Do You Watch "Old" Movies? 80's and 90's?

[Keith Justice]

Max and I were talking about this.

Now... back in the 80's, the equivalent would have been 60's and 70's and I gotta tell you, those movies were and are still hard sells. Planet of the Apes and the Omega Man, while I can understand for their time they may have been great experiences did not transfer well through the decades, imho.

So... do 80's and 90's movies?

What sparked this was there's a new Conan coming out... now, if it sucks or is mediocre, will it become the new standard for Conan and the original, which I think is a masterpiece, will it become forgotten? Or will kids check it out? Or is that 80's classic now... just too old?

What say you?

Folk born in 90's and late 90's... is 80's stuff unbearable? Or do they hold up?

 

[Ragna "D" BloodEdge]

Dude, that's all I ever seem to watch anymore. And yeah, I think they still hold up.

For example, I was watching this yesterday...

Made for TV spy/assassin thriller. And it's still one of the best I've watched. Which makes me a bit sad because there's a remake being planned starring Channing Tatum of all people...

But it depends on the movie and the genre. And of course, the nostalgia factor, which is quite a lot for me.

 

[Bolt]

I wasn't born in the 90's, but I didn't live through enough of the 80's to really appreciate much of what was going on during the latter half of the decade, especially in the entertainment industry. That being said, I watch 80's movies all the time; in fact, I dare call it Hollywood's second Golden Age. I think there was a lot of really fresh, original, off-the-wall stuff going on in the 80's that made filmmaking a lot more interesting and is incredibly fun and interesting to look back on now. Some of my favorite movies of all time were products of 80's inventiveness. The 90's, not so much. I think the 90's was one of the worst decades ever in terms of films and music, but there were still some gems here and there. Then again, I've never been one to be put off by antiquity or contemporary relevance--I still quite frequently watch movies from the 40's, 50's, and 60's, even the 20's. For me it has less to do with production values and more to do with heart, and despite the lack of technical innovations in the early 20th century, in my opinion that's when stories and characters had the most substance, so there's nothing lost in translation with me even though those weren't remotely my decades. This is the same reason why I despise the majority of films being produced today... they're just cold, lifeless, commercial products put out to turn a profit, not to change minds or tickle fancies like some of the groundbreaking cinema of old. Sure, it was still business, but it was also art. It's rare to find that nowadays.

As far as the kids of today looking back, I think it will happen. Once a film earns its "classic" status, that doesn't really ever go away, and I think as long as people are still interested in the types of films they watch, they'll be making an effort to seek out more similar films that they haven't experienced no matter how dated they are, especially as new technology continues to facilitate the acquisition of antique forms of entertainment.

 

[KAGEKI]

I grew up waching movies from the 90's and looking back, it was better than the movies today. I remember going to a movie theatre and watching Beverly Hills Ninja starring Chris Farley. I laughed out loud and watching it again takes me back to that time. I'm more fixated on watching movies and tv shows that came out during the 90's.

 

[Keith Justice]

Mostly I wonder for the general population... is 80's and 90's too old? Would a kid look at Conan and say, "What the **** is this ****??"

 

[KAGEKI]

Mostly I wonder for the general population... is 80's and 90's too old? Would a kid look at Conan and say, "What the **** is this ****??"

Probably. If they never ever heard of Conan through out their lives.

 

[Ragna "D" BloodEdge]

I'd like to think at least some kids would be open and receptive to older movies. My little brother likes the same movies I do, old and new. But the vast majority are so used to dumbed-down efforts and all these ridiculous reboots going on every five minutes...seems like a 50/50 chance either way.

 

[Aoiblue]

Some of my favorite movies are from the 80's and 90's, so yes.

 

[unmei]

North by Northwest was made in 1959, and it's still one of the best movies I've seen. I think it really comes down to the individual though.

Some people care more about special effects than great story telling, those people will probably not be as receptive to the older movies. People who are more interested in story and well written characters (somethign that's been slowly dying out from mainstream cinema lately imo) than exploding robots will likely be more receptive to them.

 

[Blade Dancer]

I wasn't born in the 90s, but I grew up in a family that basically watched the yearly Disney animated movie and that was it. So I'm still trying to catch up on all the awesome 80s movies that I missed the first time around. I'm usually more fond of ones in the sci-fi/fantasy genre than romances and such, but that's just because I'm not so into romances, period. TRON and The Last Starfighter are two of my favorite movies of all time, and when you throw in The Princess Bride, you've got gold. :thumbs: