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I was fortunate to see SILENCE in a packed theater. The audience--and myself--were just stunned. It is a testament to the movie that no one moved during the 160+ minute runtime, and the line at the men's room afterward was epic.
“Behold, the literal sun of god” This is a very difficult movie to watch. Some of the more brutal scenes made me shut it off for a minute and take a break.
I'm surprised you didn't include John Carpenter's The Thing. Truly a great film, and many list it high on their Carpenter's list along with Halloween, but it still bombed in the box office.
@@chipdunavent3075 I think the end is hopeful although very sad. The two single shot sequences are among the most thrilling and brilliant film work I have ever seen.
The biggest reason Citizen Kane didn't win best picture at the Oscar's was probably because of William Randolph Hearst's power at the time, probably hurt its box office too.
Was about to make this very point. Hearst had a lot of writers and papers at his disposal and did all he could to have them sandbag the movie in their columns.
I agree it is really good, but WhatCulture here uses phrases like "Slow Burn" and that it "pays off for those that sit through it" - this makes it sound like the ending is going to be some shocking revelation or similar. And it's not. It's more contemplative than that.
@@markelijio6012 I didn’t say I didn’t love the movie I was just stating a fact. Someone before me did the same thing and you didn’t go after him. What’s your problem?
Children of Men is one of my favorite movies. There is a battle scene that is all one continuous shot that was impressive. I thought that Jarhead was pretty good.
I stumbled across Children of Men years ago by accident...one of the best dystopian movies I ever saw! And quite interesting to revisit during the covid lockdowns. Such a great cast as well
Some may not agree, but the film ‘12 Angry Men’ could be on this list. One of my all time favourite films. It flopped at the US box office, I believe, (doing a bit better internationally), even though it was critically acclaimed. Apparently it became a hit once it hit the TV screens.
Simon Ross And yet, the remake was written and directed by the original playwrite who penned the play. Funny how that works out. I didn't hate it, but there's no comparison to the original, that's for sure.
@@wolverine343534 there's a US remake? I only seen one by Nikita Mikhalkov, russian imperialist and advocate for returning slavery. He actually plays the guy who doesn't accept the falsely accused's innocence to the end... Because, he KNOWS he's innocent from the star, BUT, in another twist, he insists that the racial minority kid falsely accused of murder would be better off in a russian jail. I am not making anything up. The russian remake of 12 was HORRIBLE. And that guy got an Oscar below for his earlier russophile propaganda schlock glorifying war criminals.
"Casablanca" cost $1.039M to make and earned $3.7M in its initial release. While not a total bomb, it was far from a box-office success. Today, of course, it's one of the most beloved films of all time and is the most-frequently shown movie on television.
@@rickyaz8640 "Casablanca" was both a critical success and a box office disappointment. Those facts aren't mutually exclusive. The film really gained legendary status from its syndication on TV over the ensuing decades.
@@JohnDrummondPhoto What drugs are you on? Casablanca was a box office success, even if it wasn't massive moneymaker. It wasn't expected to be. The studio was convinced to give it a shot because of its potential as an anti-German propaganda film. It was also popular with the general public, and made it's way to TV syndication _because_ it was so popular.
@@garyballard179 you can disagree without being rude or disagreeable, bro. Casablanca wasn't a blockbuster on its initial release and the producers didn't expect it to be. But it did decently at the box office and obviously was a huge critical success that grew over time with the public. I agree, I shouldn't have implied it was a dud.
It's one of my favourite thrillers and probably the best post-apocalyptic films of all time. The direction is mindblowingly amazing, Alfonso is a genius. Beautiful heartbreaking story as well
THE LAST DUEL should have made this list for sure. SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION: not only deserved to be a box office hit, but also deserved ALL the awards that year.
Shawshank Redemption was released in the same year as Leon AND Pulp Fiction, both objectively MUCH better movies that should have gotten all rewards. Same year also seen the Mask, Interview with Vampire AND True Lies released, far more important movies than goddamn Forrest Gump and more fun than Schindler's List. Year of misattributed rewards.
John Carter was actually very good and is one of the biggest bombs of all time thanks to horrible advertising and pr prior to it's release. It's solid. How is it not on this list?
IMO he's one of the best actors of all time. Certainly in the top 5 and arguably in the top 3. He absolutely became the full embodiment of every character he has played. Gary Oldman is another comparable talent.
