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I wonder if this explains the popularity of It's a Wonderful Life. The story is well-known at this point. It was a box-office flop when first released, and fell

I wonder if this explains the popularity of It's a Wonderful Life. The story is well-known at this point. It was a box-office flop when first released, and fell out of copyright because the studio couldn't be bothered to renew it. As a result it played repeatedly on TV around Christmastime every year. The repeated exposure to this film, presumably also associating it with other pleasant holiday memories for audiences, transformed its reputation. To the point that it's now considered one of the best films of all time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Wonderful_Life#Reception https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Wonderful_Life#Recept...

hinkley 1y ago
Part of the reason why it was on 24 hours a day for 20 years is that something got fucked up with the copyright and TV channels were using it as free filler. When I was very young it merely competed with Miracle on 34th Street. And then it was just fucking everywhere. I’m not sure I’m entirely over hating it for never being off the air. Even though it’s been 15-20 years since they stopped playing it every hour of the day.
- triceratops 1y ago
  The Shawshank Redemption has a similar story. Didn't do well when released. Its video release fared a little better, maybe because people could re-watch it at home. Then Turner picked up TV distribution rights cheaply and showed it again and again. Now, just like It's a Wonderful Life, it's considered one of the best movies ever made. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shawshank_Redemption#Critical_reassessment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shawshank_Redemption#Criti... Groundhog Day is like this too. Although it was a "modest" box office success its critical reputation grew massively as the years went by. To the point that again it's consistently on best-ever movie lists. "[12 years later] Ebert raised his original score for the film from three stars to a full four stars [saying] that he had underestimated the film" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day_(film)#Post-release https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day_(film)#Post-rele... It's befitting that watching Groundhog Day again and again makes you like the movie more. Btw I mentioned It's a Wonderful Life's copyright situation in my original post.
  - rrrrrrrrrrrryan 1y ago
    It's funny - I watched the Shawshank Redemption for the first time a couple years ago, after hearing forever about what a great film it is, and thought it was so lackluster I wasn't sure if I was missing something. "Did he die in the end? Was it a dream sequence?" But no, both the intention of the creators, and by far the most common interpretation from viewers, is that it's all literal. I tried watching Groundhog Day just once, and couldn't make it though it because (I assumed) it had aged so terribly. Your comment made me reevaluate this though. I assumed the main appeal of these gonna was just nostalgia, and I've missed a key window, but perhaps it's the repeat viewings and predictability that make these films comfort food.
    - allturtles 1y ago
      > perhaps it's the repeat viewings and predictability that make these films comfort food. There's a simpler explanation, which is that different people like different things.
      - greggman65 1y ago
        people are different people at different times in their live as well. In my mid 20s I saw Casablanca and was not impressed. In my mid 50s I saw it again and cried until I trembled. The 20 something me didn't get what the 2 main characters were giving up. The 50 something me with life experience of loves lost by choice and circumstance had a very different reaction.
    - joegibbs 1y ago
      Same here. I'd never seen parts of it on TV or anything until I watched it for the first time, since I'd seen it was ranked #1 on IMDB. There wasn't anything about it that made me feel like it was the best movie ever. The plot was very conventional, the shots were fine, the performances were pretty good - it seemed like a 7-8/10 movie, there are lots like it. Then I watched Lawrence of Arabia and 2001 and I got the "best movie ever" kind of feeling from them - great cinematography, big themes, bombastic soundtracks. But I can see why Shawshank could be the least controversial movie of all time, it's fine at everything and that helps when there are so many people ranking it.
monktastic1 1y ago
Huh, I would guess there's a different mechanism at work. In my experience, movies playing on TV during the holidays tend not to get people's deep, persistent, undivided attention.

hinkley 1y ago

Part of the reason why it was on 24 hours a day for 20 years is that something got fucked up with the copyright and TV channels were using it as free filler. When I was very young it merely competed with Miracle on 34th Street. And then it was just fucking everywhere. I’m not sure I’m entirely over hating it for never being off the air. Even though it’s been 15-20 years since they stopped playing it every hour of the day.

triceratops 1y ago
The Shawshank Redemption has a similar story. Didn't do well when released. Its video release fared a little better, maybe because people could re-watch it at home. Then Turner picked up TV distribution rights cheaply and showed it again and again. Now, just like It's a Wonderful Life, it's considered one of the best movies ever made. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shawshank_Redemption#Critical_reassessment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shawshank_Redemption#Criti... Groundhog Day is like this too. Although it was a "modest" box office success its critical reputation grew massively as the years went by. To the point that again it's consistently on best-ever movie lists. "[12 years later] Ebert raised his original score for the film from three stars to a full four stars [saying] that he had underestimated the film" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day_(film)#Post-release https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day_(film)#Post-rele... It's befitting that watching Groundhog Day again and again makes you like the movie more. Btw I mentioned It's a Wonderful Life's copyright situation in my original post.
- rrrrrrrrrrrryan 1y ago
  It's funny - I watched the Shawshank Redemption for the first time a couple years ago, after hearing forever about what a great film it is, and thought it was so lackluster I wasn't sure if I was missing something. "Did he die in the end? Was it a dream sequence?" But no, both the intention of the creators, and by far the most common interpretation from viewers, is that it's all literal. I tried watching Groundhog Day just once, and couldn't make it though it because (I assumed) it had aged so terribly. Your comment made me reevaluate this though. I assumed the main appeal of these gonna was just nostalgia, and I've missed a key window, but perhaps it's the repeat viewings and predictability that make these films comfort food.
  - allturtles 1y ago
    > perhaps it's the repeat viewings and predictability that make these films comfort food. There's a simpler explanation, which is that different people like different things.
    - greggman65 1y ago
      people are different people at different times in their live as well. In my mid 20s I saw Casablanca and was not impressed. In my mid 50s I saw it again and cried until I trembled. The 20 something me didn't get what the 2 main characters were giving up. The 50 something me with life experience of loves lost by choice and circumstance had a very different reaction.
  - joegibbs 1y ago
    Same here. I'd never seen parts of it on TV or anything until I watched it for the first time, since I'd seen it was ranked #1 on IMDB. There wasn't anything about it that made me feel like it was the best movie ever. The plot was very conventional, the shots were fine, the performances were pretty good - it seemed like a 7-8/10 movie, there are lots like it. Then I watched Lawrence of Arabia and 2001 and I got the "best movie ever" kind of feeling from them - great cinematography, big themes, bombastic soundtracks. But I can see why Shawshank could be the least controversial movie of all time, it's fine at everything and that helps when there are so many people ranking it.

monktastic1 1y ago

Huh, I would guess there's a different mechanism at work. In my experience, movies playing on TV during the holidays tend not to get people's deep, persistent, undivided attention.