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There's some confusion about the term "dated", so I'll clarify my own use of it and how I see it as relevant in the context of this overall discussion.
A movie can be dated to various degrees I suppose, but to me a badly dated movie, is one where what was once its strength has become its weakness, or perhaps just less spectacular.
Films work on various levels, so if it's a movie relying purely on its controversial impact, then with cultural changes it may turn out very dated, as the controversial content which once made it so special has become mundane to modern culture.
Or perhaps its a film relying greatly on its special effects.
What was once a spectacular sci-fi movie, and still deserves a lot of credit for being what it was, may no longer be worth the watch these days.
The more there is to a movie, the lesser the chance that it will become dated, on the other hand I guess you could say, the more there is to a movie, the greater the chance that it will inspire future movies and thus turn into somewhat of a dated cliché.
I think there is an important distinction to be made between films which were fantastic and the films which are! Which isn't to say that one can't be both, I think there are many examples of older movies which hold up or surpass today's standards, but this doesn't have to be the case, and too often I think critics forget to note this distinction in all of their praise.
I think Starwars is interesting to bring into this discussion.
I love the first three (the ones made first, damn you George Lucas for making things so confusing!), are they dated?
I'd say, somewhat yes.
These were a huge phenomena back in the day, or a huger phenomena, I suppose I should say. They were so inventive with the various creatures and special effects, but these days technology has allowed for even better special effects (though the original movies were really pushing the limits and aren't as dated as most old sci-fi in my opinion) and many of the creatures have served as inspirations for similar TV/film creatures, I'm guessing The Care Bears for one were inspired by Starwars...
Still its universal themes, the plot, pacing, scoring, chemistry between the actors, factor in and to this day I think the first three remain pretty special.
Starwars relied on a lot more than its special effects, or even the imaginative designs, hence why I'll only consider it somewhat dated.
The next three or however many there are at this point, based on what I've gone to see and haven't slept through (yeah), were boring sterile sci-fi which only made me question Lucas understanding of what made his first three the franchise he's made of them.
While less dated I suppose than the original three, I feel pretty sure that with time they will date far worse, they seem largely an exhibition of special effects, as our technology advances further, you'll be left with a lot of time spend on less than thrilling special effects, I guess there's a lot of politics in them too, but I'd rather concern my self with those of the real world as opposed to Lucas' fantasy one.
A movie can be dated to various degrees I suppose, but to me a badly dated movie, is one where what was once its strength has become its weakness, or perhaps just less spectacular.
Films work on various levels, so if it's a movie relying purely on its controversial impact, then with cultural changes it may turn out very dated, as the controversial content which once made it so special has become mundane to modern culture.
Or perhaps its a film relying greatly on its special effects.
What was once a spectacular sci-fi movie, and still deserves a lot of credit for being what it was, may no longer be worth the watch these days.
The more there is to a movie, the lesser the chance that it will become dated, on the other hand I guess you could say, the more there is to a movie, the greater the chance that it will inspire future movies and thus turn into somewhat of a dated cliché.
I think there is an important distinction to be made between films which were fantastic and the films which are! Which isn't to say that one can't be both, I think there are many examples of older movies which hold up or surpass today's standards, but this doesn't have to be the case, and too often I think critics forget to note this distinction in all of their praise.
I think Starwars is interesting to bring into this discussion.
I love the first three (the ones made first, damn you George Lucas for making things so confusing!), are they dated?
I'd say, somewhat yes.
These were a huge phenomena back in the day, or a huger phenomena, I suppose I should say. They were so inventive with the various creatures and special effects, but these days technology has allowed for even better special effects (though the original movies were really pushing the limits and aren't as dated as most old sci-fi in my opinion) and many of the creatures have served as inspirations for similar TV/film creatures, I'm guessing The Care Bears for one were inspired by Starwars...
Still its universal themes, the plot, pacing, scoring, chemistry between the actors, factor in and to this day I think the first three remain pretty special.
Starwars relied on a lot more than its special effects, or even the imaginative designs, hence why I'll only consider it somewhat dated.
The next three or however many there are at this point, based on what I've gone to see and haven't slept through (yeah), were boring sterile sci-fi which only made me question Lucas understanding of what made his first three the franchise he's made of them.
While less dated I suppose than the original three, I feel pretty sure that with time they will date far worse, they seem largely an exhibition of special effects, as our technology advances further, you'll be left with a lot of time spend on less than thrilling special effects, I guess there's a lot of politics in them too, but I'd rather concern my self with those of the real world as opposed to Lucas' fantasy one.
