re: Are older movies truly better?

More specifically, I have a hard time appreciating any war movie prior to Apocalypse Now. I find just about all of them, even Bridge on the River Kwai and some of the others in the pantheon, to be just kind of stiff and goofy.

I'd argue that war is such a visceral experience that getting an accurate physical portrayal of the experience, like in SPR or Band of Brothers or Pacific or on and on, is absolutely vital.

Now, some of the others (Citizen Kane, Godfathers, etc) are truly great and can be appreciated across the ages.