“Zabriskie Point” (1970) – Michelangelo Antonioni
After four opaque, but unimpeachable meditations on modern alienation and ennui (“L’avventura,” “La Notte” “Eclipse,” “Red Desert”) and one existential murder mystery cum ‘60s mod masterpiece (“Blow-Up”), Italian maestro Michelangelo Antonioni was bound to lose his balance, and falter he did with his romanticized, let’s-fight-the-man counter-culture fiasco, “Zabriskie Point.” Antonioni’s first mistake was hiring two flat unknowns who can’t act (Mark Frechette, Daria Halprin) to play revolutionary hippie lovers on the run after a policeman is killed during a student riot (in typical Antonioni fashion, it’s unclear whether the rebel without a clear cause in the male half of this duo is responsible). Featuring trippy original music by Pink Floyd and Jerry Garcia, plus music by The Rolling Stones and John Fahey, its musical hipness was never enough to save a sluggish and inert screenplay (written by committee, one writer being Sam Shepard) and blissfully stoned pacing. It is perhaps best remembered for its ridiculous empty-headed ending, which features a mansion being blown up in slow motion over and over again — a dream-like imagining from the female lead at all the bourgeoise-ness around her that led to her lover’s death. While brutally panned by critics — Rolling Stone called it one of the “most extraordinary disasters in modern cinematic history” — Antonioni would redeem himself years later with 1975’s “The Passenger,” perhaps boasting the distinction of being the most oblique (and slowest) picture Jack Nicholson ever starred in.
“Zardoz” (1974) – John Boorman
While his career was never completely impeccable, the man who delivered one deconstructed crime classic (“Point Blank”) and one horrifying thriller that would do for the deep backwoods South what “Jaws” did for the water (“Deliverance”), John Boorman would stumble hard with his sixth feature-length effort, “Zardoz.” What does Boorman do with the carte blanche cachet earned from the hit that was “Deliverance”? Blows it on a sci-fi picture that starts off with a floating-head prologue from a queer magician narrator, before a gigantic stone god head descends upon a planet of savages, proceeds to barf up rifles and tells the heathen “exterminators” to go forth and destroy all the peon “brutals” on earth (the stonehenge deity also gives them this pearl of wisdom: “the gun is good. The penis is evil”). Set in the post-apocalyptic Earth of AD 2293, “Zardoz” centers on a hirsute and Zapatta-moustached exterminator (Sean Connery) who sneaks into the aforementioned Godhead and is accidentally sent to the Vortex, a realm that houses a secret cabal of immortal gods known as Eternals (headed up by ice queen Charlotte Rampling) that are exploiting the masses with this fraudulent “Zardoz” floating head deity and scare tactic. “Wizard of Oz”-like, Connery’s pony-tailed and scruffy chested hero then sets out to reveal their grand scheme. Written, produced and directed by Boorman, god knows why, but this picture was actually a pet project of his, and it might have landed him in permanent director’s jail if it weren’t for the successful “Excalibur” in 1981. Admittedly, the kaleidoscopic visuals, ambitious metaphysical textures and bizarro ending of the last act is impressive — as if Kubrick dropped a little LSD — but ultimately, “Zardoz,” while ironically enjoyable, is indisputable messy; a headscratching and often times unintentionally funny misfire.
Honorable Mentions: Honestly, we could be here all day: the twenty names above are hardly the only directors to misfire at some point (in fact, it’s a good game to try and work out the helmers who never went off the boil, or at least haven’t yet. Kubrick? Hitchcock? Nolan?). But we tried to pick the more interesting films: no-one needs a few hundred words on Rob Reiner’s “North,” even if it’s a classic example of what we’re talking about, an indulgent misfire after which the helmer never seemed to regain his mojo properly.
Nevertheless, a quick list of classic also-rans would include “Honky Tonk Freeway,” for which John Schlesinger was entirely unsuited (his last film “The Next Best Thing,” is also an embarrassment), Robert Wise’s deathly dull “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” Howard Hawks’ “Rio Lobo,” a pale shadow of his better Westerns, and John Huston’s “Annie,” another example of a great director coming unstuck in the musical genre.
