Premiere magazine have announced their 20 Most Overrated Films Of All Time. In alphabetical order, here they are:
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- American Beauty
- An American in Paris
- A Beautiful Mind
- Chariots Of Fire
- Chicago
- Clerks
- Easy Rider
- Fantasia
- Field Of Dreams
- Forrest Gump
- Gone With The Wind
- Good Will Hunting
- Jules and Jim
- Monster’s Ball
- Moonstruck
- Mystic River
- Nashville
- The Red Shoes
- The Wizard of Oz
Difficult to disagree with some of those choices. You ever tried to watch “American Beauty” a second time? It’s so pretentious. Less said about “A Beautiful Mind” the better. And surely “Chicago” didn’t deserve six oscars?
But I won’t have anyone rag on “Jules and Jim”, or “Gone With The Wind” or even “Clerks” for that matter. Anyone else see something they don’t think belongs on that list?
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Richard said
November 30 2006 @ 9:51 pm
“Clerks” is just two guys sitting in a convienance store talking! I don’t even think it makes sense for it to be overrated in the first place. What were they expecting? “Gone With The Wind”? Clearly not, since that made the list also.
I also don’t like “Wizard of Oz” making the list. Its a harmless kid’s movie, and like “Gone With The Wind”, such a hallmark of early filmmaking, it feels wrong to lump it in a category with overdrawn flicks like “American Beauty” and “A Beautiful Mind”.
Adam said
December 1 2006 @ 1:27 am
I’d replace “Forrest Gump” with “Million Dollar Baby” – everything is perfect
Jim said
December 1 2006 @ 2:59 pm
Movie critics are like Eunucs; they tell others what to do because they can’t do it themselves. The same applies to this list.
eoin said
December 1 2006 @ 5:25 pm
take out 2001 and put in Lost in Translation and it’s pretty definitive
Keith said
December 1 2006 @ 7:47 pm
Shakespeare in Love won best picture. What the hell for?
Paul said
December 1 2006 @ 9:52 pm
I think American Beauty is overrated, But Forrest Gump’s not its a great movie
Eoin said
December 1 2006 @ 11:42 pm
For A Beautiful Mind to get nominated, let alone win, an Oscar is more than over-rating that piece of cynically assembled sentimental trash.
eoin said
December 4 2006 @ 11:07 pm
Armin: An amazing job…. at making me feel nauseous!!!
A (reasonably) good performance does not a good movie make.
A topic for debate?
Joe Loudon said
January 3 2007 @ 7:35 pm
How can Titanic not be on this list? LA Confidential, Good Will Hunting (not at all overrated) were both vastly superior films that year. And the most overrated film of 1994 was not Forrest Gump, but the stylized trash that was Pulp Fiction.
Plus, I’ll throw out Hurricane (more fiction than fact, though supposedly based on a true story) and Training Day. I think Denzel Washington’s a great actor — should have got at least an Oscar nom for Philadelphia — but this two films were overhyped (good but far from remarkable).
But most agree that 2001 was snoozer. Never got it (and never will because I’m not sitting through that one again).
Eoin said
January 3 2007 @ 7:58 pm
2001 a snoozer? Never in my life have I had such an intense visual experience. The problem is that we’re too used to the current style of quick cuts every two seconds to fully appreciate the brilliance of 2001. And yes, it’s not exactly easy to get, but that’s what makes it great, it’s a film that makes you think, that makes you search for meaning, rather than being spoonfed like 99% of films these days.
Neal said
June 19 2007 @ 8:09 pm
How about Out Of Africa? I was out of the theater 40 minutes into the movie.
mike said
June 22 2007 @ 7:50 am
I can’t believe that no one has said anything about The Wizard of Oz….. one of the best movies of all time…. this list is bogus if they put Oz on the list….
daniel said
June 22 2007 @ 7:02 pm
the godfather should be in this list. most overrated movie ever!
