Top 10 Bad Movies by Good Directors
Not every movie that these guys make is going to be a hit. These are a collection of the embarrassing films that otherwise talented, visionary, and poised directors had a part of. They definitely aren't something that matches the rest of their resume, and have left audiences puzzled for ages. Here is my list of the worst movies made by good directors.
Director of:
The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Apocalypse Now, The Conversation, Bram Stoker's Dracula
I'm sorry. How does this happen? How does the man who directed the masterpieces of The Godfather films and quite possibly the greatest war movie of all time in Apocalypse Now make something like this? The tone is confused between melodrama and slapstick comedy, and Coppola just seemed to let Robin Williams (bless his soul) run around on screen and do whatever he wanted. It's almost otherworldly what a difference this is from the films Coppola usually makes.
Francis Ford Coppola directing a crappy kids comedy. That's like hearing Quentin Tarantino directing a Pixar film, it's just impossible to comprehend, HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?!?
Captain EO got undeserved hate, unlike this Francis Ford Coppola film (it got deserved hate). I'd rather watch The Godfather: Part III than this.
Director of:
Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, A Few Good Men, Misery, When Harry Met Sally...
This movie is just...unpleasant to watch. There's just so many different cultural stereotypes and cringe worthy jokes that it almost becomes unwatchable. What's worse is that this movie has an all-star cast consisting of a young Elijah Wood, Bruce Willis, Jon Lovitz, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Dan Aykroyd, Alan Arkin, and even a young Scarlett Johannson that's just completely wasted in this mess. At least we got Reiner's earlier works to admire.
Important question, if the whole movie was a dream and storyline-wise the movie takes place over the span of several days...does that mean the kid was asleep in the middle of a store for several days?
The source of one of Roger Ebert's funniest negative reviews and a subsequent book title.
Director of:
Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, Batman, Sweeney Todd, Ed Wood
I'm a fan of Tim Burton. The dude has a style that no director can replicate with his dark themes and quirky sense of humor. But this is just a cinematic fail in every sense of the word. The movie just tries to make references to the original classic as much as it can, which gets old really fast. The performances range from boring (Mark Wahlberg) to completely over-the-top (Tim Roth), and it's one of the main reasons why we get so many rebooted movies nowadays. Not to mention quite possibly the stupidest twist in movie history. Monkey Abe Lincoln anybody?
I actually like this, the makeup in particular is great. I just wish Mark Wahlberg would've...y'know, shown emotion. Any emotion at all.
Think alice in wonderland movies are worse
Director of:
Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, The Producers, Silent Movie, Spaceballs
Mel Brooks is one of my favorite filmmakers ever. To me, he's the greatest comedic director to ever live, so what was the deal with this? You could tell that Mel wanted to create something similar to his masterpiece of Young Frankenstein by parodying the monster movie genre, but the result just came out awkward and unfunny. Still, I can never be mad at a comedic genius like Mel Brooks. May the Schwartz be with him.
Director of:
Platoon, JFK, Born on the Fourth of July, Wall Street, Nixon
Oliver Stone is a flat out great filmmaker that specializes in the war and political genres. But Alexander is just an overly long snooze-fest with miscast actors and a bunch of historical inaccuracies. Both critics and audiences agree that this Alexander was definitely not so great.
Director of:
Titanic, The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Aliens, Avatar
We all have to start somewhere, but it's hard to imagine starting from somewhere as low as this. It's hard to believe that James Cameron, director of big-budget blockbusters with gorgeous effects had his film debut which what is essentially a pathetic B-Movie. This movie is awful, but it actually is kind of entertaining in what a trainwreck it is.
Director of:
Fight Club, The Social Network, Seven, Gone Girl, Zodiac
The reason this movie wasn't good was not really Fincher's fault. He was brought in late in the film's production with a half-finished script. That's tough for any rookie filmmaker to deal with. Also, the studio pretty much ruined the movie and cut it multiple times without his permission. At least we got better things from the guy in the future.
Underrated. Seriously underrated.
Director of:
Schindler's List, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., Jaws, Saving Private Ryan, Jurassic Park, and a crap load of other stuff
We all know Steven Spielberg. As kids, he's usually the first director we're introduced to. We all know his movies and all have our personal favorites. But it would be difficult to find someone who calls The Lost World their favorite Spielberg film. Compared to the first Jurassic Park movie, this just comes off as overly mean-spirited and just flat out pretentious. Plus making Jeff uh Gold uh Blum the main character of the movie may have seemed like a good idea at first, but his charm from the original is just nonexistent here. This is definitely a movie that Spielberg fans hope to go extinct.
My favorite Steven Spielberg movie is Raiders of the Lost Ark
This isn't a bad movie nether is episode 1
He had made better way before this abomination was made.
A lot of good actors (and William Shatner) have some of their worst moments in this, Paul Newman is dreadfully miscast as a Mexican bandit.
Directors of:
Fargo, No Country for Old Men, The Big Lebowski, Raising Arizona, True Grit
I really enjoy the work of Joel and Ethan Coen. Their work consists of hilarious black comedies to intense, violent thrillers, but this movie seemed like a step backwards for me. Sure, Tom Hanks is funny in it, but the writing doesn't compare well to the other masterpieces the two brothers are known for. The result is just a half-hearted effort from the greatest directorial duo ever. The Dude definitely doesn't abide.
Please put Frozen - John Lasseter on this list. Yes, it is a lot less babyish, engrossing and terrible as A Troll in Central Park, but it has negative character portrayals and belongs on the list of "Top 10 Worst Movies With Good Animation" (yes, Frozen is a mixed bag and the most of the backgrounds are rather bland, but it has returned the Disney magic, Princess Anna is actually a confident female character and Frozen has the same animation as Big Hero 6, Zootopia, Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph and Moana which is why I, The Ultimate Daredevil stated that put Frozen on my list of bad movies with strong animation), which A Troll in Central Park dominates.
Director of:
The Secret of NIMH, The Land Before Time, An American Tail, Anastasia, All Dogs Go to Heaven
As a HUGE animation fan, I got a lot of respect for Don Bluth. He's one of the greatest animation directors ever and each of his movies challenges kids with believable grit and universal truths. THIS on the other hand is just an insult to childrens' intelligence. With tons of clichés, a beyond annoying main character, and just a overly whimsical and happy feel, this movie is definitely the low point in Don's storied animated career.
It's boring by the way
Director of:
Alien, Blade Runner, The Martian, Gladiator, Thelma & Louise
Why is Ridley Scott directing a sappy romantic comedy? We all know that his strength is taking us to fantastic new worlds with his inventive mind and spirit so why do something as dumbed-down as this? I don't know and I don't care. The result is just a cringey and snore-inducing movie that I'm questioning the reason for existing.
Hey, where is "Alien: Covenant"? That's what I call a bad movie by good director.