I remember watching Phantom Thread on a 10 hour flight hoping it would help me fall asleep....and just becoming completely engrossed by it. The movie was phenomenal and keeps your attention throughout.
#3: Um, the actor's surname is DAY-LEWIS, not just "Lewis." His father was the poet Cecil Day-Lewis (it was Cecil's father who first adopted the double surname, reflecting his birth father's surname and his adoptive father's surname).
So frustrating and sad to see masterpieces go unappreciated. Each one of these films will have legacies within cinema for decades to come, far lesser works that will steal framing, sound effects story arcs, lighting tricks, structure and a multitude of other elements of these films will be more successful. It almost hurts to think of it. Children of Men is a personal favourite. It genuinely sucker punched me when I first saw it. Clive Owen is criminally underrated.
Not sure how it performed at the box office but the 1988 film The Beast Of War is a really great war movie. It shows both sides of a minor conflict on a personal level. Fantastic.
Blade Runner 2049 being marketed as an action thriller definitely attributed to the film failing at the box office because that's not the franchise at all. It has action in it but very little, and this sequel is pretty much perfect.
Original had Rutger Hauer goddamn slammed through walls with Harrison Ford years before Terminator did it, Daryl Hannah choking people with thighs and doing pro wrestling stuff, tons of shooting, glass breaking and falling through windows before, in the end hero and bad guy even jumping across the rooftops. It wasn't just lack of action that betrayed the second one... Sequel, to me, felt like Mummy 3: linear plot threads with no world building just leeching off the classic's popularity. It had setpieces follow each other sequentially, with no feel of the bigger world beyond it, many "winking" moments at the audience (like, "remember THAT actress was here, we paid her for 30 seconds of footage now")... It threw away themes of the original and twists from Philip Dick's story and made a sequel to a story that didn't feel needing one. Reminds me of equally pointless Total Recall remake.
The Road is a well known, horrifyingly depressing book. Whoever thought "this will make a great film" clearly missed that, barring a very few exceptions, people don't want to watch depressing films.
The problem with The Road wasn't that it was too bleak and/or boring. It's because it wasn't in any theaters. I had to drive to a theater 40 minutes away and, quite literally, in the middle of nowhere to see it as theaters closer never showed it.
The reason with the runtime is bs. When I enjoy a movie, I want it to go on for ever and ever although I know that's irrational and I mostly feel a little sorrow when it reaches it's end 🙄
The problem for me is that I can't sit for 3 hours in a theater. I don't want to miss anything, but I can't help going to the bathroom at least once... So I wouldn't see a long film in the theater, but I'll watch it where I can hit pause
Hadn't ever given run time any real thought until two-thirds of the way through "Dune:Part 1" in an ordinary cinema seat. I was in tears of pain by credit roll. Do not regret seeing in cinema, will hoard pennies to see "Part 2" in a premium venue.... absolutely laughed myself silly when PART ONE materialised on screen. That was the moment I knew this was going to deliver.
The assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford and children of men are literally in my top 10 favorite movies ever! People really missed out..
Completety agree. I've seen that movie probably 30+ times and absolutely love it. But Burton WAS the goofy side-kick and that is what makes it work so well. Not many (if any) movies are told from the comic relief's point of view. Carpenter was so ahead of his time.
Phantom Thread: Don't read anything about, watch it blind. The movie is incredible and so, so messed up. It's a love story, but don't judge the book by its cover. It's so much more and everything about it is top notch.
While Stuart Rosenberg's ultimate movies were all doing okay between 1967 and 1991 as an veteran filmmaker such as "Cool Hand Luke," others like Colin Higgins who only made three US pictures between 1979 and 1983 both as a writer and director on "Foul Play" at Paramount, "Nine to Five" at Disney and "The Best Little Chicken House in Texas" at Universal/StudioCanal. Despite these successful pictures, he had a series of problems including studio fights etc, just like everybody else - including Hal Ashby, George Roy Hill, Michael Cimino, Andrew Davis, Bob Rafelson, Michael Ritchie, Herbert Ross, John Milius, Paul Schrader, Rob Cohen, John Badham, Gene Kelly, Billy Wilder, Mark Rydell, Richard Donner, John Landis, Arthur Penn, Michael Pressman and more. Plus producers like Ray Stark and writers like Walter Newman were having some problems in the industry too. For me, seeing incredible films were no joke at all...but they bombed very badly at the box office for studios and indies worldwide.
