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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
 Posted - 04/20/2008 : 12:23:38 PM
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Funny how we have all sort of debates on these boards but this one never seems to come up.
Well?
Having witnessed (via MST3K) the horror that was Manos, I'm inclined to lean that way. Of movies I've seen on my own (non-MSTied) several would qualify, but Curse of Bigfoot would be extremely tough to beat. |
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Terrahawk
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
644 Posts |
Posted - 04/20/2008 : 12:54:13 PM
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The problem is what criteria for determining worst? Some films are saddled with no money. Others are vanity projects. It seems like there should be categories for worst.
- Si desea pulse 2 para español, encontrar un país diferente. - |
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Greenhornet
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1791 Posts |
Posted - 04/20/2008 : 12:56:18 PM
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I've seen more "boring" movies than "bad" ones, so I can't really make a judgement. Although "King Dinosaur" comes to mind.
"The Queen is testing poisons." CLEOPATRA, 1935 |
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RossM
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
427 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2008 : 11:44:41 AM
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| Its easy to go after movies like Plan 9 From Outer Space. But that was an independent movie from a very enthusiastic director who had little sense and less money. I would prefer to go after big budget lunacies that are truly impossible to watch such as The Other Side of Midnight or Sydney Sheldon's Bloodline. (he insisted on his name being in the title so lets give it to him). They are horrible in concept, badly made and acted, and as has been said philosophically ridiculous. A union of form and content. |
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hbrennan
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Philippines
1455 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2008 : 1:42:11 PM
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The "worst" movies, in my opinion, can be found in modern times. Poor taste and over-paid directors are the primary culprits. Two great examples:
Freddie Got Fingered - for poor taste
and
Epic Movie - for the directors taking the money and running with little regard for the viewer.
"...yet it hadn't destroyed his brain."
re: Charles "The Butcher" Benton (1956)
http://www.henrybrennan.com/
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Ericb
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
648 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2008 : 2:20:17 PM
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There should probably be a distinction between "most ridiculous" and "worst." Movie that are poorly made but entertaining because of/in spite of their badness don't really deserve the "worst" label. That should be saved for unwatachable monstrosities. I haven't seen "Heaven's Gate" but from what I've read about it I can't imagine actually sitting though it's entire 4 to 5 hours.
"I reserve the right to look as well as be boring." - Robert Fripp |
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Neville
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Spain
1590 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2008 : 3:10:00 PM
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Meet the Spartans is even worse than Epic movie. That's pretty close to the pinnacle of bad moviemaking... if we're talking about present day stuff and mainstream.
But I'm pretty sure there's worse crap than that out there. The 70s left a lot of pseudo-art and ugliness in movies, and then there's the 80s, with Cannon and their imitators. Italian 'Nam movies anyone? And today we have those guys who think all they need to make a movie is a digital camera. |
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twitterpate
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Canada
1026 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2008 : 3:11:13 PM
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"Worst" is such a debatable thing. It's easy to say something is bad, but the worst? That's entirely a matter of taste.
As others have said, some movies are bad because they were made with such as paucity of vision, talent and MONEY that they had no chance to be otherwise - and yet, they are entertaining, simply by their pretentions to competence. Others are bad because huge amounts of money, talent, and even vision were poured into them, with results that are not even interesting.
The English Patient won a Best Picture Oscar, and yet my mother was unable to sit through it to the finish. Surely one facet of quality must be that it's interesting enough to keep the audience from wandering off. All the "amusing" bad movies are better than that. |
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Flangepart
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
2329 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2008 : 4:33:17 PM
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Must agree with your Mom, Twitterpate.
If you can't enjoy it, even on the "I CAN'T Believe I saw that!" level, then the sound of snoreing is the sound of BAD.
Marvin the Paranoid Android to Buzz Lightyear "Too infinity and beyond-i've been there, its rubbish!"
"Hoody Hoo, i waste 'em with my cross bow!" Bob Herzog- KODT
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RossM
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
427 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2008 : 9:33:49 PM
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I fell asleep during the English Patient as well. All I remember is a lot of sand. It was a very expensive nap.
To me though the worst movie I have ever seen is The Other Side of Midnight. A double feature with Bloodline would like dying and going to hell.
I have actually seen the entire of Heavens Gate. All 4 hours or so. It lives up to its reputation. |
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Neville
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Spain
1590 Posts |
Posted - 04/22/2008 : 03:33:29 AM
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If I could, I'd save a special spot in Hell for The English Patient. I went to see it with a date, and she dumped me shortly afterwards. That, together with the movie itself, left me bad memories of the whole thing.
