Badmovies.org Forum

Everyone has some movies that the first time you saw it... it did nothing for you but as you got older and revisited the movie it was a lot better than you remembered...

There's 3 films that come to mind for me:
1) The Funhouse
2) Secretary
3) Eaten Alive

What are some of yours?

Could you specify which Eaten Alive film, as there are two: the Italian cannibal one, and the Tobe Hooper one (I'm presuming you mean the Tobe Hooper one as you also have Funhouse listed).

I had a thread similar to this, but a long while ago on the old board. One of the first movies that comes to mind for me, and that influenced that old thread, is Airplane.

When I had first seen Airplane, I did not care for it; it frankly didn't make me laugh. Just a few years ago, I had caught Airplane playing on a local station, and laughing at a lot of it that I had not thought was funny before.

Yeah the Tobe Hooper Eaten Alive... I didn't realize how well directed his movies were until recently... I love his sense of paceing

I didn't care to much for Event Horizon the first time I saw it, but now I consider it a master piece.

So sorry to hear that. Not to worry, you'll improve.

1. The thing (yes, I admit it)
2. Gamera vs. Gyaos (I hated Gamera until I actually gave it a chance)
3. Godzilla vs. Megalon (Now that I think of it, I still don't really like it)

Mine is, and I'm ready to be torched for it: Monty Python's Holy Grail. I saw it for the first time when I was a teenager, and I don't know why, but I hated it. Maybe I was in a bad mood, maybe something else interfeering, but I just couldn't get into it. Now I regularly watch it and Live at the Hollywood Bowl, Meaning of Life, Life of Brian, And Now for something Completely Different (please let me know if there's anything else out there from them). Holy Grail must be the most quoted film ever, I hear lots of quotes from it.

Re.  Please let me know re. More Monty Python Movies:
Sadly, for the Full Monty, as it were, the ones you name are it --
HOWEVER, check out the numerous "solo" projects, which more often than not involve more than one of them:
"Privates on Parade"(Cleese)
"Yellowbeard"(Chapman & Cheech & Chong. Not that good, sadly.)
"A Private Function"(Palin)
"A Fish Called Wanda"(Palin & Cleese.  Skip the Fierce Creatures sequel.)
"The Minister"(Palin)
"Jabberwocky"(Palin & Gilliam & Innes.  Neil Innes did most of the music
              for Python.  He's the guy singing behind Brave Sir Robin &
              the guy who gets hit with the hammer in Hollywood Bowl.)
Also a pre-Python Cleese and Chapman in "The Magic Christian", with Peter Sellers, Ringo Starr, Christopher Lee & Raquel Welch -- to name but a few of the stars.
For that matter, check out Neil Innes with Eric Idle in "The Rutles", along with Bianca Jagger, George Harrison, etc.  That's also Neil Innes with The Beatles & Bonzo Dog Band, performing "Death Cab For Cutie" in "Magical Mystery Tour"
* * *
Aside from the numerous TV Python episodes, many fans overlook the very wonderful Michael Palin/Terry Jones TV collaboration, "Ripping Yarns".  These episodes are every bit as funny as Pure Python, and are sure to satisfy your Jones if you've already OD'd on reruns.
peter johnson/denny crane

Well,when was a kid,they would show lotsa crappy movies on TV,that I HATED back then...but now I treasure:
Al Adamson's DRACULA vs. FRANKENSTEIN: When I first saw the cover of Famous Monsters #89,with the Dracula sporting an afro...it was sacrilige! THEN,I caught it on TV...YIKES! WORSE then I could have imagined! Now,it's one of my favorite BAD MOVIES. Same goes for ASTRO ZOMBIES,which I saw on Shock Theatre back in the 70's...I thought it was some kinda crappy joke! Of course,I own it now!

Forbidden Planet.
I really didn't think much of it the first time I saw it.
Now it's on My Top Ten List! :smile:

The Cable Guy- Watched it when I was 14 or 15, and despised it. Guess it was because I was expecting Ace Ventura Pt. III

The Frighteners- My Dad, younger sister, and I watched this together around the time it came out on video and absolutely hated it. We were all expecting a straight horror pic at first(because that's what the TV ads made it look like). Now it is probably my favorite horror-comedy of all time.

