Movies that were once "hot stuff," but now seem rather inconsequential . . .

retrorussell · March 15, 2011, 01:16:31 AM

I guess Billy Jack did gangbusters at the box office when it first came out. When I finally saw it on TV about 20 years ago I wanted to throw a brick at the set.

Raffine · March 15, 2011, 07:40:15 AM

Quote from: retrorussell on March 15, 2011, 01:16:31 AM
I guess Billy Jack did gangbusters at the box office when it first came out. When I finally saw it on TV about 20 years ago I wanted to throw a brick at the set.

Oh yeah?!?

Billy Jack would have Kung Fu kicked that brick right back at your fascist pig head, plus you would have made Jean cry some more.

Too late!

Hammock Rider · March 15, 2011, 01:40:23 PM

Quote from: AndyC on March 11, 2011, 01:12:05 PM
Now, I like Porky's. It's a funny movie. But it's not a movie you hear much about anymore. It's certainly been surpassed in terms of sex and crude gags, and is not widely considered a must-see or a scourge on society.

In some ways, I think Porky's reputation hurt it more than anything, because it made many people overlook what a good movie it was. It really isn't that filthy a movie, even by the standards of the 80s, so it also has a reputation it can't live up to.

I have to say the same thing about Animal House. I snuck into a theater to see it when it first came out and it blew my mind. My friends and I couldn't believe what we were seeing up on the screen. It was on all of our top 10 lists for years.

Nowadays I work with some kids in there 20's and they honestly can't see what all the fuss is about. Because standards have changed they don't understand how groundbreaking this movie was in it's day. I think it was one ofthe first effective comedies aimed at teens and also helped usher in every teen sex comedy that has come along since. Up until Animal House your teen sex comedies were pretty much the Frankie and Annette beach movies.

The Burgomaster · March 15, 2011, 03:00:53 PM

Quote from: retrorussell on March 15, 2011, 01:16:31 AM
I guess Billy Jack did gangbusters at the box office when it first came out. When I finally saw it on TV about 20 years ago I wanted to throw a brick at the set.

BILLY JACK was huge when it first came out. It's really dated now (in the same way that most stuff from the hippie generation is dated). I still love it as a cinematic look at what was going on in the U.S. at that time. As cheesy as it is, it makes me nostalgic every time I watch it.

Criswell · March 15, 2011, 11:24:47 PM

Almost any major 90s movie.

Allhallowsday · March 16, 2011, 07:34:31 PM

Quote from: Raffine on March 11, 2011, 10:20:11 PM
Jackson's KING KONG is a good choice. All that hype, and it was pretty much forgotten as soon as it left the theaters.
For me it's the three STAR WARS prequels. Big news in their day but now they just seem like a footnote to the original trilogy.

I hated PETER JACKSON's KING KONG. And I saw the first STAR WARS prequel and that was enough for me...

Quote from: akiratubo on March 11, 2011, 09:49:05 PM
I'll nominate Scanners. When I was growing up, I heard much from older kids about the incredible head explosion. Scanners was even mentioned, as a particularly violent and notorious film, in a bunch of the books on cult movies I read in my childhood and early adolescence. Well, exploding heads are a dime-a-dozen now and Scanners doesn't get mentioned much anymore. Hell, it's become a freakin' joke. The infamous head explosion, that once shocked so many viewers and was the subject of awed talk on playgrounds amongst those who'd seen it, is one of the most common animated "funny" .gifs on the entire internet.

SCANNERS holds up well enough; but it may no longer be the "talk on playgrounds..." (I watched it a few months ago before IFC went with commercials.) It's good '70s cheese. Certainly not as shocking as it had been, but don't forget...

Quote from: movie masochist on March 12, 2011, 03:52:17 PM
...I am going to nominate Gremlins. Do you remember how popular that movie was when it came out? Now it's forgotten, and also quite horrendous if you try to watch it again now.

GREMLINS has its place.

