# Take a modern movie back to 1930 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 11, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794 "2010-12-11T16:55:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794/21 "2010-12-12T09:17:04Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Or **Public Enemies**. Granted it’d run into all sorts of problems with the censors, but I think at least a sizable minority would love it if they got a chance to see it. I think that would run into all sorts of problems with the time-space continuum! ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794/22 "2010-12-12T09:34:59Z")
_The Three Amigos_. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794/23 "2010-12-12T09:37:47Z")
> [@Mrs.Cake](#): > > _Titanic_ might suit the bill, with a little editing for those bits that won’t get past the censors. Familiar story, lots of lush costumes and production designs, and editing that won’t give the average '30’s moviegoer as seizure. Up until the discovery of the wreck in the eighties it was generally assumed the Titanic sank in one piece, so the audiences of the thirties might be wondering why the ship splits in two for this particular film. Other than that (and the bits that would need a little censoring), Titanic would be my choice too. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794/24 "2010-12-12T12:11:44Z")
It’s kind of a shame that the OP as setup only runs back to 1990, because I think something like _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ might do well. Only problem, of course, is that it’s set in 1936 and needs Nazis. So maybe _Temple of Doom_ would work better. But going with the constraints of the OP, how about something like the Wallace and Gromit shorts or movie or maybe Chicken Run? After all, Chicken Run is just The Great Escape (which of course hasn’t come out yet) with chickens. A possible complication for the OP. Widescreen didn’t really exist in 1930, and we’re looking at something between either 4:3 or the Academy ratio of 11:8. ---
**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:** [December 12, 2010, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794/25 "2010-12-12T12:29:31Z")
_The Mask of Zorro_, the Antonio Banderas version. Nothing in it that isn’t perfectly familiar and comprehensible, or unusually spectacular, but is nevertheless thoroughly entertaining and will thrill and excite. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794/26 "2010-12-12T15:38:36Z")
My gut reaction is Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid just for maximum mind-fuck potential. If the object was to make them think it was made by magic or a deal with Satan, I’d go with either Terminator 2 or Jurassic Park. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794/27 "2010-12-12T15:47:21Z")
If the movie could have been taken to the 40’s, [“the good German”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_German) would be perfect. it was supposed to be like something filmed after the war. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794/28 "2010-12-12T15:52:26Z")
I wonder how well any of the movies mentioned so far would take to being shown in black and white? ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794/29 "2010-12-12T16:05:42Z")
a trifecta of mel gibson: Braveheart, The Patriot, and Passion of the Christ. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794/30 "2010-12-12T16:15:10Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > _The Mask of Zorro_, the Antonio Banderas version. > > Nothing in it that isn’t perfectly familiar and comprehensible, or unusually spectacular, but is nevertheless thoroughly entertaining and will thrill and excite. I dunno, the severed head in the wine jar might not play well. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794/31 "2010-12-12T16:24:48Z")
Note that you’d probably have to eliminate any movie with cell phones. > [@Quartz](#): > > I wonder how well any of the movies mentioned so far would take to being shown in black and white? Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid is a black and white movie. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794/32 "2010-12-12T16:43:30Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > The Hayes Code didn’t really go into full force until after 1934. Also, I’m not sure if period censorship and social mores was part of the OP. If so, I think \*\*O Brother \*\*might’ve passed muster before 1934 but probably would’ve had to have some cuts after that. **Road to Perdition** would’ve had problems with the violence and the language regardless of whether it was 1930 or 1934 even if the basic story could’ve remained intact. Yeah, I think graphic violence is going to be a stumbling block for a lot of films. Now that I think about it, **Last of the Mohicans** wouldn’t pass muster on this ground either. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794/33 "2010-12-12T16:55:38Z")
When Steven Soderbergh’s [Traffic](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181865/) and [Erin Brockovich](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0195685/) were both nominated for Best Picture Academy Awards in 2001, the Washington Post ran an article about the two movies. The writer said that Erin Brockovich is a pretty standard plucky-hero-fights-corruption flick, the kind of thing Enrst Lubitsch might have directed. The difference being the hero is a she. The writer went on to say that Traffic’s structure as a film would have been completely foreign to people of the 1930s or 40s. To the OP, I don’t think either of these films could have been shown in 1930. Traffic was about drug dealing, and Erin B. depended too much on Erin’s profane language and use of her sexuality to manipulate men. I don’t think even this relatively mild exchange would