One that was missed: The movie did poorly at the box office so only a small VHS run was released. The tapes sold out immediately and a much bigger run was made. Experts felt the films title mad people reluctant to be seen pulbicly going to it but the anononymity of rentals made it a huge success. The move was Dirty Dancing.
I can think of two to nominate off the top of my head: * I have a soft spot for Galaxy Quest, the best non star trek star trek film ever made; * and Dredd, which I think captured the characters of both Dredd himself and Mega City One extremely well.
So glad Jarhead was recognized, Jake Gyllenhaal and Jamie Foxx (yes Jamie Foxx) gives a helluva performance in this movie, deep dive look into what it’s actually like to be in the military via one man’s experience, love that movie!
It took a lot to successfully pull off making the American side of the First Gulf War also look like hell, but Jarhead did it. That's a feat for an audience that, to this day, thinks of that war as a relatively bloodless war. Of course, any Iraqi who lived through it can tell you that it was absolutely _not_ a bloodless war (see: the Highway of Death, and have fun sleeping tonight), but many Americans see it that way.
The problem with naming King on Shawshank is that it might have put people off. Let's be honest, even as a King fan the older movies were just so poor in every aspect.
The epic run times of any MCU or James Cameron movies do not seem to affect people when they go and see one of those films even if it is complete crap.
List includes... Assassination of Jesse James The road Blade runner Shawshank redemption Zodiac Children of men Phantom thread Silence Citizen Kane jarhead
Harold and Maude!! Flopped terribly at the box office, but became a cult classic. A few years ago I read about a man who watched the movie more than 100 times. I own my own copy and still love it.
The Great Santini was an excellent film about a modern military family in 1970s USA, and not about a magician as the name implies. All the films you mentioned sound depressing as hell, but I will look out for them and try watching them. thanks
Good list, just missing Book Of Eli and Lucky Number Slevin Incredible- Citizen Kane may still have the best shot composition I’ve ever seen Finally Anglo Saxon fish out of water stories never do well (Tom Cruise, anyone?) white dude in kimono =box office loss
The title of "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" is essential to the themes of the movie. The movie is about how we mythologize our heroes, and how we are often disillusioned by their flawed humanity once we meet them. This is what happens to Robert Ford with Jesse James. And it's part of what causes him to kill him. The title of the movie lets you know that Ford, in effect, "loses," because Jesse James is still a figure of myth. The title states an opinion on Ford's character and actions, calling him a "coward," situating him within this mythology as a villain. Also, the title de-emphasizes the narrative by telling you exactly what will happen in the narrative before it does. It couches the events squarely in the past, as already having occurred, which places the viewer outside of the narrative. The attempt, I think, is a deconstruction of the Western and the mythologizing impulse. There's also the fact that Ford regrets his actions, so the title can be seen not just as society's view on those actions, but actually his own view on them. I really enjoy titles that creative a complex relationship between author, implied narrator, and viewer. This is definitely one of them. And it does it all through one loaded word: "coward."
I thought they were going to include Cloud Atlas! You would love it or hate it--I absolutely loved it, and could have sat there for another hour (or at least half an hour).
They were great movies. I'll have to find them and sit down with a few that I haven't seen as yet. I can't remember the name but I thought I saw a cameo of Picasso's Guernicain one of the first movies.
I just love the way Ellie says "cinema." Makes it sound posh. Is that wrong? p.s. I saw "Jarhead" with a friend of mine who was a veteran of the first Gulf War. If his reaction is any indication, it was accurate.
1) It's such a shame that both Blade Runner movies bombed when they were released. 2) I'll watch anything with DDL in it, but I fell asleep in The Phantom Thread and I have no real interest in trying again. 3) Another one I feel should be on here is Pacific Rim. I think it did OK internationally, but it bombed hard here in the States. I'm glad that they thought to give it a sequel, but disappointed by what they gave us. 4) I feel like you're trolling us with the Batman and Robin clips at the beginning. 🤨 5) Nothing more to say..I just felt like 5 was a good number to end on.
It's crazy that Children of Men had such a huge budget. I would have guessed about half that. Great movie, but a big budget for the type of movie it is.
adding stephen king to shawshank could of gone either way. He's known for his pure horror so people would be confused while watching this movie, but it would draw people to watch the movie. So it could be a plus or a minus.
@@danielyoung5137 That is very cool! I wrote a paper about Altman for my final film studies class. I was so sad when he died. I knew I'd never see another new Altman movie in the cinemas and it made myself and quite a few of my film geek friends very sad. he's such an amazing storyteller.
