Scarecrow & Mrs. King, Moonlighting and Remmington Steele were three action/dramas I felt were were not aimed about my young demographic at the time, but middle aged moms LOVED them!! I know because my elementary school teachers always talked about them in class. My English teacher got me to appreciate Moonlighting though- she made us watch the Taming of the Shrew/Shakespeare episode which won an Emmy I believe.
I remember when this was released (I was 17), and while it was a big deal, it was still eclipsed by many other films that year. I won't delve into how much money I donated to the game, though. For some reason, Tron always reminds me of 1927's Metropolis...
Yes! I was watching Tron with a friend in preparation for this analysis, and we both remarked that it reminded us of Metropolis, which is one of my favorite films.
Your analysis is so well written and the anecdotes are entertaining and often relatable. The Tron arcade game indeed had greater, lasting popularity. A local movie theater had it well into the late 1990s when the place might have closed. I wish I could have bought it. While I saw the movie in the theater, I would not appreciate the film until many years later. By the time "Tron Legacy" came around, I was sitting in the front row wearing a Tron t-shirt. The original movie did influence my imagination in a way where I would pretend to get transported into a video game universe every time I hooked up my Atari. Similar to the effect of "Tron" was my regard for "E.T." It was just a heavy film and I was actually more interested in seeing "Annie," which was in theaters at the time. The E.T. movie itself is doubly nostalgic now when watching it, as a reminder of the E.T. hype at the time and for showing life in 1981-1982 with the toys in Elliot's room, BMX bicycles, and the references to video games. I, too, spent a lot of time at home unsupervised.
Great review, and yeah, this is an old favorite of mine. Notable is the Wendy Carlos score, which is one of the best soundtracks ever, and also how so much of the visuals would reappear into today's "retrowave" aesthetic
I was 9 when Tron came out and parents preferred ET instead which was released at about the same time. Tron was way ahead of its time and a regular VHS showing. Special effects were fantastic.
The early cgi effects still have great allure with their pure simplicity - I’m an old school 2d graphics guy. I love the effects of the original “King Kong” - old school film guy. And the score deserves praise as done by Wendy Carlos. Influential synthesizer work - “Switched on Bach”, Holst’s “The Planets”, and score for film, “A Clockwork Orange” we’re done by this artist.
Saw Tron and Bladerunner in 82..didnt understand either till I saw both later in life...there is a great doc on the filming of Tron...they even hired a professional freesbie guy to teach BB...but more important was the crazy amount of time in the frame by frame shots that involved ground breaking techniques to get the layers right
Apparently, calling the person who operates/engages with computer devices a "user" came from the original Tron movie. At least that's what the folks from Tron: Legacy promotional tour claimed! I'd like to believe it's true though. And next one, Fame? YEZZZ! This is a film I saw that shaped my Gen X youth, from the storytelling (high school isn't just all going to be hot music numbers; these kids face some tough realities), to understanding filmmaking. Glad you're getting around to it.
Yep, the game won. From Wikipedia: Tron was awarded "Coin-Operated Game of the Year" by Electronic Games magazine. The New York Times reported that 800 arcade cabinets were sold in 1982. By January 1983, it was number-four on the RePlay arcade charts. The book The naked computer reported that Tron made $45,000,000 by 1983. In USgamer's estimation 10,000 cabinets were sold and the game made more than $30,000,000 of revenue by 1983.
I never saw it when it came out. In fact, my wife insisted we went to see it, until I pointed out we hadn't even met for several more months. Listening to the description of the movie, I can understand why my 22 year old self didn't go out of his way to see it. Just not my cup of tea.
Tron is probably one of my favorite films of all time my parents introduced it to me and I’ve never forgotten this film
Scarecrow & Mrs. King, Moonlighting and Remmington Steele were three action/dramas I felt were were not aimed about my young demographic at the time, but middle aged moms LOVED them!! I know because my elementary school teachers always talked about them in class. My English teacher got me to appreciate Moonlighting though- she made us watch the Taming of the Shrew/Shakespeare episode which won an Emmy I believe.
I remember when this was released (I was 17), and while it was a big deal, it was still eclipsed by many other films that year. I won't delve into how much money I donated to the game, though.
