I was jsut wondering, What offically makes a film like "UHF" and "Rocky Horror" have a cult following? Like would u consider "Fight Club" to have a cult following?
Cult Followings Films - It is a film that has a small, but strong following. Meaning only a small percentage really love the film, but they are very adamant or unyielding in they're love for the film. For example a classic film might be liked by many, but they don't go around talking about it after its initial release. A cult film becomes almost a religious thing that represents some eternal (strange to the world) element and when the subject comes up they have strong opinions about it.
Cult is also the root word for Culture and Cultivate.
My opinion is that the majority of people who follow cult fims only do it to feel like "part of the crowd." About 10% of the fans are true, hardcore fans and the rest are just trying to impress people by saying "I've seen Rocky Horror 200 times and I know all the dialogue by heart." (I'm not sure who would be impressed by that, but hey, to each his own).
I consider my self a fan of cult movies in general, rather than of any one particular cult movie. I have seen Rocky Horror only once. I have seen Plan 9 From Outer Space about 12 times. I have seen Pink Flamingos about 6 times. I have seen Eraserhead about 12 times.
Now, on the other hand, I have seen The Godfather at least 50 times (probably more like 75 times). Is that a cult film? It certainly has a following of people who rent it every now and then or watch it every time it is on television. People have definitely memorized some of the key dialogue. (Although, I have never seen anyone dressed as Clemenza doing the "Time Warp").
Unfortunately, whatever your definition of a cult film is, I think part of the experience has been ruined by video & DVD. Sure, I have my own DVD copies of Plan 9, Bride of the Monster, Last House on the Left, etc., etc., and can watch them over and over again. But that ruins part of the experience of watching these movies in a crowded theater at midnight on a Saturday night. I remember midnight movies being pretty common back in the 1970s and early 1980s. Then they sort of faded away. One of the local theaters here (which, sadly, was torn down and replaced by a shopping mall), used to show movies like THE HILLS HAVE EYES, along with a couple of 3 Stooges shorts, Bambi meets Godzilla, and a few other short features. The show would start at midnight and run for 2 1/2 or 3 hours and you'd pay about $3.00 to get in. I haven't seen anything like that around here in a long, long time.
Dang. Looks like you need a B-Fest to plan on the same kind of experiance. How else do you get the theater venue?
The Godfather at least 50 times (probably more like 75 times)... WOW...
I dont know how many times I've seen that movie (or even part 2)... But I could only guess I've seen it has as much as you did... :D
I do think I've seen The Hitch Hikers Guide about 30 times and Holocaust 2000 about 40 or more times... Death Sport (I love Richard Lych's character) about 30 times... Star Wars (1977) 15 times Star Wars (new digital fix up) 1 time... Empire Strikes Back 20 times... and all others about 5 times each...
Big movies can have cult followings true. While I doubt anybody will argue the greatness and popularity of Ghostbusters, not many diehard fans exist...but they do exist. Ghostbusters has its own cult following: people that will watch/buy/read anything GB-related. Is it a cult film? No. But does it have a cult following? Yeah.