Sequels that catapulted original?
08-03-20, 07:11 PM
#26
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Re: Sequels that catapulted original?
What I think is cool is that Terminator is now seeing resurgence, because it's now considered somewhat of a sci-fi horror film by film fans. Before it was a straight science fiction action film. I can also see why folks would consider it a horror film, as well.
08-03-20, 07:40 PM
#27
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Re: Sequels that catapulted original?
who says it's a horror film? i would never think horror with any of the franchise. the 1st to lesser extent, but horror is a real big stretch, no?. It's like saying Runaway (1984) is horror or Blade Runner...
08-03-20, 07:52 PM
#28
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Re: Sequels that catapulted original?
08-03-20, 08:24 PM
#29
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08-03-20, 08:39 PM
#31
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Re: Sequels that catapulted original?
I can see it as a horror in the vein of say... a futuristic slasher film. Is it that much different than Halloween?
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Jay G. (08-08-20)
08-03-20, 09:17 PM
#33
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Re: Sequels that catapulted original?
No disrespect to other people's opinions, but personally I would quibble with the Aliens pick. Aliens is a fantastic film - easily one of the best films of the 80s and one of the best sequels ever. But (in my opinion) Alien is an absolutely masterful work of cinema that stands completely on its own and would remain a masterpiece even if none of its sequels ever happened, so it's hard for me to buy the notion that Aliens elevated the original. Maybe Aliens brought a slightly wider audience to the original in more recent decades, but Alien actually had more wordwide box office revenue than Aliens.
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08-04-20, 07:47 AM
#35
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Sequels that catapulted original?
yeah, but the 1st is still widely seen as the stepchild, well maybe 2, but while sequels have gotten exponentially bigger and better, I still think the first is viewed as flop (though not financially) and not well liked. I liked it, but certainly many didn’t take to De Palma’s take.
The first film is like a Harry Palmer movie while the sequels are closer to Bond. All the Harry Palmer movies are superior British spy movies to any of the Bonds.
I'm surprised the original M:I tv series was as big a hit as it was given the complexity of the plots and lower sophistication of 1960s audiences. You can't even go to the bathroom or get a beer during an M:I episode or you miss something.
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Why So Blu? (08-04-20)
08-04-20, 10:02 AM
#36
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Re: Sequels that catapulted original?
The Terminator is basically Halloween set in the city instead of the suburbs, down to the eye trauma and the synth score. "Loomis" just finds "Laurie" faster in the sci-fi version.
Not a knock on either film. They're both masterpieces of restricted-budget film.
Not a knock on either film. They're both masterpieces of restricted-budget film.
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devilshalo (08-04-20)
08-04-20, 10:22 AM
#38
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Sequels that catapulted original?
What about The Good, The Bad and The Ugly? Didn't the first two kinda go unnoticed until the third brought them to people's attention.
08-04-20, 12:06 PM
#39
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Sequels that catapulted original?
The Terminator is a b-movie. The kind of low-budget schlock that went directly to VHS or late night cable. Pure drive-in fare. Low budget, and you could tell that Cameron stretched the budget as far he could. Cheap synth soundtrack. Big showdown in what looks like a factory they rented out for a few nights. The actions scenes are simple and perfunctory.
But it just hits the ground running and never stops firing on all cylinders. Objectively, it's a shitty b-movie, but it doesn't know it. It takes the limited budget and turns it into a taught, claustrophobic thriller. The synth soundtrack is pure 80s cyberpunk kitsch. The stop-motion endoskeleton evokes Harryhausen's sword-fighting skeletons. Even the fake-looking Terminator head used in the eye removal scene takes on an eerie, nightmarish quality. The final showdown at the factory had no-frills, which makes it seem all the more realistic -- no crazy stunts, just two people fighting for their lives against a metal monster. But most of all, I "buy" the premise, that Reese and Sarah are really fighting to save the world. It just works. The stakes seem real. The movie just hints enough that this horrible future is out there for us to completely buy it and understand it.
I enjoy The Terminator more than T2.
I have to say, between Alien, Aliens, The Terminator, Robocop, The Thing, and Predator, there must have been something in the water in the 80s. Lots of great sci-fi schlock that still holds up decades later.
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08-04-20, 12:18 PM
#40
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Re: Sequels that catapulted original?
No disrespect to other people's opinions, but personally I would quibble with the Aliens pick. Aliens is a fantastic film - easily one of the best films of the 80s and one of the best sequels ever. But (in my opinion) Alien is an absolutely masterful work of cinema that stands completely on its own and would remain a masterpiece even if none of its sequels ever happened, so it's hard for me to buy the notion that Aliens elevated the original. Maybe Aliens brought a slightly wider audience to the original in more recent decades, but Alien actually had more worldwide box office revenue than Aliens.
08-04-20, 01:40 PM
#41
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Re: Sequels that catapulted original?
Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan. As a kid I could barely get through that first movie, but the second was awesome.
As far as Terminator 2 and Aliens go, it's still amazing to me that they almost did complete genre shifts for the sequels. I won't argue which was better for either, but certainly the second installment helped boost the popularity of both franchises. The aformentioned Mad Max did the same. Then Gremlins 2 probably killed that idea for good. Though I liked it.
Not sure how much these catapulted the franchises but I always thought X2 and Spider-man 2 were better than the first outings. Superman 2 as well.
It is probably a lot rarer for a third movie to be better than the first two, though. Thor, I guess?
As far as Terminator 2 and Aliens go, it's still amazing to me that they almost did complete genre shifts for the sequels. I won't argue which was better for either, but certainly the second installment helped boost the popularity of both franchises. The aformentioned Mad Max did the same. Then Gremlins 2 probably killed that idea for good. Though I liked it.
Not sure how much these catapulted the franchises but I always thought X2 and Spider-man 2 were better than the first outings. Superman 2 as well.
It is probably a lot rarer for a third movie to be better than the first two, though. Thor, I guess?
08-04-20, 02:25 PM
#42
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Re: Sequels that catapulted original?
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Jay G. (08-08-20)
08-04-20, 02:28 PM
#43
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Re: Sequels that catapulted original?
No disrespect to other people's opinions, but personally I would quibble with the Aliens pick. Aliens is a fantastic film - easily one of the best films of the 80s and one of the best sequels ever. But (in my opinion) Alien is an absolutely masterful work of cinema that stands completely on its own and would remain a masterpiece even if none of its sequels ever happened, so it's hard for me to buy the notion that Aliens elevated the original. Maybe Aliens brought a slightly wider audience to the original in more recent decades, but Alien actually had more wordwide box office revenue than Aliens.
08-04-20, 02:35 PM
#44
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Re: Sequels that catapulted original?
question is...did you say that about Alien (and i totally agree, but i will definitely say it wasn't until after Aliens did i realize or even see it!) prior to any remote chance of a sequel? because if not, couldn't the fact that Aliens was made and was successful, cloud your judgement a bit? if prior than great, but think about it...
on first pass and later it became a part of his greatest films list. 
08-04-20, 02:48 PM
#45
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Sequels that catapulted original?
I totally see your point and it's not like I don't like Alien. It's just that I felt Aliens was amazing, but it's a tough call. Alien is still one of the absolutely best movies the year it was released, but every time I watch it I'm like, damn, I wanna watch Aliens. Those two movies are just fantastic. I feel the same way about the first two Terminator movies. Both are fantastic, but if I had to pick one I guess I'd have to go with the sequel...
Most sequels were also subject to a higher degree of savvy merchandising, marketing and with the advent of home video it gave them extended public awareness.
Last edited by orangerunner; 08-04-20 at 04:40 PM.
08-04-20, 03:16 PM
#46
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Sequels that catapulted original?
I think a lot of this is an individual perspective as well. If you happen to be just old enough to see Aliens first and then went back and saw Alien on VHS, you're likely to perceive Aliens as the more influential of the two films. I recall Alien being a big hit in 1979 as it spawned a lot of tie-in merchandise such as a doll, a board game, trading cards and an Atari game cartridge.
08-04-20, 03:43 PM
#47
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Re: Sequels that catapulted original?
I saw Alien in '79 but I was 11. It scared the shit out of me and I was never in a hurry to rewatch it. Aliens came out the year I graduated high school in '86. Aliens, I viewed multiple times in the theater and it expanded the Alien universe so much, that I went back to rewatch the first film. And then Spaceballs comes out in '87 and parodies the chestbuster scene.
08-04-20, 04:28 PM
#48
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Sequels that catapulted original?
I saw Alien in '79 but I was 11. It scared the shit out of me and I was never in a hurry to rewatch it. Aliens came out the year I graduated high school in '86. Aliens, I viewed multiple times in the theater and it expanded the Alien universe so much, that I went back to rewatch the first film. And then Spaceballs comes out in '87 and parodies the chestbuster scene.
08-04-20, 04:58 PM
#49
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Sequels that catapulted original?
I think a lot of this is an individual perspective as well. If you happen to be just old enough to see Aliens first and then went back and saw Alien on VHS, you're likely to perceive Aliens as the more influential of the two films. I recall Alien being a big hit in 1979 as it spawned a lot of tie-in merchandise such as a figure, a board game, trading cards and an Atari game cartridge.
Most sequels were also subject to a higher degree of savvy merchandising, marketing and with the advent of home video it gave them extended public awareness.
Most sequels were also subject to a higher degree of savvy merchandising, marketing and with the advent of home video it gave them extended public awareness.
Personally, I much prefer Alien, as well.
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08-04-20, 05:06 PM
#50
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Sequels that catapulted original?
Godfather 2