LIVE AND LET DIE was hot but who cares now? It has a head exploding scene, with this guy and it's earlier than SCANNERS...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tAiEFhNHZk&feature=related

ChocolateChipCharlie · March 17, 2011, 08:56:25 AM

Quote from: Allhallowsday on March 16, 2011, 07:34:31 PM

Quote from: akiratubo on March 11, 2011, 09:49:05 PM
I'll nominate Scanners. When I was growing up, I heard much from older kids about the incredible head explosion. Scanners was even mentioned, as a particularly violent and notorious film, in a bunch of the books on cult movies I read in my childhood and early adolescence. Well, exploding heads are a dime-a-dozen now and Scanners doesn't get mentioned much anymore. Hell, it's become a freakin' joke. The infamous head explosion, that once shocked so many viewers and was the subject of awed talk on playgrounds amongst those who'd seen it, is one of the most common animated "funny" .gifs on the entire internet.
SCANNERS holds up well enough; but it may no longer be the "talk on playgrounds..." (I watched it a few months ago before IFC went with commercials.) It's good '70s cheese. Certainly not as shocking as it had been, but don't forget...

LIVE AND LET DIE was hot but who cares now? It has a head exploding scene, with this guy and it's earlier than SCANNERS...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tAiEFhNHZk&feature=related

As long as LIVE AND LET DIE has obscenely hot prime-Jane-Seymour, it will never be inconsequential. Mmmm......

Also, SCANNERS is a personal favorite because of the exploding head, but also because it has Michael Ironside, Longshanks, and Senator Bunghole.

AndyC · March 17, 2011, 09:14:15 AM

I liked Live and Let Die for a few reasons. Good theme song, great boat chase, Geoffrey Holder as Baron Samedi, and James Bond's one-time flirtation with the Blaxploitation genre.

The Burgomaster · March 17, 2011, 09:48:50 AM

Quote from: AndyC on March 17, 2011, 09:14:15 AM
I liked Live and Let Die for a few reasons. Good theme song, great boat chase, Geoffrey Holder as Baron Samedi, and James Bond's one-time flirtation with the Blaxploitation genre.

Amazingly, the novel LIVE AND LET DIE was the second Bond novel and was written in the early 1950s long before the blaxploitation era. The book is full of racist comments and stereotypes (every Bond novel has some racist comments, but LIVE AND LET DIE is the most racist of all). It's interesting how the story and characters fit in very well with the blaxploitation cinema era.

snowman · March 17, 2011, 10:28:56 AM

Quote from: The Burgomaster on March 15, 2011, 03:00:53 PM
Quote from: retrorussell on March 15, 2011, 01:16:31 AM
I guess Billy Jack did gangbusters at the box office when it first came out. When I finally saw it on TV about 20 years ago I wanted to throw a brick at the set.

BILLY JACK was huge when it first came out. It's really dated now (in the same way that most stuff from the hippie generation is dated). I still love it as a cinematic look at what was going on in the U.S. at that time. As cheesy as it is, it makes me nostalgic every time I watch it.

When Billy Jack first came out, it was the movie to see. I still remember the scene where he faces off against the chief bad guy and tells him "He's going to take his left foot and kick him in the right side of the head." Or something like that. Mind you, I think most people who saw it, watched it for the fight scenes and missed the whole political background of the movie. I know I did.

Now back to regular programming. I watched the Pink Panther the other day and I don't think I cracked a smile during the whole movie. At least, in Tropical Thunder I laughed - once!

The Burgomaster · March 17, 2011, 10:34:36 AM

Quote from: snowman on March 17, 2011, 10:28:56 AM
Quote from: The Burgomaster on March 15, 2011, 03:00:53 PM
Quote from: retrorussell on March 15, 2011, 01:16:31 AM
I guess Billy Jack did gangbusters at the box office when it first came out. When I finally saw it on TV about 20 years ago I wanted to throw a brick at the set.

BILLY JACK was huge when it first came out. It's really dated now (in the same way that most stuff from the hippie generation is dated). I still love it as a cinematic look at what was going on in the U.S. at that time. As cheesy as it is, it makes me nostalgic every time I watch it.

When Billy Jack first came out, it was the movie to see. I still remember the scene where he faces off against the chief bad guy and tells him "He's going to take his left foot and kick him in the right side of the head." Or something like that. Mind you, I think most people who saw it, watched it for the fight scenes and missed the whole political background of the movie. I know I did.

Now back to regular programming. I watched the Pink Panther the other day and I don't think I cracked a smile during the whole movie. At least, in Tropical Thunder I laughed - once!

If you want a really surreal experience, check out the Billy Jack website. There's stuff on there that will make you scratch your head for days. http://www.billyjack.com/