| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| ragingfluff |
Posted - 07/11/2007 : 17:06:19
I'm reluctant to start this thread considering the shitstorm on the "Worst Films Ever" thread I began. But I am interested in films that are panned by critics and/or ignored by audiences at the time of their release, only to gain in reputation over time. I think "The Cable Guy" is a good example. The critics for the most part, hated it, and audiences, expecting a goofy Jim Carrey comedy, were turned off by it. Over the years, however, it has slowly built up a cult rep. as a dark satire on TV-obsessed culture and a black comedy about "friendship". For the record, just so we're clear, I still don't like the film very much, but that's not really the point of this thread. I'm not simply interested here in movies that you personally love that everyone else hates (not that there's anything wrong with that). I really would just be curious about films you think were overlooked for one reason or another that you think deserve a second chance, or that you think have gained a cult or cultish status (deservedly or not). Clear enough?
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| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Whippersnapper. |
Posted - 07/13/2007 : 19:38:26
You can't make films about reality. No-one would believe them.
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| Downtown |
Posted - 07/13/2007 : 16:22:45
I should point out that the "cliche" of Andy's tunnel leading to an empty space between the walls where he had access to an escape route is what really happened at Alcatraz.
It was a really old, poorly designed prison. That's kind of the point. It didn't even have a "sewer," just a pipe leading directly from the toilets to a river outside (yuck). |
| ragingfluff |
Posted - 07/13/2007 : 15:28:22
quote:
Originally posted by Randall
There's nothing realistic about it, or in nine out of ten of my favorite movies, even the ones "based on a true story." It's just fun, like SHAWSHANK. Prison movie cliches? The improbability of digging a secret tunnel for twenty years? They don't bother me at all, just as long as I get that catharsis and Bob Gunton goes down every time.
Mrs Gunton feels the same way...
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| silly |
Posted - 07/13/2007 : 15:07:03
When we saw Potter the other night, they had a trailer for the new Get Smart.
I was impressed. Can't wait for '08.  |
| randall |
Posted - 07/13/2007 : 13:40:29
You have to suspend that ol' disbelief willingly. Most every movie is, at least in part, a fantasy. Even the Dogme type of suffering is. Even Michael Moore's documentaries twist reality a tad.
I've been watching old MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE episodes and thoroughly enjoying them. But isn't Peter Graves' all-purpose "foreign accent" the worst in the world? And what if the mask slipped while you were impersonating the bad guy? Or the guy holding the gun on you actually shot you before you could con him out of it? There's nothing realistic about it, or in nine out of ten of my favorite movies, even the ones "based on a true story." It's just fun, like SHAWSHANK. Prison movie cliches? The improbability of digging a secret tunnel for twenty years? They don't bother me at all, just as long as I get that catharsis and Bob Gunton goes down every time. |
| Sean |
Posted - 07/13/2007 : 13:19:41
quote:
Originally posted by Whippersnapper
quote:
Originally posted by Se�n
Shawshank is one of those unusual films that nobody could be disappointed with. It's No. 2 on the IMDb Top 250 list. The breakdown of the voting shows how widespread the appeal is:-
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/ratings
It didn't immediately jump out as "2nd best movie ever made" upon release as there was nothing unique about it's premise. At face value it's "just another prison movie" or "just another wrongfully-accused man gets his own back" movie. But what a perfect example of those genres it is. It's perfect. I challenge anyone to point out flaws or any aspect of it that could be improved. And there's nothing in it that could alienate anyone; no stereotyping, no excessive violence, no politics, no preaching, no boredom etc.
No stereotyping ???? Not the corrupt warden, the sadistic guard, the loveable old institutionalised prisoner who cannot cope on the outside, the mindlessly violent gay prisoners, the wrongly convicted hero, the wise insider?????
And the plot: prisoner who must inevitably escape and end up on an idyllic beach, warden must inevitably be exposed, guard who must inevitably get punished... And one prisoner gets kept in the same cell for umpteen years and somehow unnoticed by others makes a huge hole in the wall which just happens - unlike almost all other walls where there is known space on the other side - to lead into a labarynthine area of secret passages - just what prison designers put into their design plans! - which leads to the sewers, which lead to the outside. Yeah sure, really plausible.
The Shawshank Redemption is so predictable, corny and challenges absolutely no standard Hollywood values, including everything ending happily ever after. Entertaining yes, well made yes, well acted yes, but an entirely ersatz view of the world. If there is a shred of honesty in the film it was an accident.
Precisely. It's an excellent example of that genre. That's why it didn't wow the critics when it hit the cinemas like Schindler's List or One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest did. But, everyone (well, most) who rent the DVD are more than satisfied with it for precisely the reasons you've outlined. And more people have scored it at IMDb than any other movie in the history of celluloid. That's why it was mentioned in this thread as per the OP. A movie doesn't have to be honest or original to be popular.
