I mean, just following this outline will make any movie turn out at least better than average
>Have the camera focus on a thing or person if it's important to the scene
>Have events that lead to other events. Don't have things happen which lead to nothing
>Make sure the characters all actually want things and don't just exist as props.
>At some point, preferably in the later half of the movie, have two forces (could be the drives of the protagonist and antagonist) confront each other
>Give the audience a reason to believe everything depicted in the movie is meaningful in some way

Is it really that hard?

>>212173448 (OP)
Same reason that all art forms have deteriorated. People are not as smart and creative as they used to be, due to technology ruining people’s concentration and imaginations over the decades

Kids and young people don’t spend their spare time writing, drawing, playing music etc. They spend it online and playing vidya.

Plus audiences are dumber, so films cater to that denominator as well. Also diversity requirements have watered down talent. There are way more women working in studios and production, demanding this or that of directors. Everything in film production back in the 1940s was entirely run by white men.

>>212173448 (OP)
>>85 years later, only like 8 movies have come out that are nearly as good
You're a pleb with awful taste. Like half of European cinema before and after 1941 is better than that tripe.

>>Have the camera focus on a thing or person if it's important to the scene
>>Have events that lead to other events. Don't have things happen which lead to nothing
>>Make sure the characters all actually want things and don't just exist as props.
>>At some point, preferably in the later half of the movie, have two forces (could be the drives of the protagonist and antagonist) confront each other
>>Give the audience a reason to believe everything depicted in the movie is meaningful in some way
Congratulations, you just made commercial slop, because that's all Citizen Kane is at the end of the day.

>why is genius so rare?
because if it wasn't, then it wouldn't be genius

>>212173448 (OP)
watch more movies. genuinely.

>>212174161
Dr Strangelove and Persona don't belong with the others here. Persona doesn't do anything interesting, it's entire fame is being difficult for dumb people to watch and edgy because of the nudity