Since the dawn of the mighty cinema, mankind has been
writing about movies; in newspapers, magazines, blogs (ahem), websites and in
books. In the world of publishing books, there have been countless releases
celebrating the all-time great films in history...but how many have been
written about the greatest bad movies
of all time?
There have probably been many, most of if not all taking the
approach of ripping and thrashing cinematic disasters and flops. But a new book
by Film Threat critic Phil Hall, entitled The
50 Greatest Bad Movies of All Time, chooses not to hack up and bury those
bad films, but to celebrate them.
We all see bad movies. They’re everywhere, and some of them
don’t even know that they are bad. And what exactly does make a bad film?
Personal taste goes a long way. People who have built-in dislike for Westerns,
gunplay, or anything with Adam Sandler would (or should) know enough to say far
away from those types of films. No one wants to sit through an intolerable
experience, so choosing wisely goes a long way. There are however, films out
there which show a great amount of potential because of the included actors,
directors, writers, etc…but then fall dreadfully short of expectations. Going
in with an open mind certainly goes a long way, but no one wants to see a
steaming turd on the screen with their favorite actors or directors being the
cause of the stink. This Blogger has always had one simple rule: Don’t bore me. The biggest sin a movie
can make is to be a bore-fest, and the cause of that can come from any aspect
of the film; writing, acting, pacing, editing, directing, overall execution…or
just a weak or absent story. If anything can be learned about a bad movie, it’s
what not to do.
And then there are the films which are so outrageously awful
they just have to be seen to believed, and in that awfulness, a good time can
be had. Fun is a key element of enjoying film, and being amazed at a a bad film
which thinks it is good can be as fun
as a barrel of drunken muppets. Consider how director Ed Wood’s PLAN 9 FROM
OUTER SPACE from 1959, considered to be the worst movie ever made, constantly
gets airplay on TV, re-releases on the big-screen, and consistent home-video
sales. The film is so bad it’s great to sit through.
Other films which are celebrated in Phil Hall’s book
(prepare yourself for the outrageousness of these films), are THE CONQUEROR
(1956), in which John Wayne plays Genghis Khan. CHE! (1969), in which Jack
Palance played Fidel Castro, and VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET (1960) which had Jerry
Lewis playing an alien. All titles which are so unbelievable to read about in
print they nearly demand to be viewed. The book takes a look at these films,
along with the stinkers made by notable Hollywood names such as Stanley Kubrick
and Clint Eastwood.
A good film can be found anywhere, as can a bad one. One of
the best things about the movies is that they unite people, and discussions
about shitty movies can often be more productive than the talks over a good
one.
What say you?
No comments:
Post a Comment
A few rules:
1. Personal attacks not tolerated.
2. Haters welcome, if you can justify it.
3. Swearing is goddamn OK.