better with each passing day (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Jonathan Lighter]

While I agree, Victor, with the drift of your comments about the short
memories of the American people, in putrid cinema as in other things, I
submit that if one can derive *any kind of enjoyment whatsoever* from a
film, it is not one of the very worst.

Films that are so bad they make you laugh are not among the very worst
because laughter is a form of enjoyment. So, bad as _Plan 9_ is, it isn't
among the very worst.

Godawful films that are watchable solely because they are somehow of their
place and time don't make the cut either. Like _Earth vs. the Flying
Saucers_.  Watchability for any reason is a form of enjoyment.

The litmus test of a truly bad film is that you cannot stay awake and do not
wish to. Part of the test is what's visible on screen.  In a truly bad
movie, there's just nothing to look at or look forward to, not even a
half-naked starlet, a distant mountain peak, or a goofy monster.

Bob Dornan's _The Starfighters_ is almost one of the very worst, but the
stock footage of '50s jet fighters saves it by an eyelash.  (It comes so
close.)
Try _The Wild, Wild World of Bat Woman_. It's even in black and white and
shot almost entirely indoors!

JL

On Tue, Sep 14, 2010 at 3:38 PM, victor steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com>wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       victor steinbok <aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: better with each passing day (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> This list is pathetic--not that I've seen every one of these but it
> cuts off in 1961 and there are PLENTY of 1930s, 40s and 50s sci-fi and
> other films that are absolutely pathetic. No Ed Wood on the list (Plan
> 9 From Outer Space--http://goo.gl/PN3S), no Pia Zadora (OK, this is
> 1964, 8yo--Santa Claus Conquers the Martians--http://goo.gl/lWS2), no
> cardboard robots (Robot Monster--http://goo.gl/gOnu), no flying
> saucers crashing into the Capitol (Earth vs. the Flying
> Saucers--http://goo.gl/jbBe--original prototype for Independence Day).
> We don't get to see all the bad films of those periods because they
> are well hidden (or destroyed in various Hollywood fires). But these
> make sci-fi circuits every year not because they are any good, but
> because they are so awful they make people laugh.
>
> Just goes to show that the American public is inept in voting not just
> for political candidates...
>
> It's actually a bit more complicated, as it's based on on-site voting,
> so it's a self-selected list--those who feel strongly will vote, but
> most people who are completely disgusted by something will ignore it.
> And the record of non-English language films, particularly those that
> were never released abroad, is incomplete. I can think of a few
> Russian, Polish and East German films that should have made the list.
>
> VS-)
>
>
> On 9/14/10, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Science says that _Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring_ is
> pretty
> > much the best movie.
> >
> > As for the worst, IMDb offers an extended list chosen by the people:
> >
> > http://www.imdb.com/chart/bottom
> >
> > Do you know which one starred a future Congressman?
> >
> >
> > JL
>
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