Movies That Haven't Aged Well

[claws]

And how does a period piece like the INDIANA JONES movie- which is set in 30's, supposed to look like?

This is what they say about Indiana Jones

We love the whip and fedora as much as anyone. But Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom simply wouldn't work today, and not just because Harrison Ford is old enough to wheeze and nap his way through the entire Kessel Run. It's not even because a film theoretically meant for children is, as we've explained before, darker than a hundred of the darkest darknesses — that's totally cool today, unless you're Superman.

No, the real issue with this otherwise great film is the reel-to-reel racism toward anyone who isn't pale as Indy. He's obviously not going around slaughtering innocents because their skin is darker than his — he is the good guy, after all — but the film's casual attitude toward racial stereotypes is ... unsettling at best. Its approach to Indian culture is beyond paranoid, and Short Round isn't just a cute little Asian kid stuck in there for comic relief — he's a cute little Asian kid who can barely speak Engrish, and who gets saddled with dopey lines like "okey dokey, Dr. Jones, hold on to your potatoes," not because it works for the plot or is a particularly funny line, but because it fits his "wacky and not-too-smart foreign kid" character to a sad, sad T.

Even if the sum total of the movie is still pretty awesome, there's a lot about Temple of Doom that, today, any half-aware screenwriter would delete two seconds after writing it while sleep-deprived at 4 AM. Even adding in a subplot where it's revealed Dr. Jones really, really LOVES potatoes wouldn't help any. Any further Indy-ventures should back away slowly from racial stereotypes and casual racism, and focus solely on fighting the real evils of the world: anybody who wants to make Jones do his day job.

They sound like people looking for things to be offended by, which is something that's become far too common these days.  

True that. Even Molly Ringwald dismisses The Breakfast Club now because of the rude ways of Judd Nelson's character towards her. Its the age of snowflakes, #metoo, #woke and social justice warriors. Older movies are an easy target. Just look at the Pet Sematary remake, it was adjusted for this generation of the super-sensitive, with Disney removing offending and questionable The Simpsons episodes from their streaming service to boot.

[Alex]

And how does a period piece like the INDIANA JONES movie- which is set in 30's, supposed to look like?

This is what they say about Indiana Jones

We love the whip and fedora as much as anyone. But Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom simply wouldn't work today, and not just because Harrison Ford is old enough to wheeze and nap his way through the entire Kessel Run. It's not even because a film theoretically meant for children is, as we've explained before, darker than a hundred of the darkest darknesses — that's totally cool today, unless you're Superman.

No, the real issue with this otherwise great film is the reel-to-reel racism toward anyone who isn't pale as Indy. He's obviously not going around slaughtering innocents because their skin is darker than his — he is the good guy, after all — but the film's casual attitude toward racial stereotypes is ... unsettling at best. Its approach to Indian culture is beyond paranoid, and Short Round isn't just a cute little Asian kid stuck in there for comic relief — he's a cute little Asian kid who can barely speak Engrish, and who gets saddled with dopey lines like "okey dokey, Dr. Jones, hold on to your potatoes," not because it works for the plot or is a particularly funny line, but because it fits his "wacky and not-too-smart foreign kid" character to a sad, sad T.

Even if the sum total of the movie is still pretty awesome, there's a lot about Temple of Doom that, today, any half-aware screenwriter would delete two seconds after writing it while sleep-deprived at 4 AM. Even adding in a subplot where it's revealed Dr. Jones really, really LOVES potatoes wouldn't help any. Any further Indy-ventures should back away slowly from racial stereotypes and casual racism, and focus solely on fighting the real evils of the world: anybody who wants to make Jones do his day job.

They sound like people looking for things to be offended by, which is something that's become far too common these days. 

Bloody snowflakes. 

[ER]

Vicarious outrage is a big thing now, meaning it seems like less often do complaints of offense arise from the groups in question, they come from others who presume to speak out about the offense they as surrogates feel for someone else.

Like the Florida State Seminole fiasco back in the 2000s, when all these groups talked about boycotting FSU unless it changed its mascot 's name, which the protesters claimed was disrespectful to an indiginous people. Finally someone actually bothered to ask the Seminole people if they considered FSU's mascot rude, and they said no, we think it's great.

[zombie no.one]

Now DRACULA AD 1972 was dated the very next YEAR!

bit like the whole bunch of 70s and 80s sci fi b movies that decided to set themselves in the distant future of 1997 or something. talk about digging a hole for themselves...

[RCMerchant]

1930's sci fi dates very badly.
Try watching the classic (?) THINGS TO COME (1936) with planes with props and even bi-planes, or JUST IMAGINE (1930). Now the old FLASH GORDON serials of the 30's are charming and seem like old cartoons.

THINGS TO COME (1936)

[ER]

I can't imagine why would ever think that contraption would get built, Ron. Why, if he flew without a helmet that old man would be picking bugs out of his teeth.

[RCMerchant]

I can't imagine why would ever think that contraption would get built, Ron. Why, if he flew without a helmet that old man would be picking bugs out of his teeth.

