I’ve often heard producers and studio heads saying, “The audience is not ready for this,” while rejecting a film pitch. While it’s the most heartbreaking thing to hear for any filmmaker who’s getting rejected, I often wonder how much of it is true.
Looking back, there are so many films that got the recognition that they deserved years after their release. Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom, Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, and Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane are just a few good examples. Are we really in a place where we can predict the audience’s preference? Or do we serve them new things?
Looking back, there are too many instances where we owe an apology to a lot of filmmakers who were shunned for making movies that pushed the boundaries of cinema.
In this article, we’re listing some of the most iconic movies that were way ahead of their time. Consider this article an attempt to make it right to some extent.
Movies That Were Way Ahead Of Their Time
1. Metropolis (1927)
Lang Fitzgerald’s Metropolis, despite being a magnum opus, featuring practical effects and technical innovation way advanced for its time, tanked at the box office in its initial run. With its release in 1927, Metropolis also attracted a lot of controversy that included a direct accusation of plagiarism by literateur H.G. Wells and even began to be directly linked to fascism owing to its political allegories. Even though the narrative should have perfectly resonated with the Germans, who were still trying to cope with the impact of the First World War, navigating unemployment and inflation, it did not.
Set in a dystopian futuristic city far ahead in the future, where the society is divided into two distinct classes, the rich and the working class, with the latter being vehemently exploited by the former, Metropolis follows the love story of a rich man and a working-class woman to explore universal evils of the society, that are often ignored in the name of progress.
While Metropolis isn’t all perfect (some allegories are really overexplained to the level of annoyance), its failure at the box office is proof of the fact that too much of anything, including truth and honesty, might backfire (at least until people are ready for it).
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Stanley Kubrick probably calls us “morons” from the great beyond for sort of rejecting his timeless masterpiece in its initial run, only to celebrate it as a timeless classic, decades later. According to Robert Ebert, 2001: A Space Odyssey’s first screening at the Pantages Theatre nullified all expectations, and not in a good way. Some even left midway through the film, unable to understand the narrative.
With little to no exposition, Kubrick’s narrative doesn’t seem to prioritize gratification over storytelling. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why the film wasn’t too well-received in the beginning. The narrative is structured in four individual parts that are allegorically connected to one another: the Dawn of Man, the lunar excavation, the Jupiter mission, and the transformation of astronaut Dave Bowman, which together explore the origin of mankind.
The movie was not only ahead of its time but also predicted the future through its immaculate worldbuilding.
3. The Matrix (1999)
Inspired by comics and Japanese animation, Lana and Lilly Wachowski’s The Matrix is a rare movie that was saved from box office embarrassment despite its complicated narrative and innovative concept; in fact, it was the highest-grossing Warner Bros. film of 1999. Would you believe me if I told you that for the longest time, the lead actor, studio heads, and even some of the crew didn’t understand the story, even after reading the script more than once? “Upon reading the script and seeing the conceptuals, you know, at the same time, you know the immediate reaction is there’s no chance in hell this movie will be made,” shared John Gaeta, the Visual Effects Supervisor, in a behind-the-scenes video.
In Laurence Fishburne’s words, who played Morpheus in the movie, “A movie this smart, umm, it’s almost a miracle that it got made.” The narrative follows Neo, who learns that the world that we live in is nothing but a computer-generated simulation that controls everything, including our consciousness.
4. The Big Lebowski (1998)
Written and directed by the Coen Brothers, starring the likes of Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, and Steve Buscemi, The Big Lebowski follows Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski, who sets out to get compensation for his ruined rug after thugs pee all over it when they mistake him for a billionaire with the same last name.
It’s surprising that a narrative with such a unique mix of comedy, drama, and noir, in an unconventional plot with quirky characters, took so long to become a cult classic. Honestly, I’ll never understand why it tanked at the box office in the first place.
5. American History X (1998)
Starring Edward Norton, Tony Kaye’s American History X performed modestly at the box office, barely crossing the mark to not be marked as a box office failure. The narrative centers on two brothers, Derek and Danny, in their quest for redemption.
The narrative spotlights the dangers of choosing violence, as Danny navigates his brother’s conviction after he murders a black man, and Derek as he tries to survive life behind bars.
While the neo-Nazi views of the protagonist were widely misunderstood to be propaganda, initially, it took some time for the audience to warm up to American History X, and once they did, there was no looking back.
6. Fight Club (1999)
This list would be incomplete without David Fincher’s Fight Club. Revolving around a serious personality disorder such as schizophrenia, Fight Club proved to be a disaster at the box office upon its release.
Honestly, I’m not too surprised considering how personality disorders are still such a taboo and can silence an entire room full of people just by making them uncomfortable. Special mention to Brad Pitt for such an enigmatic portrayal of Tyler Durden, the villain who won in the end.
Did your favorite movie make it to this list? Let us know which ones in the list you have watched already.
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