# Greatest movies never made **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 9, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735 "2019-05-09T17:32:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735/81 "2019-05-14T02:25:29Z")
the new addams family movie is about to come out as we speak … ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735/82 "2019-05-14T02:41:35Z")
> **[The Addams Family (2019 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Addams_Family_(2019_film)#Premise)** > > The Addams Family is a 2019 computer-animated supernatural black comedy film directed by Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan and based on the characters created by Charles Addams. The film stars the voices of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard, Nick Kroll, Snoop Dogg, Bette Midler, and Allison Janney. > The film was theatrically released in the United States and in Canada by United Artists Releasing on October 11, 2019. It received mixed reviews from critics for its narrati... ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735/83 "2019-05-14T02:55:36Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > the new addams family movie is about to come out as we speak … Though, worth noting that it’s an animated film, not a live-action film as the 1990s ones were. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735/84 "2019-05-14T04:41:38Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > A good series of movies about Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct. The one that was made based on Fuzz was so bad I won’t link to anything about it. But Cop Hater was great. I love the way it created a feeling of not really having a beginning or end, just that we dropped in right before the first murder and left after the killer was arrested while the detectives just went on with their lives. Plus it introduced the world to Jerry Orbach. ---
**Author:** ![Snake\_Plissken\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Snake\_Plissken\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snake_Plissken_1)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735/85 "2019-05-14T11:40:18Z")
…but I would love to see someone try to do Cormac McCarthy’s ‘Blood Meridian’. It would certainly be the most violent movie ever filmed. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735/86 "2019-05-14T11:58:51Z")
Here are a couple that did get made, but turned out a LOT less impressive than their promotions suggested. **Metamorphoses** was supposed to be a (then) modern-day Rock version of _Fantasia_, with all the stories based on Greek myths. It was made by Sanrio (most famous these days for _Hello Kitty_) and, according to contemporary stories, was a collaboration between anime artists and some from Disney’s classic age of animation. The rock score was to feature works by Joan Baez, Mick Jagger, and others. the myths were to be Actaeon, Orpheus, “The House of Envy”, Perseus, and Phaethon. Connecting all these were the same “cute” childlike male and female characters, who would portray the leads in the myths. A lot of the conceptual drawings and stills looked very impressive (except for the child leads, who looked to me too much like the characters in those simpering “Love is…” cartoons) Apparently they released it in Albuquerqque in 1978 and it was panned. They replaced the rock score with a new, undistinguished one, and added narration by Peter Ustinov. How this was supposed to improve it, I have no idea. I saw the altered release version and it – well – it sucked. The animation was fluid by amateurish. The sound quality was abysmal. It moved slowly. Definitely a lost opportunity. the other was **Flesh Gordon II** , a follow-up to the original that was in production hell for years. The pre-production sketches looked gorgeous, but the film as finally made was scaled back. Obviously they stinted on production money. They also intended it for an “R” rating from the start, and apparently decided that this meant they couldn’t have any sex appeal, so they relied heavily on scatological jokes. It went straight to video. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735/87 "2019-05-14T14:24:42Z")
Actually, a trilogy: _Kickpuncher_, _Kickpuncher 2: Code-Name Punch Kicker_, and _Kickpuncher III: The Final Kickening_. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735/88 "2019-05-14T14:32:44Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Morgan Freeman, of all people, apparently holds the film rights to _Rendezvous with Rama_ and has been trying to get a movie made for over fifteen years. The sad irony of _Rama_ not getting made into a movie is that it has _vastly_ more spectacle than any of Clarke’s other work from his best period. The only upside of not making a movie out of _Rama_ is that they’ll never make the sequels, either. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735/89 "2019-05-14T15:06:17Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > I initially misread this as “Riverworld” and thought someone tried twice to make it into a TV series. I really would like someone to make a good adaption of Philip José Farmer’s book series. Those two attempts were absolute crap. In fact, in one of them I believe they made Richard Francis Burton the bad guy. Make it a multipart on Netflix, And I’ll give it a shot. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735/90 "2019-05-14T15:17:28Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Those two attempts were absolute crap. In fact, in one of them I believe they made Richard Francis Burton the bad guy. Make it a multipart on Netflix, And I’ll give it a shot. Agreed and agreed. _Riverworld_ would, you’d think, make a helluva series. And you wouldn’t even need elaborate effects or sets. The problem is that the Powers That Be thought that Americans either wouldn’t know who Richard Francis Burton was (mistaking him for that actor), or wouldn’t accept a non-American hero (so they introduced an American Astronaut as a hero for that first TV movie). It’s the same mindset that turned Harry Potter’s Philosopher’s Stone in a Sorceror’s Stone. Geez, give people credit for _some_ intelligence! ---
