Letter: Films vs movies

Sir: Tony Atkinson (letter, 21 May) argues that "movies" such as the Star Wars series are made to entertain while "films" are intellectual fodder for small audiences of snobs. This argument would make sense if the audiences for films had the opportunity to make the distinction for themselves by a fairer and broader distribution of films. The present American distribution monopoly ensures that we are given a diet of filmburgers.

In terms of "action" films Kurosawa's Seven Samurai contains more skill than anything put into the current American "action" movie, but the popular audience has had no exposure to anything but the filmburger.

The "snobs" don't deride entertainment, they just want it with a bit more intelligence and wit than is evident in the average American "action" burger, which seems to be based on the cattle prod or the computer game.

TERRY LAING

Norton, Teesside