Greatest Movies That NEVER Became Great?

Movies that SHOULD have been great but weren't either because of the director (and if you'd like to suggest a replacement, great!) or because of a certain lead actor (or supporting)... Because a movie was made too early, and anything else you can think of..

Well... Suicide Squad.

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I think it's great, but "A Child Is Waiting" would have been better if Stanley Kramer didn't sneak behind Cassavetes' back and have the final cut, but using his name as Director... And John invited Kramer for Thanksgiving, and heard that he choked him, ending his short Hollywood stint (he made "Too Late Blues" earlier with Bobby Darin).

Kramer wanted to show the stars more (Lancaster and Judy Garland) and John wanted to concentrate on the children. When asked about the movie, J.C. said it wasn't bad, and those who worked on the movie said John filmed it so well that Kramer couldn't have ruined the movie even if he wanted to.

THE GREAT GATSBY

great story,great cast,great director/producer whatsitcalled.
but wound up being a forgettable mess

the set was a mess,the editing and special effects were a mess,the music was a mess,there was no chemistry between the two lead actors,theres a major age gap between them that dont fit the story (from my gathering they are supposed to be around the same age) but leo looks like he was in his late 30s and carey looks like shes about 18,the story moves so fast you have dont have the time to develope any feelings for the couple or characters,it tries to be comedic at times but falls flat.

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I haven't seen it yet but one i often here brought up is The Magnificent Ambersons (a lot of Welles films actually but this seems to be mentioned most) without studio tampering. Then again some think it is great regardless.

The original version? Would you have preferred other characters, or a certain director?

No,i edited my first post-i meant the one from 2013 starring leonardo dicaprio and carey mulligan.

i didnt know there was an original though-i thought it was just the book.

That's what I had in my mind as well.. I saw this movie, and it feels like something is missing. Orson himself said a lot of the dark humor is taken out, but I'm not sure it could have been great anyway, though it's been a couple of years, I might watch this movie sooner than later.

I love Orson Welles, but I think I rather see him in an interview.

The original was classic and less pretentious than the re-make. It was really well done, because it made you feel a part of that historical era.

Going to watch it soon myself i've seen five Welles films so far and i have at least liked them all.

Another one is that most in the 10th HOF seemed to agree that Ugetsu would've been better with Mizoguchi's original ending even though we don't know what it was going to be. The studio asked him to give the film a happy ending so he didn't film his original idea which was presumably not happy.

Ambersons was the first film to have a reel without a cut (before Hitchcock did it in Rope), but RKO cut 2 minutes out the middle.

The remake of Shaft should've been magnificent. Boyz n The Hood's Singleton directing Sam Jackson as Shaft? How did they mess that up? How do you make a film about Shaft, with Jackson as Shaft and not have him as the coolest person in the film?

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

The hobbit films could have been special. If they stuck to the source material. If they weren't stretched out to three films. I don't have a problem with the actors and wouldn't have had it directed by anyone else.

That's all they cut?

1952's The Bad and the Beautiful would have been a flawless film if someone besides Lana Turner had been playing Georgia...either Elizabeth Taylor or Susan Hayward would have worked for me.


1957's Sweet Smell of Success would have been perfect except for Susan Harrison, who played Lancaster's daughter, the linchpin of the whole story. Natalie Wood would have been great in the part.

Hated Diana Scarwid as the adult Christina Crawford in Mommie Dearest...not sure who should have played the part, have to get back to you on that.


The 1948 musical Easter Parade was originally supposed to be directed by Vincente Minnelli and Gene Kelly was supposed to play Don Hewes, but Garland's therapist felt it wasn't a good idea that she and Minnelli work together as they were having a lot of problems in their marriage at the time and Kelly had to bow out due to an injury (some say it was a dance rehearsal and some say it was a touch football game). I'm kind of glad Kelly had to be replaced because I LOVED Fred Astaire in that movie, but I can't help but imagine how different the film would have been if Minnelli had directed instead of Charles Walters.

Groove

A recent example for me is Dan Trachtenberg's 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016). That 10 minute stretch near the end really weighed it down for me. You could easily go from



without missing a beat. Unfortunately, the money that promoted the movie demanded the insurance of spectacle that would wow a general audience. I just found it eye rolling.

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