The Evolution of AMC
AMC was originally a premium cable channel that aired classic movies during the afternoons and early evenings, largely pre-1950s, in a commercial-free, generally unedited format. It was not uncommon for the channel to host a Marx Brothers marathon, or show such classics as the original Phantom of the Opera. In the early 1990’s, the channel shifted to a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week format.
The network has since dramatically changed its programming, shifting from premium to basic cable, emphasizing more recent movies, adding a new logo, with a lowercase a (seen above at right) and using a new slogan: “TV For Movie People.” With competitors such as Turner Classic Movies and Fox Movie Channel, AMC changed its format from a classic movie network to a broader movie network, airing movies from the 1970’s onwards.
That is what wikipedia has to say. Jarring enough is this shift in definition of “classic”, but so far you can get away with it. We no longer have a good outlet for, say, Joan Crawford movies, but there is something a bit interesting about, say, Smokey and the Bandit and the Blues Brothers — they are and have become “standards” and they fit a spry and lucrative demographic niche which older movies seem to be fading away from mass appeal as time goes on.
But the thing is…
Okay. I watched the first hour or thereabouts of…
Catwoman…
On American Movie Classics.
Again with the Wikipedia:
Catwoman was poorly received, both critically and at the box office. The film appeared on the list of Roger Ebert’s most hated films. He criticized the filmakers for giving little thought to providing Berry “with a strong character, story, supporting characters or action sequences.”, but his primary criticism came from the failure of the film to give the audience a sense of what her character experienced as she was transformed into Catwoman.
This film received seven Golden Raspberry nominations in 2005. It “won” in the categories of Worst Picture, Worst Actress, Worst Director, and Worst Screenplay. Halle Berry accepted the award for Worst Actress personally, apologizing for the film, and speaking frankly in interviews about her views regarding problems with the film.
Aaron McGruder’s The Boondocks ran a series of comic strips in which Riley is punished by being forced to watch Catwoman. He subsequently campaigns to have being forced to watch Catwoman considered to be a form of child abuse.
MSN Movies ranks Catwoman as the third worst superhero movie to date, behind Batman & Robin and Daredevil.
You watch it in that ironic mocking manner, which is all good and well. I am pretty sure that your thoughts when watching the movie will be nearly identical with my thoughts, as it seems created to throw softballs at your inner Tom Servo.
I check out the American Movie Classics website and see that, as I type this, they are airing Home Alone 3. I actually did see Home Alone 3– under interesting circumstances (some Turks showed it — dubbed in in Russian — in Krasnoyarsk). I bet you didn’t even know there was a Home Alone 3! Maybe you can justify Home Alone or even Home Alone 2 (perhaps better still Home Alone 2, as its New York ambiance reportedly allows it to hold up pretty well), but I don’t know if you can do so for Home Alone 3.
So. AMC. What the “C” stand for?