Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!duke!unc!bch
From: bch@unc.UUCP (Byron Howes )
Newsgroups: net.movies
Subject: Overrated Films
Message-ID: <5976@unc.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 5-Oct-83 03:50:11 EDT
Article-I.D.: unc.5976
Posted: Wed Oct  5 03:50:11 1983
Date-Received: Thu, 6-Oct-83 03:16:55 EDT
Lines: 60

Not being afraid to generate flames, I thought I'd post a list of films
that I think are highly overrated.  These are films that the critics
generally like, did well at the box office, but that I thought were
genuine rip-offs.

(1) Last Tango In Paris -- Came from nowhere, went nowhere and had Marlon
	Brando in one of his more wooden performences.  If anyone can
	figure out what this film was supposed to mean, I'd like to know.

(2) Bonnie and Clyde -- The ultimate legitimation of Sam Pekinpah.  Warren
	Beattie greases and Faye Dunaway freezes though a film that tells
	us nothing we haven't seen before.  Gene Hackman turns in a creditable
	performance (as usual.)

(3) Reds -- Aaaarrgghh!  I didn't care what happened to Warren Beattie and
	I don't think Diane Keaton did either.  Why in the world would she
	sled across Finland to find this character?

(4) Young Frankenstein -- Typical Brooks/Reiner fare.  Shotgun sophomoric
	humor in the hopes we'll laugh at something.  I was highly insulted
	that Brooks wouldn't let the audience slowly realize what was going
	on in the "Putting on the Ritz" routine.  What could have been a
	great comedic moment was totally blown.  Insulting.

(5) Return of the Jedii -- I'm gonna get blasted for this one -- Ten years
	from now, when the special effects aren't so special you're gonna
	wonder why you liked it.  Let's face it.  Lucas blew it and blew
	it badly.  Did anybody mourn Yoda's death?  Why not?

(6) Chinatown -- Faye Dunaway again, with Jack Nicholson doing his best
	Warren Beattie imitation.

(7) Network -- (hmmm, another flame generator) -- a great deal of predic-
	table silliness feebly attempting to be scathing social satire.
	Did it tell us anything or merely conform to our biases.  Very
	overdrawn though worth the price of admission for Peter Finch and
	Ned Beatty.  Paddy Cheyevsky's script was definitely not one of
	his better works.

(8) Superman I -- The film that couldn't make up its mind whether to be
	serious, nostalgic, comic, pretentious or romantic.  They could
	have made four or five television episodes out of this thing.

(9) Dr. Zhivago -- Why did I bother to sit through this thing four times
	on various occasions?  I dunno?  Let me know if someone ever shows
	this as a double feature with "Reds" so I can come and catch up
	on my beauty sleep.

(10) E.T. -- The space child's "Lassie."   Not a dry eye in the house,
	but then you cried during "The Waltons," didn't you?


I have more films I'd like to list, but let's chew these over for awhile.
I also have a list of "underrated" films, but they can wait as well



					Byron Howes
					UNC - Chapel Hill
					decvax!duke!unc!bch