A few years later we were asked in college to read the novel by Michael Ondaatje. I was not surprised to notice they had taken the same events and completely altered the tone. At least Minghella learned the lesson, and his subsequent The talented Mr. Ripley and Cold Mountain turned out much better.
As for Heaven's gate, I enjoyed it on a can't-believe-they-have-done-this kind of way, and I'll never speak against it. Cimino has done far worse stuff in the recent years that deserves more criticism than this one. |
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RossM
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
427 Posts |
Posted - 04/22/2008 : 07:08:34 AM
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I took a date to see a movie called Life Is Sweet and she dumped me shortly after.
The long or short versions of Heaven's Gate horrible. This crazy movie simply makes no sense. There is however a lot of dust in it. Another similar movie is Dune. I tried to watch the long version and couldn't get past the dust and screaming to even figure out what was going on and who was who. Self indulgent directors and weak producers can create these monstrosities. |
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Gristle McThornbody
Preeminent Apostolic Prelate of the Discipleship of Jabootu
Germany
186 Posts |
Posted - 04/22/2008 : 08:59:46 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by zombiewhacker
Funny how we have all sort of debates on these boards but this one never seems to come up.
Well?
Having witnessed (via MST3K) the horror that was Manos, I'm inclined to lean that way. Of movies I've seen on my own (non-MSTied) several would qualify, but Curse of Bigfoot would be extremely tough to beat.
I'll cast a vote for Monster-a-Go-Go over Manos. At least Manos had the semblance of a plot. MaGG starts nowhere, shufflingly ambles off on tangents that go nowhere, and suddenly "ends" with an awkwardly tacked on "explanation". Bill Rebane apparently assembled the footage that became MaGG from another abandoned project. Bill Rebane should have known better. But from a director who's best effort was The Giant Spider Invasion, I guess I just expect too much.
And for those who listed Epic Movie, I've got to say that it's a masterpiece compared to its predecessor, Date Movie.
How bad was Date Movie? While watching it, I actually felt sorry for Eddie Griffin. Yes, the Eddie Griffin from Deuce Bigelow: Male Gigalo and Norbit.
"Hi, I'm Bob Evil!" |
Edited by - Gristle McThornbody on 04/22/2008 12:38:12 PM |
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dconner
Preeminent Apostolic Prelate of the Discipleship of Jabootu
USA
104 Posts |
Posted - 04/22/2008 : 1:22:56 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Gristle McThornbody
I'll cast a vote for Monster-a-Go-Go over Manos. At least Manos had the semblance of a plot. MaGG starts nowhere, shufflingly ambles off on tangents that go nowhere, and suddenly "ends" with an awkwardly tacked on "explanation". Bill Rebane apparently assembled the footage that became MaGG from another abandoned project. Bill Rebane should have known better. But from a director who's best effort was The Giant Spider Invasion, I guess I just expect too much.
I agree, Monster-a-Go-Go takes the prize, largely by virtue of its ending. "There was no monster...."
Manos actually works a little bit. Not always intentionally, but the weird music, the non-edited 30-second-at-a-time filmmaking... it's actually kind of an unsettling, creepy movie.
But as for the Big Question, I think you clearly need to use different weight classes. It's unfair to judge, say, Plan Nine From Outer Space on the same playing field as Battlefield Earth. I quoted an article by Joe Queenan a week or so ago on this forum where he provides one pretty good framework for judging the question. |
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Neville
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Spain
1590 Posts |
Posted - 04/22/2008 : 3:14:03 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by RossM
Another similar movie is Dune. I tried to watch the long version and couldn't get past the dust and screaming to even figure out what was going on and who was who. Self indulgent directors and weak producers can create these monstrosities.
I happen to like Dune too. I'm quite aware of all its problems, like needing a dictionary to understand what the Hell characters speak about, clunky exposition scenes or wooden acting. But still it is a nerd's dream come true, and Lynch has a knack for irrepetible images. Notice that every adaptation of Dune filmed since then has come under fire for being too tame.
I wouldn't call Dino De Laurentiis a "weak producer" either, he seemed to be very involved in everything he did. Whatever excesses Lynch felt into, they were approved by him, you can bet on that. |
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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
Posted - 04/22/2008 : 5:57:08 PM
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| I'll see your Monster A-Go-Go and raise you one Creeping Terror. |
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