I don't mean this to be a threadcrap, but reading this just now makes me want to relate this story:

Two nights ago I had the joy to see Dovzhenko's Earth in a theater, accompanied by live piano. The effect was incredible. I have probably never enjoyed a silent as much, with the exception of the time I saw (don't hate me) Potemkin with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra performing the Shostakovich score with it. Seeing a silent with live musical accompanyment is to see a living, breathing work of art. It is truly special.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High - This movie doesn't seem to hold up. I had never seen it up last year. When it came on TV, I decided to see it since people talk about it so much. Was the most stupid movie ever. Gave up after 3/4 hour.
This is probably an example of if I had watched it back when it came out, it would have seem much cooler then. Because of liking it then, I could still like it today.

When I saw Easy Rider, I thought it was terrible. When I told this to a former-hippy film professor, he admitted that it hasn't held up well.

As I type this, they're showing Buster Keaton's Steamboat Bill Jr. along with a live jazz band at the Kimo. They're promising about 50% improvisation, and have been rehearsing for months. I'm here at work. :mad:

You've got to be kidding. Those films have arguably aged better than any film of it's time. If they hadn't, they wouldn't be as popular today as they are. You don't stand the test of time by aging poorly. It still looks phenomenal, even by today's and the prequel's standard.

I'd have to say all of those late 70s and 80s sex comedies haven't aged too well.

I saw Jim Carrey's The Mask on TV a few weeks ago and was amazed at how dated it seemed for a movie less than 10 years old. I guess that new swing dancing crap really was just a fad.

Unfortunately, even classics get caught aging badly. West Side Story is considered a classic and yet it's horribly outdated. Great songs and choreography but who doesn't laugh nowadays at rival gangs dancing and singing together?

Really? I mean, he wasn't exactly a model citizen, but it could be argued that his one redeeming moment was the cause of his downfall. Spoiler mode, just in case.....

... and no, by the way, I'd like to name a film that has aged very bad: "Fritz the Cat"

Manhunter. When I first saw this in the theater I thought it was a fantastic serial killer flick. After Silence of the Lambs came out I maintained that Manhunter was better (based solely on memories). It wasn't till Red Dragon was announced that I decided to revisit this classic from my youth. It wasn't awful, just very dated. The lighting, the editing, the clothing, the music... it screams 80's.

This may be an invite to flame, but I think if you take the villain from Manhunter (Tom Noonan) and place him (unaged) into Red Dragon, you have a superior movie.

not that aliens is dated, but one part always bugged me. the part where ripley is at the hearing, and the dude says "you freely admit to destroying an m class starfreigher, a rather expensive piece of machinery" the other dude says...."64 million in adjusted dollars". what does "adjusted" mean?? now 64 million doesn't sound like too much for an m class starfreighter to me.

anyone else think the price for the ship was way too low??

LOL! maybe there's a serious case of deflation in the future...

Two quality 80s releases that sprung immediately to mind:

Manunter
No Way Out

I think most 80's comedies haven't aged all that well. Specifically one's geared towards and/or featuring teens. I watched "Fast Times at Rigdemont High" when it was released on DVD (a year ago?) and man was that dated!

The Exorcist.

Same happened to me... a friend who saw it originally in the theaters basically said "What did *we* know? We always saw it stoned. It would suck otherwise." Hmm ... sounds about right. :lol:

The Man Who Fell To Earth is WAY dated as is Woody Allen's Sleeper.

Valley Girl!

The plot of STAR WARS and some of the acting do seem a little hokey today.

think of it this way: what would the reaction be if the film (as is) was released today for the first time.

people would HATE it.

A lot of John Hughes stuff: Pretty In Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful, etc. They're not necessarily bad, but they're such a product of the times that they show their age.

I agree that XXX will be very dated in just a few years. I enjoyed it, but they used too much rock music on the soundtrack.

In my opinion, horror, sci-fi, mysteries and comedies age the best overall. If you think about it, the movies from the 30s-60s that still have a large audience are often from these genres. That's not to say thre aren't incredibly good westerns, dramas, musicals, etc from those decades but overall, they aren't as fondly or widely remembered.

I think a good movie is a good movie, no matter when it was made.

It's interesting that most old Disney films can still be enjoyed today, whereas it seems most newer animated films are much more contemporary. Will kids still be watching Shrek 10 years from now? Lilo and Stich?

Groucho: Shrek dated itself on its release, unfortunately, and it's been sinking ever since. Lilo and Stitch will probably age a bit better, although overall the movie wasn't that good (only if compared to what Disney has put out post-Lion King).

A lot of the 70s and early 80s sci-fi stuff looks really dated now -- I'm thinking West World and Logan's Run (I still enjoy these movies, thought).

Guess my latest experience was with friends watching "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World". When it first came out I remember basically falling out of my seat laughing. (Oh crap--I just dated myself). Anyway this film had every major comic in the business --for that time anyway. I built it up to wife and friends and got the DVD. Got positioned for the event just knowing these folks were going to LTAO. All I got was snoring and glares. They still work me over about this one. (The Jonathan Winters work is still a gut buster IMHO).

If you think the acting and story in Star Wars IV is bad, then see either TPM or AOTC.

You missed the main reason why 95% of people like it still today by watching the Tv version.