Author Topic: Will older movies be forgotten?  (Read 41097 times)

Juli

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Will older movies be forgotten?
« on: July 03, 2012, 03:46:10 PM »
I was thinking about the popularity and staying power of older movies after reading the thread about whether silent movie posters will still be collectable in the future. Silent movies such as those from the 1910s and 1920s seemed to be less talked about and viewed nowadays. I am wondering as time goes on if they will be forgotten and less watched? I was also wondering if movies like Frankenstein, Gone With The Wind and the Wizard of Oz will fade into history as time goes on? Do you think people in 100 years will still be watching these movies? Will movies even still be a popular form of entertainment? Do you think movies will stay around like novels/books do?

Just would like to hear your thoughts.

Offline CSM

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2012, 04:07:46 PM »
Inevitably viewership and acclaim will decrease with time. 

The true classics like GWTW, Frankenstein etc will still be 'known' but they will not be appreciated on a passionate level - they will be treated more academically as cultural artifacts... 
Chris

Offline jayn_j

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2012, 04:20:45 PM »
Agreed.  And the ones that aren't in the AFI top 100 will tend to be forgotten.

Yes, we all remember It's a Wonderful Life and Citizen Kane, but a lot of films I treasure from the '30s-'50s are becoming lost.  That includes treasures like It Happened One Night, If I Had a Million, Monkey Business, You Can't Take it With You, Harvey, Arsenic and Old Lace, etc.

How many of you under 35 have ever seen a Thin Man movie?  The Topper series?  How about The Big Sleep?  Catch 22 or Slaughterhouse 5?  Stagecoach or The Cheyenne Social Club?  Just goes on and on.
-Jay-

Offline brude

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2012, 10:29:22 PM »
I used to think that movie stars had found the secret to immortality.
They would always exist on film.
Sadly, the vast majority of them fade away because new generations of moviegoers just don't have the patience to devote to the past.
How many of them have even heard of Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Ward Bond, Gary Cooper, etc., etc., etc.?


Offline Zorba

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #4 on: July 03, 2012, 10:33:30 PM »
I agree. :'(

Oh well. Their loss.

I think I will go watch the Big Sleep again. 

Offline CSM

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #5 on: July 03, 2012, 10:34:03 PM »
I agree. :'(

Oh well. Their loss.

I think I will go watch the Big Sleep again. 

A VERY good choice!
Chris

Offline brude

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #6 on: July 03, 2012, 10:51:01 PM »
How many of you under 35 have ever seen a Thin Man movie?  The Topper series?  How about The Big Sleep?  Catch 22 or Slaughterhouse 5?  Stagecoach or The Cheyenne Social Club?  Just goes on and on.

How true, Jay.
I guess it is up to us as parents to turn our kids on to the better things in life -- the classics.

Offline CSM

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #7 on: July 04, 2012, 12:08:11 AM »
How true, Jay.
I guess it is up to us as parents to turn our kids on to the better things in life -- the classics.

Sadly, I think some have tried - as soon as it becomes apparent the movie is in black and white - there is no chance!
« Last Edit: July 04, 2012, 12:53:57 AM by CSM »
Chris

Offline 110x75

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #8 on: July 04, 2012, 12:10:28 AM »
Sadly, I think some of tried - as soon as it becomes apparent the movie is in black and white - there is no chance!

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Offline Ari

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #9 on: July 04, 2012, 12:12:21 AM »
Think about how many SILENT film stars even film fans can name? The average joe would be lucky to come up with 3.
But same can be said for anything, the lucky few get remembered, even successful people in their times can be forgotten.
Same with Art, or writing, or science, or anything.
I was talking the other day about this, and how James Dan and Marylyn Monroe are known by everyone, and well all things considered, neither were very prolific (obviously) or IMHO super talented. Then fast forward, I wonder if Kurt Cobain would be considered such an "important" musician if he didn't die, ffwd again and we see the same with Amy Winehouse.
Quite sad really. Or maybe it isn't. Maybe in 100 years films will be an archaic medium, that only super nerdy history freaks watch and it will be like Morris dancing or something.
Am I sad we don't remember the worlds greatest Jousters?
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Offline theartofmovieposters

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #10 on: July 04, 2012, 12:16:47 AM »
Sadly, I think some of tried - as soon as it becomes apparent the movie is in black and white - there is no chance!

Whenever I recommend a film to my sister (who is older than I) first thing she asks is ..."It's not one those crap black and white films you like is it?"  Forget about trying to expand her horizons with forgein language or silent films.  She nearly took me out a few years back when I recommended No Country For Old Men because it (in her words not mine) "didn't have a proper ending!"

I tried with the nephews when they were younger, and failed...it has to be all action and CGI these days to retain even a small amount of attention.
However, the older one is now coming to me with questions about some of the "classics", wanting to see them...when I say classics I mean stuff from the 70s and 80s.... so sad.  I recently gave him Spielberg's Duel to watch...he couldn't get past not knowing who the driver of the truck was. :(
Ves

Offline Louie D.

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #11 on: July 04, 2012, 12:18:33 AM »
Nope, they will not be forgotten, just their audience will shrink.

Offline CSM

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #12 on: July 04, 2012, 12:56:23 AM »
You're right Ari - "it's better to burn out than to fade away" - especially during corporate records' fiscal year

Oh and same goes for Hollywood (think The Dark Knight)
Chris

Offline Ari

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #13 on: July 04, 2012, 12:58:03 AM »
the dark night was SOoooo like yesterday.... oh wait.
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Mirosae

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #14 on: February 20, 2013, 09:10:22 PM »
Q: Will older movies be forgotten?

