That’s awesome. I appreciate any excuse to watch that film.
I feel the US culturally seems to have lost an appreciation of classic films - films that deserve reverence. The majority of folks in their 20’s and 30’s have no interest in older films at all. As a result many seem too easily impressed by modern films that, no doubt, will be forgotten next year. A film like The Great Escape (or Lawrence of Arabia, or The Good The Bad and the Ugly, or Casablanca etc.) is loved by scattered individuals in the US but is not celebrated as part of our existing cultural landscape. When I lived in the UK in the 1990’s it struck me that, say, 2001: A Space Odyssey would be broadcast in letterbox uncut in prime time and was a television event. I don’t know if that’s still the case ... is it? That’s how things used to be in the US in the 1970’s but now, in order to watch the classics, you’d pretty much have to take the initiative to look for these movies or discover them on “classic channels” which carry the stigma of being “old.” Classics aren’t just any “old” movies - they are key films that’s really eternally relevant.
But back to the subject - Christmas Story isn’t a classic.
Not so much, sadly. We still have channels that have film seasons of classic movies and genres (BBC2, Film 4 etc) but I think the onset of Netflix and other streaming services has made it difficult to promote anything as 'special'. The focus on availability over presentation and quality seems to makes it hard for terrestrial TV to compete and appear relevant. I've noticed an increasing intolerance for anything without ADD pacing over character development and story telling wherever you go. Mention it anywhere the young people congregate and you just get called grandad :lol
Perhaps we are becoming our parents....
I know this thread isn't about the state of films but having come from the large chain theater near me that didn't carry a film I've been meaning to see all year (where I would've been able to, if it were 5 years ago) has me thinking a lot about the state of films.
I don't think that we've completely lost our appreciation of the greats, but I do agree we've come at a place where we've lost touch with what made them great. I think it's due in part to the change of how we consume them. As a matter of fact, I bet it is. Films are seen as commodities, now, and as such, people don't care about films as they once used to, or think of it as something special to the greater culture.
I think most of the general audience can appreciate something genuinely good when they see it, on the rare occasion a
genuinely good film is made, but because of the glut of mediocrity that's shoveled out there, anything that isn't out-rightly insulting gets a pass, which prompts the continuation of more dull films. I think many are left unaffected after a while because there's an understanding that there's just gonna be another one after it, and that too will come and go. I see it as a numbing; a slight, and subtle conditioning of society that has now taken root. And, unfortunately, I think that mindset has carried over to the good, as well, including our classics. People recognize the language of film but maybe not appreciate its grammar, if that makes sense. I know there are a few things I've seen in recent years where I've thought, had this been released 20-30 years ago, would've been considered a classic today... but they go completely unnoticed by everyone else.
It's terribly sad for me, leaving the cinema after a movie and trying to start a conversation with someone after it's finished, many conversations ultimately go, "I just don't care," and that is something I just can't abide by. It's utterly infuriating and equally depressing, to me.
Movies and cinemas just aren't places like they were once before, a communal center where people came together and experienced something together. There are too many factors that changed it, and the people with it. When I left my cinema after talking to the ticket lady about the movie we won't be getting (because of god damned Star Wars), she remarked, "At least we can see it on our small screens when it's released," to which I said, "It's not the same," and to which she sadly replied, "I know."