Times takes its toll on some flicks from the past. :(

Quadman2

Lunatic Member
Waited all day to take in a fav of mine: "Picnic" with Kim Novak and William Holden (1955) and was really disappointed in it. :( I seem to remember as a kid falling in love with Novak in this big screen production. There was just something about her outward and inward beauty that enthralled me a a preteen. And then to have an old man, Holden of 37, come along and sweep her off her feet was just too much for me to bear at the time.

But after taking it the other night, the dialogue played out like a theatre production and the stereotyping of the characters was so evident. Missed this as an enraptured kid, I guess? Kim got in the way. :biggrin: Halfway through, it just gave up with canned lines and too quick reactions of Holden to the people around him and moved to another selection.

Anyone else take in a movie from the past only to find that a lot of the glamour/intrigue had waned after seeing it years after.

Q
 
Not a movie but a series. I bought a Bob Newhart DVD set on his first tv seies,a show I loved when it was on and thought it was tired and dated. This happens sometimes esp. If the humour is character driven and not dialogue driven.
 
@Quadman2 Forgive me if I read your intentions wrong, but I wonder if the difference was from how much time elapsed from 1955 until now and maybe not from child to adult. We see other movies that change our outlook & opinions and then go back to the old shows and we are now able to pick them apart.

Course there are movies that have stood the test of time and while they don't have the impact they once did but still draw us in.
 
The ending of the first ace ventura movie is really cringe worthy by today's standards.

In general there's a lot of plot in old movies that viewed through a modern lens is pretty cringey. John Wayne spanking O'hara in Mclintock for example.

The worst I can think of though is Dumbo. SO. MUCH. RACISM. I was talking with my mom about it the other day and she said she can't believe she let me watch it as a kid.
 
The ending of the first ace ventura movie is really cringe worthy by today's standards.

In general there's a lot of plot in old movies that viewed through a modern lens is pretty cringey. John Wayne spanking O'hara in Mclintock for example.

The worst I can think of though is Dumbo. SO. MUCH. RACISM. I was talking with my mom about it the other day and she said she can't believe she let me watch it as a kid.
Personally, I'd rather watch old movies. I don't care if they seem corny or cringey by today's standards. Not everything today is all that wonderful, to be honest, so escaping it is not a bad thing. I think CGI sucks, too. Give me practical effects any day, even if they aren't that good.

And, how could you dare say anything bad about The Duke.:eek::D

Not that racism is in any way a good thing, but I think people today have become just a tad bit overly sensitive to it. We shouldn't ignore everything from the past just because it isn't 100% PC by today's standards.
 
I don't think it's good to forget our past or not derive enjoyment from old films (I love The Quiet Man and it's similarly sexist in parts) but I think especially when exposing kids to this stuff it's important to say, "That was then, and now we know better, mmkay?"

I mean, how many generations of men grew up thinking James Bond was the epitome of how to "handle yourself" around women? :rolleyes: (I love Bond for the record. Just... not a role model.)

It's less about being butthurt and more about making our kids just a little bit better humans than we are. :)
 
In general there's a lot of plot in old movies that viewed through a modern lens is pretty cringey. John Wayne spanking O'hara in Mclintock for example.

I think we need to make a distinction in reference to some of these movies. That one is a farcical portrayal of the old west as is Blazing Saddles.

I can tell you I've seen a bunch of people that claim offense to scenes in old movies that will laugh their asses off at the expense of real people getting hurt in YouTube videos.

As far as dated movies go I'm surprised some of them hold up as well as they do. "Metropolis" or the Charlie Chaplin films come to mind. Some of the noir films hold up really well also, imo.

I do find it humorous that a "Fifty Shades of Gray" or "Moulin Rouge" (The most cringe-worthy modern films I can think of atm , although mostly in the sense that I couldn't generate an .oz of suspension of disbelief to tolerate either one as "Cinema").
 
Last edited:
For sure....do you think a film like "Blazing Saddles" could be made today ? Fat chance....

Sure. It is called Pulp Fiction. :D\\
I think we need to make a distinction in reference to some of these movies. That one is a farcical portrayal of the old west as is Blazing Saddles.

I can tell you I've seen a bunch of people that claim offense to scenes in old movies that will laugh their asses off at the expense of real people getting hurt in YouTube videos.

.


Yes, like all the people that love Pulp Fiction.
 
Sure. It is called Pulp Fiction. :D\\
Yes, like all the people that love Pulp Fiction.

"Pulp Fiction" is a Postmodern effort and an homage to bygone genres- perhaps exempted from the "Dated" category by virtue of it's "Meta" or Ironic portrayal of same.

