# What films in history have had the greatest divergence between popular & critical opinion? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 26, 2012, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231 "2012-12-26T22:55:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231/21 "2012-12-27T14:55:02Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Victor [Eric Braeden](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000967) ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231/22 "2012-12-27T15:44:08Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > [snip]_2001 a Space Odyssey_ are notorious IMHO, as it was really embarrassing to see that many critics originally panned the movies and nowadays when you check Rotten Tomatoes the movies are close to 100% fresh in the tomatometer. They were right. It’s a horrific cinematic abomination, and it’s current high status isn’t based on popular opinion, but an even more self-selected group of cinemaphiles. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231/23 "2012-12-27T15:57:10Z")
As I recall, there was a little movie in 1977 called _Star Wars_ that was poorly received by critics but warmly embraced by audiences. It currently has a 94% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but I notice that the reviews are all dated post-2000, so it might have been re-examined by the critics. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231/24 "2012-12-27T16:52:27Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Titanic was panned by critics, but… well… I don’t think I need to tell anyone just how well it did in the box office. Titanic wasn’t panned by critics, not even close. Hell, the main film reviewer for the NYT compared it favorably to Gone With the Wind. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231/25 "2012-12-27T16:53:52Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > I imagine Adam Sandler’s oeuvre would qualify, for the most part. My first thought on reading the OP was **Tyler Perry**. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231/26 "2012-12-27T16:56:01Z")
> [@Reno\_Nevada](#): > > As I recall, there was a little movie in 1977 called _Star Wars_ that was poorly received by critics but warmly embraced by audiences. It currently has a 94% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but I notice that the reviews are all dated post-2000, so it might have been re-examined by the critics. Interesting that they’re all post-2000… “Compared the the prequel trilogy, Star Wars: A New Hope is a masterpiece…” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231/27 "2012-12-27T16:58:32Z")
Blockbusters are generally not that popular with critics, although there are plenty of exceptions. And yes, if time passes and a movie’s popularity endures, a lot of critics will revise their opinions. This is very common in music criticism, too. Critics don’t want to be on the wrong side of history. ---
**Author:** ![chinchalinchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9bd4f/32.png) [@chinchalinchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chinchalinchin)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231/28 "2012-12-27T17:07:59Z")
I remember Fight Club being pretty much universally panned by critics, but audiences loving it. The Transformers probably counts too since people seem to eat it, but critics hate it. Actually, that goes for any Michael Bay movie. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231/29 "2012-12-27T17:15:16Z")
> [@chinchalinchin](#): > > I remember Fight Club being pretty much universally panned by critics [I don’t think that was the case.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight_club#Critical_reception) It was a controversial movie and some critics hated it, but it wasn’t universally panned. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231/30 "2012-12-27T17:30:13Z")
I’m not sure you could you could call _My Dinner with Andre_ a public flop. From what I looked up, it made five million dollars, so it was profitable. But I remember critics falling all over themselves about how great this movie was. But everyone I talked to either never saw it, or thought it was one big bore. I found it pretty tedious. I thought Andre was a self-absorbed fatuous twat. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231/31 "2012-12-27T18:30:40Z")
> [@Elise](#): > > Citizen Kane? I would guess high critical acclaim and low popular opinion (during its time). No, it had good critical acclaim and did OK in the box office, actually turning a profit in its first run. Not a blockbuster, but you didn’t have very many blockbusters back then. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231/32 "2012-12-27T18:34:15Z")
> [@Reno\_Nevada](#): > > As I recall, there was a little movie in 1977 called _Star Wars_ that was poorly received by critics but warmly embraced by audiences. In 1977, _Star Wars_ was nominated for Oscars in the Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay categories. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231/33 "2012-12-27T18:41:36Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > I could have sworn that Roger Ebert had put out an entire book of his own reviews that he had come to strongly disagree with. I thought it was titled something like “I Was Wrong”. I can find absolutely no evidence that any such book ever existed. Ebert does this from time to time. He absolutely loved The Graduate [when it was first released](http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19671226/REVIEWS/712260301/1023), but savaged it during the [1997 re-release](http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19970328/REVIEWS/703280304). (I agree with his reassessment). I wouldn’t be surprised if these now and then reviews made it into a section of one of his books. ---
**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:** [December 27, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231/34 "2012-12-27T18:59:23Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > In 1977, _Star Wars_ was nominated for Oscars in the Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay categories. Yup. I remember trying to convince my parents to let me stay up to watch the end of the Oscars “because _Star Wars_ might win.” I was a dumb kid. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231/35 "2012-12-27T19:24:04Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > **The Hurt Locker**. Loved by critics. Not very commercially successful until after it won the Oscar. And loathed by veterans. I remember Siskel and Ebert falling all over themselves with praise for My Dinner With Andre. Some of the 12 people that saw it agreed. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231/36 "2012-12-27T19:34:30Z")
**Animal House** and **Vacation** were pretty soundly panned by critics but loved by audiences. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231/37 "2012-12-27T19:37:41Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > The first “dissed by critics, loved by the masses” films that come to mind are Highlander (the original), Office Space, and Army of Darkness. Here’s Ebert’s [original review of _ **Office Space** _](http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19990219/REVIEWS/902190304/1023). He liked it just fine. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231/38 "2012-12-27T22:14:12Z")
[QUOTE=Reno Nevada] As I recall, there was a little movie in 1977 called Star Wars that was poorly received by critics but warmly embraced by audiences. [/QUOTE] > [@Miller](#): > > In 1977, _Star Wars_ was nominated for Oscars in the Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay categories. Granted it’s been over 35 years but I remember that the critical consensus on **Star Wars** was mostly positive when it came out in May 1977. _Time_ magazine, for example, gave it a rave review. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231/39 "2012-12-28T00:07:57Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Granted it’s been over 35 years but I remember that the critical consensus on **Star Wars** was mostly positive when it came out in May 1977. _Time_ magazine, for example, gave it a rave review. Yes, I have gone back and done a little research and I agree, the critics were much more positive towards _Star Wars_ than I thought. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2012, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231/40 "2012-12-28T00:23:18Z")
All Jim Carrey movies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-films-in-history-have-had-the-greatest-divergence-between-popular-critical-opinion/645231.md?page=3)