From Megapolis Everything has been said. So much so that it divided critics at Cannes and turned Francis Ford Coppola’s supposed final film into a debate about the permanence and value of cinema. On the one hand, there are those who consider it a work of art that involves complete risk, occurring at a time when cinema has become trivial and superficial. The other extreme is the extravagance that the director can afford, but this does not mean that it is of better quality. The discussion is being held not only among specialized critics, but also among fans and lovers of modern cinema.
But, of course, this is not the first time that a great director has realized a seemingly impossible project that ultimately turns into a nightmare. Moreover, when the film is released on the big screen, it becomes a disaster for the box office and public opinion. This is clearly an unpredictable phenomenon and it is difficult to say when it will occur. However, in most cases, these unique projects represent a “before” and “after” in the understanding of cinema. Moreover, they challenge the most established views and open the door to new interpretations of cinema.
We leave you with five projects that were production nightmares, extravagant directorial efforts, and, ultimately, resounding failures. From a work that was decades in the making and only disappointed, to an auteur’s most personal film that disappointed its audience. The selection is a journey through the visions of some of the greatest film talents of all time. But much more – a vision of what the cinematic world can be at its extremes. The best thing these strange experiments left behind.
Artificial Intelligence AI (Stanley Kubrick and Steven Spielberg)
Stanley Kubrick’s obsessive perfectionism has already gone down in Hollywood history. But never was this more clearly demonstrated than in the cumbersome, long, and unfinished creative process he undertook for the film. Artificial Intelligence AI. The director began with a draft of the script, which he developed throughout much of the 1970s. He wrote and rewrote it so much that he ended up with at least a dozen versions, all with different and disparate endings. He finally chose one and began exploring the possibility of making a film.
Then he encountered another obstacle. Kubrick envisioned David, the child android at the center of the story, to be created on a computer. Be it in the form or directly as a robot. The truth is that the director never considered the possibility of him being a real actor due to that he was convinced he could never show the moral drama he wanted to explore.
After years of searching for alternatives—from animatronics to practical special effects at Stan Winston’s studio—Kubrick gave up. Or at least he convinced himself that he should seek help to bring the project to a successful conclusion. While all of the above was happening, the plot was passing through the hands of the writers. such as Brian Aldiss, Bob Shaw, Ian Watson and Sarah Maitland.
Disappointing end
Finally, Kubrick contacted Steven Spielberg in 1995 and gave up some of his copyright so they could both work on the project. But Kubrick’s desire to find work exactly as he had imagined slowed the process for another five years.
Only after the death of the director the work received the final impetus for release on the big screen. However, despite attempts to honor the director’s memory, Spielberg had to make a number of changes to the script. Already at that time, the work had reached an exorbitant budget for that time of $100 million. But the film became a mixture of points of view, including a controversial ending, making it a film full of ups and downs. Receiving mixed reviews and modest box office returns, it is considered one of Spielberg’s failures.
“The Weight of Water” (Kathryn Bigelow)
After victories such as Boiling point And Strange days Water weight For Kathryn Bigelow, the experiment failed. So bad that it put his career in jeopardy in the early 2000s. Especially when the work fails in many ways and forms, which turns into a real disaster.
From a plot that Alice Arlen and Christopher Kyle rewrote at least three times, to a very strange production with no logic or coherent aesthetic point of view. The truth is that the film is a sequence of poorly composed scenes, much like a story in two time frames. But not only does it not achieve this, but it becomes contradictory, funny and even boring with its chaotic conclusion.
Chaos behind and in front of the cameras
Based on the book Water weight Anita Shreve (who harshly criticized the adaptation) The film follows two characters who find themselves in different historical settings. The two converge on Smuttynose, an island off the coast of New Hampshire. But whether this was because Bigelow couldn’t construct a cohesive story, it’s never clear what’s going on or where the film stands chronologically. In addition, the film was hastily edited, making the plot difficult to understand.
There were rumors of dissatisfaction on the set with the director’s demands. Added to this was a delay in filming due to a storm and even a flu epidemic among the actors. All the chaos seemed to be reflected on the screen. On a budget of $16 million, the film barely grossed $321,000. As if the above weren’t enough, critics were rabid about the production, which ultimately received a mediocre 34% positive review on Rotten Tomatoes. Currently, the director still refuses to talk about the film.
Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick)
Stanley Kubrick’s last project was a disaster from start to finish. Moreover, the author insisted on hiring the then real-life couple, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, to actually play themselves on screen. What they did, amid pressure, endless recordings and rumors that Kubrick was making demands on him, this eventually led to private quarrels and conflicts.
The director’s demands on his actors were so exaggerated that at one point he demanded an intimacy coach. This comes after claims that Cruise and Kidman lack on-screen chemistry. Which, apparently, justified the director’s need to create a hostile environment that allowed him to develop his perspective on grief and hatred.
Scenes of fighting, criticism and instructions between the couple were repeated at least ten times a day. All with the intention of making them as realistic as possible. Something that ended up delaying the filming schedule as well as, the total work budget, which ultimately exceeded the original twice.
Endless dilemma
Moreover, when the film was finished, it almost never made it into theaters. This is due to the director’s refusal to edit the nudity and sexual scenes included in the list. Such a decision would have earned the production an X classification, making the project an inevitable failure.
The debate reached the board of Warner Bros., which tried unsuccessfully to mediate, while Kubrick refused to do anything, unsure that the feature film would make it to theaters in its entirety. However, Kubrick never saw his work on the big screen. The director died on March 7, 1999, without having edited the footage, which was eventually cut from a more accessible classification for a wider audience.
Ladykillers (Coen Brothers)
The films of the brother-directing duo are distinguished by the elegance of their scripts, a wacky sense of humor and attention to detail. Everything that is missing from this 2004 film, which is considered one of the greatest failures of both. Not just because he lacks the storytelling chops to narrate his conflict, the visual gravitas, and the intelligence to delve into a complex plot. And also because the filming was a chaos of delays, problems with the script and budget.
This was despite starring Tom Hanks, who became the point of balance in the middle of a chaotic shoot that ended in complete disarray. This is a remake of “Quintet of Death” (1955) by Alexander Mackendrick. the plot tried to stick to the original, but was changed and turned into a confusing, embellished story.
The result seemed to be reflected on the big screen. The Ladykillers is considered one of the Coen brothers’ worst films. This was despite mixed reviews as well as the relative box office success it achieved at the time.
“Silence” (Martin Scorsese)
Although Martin Scorsese considers himself one of the most precise and orderly directors when it comes to filming, the truth was that this – considered his most personal project – went through a lot of problems. For more than twenty years, work on it was constantly postponed and finally abandoned more than six times. The director ultimately refused to make anything other than a film. This while he was telling the press, having become obsessed with the story of two Jesuits who faced difficulties in 1640s Japan trying to spread Christianity.
This, after the box office and critical success it brought The wolf of Wall Street, which gave the final impetus to filming. Paramount Pictures contributed $50 million to the budget. But in the end, this figure turned out to be higher, since Scorsese insisted on filming on location and in Taiwan. That in the midst of terrible weather the team behind the camera has problems due to demands achieve accurate work and, in the end, any technical inconveniences.
Lasting over two hours, this contemplative and intense work has baffled audiences and critics alike. In the end, it was also a box office disaster, grossing only $23 million. Currently, “Silencio” is justified and is considered a cult work. which one way or another confirms the director’s efforts to implement it.
Source: Hiper Textual
