There are times when I think about films that shaped my cinematic perspective, and then I realize when they were released, and it makes me feel freaking old. For example:
- The Untouchables was released in 1987 – 21 freaking years ago.
- Reservoir Dogs, a film that changed movies forever, was released in 1992 – 16 years ago.
- The Usual Suspects came out in 1995, 13 years ago. Someone who was born when this movie was released just had their Bar Mitzvah.
- Ghostbusters - 1984 – 24 years ago… way over half my life. Don’t even ask about Caddyshack.
But my slow feeble mind always stopped there. Jason Kottke, however, made the brilliant move of comparing these past films to what would have been similar comparisons back when we watched the film originally. I know… hard to explain, but here’s an example:
Watching Star Wars today is like watching It's a Wonderful Life (1946) in 1977.
Watching Back to the Future today is like watching To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) in 1985.
My favorite one, however, is when he brings music into the equation:
Radiohead, OK Computer (1997) --> Bon Jovi, Slippery When Wet (1986)
And slightly related:
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