History Archives | Page 2 of 7

75 Years Ago, A Forgotten Alien Invasion Movie Beat The Most Iconic Sci-Fi Classics To the Punch

Film Classics When we think of the “flying saucer” film, we typically picture sci-fi terrors from the 1950s like Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, The Day The Earth Stood Still, and even War of the Worlds. It was an extremely popular subgenre at the time, and theaters were chock full of tales of mankind being […]

35 Years Ago, A Controversial Serial Killer Thriller Changed Hollywood Forever

Moviestore/Shutterstock Every once in a while a horror movie comes along that becomes a landmark in the genre — but is also the kind of film that makes you feel like you need to take a long, hot shower after you watch it. Wes Craven’s original The Last House on the Left is one of […]

The Mortality Rate Of Victorian Children Is A Cautionary Tale That Is Shockingly Relevant Today

ilbusca/DigitalVision Vectors/Getty Images Modern medicine has enabled citizens of wealthy, industrialized nations to forget that children once routinely died in shocking numbers. Teaching 19th-century English literature, I regularly encounter gutting depictions of losing a child, and I am reminded that not knowing the emotional cost of widespread child mortality is a luxury. In the first […]

Peacock Just Quietly Added The Most Underrated Historical Revenge Epic Of The Decade

Focus Features There’s a lot to be said for the quality of a filmmaker’s oeuvre when even his weakest movie is one of the most striking action epics to be released this decade. But after the one-two punch of his eerie horror debut, The Witch, and his unhinged psychological thriller, The Lighthouse, Robert Eggers’ third […]

30 Years Ago, PlayStation’s Biggest Risk Changed Gaming Forever

RICHARD A. BROOKS/AFP/Getty Images After off of Nintendo and onto PlayStation,” Layden said. “That was really the ‘oh my god’ moment. ‘Sony’s really serious about this now.’ And that’s down to the music guys, the doggedness of just trying to get a deal over the line. They were amazing.” While some of it could be […]

Can Stress Really Make Your Hair Go Grey?

Nina Pearman/Moment/Getty Images When we start to go grey, it depends a lot on genetics. Your first grey hairs usually appear anywhere between your twenties and fifties. For men, grey hairs normally start at the temples and sideburns. Women tend to start greying on the hairline, especially at the front. The most rapid greying usually […]

17 Years Later, a Legendary Epic Story is Finally Getting the Adaptation It Deserves

Paramount Pictures The story of Beowulf is probably best known as That Super-Long Poem You Read Once in High School, but its influence on modern storytelling can’t be overstated. The epic is the original hero’s journey. It’s one of the oldest recorded adventures ever, and it’s inspired countless pillars of pop culture. We wouldn’t have […]

62 Years Later, a Divisive Sci-Fi Director Is Attempting the Most Unnecessary Remake

— Columbia Pictures TV is getting bigger and better than ever. In the age of streaming, blockbuster movies can sit alongside TV miniseries on the same service, and stars often hop between the mediums. But that escalation isn’t totally positive: as the prestige of TV expands, so do budgets and ambitions. A controversial director with […]

65 Years Later, An Iconic Horror Movie Is Getting a Surprising New Sequel

— Allied Artists Few genres have evolved as drastically as horror. We’ve come a long way from the old-school, practical scares of creature features and haunting psychological slow burns, but there’s still plenty to learn from the B-movies of old. That’s especially true in an era that values IP above all; when it comes to […]

It’s Not Just You, Political Attacks On Scientific Theories Are Rising

— WC.GI/Moment/Getty Images Scientific theory has had a rough time in America’s public schools. Almost 100 years ago, science teacher John Scopes was convicted of violating a Tennessee law that prohibited teaching the theory of evolution. Although his conviction was overturned on a technicality in 1927, laws banning classes on Darwin’s theory stuck around for […]