What Good B-Movie Did You Just Watch?

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Dreemworx

Seriously.
Calling ANY movie a 'B movie' because one didn't like it is foolish.

Exactly: "B-movie", like "Anime", "Film noir" or "Virtual reality", starts becoming one of those "cool" all-purpose adjectives by people who've never seen it in their lives, and start making up their own definitions to mean "I liked it. "
(Back on the Anime boards a few years ago, we were ready to strangle one idiot who kept posting that "The Matrix"--the live-action movie--was "the coolest anime ever", despite the fact that it was not drawn, and did not come from Japan. Why?--Well, like, it had ACTION in it! )

B-Movie definition:
- Not produced by a major studio
- Not intended to be played at A-list theaters
- Often generic example of exploitation genre (and usually that's what's good about it)

(Warner's Clash was intended by the studio to be as UN-B-movie as you can get...Like calling Iron Man 2 a B-movie. Clash was the big studio-tentpole for responsible theaters in "geek-week" March, and was intended to get those faux-300 dollars rolling in.
Real B-movies don't have the Rich Sugar-Daddies to give them the 3000-screen 3-D openings, and have to make their own grungy hard-thrills way in the world.)

[repete66211]

Originally Posted by EricJ

B-Movie definition:
- Not produced by a major studio
- Not intended to be played at A-list theaters
- Often generic example of exploitation genre (and usually that's what's good about it)

Not A-list theaters (Are there any other kind?) so much as second billing in a double feature. If you go by that definition a B-movie hasn't been made in 30 years. I suppose you could call straight-to-video movies "B-movies", but that too would be stretching the strict definition.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by repete66211

Not A-list theaters--Are there any other kind?
--so much as second billing in a double feature. If you go by that definition a B-movie hasn't been made in over 25 years.

There WERE, and there haven't.
Back before the invention of the VCR wiped them off the map circa '84, there were discount theaters that played movies for $.99-$1.50 (when regular theaters were charging $4-5), that usually showed movies that had already left the "A"-theaters and had one last stop out the door..
Unless AI had some "Empire of the Ants", Crown Pictures had "The Van", Compass Pictures had a "Roller Boogie" or some little John Carpenter horror quickie, or Sunn Classic Pictures had an "In Search of Noah's Ark", in which case the "reputable" theaters wouldn't touch it. That was for cheap one-weekend business, and the cheap theaters handled that.
(There were few chains back then, and most local theaters chose the movies they showed.)

I suppose you could call straight-to-video movies "B-movies", but that too would be stretching the strict definition.

Considering that the real Roger Corman and Charles Band both retired to doing cheesy movies for SyFy, it's closer than yours, pal.

[repete66211]

Originally Posted by EricJ

There WERE, and there haven't.
Back before the invention of the VCR wiped them off the map circa '84, there were discount theaters that played movies for $.99-$1.50 (when regular theaters were charging $4-5), that usually showed movies that had already left the "A"-theaters and had one last stop out the door..
Unless AI had some "Empire of the Ants", Crown Pictures had "The Van", Compass Pictures had a "Roller Boogie" or some little John Carpenter horror quickie, or Sunn Classic Pictures had an "In Search of Noah's Ark", in which case the "reputable" theaters wouldn't touch it. That was for cheap one-weekend business, and the cheap theaters handled that.
(There were few chains back then, and most local theaters chose the movies they showed.)



Considering that the real Roger Corman and Charles Band both retired to doing cheesy movies for SyFy, it's closer than yours, pal.

Eric, the first movie I saw that wasn't at the drive-in or the "dollar theater" was the first ticket I bought with my own money. My old man was a cheap SOB, even made my mom sneak popcorn in her purse. So I remember the second run theaters, but I don't recall any of them showing B-movies. What I mean is that all movies I remember them showing were movies that had been in the first run theaters. In other words, no movies that were shown only in the second run theaters. Was it different where you lived?

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by repete66211

Eric, the first movie I saw that wasn't at the drive-in or the "dollar theater" was the first ticket I bought with my own money. My old man was a cheap SOB, even made my mom sneak popcorn in her purse. So I remember the second run theaters, but I don't recall any of them showing B-movies. What I mean is that all movies I remember them showing were movies that had been in the first run theaters. In other words, no movies that were shown only in the second run theaters. Was it different where you lived?

I remember that if you didn't know where there were drive-ins in your area, or which of your local theaters were second-run, all you had to do was pick up the paper and see where "The Fog", "Phantasm" or "Prom Night" was opening that weekend.

As for the debate about "What is a B-movie and what isn't", however, for the general benefit of the thread, I offer as citation Synapse's "42nd St. Forever" compilations: (Yes, the all-trailer movie that Grindhouse wanted to do, only for real. )
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/42nd_St...ol._1/70040009
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/42nd_St...osion/70086171
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/42nd_St...ol._4/70112659

This was the world of the B-movie: It wasn't meant to be pretty, and it wasn't meant to be refined. It was literally a case of "What movie would you make if you had only one weekend to show it?", and in most cases, you DID.

[GORT]

Originally Posted by repete66211

Not A-list theaters (Are there any other kind?)

Guess you never heard of a Drive-in theater.