10 Famous Movies That Ruined The Reputations Of Classic Films

1. Room 237 Makes The Shining Fans Look Dumb

A film well revered by everyone except the writer of the novel from which it was adapted, The Shining has always carried an air of mystique around it. Basic plot queries blow up to become key to the mystery - why does the maze not match the model, who let Jack out of the fridge, what's that dog-man doing - and the tone is so ominous it only gets scarier with each revisit to try and crack the puzzle.

Key aspects of the Overlook Hotel, notably the relevance of the Indian burial ground on which it was built, have long been taken as part of the overall scope of the film, but in recent years things have got ridiculous. Room 237, a documentary about the various theories fans have about The Shining, can be read in two ways. On the one hand it's a fascinating look at how obsession can completely derail rational thought, but if you take what the theorists have to say seriously then suddenly thinking about The Shining becomes one of the most demented past times you can have.

There's the well publicised ones (it's an apology from Stanley Kubrick for faking the Apollo 11 moon landings), some that are plain bonkers (playing the film over itself in reverse is the key to unlocking its secrets) and some that actually have some credence (there's a reading of the film pertaining to genocide). But the extreme ways the theorists push their ideas only serves to make The Shining seem pretentious or needlessly complex.

Can't we just find the old woman a bit creepy and be done with it?

Which films do you know that have (purposely or otherwise) destroyed another's reputation? And which cases can you overlook? As always, let us know what you think in the comments.