Why A 'Cult Film' - Electra Glide in Blue (1973) Discussion

[–] ccr1633 17 years ago

"It just didn't seem like any other cult movie I've seen. It's just another 70's cop movie, but somehow amazingly compelling."
-------------------------------

The fact that you find it "somehow amazingly compelling" just shows that it's not another cop movie, unless you somehow find garden variety cop movies amazingly compelling. I agree, though, that it doesn't fit the bill for a typical 'cult movie', but I would guess that anyone who says so is likely motivated by the fact that it's a relatively obscure movie.

reply

[–] rupan777 17 years ago

Don't forget it also has a great soundtrack. "The Chase" has been a big part of my drive to work for years now.

Check out my Japanese exploitation film blog: http://eigazoku.blogspot.com/

reply

[–] eliostar1 16 years ago

Cult movies just take a life of their own, you can't explain how it happens. It just does.

reply

[–] Larry-115 15 years ago

It's just another 70's cop movie,

While I don't think it's a great movie (there are things I love about it and things I hate), the one thing that is clear is that it certainly is not just another 70's cop movie.

reply

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] c7c7c7r 15 years ago

I loved the part (spoiler) where he's putting on his new 'detective' clothes, topped off by that great cowboy hat, and then looks down--no pants. The film had a sense of humor. So why did Guercio direct just the one movie?

reply

[–] mail-2775 14 years ago

'cause it isn't very good.

It isn't "just another 70's cop movie" because it is so morbid, hard to understand, with a story told so poorly that everyone is confused about what happened in the story. Trust me, wife-killer Robert Blake never did a movie that was over your head.

Most 70s cop movies are plot driven with a plot simple enough for a two-year-old to follow, with a whiz-bang happy ending, just about like any episode of Starsky and Hutch.

Just the simple fact that it doesn't have a happy ending like 99.999999% of 70s movies puts it in a category by itself.

reply

[–] ccr1633 14 years ago

mail-2775 wrote:
"It isn't "just another 70's cop movie" because it is so morbid, hard to understand, with a story told so poorly that everyone is confused about what happened in the story. Trust me, wife-killer Robert Blake never did a movie that was over your head."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Wife killer" Robert Blake, eh? You tipped your hand right there pal. As if that has anything to do with the price of coffee in Colombia. What, was Bonnie Lee Bakley your mistress or something?

reply

[–] dalldorfw 12 years ago

"Just the simple fact that it doesn't have a happy ending like 99.999999% of 70s movies puts it in a category by itself."

Yeah, the seventies are infamous for their happy endings (rolls eyes).

reply

[–] lm362 (341) a year ago

So glad this poster is gone. What a wasteful and prejudice comment.

reply

[–] ducdebrabant 14 years ago

One thing that usually makes a movie a cult film is that it's not widely popular. The people who love it love it enough to make up for all the people who don't. This movie apparently didn't lose money, but neither did it set the box office on fire, and most people long ago forgot about it. But it definitely has its fervent admirers.

First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win. Gandhi.

reply

[–] homestar_is_cool 14 years ago

It's a cult film because it was the first film ever directed by somebody in the music business. People thought that this film was going to be about Chicago and Blood, Sweat, and Tears duking it out in Arizona while Robert Blake and Billy Bush watched on their interceptors. However, when reviews came back, audiences were dismayed - and plus, some of the reviews were deliberately negative due to the view of Chicago at that time.

This is basically what led to Cameron Crowe making movies.

i am jay farrar hear me roar

reply

[–] WarpedRecord 13 years ago

The reviews were deliberately negative due to the view of Chicago at the time? I didn't think they lost credibility until after Terry Kath died.

reply

[–] Riding46 11 years ago

I guess cause of it's quirkeness; it's like a cops version of Easy Rider.

reply

[–] joonas5883 9 years ago

ANY DVD

reply

[–] Prismark10 8 years ago

There is no definition of cult films but this one is regarded as such.

It's that man again!!

reply