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forgotten movie genres in need of a comeback?


Which movie genres can you think of that were once popular and commonly produced, that have since fallen into obscurity?

For me, the biggest one I can think of is the high-concept sci-fi/fantasy comedy. This is a genre that was at its peak of popularity during the 80's and early 90's, thanks to movies like Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, The Witches of Eastwick, Groundhog Day, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

There was once a time when high-concept premises like these were used to create comedy, rather than just action. In recent years however, it's quite rare to find a film that uses such fantastical ideas purely for witticisms and humor. At most, they fall to the side of action comedies, but rarely do they thrive on clever setups and punchlines alone.

If done right, a film of this type could be greatly refreshing in the midst of our current overdose of action and spectacle. For me, Stardust is probably the closest thing we've got to one of those aforementioned films.

Any ideas?

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The erotic thriller.

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Thought about this one, and while it's a genre I do miss, I think with the ease of availability of Internet porn and the amount of indie dramas being made that show sex in such explicit manner now (some unsimulated), the erotic thriller honestly feels a bit pointless and redundant in this day and age. I think there's still room for sex to be explored on film, but it needs to be done with real thought and intelligence. Showing copious amounts of it just doesn't shock or offend the way it used to (not that I mind seeing it, though).

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Yuck!!!

There's a reason why this genre died out. Who wants to be watching softcore scenes in a movie theater full of strangers?

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regardless of the genre a movie theatre is the last place i'd be watching a movie

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I'd love to see what would happen if Showgirls were remade today.🤣

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Unique movies
Great movies

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Does anyone remember these old Disney movies where they would take footage of wild animals and then use narration to create a story:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UkY_aOzSuPU

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Politically incorrect comedies and satire. Films like Airplane! Which has jokes to offend everyone. A film about a group of people who get offended by everything.

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Airplane was never an offensive movie; it was politically incorrect comedy done right.

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I love the crass humour. But yes I was thinking about how upset it would make some people now.

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It wouldn't make anybody upset now. People hate edgy comedy today because it's meanspirited and hateful, not because they're more easily offended. There is a huge difference between, say, the racial humor in Airplane! and an idiot comic being deliberately offensive so that the point of the joke is to laugh at people clutching their pearls. I bet you dollars to donuts that if they theatrically released Airplane! today, it would be welcomed with open arms precisely because of how goodnatured and lacking in cynicism it is.

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I have to disagree there. The pedo jokes would traumatize people. People would would threaten to burn cinemas.

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Not so much forgotten but they haven't been done well for a while. King Arthur and Robin Hood films without the inaccurate diversity and warrior women.

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I agree. I would also like to see more movies where you don't see white people cast as Asians, Persians and Ancient Egyptians (Doctor Strange, Gods of Egypt, etc.) or somehow infiltrating a very insular culture like Japan (as in, becoming the best samurai Japan had ever seen, or the best Yakuza).

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If you're talking The Last Samurai that was based on fact.

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Geez, you people must be young! You're just either picking very recent genres or stuff from B movies. What about:

1. The caper/heist flick (Topkapi, The Great Train Robbery)
2. Swashbuckler (Three Musketeers, pirate genre, etc.)
3. Maritime adventure (Moby Dick, Treasure Island, etc.)
4. Genuine adaptation of a kid classic--as in, not one of these crappy, cynical enterprises where they take a cute, innocent book and make it grimdark for jaded, bored young adults.
5. Historical drama that doesn't involve the Goddamned Nazis or Civil War. I mean, hello--so many events happened have happened throughout history, but this is all Hollywood is aware of?
6. Detective mystery--not film noir, but stuff in the vein of Agatha Christie, Charlie Chan, Sherlock Holmes, etc.
7. Coming of age movie
8. Slapstick
9. Holiday movies--again, genuine attempt at conveying the holiday spirit, not jaded crap like Fat Man
10. Disaster film
11. Biopics
12. Mockumentary (Spinal Tap, The Rutles)
13. Gothic horror

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As for #5, this is currently being filmed in Oklahoma https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu3Y_Y3RUgQ

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Thank you. So sick of Nazi and Civil War films.

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You're welcome. I haven't really noticed that pattern with Civil War films but definitely have with Nazi films (both movies and documentaries).

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Interesting list, but I'm not sure why you put biopics on there. Those still get released pretty regularly, especially during Oscar season. It's pretty much known as the definitive Oscar bait genre now, they're the type of movies studios make whenever they just want to win something. Personally, I could do without them, but it's still a largely popular genre.

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there are no shortages of biopics. disaster films are ruined by cgi

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Maybe I should've qualified that by saying biopics for mainstream audiences about very popular and well known figures, as opposed to Oscar bait crap about obscure people that no one except film snobs are going to see or care about. There used to be a lot more mainstream biopics for general audiences (Glenn Miller Story, Lady Sings the Blues, Patton, Malcolm X, Born on the Fourth of July, Sid and Nancy, etc.). I know that there was the Freddie Mercury one awhile back but that was the exception.

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I love a good biopic. That genre definitely overlaps with 'historical drama'. How about Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956), which some believe was the basis for Stallone's iconic Rocky (1976)? Or, The Gene Krupa Story (1959)? Sal Mineo actually became a proficient drummer through his involvement with that film.

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Thrillers like they had in the 80s and 90s - good who-done-it with twists, sex, and medium-sized budgets.

Off the top of my head...

Malice
Sea of Love
Jade
Unfaithful
A Perfect Murder
Consenting Adults
Basic Instinct
Sliver
The Hand That Rocks The Cradle

The closest thing I can think of lately is Nocturnal Animals.

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