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Post by janntosh on Jun 21, 2021 1:14:12 GMT
I first defined it as a film that bombed at the box office but did well on home video and/or TV and gained fanbases but that also applies to movies like It’s A Wonderful Life and The Shawshank Redemption and those films feel too well known to call “cult films”
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Post by moviemouth on Jun 21, 2021 1:19:34 GMT
Great question.
A sleeper is a film that didn't do well at the BO, but found a large fanbase on video.
A cult film I define as a movie that fits the above definition AND that has a small fanbase that fawns over it, ie. Rocky Horror Picture Show. Also many of these movie tend to fall into the category of movie that are considered bad movies in general.
Movies like Fight Club, Reservoir Dogs, Blade Runner and The Big Lebowski have transcended their original cult status I would say.
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Post by kolchak92 on Jun 21, 2021 1:23:35 GMT
I think it's more or less how moviemouth defined it, but it's become a meaningless term due to its overuse, much like the term "reboot".
I've heard movies like Psycho and Jaws referred to as cult films, which they simply are not.
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Post by Marv on Jun 21, 2021 1:26:54 GMT
Interesting. I always think of it as a film that has a very dedicated following but that doesn’t appeal to the majority.
Something like Rocky Horror Picture Show is the first thing I think of.
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Post by moviemouth on Jun 21, 2021 1:27:43 GMT
I think it's more or less how moviemouth defined it, but it's become a meaningless term due to its overuse, much like the term "reboot". I've heard movies like Psycho and Jaws referred to as cult films, which they simply are not. I have never heard those movies referred to as cult films and they don't fit the definition at all. A movie like The Shining did fit the definition once upon a time imo, but not anymore. Don't get me started on the overuse/misuse of the term "reboot."
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Post by moviemouth on Jun 21, 2021 1:28:35 GMT
Interesting. I always think of it as a film that has a very dedicated following but that doesn’t appeal to the majority.Something like Rocky Horror Picture Show is the first thing I think of. That is a very easy way to explain it. You win the "cult film definition" award.
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Post by janntosh on Jun 21, 2021 1:37:08 GMT
Interesting. I always think of it as a film that has a very dedicated following but that doesn’t appeal to the majority. Something like Rocky Horror Picture Show is the first thing I think of. Rocky Horror Picture Show made over 100m in theaters, though over a gradual period of time to be fair www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0073629/?ref_=bo_se_r_1 |
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Post by drystyx on Jun 21, 2021 1:41:36 GMT
I think it's a very subjective term that means different things to different people.
I always heard it in relation to some awesome films like Grail and Rock Horror, but always, it seemed, to films that were "different".
How do you explain "different'?
I think it means they stand alone. While Grail is a funny remake of a much told saga, it does stand alone as its own film. Same for all "cult" films.
They certainly tend to be "avant garde". I think that's a criteria that is added in to the mix. 'Cult films" are "original" if nothing else. I think they also tend to turn stereotypes into more multi dimensional characters, the opposite of what more Hollywood formula movies like "Breakfast Club" do. "Breakfast Club" takes characters that should be three dimensional and spend an entire movie turning them into stereotypes obviously told from the point of view of one of the characters.
Cult classics contain all the criteria. Cult films have a large number of criteria filled.
Movies I consider "cult films", perhaps even "cult classics":
MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW
BLAZING SADDLES
THE PRESIDEN'TS ANALYST
EVIL ROY SLADE
MOULIN ROUGE
WHEN A STRANGER CALLS
ULZANA'S RAID
KELLY'S HEROES
HAIR
BLESS THE BEASTS AND CHILDREN
THIS IS NOT A TEST
BURY ME AN ANGEL
DAY THE WORLD ENDED
IN THE YEAR 2889
SPACE PROBE TAURUS
PLANET OF DINOSAURS
UNKNOWN WORLD
FIRST SPACESHIP ON VENUS
ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES
THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST
THE MADWOMAN OF CHAILLOT
ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS
MAN FRIDAY
SILENT RUNNING
NIGHTFLYERS
FROM BEYOND
THE SIXTH SENSE
49TH PARALLEL
A CANTERBURY TALE
BETWEEN TWO WORLDS
TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE
BLACK LEGION
MEN IN WAR
LILIES OF THE FIELD
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Post by moviemouth on Jun 21, 2021 1:41:41 GMT
Interesting. I always think of it as a film that has a very dedicated following but that doesn’t appeal to the majority. Something like Rocky Horror Picture Show is the first thing I think of. Rocky Horror Picture Show made over 100m in theaters, though over a gradual period of time to be fair www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0073629/?ref_=bo_se_r_1That doesn't really go against what Marv said, though that movie is a special case. I mean, how many straight men were going to see that movie at the cinema in 1975? I am willing to bet that a lot of that 100 million is due to a specific fanbase.
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Post by moviemouth on Jun 21, 2021 1:52:29 GMT
How is one of the most famous, immediately popular, critically acclaimed, box-office hits, Best Picture nominated movies with a massive majority fanbase a cult film? It literally hits every mark against being a cult film.
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Post by drystyx on Jun 21, 2021 2:08:34 GMT
How is one of the most famous, immediately popular, critically acclaimed, box-office hits, Best Picture nominated movies with a massive majority fanbase a cult film? It literally hits every mark against being a cult film. In time, it looks like it will eventually be a "cult film". It has all the earmarks of one. That's a "good thing". Most classics that are are still classics in 100 years, which is generally the "test of time", survive by being cult films or cult literature, 100 years in the future.
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Post by moviemouth on Jun 21, 2021 2:14:36 GMT
How is one of the most famous, immediately popular, critically acclaimed, box-office hits, Best Picture nominated movies with a massive majority fanbase a cult film? It literally hits every mark against being a cult film. In time, it looks like it will eventually be a "cult film". It has all the earmarks of one. That's a "good thing". Most classics that are are still classics in 100 years, which is generally the "test of time", survive by being cult films or cult literature, 100 years in the future. Speculating that it might become a cult film is much different than a movie actually being a cult film. At the moment it is definitely not a cult film and I don't think it ever will be. Would be an interesting case of the reverse of what is typically considered a cult film though.
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Post by JudgeJuryDredd on Jun 21, 2021 5:39:26 GMT
Generally speaking cult films are genre pieces that were atypical for their time of release but found audiences in time, at least that is what I have gathered in all my years as a movie fan.
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Post by moviemouth on Jun 21, 2021 5:42:27 GMT
Generally speaking cult films are genre pieces that were atypical for their time of release but found audiences in time, at least that is what I have gathered in all my years as a movie fan. Another definition I agree with. They are usually horror, sci-fi or comedies movies. They are also very rarely mainstream movies.
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Post by jeffersoncody on Jun 21, 2021 7:43:25 GMT
The cult is small, but the spirit is strong.
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