The "Freeola Customer Forum" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
Successful films and tv make loads of money and are either loved or hated by large numbers of people, but there are many TV shows and films that were not watched by that many people at first, until something happened to push them into the limelight. Some of the really good ones never saw their way past an underground following at all. There are many ways in which these pieces of art appear to be lost or have a small cult following, here are some of the ones I have come across.
The Banned film
These are usually horror films, once considered too horrific to be shown to audiences. Either through other countries having more relaxed laws or through the wonder of pirate video these films have made it to audiences to admire or look away in disgust. Zombie Flesh Eaters and Cannibal Holocaust are just two of the many films that have now broken from their crypts to see the light of day once more. Were they worth it? Well, it makes you wonder what the fuss was all about, but there are many who see these as the ultimate horror movies.
Clockwork Orange deserves a mention, particularly as it was only banned by it’s own director and only in the UK at that. So many had seem it in this time that it wasn’t really a shock when the film was released on Stanley Kubrick’s death and the style has dated very badly. The fact remains that this film has something to say, especially to society now, but it doesn’t get this point across as easily as the novella.
The Foreign Film
Some films don’t translate well and most UK audiences are too lazy to watch subtitled films unless they are hyped to the hilt. Abre Los Ojos wouldn’t have made an impression here unless Vanilla Sky got everyone talking about the orginal. Word of mouth means that other films get around to more people, films such as Ring and Battle Royale from Japan, City of Lost Children from France, Il Postino from Italy and many more have relied on the publicity from people who had seen them first-hand.
Likewise, Japanese animation only recently made it big in the UK considering it’s early origins back in its home country. The only anime films that the mass of UK film watchers tend to remember are Akira and maybe Fist of the Northstar. What they are missing out on is a wealth of other material that can match or beat Hollywood’s output of AAA films, particularly on plot. Even with a large English speaking cast, Princess Mononoke had a limited success with viewing numbers.
The ‘oddball’
There are some films and some Television programmes that just defy the industry’s love of pigeon-holing these things. Unfortunately, this also has the affect of alienating half of the audience who would have watched it. Ultraviolet was a series about vampires, worthy of many viewers these days and even back when it was shown on C4. The only thing was that it was advertised as more of a police drama and the word Vampire was never mentioned during the programme or in the advertising. Those starting to watch what they thought would be a gritty version of the bill soon turned off and the audience who may have stayed to watch never even tuned in the in the first place. The X-files only gained figures because it was in the right place at the right time, and then only during the second season. If it wasn’t for the word of mouth or rise in interest in strange phenomena at the time, it may have not reached the third season, let alone the rest.
Obviously no-one can hope to see everything on TV (though some of us try!). Imagine what has passed you by, or what you managed to watch through good fortune or word of mouth. There are many films worthy of attention out there and many of them are not at you local cinema or rental shop. Take the time to learn what’s out there, take a chance on a different type of film, buy or see something you wouldn’t normally watch. There’s a chance you may find a hidden gem that will stay with you forever.
The Banned film
These are usually horror films, once considered too horrific to be shown to audiences. Either through other countries having more relaxed laws or through the wonder of pirate video these films have made it to audiences to admire or look away in disgust. Zombie Flesh Eaters and Cannibal Holocaust are just two of the many films that have now broken from their crypts to see the light of day once more. Were they worth it? Well, it makes you wonder what the fuss was all about, but there are many who see these as the ultimate horror movies.
Clockwork Orange deserves a mention, particularly as it was only banned by it’s own director and only in the UK at that. So many had seem it in this time that it wasn’t really a shock when the film was released on Stanley Kubrick’s death and the style has dated very badly. The fact remains that this film has something to say, especially to society now, but it doesn’t get this point across as easily as the novella.
The Foreign Film
Some films don’t translate well and most UK audiences are too lazy to watch subtitled films unless they are hyped to the hilt. Abre Los Ojos wouldn’t have made an impression here unless Vanilla Sky got everyone talking about the orginal. Word of mouth means that other films get around to more people, films such as Ring and Battle Royale from Japan, City of Lost Children from France, Il Postino from Italy and many more have relied on the publicity from people who had seen them first-hand.
Likewise, Japanese animation only recently made it big in the UK considering it’s early origins back in its home country. The only anime films that the mass of UK film watchers tend to remember are Akira and maybe Fist of the Northstar. What they are missing out on is a wealth of other material that can match or beat Hollywood’s output of AAA films, particularly on plot. Even with a large English speaking cast, Princess Mononoke had a limited success with viewing numbers.
The ‘oddball’
There are some films and some Television programmes that just defy the industry’s love of pigeon-holing these things. Unfortunately, this also has the affect of alienating half of the audience who would have watched it. Ultraviolet was a series about vampires, worthy of many viewers these days and even back when it was shown on C4. The only thing was that it was advertised as more of a police drama and the word Vampire was never mentioned during the programme or in the advertising. Those starting to watch what they thought would be a gritty version of the bill soon turned off and the audience who may have stayed to watch never even tuned in the in the first place. The X-files only gained figures because it was in the right place at the right time, and then only during the second season. If it wasn’t for the word of mouth or rise in interest in strange phenomena at the time, it may have not reached the third season, let alone the rest.
Obviously no-one can hope to see everything on TV (though some of us try!). Imagine what has passed you by, or what you managed to watch through good fortune or word of mouth. There are many films worthy of attention out there and many of them are not at you local cinema or rental shop. Take the time to learn what’s out there, take a chance on a different type of film, buy or see something you wouldn’t normally watch. There’s a chance you may find a hidden gem that will stay with you forever.
Fist of the North Star was excellent as a TV programme. It was almost trashy, but not quite enough to make it a bad story.
