# Movies that made a big pop culture splash but are now disporportionately forgotten **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 16, 2014, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755 "2014-11-16T08:07:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/181 "2014-11-18T03:19:38Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > But nothing has that kind of TV penetration anymore. You may as well be complaining about that Mickey Mantle isn’t the baseball player he was anymore too. People age and things change. Mickey Mantle retired and the television dial expanded beyond three channels. But Mantle is still remembered and The Wizard of Oz still has a massive effect on the movie industry. Mmm, hmm. This has already been stated in previous posts. I mentioned Oz only as a footnote, not as a prime example. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/182 "2014-11-18T03:21:51Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Knock off the personal insults. > > **twickster** , Cafe Society moderator In light of this mod note, I’ll withdraw my question and since Dseid has apparently chosen to let the matter drop, I’ll do so as well. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/183 "2014-11-18T04:48:15Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I know I’ve seen at least one Sophie’s Choice reference in a movie released since 2010. Pretty sure it was a joke, but it’s definitely still part of the pop culture reference book. There was a _Sophie’s Choice_ reference in an episode of _The Big Bang Theory_. > [@](#): > > Leonard: Some guy is auctioning off a miniature time machine prop from the original film and no-one is bidding on it. > > Howard: A time machine from the movie The Time Machine? > > Leonard: No, a time machine from Sophie’s Choice. > > Raj: Boy, Sophie could have used a time machine in that movie. Did you see it? It’s rough. (Season 1 episode 14, 2008) ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/184 "2014-11-18T04:50:53Z")
> [@GreenElf](#): > > First, we need to lay out what OP’s target is for “forgotten”, the film cognoscenti or average WalMart shopper? I didn’t know this thread was addressing high brow tastes rather than mass appeal. I was referring to the 1976 film. You set up a straw man for your “You gotta be kidding”. > > You’ll admit that the average peep isn’t going to toss Star is Born in their shopping cart although they would have bought the VHS tape circa 1980 and the 45’, 8-track or cassette tape for Evergreen. Of course, most people still recognize Streisand, for Yentl if nothing else, though she doesn’t have nearly the star power of that time, but still the 1976 movie is relatively ignored nowadays compared to other movies of the time such as Saturday Night Fever, Star Wars, and Grease. Ah, there is a set of Streisand fans who’ll gladly watch or buy anything she does. I have an aunt in that set. When I saw ASiB, it struck me as a Streisand vanity project. I can’t figure out why Kristofferson allowed himself to be in that. Maybe they threw a lot of money at him and promised him some good roles later on down the road? ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/185 "2014-11-18T05:15:35Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > … > Similarly, one might associate the name “Silkwood” with “whistle-blower who gets murdered” but how many details from the actual movie _Silkwood_ can one recall, assuming one saw it in the first place? \*\* popped into my head but mostly because I still hear people saying they need a “Silkwood shower” (after seeing something really bad on YouTube, say), and some of these people were not even born when that movie came out, so where are they getting that? (I thought it was a great movie, and I think it holds up–but who sees it?) ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/186 "2014-11-18T06:01:30Z")
Maybe the best data source for this thread is the Amazon sales rankings. Wizard of Oz is actually ahead of Star Wars trilogy, #98 versus #136, but I only mentioned it as a footnote. Dumb & Dumber is, as we all know, retaining its luster at #466. Grease, who someone else cited as a forgotten movie with little debate, is at #602. Airplane! the comedy ranks #2,663 which is quite good for such an old movie. My list that I made before looking at the Amazon sales rank was actually not as terrible as subsequent posters have claimed: Titanic #1952 a significantly low rank for the movie with the second top grossing box office Jerry Maguire #9,979 yep, that’s low for a relatively new movie, no matter how you slice it Liar Liar #8,506 yep, Jim Carrey will be remembered for D&D, Truman Show, Grinch more than this TBS syndication movie (although I should note that I do like it) Bad News Bears #8,035 not terrible for an old classic, but hasn’t held against other blockbusters of the time such as Airplane! Jaws #3,470 actually fairly strong rank for its age, but not as highly ranked as 2001 Space Odyssey #2,339 which was mentioned without dispute, and certainly hasn’t retained its blockbuster status in the pocket books of the unwashed masses Star is Born (1976) #4,855 clearly lost in the shuffle compared to others of the period such as Grease Here’s where I stand corrected: Sixth Sense #1,272 obviously still retains strong interest American Graffiti #2,366 not bad at all, about the same as Airplane! and better than season 1 of Happy Days #6, 276 Rocky #7,332 low rank but due to being sold in a box set with other Rocky movies and apparently that box set sells like pancakes ---