Ardelia said
June 22 2007 @ 11:33 pm
I don’t think 2001 should be there at all. Forrest Gump, as good as it is, was in retrospect insanely overrated. 13 Oscars nominations? Christ. Pulp Fiction barely got out of that award ceremony alive. And it’s a much better movie, in my and probably thousands of other people’s opinions. I also agree that The Godfather should be on the list. If my opinions make me look like a preening teenager that hates “Classic” films, so be it. Most teenagers today would probably stumble out of 2001 in a sleep-induced haze, because there wasn’t some glitzy pop crap to keep their 20-second attention span.
Hana said
February 8 2008 @ 6:07 am
I just can’t believe they have 20 films on here and managed to miss ‘The Matrix’.
chris said
March 12 2008 @ 3:59 pm
I hate everyone on here, 2001 belongs yes it was cool visually but honestly there is very little dialog and what the hell is the plot? to say godfather, american beauty, pulp fiction, forest gump, and a beautiful mind are over rated is blasphemy if your a true movie goer. Clerks is comical genius never mind the quick delivery of hilarious dialog. this list honestly was probably made by people who got offended by something doen or said in the film, well tough suck it up and let the rest of us enjoy, and next time look to movies like the english patient, the matrix, the godfather III, and many other movies that have gotten recognition where it wasn’t truly deserved.
Kenna McHugh said
March 12 2008 @ 10:28 pm
The list doesn’t make the mark. Too many great movies left out. How about a list of “20 best directors”?
dave said
April 6 2008 @ 10:53 pm
Clerks is defiantly over rated. people just say they love it to sound all, ‘look at me, i’m different, i don’t need a plot’ It was an okay movie, but it was slow, wasn’t really that funny, had zero plot, and the rants the guys go on are really nothing like what people really rant about and that’s supposedly its claim to fame or some shit like that.
Peej said
July 1 2008 @ 9:11 pm
Donnie Darko.
pencho said
August 14 2008 @ 1:44 am
it is a shame that lame actors can do movies and making millions of the crap they participating damn shame
mystic river is awesome movie, i agree about the rest
pencho said
August 14 2008 @ 1:45 am
kill them all
pencho said
August 14 2008 @ 1:49 am
only people with no self respect can watch movies like chikago damn guys stop mking shabby people rich
BY THE WAY, THE MATRIX TRILOGY IS THE MOST STUPID MOVIE AT ALL TIMES
pencho said
August 14 2008 @ 1:49 am
I LOVBE YA ALL KISSES
Muffy said
October 4 2008 @ 1:18 am
Boogie Nights(I wanna beat them all with a skate)
David said
November 29 2008 @ 2:18 pm
I don’t think all the ones in the list are overrated… but I’d definitely add a few more, some of which are considered to be the greatest films ever made and I simply don’t share the feeling:
- Casablanca
- Citizen Kane
- The Godfather
- Star Wars (all of them)
- Gladiator
- Shakespeare in Love
- Match Point
- Top Gun
- The Evil Dead
- Halloween
- Bram Stoker’s Dracula
- Kill Bill
- Passion of the Christ
- Gangs of New York
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
- The Queen
- La mala educación
- Todo sobre mi madre
- No country for old men
- O Brother Where art thou?
- Lord of the Rings (all of them)
- Rocky
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
- Big Fish
- Corpse Bride
- Ray
- Hotel Rwanda
- Closer
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- In America
- Persepolis
- The Lives of Others
- Moulin Rouge
- Chocolat
- Almost Famous
- The Mist
- Singin’ in the Rain
- Touch of Evil
- Don’t Look Now
- A bout de soufflé
- Alphaville
- Vivre sa vie
- Marty
- Mad Max
- Ringu
- Saving Private Ryan
- Scream
- Natural Born Killers
- Glory
- My Left Foot
- Batman
- La strada
- 8½
Chathan Vemuri said
February 22 2009 @ 11:09 am
I disagree with the initial list somewhat and this new list alot (though some are overrated I will admit like Gangs of New York or Casablanca).
2001: A Space Odyssey: NOT OVERRATED, one of the greatest films of all time.
Forrest Gump: Absolutely idiotic. Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption were both vastly superior to that film and either should have won the best picture that year. I disagree with the poster above who said Pulp Fiction was trash.