I remember thinking "Roadhouse" was a fairly generic action-fest the first time I saw it. only later did I come to appreciate the unintentional (or perhaps intentional?) LOL factor of every scene....like the bit where Swayze practices his Martial Arts moves, which presumably was intended as a very deep and moving scene, but now literally makes me p**s myself. (not literally)

Do you mean a masterpiece?  Or a master piece?  :teddyr:

I, myself never thought too poorly of it.  I'm too fond of the cast.  It allowed me to overcome any of the typical issues people have with it.


...and Ometiklan, your subtly breathing avatar is real damn unnerving! :wink:

As for a hate-to-love film...for myself, the closest thing I have to SaintMort's is PAY IT FORWARD.  I had to see it with my wife after losing a bet.  I thought it was typical, unctious, smarmy, newagey huggy-buggy garbage.  Then over time(as my wife has the damn DVD!)I began to open up to both Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt.  Actually Spacey is pretty much his reliable deft outsider, but Hunt was fantastic.  A nice break from the crap she was doing post-Mad About You.  I felt she made for a very appealing human being in that role, something crucial to the plot.

NOTE:  A key to my embracing this film is the ability to tune out Macualy Taylor Osment, or whatever the hell his name is!  :thumbup:

Cable guy is definately another one on my list... for some reason that also reminded me about Ed Wood which is one of my top 10 favorite movies now but I hated it the first time I watched (same with this film called Sublime)

Secretary and White Palace. At first, both didn't seem all that special to me but later I felt they were a little bit more than just steamy sex although that's there too.

In addition to peter johnson's list there is also Fawlty Towers. TV series starring John Cleese and Connie Booth, can be seen on PBS or BBC America, it's a real funny show.

Menard is in the hating part of the process of learning to love Zardoz.

Give him a few more years and he'll just LUUURRRRRRRVE it!   He's just learning how!  :teddyr:

I forgive you; I know it's the vagina talking, and not you. :tongueout:

I think Michael J. Fox offers a stunningly unexpected performance in THE FRIGHTENERS.

Having waited a longtime to finally see VERTIGO, when I finally got to see it, I was unimpressed, bored, rolling my eyes...but the score by Bernard Herrmann stayed in my mind and played over and over (mainly because of Herrmann's purposeful borrowing of a theme of Wagner) until I sought a cd of it and finally re-watched the film...and got it!!!   It's definitely in my top 20 favorite films, which is high praise from me!   :teddyr:

I think we've discussed the scene where Kim Novak emerges from the bathroom bathed in green light as Herrmann's score climaxes is about the most breath-taking moment in any film.

I first saw THE MUMMY (1932) when I was about ten years old and thought it was the most boring thing I'd ever witnessed. I thought those other Mummy movies with Lon Chaney, Jr. were so much more scarier! Now I think Karloff's version is the creepiest of the early Universal horror films. "He went for a little walk! You should have seen his face!"

It still takes me several viewings to warm up to any Kubrick film, but I'd have to say DR. STRANGELOVE is still the only one I 'love'.

I love Fish called Wanda/Fierce Creatures, Yellowbeard was horrible, What about Jabberwockey? I've heard opposing opinions. I'll check out Ripping Yarns. I'm surprized you don't like Fierce Creatures, I thought it was good, Especially how Kevin Klien played the kid, and his dad both, THEN, in the movie, as the kid, dressed up to look like the dad, and got it kinda close. . weird. I've never heard of private function, I'll check it out also


Yea, I used to Tivo those when they were on, I think I've seen them all, pretty good though.

I remember thinking that Zoolander was a terrible piece of crap when I first saw it.  Then I went to see it again with one of my friends and I thought it was hilarious.