have passed a 1930 censor: Ed Masry: What makes you think you can just walk in there and take whatever you want? Erin Brockovich: They’re called boobs, Ed. Hmm - was Mae West enough of an actress to pull off the role of Erin? The script would have to depend on many euphemisms and many perfectly raised eyebrows. Mae was 37 in 1940, might have worked. Oh yeah, the OP is about taking completed movies to 1930, not scripts. Looking over [IMDB’s top 250 list](http://www.imdb.com/chart/top), and just counting movies made the last 20 years (1990-2010), my nominees are: Lord of the Rings trilogy - but too long for 1930, they didn’t do sequels as much then, the books hadn’t been written yet, and it suffers from the “how’d they do THAT??!!” syndrome discussed above. Nonetheless, an amazing adventure trilogy IMO. Spirited Away (2001) - with edits it would be the next Snow White. Since it’s animated there’s no “How’d they do that?” concern. Would a 1930 US audience sit through an animated foreign film? I just checked - Snow White was 1937. Spirited Away would blow Disney out of the water before he got started. So would Ponyo (2009) and it’s a more accessible flick, more family friendly. LA Confidential (1997) - if it could survive the Hayes Code. Naw, it barely worked in 1997. Too bad, it’s a great film. Gladiator (2000) - minimal changes, but how did they film the fight with the live lion?? The Sixth Sense (1999) - mentioned upthread Groundhog Day (1993) - but would the scene where Bill Murray “breaks the spell” be allowed in 1930? Finding Nemo (2003) How to Train Your Dragon (2010) Ratatouille (2007) IMO, animated movies would work best going from 1990-2010 to 1930, although things that were obviously computer generated might puzzle the audience. Lilo & Stitch would work as far as the animation goes, but the story depends too much on Elvis’ songs (not written in 1930!), and a 1930 mainstream continental US audience might not accept a story about a pair of native Hawaiian orphans and their pet alien. [Pixar’s animated shorts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Pixar_shorts): GOLD!! Best of a good bunch that would travel well to 1930 are, IMO: Luxo, Jr; Tin Toy; Knock Knack; For the Birds; and Presto. The first three were made before 1990, but I’ll sneak them in the OP’s time machine anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794/34 "2010-12-12T16:59:05Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > a trifecta of mel gibson: Braveheart, The Patriot, and Passion of the Christ. A lot of violence would have to be cut from the first two. I have not seen Passion, but from everything I heard about it there is no way it would be show-able in 1930. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794/35 "2010-12-12T16:59:21Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > As I said previously, the OP didn’t say anything about how he would deal with the inevitable censorship problems a modern movie would face in 1930 so until **MaxTheVool** addresses it in a later post, that question remains unanswered. I realized a bit after posting the OP that there’s the color/BW issue which I’d prefer to ignore because it more or less instantly wipes out 99% of movies. So I’ll just say a wizard did it, and color/BW is not an issue. But aside from that, if your answer is “movie X, but with scene Y censored out”, that’s perfectly fine, if less pure than an answer with no censorship. But I don’t think **Titanic** works at all. First of all, it has quite a few scenes in modern times, and taking them all out would destroy the flow of the movie entirely. Also, the special effects are just WAY too good. Same for 2005 **King Kong**. The best answer I came up with is **Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon**. Nothing in it couldn’t have been done in 1930. It would seem alien and different, certainly, but I can’t imagine people wouldn’t have been just as captivated then as they were today. Another choice might be **Amadeus** , although while it might pass muster for being believable, it’s a bit too much of an art film to be a huge smash hit. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794/36 "2010-12-12T17:05:48Z")
[Master and Commander](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0311113/) [Topsy Turvy](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151568/) [Gettysburg](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107007/) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794/37 "2010-12-12T18:02:54Z")
Just wanted to point out that color films did exist in 1930. It wasn’t common because the coloring processes back then were difficult and expensive but people wouldn’t have had a hard time accepting the existence of a color film. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794/38 "2010-12-12T18:16:54Z")
Since the OP mentioned the last 20 years, I’d have to go with “Pearl Harbor” although I’d prefer “Tora Tora Tora”. Imagine what all of the people who see it will think on 7 December 1941. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794/39 "2010-12-12T19:16:31Z")
Since audience appeal is important as per the OP, and since there’s no mention of the movie having to meet the standards of whatever censoring authorities were around at the time, I’d bring _L.A. Confidential_. It’d be futuristic to people in the 30’s, but not outlandishly so, and it’s got the kind of plot that would appeal to audiences of the ganster era. Musicals were big, so maybe I’d bring _Moulin Rouge_. Nicole Kidman in lingerie is probably like nothing 1930’s audiences had ever seen before. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794/40 "2010-12-12T21:13:51Z")
How about _Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow_? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-modern-movie-back-to-1930/563794.md?page=3)