Good Will Hunting’s a decent film. Very good I’d say.
As for the new list:
How dare you insult No Country for Old Men and My Left Foot? Both are great. Same with Lord of the Rings, Match Point, and The Godfather.
Chathan Vemuri said
February 22 2009 @ 11:11 am
Batman (1989) may not have been as good as the Nolan films but it was at least much better than the Schumacher Batman films.
Batman and Robin was a shambles. The only thing I liked about the Schumacher films was the song “Kiss from a Rose” by Seal for Batman Forever. That song would have been great in the Nolan films.
Someone said
March 9 2009 @ 10:43 pm
Pulp fiction and the departed. Definately overrated and so is American beauty but not forrest gump.
Jesus H. Christ said
April 6 2009 @ 10:05 pm
Um, Scarface is not on your list therefore it is invalid.
Overrated, Underrated CONT. « GUP said
April 7 2009 @ 11:52 pm
[...] Most Overrated Films: [...]
Clem said
April 17 2009 @ 11:12 am
whats wrong with you people. pulp fiction is NOT overrated. movies that are are titanic,the matrix and saving private ryan
a name said
April 19 2009 @ 3:24 am
err, clem guy pulp fiction IS overated, people only like it cause its got samuel L jackson in it
me said
May 30 2009 @ 12:08 am
American Beauty is WAY OVERRATED!!!!!!! It’s weird and Bizarre and not at all entertaining.
Forrest gump and the godfather are NOT!!! overrated.
John said
May 30 2009 @ 11:16 am
Braveheart should definately be on the most overated movies list. It was a weak movie complete with stereotyped, two dimensional
characters.
Al said
June 2 2009 @ 7:54 pm
The only films i can agree with are Easy Rider (one of the best films of all time please it was Dennis Hopper pathetic attempt at art) and Forrest Gump (which I liked but won far too many Oscars) The other I either havent seen or just dont agree 2001?! Chariots of Fire?! GONE WITH THE WIND?!?! WIZARD OF OZ?!?! the last four are sins my friend Wizard of Oz is just a childhood classic I can’t say I love as much as AFI but it is not overrated. Gone with the Wind is probably the most offensive. It’s long but suck it up its great. Chariots of Fire is absolutely amazing and really should not appear on any list but the greatest films of all time which it is. And 2001 is one of my personal top 3 favorite films (and was my #1 for a while). It’s just landmark filmmaking. You obviously werent paying attention
PL P said
June 11 2009 @ 1:01 pm
you should put in Titanic and Shakespeare in Love. Take out the good the bad, the ugly and more than half of those movies on there
Tom said
July 1 2009 @ 8:20 am
Once upon a Time in the West – slowness for its own sake is not profound, its dreary.
Death in Venice – ditto, with extra added ‘opulence’ for extra added boredom.
Billy Elliott/The Full Monty/Chariots of Fire – positive messages do not make good movies…especially when they’re British.
Jim said
July 7 2009 @ 11:11 am
I agree with Neal about “Out of Africa.” This would top my list. People always say, “But the cinematography was great.” Who cares? I don’t go to the movies to watch cinematography. I would rather stab myself with an icepick for 3 hours than to sit through that again.
vania said
July 11 2009 @ 10:54 am
i m from brasil i lives sao paulo i m jail mr chairman globo tv mr roberto irineu marinho this men put polie every day adress globo tv rue doctor chucri zaidan 46 morumbi at sao paulo i need soluion this case rue doctor chucri zaidan 46 i likes movia al pacino i couldnt to travel because this tv globo near hotel grand hyatt
Joe said
July 28 2009 @ 5:09 pm
American Beauty is a stunning movie, my favourite ever, with great acting, script and visually dazzling. Also who said Boogie Nights, MORON
Anthony J. Salemi said
August 31 2009 @ 7:14 am
WOW……where do I begin……Wizard of Oz is a timeless classic, think about it….you loved it as a kid and as an adult, especially if you have a child. Anyway, my most overrated list
1) The English Patient – an unmitigated bore
Lost in Translation – you were guilted into liking this film, but all the intellectualizing can’t obscure the fact that this film is catatonically drab
2) Chariots of Fire – Boring British Import
3) Dead Poets Society – Overrated on every level, silly teenagers standing on desks reciting an overrated poem O Captain my Captain
4) Million Dollar Baby – Best picture – unbelievable, when did Clint Eastwood become an auteur, he’s a silent film actor in the modern film age, an anti-intellectual…..so when did he become an auteur?
