The Critics Were Wrong: Misguided Movie Reviews and Film Criticism Gone Awry

by Ardis Sillick, Michael McCormick

Based on nearly 100,000 reviews, The Critics Were Wrong is a collection of pans of memorable films (many of which are now accepted as classics), premature dismissals of major actors and actresses, and scathing reviews of cult favorites.

Genres: Film

266 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1996

Reviews

[P.J. MacNamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

NOBODY has ever reviewed this book before. Where have you guys been?

For anyone who has ever had a bad review for anything creative, this is a real shot in the arm. Flick through it and read snippets at random. They will really brighten your day. Clearly even some professional critics would be better off keeping their opinions to themselves.

If you're even remotely movie history-literate, what some of the critics said about some of the greatest achievements in movie history on their initial releases will alternately enrage you and make you fall off your chair laughing.

Goldfinger, Raging Bull, Psycho, Lawrence Of Arabia, Sunset Boulevard, Dirty Harry, The Manchurian Candidate, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The African Queen, The Third Man, Rebecca, The Elephant Man, The Ladykillers, The Scarlet Empress, Modern Times, The Red Shoes, Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid....all crap apparently. WHO KNEW..?!

[S. Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of bad reviews that were published for some of the most iconic classics in film history. There is a lot of fun reading in here, with highly respected critics dunking on films from The Big Sleep to Altered States. The reviews are listed alphabetically but broken up into different categories, such as classic films and cult favorites.

From a scholarly standpoint, there isn't any critical analysis of the reviews or films, just quotes from bad reviews that seem funny or weird in hindsight. However, if you're looking for some film review-based amusement, this collection is definitely entertaining.