Are You A Fan Of Made-For-TV Movies?
By bennystc88
@bennystc88 (178)
November 28, 2009 7:05pm CST
I was wondering who was a fan of made-for-TV movies-those movies which never went to the cinema but went on to TV. I noticed how in the Sky TV package we have a number of movies channels some of which I think either show mostly made-for-TV movies or only made-for-TV movies-channels such as Zone Horror, Movies4men, TrueMovies and Movies 24. Also some times made-for-TV films may be aired on other channels to such as teriesteral channels not just digital ones. Sometimes I have watched these made-for-TV movies and thought they were OK or maybe even better then that and sometimes I haven't been so impressed with them. Do you think that made-for-TV movies are ever as good as the films that get cinema release? One differance with the films made for TV compared to the cinema releases may often be a much smaller budget so the film makers of these TV films may not have as much money to spend on special effects for example but that dosen't mean that just because of that the film is bad, does it? I have seen some low-budget films I have liked as well as some much larger budget films. I think some of the made-for-TV films that I have thought have been well made are some that are based on true stories. I have seen some movies which I think were made for the TV channel ZoneHorror that I have liked some of. I have noticed that sometimes in made-for-TV films the acting is not as good as other films and the plot not as well put together as other films but then you can get some of those things with cinema releases too, can't you? So I think there have been some good TV movies as well as some not so good-what do you think and are there any TV movies you really liked, any to recomend or any you really didn't like, don't recomend?
9 responses
@lelin1123 (15595)
• Puerto Rico
29 Nov 09
I love TV movies that are based on truth the most. They are so good and you usually walk away in shock over them being true stories. You just can't believe someone killed all these people just for the money, or because they were infacturated with someone that they couldn't have. I love watching movie after movie especially on the lifetime movie channel when the weather is bad outside and I curl up on the couch or in my bed and watch.
@bennystc88 (178)
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29 Nov 09
Thanks for your comment. I think I have heard of that channel 'Lifetime' maybe its like the True Movies channel where they show movies based on true stories. I was thinking about a film that I saw some months ago which I think was on True Movies which was the story of a man who abducted this girl and the film followed people's attempts to try and rescue her from him. I thought it was well acted and it had David Soul in it who I have seen do some good acting, some may have watched it I think it was called Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann
@lelin1123 (15595)
• Puerto Rico
29 Nov 09
I think I may have seen this movie, Did David Soul play the bad guy?
@bennystc88 (178)
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30 Nov 09
No, David Soul was not the bad guy I think he was playing one of the men who was working with a force to try and find the abducted girl-I think he may have been either a Shiref or another ranking officer.
@thezone (9394)
• Ireland
29 Nov 09
Hi bennystc88,
Do keep in mind that the made for TV movies have a very low budget, A lot of them are terrible but there can be some gems out there. I like the ones, where it is so bad it is good
I think Zone Horror has to be my favorite TV station, I am addicted to it and cant stop watching it. They have had some really bad movies on there but then some very good ones
I think Zone Horror has to be my favorite TV station, I am addicted to it and cant stop watching it. They have had some really bad movies on there but then some very good ones@bennystc88 (178)
•
30 Nov 09
Yeah your right about how made for TV movies have a very low budget. I think their have been some perhaps higher budgeted TV movies then the really lower ones like for example although I have not seen the TV adaptations of the Terry Pratchett films that I think the Sky channel worked on, I get the impression that they weren't on a really lower budget like some TV movies but yes, I think the TV movies I have come across most are the low budget type(some look like they were filmed on Camcorder and no 'Hollywood Gloss' but is it me or do that sometimes give fims a more relistic look?)
A fellow Zone Horror fan I see. I have found they show some films I really like and then some ones I don't as much but sometimes I am a fan of their films, I think it can be intreasting to see what they come up with in their films!
@thezone (9394)
• Ireland
30 Nov 09
I think sky did a good job with the Terry Pratchett adaptions, even on the budget they had, I am a big Zone horror fan, I watch it nearly 24/7 they show some rally bad films but there are some great ones the last while like Rob Zombies House of a 1000 corpses and The devils Rejects and Evil Aliens, that was a blast of a film
@happy6162 (3001)
• United States
29 Nov 09
I like to watch the TV movies that are on lifetime channel. A TV movie does not have a big budget but there are some of them that are still good.
@bennystc88 (178)
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30 Nov 09
Thanks for the comment, yes I think they have made quite a few of Romantic TV series made for TV in film form.
@bennystc88 (178)
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30 Nov 09
Some TV movies can be fun, even if they have wooden acting and many plot wholes! Thanks for comment.
@kaylachan (69824)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
29 Nov 09
For me, a movie is that. Made-for-tv or not.a movie. I'm not a big move-watching person so. Yeah.....I think its all the same. And seeing as I have no money made-for-tv movies are the best way to go for me.
@bennystc88 (178)
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30 Nov 09
Thats a good point-made for TV fims can be very good value as their no extra cost like the (increasinly expensive)cinema ones. Thanks for the comment.
@ersmommy1 (12588)
• United States
29 Nov 09
I don't mind them. If I find one on, and it catches my interest, I will watch. For instance the 2009 version of the Prisoner was very good. Typically though, I don't seek them out.
@veromar (1453)
• Argentina
29 Nov 09
Well, made-for-TV movies simply don't have the budget that a feature film has. There's no way it could ever be as big as those made for release in theatres. There have been a LOT of made-for-TV movies over the years that have been pretty amazing. The first one that springs to my mind is "Sybil", starring Sally Field and Joanne Woodward. It's base on a true story about a woman with multiple personality disorder. Here's a link:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075296/
Nominated for a Golden Globe. It was made in 1976. If you watch it now, it still holds up. Just amazing.
Then there's something like "The Thornbirds". A made-for-TV mini-series that I would have sat in a movie theatre and watched the whole thing in one sitting.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075296/
"Something the Lord Made"....http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386792/....who knew Mos Def could act??!?! lol. Alan Rickman is one of my all time favorite actors. 2 Golden Globe noms
Who could forget "Angels in America".....http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318997/
I could go on, but I'll give somebody else a chance to respond....lol
@madteaparty (2748)
• Japan
29 Nov 09
I don't enjoy those kind of movies, because if they are made for TV is because they're not good enough for the cinema. There's a genre called OVA too that means that it will appear directly in video and will never be aired in the Cinema.
Maybe I'm a little picky, but I like the best quality on the movies I watch.
@bennystc88 (178)
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30 Nov 09
Thanks for the comments. Yeah, maybe some people do not find made for TV movies as good as cinema releases and it can be the other way around too. Maybe somepeople also prefer the 'big names' so to speak of the very famous actors in cinema films like Tom Hanks and Brad Pitt for example which do not not appear as often in TV movies although I think some of those actors like Brad Pitt had appeared in TV movies years ago and some may go back to them. I have seen some good acting in TV movies too, but I agree with you their have been some quality cinema releases