BTW, by "no stereotyping" I meant the discriminatory kind that annoys people such as was perceived in Passion of the Christ etc, not character genericity. |
| Shiv |
Posted - 07/13/2007 : 12:30:43
The Blues Brothers
Napolean Dynamite
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| Whippersnapper. |
Posted - 07/13/2007 : 08:51:10
quote:
Originally posted by Se�n
Shawshank is one of those unusual films that nobody could be disappointed with. It's No. 2 on the IMDb Top 250 list. The breakdown of the voting shows how widespread the appeal is:-
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/ratings
It didn't immediately jump out as "2nd best movie ever made" upon release as there was nothing unique about it's premise. At face value it's "just another prison movie" or "just another wrongfully-accused man gets his own back" movie. But what a perfect example of those genres it is. It's perfect. I challenge anyone to point out flaws or any aspect of it that could be improved. And there's nothing in it that could alienate anyone; no stereotyping, no excessive violence, no politics, no preaching, no boredom etc.
No stereotyping ???? Not the corrupt warden, the sadistic guard, the loveable old institutionalised prisoner who cannot cope on the outside, the mindlessly violent gay prisoners, the wrongly convicted hero, the wise insider?????
And the plot: prisoner who must inevitably escape and end up on an idyllic beach, warden must inevitably be exposed, guard who must inevitably get punished... And one prisoner gets kept in the same cell for umpteen years and somehow unnoticed by others makes a huge hole in the wall which just happens - unlike almost all other walls where there is known space on the other side - to lead into a labarynthine area of secret passages - just what prison designers put into their design plans! - which leads to the sewers, which lead to the outside. Yeah sure, really plausible.
The Shawshank Redemption is so predictable, corny and challenges absolutely no standard Hollywood values, including everything ending happily ever after. Entertaining yes, well made yes, well acted yes, but an entirely ersatz view of the world. If there is a shred of honesty in the film it was an accident.
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| Ali |
Posted - 07/13/2007 : 08:47:51
He's wrong that Kane is the most overrated film of all time, but, more egregiously, he's also wrong that to still call (Kane) "the greatest film ever made" is an exaggeration.
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| Sean |
Posted - 07/13/2007 : 07:47:20
quote:
Originally posted by Ali
quote:
Originally posted by Downtown
quote:
Originally posted by Randall
CITIZEN KANE.
It's actually the most OVERrated film of all time. It's probably the greatest cinematic achievement ever considering the era in which is was made, but to still call it "the greatest film ever made" is an exaggeration.
You are wrong.
DT made three statements. I'm curious which one you disagree with. Any reason for not saying? 
Wrong thread for this discussion though. |
| Sean |
Posted - 07/13/2007 : 07:44:52
Shawshank is one of those unusual films that nobody could be disappointed with. It's No. 2 on the IMDb Top 250 list. The breakdown of the voting shows how widespread the appeal is:-
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/ratings
It didn't immediately jump out as "2nd best movie ever made" upon release as there was nothing unique about it's premise. At face value it's "just another prison movie" or "just another wrongfully-accused man gets his own back" movie. But what a perfect example of those genres it is. It's perfect. I challenge anyone to point out flaws or any aspect of it that could be improved. And there's nothing in it that could alienate anyone; no stereotyping, no excessive violence, no politics, no preaching, no boredom etc.
A quick perusal at the top of the IMDb 250 shows some pretty controversial movies that some will rate poorly, e.g.:-
Godfather, Pulp Fiction, Goodfellas = too violent
Schindlers List = too real and painful
LOTR, Star Wars = fantasy, doesn't suit everyone
Dr Strangelove, Citizen Kane = political
whereas Shawshank and Casablanca stand out as wide-appeal family dramas that didn't change the world but everyone who sees them is going to thoroughly enjoy and rate highly. |
| Ali |
Posted - 07/13/2007 : 07:17:02
quote:
Originally posted by Downtown
quote:
Originally posted by Randall
CITIZEN KANE.
It's actually the most OVERrated film of all time. It's probably the greatest cinematic achievement ever considering the era in which is was made, but to still call it "the greatest film ever made" is an exaggeration.
You are wrong.
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| Ali |
Posted - 07/13/2007 : 07:15:55
The Shawshank Redemption did not bomb at the box office. It did not perform particularly well, but did not do that badly either. It was a mediocre success for what it was. It made, however, shit loads of cash in rentals, and was extremely popular with home audiences.
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| Downtown |
Posted - 07/13/2007 : 06:00:42
Touche! |
| randall |
Posted - 07/12/2007 : 21:43:40
quote:
Originally posted by Downtown
quote:
Originally posted by Randall
CITIZEN KANE.
It's actually the most OVERrated film of all time. It's probably the greatest cinematic achievement ever considering the era in which is was made, but to still call it "the greatest film ever made" is an exaggeration.
Duke Ellington: "Lady, if you don't know by now, you never will." |
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