# Film, Movie or Picture? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-movie-or-picture/527142 "2010-01-31T19:01:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-movie-or-picture/527142/21 "2010-02-01T02:47:24Z")
I always say “let’s go to the talkies.” People pretty much know what that means. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-movie-or-picture/527142/22 "2010-02-01T03:32:32Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > ETA: “Picture Show,” however, always makes me think of a certain tranvsestite mad scientist from outer space. Makes me think of Billy Joe MacAllister. ---
**Author:** ![MwNNrules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@MwNNrules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MwNNrules)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-movie-or-picture/527142/23 "2010-02-01T04:10:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I hate to be the one to break this to you, but most words in the language date back to considerably earlier than the early 20th century. Why isn’t it weird that we’re using slang from Shakespeare’s time, too? Point taken, but I still take some special consideration when I hear the word movie. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-movie-or-picture/527142/24 "2010-02-01T05:16:10Z")
When I was a kid, here at the arse end of the world, we said we were “going to the pictures.” But we were also aware that Americans said “going to the movies” and over the last few decades its shifted more to “movies” down here too. But there are still some who say “pictures” and many who say “a film” and a couple of old people who will call them “the flicks” or even “a show”. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-movie-or-picture/527142/25 "2010-02-01T10:39:53Z")
I voted “film” becuase that’s what I’d say of the three choices, although in actuality I’m much more likely to say “going to the cinema”. “Movie” is an Americanism I avoid in everyday speech (although I type it all the time here), and I’ve only encountered “pictures” in … pictures and TV. ---
**Author:** ![JoseArcadio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc348/32.png) [@JoseArcadio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseArcadio)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-movie-or-picture/527142/26 "2010-02-01T12:24:20Z")
Watch a film. Go to the cinema. Not being pretentious; film is the word most commonly used this side of the pond. ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-movie-or-picture/527142/27 "2010-02-01T12:37:50Z")
I don’t think I have ever uttered the word “movie” in earnest in my life. Moving pictures were invented some 64 years before I was born so I don’t see the need to differentiate them from stills. But then I also speak of “going to the pictures”. Maybe I’m older than I think… ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-movie-or-picture/527142/28 "2010-02-01T12:50:39Z")
The term ‘film’ is used almost universally in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![footballisplayedwithyourfeet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9f8e36/32.png) [@footballisplayedwithyourfeet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/footballisplayedwithyourfeet)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-movie-or-picture/527142/29 "2010-02-01T12:51:24Z")
I voted _film_, whitch I only just realized is the only term for movies we have in dutch… ---
**Author:** ![Rrose\_Selavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rrose\_Selavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rrose_Selavy)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-movie-or-picture/527142/30 "2010-02-01T13:58:50Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > The term ‘film’ is used almost universally in the UK. Or “fillam” if you’re Irish… - ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-movie-or-picture/527142/31 "2010-02-01T14:06:58Z")
> [@Rrose\_Selavy](#): > > Or “fillam” if you’re Irish… > > - Or ‘fillum’, if you’re in BC. (Small sample, though. There’s a Canadian retiree who owns the lot across from me and comes down for the Summer who says it, and I met a 20- or 30-something Coast Salish filmmaker who said it.) ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-movie-or-picture/527142/32 "2010-02-01T15:28:56Z")
I say “picture,” because I am culturally 92 years old. “Oh, _that_ was a good picture!” ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-movie-or-picture/527142/33 "2010-02-01T17:08:29Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Or ‘fillum’, if you’re in BC. It’s “fillum” in South Africa, generally, too. I’ve worked pretty hard at not pronouncing it that way. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-movie-or-picture/527142/34 "2010-02-02T05:46:40Z")
I generally go to the movies. If it’s an indy or particularly fancy I might call it a film. It’s only a picture if it’s part of a noun phrase like ‘motion picture’ or ‘picture show’. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-movie-or-picture/527142/35 "2010-02-02T15:16:33Z")
I believe the terminology is subject to regional influences. Where I grew up: We are going to see a show tomorrow. I wonder what’s on at the show. What did you see at the show this weekend. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-movie-or-picture/527142/36 "2010-02-02T16:36:12Z")
When I was in college, I helped manage the AV department. I’d asked a professor about how her class seemed to be not much more than watching a variety of cinematic productions and referred to them as movies. I was genuinely curious - she comes in every couple of days to arrange for something to be shown, and other than that, I didn’t know what she taught. Her entire demeanor changed - her nose grew about three inches longer, the better to look down it, and she responded “It’s _FILLLMMM!_” Oh, sorry. Well, we have the title you requested for next Thursday on VHS or on 16mm. Do you have a preference? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-movie-or-picture/527142/37 "2010-02-02T17:01:03Z")
All of the above, depending on context. “Movie” is a generic long-format visual entertainment medium, anything from _Up_ to _Ferris Bueler_ to _Terminator_. “Film” connotes a more thoughtful and serious piece with a purpose beyond entertainment. Think _Paths of Glory_, _Rashomon_, or _Frost/Nixon_. “Picture” is for production, not so much the final result. I’d still use it for very visual films that really are more like moving pictures, like _La Jatte_, _2001_, or _The Seventh Seal_. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-movie-or-picture/527142/38 "2010-02-02T18:45:33Z")
In that sentence I’d say ‘movie’ but I use the word ‘film’ often as well. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-movie-or-picture/527142/39 "2010-02-02T21:41:58Z")
I’d say “going to the cinema”. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-movie-or-picture/527142/40 "2010-02-03T01:25:45Z")
Movie. Surprised no one’s brought up “flick” yet. (unless I missed it when skimming the thread) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-movie-or-picture/527142.md?page=1)