MovieChat Forums > The Wild One Discussion > has aged really badly, didn't it?

has aged really badly, didn't it?

posted 17 years ago by lucio7
18 replies | jump to latest

well guys, i don't wanna say that it's a stupid movie or it's boring or something like that, but i think that this movie is really too aged to be really appreciated. and even too aged to be understood, given our so different societes.

it's a little like studind greek philosophers: we live in a so different society that it's not easy to understand what they really meant.

i don't wanna be mean, but, just for example, the motorcyclist look like more a gang of stupid and noisy kindergarten pupils than bad boys...

what do you think?

hope i've made myself clear and waiting for some of your answers to argue.

[–] MPFourEedz 17 years ago

Its almost always gonna be like that, I totally understand what your saying. Its it quite evident you don't mean any disrespect.

Like you said it comes down to the society we live in today, but Brando was the greatest.

Few actors today show glimpses of possibly being better then him in the future.

Its just a shame, as time goes on, his brilliant work will become harder and harder to appreciate

[–] ae7641 17 years ago

I just saw a some of it and will finish. But no, I don't belive in the aged thing because of what I just saw.

Two young guys slap each on the hands as they do today. They speak in slang that the fuddy duddy old man cannot get. They want to have fun and are rebellious as teens are today. They want fast vehicles and a fast lifestle. Are they any different than teens today? It's the 50's and there is some 60's Hippies in these guys.

For thousands of years teens have split from the older people and wanted their own identity. They had and have their own music, clothes and language. To be themselves a bit. Then there are the reckless wild rebels.

Different types of young people.

[–] dj_redrum 17 years ago

but its the very insistence of filmaker's script in the Wild One that has caused it to age, the language is only used to upset parents, I mean look at Clockwork Orange where Burgess got creative with young gang's slang and made it timeless, Brando's brooding and his gang's prattling on with their 'new fang dangled' words just to annoy the 'squares'. For a laugh watch the trailer included on the DVD and have a listen to the voice over guy, hard to believe people used to think this way.

[–] keithpridgeon 17 years ago

It's tame, it's mild, and it's old, but it did help create an entire subculture.

[–] aaaaaaaaaaaaron 17 years ago

This movie is a classic. Of course it's not terrifying in any way in a modern context, but even if it has aged it was still entertaining as all hell from a camp perspective. The biker mayhem got a lot of laughs from me and I actually thought the acting was impressive for what was then a low budget film (especially Brando and the town cop). From a story perspective, I liked how attached Brando was to the trophy, Lee Marvin's portrayal of the drunk rival biker, and I thought the narrative was very fluid and unique for a movie made in 1954.

grade: A+ classic!

[–] mastermargarita 13 years ago

Thousands of years? The concept of 'the teen' has only existed since post WW2 really. Before then you were a child, then you either got a job and became a man, or you were engaged and became a woman.

[–] Potzdorf 13 years ago

Thousands of years? The concept of 'the teen' has only existed since post WW2 really. Before then you were a child, then you either got a job and became a man, or you were engaged and became a woman.

Thank you! The concept of a "teen" is nothing but a marketing ploy to make money off of the thousands of people with hormone surges that find themselves accumulating disposable income. And yes it only existed after WWII. It is not some thousand year struggle.

[–] mrpoizun 13 years ago

I don't think a movie is ever too old to be appreciated. This one just takes a little more work to understand how the people in the theatre in 1954 would have reacted to it.
Or you can do what I do; Watch and see how many different Harleys and classic brands of motorcycle jackets you can spot.

[–] netshopper-2 13 years ago

^^Agree with this. When watching old films, we have to consider the times in which it was made. I did find that the pre-film warning was meant to scare small town folks but the bikers were not too scary. In fact, they acted campy and goofy in many of the scenes which worked against the films' supposed theme.

[–] MiloMindbender 13 years ago

>it's a little like studind greek philosophers: we live in a so different society that it's not easy to understand what they really meant. <

You mean a society where people can't make an argument, can't write complete sentences, & don't know how to spell or use spell-check?....Yes it is a different society, and Orwell was right, it's not a better one.

As far as the motorcyclists looking like children, that was intentional. It draws attention to Brando's growing disillusionment with the others in the gang & illustrates their arrested development without some character (ie. a psychologist or teacher) explaining it all to the audience as in most Hollywood movies.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] SusanJL 13 years ago

OP - saw this for the first time today. When I saw "Hank Kimball" (Alvy Moore) and Rob Petrie's dentist neighbor (Jerry Paris) it kinda ruined the vicious, scary biker vibe, haha!!!

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] PeterBlues 11 years ago

i read the plot to this right where it said it was about hooligans troubling a small town, but it looked more like a musical with kids playing pretty innocent games on the streets, not that i would want them in my neighborhood, and then i remember reading in a review that this was considered very rough at the time. the movie reminds of the twilight zone episode "black leather jackets", though as always in twilight zone you get a little something extra, right. i noticed the fat actor with the moustache had a completely different voice in this than 50's b horror flicks i've seen.. heard him in. i take every chance i get to watch these old flicks over todays, the performances and moviemaking seem so real compared to modern flicks with macho boys and special effects trying to top each other and you lose focus what is going on.

take it easy on the steam,
you don't know what you seep out baby,
were no sauna that hot,
and i'm just trying to handle what you got,
you're about to melt me can't you see,
if you would only listen to my plea,
and keep care of the buttons on your steam.

[–] joe_538 10 years ago

I don't wanna be mean, but, just for example, the motorcyclists look more like a gang of stupid and noisy kindergarten pupils than bad boys...

The forefathers of Eric Von Zipper's Ratz in the Frankie and Annette movies. ...Or the Black Widows in Every Which Way but Loose.

[–] Errington_92 10 years ago

I did find that the pre-film warning was meant to scare small town folks but the bikers were not too scary.

The Bikers were not meant to be scary, just antagonistic. Hence the pre-film warning acknowledging the Bikers' antagonism as anti-authoritarian.

"I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not".

[–] Gwasgray 10 years ago

I think it's the kind of fable that has themes that will always be somewhat relevant but yes, it is quite dated and quaint now - the acting, the dialogue, the tameness of the gang's antics. Brando still stands out though.