There's nothing better than sitting down to watch a movie that just ends up completely blowing you away, but of course, no film is perfect, so what about when awesome films have one single scene, or even just one single moment that rankles you? It makes a seemingly perfect film seem imperfect in some cases, while in others, it simply makes a great film seem a little less great; what's consistent throughout is that even great directors - in fact, some of the best who have ever lived - aren't beyond making some colossal mistakes as far as direction goes. Just someone to nudge them and say, "That's cheesy as Hell" or "That doesn't quite work" would have sufficed, but most of these visions, for better or for worse, are completely singular, with all of the flaws and successes that this encompasses. Here are 10 terrible moments from awesome movies.
10. Network - Faye Dunaway Climaxes Over Media
There's no questioning Network's supremely influential status; Sidney Lumet's astounding direction and Paddy Cheyefsky's scarily prescient script made for one of the most potent satires in cinema history, an indelible Hollywood landmark that has only become more relevant as it has aged. While the film's lack of subtlety is for the most part entertaining and entirely the point, there is one element of the film where this doesn't wash, and that is with the relationship between William Holden's seasoned news anchor and Faye Dunaway's doggedly determined, ratings-hungry programmer. We understand early on that Dunaway's character is a thoroughly unlikeable individual driven only by upping her ratings, and so Lumet and Cheyefsky really didn't need to include the absurd scene where the two start rutting while Dunaway talks about various aspects of the newz biz, climaxing in between. Post-coitus, she utters, "What's really bugging me now is my daytime programming", as if we didn't already get that yes, she is absolutely mental. Talk about hammering your point home.