# Movies that still hold up but only God knows why **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 4, 2019, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541 "2019-07-04T23:02:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541/81 "2019-07-08T06:36:03Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > [_Flash Gordon_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080745/) from 1980. The effects are either badly dated or just bad, the acting ranges from nonexistent to completely over the top, with no middle ground, and it’s just generally silly. Oh, yeah, and the soundtrack is…unique. > > I _love_ it! I don’t know if it holds up for others, but it certainly does for me. > > (dundundundun FLASH! AH-AH!) Ah, my favorite guilty pleasure movie. And the soundtrack is wonderful. It’s exactly as cheesy as it needs to be. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2019, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541/82 "2019-07-08T12:03:20Z")
My vote for this is **The Last Starfighter** , the 1984 early CGI science fiction film. It took an urban legend floating around (that video games were being used to “prospect” for warriors), re-used the character of Harold Hill from _The Music Man_ (including having him portrayed by Robert Preston, who played him on Broadway and in the movie), used some not-completely-ready-for-prime-time CGI effects\*, and surprisingly good writing to create something that isn’t _Star Wars_ clone, but captures a lot of its vibe. The film didn’t take itself entirely seriously, which helped. It had aliens designed by Ron Cobb (who designed aliens for the first Star Wars film, did unused design work for the original Alien, and lots of other science fiction films), although the execution wasn’t impressive - they still look like foam rubber. But the whole thing _works_. I’ll always watch it if it’s on. I wouldn’t mind if they updated the CGI on the original film, but I think the original has charm. - The folks responsible did a test rteel for George Lucas, trying to persuade him to use their CGI for _Return of the Jedi_. It would’ve been terrible. Their stuff looked okay if you took a long time for a frame – their “stills” looked gorgeous – but I don’t think they took enough time rendering each frame for the film. It looked too “cartoony”, and not realistic at all. > [@](#): > > This far down, I’m surprised no one has mentioned Forbidden Planet or The Day the Earth Stood Still. When it comes to “holding up over time,” I’d say these two are strong contenders for first place. 38 No one mentioned them because, despite “holding up”, it’s perfectly clear why they are – Great SF, great concepts, great writing, and superb special effects – not only for the time, but still today. A lot of Forbidden PLanet’s effects – especially the Star Cruiser C47D moving over the planet Altair 4, are still gorgeous. And the way Gort’s visor slowly lifts, revealing the awesome power of his laser (or whatever it is) still _works_, all these years later. Hell, Gort, despite being played by Lock Martin in a painted leather or foam rubber suit (depending on who you believe), STILL looks better than the CGI Gort from the awful remake (a film that I predict will NOT hold up in years to come.) ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541/83 "2019-07-08T12:22:40Z")
I’ll 2nd Demolition Man, and add a lot of the Arnold repertoire from the 80s and 90s. Especially Conan the Barbarian, Predator, Commando, The Running Man, and True Lies. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541/84 "2019-07-08T13:57:39Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > ETA: has any movie ever had the chutzpah to conclude, with no presaging whatever, by having nuclear war break out? > [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Not that I know of…but that would be amazing. Just going along. a rom-com or sports movie, suddenly missiles are flying and roll credits. Well… [Tomorrow Man](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8769848/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_6)does. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541/85 "2019-07-08T15:02:12Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Not that I know of…but that would be amazing. Just going along. a rom-com or sports movie, suddenly missiles are flying and roll credits. How would that be amazing? It would seem to be a cop-out for a screenwriter with no idea of how to end the story. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541/86 "2019-07-08T15:04:30Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > In the same vein…I think Im the only one who likes The Quick and the Dead. > > Its a GD cartoon with several famous cast members. Who is this movie hurting? I love it. I was beginning to think that I was the only one who appreciates (or remembers) this film. Like most Raimi films, it just keeps on delivering. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541/87 "2019-07-08T16:08:51Z")
Let me nominate: THX-1138 This was a student project of George Lucas, later made into a full-fledged hollywood sci fi movie. The story and style were considered really strange when it was released, but it holds up well today. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541/88 "2019-07-08T16:32:33Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > How would that be amazing? It would seem to be a cop-out for a screenwriter with no idea of how to end the story. Because we DO live in a nuclear shadow. And that’s exactly how things probably will end. One day we’re all in the middle of the movie called ‘our life’ and out of nowhere all the electricity goes off and our cars won’t start. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541/89 "2019-07-08T16:39:21Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > _The Day After Tomorrow_. Cliched plot and characters, terrible science, yet it’s very entertaining. I never liked that film at all. Not only bad science but bad geography. I nominate \*Big Trouble in Little China. \* ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541/90 "2019-07-08T16:40:38Z")
