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Movies that were good then, But you can't watch now because they're dated.

post #1 of 10
6/19/09 at 4:05pm
Thread Starter 
I watched, 2010 the year we make contact the other day, And i had to laugh at all the bad russian talk, and the fact that we are nowhere near that kind of tech. and it will be 2010 in a little more than 6 months.
Back to the future part 2 is hard to watch also because of the flying cars and 2015 is not that far off.
As well as 2001.
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post #2 of 10
6/19/09 at 4:54pm

Re: Movies that were good then, But you can't watch now because they're dated.

Generally speaking, I never believe in the idea that movies become "dated", with the exception of science fiction films which predict a future, as in your example, and then that future arrives and is nothing like the movie!

But the way I've always seen it, when you watch a film it always is set in a certain time. You have to ask yourself: "okay, what is the time and place in which this movie takes place?" When you watch a biblical movie, you don't say "oh, that looks so dated - look at the funny togas and sandals, and no cars!" and when you watch a western that takes place in the 1880s, likewise you accept that this setting is also a definitive time and place from the past.

But I see movie fans often claiming that even 1970s movies are "dated", but if the story takes place in 1972, then obviously the clothing, hairstyles, languages, etc., are going to reflect that particular time in which the story is supposed to be taking place. Nothing "dated" in that regard.

But yes - back to science fiction predictions -- something like, say, 2001" A SPACE ODYSSEY feels more dated now because we've been through the real year 2001 and nothing like this has occurred. I like th emovie SOYLENT GREEN very much, but it takes place in the year 2022, and when that future year arrives, if it's NOT like as portrayed in the film.. then SOYLENT GREEN too will become "dated".
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post #3 of 10
6/19/09 at 7:53pm

Re: Movies that were good then, But you can't watch now because they're dated.

There is one scifi flick that freaks me out because of it's accuracy in prediction though. "Until the End of the World" was set in 1999. And yes, the event it predicted didn't happen. But here was the major items:

The biggest technological event was linked in large part to GPS, and the ability for cars to get/give instant directions to drivers.

One of the greatest fears was that a nuclear power satellite would fall into earth - shockingly, this made the news 3 times in the real 1999, which was pretty freakish.

Phones/etc were connected in part to the computer networks, allowing some to monitor.

3 years later, at the end (so about 2003/4) The protagonist goes to a lightly manned international space station, assigned a job of helping to monitor carbon output in the atmosphere and eco-crimes.

Yes, it was only filmed ten years before, but creepy.

A movie that gets me for how goofy it is and how dated it became is the Apple superbowl commercial.. oh wait..

I really don't think any film, even scifi is dated. It's a vision, and if we pass the date, it's still set in an alternate/unreal timeline, so who cares. It's interesting theory.
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post #4 of 10
6/19/09 at 8:30pm

Re: Movies that were good then, But you can't watch now because they're dated.

Prototype flying cars do exist. Whether we will be commuting like George Jetson to work in six years is still up in the air.

The Soviet Union may be gone, but international tensions with Russia are not. The main reason we don't have moonbases just yet, or manned expeditions to Jupiter is the lack of money and vision from our politicians more than anything else.

We may have not have a Hilton hotel in orbit yet, but several people have coughed up a lot of dough just to hang out on the International Space Station.

They recently showed off the new NASA Lunar Rover on ABC news, (it also made an appearance at the inauguration) and it looks like it could easily have been stowed somewhere aboard the Leonov.

I will be disappointed when Jupiter does not ignite, and become our second sun next year!
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post #5 of 10
6/19/09 at 8:35pm

Re: Movies that were good then, But you can't watch now because they're dated.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SilverWook
I will be disappointed when Jupiter does not ignite, and become our second sun next year!

I won't. We don't need another night light.
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post #6 of 10
6/19/09 at 8:36pm

Re: Movies that were good then, But you can't watch now because they're dated.

Not that I can't watch it. But, its funny to see old technology being used. For example in Wall Street. We see Michael Douglas talking on this giant cordless phone. And his wife records their sons b-day party with a giant vhs camcorder.
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post #7 of 10
6/21/09 at 4:55pm

Re: Movies that were good then, But you can't watch now because they're dated.

I don't think I've ever let that bother me. I just take it as a given that 2010 is set in "2010 as imagined in 1980". Heck, yesterday I watched a film that took place in an imaginary 1949; which is sort of pre-dated. It was still an entertaining fantasy; you just have to consider the perspective of the people making it, but that's the case with all movies.
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post #8 of 10
6/21/09 at 6:02pm

Re: Movies that were good then, But you can't watch now because they're dated.

You mean 2010 as imagined in 1984.
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post #9 of 10
6/22/09 at 6:56am

Re: Movies that were good then, But you can't watch now because they're dated.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Karlosi
But the way I've always seen it, when you watch a film it always is set in a certain time. You have to ask yourself: "okay, what is the time and place in which this movie takes place?" When you watch a biblical movie, you don't say "oh, that looks so dated - look at the funny togas and sandals, and no cars!" and when you watch a western that takes place in the 1880s, likewise you accept that this setting is also a definitive time and place from the past.

But I see movie fans often claiming that even 1970s movies are "dated", but if the story takes place in 1972, then obviously the clothing, hairstyles, languages, etc., are going to reflect that particular time in which the story is supposed to be taking place. Nothing "dated" in that regard.

What makes movies look dated is when, for example, a movie is depicting events in the past (westerns, ancient rome, science fiction) but they were made in the sixties/seventies and the music, hairstyles, costumes, etc. have elements of the styles of that time.
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post #10 of 10
6/22/09 at 8:24am

Re: Movies that were good then, But you can't watch now because they're dated.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Marianne
What makes movies look dated is when, for example, a movie is depicting events in the past (westerns, ancient rome, science fiction) but they were made in the sixties/seventies and the music, hairstyles, costumes, etc. have elements of the styles of that time.
On the other hand, period movies set in the early 20th century but filmed in the mid-20th century often feel more tangibly real because the people making them still had access to props from that period and first-hand memories of those periods.
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