How many years gone by until a movie is considered old? (theaters, 20th Century)

[kentuckydad95]

I am sitting here watching "Broken Arrow" with Travolta and Slater this morning and clicked on the info button and it says the movie is from 1996. That is 15 years ago. I am 34 y/o and remember when this movie came out and saw it in theaters. Upon saying to my wife, "Damn this movie is 15 years old already!", I started to wonder...just how old does a movie have to be before it's considered an "old movie"? Any thoughts?

[phonelady61]

i think 25 yrs old would consider the movie old .

[Ohiogirl81]

It depends on your age, preferences and perspective. To me, an "old movie" was made in the first half of the 20th century.

[skel1977]

3

Ever had this conversation with a friend? "You remember that movie that came out a few years ago, its kind of old but..."

[slamont61]

Four weeks after it comes out on DVD.

[yamota]

I know with music, it used to be the cutoff point would be 25 years before it's considered "classic", but nowadays I don't think that's really true anymore

[Zlar Vixen]

Depends on how "old" is considered "old" - here's my chart:

1-5 years - Recent
6-10 years - Somewhat recent
11-15 years - Dated
16-20 years - Old
21+ years - Very Old

In general, I'd say once a movie passes 15 years since its making, it is quite old. A movie from 20 years ago wouldn't exactly feel like it came out yesterday.

[ironpony]

I'd say movies from the 70s and older I would call 'old' but my friends seem to disagree and say anything from the 90s and before.

[OzzyRules]

I used to think any movie before I was born. Before about 1970.

But now I say anything before around 1988. Movies like "When Harry Met Sally" don't seem old. "Forest Gump" seems like a fresh brand new movie still.

[nc17]

It's all subjective. Personally speaking, in 2019, anything before 2000 is a bygone era. Whenever I watch movies from the 80s, I see a who's who of actors that died a long time ago, or the "new generation" youthful actors that are gray and wrinkled today.