"Molin Rouge" may be postmodern as well. I found it as unwatchable as many people found "Pulp Fiction" to be.
 
I think we need to make a distinction in reference to some of these movies. That one is a farcical portrayal of the old west as is Blazing Saddles.

I can tell you I've seen a bunch of people that claim offense to scenes in old movies that will laugh their asses off at the expense of real people getting hurt in YouTube videos.

As far as dated movies go I'm surprised some of them hold up as well as they do. "Metropolis" or the Charlie Chaplin films come to mind. Some of the noir films hold up really well also, imo.

I do find it humorous that a "Fifty Shades of Gray" or "Moulin Rouge" (The most cringe-worthy modern films I can think of atm , although mostly in the sense that I couldn't generate an .oz of suspension of disbelief to tolerate either one as "Cinema").

I'll give you that about it being farcical. I had a friend get mad when I shared a "sexist" Harry Enfield short. Completely missed the point.

That was just the first thing that sprang to mind as an example. There's a lot of "romance" in older films that'd be considered quite abusive in real life. Things like "no means yes" moments come to mind.
 
Movies from the mid to late 50s (w/ exceptions, of course) can often seem dated because of heavy method acting and a tendency toward melodrama. Rebel Without a Cause being a good example. But they still have their moments.

 
Last edited:
Not sure if this thread will veer more towards sad nostalgia or throwing knives at each other's favorites... anyway, when I think of movies that dont age well, I tend to lump almost all movies from the 1960s and first half of the 70s in that category. They were so transparently a reflection of their time that aging poorly almost seems (to me) to be built in. Exceptions from this period would be movies that aren't set in that period, like the Eastwood westerns, Great Escape, 2001, Young Frankenstein... Mary Poppins, Doctor Zhivago, Sound of Music...
 
The ending of the first ace ventura movie is really cringe worthy by today's standards.

In general there's a lot of plot in old movies that viewed through a modern lens is pretty cringey. John Wayne spanking O'hara in Mclintock for example.

The worst I can think of though is Dumbo. SO. MUCH. RACISM. I was talking with my mom about it the other day and she said she can't believe she let me watch it as a kid.

Never saw Dumbo but you can get it on video... as far as I know Song of the South is still out of circulation in the US (aside from ebay and other one-seller outlets). Was only done as a video title in Japan. Reason: not nearly PC. But it won an Oscar for best song and the Uncle Remus actor won an honorary award as well. I saw it as a kid, and was supposedly quite upset when Uncle Remus walked off into the sunset (I don't really recall). But I don't think it aged poorly so much as society changed around it.
 
@Quadman2 Forgive me if I read your intentions wrong, but I wonder if the difference was from how much time elapsed from 1955 until now and maybe not from child to adult. We see other movies that change our outlook & opinions and then go back to the old shows and we are now able to pick them apart.

Course there are movies that have stood the test of time and while they don't have the impact they once did but still draw us in.



You make some valid points.

I think with the initial exposure to a certain movies there are some that tend to make an ever lasting impression that doesn't diminish with time. As already mentioned, to a kid of 8 or 9, there is that first time you fall and fall hard, either in real life or for someone in real life you know you'll never have. With me it was Novak.

Yet, there are other films like "Old Yeller" and "Shane" that stayed with me for years, and have remained unchanged in emotional impact, even though I knew every scene by heart. I must have watched "Dr. Zhivago" 6 times or more, yet see something I've missed before and feel the frustration/elation/torment of the people caught up in this time of turmoil within this epic. I find the background music so enduring. As well, the ending of this saga is just is so sad! Tragedies tend to last longer in my memory.

Some great shares to date. :thumbsup: Nice to know I ain't alone in the appreciation and depreciation of certain flicks from the past and the varied effects it has on ya.

Q
 
Never saw Dumbo but you can get it on video... as far as I know Song of the South is still out of circulation in the US (aside from ebay and other one-seller outlets). Was only done as a video title in Japan. Reason: not nearly PC. But it won an Oscar for best song and the Uncle Remus actor won an honorary award as well. I saw it as a kid, and was supposedly quite upset when Uncle Remus walked off into the sunset (I don't really recall). But I don't think it aged poorly so much as society changed around it.
I never sat down and watched the whole movie, but I looked it up after hearing how horrible it is supposed to be. There is a review on youtube that shows a lot of it and pokes fun at it. I kind of see why some people are offended, but it really isn't that big of a deal, to be honest. I've seen a lot worse. Disney made it more of a big deal than it actually is by trying to hide it from people, IMO. It is actually available on archive.org, and there is a site that sells an unofficial restored DVD.
 
Back
Top Bottom