More recently, Ridley Scott’s got a few, most egregiously “1492: Conquest of Paradise” and “A Good Year,” his brother Tony had the nonsensical “Domino,” Paul Verhoeven’s “Showgirls” is legendary in its failure, Mike Nichols’ “Wolf” is something of a misstep, as is Barry Levinson’s “Toys,” while Gus Van Sant seemed to leave his judgement at home for both “Even Cowgirls Get The Blues” and, more notably, “Psycho.”
Furthermore, Frank Darabont’s “The Majestic” was an indulgent, overlong mess, Ang Lee’s “Hulk” was somewhat bonkers, especially for a superhero tentpole (although it’s a film this writer has a great fondness for), Tim Burton never really seemed to get his gifts back after “Planet of the Apes,” and the Coens had two rare duds in a row with “Intolerable Cruelty” and “The Ladykillers.” Oliver Stone’s “Alexander” was a classically hubristic example, whichever cut you see, Wong Kar-Wai faltered in his English language debut “My Blueberry Nights” and Terry Gilliam’s “Tideland” is close to being unwatchable, while “The Good German” isn’t terrible, but, like “At Long Last Love,” is more pastiche than actual movie, and is one of Steven Soderbergh‘s rare misses.
Ridley Scott's "Prometheus" would fit nice in here…
Whoa, Playlist! Popeye is a good movie.
Not a bad list (that is, a pretty good list of bad), but:
Zardoz? A misfire to you; a guilty pleasure to me.
but then I thought Batman Begins was great and The Dark Knight execrable (and Inception a pretentious load of old tosh).
\”Bruce Willis plays a plastic surgeon who spends much of the last act of the movie trying to kill everyone.\” I\’m not sure which Bruce Willis movie you watched, but based on that comment, it\’s easy to tell that you did not watch Death Becomes Her, a very funny black comedy. It also brings into question whether you watched any of the other movies, either.
I\’m with you 95% on your picks. But I have to defend Gilliam\’s \”Tideland\”. A child\’s-eye-view of a gritty world, and Gilliam\’s skills are just as good as \”Fear and Loathing\” or \”12 Monkeys\”; it\’s just one of his least whimsical films, but it\’s consistent with his themes and tenor. I\’d consider \”Baron Munchausen\” or \”Brothers Grimm\” closer to hiccups in his oeuvre…
I would argue that after Planet of the Apes Tim Burton did recover with Big Fish, and Sweeney Todd. While some may not agree with me concerning Sweeney Todd, Big Fish was critically acclaimed.
Here\’s an alternate headline (which might work for many Indiewire articles).
These Are Films That People Hate: I Will Also Say I Hate Them So That People Think I\’m A Good Critic Instead Of Someone Who Merely Follows The Pack, But I Will Do It In A Drawn-Out, Incredibly Smug Article While Trying Very Hard To Be Witty
I guess that wouldn\’t all fit on the banner, though.
Intolerable Cruelty is not a dud. I think its needs a rewatch (I\’ll give you the Ladykillers remake)
Speaking as a long-time reader of comics (and anything else with words on, generally), Altman\’s \”Popeye\” is absolutely a perfect transcription of what made \”Thimble Theatre\” (the actual title of the strip) enduringly popular, and what every other filmic adaptation (even the Fleischer Bros\’ wonderful cartoons) has pretty well missed.
Feiffer\’s script, BTW, is an excellent adaptation of an actual \”Thimble Theatre\” continuity.
I\’ve only seen the 3-hour cut of Dune, and I thought it was a good adaptation. though clearly not without it\’s flaws. I mean it takes them the first two hours to get 1/3 of the way through the story, so despite the first 2 hours being excellent, the 3rd hour feels rushed. Not to mention the special effects are laughable. I\’ll always have mixed feelings about this one, but in some ways it\’s still better than the Space miniseries.
Interested Observer:
Hope I\’m not too late coming back to this! It\’s true that A New Leaf had a troubled production and the film we got isn\’t necessarily pure Elaine May, but regardless how it arrived it\’s a fantastic dark comedy with tons of warmth and hilariously constructed individual scenes. Now, I don\’t know how everyone else feels about The Heartbreak Kid, but to me it\’s an instance of perfect casting all across the board, with some fine music, one of the best scripts ever, and it totally doesn\’t need to be beautifully shot, but it is. I think everyone I know who\’s seen Mikey & Nicky agrees with me that it\’s the best film Cassavetes never made, and I think it\’s one of his best performances too.
