10 Directors Who Absolutely Hated Their Own Movies

10. Alex Proyas - Dark City

Alex Proyas was a renowned music video director who worked with the likes of INXS and Fleetwood Mac during the late eighties. And then with his first movie The Crow (1994), he created a renowned gothic-thriller converted from a dark comic book series, which elevated his profile and set him on a path to writing and directing his follow up feature Dark City (1998). But the version that hit the cinema was far from the film Proyas had envisaged from the start.

Dark City was an adventurous concept, blending mind bending Sci-Fi with the feel of a classic forties Film-Noir. Although visually it was executed perfectly, the overly complicated story did not convert as well to the screen. Proyas had been restricted with various production constraints on the theatrical cut, and was less than satisfied with the version that was initially released. However, he would eventually aim to put right the various wrongs as he saw them, with his director's cut that would hit the DVD and Blu-ray market.

Alex changed the intro to the movie, setting a completely different narrative tone, which helped to keep more of an air of mystery surrounding the shadowy main antagonists of the story. He also extended the run time by 11 minutes, allowing him to focus on some much-needed character development amongst the supporting cast, while also making some adjustments to the colour palate to create even more of the noir feel he had originally intended.