50 Greatest Movies Never

Chris Gore's The 50 Greatest Movies Ever Made is wildly uneven, frequently enjoyable, occasionally insightful, and at times kinda annoying. It's also a pretty cool idea that was long overdue and if Gore's book doesn't quite take advantage of the full potential of his concept, its still an idea that was long overdue. Content-wise, this book would probably rate three stars (whatever that actually means) but it deserves that one extra star for being the first of its kind. Hopefully, should someone decide to write a follow-up on other great films that were never made, they'll keep a copy of this book so that they may learn from not only the book's flaws but its strengths as well.Every film fanatic has a few cherished projects that they learned about while they lingered in Hollywood's development limbo. These were the movies that you looked forward to saying, that you found yourself checking up on whenever you got a spare moment, and these are the movies that either vanished all together or died right when they were on the verge of actually being made. These are the movies that we regret we'll never get a chance to see. Chris Gore's book details fifty of these film projects that, for various reasons, never actually made it to postproduction. In Gore's opinion (and if Chris Gore has anything, its opinions), these fifty films would have all been classics of the cinema and, film-by-film, he details not only why the films were never made but why he believes we should mourn their loss.Obviously, this is a highly subjective enterprise and Gore is often found defending a film's lost greatness on the basis of little more than his gut instinct. As a result, I doubt there's a reader out there who will agree with all of Gore's choices. Personally, its hard for me to share Gore's disappointment that we were never allowed a chance to see a Stephen Sondheim musical directed by Rob Reiner and co-written by William Goldman. (In fact, I found myself rather relieved that the whole thing fell apart.) Try as I might, I can't summon up any enthusiasm for Swirlie, a serious crime film featuring a crime boss whose head is a giant ice cream cone. Even Gore himself seems to be trying a bit too hard to convince himself that the failure of Jerry Lewis' That's Life is something to be regretted. However, for every project that left me scratching my head, Gore came through with chapters on lost film projects that actually did seem to have the potential to be something special. After completing this book, I did find myself wishing that I could run out and rent a copy Harrow Alley (costarring George C. Scott and Mel Gibson). I did wish for a chance to catch the macabre comedy Won't Fade Out on late night TV. Even the campy, stoner thrills of Biker's Heaven, the Easy Rider sequel, sounded like a potentially fun film to watch with a couple of properly medicated friends. Its films like these that are the saving grace of Gore's frustratingly brief overview.As a critic,

Chris Gore's remarkable study of the Greatest Movies never made reveals the chaotic side of the creative personality. How comforting it is for those of us overwhelmed with half finished projects to realize that the most famous artists of our time have also experienced the languor, frustration and pain associated with ideas whose time has not yet come. I found all fifty of the failures to be instructive but the doomed collaboration of Laughton and Von Sternberg on I Claudius was particularly poignant for me as a fable explaining why the seemingly unbeatable combination of balance and brilliance is as vulnerable as any other circumstantial chemistry transmogrifying under the strain of miscommunication.If we are to learn from the mistakes of others than Gore's work is a what not to do handbook of esteemable value.

I was given this book by a friend who knows i am a total movie freak. Usually when I get books like this I groan more than smile. The books tend to be either cheesy or boring. This book is neither. The stories of the unmade movies that I have read have been fascinating. The Marx Brothers storming the U.N. what a great movie! In a way this book is depressing, because I find out about movies that I have been deprived of, Chris Gore's writing is clear and easy for film buffs and newcomers alike. I highly recommend this book!!!

"Many of these jettisoned movies are already Hollywood legend, and Gore's descriptions of the surviving material are full of promise. ...as Gore demonstrates, casting the lead is merely the beginning, and a beginning doesn't get you far in Hollywood. This archive of stillborn pictures attests to the great feats of development and persuasion necessary to get a major film off the ground and to the countless projects that crashed and burned along the way."