Die Hard, when Batman came out I went to see it with all my mates and we all agreed it was the best film we'd ever seen, hey we were all in our teens we didn't know better, a couple of weeks later on  one of them got hold of a copy of Die Hard and he said it was even better than Batman, this statement made me hate it immediately, we went round to watch it but I just sat and read a magazine all the way through and paid no attention to it, what a fool.

I'd have to say that I absolutely hated Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy when I first saw it.
No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get into its weird brand of humor.

Then I watched it a second time several months later and I loved it!
I even went out and bought it on DVD after that.
It's loaded with hilarious quotes that I use from time to time.

"Hey everyone.  Come and see how good I look!"
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrvmz_tPRk8

^ to be honest I liked the first half of anchorman but it got a bit too O.T.T crazy and directionless 'Hollywood Blockbuster' towards the end. If anything I wanted it to be more weird/surreal. theres a few classic quotes and scenes in there even so. "I want to...be on you" etc.

Another one is "The Breakfast Club", , I HATED it the first time, then later saw it and liked it alot, , ,then, , it got way to old, it's like an old, worn-out cliche. . I'm right back to hating it. . Molly Ringwald just doesn't fit the princess role, , she always looks like a dork to me. .

More Monty Stuff:
I'm squarely on the side of people who think "Jabberwocky" is great stuff -- I saw it again several months ago for I think the 5th(?) time, and it really holds up.  Neil Innes is hysterical as a very very nervous palace guard.  Palin is perfect as the clueless "man on a quest".  The thing that threw a lot of people who disliked this picture when it first came out is that it really is a Terry Gilliam film, and not so much a Monty Python film.  Gilliam made this prior to "Time Bandits (Also with Cleese and Palin -- another for the list)", and it can be considered a sort of warm-up to that.
All the castle interiors are shot in the dim gloom that castle interiors really looked like back then, not the overlit Hollywood sound stages of "Camelot", etc.  Many people didn't understand that either.
Plus, it has a stupefying amount of gore.  Literal buckets of blood and guts are thrown about willy-nilly, especially during the tournament sequence.  It's just so far over the top that the top isn't even visible!
That REALLY put a lot of people off first time out --
* * *
"Fierce Creatures" I don't like because it's so obviously cobbled together from 2 completely different films, and shows the backstage squabbling that Cleese was enduring from the producers.  Cleese wanted to make another black comedy, even nastier than "Wanda", and the studio fought him every step of the way, wanting instead something sweeter with a happy ending.  The sentimental bilge that the film is rife with, including the sappy musical score, was forced on Cleese, and essentially the film was taken away from him.  Cleese barely mentions it today, and Palin not at all.
"A Private Function" has not only Palin, but an amazing Brenda Fricker, and an even more amazing Maggie Smith, along with a basketful of those great British character-actors you always see but never know their names.
It is a comedy about meat-rationing.  We lucky Americans had rationing end the day WW2 ended -- The poor Brits had to endure almost 10 more years of coupons and ration books, as their decimated country and economy tried to get its post-war footing.  The film is a farcical account of one family's attempt to circumvent the law and have a proper meal to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's coronation.  Complications ensue.
Somethings I learned from this film:  Pig poop is a metaphor for The Human Condition.  Pig poop can also be a metaphor for Class Consciousness and Class Struggle.  Maggie Smith is the most overlooked comedic actress of our time.
peter johnson/denny crane

Here are just a few that I can think of off the top of my head:

Phantasm - Mentioned this in another post.  Hated it my first time around.  I ended up watching the sequels and buying the dvd when it was released years ago.  Fell in love it, and it's still a fun one for me.

Dawn Of The Dead - WTF!?  Yeah, I hated Dawn the first time I watched it.  I remember reading SO much about the film and it was my first introduction into the NOTLD films.  I borrowed a VHS copy of it from someone (Theatrical Cut) and I thought it was one of the biggest pieces of crap I had ever seen.  Sure the first 15 minutes were good but everything after was boring.  Ended up picking up NOTLD and Day despite my hatred of Dawn, and both worked for me.  Went back and bought Dawn and absolutely loved it my second time around.  Not sure why I hated it initially.  Now, it's one of my favorite films of all time and by far my favorite zombie film.