For some reason, Tron always reminds me of 1927's Metropolis...
Yes! I was watching Tron with a friend in preparation for this analysis, and we both remarked that it reminded us of Metropolis, which is one of my favorite films.
also groundbreaking is the epic Score!
One of my all-time fave tripped-out movies.
Your analysis is so well written and the anecdotes are entertaining and often relatable.
The Tron arcade game indeed had greater, lasting popularity. A local movie theater had it well into the late 1990s when the place might have closed. I wish I could have bought it. While I saw the movie in the theater, I would not appreciate the film until many years later. By the time "Tron Legacy" came around, I was sitting in the front row wearing a Tron t-shirt. The original movie did influence my imagination in a way where I would pretend to get transported into a video game universe every time I hooked up my Atari.
Similar to the effect of "Tron" was my regard for "E.T." It was just a heavy film and I was actually more interested in seeing "Annie," which was in theaters at the time. The E.T. movie itself is doubly nostalgic now when watching it, as a reminder of the E.T. hype at the time and for showing life in 1981-1982 with the toys in Elliot's room, BMX bicycles, and the references to video games. I, too, spent a lot of time at home unsupervised.
Your 'Scarecrow & Mrs. King' personal aside had me rolling!! : )
I had a grandmother that loved Scarecrow and Mrs. King. She also preferred to watch that show alone.
Great review, and yeah, this is an old favorite of mine. Notable is the Wendy Carlos score, which is one of the best soundtracks ever, and also how so much of the visuals would reappear into today's "retrowave" aesthetic
I was 9 when Tron came out and parents preferred ET instead which was released at about the same time. Tron was way ahead of its time and a regular VHS showing. Special effects were fantastic.
It could be considered a really ridiculous premise but Tron has a special place in millions of people's hearts due to the visual feast that it is.
"There are two types of people in the world: Those who like the movie TRON, and those who *love* the movie TRON." - anonymous
The early cgi effects still have great allure with their pure simplicity - I’m an old school 2d graphics guy. I love the effects of the original “King Kong” - old school film guy.
And the score deserves praise as done by Wendy Carlos. Influential synthesizer work - “Switched on Bach”, Holst’s “The Planets”, and score for film, “A Clockwork Orange” we’re done by this artist.
Saw Tron and Bladerunner in 82..didnt understand either till I saw both later in life...there is a great doc on the filming of Tron...they even hired a professional freesbie guy to teach BB...but more important was the crazy amount of time in the frame by frame shots that involved ground breaking techniques to get the layers right
Great video, Morgan! Have an excellent weekend!
🎁thank you mOrGan. Im so glad you liked it - it's kinda special⚛️
Apparently, calling the person who operates/engages with computer devices a "user" came from the original Tron movie. At least that's what the folks from Tron: Legacy promotional tour claimed! I'd like to believe it's true though.
And next one, Fame? YEZZZ! This is a film I saw that shaped my Gen X youth, from the storytelling (high school isn't just all going to be hot music numbers; these kids face some tough realities), to understanding filmmaking. Glad you're getting around to it.
“Greetings, programs!”
I loved this film from first viewing. I've seen it a handful of times and never saw the Pac Man! Ha!
Yep, the game won.
From Wikipedia: Tron was awarded "Coin-Operated Game of the Year" by Electronic Games magazine.
The New York Times reported that 800 arcade cabinets were sold in 1982. By January 1983, it was number-four on the RePlay arcade charts. The book The naked computer reported that Tron made $45,000,000 by 1983. In USgamer's estimation 10,000 cabinets were sold and the game made more than $30,000,000 of revenue by 1983.
Now I know what " tulpa" means.
According to “Supernatural”, a tulpa is a thought made flesh and blood (like Sherlock Holmes & Santa Claus).
I was terrible at the arcade game Tron.
I never saw it when it came out. In fact, my wife insisted we went to see it, until I pointed out we hadn't even met for several more months. Listening to the description of the movie, I can understand why my 22 year old self didn't go out of his way to see it. Just not my cup of tea.
Are you a David Lynch fan? I noticed you used the word tulpa casually.