Read the write-up on Skidoo, we might not have affection for ALL the films on this list — again, Death Becomes Her CERTAINLY belongs here — but we too have a lot of love for them too. Otherwise, we wouldn\’t be here. I think One From The Heart is beautifully flawed and that\’s the sentiment of many of our takes on this film, fyi.
And yes, lots of other good choices here. We could easily do a part 2.
Strange, that I love almost 50% of the films on this list. Maybe because most of them were made during the \’80\’s, when I was still prepubescent, and joyfully unburdened of any critical faculty. Damn you for adding an extra layer of guilt to these cinematic pleasures.
Okay, while you are mostly spot-on here, I cannot let the slight to One From the Heart go by. This film is so brilliant to watch I have seen it as many times as I\’ve seen anything. First problem is that most people never saw the movie correctly as it was shot in 4:3 and projectionists would cut off the top and bottom of the frame to fill the conventional widescreen. Its gorgeously composed and the soundtrack is a work of art. Its different, its difficult, and maybe it doesnt speak to everybody, but on its own terms its pitch perfect. NOT a musical, its a \”film with music\”. I Love This Movie.
Wonderful article. I actually like some of those movies quite a lot, especially the fantastic looking Dune, 1941 just for it\’s onscreen excess and Star Trek despite its strange story and bad pacing.
Zardoz is completely nuts but kind of funny and reading John Boormans name reminds me of his other crazy failure that is Exorcist II – The heretic.
Regarding Brian de Palma – he lost the ball again with Mission to Mars and Black Dahlia. Both films were visually slick and watchable with de Palmas signature style, but otherwise nearly nothing really worked.
Wow great article, but couldn\’t disagree more about Krull and Dune, two of my favorite fantasy films. I felt the staked in Krull, especially when Corwin stuck his hand into molten lava (name another hero who did that?) to retrieve the Glaive. I thought the plot was more than followable. Dune was purposefully hard to understand which gave it it\’s own logic and other worldliness. I thought Toto\’s guitar licks especially the credits were a highlight. Star Wars uses electric guitars in a few movies and it seemed to work. Awesome insights.
\”…One of Steven Soderbergh‘s rare misses\”? Have you forgotten \”Full Frontal,\” \”Bubble,\” \”Schizopolis,\” \”Solaris,\” \”Che,\” \”King of the Hill,\” and \”The Girlfriend Experience\”?
I agree with the other posters\’ objections with \”Death Becomes Her\” being on the list. It holds up well.
many movies that i haven\’t seen (so i can\’t comment those) and some that i agree you with, but all credibility was lost at the mention of tideland. the only time gilliam has failed (that i remember of) was jabberwocky and imaginarium of doctor parnassus. tideland is one of his best.
Interesting piece. \”Bedazzled\” was not a thriller but a comic version of the Faust legend with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. Lumet did make some good non-New York movies eg The Hill, Murder on the Orient Express.
Lesson: nobody\’s perfect!
ron
enjoyed this article immensely, and agreed with most of it. but what is nolan doing in the company of kubrick and hitchcock?
Far from a failure, but the wandering plot of Hawk\’s \”The Big Sleep\” is still the best pairing of Bogey and Bacall with Hawk\’s \”To Have and Have Not\” and Huston\’s \”Key Largo\” close behind.
Nice article!
I think Blake Edwards merits an honorable mention on this list. Brilliant early films like \”Breakfast at Tiffany\’s,\” \”Days of Wine and Roses,\” and \”A Shot in the Dark,\” are bookended by the much dimmer \”Skin Deep\” and \”Son of the Pink Panther\” late in his career.
\”1941\” rocked! It is meant to be overblown but it\’s so damn funny. I liked all of the craziness of that film. \”One from the Heart\” may not have a strong plot but it\’s still an entertaining film with lots of pizazz, great dance music, and amazing supporting performances from Raul Julia and Nastassja Kinski.
Spielberg lost the plot with \”Lost World: Jurassic Park 2\” and Coppola lost it with \”Jack\”. Another director who recently just lost the plot is David Gordon Green with \”Your Highness\”.
Krull! One of my favorites. Especially when the lead guy isn\’t in the scene.
