# Why do movies get rated higher as they age? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 30, 2009, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-movies-get-rated-higher-as-they-age/483696 "2009-01-30T07:11:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-movies-get-rated-higher-as-they-age/483696/21 "2009-01-30T21:09:36Z")
I still remember when the original Star Wars got 1 star in the local paper when it was first released in the theaters. When it became a huge overnight success everywhere else, they quickly re-assessed it and upped their rating. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-movies-get-rated-higher-as-they-age/483696/22 "2009-01-30T21:11:26Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” actually was a very good movie. At the time it was widely assumed to be a stupid kid flick, and so was dismissed as such by many critics. But watching it now, it’s held up shockingly well; every time I pass by it on cable I watchj a bit of it and every time it’s better than I remember it being. It’s a well written, well paced, and good natured movie with a lot of good gags. Dude, I agree. It was most un-un-un-un-un-heinous. And _Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey_ was at least as good. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-movies-get-rated-higher-as-they-age/483696/23 "2009-01-30T21:35:31Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > You might even describe it as infamous. So famous, it’s in-famous. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-movies-get-rated-higher-as-they-age/483696/24 "2009-01-31T01:56:37Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Tonight on on Fuse TV they showed the excruciatingly stupid movie _“Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure”_. The info banner from my digital cable rated this piece of amphibian shit 3 out of 4 stars.:eek: > > I don’t know who makes those ratings up, but I’ve observed 2 things: > > 1. They are usually very accurate when set for recent movies (10 years old and newer) > > 2. They are inaccurate (too high) for movies older than 10 years. > > Why? Is it nostalgia? Who’s nostalgic for bad films? > > In the past few months I’ve observed other turds like \*Meatballs 2 \*and _Howard the Duck_ get 3 stars when they should have burned the master copies and executed the directors. I specifically remember _HTD_ getting 1.5 stars when it was on a couple of years ago. I think one valid reason old movies get higher ratings is that the ones that anybody still wants to watch after 25 or 30 years were among the better movies of their time. The worse ones are all completely forgotten. But contrariwise there’s definitely a bottom-scraping effect noticeable in the free cable channels; I’m sure they do puff up their movie ratings hoping people will watch. In short, I think what you notice is somewhat justified, but only to a certain extent. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-movies-get-rated-higher-as-they-age/483696/25 "2009-01-31T02:00:12Z")
> [@ASAKMOTSD](#): > > I still remember when the original Star Wars got 1 star in the local paper when it was first released in the theaters. When it became a huge overnight success everywhere else, they quickly re-assessed it and upped their rating. 🙂 Do you mean the original one from the 1970s, or Episode I? Speaking of Episode 4, I remember that the Reader’s film critic of the time, Duncan Shepherd, absolutely loathed that one as a childish, time-wasting fantasy with no social relevance or redeeming qualities whatsoever. He must have had a bad disagreement with George Lucas or something; the level of contempt is otherwise difficult to understand. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Superhero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Superhero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Superhero)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-movies-get-rated-higher-as-they-age/483696/26 "2009-01-31T02:37:01Z")
Huh. That’s way, way more attention than I’ve ever paid to the star ratings on the cable TV info banner. I mean, there are a number of critics whose reviews I’m interested in - Roger Ebert, AO Scott, Kenneth Turan - but Guy Who Writes the Cable TV Info Banner ain’t one of 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-movies-get-rated-higher-as-they-age/483696/27 "2009-01-31T02:46:59Z")
pkbites, does it occur to you that your opinions on movies are no more valid than anyone else’s, including, for instance, the opinion of whoever rates the movies for your cable TV system? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-movies-get-rated-higher-as-they-age/483696/28 "2009-01-31T17:59:45Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > pkbites, does it occur to you that your opinions on movies are no more valid than anyone else’s, including, for instance, the opinion of whoever rates the movies for your cable TV system? No. I’m just wondering why those opinions change over the years. I’m thinking this may actually be a generational phenomenon of our culture, as I’ve yet to see a movie lose star ratings as it ages. A movie I’m going to keep track of is “Wild Wild West”. It’s 10 years old now and listed at 1.5 stars. I’ll betcha in just a few years it will move up at least a full star. We’ll have to wait and see. ---
**Author:** ![parthenokinesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/cc9497/32.png) [@parthenokinesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/parthenokinesis)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-movies-get-rated-higher-as-they-age/483696/29 "2009-01-31T18:21:37Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Another example is Three Amigos. That was on with a rating of 2 stars and about 6 months later it was on again with a rating of 3 stars. Would you it has a plethora of stars? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-movies-get-rated-higher-as-they-age/483696/30 "2009-01-31T19:18:35Z")
> [@parthenokinesis](#): > > Would you it has a plethora of stars? I would have rated it -4 stars. We went to see it about 20 some years ago and walked out before it was half over. Why we even went to see it is beyond me.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-movies-get-rated-higher-as-they-age/483696/31 "2009-01-31T19:45:46Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > A movie I’m going to keep track of is “Wild Wild West”. It’s 10 years old now and listed at 1.5 stars. I’ll betcha in just a few years it will move up at least a full star. We’ll have to wait and see. But how can you “keep track” of the star listing? There’s no record of who’s supplying the stars, so how would you ever know if Jim the Mail Room Guy gave Wild Wild West 1.5 stars in 2000 but Steve the Mail Room Guy bumped it to 2.5 stars (because he really likes Will Smith) when he takes over the database in 2015? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-movies-get-rated-higher-as-they-age/483696/32 "2009-01-31T20:04:26Z")
Those cable star ratings are worthless. They’re often rated by someone in the mail room who’s seen a lot of movies. Cable ratings are not done by known critics, since they would have to pay the critic for the use of his ratings. Use a better rating system and you’ll see that movies do _not_ move up in ratings over time. Look at Leonard Maltin’s books of movie ratings for instance (which have been published for over thirty years). Look at the ratings on the IMDb. I have been looking at them for about ten years now, and fairly consistently movies move down in ratings over the years, not up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-movies-get-rated-higher-as-they-age/483696.md?page=1)