Can a T.V. Series be considered a Movie??

[JPRaup]

Me and my friend have a bet. Once a T.V Series, Concert, etc. is released on a DVD can it be considered a movie?

Post what you think...

[fnordboy]

I voted No. A TV series is a TV series. A movie is a movie. Regardless of the format it is presented on.

[PixyJunket]

NO

[Groucho]

I think this will be the most unanimous thread since the "Top Bunk" chronicles.

[DodgingCars]

Technically, even while still on tv it can be considered a movie: a representation (as of a story) by means of motion pictures.

However, I would say no -- and whether its on DVD or not shouldn't change what it is.

A tv series is a series of shows produced for television. A movie, on other hand is generally a story told through 1 film, not a series.

In your defense though, 24 feels like an 18 hour movie, especially on DVD. It's even shot on film.

[bboisvert]

If I'm watching The Matrix with an audio cassette tape recording it, can it be considered a song?


The fact that something is placed onto a DVD is irrelevant. If you don't consider it a 'movie' when you are watching it from broadcast television, why would your opinion change when you're watching it from a DVD? Content vs. Media.

[djones6746]

No

[The Void]

:hscratch:

No

[Josh Z]

Originally posted by Jordan Raup
Me and my friend have a bet. Once a T.V Series, Concert, etc. is released on a DVD can it be considered a movie?

Post what you think...

I don't even understand what you're asking!

[The Void]

Originally posted by Josh Z
I don't even understand what you're asking!
I was thinking the same thing.

Maybe it's like calling everything on DVD a movie. Like some people, especially in the south, call any kind of carbonated drink a coke.

Other than that, no, a TV show is not a movie.

[PixyJunket]

If I'm taking a dump while playing Final Fantasy X, can it be considered crap?

[dtcarson]

I would say *certain* tv series, that is, especially mini-series, could be considered a movie. The Tenth Kingdom, IT, you could argue 24, etc. Just putting it on DVD doesn't make it a movie, however.
Perhaps people *call* it a movie because it's on dvd, and TV on DVD is still somewhat new; I did that for a while before I started getting into tv on dvd, now i just say 'Put in that dvd', not 'Put in that movie.'

[nemein]

By a strict definition even a movie isn't a movie once it's on DVD ;)

From dictionary.com

1. A sequence of photographs projected onto a screen with sufficient rapidity as to create the illusion of motion and continuity.
2. A connected cinematic narrative represented in this form.


WRT your question though if you are talking about TV series in general I would say no (24 and Alias come close though IMHO). If you expand it to include mini-series then I would say yes. Concerts are concerts and footage of such is concert footage not a concert movie.

[fnordboy]

Originally posted by nemein
WRT your question though if you are talking about TV series in general I would say no (24 and Alias come close though IMHO). If you expand it to include mini-series then I would say yes.
A mini-series is still a TV Series. It was made for TV, it was made with that format in mind, including where each episode of the mini-series would end. It is never a movie unless (maybe) it is re-edited into a movie.

The same goes for 24 and Alias. I don't understand why people say they come close to a movie. They are made for TV. Yes 24 is continous, but each hour episode is designed to fit within that 1 hour slot. Still a TV show IMO.
Originally posted by nemein Concerts are concerts and footage of such is concert footage not a concert movie.
But what about concert films like Stop Making Sense, Ziggy Stardust, and Big Time?

[REL77]

ALl I know is I am addicted to Alias now, watching like 3 episodes a day, its just like one long movie to me... I think it depends on the show... Something like Alias, Sopranos, ect where the stories always continue coudl be considered that way.

[Hendrik]

Originally posted by DodgingCars
...I would say no -- and whether its on DVD or not shouldn't change what it is.

A tv series is a series of shows produced for television. A movie, on other hand is generally a story told through 1 film, not a series...
...so... DAS BOOT is NOT a movie... and neither is Ingmar Bergman's FANNY AND ALEXANDER...

. . . :o . . .

[bboisvert]

Originally posted by Hendrik
...so... DAS BOOT is NOT a movie...

Come on... this isn't rocket science.

Are you watching the 6-hour TV miniseries? Then you are watching a (duh) miniseries.

Are you watching the edited movie version? Then you are watching a movie.


Jordan Raup -- you actually made a bet about this?

[The Void]

Some TV series are movie-like, but they are still not movies. Some like 24, Alias, Band of Brothers are all movie like but they are not movies. Each episode of the X-Files is like a short 45 minute movie.

[Hendrik]

...ah so... then an edited (read: heavily cut down, to bring it to cinema proportions), originally made-for-TV miniseries suddenly turns into a 'movie'... ah so...

. . . :o . . .

