this post was submitted on 17 Apr 2026
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Often, in discussions about old movies, someone will say, "That movie couldn't be made today.", and inevitably someone else will disagree.

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[–] ThunderQueen@lemmy.world 114 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)
[–] Paragone@lemmy.world 54 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

EVERYthing made by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buster_Keaton

We've got laws, now, against the insane shit they did on-set, back then..

Lives were too-cheap, back then..

_ /\ _

[–] mech@feddit.org 9 points 2 weeks ago

One of his stunts literally broke his neck.
He was told by his doctor about it 9 years later.

[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago

Agree, but the problem with doing it today would be they couldn't get insurance to cover it.

[–] MagicShel@lemmy.zip 47 points 2 weeks ago (10 children)

Blazing Saddles.

Probably the Blue Brothers, but for different reasons. I feel like most of the blues legends are gone.

[–] A_cook_not_a_chef@lemmy.world 21 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

A lot of the blues legends are gone and a large number of Americans would be upset that they hate Illinois Nazis.

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[–] Iconoclast@feddit.uk 36 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)
[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 14 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Eh. I think a comedy could still get away with black-face today.

[–] AskewLord@piefed.social 15 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

any black-face media has been systematically removed from the internet. you can't stream any episode of any show that has it. you can typically only watch that content on DVD.

[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 12 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Hmm. Okay, I haven't paid much attention to that. Although Tropic Thunder does seem to be available for streaming on several major platforms at the moment. Paramount, Amazon, Apple, Tubi, to name a few.

[–] Elshender@fedinsfw.app 9 points 2 weeks ago

Even the D&D episode of Community was removed due to one of the characters cosplaying as a dark elf.

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[–] DFX4509B@lemmy.wtf 30 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

American History X, easily. In fact, that movie had a troubled production during the time it came out, but it would be censored to hell and back were it made today.

The original Robocop as well because Hollywood is too scared of violence nowadays, fun fact, the original Robocop almost got an NC-17 (then X) rating for violence alone and had to be edited 13 times to get downgraded to a hard R* rating.

*Hard R in the movie rating sense, is when an R-rated movie truly earns that R rating through having a lot of violence, gore, swearing, explicit content, or a combination of those factors. It's when an R-rated movie is teetering on the edge of getting upgraded to NC-17, basically. This old AVPGalaxy post should go more into what the hard R rating entails. The original Robocop got downgraded to this from the NC-17 rating it almost got (X when that movie was in production) after 13 edits like I said.

Here's an archived version of the Bloody Disgusting article referenced in that AVPGalaxy post since that reference is a dead link.

[–] moondoggie@lemmy.world 16 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

American History X would be tough just because of all the picketing of the movie for being so mean to Nazis.

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[–] backalleycoyote@lemmy.today 24 points 2 weeks ago (7 children)

Jurassic Park, Terminator 2, TMNT ‘89, Lord of the Rings.

Whatever the JP franchise is now, it will never go back to full scale animatronics, and without Stan Winston’s magic, it’ll never be quite what the first (and a bit of the second) were.

Cameron himself can’t recreate the magic of T2 even if his films make billions. He never risks having to “nail this in one shot” stunts.

As for TMNT. Nobody gives a shit they’re suits, we could suspend our disbelief and watched mindblowing performances by great stuntmen in some of the most advanced animatronics ever. Michael Bay can’t even fathom how much better that is.

The Hobbit was plagued by a lot of problems, but I don’t know if even Jackson could pull off the practical effects with digital overlay magic that was the first trilogy if he tried.

That era of Hollywood, practical first, digital to enhance (sparingly) is gone it seems. It’s sad Hollywood has forgotten that that boundary pushing era was what made those films iconic. Rexy had weight, she literally tore a car apart. You can see the chaos of the semi landing in the canal. The turtles hit. The Riders of Théoden truly rode for ruin. Tell me you don’t get giddy when you know that scene is about to hit.

[–] Dalvoron@lemmy.zip 14 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Project Hail Mary was practical first. Real sets, real puppet, with digital enhancements. There is a scene that was filmed with loads of LEDs on wires to cover the shot in blinking red lights. I think it pays off hugely and the film is better for it all.

At the moment I think it's an outlier and most films will continue to just film green screens and tennis balls but it might herald the return of practical, maybe even full-scale animatronics! I can only hope.

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[–] treadful@lemmy.zip 21 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

Tiptoes. Gary Oldman was on his knees the entire time. I can't believe this was even made in 2003.

[–] FudgyMcTubbs@lemmy.world 13 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The fuck? Howd they go and cast Oldman in the role as a little person when they had Peter Dinklage already in the film. Dinklage is a fantastic actor. And oldman playing the role on his knees seems akin to blackface.

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[–] zakobjoa@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago

That trailer legit feels like a skit.

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[–] socsa@piefed.social 18 points 2 weeks ago

Famously, you couldn't make Blazing Saddles today because they already made that move in the 70s

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 16 points 2 weeks ago

Look up all the stunts Buster Keaton did, and shiver. Or The Little Rascals or Hal Roach’s Rascals, whatever they were called.

Or the 1968 version of Romeo and Juliet - while probably one of the best versions ever, nobody today would dare to think doing a movie like that today - it would be criminal.

[–] rslogix89@lemmy.world 15 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
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[–] unitedwithme@lemmy.today 15 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Team America. From the minds of South Park's, Matt Stone and Trey Parker 😁.

I think y'all know why.

[–] blarghly@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

Because of the puppet sex scene...?

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[–] DrBob@lemmy.ca 15 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Trading Places. It should be a Christmas classic but...

[–] Nemo@slrpnk.net 11 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

I put it on last Christmas for my kids, not realizing the version I'd always seen on TV was heavily edited. Had to turn that off pretty fast.

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[–] leave_it_blank@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

This and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation have been our family Christmas movies for decades!

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[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 14 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Scream.

The killer would try to call the girl in the first scene and she would just be like "Ew, who actually calls on the phone?" and hit cancel. Roll credits.

Alternatively the scariest movie the girl ever saw would be Five Nights at Freddie's.

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[–] EyIchFragDochNur@lemmy.world 14 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)
[–] AskewLord@piefed.social 15 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (4 children)

I showed this to my 16 year old nephew and he was legit upset/offended and I had to turn it off.

He was shocked they could say 'those bad words' in a movie. I don't dare show him Pulp Fiction.

[–] chunes@lemmy.world 24 points 2 weeks ago

Sounds like he needs a cool uncle to counteract the excessive sheltering his parents are doing.

[–] EyIchFragDochNur@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Wait what because of the bad words? I. What?

[–] AstralPath@lemmy.ca 8 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

If you've grown up as a kid only having access to the internet in the last 6 years or so, yeah I could see how Idiocracy might be shocking. The dialog in that movie is the antithesis of the status quo nowadays. For a kid without context about the satirical and parodical nature of the film, they might think that the movie was endorsing that kind of language.

It would take some guidance from a guardian on what it means, why its relevant, and why its actually become important over time.

Its a required watch in my mind.

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[–] unitedwithme@lemmy.today 10 points 2 weeks ago

The documentary?

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[–] leave_it_blank@lemmy.world 13 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Ace Ventura. I love the shower scene, it's hilarious, but today it's unthinkable to make a scene like this.

[–] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 20 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Honestly, I think the shower scene isn't the problem. It's pretty much in character. But I never understood everyone puking at the end. Never made sense to me.

[–] Bilbo@hobbit.world 24 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I always assumed that every one of them had made out or had sex with her at one point.

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[–] mech@feddit.org 12 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (8 children)

The Blue Lagoon (1980)
and that's a good thing.

The General (1926)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=tgQ8VwW19iw&t=115s

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[–] GraniteM@lemmy.world 12 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal. No way would a studio agree to do that much hand-crafted work. They'd just have the stars reacting to a bunch of tennis balls and "fix it in post."

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[–] DarkFuture@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago

Any 80s fantasy movie. The vibe is gone. And it's not just CGI.

[–] Elting@piefed.social 11 points 2 weeks ago

Any of the stunts Buster Keaton pulled.

[–] m4xie@lemmy.ca 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

My highschool physics teacher said the Nazis recorded X-ray video of Holocaust victims knees as they walked. Because MRI machines and other medical imagers aren't large enough to walk around in, the films are still one of the best sources of how the bones actually move naturally under load in situ surrounded by the connective tissue.

The radiation dose required to expose regular film at 24 frames a second killed the subjects.

I really hope they don't ever make movies like that again.

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[–] hoagecko@sh.itjust.works 10 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Silent films using tens of thousands of performers and large-scale stage sets will probably never be made again.

This is because modern audiences take sound in films for granted, making it impossible to expect box office returns that match such an investment.

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[–] finallymadeanaccount@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Birth of a Nation.

Although Tarantino would probably try, so long as he could star in it alongside Samuel L Jackson, and call Samuel L Jackson the n-word 'for the cinematographic art of it, really, it's crucial to the film'. Because, aside from feet, that's his fetish.

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[–] RaoulDuke25@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Short Circuit. I always thought that guy was Indian.

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[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I guess, first "define old".

Blazing Saddles? 1974?

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[–] cheers_queers@lemmy.zip 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

North, starring elijah wood.

North was a multiple nominee at the 15th Golden Raspberry Awards in six categories including Worst Picture and Worst Director for Rob Reiner.

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[–] AskewLord@piefed.social 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Big Trouble in Little China

[–] determinist@kbin.earth 8 points 2 weeks ago

and it shouldn't be. it's perfect as it is

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