A: NO
« Last Edit: February 20, 2013, 09:43:50 PM by Mirosae »

Offline CSM

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #15 on: February 20, 2013, 09:57:14 PM »
Q: Will older movies be forgotten?

A: NO

What about when you pass on to the great poster find in the sky Rosa?  ;)
Chris

Mirosae

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #16 on: February 20, 2013, 10:09:48 PM »
What about when you pass on to the great poster find in the sky Rosa?  ;)

Q: Will older movies be forgotten?

A: [ADDEDENDUM]NO. THINK DINOSAURS.





Bruce

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #17 on: February 21, 2013, 06:13:13 AM »
Agreed.  And the ones that aren't in the AFI top 100 will tend to be forgotten.

Yes, we all remember It's a Wonderful Life and Citizen Kane, but a lot of films I treasure from the '30s-'50s are becoming lost.  That includes treasures like It Happened One Night, If I Had a Million, Monkey Business, You Can't Take it With You, Harvey, Arsenic and Old Lace, etc.

How many of you under 35 have ever seen a Thin Man movie?  The Topper series?  How about The Big Sleep?  Catch 22 or Slaughterhouse 5?  Stagecoach or The Cheyenne Social Club?  Just goes on and on.

Great reply Jay! I remember 20 years ago when I moved to this little mid-west town. I had been going to revival and art-house theaters for over 25 years (seeing every well-reviewed movie) and I thought that my days of doing so were over. But I went into a local video store (remember those?) a few days after I arrived, and I was amazed to find a section marked "Classics"!

But when I went over there, it only had movies like Rocky and Rambo (and nothing pre-1970)!

Offline jayn_j

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #18 on: February 21, 2013, 08:33:44 AM »
Q: Will older movies be forgotten?

A: [ADDEDENDUM]NO. THINK DINOSAURS.

Actually, that feeds into my earlier post.  If I ask a kid about dinosaurs, he will tell me about the T-Rex, the Brontosaurus and possibly the Velociraptor (Thanks to Jurrasic Park).  That's the same as the top 3 films I mentioned in my earlier post.  The thouusands of other species are either lost or only studied by a few.
-Jay-

Mirosae

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #19 on: February 21, 2013, 11:08:26 AM »
Actually, that feeds into my earlier post.  If I ask a kid about dinosaurs, he will tell me about the T-Rex, the Brontosaurus and possibly the Velociraptor (Thanks to Jurrasic Park).  That's the same as the top 3 films I mentioned in my earlier post.  The thouusands of other species are either lost or only studied by a few.

Good Point. But I'd think that applies to any film, old and new. It is rather difficult keeping track of every single film. I personally do not think that old movies will be lost forever.  I hope not. But likewise, I don't think every good one might be remembered either thou it should not mean that they would be forever lost.

Like dinosaurs, at least people will know they existed and are there to be celebrated, even if that means a couple are known and only enjoyed by few. A couple could prompt them to research and bring more back to life.  :)



Rosa

Offline eatbrie

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #20 on: February 21, 2013, 11:45:36 AM »
Don't be fooled, they are already forgotten.  The culprit: People just don't care.

A few months ago, I went to a wedding in Tucson, AZ.  The most boring city in the world.  I saw Django Unchained there.  When I left the theater, two 20-something guys were walking ahead of me.  Their conversation was: "That was okay."  "Yeah. Who made it?"  "A guy named Tarantino"  "Has he done anything before?"  "I think he directed that other movie, a long time ago, Pulp Fiction, I think."  "Oh yeah, I remember, that was okay too."  And out they went.

Now, if people don't know who Tarantino is, how do you expect them to know a Capra, a Lubitsch or a Wilder...  They have heard of Hitchcock, to be sure, but can they name one movie he's directed?

I think that's how most people see movies.  There will always be cinema students (or students of cinema), researchers or cinema lovers like us, but to the rest of the world, cinema is just a way to spend a few hours on a rainy Saturday afternoon. 

T

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Offline paul waines

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #21 on: February 21, 2013, 11:49:34 AM »
Very well put T, that's my thoughts to a T...
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Offline jayn_j

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #22 on: February 21, 2013, 11:58:38 AM »
To be fair, there is also a change in style and tastes over the years.

When I watch a comedy from the '30s, I am always amazed at how quickly the movie ends after the resolution of the plot point.  Usually 30 seconds to wrap it up.

My 20 year old son has watched a couple of the early Bond films with me.  He comments they are boring and nothing ever happens.  Exactly opposite of my feelings where the modern action films have no plot, just non-stop action.  So you could say that the film reflects the period and you can't expect the average Joe to appreciate something from before his time.

I taught a scout merit badge on cinematography.  The kids decided to do a mystery, so I started discussing noir style.  I told the kids to go watch The maltese falcon during the week and we would discuss.  When they came back, it was like I had asked them to eat razor blades.
-Jay-

Offline eatbrie

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #23 on: February 21, 2013, 12:06:37 PM »
I think movies and movie stars are generational.  When that generation dies, so do the movies and movie stars that inspired that generation.  And on it goes.  The rest is left to us, crazy collectors, and historians.

T
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- "Wishing you the best of luck with All Poster Forum and in encouraging others to appreciate the magical art of film posters" - Martin Scorsese (2009)

Offline paul waines

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Re: Will older movies be forgotten?
« Reply #24 on: February 21, 2013, 12:56:23 PM »
What you need to think is, if no one knows Tarantino, or cares what films he made now. Who's going to buy your Pulp Fiction Poster
in the future...  :o
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