[fnordboy]

Originally posted by The Void
Each episode of the X-Files is like a short 45 minute movie. (but they are still not movies)
And the X-Files movie is like a longer episode...but it is still a movie. :D

exactly.

[PixyJunket]

So when they play a movie on TV it's considered a TV series?

2 people voted yes?! -ohbfrank-

[dtcarson]

Originally posted by The Void
Some TV series are movie-like, but they are still not movies. Some like 24, Alias, Band of Brothers are all movie like but they are not movies. Each episode of the X-Files is like a short 45 minute movie.

So they're mini-movies? Where do I find my cat head? And keep that stick away from me!

I voted Yes, but I meant 'Yes with an if.'

[DemonDan]

The better question is . . .

Should a made-for-tv lifetime movie actually be considered a movie?

[JPRaup]

Originally posted by bboisvert

Jordan Raup -- you actually made a bet about this?
i was the one that said they arent movies

[MrE]

Not ordinarily. But several foreign TV series have been shown in this country as movies. And several American mini-series have been successfully shown in other countries as movies. So I guess I'd have to say yes, and whether you view it as one or the other, depends on how you first saw it.

[mzupeman2]

A tv show is a tv show.

A movie is a movie.

It's not freakin' rocket science. I can't believe you guys are going on back and forth mind numbingly about this. Whoever voted 'yes' needs to tighten the colostomy bag to the side of the wheelchair and roll themselves back into the mental ward....

[devilshalo]

Well.. Manchester Prep was a TV series in which they turned into Cruel Intentions II. So.. yes. :)

[majorjoe23]

Originally posted by dtcarson
So they're mini-movies? Where do I find my cat head? And keep that stick away from me!

I voted Yes, but I meant 'Yes with an if.'

Wow, that's two great UCB references in one day! Now I have to get back to smoking pot, weighing 500 pounds and washing my dishes in the sink.

[Hendrik]

Originally posted by mzupeman2
A tv show is a tv show.

A movie is a movie.

It's not freakin' rocket science. I can't believe you guys are going on back and forth mind numbingly about this. Whoever voted 'yes' needs to tighten the colostomy bag to the side of the wheelchair and roll themselves back into the mental ward....
...so, if I understand you correctly, the xxx-hour mini-series SHOGUN was "a tv show", while the exact same series, cut down to c. 2 hours and shown as such in European cinemas, is "a movie"...

...ah so...

. . . :o . . .

[Inverse]

Can a chicken be considered a sofa?

[bboisvert]

Great.

My head just exploded.

[calhoun07]

While there are some things that play out like long movies (like the final story arc in Deep Space Nine), I would hardly call Deep Space Nine a movie. It may have theatrical elements in the story, but it's certainly covering more ground than a movie ever could because it has more time to tell the story. And how could you ever consider ANY TV show a movie when it comes to DVD? Are you trying to tell me now we have Cheers season sets we essentially have Cheers: The Motion Picture? The logic of this question is a bit confusing. And you AND a friend are debating this?

Wow. Slow days, slow days.

[El-Kabong]

Good lord - what did everyone give up bitching about the Star Wars DVDs?

Did you see the item in question on a Magic Box that picks signals up from an exterior source? Then it's a TV show.

Did you see it as a flickering image in a large dark room with a hundred strangers? Then it's a movie.

Why is this even open for debate?

[TheOne]

Yes. Babylon 5 is a long movie with a beginning, middle and end. :)

[Wannabe]

Can a television commercial be a movie?

[calhoun07]

Originally posted by Wannabe
Can a television commercial be a movie?

I've seen a few that are so painfully bad they seem like they are as long as movies.

Edit: Actually, they have spun off into movies! Ernest started out as a character in TV commercials. And didn't Johnny English likewise start out in a series of commercials for Master Card?

[nemein]

A tv show is a tv show.

A movie is a movie.


What about Battlestar Galactica?

[calhoun07]

Originally posted by nemein
What about Battlestar Galactica?

The original pilot? The ABC series? The Sci Fi mini series? The original pilot was a movie, the ABC series was a TV show, and the Sci Fi mini series feels like a movie, but it's a mini series!

[Josh Z]

Originally posted by devilshalo
Well.. Manchester Prep was a TV series in which they turned into Cruel Intentions II. So.. yes. :)

Correction: Manchester Prep was a TV pilot movie that failed to generate a series, and was turned into a direct-to-video movie instead.

[nemein]

Originally posted by Wannabe
Can a television commercial be a movie?

<img src="http://usa.bmwfilms.com/assets/dvdicon.gif">
http://usa.bmwfilms.com/clap.asp?template=index&country=usa&film=&start=Y

[nemein]

The original pilot was a movie

IIRC the original pilot was reedited into a movie (after being a TV pilot) and released theatrically.