5) Anything heralded that stars Meryl Streep…she’s been given a free pass from critics from day one….she evokes nothing from an audience, is deadly dull and box office poison.
6) The Truman Show – audiences felt like they were trapped in the theater
7) Any Peter Weir film
9) The Conversation – old FFC film, much hailed in its day
10) Schindlers List – another film that we were guilted into liking…it is nothing more than a sniper film starring the grand actor of one expression, Liam Neeson
Derek said
August 31 2009 @ 11:19 pm
You guys are tools.
American Beauty was a fantastic movie. Learn to feel dipshits,stop over analyzing movies. The problem is you’re taking yourselves way too seriously, you’re not that intelligent, quit making believe you are.
Question , start by asking yourself, how does a film make you feel, that’s the reason behind films in the first place you morons, American Beauty made you feel, made you stop and wonder, stop and think, if it didn’t you’re catatonic, or the dildo up your ass is preventing any sort of emotive response.
Seriously, faux intellectual elites make me puke.
Someone said
September 17 2009 @ 7:58 pm
I think the Quentin Tarantino is the most overrated director ever. I mean all his movies have cheesy dialogue lots of blood and a bunch of random weirdness in it. Pulp Fiction is one of the most overrated movies ever. I mean I’d like to see Quentin Tarantino make one movie that is not rated R and that actually makes you feel more connected to the characters. I hope I’m not alone in thinking Quentin Tarantino is way overrated most people just like him because they’re like oh he’s different. I think that he’s different in a very bad way and don’t give him credit just because he’s different.
Other overrated movies
No country for old men(slightly overrated I didn’t think it deserved best picture but thought it deserved the best supporting actor)
The Departed(overrated stupid remake)
American Beauty
Sin City
joe said
September 18 2009 @ 6:12 pm
Looking at David’s freaking huge list… I wonder if he actually likes movies? Who thinks Citizen Kane AND Casablanca AND The Godfather AND Star Wars AND Rocky AND Lord of the Rings AND The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly are overrated? My guess is not many movie lovers.
Personally I think overrated lists are overrated. Most admit that the movies that regularly appear on these types of lists aren’t bad movies, just movies that they don’t like as much as other people. Too much time is spent talking about movies you don’t like imo, there’s plenty of great ones for everyone to enjoy.
Emma said
September 20 2009 @ 11:24 am
American Beauty is not overrated!!!
Some people don’t seem to understand it or something: “It was weird”. Omg, that’s what was so wonderful about it! American Beauty is a wonderful analysis of suburban life. It’s probably the best film I’ve ever seen.
I think Pulp Fiction might be a tiny bit overrated – don’t get me wrong, I loved it, but it’s not like it changed my life or anything.
I disagree with A Beautiful Mind being overrated – I thought that was excellent.
Swapnendu said
October 17 2009 @ 4:26 am
Pulp Fiction to me is an overrated movie.
the movie is nothing but a hotch potch.
Neale Baxter said
November 14 2009 @ 6:17 pm
Without a doubt “Pulp Fiction” is the single most overrated piece of pap ever committed to film. The only reason anyone will say that this steaming pile of dog excrement is any good is because they don’t want to be singled out from the heard and potentially be ridiculed for actually having their own opinion. Seriously, what is there to like about this film? The characters are horrible and the plot is thinner than an anorexic in a concentration camp, which Tarantino has then tried in vain to conceal by editing the film, for no apparent reason, into non-chronological sequence. The fact the so many people claim that this is some sort of extrordinary work of art only goes to prove that P. T. Barnum was right on the money when he claimed “there’s a sucker born every minute”.