Mark, there are many, including myself, who view EYES WIDE SHUT as one of Kubrick\’s greatest films. It\’s not as easy to dismiss as you seem to think.
The fact that Death Becomes Her is on that list is a joke. Its a classic black comedy. It went down badly with critics at the time but so what? So did Scott Pilgrim and Blade Runner (not that its nearly as good as either). Seems like the writers of this article just skimmed over old, negative reviews, rather than actually watching the films.
New York, New York is a pretty good movie. As for directors with failures, Kubrick\’s Eyes Wide Shut is a complete failure, the only one he ever had and, although I know many will disagree, Tarentino\’s Kill Bill 1 and 2 are irredeemable pieces of trash, unwatchable really.
Has it been three months already? That\’s how often this kind of article appears, slagging off failed films and reaffirming the peer-pressure rule of film history. Because hey, if it lost money, it must have been bad. And if it\’s eccentric or tries anything not already pre-sold (like the current run of Marvel heroes), it must be really bad. And if its first few notices set off a tidal wave of critical disapproval, well, great! All the thinking is done for us, no need to challenge the bleating sheep that decided the movie\’s fate 10, 20, 30, or even 70 years ago.
Big, Hollywood (or internationally co-produced) failures are the easiest, laziest targets in movie history. It\’s so hard to get people to take any of them seriously, because the first few notices are what matters most. Often, when the NY Times or the New Yorker made a little cut in a film\’s flesh, there\’s blood in the water and it\’s over.
Failures that matter enormously to me: John Ford\’s MARY OF SCOTLAND, Michael Cimino\’s HEAVEN\’S GATE, Elaine May\’s ISHTAR, Blake Edwards\’s SUNSET, Michelangelo Antonioni\’s ZABRISKIE POINT, Alfred Hitchcock\’s UNDER CAPRICORN, Howard Hawks\’s LAND OF THE PHARAOHS, Steven Spielberg\’s 1941, David Fincher\’s THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, Brian De Palma\’s REDACTED, Francis Coppola\’s ONE FROM THE HEART, etc.
And I\’m not alone. Indiewire, you live up to half of your name: you plug yourselves into whatever will get traffic milling through your site, and you lie down. As for \”Indie,\” well, it\’s just a badge, it doesn\’t have anything to do with \”independent.\”
In defense of Death Becomes Her – it made back it\’s budget + half again at the box office and still scores 53% among critics at Rotten Tomatoes.
That\’s not really worthy of being in the company of most of the other films on this list.
Call me crazy but I actually like My Blueberry Nights. David Strathairn was great and Norah Jones wasn\’t awful. Great mood, music, etc. Maybe most people inc. critics who didnt like it are comparing it to Wong\’s other films, which I unfortunately haven\’t seen enough of. Either way, I\’d cut some slack for My Blueberry Nights
Brendan: What streak of 3 near perfect movies from Elaine May??
A New Leaf was a great desperate edit by Robert Evans of a grand mess of Heaven\’s Gate (or more specifically Ishtar) proportions in the works when the plug was pulled on her over budget opus headed for a three hour run time. She did not finish and tried unsuccessfully to get removed from the credits for the A New Leaf that we see. If she had made it the statement would be accurate and Ishtar would be an inexplicable lapse. We have no idea what HER A New Leaf would have been like.
I have not seen the other two movies she directed so I will have to trust you on that.
Death Becomes Her is a hilarious movie. I feel sorry for anyone who doesn\’t think that.
We now that Preminger was stricken with Alzheimer\’s, and I wonder now whether he was in the early stages with Skidoo.
Gangs Of New York is much worse by Scorsese – while Daniel Day Lewis is his reliable self, Leonardo DiCaprio is bland and lifeless and Cameron Diaz miscast. The film is also lifeless which is odd for a pet project. It\’s as if, once he started filming, Scorsese didn\’t seem to know what to do.
The problem with Carpenter is that somewhere around Village of the Dammed he stopped making any good movies.
And nice on the Tim Burton honorable mention. I really liked every movie of his up until Planet of the Apes and I\’ve really disliked every one since. somehow I blame this on Helena Bonham Carter.
Brewster\’s Millions? I\’ll Do Anything? O.C. and Stiggs? Southland Tales?