[ThatGuamGuy]

I have two observations.

One, I am shocked, SHOCKED, that people would bring up 'Cruel Intentions 2' rather than 'Mulholland Dr.' 'Mullholland Dr.' is a better example in every way; 'Cruel Intentions 2' is a movie which should be forgotten.

Two, if a television show becomes a movie by being on DVD, then why wouldn't a movie become a television show by being shown on TV? (It's an endless cycle.)

I wonder how many of the currently five votes for "Yes" are jokes.

[DodgingCars]

So a mini-series is not a movie?

North and South isn't a movie? Is Gettysburg? :)

Either way, the answer to the original question should be "NO." Because the original quesiton implied that by transfering a tv show to DVD it BECOMES a movie. I don't know if any of us would agree with that.

[Tscott]

So is my DVD with Zork: Grand Inquisitor & Zork: Nemesis on it considered one movie or two?

[JPRaup]

Yeah, I dont see how my friend can think a T.V. Show on DVD can be considered a movie. We asked his whole family and they agreed with him. I was like WTF?

[Burnt Alive]

The term "movie" is a shortened version of "moving picture" or "motion picture"; much like the term "talkie" for "talking picture" and so on and so forth.
Television shows consist of moving pictures, therefore, TV = movie.

Discuss.

[calhoun07]

Originally posted by Burnt Alive
The term "movie" is a shortened version of "moving picture" or "motion picture"; much like the term "talkie" for "talking picture" and so on and so forth.
Television shows consist of moving pictures, therefore, TV = movie.

Discuss.

So do those Little Big Books with the cartoon frames in the corner so you can flip thru the pages and see the pictures "move." Are Little Big Books movies? This entire conversation is absurd, that's what I think. "Movies" by definition has changed since 1904. (and I mean the way the mass public uses the term, not so much necessarilly your dictionary definition.)

Anyway, the guy's friend that inspired this poll wasn't even considering it from that view point.

[JPRaup]

Originally posted by DemonDan
The better question is . . .

Should a made-for-tv lifetime movie actually be considered a movie?

no, I hate lifetime movies with a passion. My mom and sister watch them and they actually cry when someone dies or goes through trauma (i.e., the whole movie)

[GuruAskew]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by The Void
Each episode of the X-Files is like a short 45 minute movie. (but they are still not movies)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


And the X-Files movie is like a longer episode...but it is still a movie.

exactly.


Yeah, exactly. The "X-Files" series always had scenes with helicopters chasing Mulder and Scully through huge wheat fields after they were in huge bee hive structures. There were also several episodes of "X-Files" where Mulder went to Anatarctica and uncovered massive underground city-cized UFO's. There were also many episodes where Mulder cursed. There were scores of examples of the show getting respected actors who had recieved recognition from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences only four years previous. You know, on the DVD, Chris Carter says that they always approached each episode as though it were a mini-movie but they didn't realize how totally naive that approach was until they actually made "Fight the Future". The movie is much larger in scope than the series and did many, many things that could have never been done on the series. Many people were dissatisfied with the movie but you cannot argue the fact that it was much more ambitious than the series in terms of scale and scope.

[JPRaup]

all the people in my family agreed with him too.

[calhoun07]

Originally posted by Jordan Raup
all the people in my family agreed with him too.

You actually discussed this topic with TWO families tonight?

Slow, slow times.

[talemyn]

Um . . . no.

[ivelostr2]

band of brothers was better than most war movies...

[Jackskeleton]

Originally posted by DodgingCars

Either way, the answer to the original question should be "NO." Because the original quesiton implied that by transfering a tv show to DVD it BECOMES a movie. I don't know if any of us would agree with that.

Agreed.

[RevKarl]

Question: Can a T.V. Series be considered a Movie??

Answer: Yes...but you'd be wrong.

[JPRaup]

Originally posted by DodgingCars

Either way, the answer to the original question should be "NO." Because the original quesiton implied that by transfering a tv show to DVD it BECOMES a movie. I don't know if any of us would agree with that.

yeah that was his question

[Giles]

Originally posted by MrE
Not ordinarily. But several foreign TV series have been shown in this country as movies. And several American mini-series have been successfully shown in other countries as movies. So I guess I'd have to say yes, and whether you view it as one or the other, depends on how you first saw it.

I agree, I just saw all the 'Dekalog' (ten hours) in the theatre and even though they are considered 'made for TV' I still count it as a film since it was projected in a theatre and had the 'film experience'. I see alot of films in festivals that are specifically made for TV (docu's/shorts) and I still include them in my annual fim list.

