10 classic movies that the critics hated
Films are classics for a reason, having gained the critical and commercial respect to be deemed masterpieces in the cultural eye. Often created by the greatest filmmakers of cinema history, including the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, Sergio Leone and Alfred Hitchcock, these movies pulse with quality, having garnered the respect of countless viewers across the generations.
Some ‘classics’ haven’t always been considered such, however, gaining respect decades after their release when their technical and artistic achievements could be appreciated with greater context. Released below the radar by independent companies, these films often go without the attention of award ceremonies, relying on being picked up by fans and, if they’re lucky, the Criterion Collection many years later.
Further still, some big-budget movies simply don’t get the credit they deserve upon release, with countless classics suffering from negative critical opinions upon their release. Our list of ten classic films that the critics hated speaks for itself, including films from such influential filmmakers as John Carpenter, David Fincher, Stanley Kubrick, Michael Powell and Sergio Leone.
Take a look at our definitive list of classics below.
10 classic films that the critics hated
A Fistful of Dollars (Sergio Leone, 1964)
Sergio Leone’s ‘Dollars trilogy’, consisting of 1964’s A Fistful of Dollars, 1965’s For a Few Dollars More and 1966’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, is considered the greatest western trilogy of all time, but this wasn’t always the case. Upon its release, critics didn’t know what to make of it, and Italian writers especially hated it, even the influential journalist Phillip French stated: “Fistful of Dollars looks awful, has a flat dead soundtrack, anally devoid of human feeling”.
Starring Clint Eastwood, Gian Maria Volonté and Mario Brega, the film tells the story of a mysterious gunfighter who plays two families off against each other to save a town from greed and insidious power.
Fight Club (David Fincher, 1999)
The favourite movie of pretty much each and every burgeoning film student from across the world, David Fincher’s Fight Club is a classic of the 1990s that tells the story of a man who becomes radicalised by a new friend into starting a fighting society. Starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter and Jared Leto, the film is beloved for its subversive take on contemporary life.
Upon its release, the film was considered extremely divisive compared to Stanley Kubrick’s controversial A Clockwork Orange by many. Some loved it, some hated it, and others thought the film believed it was far cleverer than it actually was. Time has indeed been kind.
Peeping Tom (Michael Powell, 1960)
Michael Powell’s 1960 classic Peeping Tom is one of the most critically praised horror movies of all time that, granted, has never really felt the same amount of love from audiences. The film follows Karlheinz Böhm as Mark Lewis, a dashing yet undoubtedly troubled man who murders young women using a movie camera, capturing their final expressions before their eventual deaths.
Thanks to the film’s sexual and violent nature, critics were quick to turn on it, with Derek Hill of the Tribune stating that “the only really satisfactory way to dispose of Peeping Tom would be to shovel it up and flush it swiftly down the nearest sewer.”
The General (Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton, 1926)
These days, alongside the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, Buster Keaton is considered one of the greatest comedians of all time. His magnum opus, The General, is, too, one of the greatest comedies of all time, following Keaton as an engineer who must take back his prized locomotive after it is seized by spies, with the lead star also co-directing, writing, producing and editing the movie.
Considered unfunny and badly paced at the time, it would take a number of years before it was considered a classic, and by the 1960s, Keaton claimed that it was the movie he was most proud of.
The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955)
Beloved by many filmmakers and critics, including the Safdie brothers, Charles Laughton’s The Night of the Hunter tells the story of a religious man who marries a widow and tries to convince her children to tell him where their dad hid $10,000. An eerie, influential crime thriller, Laughton’s movie was the only one he ever helmed, making much more of a name for himself in front of the camera than behind it.
The commercial and critical failure of the film led Laughton to totally give up on moviemaking, with The New York Times writing at the time that the film was “a weird and intriguing endeavour”.
The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)
Many people will shriek in fear at the mere mention of Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 classic The Shining, with the name coming loaded with iconography that sears itself into the brain of the viewer. Still, not everyone saw the film so favourably, with the author of the original novel of the same name, Stephen King, famously hating the movie, calling it: “a big, beautiful Cadillac with no engine inside it”.
Critics weren’t too kind either, with many criticising it for its lack of logical sense. Indeed, many fans today are still trying to unlock the mysteries of Kubrick’s movie starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall.
The Thing (John Carpenter, 1982)
John Carpenter’s iconic science fiction movie The Thing is undoubtedly one of the greatest horror movies of all time, with the terrifying tale telling the story of a group of researchers in the Antarctic who come face-to-face with a cosmic beast. Still, despite the adoration for the film in the modern world, Carpenter’s movie was far from loved upon its release in 1982.
“I take every failure hard,” Carpenter reflected: “The one I took the hardest was The Thing. My career would have been different if that had been a big hit … The movie was hated. Even by science-fiction fans. They thought that I had betrayed some kind of trust, and the piling on was insane. Even the original movie’s director, Christian Nyby, was dissing me”.
The Warriors (Walter Hill, 1979)
Back in the late 1970s, Walter Hill delivered a cult classic in the form of his adaptation of Sol Yurick’s novel of the same name. Set in the grubby streets of New York City, where swathes of eccentric gangs rule the roost, the film follows the titular ‘Warriors’ as they try and escape back to their area of the city after they are framed for murdering a significant figure and are pursued across the city.
Thanks to its camp nature and highly stylised cinematography, perhaps it’s not all that surprising that the film wasn’t loved upon its release, with Roger Ebert stating: “No matter what impression the ads give, this isn’t even remotely intended as an action film. It’s a set piece. It’s a ballet of stylised male violence”.
The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939)
There are only a small handful of movies you could say have been truly revolutionary to the way that movies are appreciated and consumed across the world, and Victor Fleming’s 1939 Technicolor classic The Wizard of Oz is certainly one of them. An insanely creative piece of early cinema, Fleming’s film demonstrated to audiences exactly what the film form was capable of, introducing a wild story that took the viewer to unprecedented realms of imagination.
Critics turned their noses up, however, with many calling it unoriginal and uninspired, with some people even going after the young Judy Garland for her performance. It wasn’t until 1956, when the film was first shown on TV, where The Wizard of Oz was truly embraced as the classic it is recognised as today.
Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
For many years, Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 film Vertigo was considered to be one of the greatest movies of all time, alongside Orson Welles’ seminal classic Citizen Kane. Telling the story of a former police detective who falls in love with a beautiful woman whilst trying to battle his own inner demons, the film featured the likes of James Stewart, Kim Novak, Tom Helmore and Henry Jones.
As per the subject of this list, Vertigo wasn’t loved upon its release, however, with the general consensus being that the film was ‘too slow’ and ‘too thematically dissimilar’ from other, more traditional, crime thrillers.