I would gladly trade you one of these for Death Becomes Her.
All kidding aside good list.
I have to say that a lot of the films here are actually very good and some are in fact among the director\’s best films. I personally would say Scorsese lost the plot with THE AVIATOR and consider NEW YORK, NEW YORK with some of its(minor) flaws among his six or seven best films.
Same with Coppola\’s ONE FROM THE HEART, 1941, SKIDOO, ZABRISKIE POINT and others. These films are just different and unusual, on their own terms they are excellent works.
congratulations! you suck!
Village of the Damned is far from John Carpenter\’s only misstep. ALL of his films are ridiculously overrated and that includes The Thing, but at least it\’s not utter garbage the way They Live, Prince of Darkness, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Ghosts of Mars and Escape from LA all are.
Christopher Nolan \”never went off the boil, or at least haven’t yet\”? Did no one watch that godawful GWoT-wank-fest which was _The Dark Knight_?
Did you just put Nolan on the same level os Hitchcock and Kubrick? You gotta be fucking kidding me.
In defense of Death Becomes Her, it almost seems to have been made with a cult audience in mind. It never was a film that was going to appeal to a mass crowd, but rather a \”select group\”.
Of course test audiences were going to balk, and Zemeckis himself wanted the ending redone after seeing it, calling the original too \”saccharine\” and not in keeping with the tone of the rest of the film.
Compared to today\’s films, the special effects are not too obtrusive, and still hold up well today. It was a remarkable technical achievement, and Hawn and Streep were an incredible duo.
Hitchcock actually has had missteps in his career – Marnie is pretty bad, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) isn\’t very good, The Wrong Man is pretty boring at times and I bet nobody gives a shit (except for historical reasons) for his EARLY films….except for The 39 Steps of course
Also, on Kubrick, I think the first half of Full Metal Jacket is a real masterpiece whereas the second half is the same old, same old. Eyes Wide Shut is pretty bad as well.
As of now, I\’d say PTA hasn\’t had any missteps and I\’ll agree that Nolan hasn\’t either (although Memento, while good, is highly overrated IMO!)
I would add M. Night Shyamalan to the list. From Oscar nominated writer-director to… Village/Lady/Happening/Airbender…
I have to disagree a bit on Rio Lobo. While it\’s not nearly as good as Hawks\’ other westerns, it\’s still quite watchable.
You gotta admire Boorman and Altman, they weren\’t afraid to fail, and with Zardoz and Exorcist II, Boorman failed big. He also made at least three of my all time favorite movies, Point Blank, Hell in the Pacific, and Excalibur. (Deliverance is great too, but I\’m not fanatical about it.)
Popeye\’s actually a pretty fun movie, not perfect but enjoyable, and one of the most perfectly cast films you\’ll ever see. Everyone was perfect for the roles they were picked for. Friedkin\’s Sorcerer also has an undeserved bad rap, it\’s his best film.
With 1941, at least Spielberg learned from his mistakes, and came back stronger than ever. Sadly, with a lot of directors, a big bomb or two or three and they never recover, which is really too bad for some of them. Bogdanovich will never live down At Long Last Love, though Nickelodeon\’s much better than its rep, and Saint Jack is considered his lost gem.
A good article but this-
\”One can safely argue that whenever the great Sidney Lumet left New York, his films felt unmoored, out of place or uneven .\”?
I call bullshit. You\’ve clearly never seen / forgotten about \’The Hill\’ (1965)- Filmed in Africa with an almost entirely british cast. It is, unquestionably, one of his greatest cinematic accomplishments.
If I had to add to the list, I\’d go for Fincher\’s \’Benjamin Button\’- an absolute stinker of a film, a blemish (alonside the distinctly average Alien 3) on an otherwise outstanding filmography.
in defense of 1941 I offer a re-write:
“I will spend the rest of my life disowning this movie,” confessed legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg to the New York Times. WAIT A MINUTE, Steve. Maybe the flick was disjointed here and there, but I have this 1979 war-comedy in my private collection, and still like to watch it. The film was instantly compared to his wildly popular preceding films (Jaws and Close Encounters) and condemned by many as a flop. WAIT A MINUTE, try to follow that act. In the first place, war-comedy is a difficult genre to portray to the general public. War is deadly serious business, and certainly not at all funny to the 1941 Americans at Pearl Harbor, or the American Navy preparing to meet the Japs at Midway. To be more forgiving, consider this one in the only-in-California genre. I loved the opening scene which parodies the director’s two previous hit movies. A gorgeous skinny-dipping lady has a close encounter with a Japanese submarine lurking off the California coastline. When you see a joyous Jap sailor howling, “Hollywooood” at the sight of her bare bottom, it was worth the price of admission. Sure the movie stomps on today’s delicate PC toes, but that’s not my problem.
