Films not what you expected/remembered - Anything Goes - Other topics not covered elsewhere - Tartan Army Message Board Jump to content

Films not what you expected/remembered


Recommended Posts

Sometimes you see a film you knew about for years but never went to see it and when you finally see it, it's different from what you thought.

Or, you see a film you saw years ago but when you revisit it, it isn't what you remembered, or you take something different from it. 

(Steering clear of recent releases, say 2010s, for which there are existing threads)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

321302.jpg?itok=Dj7wenha

 

OK so I recently saw 1984 (on video).

It was not what I expected, first of all, in that the whole feel and tone of it seemed very old fashioned and outdated, and not scary at all. It didn't seem like a future warning or dystopia, more like an alternative future that never happened.  It seems like a grim old fashioned 1940s as it was originally going to be called 1948.

Of course it's partly to do with the way the world turned out, where huge giant communist blocs are no longer what is feared, but countries have fragmented and become 'Balkanised'.  Also the fears of eradication of individualism, everyone wearing uniforms, and the idea of state suppression of family ties and sex replaced with artificial insemination. But now we're more likely to have rampant individualism, everyone wanting to be a celebrity, people having designer babies,  sex available in more ways than ever, and the  state more likely to be hidden in the background rather than overtly in your face/book.   

Another thing, when I read the book, I suppose I couldn't help seeing the world from the viewpoint of the main character, but in the film, he seems a bit dull and weedy and couldn't imagine the young female  fancying him (though it was implied she  had other lovers, for political purposes).

I was surprised to find "Sexcrime" by the Eurythmics not feature anywhere. That was what I most associated with the film at the time (other than the book, obviously) . I thought that was a pretty upbeat track and its absence reinforced the idea it was more like 48 than 84.

I was surprised to see Richard Burton and Gregor Fisher co-starring! 

Edited by exile
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can't think of a good example of a film I revisited that I saw a t the time. The best I can come up with is Jesus of Montreal. 

1995_1571_PH_05.jpg

i guess I don't remember too much about watching the film the first time, or rewatching it 20+ years later for that matter. I think at the time it seemed  as if it had an important message and part of life unfolding, whereas when I revisited it, it just seemed like a film,  with a job to do, that had been seen and done. Probably I'm being a bit harsh. 

 

Edited by exile
Link to comment
Share on other sites

TI watched Bambi with my young twin sisters and didn’t find it particularly sad when he was calling for his mum. I’m sure I found it upsetting when I watched it as a child.

And not a tear when Simba’s dad died in The Lion King. Wept buckets at the end of Toy Story 3 though. 

It’s a Wonderful Life is a bit slow. (I’ve never understood why it’s a more popular Christmas film than The Bishop’s Wife) I remember going with friends on my recommendation, I hadn’t seen it for years by that point, and I was raving about it. They loved it so I couldn’t admit it wasn’t a quarter as good as I’d remembered. Nice film just not great.

Not a patch on Inherit the Wind, have you ever watched that film exile? 

😉😉😁

Edited by G-Man
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, G-Man said:

TI watched Bambi with my young twin sisters and didn’t find it particularly sad when he was calling for his mum. I’m sure I found it upsetting when I watched it as a child.

And not a tear when Simba’s dad died in The Lion King. Wept buckets at the end of Toy Story 3 though. 

It’s a Wonderful Life is a bit slow. (I’ve never understood why it’s a more popular Christmas film than The Bishop’s Wife) I remember going with friends on my recommendation, I hadn’t seen it for years by that point, and I was raving about it. They loved it so I couldn’t admit it wasn’t a quarter as good as I’d remembered. Nice film just not great.

Not a patch on Inherit the Wind, have you ever watched that film exile? 

😉😉😁

Not yet. Did you ever revisit Inherit the Wind again and find it different?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, Scotty CTA said:

Is that Ryan Kent on the left?

 😁 What are the chances these two threads would come up with such similar images?

On 1/27/2019 at 7:48 PM, Scotty CTA said:

_105362896_rangers.jpg 141bab0d14d0f169f01726683d151ea2--ninete

1984+hate.jpg

 

Edited by exile
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, exile said:

Not yet. Did you ever revisit Inherit the Wind again and find it different?

Yes and it gets better every time I put it on. 😊 

Imitation of Life was a much better film in my memory. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At the end of Von Ryan's Express Sinatra seems to get closer to the train each time i watch it 

Some films you dont enjoy the first time because you are trying to concentrate on the story/what's going on and you miss a lot of things 

The Big Lebowski is a classic example 

When Se7en came out i looked forward to it that much that i wasted it 

Thought it was shite and foresaw the ending an hour before it happened 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Had another look at Your Cheatin' Heart. Realised pretty soon I didn't remember much or anything about it. Probably missed half of it at the time.

Found it a bit of a disappointment to be honest. Whereas Tutti Frutti had as sort of relentless drive to it, Your Cheatin' Heart seemed just to get more complicated and contrived and eventually coincidental. Didn't really care much for most of the characters, or what driving them, or what happened to them. Tilda Swinton's character too cold and unresponsive, and John Gordon Sinclair's too gauche. The love interest such as it was seemed unconvincing, though maybe it was deliberately downbeat and unconsummated. Everything pretty bleak and miserable by the end, amounting to not very much (a parable of life?). But not as gloriously tragic as Tutti Frutti.

Edited by exile
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only films I have watched recently - which I thought was totally different from my recollection of them was. . . . .(Both from Mid 80's)

The Company Of Wolves 

&

The Hunger 

Was really looking forward to seeing them (a Christmas present) - nothing but disappointment after viewing them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, glasgow jock said:

The only films I have watched recently - which I thought was totally different from my recollection of them was. . . . .(Both from Mid 80's)

The Company Of Wolves 

&

The Hunger 

Was really looking forward to seeing them (a Christmas present) - nothing but disappointment after viewing them.

In what way were they a disappointment? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, exile said:

In what way were they a disappointment? 

Good question - I remember at the time (30 odd years ago) I thought they where both very mysterious & different from the movies that where around at the time, watched them again at Christmas and just felt that they where shite TBH

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...


×
×
  • Create New...