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Cult Classics

Discussion in 'Archive: The Amphitheatre' started by Darth Zane, Jul 1, 2002.

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  1. Kueller

    Kueller Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 15, 2001
    Empire Records, definitely. The best non Star Wars movie of all time, yet few have seen it.
     
  2. Darth Zane

    Darth Zane Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Apr 21, 2000
    I didn't like Empire Records so much. Dazed and Confused was a lot better, with a tons better Rory Cochrane performance.
     
  3. GlacierMonkey

    GlacierMonkey Jedi Youngling

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    Jul 22, 2002
    How about Gremlins 2: The New Batch? The first one was a success, and that one borders on cult classic, but I'm not sure it really counts. The second one, however, was blasted by critics, though it's my favorite movie of all time, with a fantastic blend of comedy and horror, even spoofing the first film.
     
  4. Atticus

    Atticus Jedi Padawan star 4

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    May 31, 2002
    Clerks and Mallrats. these are really funny movies IMO. And if I remember correctly Mallrats was hated by all most every critic.

    Also would Weird AL's UHF count, I've never seen it but I heard that critics hated it and thought that weird Al was the antichrist.
     
  5. Master Salty

    Master Salty Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Apr 18, 1999
    In addition to the ones I listed in my first post, I think "Little Shop of Horrors" would qualify as a cult classic.
     
  6. Radiohead

    Radiohead Jedi Padawan star 4

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    Mar 31, 2002
    What about Office Space? That's a great movie with a loyal fan base.
     
  7. Darth Zane

    Darth Zane Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Apr 21, 2000
    I think we need to come up with a clear definition of what a cult classic is. Just because it was hated by the critics doesn't mean that it's a cult classic.
     
  8. ImperialFC

    ImperialFC Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 29, 2001
    Would "Free Enterprise" count? I think it is a very funny movie with tons of sci-fi references thrown in (some nifty Star Wars ones :)). However, I don't think many people have seen it and I seem to be the only fan :).

     
  9. Rogue1-and-a-half

    Rogue1-and-a-half Manager Emeritus who is writing his masterpiece star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 2, 2000
    Yeah, see, a lot of the films that have been mentioned thus far are not hated in a critical standpoint. The American Film Institute actually considers many of these films classics and great films. Here's a list of the honors bestowed upon the following films.

    Rocky Horror Picture Show--one of the 400 best films ever made, one of the 500 funniest films ever made.

    Texas Chainsaw Massacre--one of the 400 most thrilling films ever made.

    The Evil Dead--one of the 400 most thrilling.

    Pulp Fiction--one of the 100 best, one of the 500 funniest, one of the 75 most thrilling.

    The Usual Suspects--one of the 400 best, one of the 400 most thrilling.

    Up in Smoke--one of the 500 funniest.

    Fast Times at Ridgemont High--one of the 100 funniest.

    Reservoir Dogs--one of the 400 most thrilling.

    Halloween--one of the 75 most thrilling.

    Repo Man--one of the 500 funniest.

    Kiss Me Deadly--one of the 400 best, one of the 400 most thrilling.

    Gun Crazy--one of the 400 best, one of the 400 most thrilling.

    Freaks--one of the 400 best, one of the 400 most thrilling.

    Harold and Maude--one of the 100 funniest, one of the 100 most romantic films.

    2001: A Space Oddessy--one of the 25 best, one of the 50 most thrilling.

    The Blues Brothers--one of the 500 funniest.

    Clerks--one of the 500 funniest.

    Little Shop of Horrors--one of the 500 funniest.

    So, it seems that none of those are cult films at all, if you hold critical hatred as one of the main criteria.
     
  10. Radiohead

    Radiohead Jedi Padawan star 4

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    Mar 31, 2002
    I think we need to come up with a clear definition of what a cult classic is. Just because it was hated by the critics doesn't mean that it's a cult classic.

    I don't think it has to be hated by critics necessarilly. I think "cult movies," though, must be ones that did not succeed overwhelmingly at the box office upon its release, but slowly drew a following of devoted fans. These films must also have the common trait of being relatively obscure.

    So, several of the films listed above wouldn't fit into my definition of a "cult movie" (e.g. Pulp Fiction, The Usual Suspects, 2001, etc.).
     
  11. ferelwookie

    ferelwookie Jedi Padawan star 4

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    Oct 4, 2001
    My favorite cult films: Blade Runner, Buckaroo Banzi, Heathers, Repo Man, Brazil, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Most of the biggest cult films that have a big following that I can think of come from the 1980's. (Note: I know a lot of people will argue that Blade Runner is NOT a cult film, but remember that it was a box-office FLOP, that didn't develop a larger following until years later.)

    The only problem with loving cult films, or off-beat old stuff, is that it's VERY difficult to track them down on video or dvd these days!
     
  12. Rogue1-and-a-half

    Rogue1-and-a-half Manager Emeritus who is writing his masterpiece star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Nov 2, 2000
    So, if a film is a box office flop, but later develops a large following, it's a cult film? Because if that's the case, then Bringing up Baby, Duck Soup, even It's a Wonderful Life or Vertigo could all be considered cult films.
     
  13. Radiohead

    Radiohead Jedi Padawan star 4

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    Mar 31, 2002
    So, if a film is a box office flop, but later develops a large following, it's a cult film? Because if that's the case, then Bringing up Baby, Duck Soup, even It's a Wonderful Life or Vertigo could all be considered cult films.

    Well, not by my definition at least. I also said that besides having no overwhelming success at the box office and later developing a devoted following, cult films "must also have the common trait of being relatively obscure."
     
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