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Topic: Post your theories here on why you think "Walk Hard" bombed...

Kurt Zupin
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 989
From: Maricopa, Arizona
Registered: Oct 2004

posted 01-08-2008 09:00 PM

Mike the reason that Feature got such acclaim is that is was directed right at the core audience for this film, the college/High school kids. I can imagine most Adults would not find that part funny at all, but if you didn't find that part funny then you probably didn't find the movie that funny.

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Bill Enos
Film God

Posts: 2081
From: Richmond, Virginia, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 01-08-2008 09:27 PM

If Gone With The Wind were released today exactly as it was originally I believe most of todays movie audience would say it sucks. It's an hour too long, just plain dull, very obviously fake outdoor scenes, so so acting except for Hattie McDaniels, crappy mono sound, at least it had an intermission which it would not have today.

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Chris Slycord
Film God

Posts: 2986
From: 청주시, 경북도, South Korea
Registered: Mar 2007

posted 01-08-2008 10:03 PM

quote: Mike Blakesley
If "Howard" had been made by some no-name director it'd probably be a comedy classic.

The movie was written and directed by Willard Huyck, not exactly well-known.

Though I imagine you're referring to Lucas.

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 01-08-2008 10:16 PM

quote: Mike Blakesley
I think people hate "Howard the Duck" NOT because it is a bad movie, but because there were such high expectations of the man who created Star Wars. If "Howard" had been made by some no-name director it'd probably be a comedy classic.

I thought Howard the Duck sucked ass primarily because it had very little resemblance to the comic book on which it was inspired. The comic book was actually pretty cool in a strange sort of way. The movie captured NONE of that.

Instead, George Lucas tried to treat Howard like he was some sort of cowardly, wimpy Ewok to appeal to the G-rated kids crowd. Yet he had anthropomorphic human female nipples applied to female ducks in the movie's early scenes. Just what the hell flavor of cocaine were people in Hollywood snorting in the mid 1980's?

The only part of Howard the Duck I thought was cool at all was the big bad monster Jeffery Jones changed into near the end. Everything else, especially the lame ass concert sequence at the movie's end, was just fucking embarrassing.

In some respects, I blame the phenomenal popularity of Ghostbusters and some of its crowd pleasing points on how Howard the Duck got sent onto such a stupidly wrong track.

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Frank Angel
Film God

Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 01-08-2008 11:14 PM

quote: Bill Enos
If Gone With The Wind were released today exactly as it was originally I believe most of todays movie audience would say it sucks. It's an hour too long, just plain dull, very obviously fake outdoor scenes, so so acting except for Hattie McDaniels, crappy mono sound, at least it had an intermission which it would not have today.

Bill, you are sooo on the money. Aside from MGM's brilliant marketing (it takes quite a bit of hutzpa to call your film the most magnificent movie of all time and then re-release it every seven years still making the same claim), what do you really have but some overblown, REEEEEALY badly acted soap opera?

It if weren't for the goose-bump-making, super Max Steiner score, I'd have given up on it after the first reel. When I actually had to run it for a week, I can truly say, it was the longest week of all time . Yah, the opening always was exciting.....got to do the curtains on the Selznick swinging sign logo and kick up the sound a bit for the opening credits and music, but it quickly deteriorated after that and became downright painful to endure everything up until the great Intermission buildup. We ran a medley of Max Steiner music instead of that horrendous organ droan that was stuck on for intermission music. Then you got to play with the light and curtains again, after which.....nothing but boredom until the great closing music....lights, curtain and a quick prayer of thanks to the cinema gods for it being over.

About the only emotion that I ever get out of it is an uncontrollable urge to slap Scarlet silly -- Vivien Leigh makes the character as annoying as finger-nails-on-a-blackboard. If I were writing the script, I would have a bunch of Yankee soldiers come along in the second reel and hall her off, have their way with her, then she’d never be seen again. Wait, I forgot….they need to come back and drag off Scarlett’s disturbingly freaky little kid too.

If it weren't for the roadshow aspects of it, it would be quite a sucky film, cept maybe for the fire. And of course EVERYONE's supposed to wet their pants when they reveal those "inside" Hollywood secrets -- like lots of the "people" in fall of Atlanta sequence were not actual people at all but -- gee willikers, ma -- dummies!! Wow...THAT must be the reason it's "the most magnificent film of all time!"

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Michael Coate
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1904
From: Los Angeles, California
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 01-09-2008 02:46 AM

quote: Chad M Calpito
I would have to say that my theory is this: Probably many people have never heard of Dewey Cox.

quote: Mike Blakesley
Uh - dude. That's because he never existed until this movie came out.

Since we're in Award Season, I nominate Chad's post + Mike's reply as the best film-tech posts of the year. [Big Grin]

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 01-09-2008 10:57 AM

quote: Kurt Zupin
Mike the reason that Feature got such acclaim is that is was directed right at the core audience for this film, the college/High school kids. I can imagine most Adults would not find that part funny at all, but if you didn't find that part funny then you probably didn't find the movie that funny.

Actually I thought the movie was hilarious overall, but the same joke repeated a thousand times with slight variations gets old.

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