Johnny Depp! Nazi Clowns! Sgt. Pepper! Three “What Were They Thinking” Movies!

Time To Go To The Movies!

I love the communal movie experience: a packed theater laughing, crying, or being scared to death by the power of cinema…but cinema has another power as well:

As this hilarious photo from the “Den Of Geek” website suggests, not ALL movie experiences are positive ones.

Here are three films that will have you asking yourself:

“WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?”

3-The Brave

Johnny Depp has had an eclectic career: critically-acclaimed hits like “Edward Scissorhands” and blockbusters like “Pirates Of The Caribbean.”

So did you see his 1997 directorial debut, with Depp also starring as a “down-on-his-luck” American Indian recently released from jail, who is offered the chance to “star” as the victim of a snuff film…convinced that he has nothing to offer this world, he agrees to be tortured to death by a gang of rednecks in return for $50,000. OK, you can ask:

“WHAT THE F?”

I saw this film at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 and my wife Alex interviewed Johnny at the time, and he was articulate and polite. And “The Brave” is one of the most misguided movie ideas EVER. “The Brave” was never released in the United States, although it has finally shown up on DVD…and I really admire Johnny Depp…but this is a tough tough tough film to watch, and if you can make it through the scene where he builds an entire amusement park overnight while his kids are asleep inside the trailer – yes, an entire amusement park – well then I salute you.

Depp’s been in the news lately for strange behavior at a movie premiere, and his huge lawsuit against his financial advisers…you can read more about that here:

https://johnrieber.com/2017/05/13/johnny-depps-morass-incredible-story-of-an-actors-wild-wild-spending-bravo-to-the-hollywood-reporter/

That lawsuit was recently settled, so let’s hope he can get back on track…speaking of tracks, every singe one on this album is a classic:

The “Sgt. Pepper” album was an amazing accomplishment by The Beatles, but what caused them to allow THIS to happen?

2-Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Producer Robert Stigwood came up with the idea to take the album and “bring it to life!”

Look away children, look away! The Bee Gees, George Burns, Steve Martin, Alice Cooper and Earth,Wind & Fire also share the blame for agreeing to star in this 1978 disaster.

For whatever reason, The Beatles saw their classic music turned into absolutely horrible films – click here to see more:

https://johnrieber.com/2013/06/20/the-beatles-worlds-best-music-worst-movie-choices/

No matter how awful these first two films were, at least they were seen by someone…Jerry Lewis wasn’t so lucky:

1-The Day the Clown Cried

That’s right, this legendary, never-released movie from master Comedian Jerry Lewis was going to be his directorial masterpiece – a haunting tale of the “clown” who worked in a concentration camp!

“The Day The Clown Cried” has to be the most misguided idea for a film of all time, and of course was never unreleased. Jerry Lewis starred and directed this 1972 lost work, which is all about a circus clown who is imprisoned in a Nazi camp. He entertains the children who are there, and in the rumored finale, finally leads them in full clown makeup into the gas chambers. Nice.

Now, I know you are thinking: isn’t this somewhat similar to “Life Is Beautiful”, Italian rubber-faced funnyman Roberto Benigni’s critically-acclaimed 1997 film? As reviews said at the time: “Benigni accomplishes the impossible in his World War II comedy Life Is Beautiful: he shapes a simultaneously hilarious and haunting comedy out of the tragedy of the Holocaust.” And he won Best Actor for it!

So why not Jerry? Well, we will never know, because the Actor/Comedian died without the film ever seeing the light of day. Read more about his career and this notorious film by clicking here:


https://johnrieber.com/2017/08/20/rip-jerry-lewis-comic-legend-was-nutty-professor-and-jerry-langford-his-clown-drama-will-never-be-seen/

There you go, three of the most misguided films of all time!