Yeah- it was about a war coming in 1939- and that came true. So lotsa Sci-fi fans think it's classic. It has beautiful sets, and Raymond Massey, but was outdated even then, I think. WW2 changed America so much, from bi-planes to atom bombs.

[Gabriel Knight]

Regarding some of the titles mentioned here:

WAYNE'S WORLD - I think it aged great, I watch it now and it's still hilarious. The roadie is simply amazing. It does take you to the 90s quite easily tho, so maybe that's the reason it feels stupid. The standup humor of today, to me, it's simply horrible and embarrasing. This movie still manages to make me laugh out loud.
FORREST GUMP - I really enjoy this movie and I think it still holds up to this day. Again, I believe it may feel old because it deals with plenty of mid 20th century social issues from USA, but for people outside of that country, it's just another movie in that regard.

Now, my personal choices...

NORTH BY NORTHWEST - I think it was a great movie but looking it now it feels like a poor's man James Bond, which ironically came after this one and many claims that Hitchcock kinda invented the genre.
LETHAL WEAPON - While I enjoy the original and all of its sequels, watching it today feels off. The problem is that we know much more about how police forces work today, especially with the insane amount of TV dramas that try to be as realistic as possible. Watching these two commit countless crimes to entertain us kinda takes the fun away a little, knowing how most of the stuff they pull out would send them instantly to jail.
CITIZEN KANE - The fact that snobs are still raving about this thing proves that very few people actually form their own opinions. It looks more like a documentary than a movie today, although I can't see any other moment in history in which this definition didn't applied.
DUMB AND DUMBER - I love this movie, but watching it instantly teleports me to the 90s. Perhaps that's the reason why I enjoy it that much. So many quotes and laughs with my friends create a strong nostalgia dose. The sequel was even stronger!
HALLOWEEN - Great movie but I don't see anyone watching it today if it weren't for the name. I found more scary and tense stuff walking in the middle of the night in my neighborhood. In contrast, other titles from that era, like NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, still holds up pretty well in my opinion. Hell, even THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE is more disturbing, and that one has little to no gore.

[The Burgomaster]

Great films that have not aged well according to grunge.com

Braveheart (1995)
Hackers (1995)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
GoldenEye (1995)
Peter Pan (1953)
The Fast and the Furious (2001)
You've Got Mail (1998)
Cellular (2004)
The Lawnmower Man (1992)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Mission: Impossible (1996)
Phone Booth (2002)
Sneakers (1992)
Crocodile Dundee (1986)
Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
Dr. No (1962)
Wayne's World (1992)
Back To The Future II (1989)
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Weird Science (1985)
She's All That (1999)
The Net (1995)
Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (1954)
Man of Steel (2013)
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Personally, I'll have to go with My Bloody Valentine (1981). As much as I enjoy the movie, it is such a product of its time (can't believe I just typed that). It doesn't help that most of the actors look like porn actors stuck in fashion hell, either. As a bonus, there's also a strong "local" flavor going on.

Jaws 2 (1978) I don't get as far as fashion goes. It was 1978, and disco was at its peak



yet the teenagers in Jaws 2 display no sense for style or fashion whatsoever. They are dressed up like their grandmoms picked their clothing - an eyesore of bland, functional and boring.

It would have been good if they actually started with a list of great films. Lawnmower Man? Back to the Future II? Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)?

[The Burgomaster]

NORTH BY NORTHWEST - I think it was a great movie but looking it now it feels like a poor's man James Bond, which ironically came after this one and many claims that Hitchcock kinda invented the genre.

This is my favorite Hitchcock movie and one of my top 10 movies of all time. Still holds up as one of the best thrillers ever.

[The Burgomaster]

* BILLY JACK - I love this movie and watch it at least once a year. But the whole early 70s hippie commune thing is very outdated and probably seems very odd to younger generations.

* GODSPELL - Again, another hippie era movie. I have it on DVD and have watched it at least 3 or 4 times, but it's like stepping into a time warp.

* JESUS CHRIST, SUPERSTAR - See GODSPELL above.

* JOE - Peter Boyle as a violent Archie Bunker type guy. Another one that's in my collection, but it's definitely a relic.

[Archivist]

Just wondering, by what criteria are we evaluating whether a movie has aged well or not?

- concepts that have been changed by later developments (social, political, technological)

- fashion that is almost a cliche of that time period (80s big shoulder pads and big hair, 80s cheesy action, breakdance movies)

- bad special effects that seemed good at the time, but are now very hokey and awful. And how do we discern between hokey effects and effects which were simply the best they could do at the time?

- movies and scenes which were innovative, but have been copied so much that they are now cliches (Michael Bay's direction style for Armageddon and Pearl Harbour)

[bob]

Space Jam, American Pie, Revenge of the Nerds

[Gabriel Knight]

I think SPACE JAM is timeless and still entertaining and hilarious, but that's maybe nostalgia talking. 

[ER]

Who Framed Roger Rabbit looks baaaaad.