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Inspired by "great bad movies" thread (or something to that effect)

I tend to become very familiar with the Cult section at whatever video store I frequent.

Question of the Day:
What makes something a cult film?

It seems that most sections are filled with two major types of movies: Those that intended on being considered 'cult' and those that took themselves very seriously that ended up being considered 'cult' because they were a little too bizarre (or just plain bad to the point of maybe being good again). By being placed in the 'cult' section, these movies are made a little more precious than they would be if they were located in their normal category (ie: action, comedy, etc). At least to me anyways...

As a second part to the question, Do you know of any directors, producers, etc. who were extremely displeased to find their movies end up in the cult section and vice versa...?

Discuss.

― Sarah McLusky (coco), Friday, 13 December 2002 19:25 (twenty-three years ago)

http://utenti.lycos.it/cult/foto_11.jpg

― donut bitch (donut), Friday, 13 December 2002 19:35 (twenty-three years ago)

OH THOSE HEADS THAT TU-YU-YU-RN!!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 13 December 2002 19:41 (twenty-three years ago)

I don't know what else to add other than spring up the definition of "cult", and apply it to fans of particular movies. I can't think of any other non-obvious use of the word in this context.

For any movie that never quite "makes it", "cult" is probably the next most flattering rating it could get, whether the source of the enjoyment is ironic/cheez factor or not.

(Though I'm very liberal with allowing movie makers to get really upset at anything that treats their product as anything less than gold, because movies cost about a gazillions dollars to make...)

― donut bitch (donut), Friday, 13 December 2002 19:41 (twenty-three years ago)

(More seriously -- doubtless some filmmakers aimed straight for the market, others had more particular ambitions. Ed Wood, for instance, wanted to be a big splashy filmmaker straight up. He at least never minded when the films screened again on TV, for instance, in his later years, at least if Paul Marco's comments are accurate, though towards the end of his life his poverty and dire straits probably left him much more bitter on the subject. What he would have made of the revival that kicked in soon after his death with the results of the Medved's worst film poll is something we'll never know...)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 13 December 2002 19:43 (twenty-three years ago)

Cult films are defined by a their very small audience of fervent fans. There is nothing inherently cultish about a film, unless there is an unexplainable fan base built around it. That's how I would define it, even though it's probably a very slippery definition. I consider Cannonball Run 2 a cult classic even though it's only a cult of one fan -> myself.

― cprek, Friday, 13 December 2002 21:17 (twenty-three years ago)

"My idea of a cult audience would be one that would follow my orders if I suddenly appeared on screen and said 'Hello, I'm John Waters. I want you to go home and burn down your own house. Find Katherine Hepburn and cut off her head and bring it to me on a silver platter.'" (Shock Value p214)

― rosemary (rosemary), Saturday, 14 December 2002 04:56 (twenty-three years ago)

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Cult movies - What makes it Cult?

OH THOSE HEADS THAT TU-YU-YU-RN!!