The expectations that come with a “visionary” label are high.
Just ask the Wachowskis.
We list 10 directors who struggled with it.
Hype is a dangerous thing.
That visionary label is amazingandterrifying when its premature.
you might readour review hereand decide whether they succeeded.
And maybe they did, but the ponderous and self-satisfied 2003 sequels were a tremendous let down.
It also nearly ended Ciminos career, which was never quite the same again.
The answer, like the man himself, remains elusive.
I was never a Roth fan: I thoughtCabin Feverwas overrated and found theHostelmovies dreadful.
They sacrificed solid stories and characters for leering gore and violence, giving credence to the torture porn label.
If this was the future of horror, the outlook for the genre was bleak indeed.
Or has the original, edgier filmmaker behindLock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrelsbeen lost to us forever?
George Lucas
His first feature was a commercial failure.
His second was a hit with critics and audiences that put him on the map as a major filmmaker.
Lucas was a product of the legendary USC film school where he studied non-narrative approaches to filmmaking.
The years away from the directors chair evidently had an effect on him.
What became Snyders calling card for almost a decade was his second feature:300.
That film was also a near panel-by-panel recreation of a graphic novel.
WB has since dropped this for the Marvel-chasing sequel,Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
He also would do script doctoring on American masterpieces likeJawsandApocalypse Now.
Still, do yourself a favor and watchthe documentaryMilius, which is currently on Netflix.
That would be akin to Tom Hooper winning an Oscar over David Fincher and Darren Aronofsky.