And remember, this flick features some of the best SNL clowns in their prime. RIP John Belushi
Well, I really dig Zardoz but I can see how some people wouldn\’t. The biggest problem I have with this (otherwise good) article is the praise for The Dresser-one of the worst films I\’ve ever seen. I think at least nine of the top ten most gratingly histrionic speeches in film history can be found in this too stagy melodrama. By comparison, the merely mediocre Krull looks like a masterwork.
Damn guys ,if any film DOES belong on this list that we\’re not apologetic at all about it\’s Death Becomes Her. Was there a convention in town for this film that we missed? Christ
\”Death Becomes Her\” on this list? It was a great black comedy that at the time seemed quite relevant…and still resonates in a nostalgic way today. I don\’t think just because something is off beat, it should be relegated to the turd pile.
@meebly
Agreed on Ashby, but we covered his career fairly extensively a few weeks ago, and didn\’t want to repeat ourselves so soon.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/the_films_of_hal_ashby_a_retrospective/
Ashby\’s first plot loss is \”Second-Hand Hearts.\” Plus as we said, we\’ll eventually do another one. This was at good first overview.
Hey Meebly, you might dig this: http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/the_films_of_hal_ashby_a_retrospective/
One very notable omission is the one truly great director of the 70s who seemed to implode (most likely in a drug-and-alcohol binge) on 1/1/1980 and never made another even passable film.
This would, of course, be Hal Ashby, who gave us \”The Landlord\”, \”Harold and Maude\”, \”The Last Detail\”, the overpraised but still memorable \”Shampoo\”, \”Coming Home\” and \”Being There\” all between \’70 and \’79.
Then studios and the blockbuster ethos took over (thanks, George), and Ashby retreated from bold risk-taking and gave us \”Second Hand Hearts\”, \”Lookin\’ to Get Out\”, \”The Slugger\’s Wife\”, a boring rockdoc on the Stones and, finally, the absolute worst of his career, \”8 Million Ways to Die\”.
Apart from maybe Frank Capra, this was the most tragic fall ever for a once-great auteur.
I have to disagree with The Lovely Bones for Peter Jackson. While it wasn\’t nearly as good as it should have been given the source material (one of my favorite books) and the talent involved, I maintain that it was a decent movie and that, regardless of missed opportunities, Jackson was the right director for the job. The problem wasn\’t a lack of emotion – especially on a rewatch, I actually found the movie quite touching – and honestly, it annoys me that people act like Lord of the Rings was all about the action and epic-ness, ignoring the fact that what really made LOTR stand out from other fantasies was its ability to make you care about its characters. Anyway, the real problem with The Lovely Bones was that, despite a number of good, memorable scenes, the movie as a whole felt rather clumsy and not-quite-there. It really made me wonder whether the book is truly unfilmable. And by the way, I still don\’t know why people have such a problem with the rape scene. I thought it was one of the movie\’s most well-executed and imaginative scenes.
Why isn\’t HEAVEN\’S GATE on this list?
It\’s very genre-snobby to insist that a director of fantasy can\’t handle \”human emotion.\” Typical of wannabes.
And seriously, you chastise Coppola for “One From The Heart” and not the overblown oversexed hamfisted monstrosity that is \”Bram Stoker\’s Dracula\”? For shame!
1941 is not really that bad of a movie once you realize it\’s a MAD Magazine version of a John Ford movie.
The fact that I was cracking up just reading your summary of Death Becomes Her proves that movie doesn\’t belong on this list!
Do people really hate Kafka? I thought it was wonderful. Up there with Haneke\’s \”The Castle\” for Kafka interpretations… also didn\’t think Good German or Full Frontal were bad in any way, though for this kind of article I\’d say Frontal fits well.
Domino is a masterpiece.
Death Becomes Her it\’s a great movie IMO, Should not be in this list… I agree with the rest.
John Carpenter\’s Ghosts of Mars might actually be worse and more batshit insane than Village of the Damned, but that\’s neither here nor there – this is a great article. a fun list to read. thanks.
I love Death Becomes Her. It\’s so goddamn insane, and Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn are an incredible comic duo.
One From The Heart is a better movie than The Godfather Part III. There, I said it.
what the FUCK is \”death becomes her\” doing on this list?!
i guess to each it\’s own…
Also, the guy who bitched about DUNE clearly did actually READ the piece as its probably the most affectionate (and kindest) assessment of all the films here. I think the elements Jess points out are valuable too.
You guys should read a little bit before you think we outright hate these films. Clue into \”interesting left turns\” in the headline.
We all have — or at least to some degree — some affection for every film we\’re writing about. If we truly loathed these films we wouldn\’t bother. I wrote Popeye. it\’s certainly not great, but it has a few charms for sure which i noted.
Same goes for a lot of these. See @Tristan\’s comment about Zardoz. It\’s pretty spot-on.
Even an interesting failure has value. I wrote Zabriskie Park too and while it\’s for sure a \”losing the plot\” film it does have some interesting value too.
I also personally like Krull a lot more than Jess did, but she\’s right — for Yates its a complete misfire.
And as for the other suggestions other people gave. Yeah, we could be here all day and maybe one day we\’ll do another, these are fun for sure.
Correct dates: New York, New York (1977); One From The Heart (1982)…if you\’re gonna knock them at least get their age right.
\”Popeye\”? Seriously? It\’s joyous and weird and completely satisfying. It\’s a great film.
Michael Bay\’s Transformer movies bare a striking resemblance to 1941:
A multitude of disjoined characters and elements loaded with loud and shrill misguided attempts at humor while massive action sequences are interspersed throughout.
The only difference is that 1941 is watchable and has a certain charm despite being so misguided. All Transformers provides is a headache.
Popeye becomes really great when viewed as a companion piece to McCabe & Mrs. Miller. There are some truly magical moments. Also, what about Ishtar? A flop that ended a streak of three near-perfect films from Elaine May.
Another point in favor of \”Saturn 3\” being one of the most awkward mish-mashes of actually talented people: It was written by MARTIN AMIS.
Great list, though I\’ll defend New York, New York any day of the week as one of Scorsese\’s best films.
\”She Hate Me\” belongs in the Honorable Mentions too.
I happen to like NYNY, One from the Heart, Popeye, and Zabriskie Point.
@Nolan: Time to watch Carrie, Blow Out, Dressed To Kill, Scarface, The Untouchables, Casualties of War, Raising Cain, Carlito\’s Way and Femme Fatale then.
Dune and 1492 are two of my favourite films. Sad we live in a world where these beautifully artistic films are criticised for doing something different, yet JJ Abrams\’ mundane efforts are lapped up.
Just watch the final confrontation in 1492 between Depardieu and Assante. Brilliant.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLOUltYDxms
\”I\’m not that familiar with De Palma, but having sat through the most agonizing 2+ hours of my life in \”The Black Dahlia\” I find it difficult to believe he was ever a respected director.\”
Damn son, watch some movies.
I think Intolerable Cruelty and/or The Lady Killers should be on the list proper. It\’s rare to see filmmakers like the Coens make two gigantic duds smack in the middle of a very successful career.
I\’m not that familiar with De Palma, but having sat through the most agonizing 2+ hours of my life in \”The Black Dahlia\” I find it difficult to believe he was ever a respected director.
Kafka is good. Better than the other two.
I kind of liked \”Zabriskie Point.\” In a way.
Holy hell, amazing article! I need to keep coming back to this throughout the day to continue reading it.
As far as wacky misfires from Soderbergh, Full Frontal would be more deserving of that distinction than The Good German, but they\’re both pretty bad (not counting Kafka and Underneath from his early days).
I\’d say True Lies for James Cameron, but that\’s undeniably fun to watch – which is what it set out to do.
Zardoz is so enjoyable and insane it defies easy categorization as either good or bad. Does certainly quality as a director losing the plot, though.