Categories: 70's Cinema, Action Films, Art, Books / Media, Classic Rock, Comedy Movies, Cult Movies, Film Fight Club, Film Noir, Hollywood, Independent Cinema, Movies, Music, Obscure Movies, Politics, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities, The Beatles, Uncategorized

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

5 replies

  1. I knew nothing of any of these which is possibly a good thing. The Depp debut is a ghastly concept, The Sergeant Pepper a ludicrous notion but I find myself wondering about the Jerry Lewis Holocaust Clown movie. He is a performer and actor that I hold in really high regard – a misguided idea it certainly was, though you rightly point out that it has distinct similarities with ā€˜Life Is Beautiful’ – a film I hold in the highest esteem. Some things one is left to wonder about and this will be one of them. Thank you for piquing my interest and reminding me how much I valued Jerry Lewis.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks for the note! The Depp is a tonal mess and Sgt. Peppers is wrong in every way – Clown is indeed the precursor to Life Is Beautiful and if you be seen The King Of Comedy you know that Lewis could do serious – he was masterful in that Scorsese film

      Like

  2. Thankfully, I have never seen any of them, and will eventually die happy knowing that fact. šŸ™‚
    Best wishes, Pete.

    Liked by 1 person

Trackbacks

  1. Lisa’s Week In Review: 8/13/18 — 8/19/18 | Through the Shattered Lens

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

New Classic Recipe

- RECIPES AND STORIES

Rust Belt Girl

reading and writing the Rust Belt with Rebecca Moon Ruark

Take It Easy

Retired, not expired: words from the after(work)life. And music. Lots of music!

Hey, Traveler

Sharing travel tips, ideas, and anecdotes with fellow wanderers, dreamers, doers, and lovers of life

Stevie Turner

Realist, writer, reader, reviewer and rocker.

Cornwall in Colours

inspired by the colours of the land, sea and sky of Cornwall

Bonjour From Brittany

Celebrating what makes Brittany unique

Let's Go To The Movies

Film and Theatre Lover!

SoraNews24 -Japan News-

Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.

Bite! Eat! Repeat!

52 Cookbooks. 52 Recipes. A Tasty 2022!

A Teacher's Reflections

Thirty Years of Wonder

Tanooki Homemade Cafe

Yummy Homemade Food Recipes to Make You Smile:)

In Saner Thought

"It is the duty of every man, as far as his ability extends, to detect and expose delusion and error"..Thomas Paine

Pete Springer

Passionate Teacher and Future Children's Author

BACK ROADS AND OTHER STORIES

Follow us as we follow the road

CarpeDiemEire

Travel Through Ireland and Europe

Diary of A Movie Maniac

A Personal Journey Through Cinema & Television

Geeking Out about It

BlerdWatching Waaay Too Much TV

Wheelescapades

Tea, Tours and Escapades

Robbie's inspiration

Ideas on writing and baking

You can always start now

journaling to see some answers

Realweegiemidget Reviews Films TV Books and more

You can take the girl out of Glasgow. Entertainment Reviews from a Wee Scottish Wife and Stepmum living in Finland.

I didn't have my glasses on....

A trip through life with fingers crossed and eternal optimism.

Through the Shattered Lens

Where mainstream meets grindhouse, exploitation, otaku and gamers

Laura's Books and Blogs

Writing tips, giveaways, reviews, essays, and more!

Drew's Movie Reviews

Movie reviews from your average dude

But I Smile Anyway...

Musings and memories, words and wisdom... of a working family woman

Movie Reviews 101

Daily Movie Reviews

Cindy Bruchman

Photography. Observations. Adventures. Let's talk.

Invisibly Me

Live A Visible Life Whatever Your Health

Retired? No one told me!

Tonight I Dream. Tomorrow I Do!

beetleypete

The musings of a Londoner, now living in Norfolk

Cats and Trails and Garden Tales

Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life

Tranquil Dreams

Watching, Reading, Cooking & Travelling

An Historian About Town

History in the Making

Susie Lindau's Wild Ride

Adventures and Misadventures in Boulder, Colorado

It Rains... You Get Wet

Still more lazy thoughts from this one...

Admit One Film Addict

Psychotropic Cinema and more

emmakwall (explains it all)

Film & soundtrack reviews, good humour and lists

johnrieber

Burgers, Books, Music, Movies, Offbeat Adventures & Pop Culture!

vinnieh

Movie reviews and anything else that comes to mind

%d bloggers like this: