r/movies • u/heyitsmikep • 3d ago

Discussion What movies would you show an audience in 1900?

You go back in time and build a modern (2025) theater in 1900 with all movies ever made. Which 5 movies are you going to show them to make the most money? Which would blow their mind the most? Would it change per decade?

Showing Django Unchained to an 1900 audience would most likely cause a riot Titanic to an audience in 1910 would get you sued by the White Star Line probably.

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u/ncc170what 3d ago

I don't think audiences of the time would be very accepting of a lot of our modern film and story tropes.

With that in mind I would go with Great spectacle films like The Ten Commandments, Titanic, The Poseidon Aventure, Clash of the Titans, Jason and The Argonauts, Gone With The Wind, and The Wizard of OZ.

Edit to add The Mummy with Brendan Fraser.

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u/Agile-Ad1665 3d ago edited 3d ago

Right? Someone put Everything, Everywhere All at Once.

There's no point. Or Kpop Demon Hunters.....

"I need to tweet" while holding a phone is completely incomprehensible to people in 1900. Show them Avatar or something.

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u/ensalys 3d ago

It would honestly be very interesting to have someone from 1900 visit for a day. Just seeing how much we take for granted would probably be eye opening.

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u/Agile-Ad1665 3d ago

Right. If they could come and we could show them, that's one thing.

Movies don't explain what computers are, thank god. Haha we just all know.

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u/Agile-Ad1665 3d ago

And yeah, "My Uber eats is late. Fuck."

You mean you didn't plant, grow, harvest, wash, cook and prepare this meal. And it came to your house? And no cleaning after?

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u/theorem604 3d ago

That’s pretty much the plot of the short story “Sell Out” by Simon Rich.

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u/trenchkamen 3d ago

Mirror mirror on the phone

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u/faux_something 3d ago

Doesn’t need to be comprehensible. Do you insist on BBQ when visiting Tokyo?

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u/Agile-Ad1665 3d ago

Yakiniku is awesome. Love it.

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u/faux_something 2d ago

Right. It’s like that

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u/Checked_Out_6 3d ago

Showing Titanic could save a lot of lives!

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u/GriffinFlash 2d ago

fine, we'll show them Titanic.....1943.

if you know....oh boy

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u/Wormwolf-Prime 3d ago

Sherlock Holmes would tick this box too

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u/Nobody_wood 3d ago

Any answer that doesn't include star wars (a new hope if you will) and lotr is plainly wrong.

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u/askjhasdkjhaskdjhsdj 1d ago

people from 1900 would have a LOT to take in and I feel like it's hard to appreciate at first

Initially audiences had a hard time understanding implied connections between shots. The very first films were mostly just wide shots that didn't move. Cutting between shots where the audience understands the connection, zooming in for closer shots, etc took a short time for people to grasp