Page 1 of Can we watch films in the same way again?

With such sad events in America this week, l asked myself the "heading" question.

lt may be a knee-jerk reaction, but l think it will be a while before l can watch Armageddon, Die Hard 3 and many other terrorist action films and actually enjoy them.

Anyone else?

Towering Inferno is another film I think I`ll have trouble with.

Battalion Chief: "One day you`ll kill 10,000 people in one of these" (indicates the Tower).

Frankly I can`t enjoy _any_ movie at the moment.

This may make me unpopular, but I don`t think I will have a problem with films such as Die Hard 3, Armageddon. and other films like it purely because although the similarities exist, the films were works of fiction that were made with no knowledge of the events that happened on Tuesday.
After all, films about the atrocities of war have always been popular (for many reasons - entertainment, historical value etc. etc.) and quite a few are fiction based on fact rather than fact reflecting previous works of fiction.
Maybe it`ll just take a little time.

It`s madness.

Virtually every big-ish action film has something that would remind you of this weeks events. We might not be able to forget what has happened recently (why would anyone want to?) but we will learn to cope with it, all it will take is time.

I was just watching The Matrix today and the bit where Trinity crashes the helicopter into the skyscraper was strange..........

Aye.

This item was edited on Saturday, 15th September 2001, 20:27

Ironically I actually ordered Towering Inferno on the Monday before the tragedy. I have since cancelled the order.

There`s no way I can bring myself to watch this film for a while.

Also, any scenes showing the WTC are going to look very strange, indefinatley.
I saw the Spiderman trailer at the cinema last Saturday. The WTC scene is a superb scene, but there`s no way they can show it or even keep it in the final film.

I have to say i`m pleased that many films/trailers and music album covers with images similar have been withdrawn. However i think withdrawing them indefinately may well not do justice to the memories of those who have died.

It may sound sick BUT think, when a building is destroyed in a film it is usually due to the "bad guys" and these are usually vanquished by the heroes.

Would it not be a fitting symbol for these films to be released after an appropriate time of mourning, to show that evil can be vanquished and eliminated. (even if it is only makebelieve - right now the world needs the hope that these types of people can be stopped).

I mean i`m not a sicko but i would still like to see the trade centre scene in spiderman, its not as if the towers can be wiped from every film already released. Make these films a monument to those who died needlessly. Any new releases can be advertised without the images and carry warnings as to the possible upsetting nature of images. Cutting the towers from these films deny that they existed and therefore make iteasier to (not forget) but to become complacent in remembering the horror.


Well that is my thoughts. God be with anyone affected.

I was looking along my shelf last night trying to find something to watch, and I just lost interest - virtually every film was full of explosions, fires, Bruce Willis, you name it.

I agree - it`ll be a long time before I can even consider watching any of this genre of film, but Tripod is right - okay, at the moment the aftermath is just too much in everyone`s minds, but that will eventually dissipate.

Just remember to pause for thought a little every time you see the Pentagon or the WTC on the screen in films and remember the horrors and human tragedy that occurred on Tuesday 11th September 2001.

Incidentally, I watched Moby on Later with Jools Holland on DVD instead - his version of New Dawn Fades by Joy Division brought tears to my eyes. A much more sedate and poignant evening.

This item was edited on Saturday, 15th September 2001, 15:58

Not by now, but we will.

The problem is there are movies in which violence is inherent to the context, like in The Silence Of The Lambs, for example. But it`s not THE reason for that movie`s existence.

Take a look at the Rambo franchise. The first movie is a good one, where a man is pushed beyond his limits and acts against it. The others are pure "kill them all" movies, trying to enter the Guiness Book of Records.

I like action movies and have lots of them. Die Hard (the first one), is excellent. Apocalypse Now is a classic. Fight Club too. The all feature violence, but that`s not the reason for their existence. It`s not gratuitous.

I hope this week`s facts brings us more of The Seven Year Itch, Almost Famous, The Blues Brothers stuff. There`s no need for the ammount of violence we are offered by the "entertainment" industry. If their primary target, the US market, loves it, maybe after this week their taste for it will change. Unfortunately, I believe we will see more war movies, where an immortal superman explodes a whole country after being denied a hamburger for breakfast.

Hope not.

My sincere thoughts for all those gone and their families.

José Azevedo