January 10 in nerd history: The no. 1 movie 50 years ago
Last updated: February 23, 2024
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January 10 in Nerd History
Here are five things that happened on January 10 at the intersection of nerd and pop culture.
I.
Birthdays of honor: George Foreman (1949), Rod Stewart (1945), Jim Croce (1943), Pat Benatar (1953), Jemaine Clement (1974).
II.
Today in 1927, film — particularly in the science fiction genre — was changed forever when Metropolis premiered in Berlin.
Fritz Lang's insanely epic silent movie is widely regarded as one of the best and most influential films ever made (and not just in sci-fi, even though it blew that damn genre up).
Hell, the costuming and set design still stand up today. I'm not going to name names, but let's just say a movie with a title that rhymes with Tar Wors clearly took some inspiration from Metropolis.
The original 153-minute version has since been edited, restored, and re-released in multiple versions, including the 1984 effort that featured music from Freddie Mercury, Loverboy, and Adam Ant. And as of roughly one year ago, it entered the public domain, so you can do whatever you damn please with it.
III.
in 1999, just shy of a quarter of a century ago, prestige TV kicked off in earnest when The Sopranos debuted on HBO.
The show was ranked no. 1 on a list of the greatest of all time by Rolling Stone, voted the best-written TV series ever by the Writers Guild of America, and was the main reason many people got HBO and forgot to cancel their subscription to this day. It also won basically every meaningful award it possibly could have.
The Sopranos aired for 6 seasons and 86 episodes.
IV.
Today in 2016 we lost a damn legend when David Bowie passed away due to liver cancer. His illness had been kept under wraps and his death came just days after both his 69th birthday and the release of Black Star, which turned out to be his final album. It came as a surprise, and frankly, I'm still not over it.
Bowie was a bit of an unlikely rock star, but his persistence ultimately turned him into a household name and enabled him to reinvent himself throughout the decades. And let's not forget his performance as the Goblin King in 1986's Labyrinth, among other film appearances.
RIP Ziggy Stardust.
V.
If you were heading out to the movies today in 1974, 50 years ago, you were probably going to see The Exorcist, which was at the beginning of a 12-week run at the top of the box office following its post-Christmas release date.
You're getting a little scared right now just thinking about it, aren't you?