In the age of streaming, we’ve become accustomed to having everything at our fingertips. Gone are the days of rushing to the TV after dinner to make sure you don’t miss a minute of the latest episode of your favorite show, or checking the listings to see what movies are showing over the long weekend to save yourself a trip to Blockbuster. Apps have made everything easier to access, which is a net good in many ways. Still, there was something fun about flipping through TV channels later in the evening and finding something you’d never seen before.
Those of us who were alive a few decades before streaming took over watched most of our favorite movies for the first time on TV, either because we missed them in theaters or didn’t know they existed until we randomly caught the last hour on TV and had to search for what we’d just seen. The heyday of movies on cable corresponded with the blockbuster era of the ’80s and ’90s, and many movies that didn’t do as well as they’d hoped in theaters got a second chance when they started airing on TV.
To celebrate a bygone era with a touch of melancholy and to remember why we love some of our favorite movies, we’re taking a look back at ten films that we all especially enjoyed simply because we watched them on cable TV when we were younger. These films are crowd-pleasers, extremely watchable, and have something for everyone. Many of them are big action spectacles that still work great on the home TV screen, and others feel like they were made for those times when we want to relax and watch something cozy at home. They’re not all the greatest movies ever made, but when you come across one on TV late at night, there’s nothing you can do but stay and watch it until the end.
Movies We Love Because They’re Always on Cable TV
There’s something fun about flipping through TV channels late at night and coming across something you’ve never seen before.
Gallery credit: Emma Stefansky
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