Perfect "it's 3am and I'm sobering up after being very drunk" television.
Perfect "it's 3am and I'm sobering up after being very drunk" television.
Successful films and tv make loads of money and are either loved or hated by large numbers of people, but there are many TV shows and films that were not watched by that many people at first, until something happened to push them into the limelight. Some of the really good ones never saw their way past an underground following at all. There are many ways in which these pieces of art appear to be lost or have a small cult following, here are some of the ones I have come across.
The Banned film
These are usually horror films, once considered too horrific to be shown to audiences. Either through other countries having more relaxed laws or through the wonder of pirate video these films have made it to audiences to admire or look away in disgust. Zombie Flesh Eaters and Cannibal Holocaust are just two of the many films that have now broken from their crypts to see the light of day once more. Were they worth it? Well, it makes you wonder what the fuss was all about, but there are many who see these as the ultimate horror movies.
Clockwork Orange deserves a mention, particularly as it was only banned by it’s own director and only in the UK at that. So many had seem it in this time that it wasn’t really a shock when the film was released on Stanley Kubrick’s death and the style has dated very badly. The fact remains that this film has something to say, especially to society now, but it doesn’t get this point across as easily as the novella.
The Foreign Film
Some films don’t translate well and most UK audiences are too lazy to watch subtitled films unless they are hyped to the hilt. Abre Los Ojos wouldn’t have made an impression here unless Vanilla Sky got everyone talking about the orginal. Word of mouth means that other films get around to more people, films such as Ring and Battle Royale from Japan, City of Lost Children from France, Il Postino from Italy and many more have relied on the publicity from people who had seen them first-hand.
Likewise, Japanese animation only recently made it big in the UK considering it’s early origins back in its home country. The only anime films that the mass of UK film watchers tend to remember are Akira and maybe Fist of the Northstar. What they are missing out on is a wealth of other material that can match or beat Hollywood’s output of AAA films, particularly on plot. Even with a large English speaking cast, Princess Mononoke had a limited success with viewing numbers.
The ‘oddball’
There are some films and some Television programmes that just defy the industry’s love of pigeon-holing these things. Unfortunately, this also has the affect of alienating half of the audience who would have watched it. Ultraviolet was a series about vampires, worthy of many viewers these days and even back when it was shown on C4. The only thing was that it was advertised as more of a police drama and the word Vampire was never mentioned during the programme or in the advertising. Those starting to watch what they thought would be a gritty version of the bill soon turned off and the audience who may have stayed to watch never even tuned in the in the first place. The X-files only gained figures because it was in the right place at the right time, and then only during the second season. If it wasn’t for the word of mouth or rise in interest in strange phenomena at the time, it may have not reached the third season, let alone the rest.
Obviously no-one can hope to see everything on TV (though some of us try!). Imagine what has passed you by, or what you managed to watch through good fortune or word of mouth. There are many films worthy of attention out there and many of them are not at you local cinema or rental shop. Take the time to learn what’s out there, take a chance on a different type of film, buy or see something you wouldn’t normally watch. There’s a chance you may find a hidden gem that will stay with you forever.
The Banned film
These are usually horror films, once considered too horrific to be shown to audiences. Either through other countries having more relaxed laws or through the wonder of pirate video these films have made it to audiences to admire or look away in disgust. Zombie Flesh Eaters and Cannibal Holocaust are just two of the many films that have now broken from their crypts to see the light of day once more. Were they worth it? Well, it makes you wonder what the fuss was all about, but there are many who see these as the ultimate horror movies.
Clockwork Orange deserves a mention, particularly as it was only banned by it’s own director and only in the UK at that. So many had seem it in this time that it wasn’t really a shock when the film was released on Stanley Kubrick’s death and the style has dated very badly. The fact remains that this film has something to say, especially to society now, but it doesn’t get this point across as easily as the novella.
The Foreign Film
Some films don’t translate well and most UK audiences are too lazy to watch subtitled films unless they are hyped to the hilt. Abre Los Ojos wouldn’t have made an impression here unless Vanilla Sky got everyone talking about the orginal. Word of mouth means that other films get around to more people, films such as Ring and Battle Royale from Japan, City of Lost Children from France, Il Postino from Italy and many more have relied on the publicity from people who had seen them first-hand.
Likewise, Japanese animation only recently made it big in the UK considering it’s early origins back in its home country. The only anime films that the mass of UK film watchers tend to remember are Akira and maybe Fist of the Northstar. What they are missing out on is a wealth of other material that can match or beat Hollywood’s output of AAA films, particularly on plot. Even with a large English speaking cast, Princess Mononoke had a limited success with viewing numbers.
The ‘oddball’
There are some films and some Television programmes that just defy the industry’s love of pigeon-holing these things. Unfortunately, this also has the affect of alienating half of the audience who would have watched it. Ultraviolet was a series about vampires, worthy of many viewers these days and even back when it was shown on C4. The only thing was that it was advertised as more of a police drama and the word Vampire was never mentioned during the programme or in the advertising. Those starting to watch what they thought would be a gritty version of the bill soon turned off and the audience who may have stayed to watch never even tuned in the in the first place. The X-files only gained figures because it was in the right place at the right time, and then only during the second season. If it wasn’t for the word of mouth or rise in interest in strange phenomena at the time, it may have not reached the third season, let alone the rest.
Obviously no-one can hope to see everything on TV (though some of us try!). Imagine what has passed you by, or what you managed to watch through good fortune or word of mouth. There are many films worthy of attention out there and many of them are not at you local cinema or rental shop. Take the time to learn what’s out there, take a chance on a different type of film, buy or see something you wouldn’t normally watch. There’s a chance you may find a hidden gem that will stay with you forever.