> [@Alpha\_Twit](#): > > _Blazing Saddles_ has a deranged, nearly non-existent plot. It revels in it’s own excess while taking us on a pointless journey of hilarious vulgarity. Yes! Great until the end. Mel just didnt know how to end a movie. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541/91 "2019-07-08T16:42:35Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > [_Flash Gordon_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080745/) from 1980. The effects are either badly dated or just bad, the acting ranges from nonexistent to completely over the top, with no middle ground, and it’s just generally silly. Oh, yeah, and the soundtrack is…unique. > > I _love_ it! I don’t know if it holds up for others, but it certainly does for me. > > (dundundundun FLASH! AH-AH!) Costumes are great and it’s camp at it’s best. Great soundtrack. ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541/92 "2019-07-08T16:45:12Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I’ll vote for “Goldfinger”. A bizarre plot, a deadly hat/frisbee, a villain who lets Bond escape several times, and a main character with an amazingly crass name. But I still like it better than any Daniel Craig folderol. What you might call the classic Bond movies, the ones actually based on the books, even if tangentially, are way better than the newer retreads. Sure, they are pure camp. However, Sean Connery was the only real Bond, Roger Moore was a bit of a wimp but just about OK, but Brosnan and Craig are just wrong. The later ones just look like any one of a number of secret agent action movies, the whole lot cooked up in a random plot generator. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541/93 "2019-07-08T16:48:10Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I suggest you seek out his _The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec_, It’s delightfully bizarre, with pterodactyls flying through 1912 Paris, mummy’s curses, and a woman with a hatpin in the brain. It has moments. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541/94 "2019-07-08T16:50:43Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > In the same vein…I think Im the only one who likes The Quick and the Dead. > > Its a GD cartoon with several famous cast members. Who is this movie hurting? I love it. The swedish guy wth his Lemat is hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541/95 "2019-07-08T16:53:44Z")
Lawrence of Arabia is just so weird in view of the events in the Middle East since it was made. Someone said that it is a film that could not be made nowadays. And that’s true. But Peter O’Toole just steals the film. Old films can be disappointing. Look for cheesy backdrops in Ben Hur. But you will ignore them because the film has panache and good actors. Remakes often fall flat compared to the original. Some of the big Roman epics such as Spartacus and Cleopatra have been remade for TV. The backdrops are better, but the acting isn’t. The oldies have a charm of their own. And strong performances. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541/96 "2019-07-08T16:57:58Z")
> [@Limmin](#): > > Let me nominate: > > THX-1138 > > This was a student project of George Lucas, later made into a full-fledged hollywood sci fi movie. The story and style were considered really strange when it was released, but it holds up well today. Even better is Dark Star. John Carpenter , Dan O’Bannon. Made at USC, budget around $50,000.00 ---
**Author:** ![Snake\_Plissken\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Snake\_Plissken\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snake_Plissken_1)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541/97 "2019-07-08T17:03:29Z")
“Fight Club” the movie was better than the book. And speaking of Brad Pitt, I have to watch ‘Snatch’ every time I come across it on cable. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541/98 "2019-07-08T17:08:39Z")
> [@Snake\_Plissken](#): > > “Fight Club” the movie was better than the book. I really didnt care for Fight Club. But I did like _Escape from New York_\*, **Snake.** - except the stupid ending. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541/99 "2019-07-08T17:26:48Z")
> [@SkyRangerRich](#): > > Tremors! > > Everything about that movie is perfect, brilliant casting, wonderful location. But it’s the way it’s played and the tone of the film that makes it truly great - it’s not played for laughs, but doesn’t take itself seriously. Wonderful. Should have got an Oscar. Yep. PS - Consider it stepped on. ---
**Author:** ![jonesj2205](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecc23a/32.png) [@jonesj2205](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonesj2205)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541/100 "2019-07-08T17:28:18Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Back in the 80s my mother was excited to watching Blazing Saddles with me and was quite upset that they edited all the rude sounds from the campfire scene. The cowpokes would rise up while eating, sometimes grunt, and sit down but without the rude sounds the scene was much less effective. WSBK in Boston did this. Used to drive me nuts, although I love telling the story now haha. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-still-hold-up-but-only-god-knows-why/836541.md?page=6)