[Josh Z]

Originally posted by ThatGuamGuy
One, I am shocked, SHOCKED, that people would bring up 'Cruel Intentions 2' rather than 'Mulholland Dr.' 'Mullholland Dr.' is a better example in every way; 'Cruel Intentions 2' is a movie which should be forgotten.

Mulholland Drive may have started out as an intended TV pilot, but it never aired on television, and had an extra hour of new footage shot specficially to turn it into a theatrical movie.

Not really as good an example as it might seem.

[ThatGuamGuy]

Mulholland Drive may have started out as an intended TV pilot, but it never aired on television, and had an extra hour of new footage shot specficially to turn it into a theatrical movie.

Right, and how does that make it any different from 'Cruel Intentions 2', which is the point I was making? (Other than theatrical vs. d-2-v.)

Edited to include:
They even both (as the poster below points out) filmed additional R-rated nudity scenes in order to take advantage of not being on TV.

[Giles]

Originally posted by Josh Z
Mulholland Drive may have started out as an intended TV pilot, but it never aired on television, and had an extra hour of new footage shot specficially to turn it into a theatrical movie.

Not really as good an example as it might seem.

I remember reading that Lynch after realizing that the film was not going to get aired on television filmed the love scene to push the film into his familiar R-rated realm.

[Gillette]

i can see both sides of this bet but once a tv series is released onto DVD, like Band of Brothers, each DVD is like its own movie in its self

[KSC2-303]

No. TV series don't cost money for the first time it's made available for public viewing.

But movies also don't have commercials in the middle of them. Albeit subliminal advertising is another story. :)

[ThatGuamGuy]

But movies also don't have commercials in the middle of them.

That blurs the issue, though, because television shows on HBO don't have commercials but still aren't movies.

Here's one: what about a situation like 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' (the upcoming one), where they're taking five episodes and editing them together into one 110 (approximate) minute feature? [If it makes a difference, it was originally five parts to the story, it's not like 'Green Hornet' where they just took random episodes and put them together.]

Are we counting 'Band of Brothers'? I feel like mini-series are a seperate distinction. I mean, it was constructed more like a movie, in that it had a beginning, middle, and end, even beyond individual episodes (which also had b,m,e). It doesn't seem like that should count as a TV series with no other distinction; "TV series" (to me) implies ongoing. Unless we're in Britain.

[MasterCXtreme]

Unless you're talking about like a miniseries such as Band Of Brothers or Taken, then No, not a movie.

[sracer]

It's an interesting question...though my first reaction was, "WTF", after a few moments, I can see where a mini-series or TV series for that matter "becomes" (or more accurately, "can be considered") a movie when transferred to DVD.

Why? Primarily due to the elimination of commercial breaks...but mostly due to the flow of the episodes and overall story.

Obviously, open to interpretation, but IMO, any mini-series or TV series that tells a definite story... (a specific beginning and ending) and where each episode/installment furthers the story to its conclusion, would be considered a "movie". The episodes should consider what happened in previous episodes to provide continuity.

Sitcoms wouldn't fit this definition of a movie since each episode stands on it's own. There isn't even a story... just a "situation" (the "sit" in sitcom) ;).

"The Prisoner", IMO, would be considered a movie since there is a definite beginning and end, and each episode furthers the story toward its conclusion.

"Twin Peaks" would be as well... for the same reasons.

Alas, my beloved "Lost In Space" would not. :( Because although season 1 does have basic continuity from episode to episode, the remaining seasons are self-contained episodes (ignoring what happened previously) and there is no conclusion.

It's harmless fun to speculate on why a particular series could be considered a "movie"... or so I thought. ;)

[Calistoga]

no

[Hammer99]

Hell NO.

[JPRaup]

Thanks for all the comments, I showed my friend he was wrong

[Tandem]

But does a movie always stay a movie? I mean, if a movie is made of a concert does it stay a movie when it is transfered to DVD or does it become a concert DVD?

[FiveO]

No....unless we're counting mini series like Band of Brothers...which I definitely consider a movie.

[New-AgeOutlaw]

How about Salem's Lot.
A movie or a Mini-Series?I think both.
Go here (http://www.vampire.it/dvd/stu.htm) to find out more.

of course there was some editing involved.

[bodomnet]

I say no, it's simply a tv series or DVD

[Gillette]

Originally posted by Tandem
But does a movie always stay a movie? I mean, if a movie is made of a concert does it stay a movie when it is transfered to DVD or does it become a concert DVD?

That is the exact thing my friend said, but he thinks it is still a movie

[EPKJ]

No! I can't believe that 14 people actually voted yes. Is there a full moon out?