10 Classic Films Critics Originally Hated

Stephen King was not a fan of this wholly unfaithful adaptation of his bestseller. He dismissed Stanley Kubrick as a director who "thinks too much and feels too little". Sadly for Mr Kubrick, critics could not have agreed more. The film's slow pace, an anomaly in horror films at the time, was widely panned as with additional flak being thrown at its deviations from the source material. Both Kubrick and lead actress Shelley Duvall racked up Razzie nominations for their efforts.

A moderate success at the box office, The Shining, like so many of Kubrick's films, enjoyed a warmer reception in later years. Heralded for its pop cultural influence and Jack Nicholson's suitably psychotic turn, The Shining has become a scholarly favourite, with interpretations of its plot ranging from conspiracies surrounding the moon landings, to the genocide of Native Americans throughout the early history of the US.

Even the late, great Roger Ebert came around on The Shining eventually, changing his initially disinterested review to a 4 star approval in 2006. By 1997, the film had become one of Kubrick's most beloved and King's considerably more faithful miniseries adaptation was deemed inferior by audiences and many critics. Perhaps Kubrick's overthinking wasn't so bad after all...