Often, in discussions about old movies, someone will say, “That movie couldn’t be made today.”, and inevitably someone else will disagree.
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Birth of a Nation.
Although Tarantino would probably try, so long as he could star in it alongside Samuel L Jackson, and call Samuel L Jackson the n-word ‘for the cinematographic art of it, really, it’s crucial to the film’. Because, aside from feet, that’s his fetish.
I was gong to say Birth of a Nation but then I thought about who the American people elected and I changed my mind.
Battle of Britain.
All the old warbirds are in museums now
Some ones I’ve seen recently: Scary Movie. The Witches. Dressed to Kill. Cape Fear.
and inevitably someone else will disagree.
Because literally any movie could be made today…
Whether it would be shown in theaters or even assigned a rating is different, but anyone can make a movie about anything today.
There was some valuable discussion to be had even just 20 years ago. But in 2026 anyone saying:
That movie couldn’t be made today.
Doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Like, they’re basically just saying they don’t understand what a film festival is…
Pretty Baby. A mainstream movie, distributed nationwide, by Paramount. Could not be made today.
Now you’ll say, “well, there would need to be changes, of course.”
Set in 1917, it focuses on a 12-year-old girl being raised in a brothel in Storyville, the red-light district of New Orleans, by her prostitute mother. Barbara Steele, Diana Scarwid, and Antonio Fargas appear in supporting roles. The film is based on the true account of a young girl who was sexually exploited by being groomed to engage in prostitution as a child, a theme that was recounted in historian Al Rose’s 1974 book Storyville, New Orleans: Being an Authentic Illustrated Account of the Notorious Red-Light District.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Baby_(1978_film)
They could absolutely make that today, especially if casting an 18+ actor to play the lead…
Like, who do you imagine stopping that unless you think it would require graphic and illegal material?
“well, there would need to be changes, of course.”
I haven’t seen this movie, but are the required changes casting an adult for nudity in the film? Was that not a thing in the 70s?
I still don’t understand. I saw the wiki linked earlier as well. Is the claim that a film about a child being sexually abused cannot be made today? Because I don’t think that is the case.
Or is it because there would probably be an actor that is 18 cast? I don’t see that being a different film. If you want to argue that casting a 16 year old or an 18 year old changes the film, then you could say that not casting Brooke Shields changes the film. It seems like a ship of theseus argument at that point.
If your argument is something else, I’m interested to hear. I had never heard of this film before and have not seen it, so I could very well be missing something.
The question is not whether a similar movie could be made, it’s if the movie itself, as it exists currently could be made. And Pretty Baby absolutely could not.
Pretty Baby, the movie made in 1978, could not be made today. If all of those people could be transported forward in time, including 11-year-old Brooke Shields, they would not be allowed to make that movie and distribute it. Yes, could be made now with an 18-year-old actress, as it could have been then, but that’s not what was made, so that movie could not be made now, as it was made then. That’s the whole point of the question. So that exact movie couldn’t be made now.
My 2 cents: She was 11 when the movie was shot - it’s one thing to replace a 16 year old with a 18 year old actor, even with a similar story, but there is not one 18 (or even 16) year old you could put into that role and say it’s still the same movie. The psychological impact of being confronted with literally a child’s body in this context is not comparable in my opinion.
Nope. See also: Romeo and Juliet from 1968. While it is probably the best adaption of the story ever, underage actors and nudity is somehow frowned on today.
Tropic Thunder
Eh. I think a comedy could still get away with black-face today.
any black-face media has been systematically removed from the internet. you can’t stream any episode of any show that has it. you can typically only watch that content on DVD.
Hmm. Okay, I haven’t paid much attention to that. Although Tropic Thunder does seem to be available for streaming on several major platforms at the moment. Paramount, Amazon, Apple, Tubi, to name a few.
You can def watch the Sunny blackface scenes on youtube.
Even the D&D episode of Community was removed due to one of the characters cosplaying as a dark elf.
It really isn’t blackface though, in the sense that blackface is meant to be a caricature which diminishes black culture and behavior. The RDJ character was written as kind of the opposite - the “blackface” character is shown to be sane, courageous and even wise, while the actor playing the character is shown to be an out of touch Hollywood twat.
You’d get lynched if you make something like this today.
Team America. From the minds of South Park’s, Matt Stone and Trey Parker 😁.
I think y’all know why.
Because of the puppet sex scene…?
Yes. Now suck my dick!
Heck yeah, the unedited or “Not Rated” DVD version had the uncut scene where she defecates on his chest! Quite funny at the time, but I cannot imagine then doing something like that now, nor all the 9/11 jokes. Plus making fun of NK’s Jim Jong Il. I feel like you couldn’t really do that without stirring the pot at least a little bit.
Big disagree. It was outrageous then and it would be outrageous now. The southpark movie was fucking mindblowing when I saw it in the theater. Parker and Stone push boundaries, and it works for them every time. Theyre kind of American heroes in my book.
I took my son to see a puppet movie when we was about 10. Whoops!
Austin powers. It really didn’t age well, even though it was fairly progressive at the time.
Roar [1981] It’s quite amazing that it even got made at that time!
That one is freaking wild.
And sadly, it’s a terrible movie. Weird plot makes little sense. It’s spectacle for spectacle’s sake.
I like it for the cats! :D
No Way Out (1950). Depicts a race riot. At one point a character uses the N word dozens of times in a row uninterrupted. Much of Sidney Poitier’s career would be hard to remake these days. Pressure Point (1962) where he’s a therapist trying to deprogram a Nazi. Maybe that’s exactly what the world needs a remake of right now, but we’re not gonna get it.
Basic Instinct (1992), Body Heat (1981), that sort of thing. They might remake it into a TV show, but they’re not putting that much sex in theaters.
Charlie Chan. A series of detective films about a Chinese detective who was always played by a white guy. Though you could make this movie in 2026, you wouldn’t cast a white person.
Countless movies where the subject matter is painfully out of date. They used to make anti-alcohol pictures when prohibition was a thing. Couldn’t vs. wouldn’t, I guess.
Even if you cast an East Asian actor, i don’t think you could do Charlie Chan films, given how he’s a ” Yellow Peril “ stereotype. Even Marvel had to make their equivalent character a deliberately racist stereotype played by an actor
Anything with Peter Sellers. Pink Panthers, the Party etc.
Dr. Strangelove
not a film, but a show. Little Britain. God, they got away with soooo much.
Inevitably someone will disagree because someone is always right and someone is always wrong and the devil is in the details.
Famously, you couldn’t make Blazing Saddles today because they already made that move in the 70s
Any 80s fantasy movie. The vibe is gone. And it’s not just CGI.
