Absolute Classics part 2
You might remember from two weeks ago that we began a tribute to films that are considered classics today—but weren’t necessarily beloved when they first came out. I’d like to continue our tribute to such films in this blog. Please feel free to comment on anything you find interesting.
Most movie buffs remember the year 1987 as the year of films of Fatal Attraction, Moonstruck, Broadcast News, or even The Untouchables. Each of the aforementioned films were huge hits! But hard core movie buffs might also remember 1987 as the year of The Princess Bride, which was released on September 25th, 1987. Although the film was critically well-reviewed in its initial release, it only grossed $30.8 million in the United States and Canada while on a $16 million dollar budget. It seemed, audiences didn’t know what genre defined the film, fairy tale/medieval satire, swashbuckling adventure, romance story, or a comedy. One reviewer who said said “Hey, it’s a cute movie. And if you need to do something in the afternoon, go ahead, take your kids.” The film however, did begin to gain cult status in the video market when it was released on Laserdisc in 1988, VHS in 1994, DVD in 2000, and Blu Ray in 2018. The same year that it was released on DVD (2000), the magazine Total Film voted it as the greatest comedy of all time. The film’s male star, Cary Elwes, also wrote a book in 2014 called As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales From the Making of the Princess Bride in which he and Rob Reiner explain that one of the main reasons that “Princess Bride,” is a special film is because it is combines all of those genres into one plot.
1993 was the same year that the Walt Disney Company produced two beloved Halloween-themed films. The second was Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, though the first was Hocus Pocus. “Hocus Pocus,” was released on July 16th, 1993, and received mixed-to-negative reviews. Gene Siskel from The Chicago Tribune wrote that the film was “a ‘dreadful witches’ comedy with the only tolerable moment coming when Bette Middler presents a single song.” The Miami Herald referred to it as a “pretty lackluster affair. Despite the triple-threat actress combo, Hocus Pocus won’t be the Sister Act of 1993. There are a lot of go-sees this summer and this isn’t one of them.” The film also grossed only $8.1 million and was only in the top ten ranking of summer of ’93 films for two weeks. However, just like “Princess Bride,” this film gained cult status when it was released on VHS in 1994, DVD in 2002, and Blu Ray in 2018, which was just in time for the film’s 25th anniversary. The film has also been aired on television by the Disney Channel, ABC, and ABC Family’s 13 nights of Halloween, where it gains more viewers more and more every year. 2009’s broadcast of the film drew 2.5 million viewers and when it aired last year on Freeform, the viewing was averaged at 8.2 million.
I hope you enjoyed our tribute to these classic films. Let me know which is your favorite, or if you have another you think I should have talked about.
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