**Author:** ![Doyle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doyle/32/439_2.png) [@Doyle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doyle)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735/91 "2019-09-05T20:36:26Z")
I was going to add the story of Brian Boru, but I’m happy to report that it will be made into a mini-series based on the wonderful book, _The Lion of Ireland_. **Life of High King Brian Boru to be major US miniseries** > **[Life of High King Brian Boru to be major US miniseries](https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/brian-boru-tv-series)** > > Brian Boru was an 11th-century Irish high king known for fighting a Viking army at the Battle of Clontarf. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2019, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735/92 "2019-09-06T04:02:56Z")
Giraffes on Horseback Salad. A proposed Salvador Dali and Marx Brothers movie. I fairly recently learned about this and now want to find an alternate timeline where it exists. [Salvador Dalí’s Would-Be Marx Brothers Movie Is Now a Graphic Novel | IndieWire](https://www.indiewire.com/2019/03/giraffes-on-horseback-salad-salvador-dali-marx-brothers-graphic-novel-1202051933/#)! ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2019, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735/93 "2019-09-06T06:15:48Z")
I would have loved to see **Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis** (after the great 90s LucasArts point-and-click adventure) instead of Crystal Skull, which, I’m sure many will agree, was pretty weak… ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2019, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735/94 "2019-09-06T07:08:20Z")
I’m not a fan of them but the planned idea for “Sleep-away Camp 4” sounded pretty ingenious. The first movie is a generic 80’s slasher set at a summer camp basically only remembered for the twist ending. They made two sequels to that film, however the actress for played the killer apparently quit acting to go to school, so they wound up getting a different actress to replay the killer from the first film. Apparently the plot of the fourth film would have been the killer from the first movie played by the original actor showing up and confronting the killer from the second and third movie played by the replacement actor, the idea being the 2nd and 3rd movies were the work of a copycat and the original killer is back to take their mantle back. It sounded like a pretty good proto-Freddy Vs Jason flick. However the actual “movie” they made for Part 4 was far less ambitious and wasn’t even finished due to production running out of money. Apparently they did a “reboot” featuring the original actress coming back but it’s just not the same. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2019, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735/95 "2019-09-06T13:48:10Z")
Why hasn’t the story of Bohemian Rhapsody been turned into a movie or Broadway musical? That song begs for such a treatment. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2019, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735/96 "2019-09-06T15:35:11Z")
Stanley Kubrick - Napolean ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2019, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735/97 "2019-09-06T15:53:35Z")
The saga of Love Canal would be a must-see for me. If I made it myself I would title it: WE THE PEOPLE… of Love Canal ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2019, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735/98 "2019-09-06T17:42:19Z")
> [@MortSahlFan](#): > > Stanley Kubrick - Napolean Kubrick asked Anthony Burgess (of _Clockwork Orange_ fame) to come up with a script. The result was [_Napoleon Symphony_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_Symphony). Burgess later commented on their differences in styles being a problem. Kubrick slow, Burgess much quicker. Burgess viewed the movie as having a nice, reasonable pace (and length) set to Beethoven. Kurbrick not so much. Anyway, the material is out there for someone to turn into a movie. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2019, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735/99 "2019-09-06T17:54:09Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > I’d see it if I had a chance, but Lewis said it’s just a bad film and that he was ashamed of it. One thing i don’t get is how people do facepalms over the very concept. The idea seems solid and affecting and quite doable. We’ve had nazi mistresses running prison films, decades of nazi zombie films. Decades of sad clown films. So how is a “Concentration camp prisoner dresses as a clown to ease the last days of the children there while dying inside every day.” not a solid idea? Ok i just read the synopsis. It needs tweaking. The film should be less about the clown and the ‘pied piper’ thing is SO heavy-handed it needs tweaking, but overall its a solid idea. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2019, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735/100 "2019-09-06T18:49:45Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > the other was **Flesh Gordon II** , a follow-up to the original that was in production hell for years. The pre-production sketches looked gorgeous, but the film as finally made was scaled back. Obviously they stinted on production money. They also intended it for an “R” rating from the start, and apparently decided that this meant they couldn’t have any sex appeal, so they relied heavily on scatological jokes. It went straight to video. Was this a porn parody movie that was watered down? Or an Airplane!-style parody that never took off? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movies-never-made/833735.md?page=6)