Blue Velvet - Hated this one when I first rented it a long time ago.  After a few more viewings, I realized just how layered and fantastic the film was.  Hopper's character is hugely entertaining as well.  Great film.

Dr. Strangelove - Someone else mentioned this earlier.  Not sure what it was about the film initially that I didn't like.  I don't think the humor sat well with me my first time around.  After watching it a few more times, I realized just how good and funny the film is.  It's one that I quote on a weekly basis. 

Although I didn't hate it the first time I had seen it, I did find it to be quite boring throughout a good part of the film. I can more thoroughly enjoy it now after having had several viewings.

There are alot of movies I dislike, but only three come to mind, where I went from dislike to like on a second viewing.

"Anatomy of a Murder"
Perhaps, something of a cheat, as the first time I saw it, I didn't see all of it. The second time I saw it, I saw it all the way to the end and liked it.

"Lair of the White Worm"
Actually, it took me three times to see this, before I began to like it. And now it is one of my favorite films.

"Porkchop Hill"
I didn't like it, the first stime I saw it. The second time I saw it, I liked it.

I can think of a few even more breathtaking moments in films like PSYCHO, THELMA & LOUISE, DIEHARD... though that moment in VERTIGO is one of my favorites. 

I'd have to agree; though I now love 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY I was bored by it more than once when I was very young.  The equally static BARRY LYNDON was, however, love at first sight for me.   I'd guess I'm still in the "hating phase" for A CLOCKWORK ORANGE.  I happen to like THE SHINING so well I re-enact it whenever I get the chance...   :lookingup:
(http://a100.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/33/l_d6aceb4d7dd8da040a0452f805369c8b.gif)

I hated THE POPE OF GREENWICH VILLAGE the first time I saw it.  Since then, I have probably seen it 8 or 10 times and I get something new out of it with every repeat viewing.

Another one which comes to mind for me is Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things. The first time I had seen it, I hated it. I guess that I was expecting more of a Zombie/Dawn of the Dead type movie; not to mention I was absolutely put off by Alan Ormsby's character. It seemed like I kept waiting and waiting for something to happen.

On a subsequent viewing, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It seemed to move along much better for me and I was able to appreciate the atmosphere, the characters, and the subtleties of the film more. I now really like the movie.

I forgot about the obvious one: Bad Taste, , when I was in the service on special duty (piloting a halibut fishing boat for the summer, was kewl), a crazy friend of mine introduced it to me, but during a drunken rampage of a party, so I saw very little of it. A year or so later ('91 or so) I tried to watch it and couldn't get into it. Then, in '05 or so, when I started to persue my bad-movie penchant, , I go a hold of it and watched it some, ,now it's one of my favorites. I 'think' searching for it 'may' have been how I found this site, , don't remember, but I think it was either that, OR the first review I read. . .
On another note, I KNEW I found a gem just from reading the review for Dead-Alive on this very site.

I'll agree to this.  As a kid, I watched every Universal horror picture I could get my hands on... except The Mummy films.  I just didn't take to them.  But watching them now is quite enjoyable.

I saw Bad Lieutenant in the theatres and hated it.  Years later I bought the DVD for some reason that now escapes me and it was like watching a completely different film.  I loved it!

I used to hate Italian zombie films.  I just couldn't get over the campiness of zombies flying airplanes, using tools, running, talking, etc.  I think in large part I used to watch horror films expecting, well, horror.  As I get older and wiser, I realize that is asking too much and I can now appreciate crap for its crappiness.  Italian horror is now one of the largest subgenres in my film library.

There's not too many of us who like this film as compared to those who seem to loathe it!   I should admit that I always liked this film, from the first time I saw it late night on WPIX out of New York (channel 9) on CHILLER probably around 35 years ago, as cheezee as I knew it was, still it spooked the hell out of me...now, I own the DVD.  

Birthday karma for Menard.  Congratulations, you've hit a landmark.   :cheers: