Glad to see the good review of LFoDH. Yeah, the reviewer sounds like he's about 25 years old, making ridiculous assertions about how long the summer blockbuster has been around, and other silly statements like that.
But I'm excited.
Wesley: We're going to bring Angelus in alive. Connor: No we're not. Gunn: I thought you said capturing him wasn't an option. Wesley: Changed my mind. Connor: Change it back.
'Why We Fight'
Buffista Movies 5: Development Hell
A place to talk about movies--old and new, good and bad, high art and high cheese. It's the place to place your kittens on the award winners, gossip about upcoming fims and discuss DVD releases and extras. Spoiler policy: White font all plot-related discussion until a movie's been in wide release two weeks, and keep the major HSQ in white font until two weeks after the video/DVD release.
Sean K - Jun 26, 2007 11:58:53 am PDT #9662 of 10001
You can't leave me to my own devices; my devices are Nap and Eat. -Zenkitty
Polter-Cow - Jun 26, 2007 12:04:58 pm PDT #9663 of 10001
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
How long has the summer blockbuster been around?
bon bon - Jun 26, 2007 12:07:18 pm PDT #9664 of 10001
It's five thousand for kissing, ten thousand for snuggling... End of list.
Consensus is Jaws.
Tom Scola - Jun 26, 2007 12:07:22 pm PDT #9665 of 10001
Mr. Scola’s wardrobe by Botany 500
"Jaws" is, by most accounts, the first summer blockbuster. It was released in 1975.
Polter-Cow - Jun 26, 2007 12:11:50 pm PDT #9666 of 10001
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
That's the oldest movie that came to my mind, too. Thanks.
The thing is, however, did that trend continue yearly? Like, what was the big summer blockbuster of 1976?
Hayden - Jun 26, 2007 12:14:57 pm PDT #9667 of 10001
aka "The artist formerly known as Corwood Industries."
I don't know 1976, but you can probably guess what the one from 1977 was.
Tom Scola - Jun 26, 2007 12:19:01 pm PDT #9668 of 10001
Mr. Scola’s wardrobe by Botany 500
Before Jaws, Hollywood didn't realize they could make BIG PILES OF MONEY by releasing big event movies during the summer. They really didn't have anything in the pipeline for 1976.
Strega - Jun 26, 2007 12:20:27 pm PDT #9669 of 10001
From filmsite.org:
Hollywood's economic crises in the 1950s and 1960s, especially during the war against the lure of television, were somewhat eased with the emergence in the 70s of summer "blockbuster" movies or "event films" marketed to mass audiences, especially following the awesome success of two influential films:
- 27 year-old Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975)
- 33 year-old George Lucas' Star Wars (1977)
Polter-Cow - Jun 26, 2007 12:22:29 pm PDT #9670 of 10001
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
Interesting.
I don't know 1976, but you can probably guess what the one from 1977 was.
Heh, see, that's the thing. I don't know how many of the big, popular movies were summer movies, you know? And some of the summer blockbusters of yore may not have been actual good movies and so aren't talked about as much.
bon bon - Jun 26, 2007 12:23:56 pm PDT #9671 of 10001
It's five thousand for kissing, ten thousand for snuggling... End of list.
I hope the Die Hard sequel is good, though I don't expect that much. Regardless, that Chron review is a disaster. This sentence of synonymous adjectives is my favorite:
He has a caustic, unsentimental understanding of the character and presents us with a McClane who's a cynical difficult man, one whom the years have only made smarter, tougher and more calloused.
ETA: I guess if you think action movies started in the 1990s, tough action heroes must seem like a novelty. No one tell him about Han Solo!