It is often said that, for great evils, great remedies. However, I don’t know of many evils worse than death and, at the moment, we don’t have many options to avoid it. The world of cinema knows a lot about death, but it also knows a lot about remedies. And there are dozens of different examples throughout history to prove this claim.
There are many cases of shootings that were hell and ended up being great movies. After all, the fact that a production is complicated for whatever reason does not mean that it is a failure. Often they go hand in hand. However, there are a few exceptions of bizarre productions that ended up working.
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It all comes down to the assembly booth. If the filmed resources are sufficient to develop a good edition, it doesn’t matter how many fights arose in a shoot, how many times a sequence had to be filmed or how many personal and professional problems were unleashed on the set. The movie ends up makingcivilly or criminally.
These are The 5 movies whose shootings were chaos and are a masterpiececonfirming that there are exceptions for everything in the cinema:
Apocalypse Now The Crow Eyes Wide Shut Shark New York, New York
Apocalypse Now (1979)
The filming of Apocalypse Now, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, was one of the most problematic productions in the history of cinema. Complications began early on, with the studios rejecting Coppola’s original idea of shooting in Vietnam.
Filming in the Philippines also had problems, including typhoons that destroyed the sets and delayed production. In addition, the cast and crew dealt with various illnesses and injuries, including a fever and the collapse of Martin Sheen, who played the film’s lead.
For his part, Marlon Brando was constantly late and without having memorized his lines, visibly apathetic or even drunk, sometimes. Her attitude caused significant changes in the script.
The budget was overrun and production went on for several months longer than planned. Francis Ford Coppola even had to mortgage his house and sell his wine cellar to finance the Apocalypse Now movie.
Despite all these complications, Apocalypse Now was a box office and critical success, winning two Oscars and becoming a war film classic. Its complicated shooting has become a legend in the film industry and has been the subject of several documentaries and books.
The Raven (1994)
The filming of the 1994 movie El Cuervo was one of the most tragic in film history. The death of leading man Brandon Lee in an accident on set while filming a shootout scene shocked the movie world. The production was temporarily suspended and resumed with the help of stuntmen and special effects to complete the film.
In addition to the tragic death of Brandon Lee, the production suffered other setbacks, including the resignation of the original director, Alex Proyas, due to creative differences with the producers. There were also issues with on-set security and several delays in filming due to weather and technical issues.
Nonetheless, The Raven was released in 1994 and became a cult film, cementing Brandon Lee’s career as an actor. However, the on-set tragedy continues to be remembered as one of the most shocking in movie history and has led to changes in safety procedures in the film industry.
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
The filming of Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut was a long and complex process, with several obstacles. The film was shot over a period of more than two years, which ended up resulting in a high budget and production company Warner Bros. Pictures’ desperation to see the project finished once and for all.
Apart from that, the film suffered from casting problemsnamely the following:
The resignation of Jennifer Jason Leigh The replacement of Harvey Keitel by Sydney Pollack The conflict between Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, whose marriage was in crisis at the time
The production also faced problems with censorship, since the final orgy scene was censored in some countries due to its explicit sexual content. Stanley Kubrick died shortly after completing the final editing of the film, prompting speculation as to whether the theatrically released version was really the one he would have wanted.
Despite all these complications, Eyes Wide Shut was well received by critics and has been considered one of Kubrick’s best films.. The film is remembered for its exploration of taboo subjects and its psychological complexity, but also for its chaotic shooting.
Shark (1975)
The filming of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws was one of the most troublesome in movie history. The budget was completely overrun and production was delayed due to technical problems with the mechanical shark, which was designed to be the film’s main antagonist.
The production team was seen forced to improvise and use innovative camera techniques to hide the limitations that said mechanical shark had. On the other hand, the filming suffered considerable delays due to bad weather and problems arising from the sets in the ocean.
Despite the difficulties, Jaws became the first modern blockbuster in cinema history. To this day, it is one of the most iconic films by Steven Spielberg, who established himself in Hollywood as one of the most talented directors of his generation.
Its release also inspired a number of sequels and became an instant horror movie classic. The mechanical shark, which was initially a problem for the production, morphed into a movie icon and a role model for special effects technology.
New York, New York (1977)
The shooting of Martin Scorsese’s New York, New York was a difficult and very troublesome process. The film, which starred Robert De Niro and Liza Minnelli, had an extremely high budget and was shot on location in New York, which significantly complicated the film’s production.
Martin Scorsese, known to be a very perfectionist filmmaker, did numerous takes and rehearsals, which increased the budget and lengthened the production. In addition, there were conflicts on the set between the director and Liza Minnelli, which further delayed the filming process. Not to mention the insanities related to orgies and drugs on the set.
New York, New York also suffered problems in post-production. The first cut of the film lasted more than four hours, and that forced Martin Scorsese to make numerous cuts to be able to release the film in theaters and not have problems with the studio or the distribution of the film.
Despite all these difficulties, New York, New York was well received by critics and continues to be a film admired for its style and performances. The film’s soundtrack, with Frank Sinatra’s iconic New York song, became a hit and has been used ad nauseam in mass popular culture, undoubtedly associated with the island of Manhattan.
And you, what? shootings that were chaos and then they were movies remember? Leave us a comment to expand the list of cinematographic exceptions.
