What’s an ‘old’ movie?

I find it interesting once in a while to consider what constitutes an ‘old’ movie. I’ve always thought of Casablanca, for example, as an ‘old movie’. (Now, a movie’s status as an ‘old movie’ has absolutely no bearing on how much I love it. I can name only one movie that I love more than Casablanca. No points for guessing correctly which movie that is.)

When I was born in 1971, Casablanca was 29 years old, having been released in 1942. That means that right now, movies released in 1983 are as old as Casablanca was when I was born. Here’s a list of such films:

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Octopussy
Brainstorm
The Big Chill
A Christmas Story
WarGames
Terms of Endearment
The Right Stuff
Superman III
Easy Money
Flashdance
High Road to China
Krull
Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life

What does this mean? Well, for one thing, it means that for me, the concept of a movie being ‘old’ gets more and more meaningless each year. It’s a great thing when one gets over how long something has existed before determining one’s willingness to enjoy it.

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2 Responses to What’s an ‘old’ movie?

  1. Lynn says:

    An "old" movie is one that came out before I was born, or at least before I was eight years old. That's it. Absolutely no other definition is acceptable. 🙂

  2. Jeff says:

    The definition of "old" is now more subjective than it ever has. There are plenty of 80's hit radio stations IN ADDITION to "Oldie" stations. Those type of things keep older, cultural contributions current and relevant. If that makes me feel younger than so be it.

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