Day 14 of the September Sapphire Even Day Blog Challenge! Giveaway ends 9/30/14 12:00 a.m.
When I was a kid (pre-TiVo/DVR), we recorded movies on TV with our VCR. We attempted to stop or pause the recording when the commercials came on. Did you do that too?
There are three movies in particular that I remember recording because I wore the VHS tapes out watching them an exorbitant amount of times.
Poltergeist
The original Steven Spielberg horror film that kicked off two sequels is the best one in my opinion. It scared the daylights out of me, but I watched it repeatedly. The Poltergeist franchise is eerily haunted by the real life tragic deaths of the two daughters in the film. 12 year old Heather O’Rourke died of complications from a misdiagnosed illness and 22 year old Dominique Dunne (sister of actor Griffin Dunne and daughter of the late writer Dominick Dunne) was strangled by her estranged boyfriend. The clip above talks about more grim events that happened to other co-stars.
My favorite scene: JoBeth Williams’ character slips into a muddy swimming pool and the corpses buried underneath emerge one by one. Williams reveals in the clip above that she learned during filming that the corpses were real not props.
The Legend of Billie Jean
This ’80s cult classic starring Helen Slater (The Secret of My Success, Supergirl) was another favorite of mine. A group of teenagers go on the run after an accidental shooting. Christian Slater made his film debut as the younger brother, Binx. The cast also includes Keith Gordon (John Carpenter’s Christine) and an unknown Yeardley Smith (voice of Lisa on The Simpsons).
My favorite scene: Long haired Billie Jean goes rogue and debuts a super short, buzz haircut.
The Wiz
The story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with an all Black star-studded cast. Diana Ross. Michael Jackson. Richard Pryor. Lena Horne. When I got older, I learned that the critics were unkind to this film. They cited cheesy acting, over the top dance numbers, and thought Miss Diana was all wrong for the part of Dorothy. You can’t knock the singing though. Those are the best moments–hearing the angelic voices of Ross and Horne.
My favorite scene: Michael Jackson’s performance of The Crow Anthem, You Can’t Win, as the Scarecrow. Hands down.
Which movies have you watched repeatedly?
Which books have you read over and over?
Which CDs have you listened too many times?
10 thoughts on “Cult Classic Childhood”
Kim, great minds think alike! first of all, I completely remember the days of VCR recording – movie buff that i was (and am) I remember through the years watching my vcr collection grow and grow, as we watched stuff, we’d cross out, rewrite new movie in sharpie, record another, over and over. Such fond memories of those days. Still to this day, there are so many movies i watch on repeat, (even if it’s not on a vcr anymore) – the funniest mention being that it’s a common occurrence in my house for this to be heard when someone other than me reviews our DVR queue, “Not Splash again!”… hahaha. Thanks so much for sharing, xx Bee
Splash! LOL You brought back memories with “cross out, rewrite…” Love it! Thanks, Blake.
Hey Kimberly! I leave for five months and everyone has revamped their blogs, lol! But seriously, love how it looks! I liked so many movies when I was younger, it’s hard to pick one, so I’ll reflect on “The Wiz” since you’ve already done it, lol! I was a sucker for it…I was so afraid of those darn monkeys, but I kept coming back for more, lol! And I never looked at the momma from “What’s Happening” the same ever again! Everytime I saw her after the movie, she was no longer this sweet loveable mom…I couldn’t get past her evilness, lol! As far as books…I think I read the “Encyclopedia Brown” series over a hundred times.:-)
It was years before I realized that was the momma from What’s Happening. Encyclopedia Brown! I was thinking about those books the other day. I think I read all of that series as a kid. I need to see if the library has them. That would be perfect for my son. I see you have a new post. Gonna go over and check it out. Thanks, Michell!
Love your selections. Poltergist was soooo scary back then, but I always thought it could happen!! Two movies I watch again and again or I am Legend and The Devil Wears Prada!
That’s no surprise that you watch The Devil Wears Prada often. It is a good movie. Great fashion tips. Thanks Robin!
I have to admit that whatever you were saying about Poltergeist I had skip. I’ll come back and read it in the daytime. I never saw The Legend of Billie Jean. Now The Wiz we can talk about! Mom and I had a Mommy and Me date to go see that one. Like you I learned more about the background of the movie when I got older and then seeing Diana Ross play the part when Stephanie Mills should have had the role made me look at the movie differently. I liked it much better when I was younger. One of my favorite songs from the movie to this day is Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News. That wicked witch was BAD and I mean that in a good way 😉
Yeah, I should have read this before I replied to your tweet about the CD. Miss Ross had that “in” with Berry Gordy. It was bye bye, Stephanie.
I have yet to see The Wiz but it’s on my to do before end of the year! 🙂
Classic musical! The dance numbers are over the top, but they are fun to watch.