23 great movies that got rotten reviews when they came out

Released: 1958

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Vertigo tells the story of a former police detective battling his own demons who becomes obsessed with a beautiful woman. Starring James Stewart and Kim Novak, the film is now considered a classic by fans of thriller movies, and of Hitchcock in particular. It’s hard to believe any critic could have distaste for a film that’s held in such high regard today, but Time magazine’s review was less than stellar: ‘The old master has turned out another Hitchcock-and-bull story in which the mystery is not so much who done it as who cares.’ Although we appreciate the reviewer’s pun, if you love a good mystery, give Vertigo a watch.

Don’t miss these movies that were better than the books they were based on.

Released: 1968

Director: Stanley Kubrick

One of the best sci-fi movies ever, this flick directed by Stanley Kubrick is about astronauts sent to the moon on a mysterious mission who wind up in a battle between man and machine. ‘For all its lively visual and mechanical spectacle, this is a kind of space-Spartacus and, more pretentious still, a shaggy God story,’ wrote John Simon of the New Leader when the film came out. Keep in mind that the movie won an Oscar for its dazzling visual effects (which were a big deal for the time), and Kubrick was also nominated for the Best Director award. We side with the real critics – the fans – on this one, because 2001: A Space Odyssey was an instant classic that earned its place in film history.

Released: 1998

Director: Michael Bay

There are so many things to love about Armageddon: there’s action, romance, family drama, and cool special effects. Oh, and Aerosmith’s killer power ballad ‘I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,’ which gives the flick one of the best movie soundtracks. It also boasts a great cast with Ben Affleck, Bruce Willis, and Liv Tyler. Still, film critics weren’t sold. ‘The movie is an assault on the eyes, the ears, the brain, common sense, and the human desire to be entertained,’ wrote Roger Ebert in 1998. The New York Times‘ Janet Maslin penned a similarly terrible review, saying, ‘Though it means to be inspiring, it has quite the opposite effect. There’s not a believable moment here.’

Check out these Best Original Score winners that are worth watching for the soundtrack alone.

Released: 1976

Director: Frank Pierson

Today when we think of A Star Is Born, we conjure up images of the most recent adaption starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. But back in 1976, Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand put their own spin on one of the best movie musicals of all time, about a former star helping a fledgling singer find fame while his own career falters due to age and alcoholism. The heartbreaking drama had audiences in tears all over the world, but apparently for some critics, those were tears of agony. ‘A bore is starred,’ quipped the Village Voice‘s famous review of the film. A review in the Hollywood Reporter was slightly less savage, complaining mainly that the flick focuses too much on the main stars and not enough on the supporting cast. Still, if you loved the Cooper and Gaga version, you should check out the 1976 entry.

Released: 2000

Director: Ridley Scott

Even if you’re not a pop culture trivia whiz, you probably know where is this movie quote from: “Are you not entertained?” Of course, it’s this surprising underdog story. In the Ridley Scott directed picture, Maximus (Russell Crowe) starts out as a big-deal general who finds himself demoted to common gladiator after a sinister betrayal. Needless to say, this move does little to help him avenge his murdered family, so like any good action film character, he has to take matters into his own hands. Gladiator was a massive hit at the box office, so clearly movie seekers thought it was worth seeing. But Roger Ebert’s review wasn’t so sparkling: ‘By the end of this long film, I would have traded any given gladiatorial victory for just one shot of blue skies.’

Released: 1975

Director: Steven Spielberg

Yes, it’s a horror movie, but it’s also one of the best beach movies ever made – and started the tradition of the summer blockbuster. Jaws further proved its power by literally making people afraid to go in the ocean for fear of sharks after its 1975 premiere – and today. Directed by Steven Spielberg, the film stars Roy Scheider as a local sheriff desperate to locate a killer shark plaguing the oh-so-quaint Amity Island. The mere sound of the Jaws theme music (you know the one) insinuates there’s trouble afoot. Although the film did get many fine reviews from critics back in the day, it also had its fair share of harsh comments. ‘While I have no doubt that Jaws will make a bloody fortune for Universal and producers Richard Zanuck and David Brown, it is a coarse-grained and exploitive work which depends on excess for its impact,’ wrote Charles Champlin in the Los Angeles Times. ‘Ashore it is a bore, awkwardly staged and lumpily written.’

Released: 1994

Director: Frank Darabont

The Shawshank Redemption gifted us the wonderful big-screen duo of Andy (Tim Robbins) and Red (Morgan Freeman) in one of the best drama movies of all time. As they spend years together in prison, the film chronicles the journey of these unlikely friends, long-term inmates who form a close bond. On any given weekend you’re like to find this movie being replayed on television because it’s that good to watch over and over again. Some critics, however, found the film listless. ‘Speaking of jail, Shawshank-the-movie seems to last about half a life sentence,’ writes Desson Thomson in the Washington Post. ‘The story, chiefly about the 20-year friendship between Freeman and Robbins, becomes incarcerated in its own labyrinthine sentimentality.’

Released: 1960

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

This Hitchcock thriller’s shower scene featuring Janet Leigh’s heart-pounding screams has been riffed on countless times in pop culture. And to this day motel manager Norman Bates is still among the creepiest of all film characters – made all the more disturbing because this horror movie is inspired by a real story. The movie was also shocking to audiences because in a surprise twist (spoiler alert!) the purported lead star is killed off early on in the movie. But of course, critics wouldn’t be critics without some sort of, you guessed it, criticism. ‘The trail leads to a sagging, swamp-view motel and to one of the messiest, most nauseating murders ever filmed,’ says a Time review. ‘At close range, the camera watches every twitch, gurgle, convulsion, and haemorrhage in the process by which a living human becomes a corpse…. The nightmare that follows is expertly gothic, but the nausea never disappears.’ Actually, that’s kind of a compliment for a horror flick!

Released: 1990

Director: Garry Marshall

Julia Roberts was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her role in 1990’s Pretty Woman, now considered one of the best romantic comedies of all time. Many poked fun at the idea of a wealthy businessman falling for a call girl he meets in Hollywood, but moviegoers fell in love with the couple and the pairing of Roberts with actor Richard Gere. Time magazine critic Richard Corliss wrote, ‘A ticket to Pretty Woman buys you mechanical titillation and predictable twists…Old-fashioned, assembly-line moviemaking without the old panache.’ Perhaps, but we still love it, and so do a legion of fans.

Released: 1987

Director: Emile Ardolino

Maybe you’re just in it for the dancing, the romance, or the nostalgia, but Dirty Dancing is one of those flicks you can watch over and over because it just makes you feel good. And we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention its iconic line, “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” But Roger Ebert wasn’t here for any of it. ‘The filmmakers rely so heavily on clichés, on stock characters in old situations, that it’s as if they never really had any confidence in their performers,’ he said in his review. Another critic, for TV Guide, felt the supporting cast was pretty unlikeable. ‘One problem with the film is that it does nothing to endear the Catskill social setting to an audience; the inhabitants seem to be competing for awards in obnoxiousness,’ wrote Sandra Contreras. That’s an interesting observation, especially as 40 years later, guests still enjoy visiting the Dirty Dancing resort where the movie was filmed.

Love romantic movies? Here are some of the all-time greats.