**Author:** ![Gretchion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8edcca/32.png) [@Gretchion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gretchion)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/187 "2014-11-18T07:29:59Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Are you kidding? If not for this movie, the abdominal candy known as Reese’s Pieces would only be on those “Candies of the past” threads. I haven’t seen my abdominals in years. Maybe I should start eating more Reese’s Pieces. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/188 "2014-11-18T09:39:28Z")
> [@GreenElf](#): > > Maybe the best data source for this thread is the Amazon sales rankings. Nice bit of analysis added, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/189 "2014-11-18T12:27:32Z")
> [@GreenElf](#): > > First, we need to lay out what OP’s target is for “forgotten”, the film cognoscenti or average WalMart shopper? I didn’t know this thread was addressing high brow tastes rather than mass appeal. I was referring to the 1976 film. You set up a straw man for your “You gotta be kidding”. > > You’ll admit that the average peep isn’t going to toss Star is Born in their shopping cart although they would have bought the VHS tape circa 1980 and the 45’, 8-track or cassette tape for Evergreen. Of course, most people still recognize Streisand, for Yentl if nothing else, though she doesn’t have nearly the star power of that time, but still the 1976 movie is relatively ignored nowadays compared to other movies of the time such as Saturday Night Fever, Star Wars, and Grease. Ain’t no straw man. I see older movies al the time like that when I’m shopping. I seek them out, in fact. Really old ones have a tendency to make their way into bins precisely because they’re not as well known, although the actors in them might not be. And these aren’t weird and rare versions, like the pre-Huston versions of _Maltese Falcon_ that are pretty obscure. The 1954 version is, to a lot of folks – not just film cognoscenti (although possibly older folks) THE version of the film. The Streisand/Kristofferson version is a Johnny-come-lately. And, as you’re admitting that Streisand is well known (although your singling out _Yentl_ as the thing everybody vweould know her from seems really weird to me. Me, I’d probably be tempted to put Yentl into the “made a splash but is noew relatively forgotten” category), what’s the point? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/190 "2014-11-18T13:06:12Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > I can’t figure out why Kristofferson allowed himself to be in that. Maybe they threw a lot of money at him and promised him some good roles later on down the road? He won the Golden Globe for Best Actor; what should he have done _instead_ that year? ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/191 "2014-11-18T14:18:08Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Ah, there is a set of Streisand fans who’ll gladly watch or buy anything she does. I have an aunt in that set. When I saw ASiB, it struck me as a Streisand vanity project. I can’t figure out why Kristofferson allowed himself to be in that. Maybe they threw a lot of money at him and promised him some good roles later on down the road? ``` Streisand hired Kristofferson because Colonel Parker would not let Elvis Presley do it. ``` I wonder how many male actors are willing to be second fiddle. When Judy Garland and her husband Vincent Minelli did the 1954 version, they wanted Cary Grant. But he ultimately declined so they got the lesser known James Mason to play the fading male role. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/192 "2014-11-18T14:19:20Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > Do you still like their movies, and what would you recommend now? Haven’t seen any of that stuff in 30 years, so I’d be hard put to recommend any of it now. Sorry about that! ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/193 "2014-11-18T14:25:11Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Disagree. “You had me at \”, swapping whatever for \ is still used in current pop culture references. You’re right that that phrase lives on, but the survival of one phrase doesn’t mean the movie itself lives on in people’s recollections. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/194 "2014-11-18T14:55:02Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > I’m really the first to mention _2001_? Hardly gets a mention anymore and when viewed by some critics they’ll say it’s too long & too slow. Don’t agree with this one (I’m assuming it is not a woosh 😉 ). _2001_ is widely seen as the seminal hard science fiction movie, and the recent _Interstellar_ is loaded with homages to it. Indeed, just this weekend, I saw a major exhibit on Kubrick, which features images from _2001_ as the advertising: [http://www.tiff.net/cinematheque/stanley-kubrick-a-cinematic-odyssey](http://www.tiff.net/cinematheque/stanley-kubrick-a-cinematic-odyssey) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/195 "2014-11-18T15:06:24Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Don’t agree with this one (I’m assuming it is not a woosh 😉 ). > > _2001_ is widely seen as the seminal hard science fiction movie, and the recent _Interstellar_ is loaded with homages to it. Indeed, just this weekend, I saw a major exhibit on Kubrick, which features images from _2001_ as the advertising: > > [TIFF - 404](http://www.tiff.net/cinematheque/stanley-kubrick-a-cinematic-odyssey) There are constant references to the imagery of the film – the Simpsons opening a couple of weeks ago included one. That damned monolith will live on forever. The music is just as distinctive. Who ever referred to Strauss’ _Also Sprach Zarathustra_ before its opening was made famous by 2001? And Cameron’s _Aliens_ pays direct homage to 2001 by using Gayne’s Ballet Suite (the music Dave Bowman jogs around the Jupiter centrifuge to) in the opening of the film, where Ripley’s escapr craft drifts along to the same music. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/196 "2014-11-18T15:27:07Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Well, the sequels are in production. Their success (or lack thereof) will be a big indicator of the premise’s staying power. > > As a thought experiment, I reviewed a list of Oscar winners and nominees for Best Picture going back to 1960 (arbitrary benchmark), to see if there were any cases where one of the nominees had more cultural staying power than the winner. I’m not trying to assess if I think the nominated film was better than the winner, just if it would be more broadly familiar to a modern audience: > > 1963: Winner: _Tom Jones_. Culturally outshone by _Cleopatra_, though I think largely because of the tabloidish antics of its stars. > > 1967: Winner: _In the Heat of the Night_. Culturally rivalled by _Bonnie and Clyde_ and _The Graduate_. > > 1970: Winner: _Patton_. Culturally outshone by _M_A_S_H\*, though I’m sure entirely on the strength of the TV series. > > 1977: Winner: _Annie Hall_. Culturally outshone by _Star Wars_. > > 1980: Winner: _Ordinary People_. Culturally outshone by _Raging Bull_. > > 1981: Winner: _Chariots of Fire_. Outshone by _Raiders of the Lost Ark_. > > 1982: Winner: _Gandhi_. Outshone at the time by _E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial_, but I propose _E.T._ as being a classic example of a film with a massive following in its day but which largely culturally disappeared afterward. > > 1992: Winner: _Unforgiven_. Edged, I think, by _A Few Good Men_, though mostly on the performance of Jack Nicholson. At the very least, “You can’t handle the truth!” is still familiar, but I can’t think of a single quote from _Unforgiven_. > > 1994: Winner: _Forrest Gump_. Rivalled by _Pulp Fiction_, possibly by _The Shawshank Redemption_. > > 1996: Winner: _The English Patient_. Outshone by _Fargo_. _Jerry Maguire_ made quite the splash in its day, but aside from “Show me the money!”, I don’t think it had much cultural staying power. > > 1998: Winner: _Shakespeare in Love_. Outshone by _Saving Private Ryan_, not least for the idea that _SPR_ has become a defacto standard by which the realism of epic war movies is often compared. > > I’ll stop there, since the movies are getting too recent to judge cultural staying power. I figure 15 years is minimum. Pretty solid list there… I’d quibble a bit with Forrest Gump as I think that’s still culturally resonant, but I know knocking it as compared to other contenders from that year is de rigeur. I’ll add for consideration another from the period you walked through — Broadcast News. Huge litany of awards, now almost entirely irrelevant. And interesting because it’s not JUST that the technology of a newsroom in the early 80s is ancient history to anyone today — the movie Network predates it and should still be mandatory viewing. I think more that it’s just one of those signs of how vapid and navel-gazing we were in the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/197 "2014-11-18T16:17:12Z")
> [@GreenElf](#): > > Caligula > What’s Up, Doc? > Risky Business > Smoky & the Bandit > Every Which Way But Loose > Cannonball Run > Benji > Deliverance > Prizzi’s Honor > Erin Brochovich > Three Men and a Baby Benji! God, Benji. I hadn’t even thought of Benji in so long… remember Benji the Hunted? ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/198 "2014-11-18T16:19:02Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I don’t know if WoO is still a major theme at the MGM Grand Casino, but it certainly was several years back. It isn’t; hasn’t been for years. BUT… walk into pretty much any casino, and you’ll find a slew of Wizard of Oz themed slot machines. It definitely hasn’t left public consciousness. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/199 "2014-11-18T17:26:29Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Benji! God, Benji. I hadn’t even thought of Benji in so long… remember Benji the Hunted? My first name is Benjamin and I was 13 the year that movie came out. Guess what my nickname was throughout 8th and 9th grades. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/200 "2014-11-18T18:17:29Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > And, as you’re admitting that Streisand is well known (although your singling out _Yentl_ as the thing everybody vweould know her from seems really weird to me. Me, I’d probably be tempted to put Yentl into the “made a splash but is noew relatively forgotten” category), what’s the point? You could be right about Yentl, but I think Star Is Born (1976) qualifies. I lived through the time period in question, and Streisand was one of the top echelon movie stars, you have to admit not so much now although still recognized. As for the straw man, criticizing my assumed comment on the Garland film without first verifying that I was referring to it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755.md?page=11)