Some movies are remembered more for their behind-the-scenes drama than their actual content. Join us as we explore legendary films whose legacies have been tarnished by shocking scandals, controversies, and off-screen incidents that forever changed how we view these cinematic works.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the best film legacies
00:07that are now tarnished due to controversy.
00:22No matter the quality, this adult drama will always be remembered as the Kevin Spacey movie
00:27that wasn't.
00:28In the truly epic case of bad timing, the film was slated for release right when the
00:31actor weathered a tsunami of sexual misconduct allegations.
00:43Since Spacey's role was pivotal to the plot, and impossible to edit around, the producers
00:48were stuck between a rock and an unreleasable money sink.
00:51Their solution?
00:52Get Christopher Plummer to stand in front of a green screen and digitally replace every
00:55single shot of Spacey.
01:01It was still too uncanny for most moviegoers, but at least it's something.
01:05American Beauty, on the other hand, is pretty much unsalvageable.
01:18Three actors meeting their end in a freak helicopter accident sounds like the plot of
01:22an actual Twilight Zone episode, but sadly, this is not fiction.
01:26The last-minute addition of two orphan characters had lethal consequences when a botched stunt
01:31sent real helicopter debris flying.
01:39As if actor Vic Morrow's death wasn't bad enough, both Vietnamese children were
01:43paid under the table to get around California labour laws, which forbade actors under 18
01:49from working through the night.
01:50So, to summarise, the kids weren't in the original draft, weren't properly supervised
01:54and weren't even supposed to shoot at night in the first place.
02:08As you can imagine, these days, Twilight Zone is only cited as the helicopter crash film.
02:19The Woman King.
02:26Led by a fierce performance from Viola Davis, this empowering story seemed poised to go
02:30all the way to Oscar Gold.
02:32That is, until one crucial mistake dethroned The Woman King for good.
02:44While many appreciated its historical tale of African triumph, more took issue with its
02:48glorification of the Daomi Kingdom, a faction that famously supported the slave trade.
02:54Since the film never mentions that little detail, The Woman King faced all sorts of
02:58accusations about its loose retelling of history.
03:13So despite the movie's clear merits, everyone from critics, to audiences, to historians,
03:19to African organisations, decided The Woman King wasn't worth a trip to theatres.
03:35This movie has it all.
03:36Health scares, adulterous affairs, bankruptcy, and that's just behind the scenes.
03:40That's right, Cleopatra may be a touchstone of filmmaking, but odds are, you've only
03:44ever heard about its very, very bumpy production.
03:54Beleaguered by Elizabeth Taylor's failing health, as well as constant script issues,
03:58the movie went over budget after completing only ten minutes of workable footage.
04:02From there, distributor 20th Century Fox kept writing cheques until they nearly shuttered
04:07their bank account.
04:08It almost backfired, too, when Taylor's affair with co-star Richard Burton became
04:12the scandal of the century.
04:22Rest assured, they'll teach Cleopatra in film classes for decades, whether it's for
04:26the right reasons or not.
04:35In an ironic twist of fate, Will Smith's Oscar win is both a career high and a devastating
04:40low.
04:41The actual performance was totally deserving.
04:50The issue was that a mere hour before Smith's name was called, he took the stage, prematurely,
04:56to defend his wife from one of Chris Rock's tasteless jokes.
04:59Actions speak louder than words, though, and after a few F-bombs, Smith spoke with his
05:04fist.
05:05Keep in mind, this all happened on live television.
05:08It's a real shame for King Richard.
05:11Now it will only ever be referred to as the movie that created one of the most jaw-dropping
05:15Oscar moments of all time.
05:21Don't let the awards fool you, this movie is all sorts of problematic.
05:29Even setting aside the highly questionable age gap between its lead characters, this
05:322017 drama is hard to revisit now that Armie Hammer's personal life isn't so personal
05:37anymore.
05:38Let's just say, it's difficult to buy into a romance when one of the actors is accused
05:50of gross misconduct and very strange proclivities.
05:54The allegations were so bad, Hammer was effectively blacklisted from every Hollywood production
05:58in town.
05:59Even his own publicist left him.
06:01Given all that, most agree that re-watching, hits way too close to home.
06:19Nowadays Woody Allen's controversial presence hangs over just about every single thing he's
06:24ever touched, but Manhattan is a special case.
06:27For those who don't know, the rom-com follows a middle-aged man who routinely justifies
06:31his sexual relationship with a 17-year-old.
06:33What's more, Allen didn't just direct the film, and he didn't just write it either.
06:43He also starred.
06:44Yeah, all things considered, it's only natural that Manhattan has seen a lot of retrospective
06:49criticism.
06:50You can try to separate the art from the artist all you want, but given the eerie parallels,
06:55there's truly no way to ever see Manhattan the same way again.
07:07Divorce is messy, but apparently making a movie with Dustin Hoffman is no cakewalk
07:11either.
07:12During the making of Kramer vs. Kramer, the star held all sorts of obscenities, microaggressions
07:17and even physical glasses at his co-star Meryl Streep.
07:25It was all in the name of so-called method acting, but there's a big difference between
07:29stepping into a character and full-on slapping your scene partner.
07:32In fact, you can practically see the tension crackle on screen, and it's heartbreaking
07:36to know that it wasn't just from the good performances.
07:39With Streep's testimony, we rule that Kramer vs. Kramer is guilty on all counts of crossing
07:44the line.
07:54A product of its time or not, there's simply no excuse for the portrayal of Mr. Yunioshi
07:59in this movie.
08:00The very casting of Mickey Rooney, a white actor, would be enough to make waves in modern
08:04times, let alone the offensive performance he put on.
08:13Yes, Mr. Yunioshi is supposed to be a silly villain, but Rooney's zany physicality and
08:21offensive accent turns him into a complete racial caricature.
08:24And it doesn't help that he wore dark make-up and prosthetic teeth, too.
08:28Many who worked on Breakfast at Tiffany's, including Rooney himself, have since expressed
08:32regret for the casting, which has left a black mark on an otherwise legendary film.
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09:00The Wizard of Oz
09:04When Judy Garland signed on for a trip to Oz, she followed the yellow-bit road all the
09:08way to unforgettable Hollywood infamy.
09:10And she wasn't alone.
09:11Margaret Hamilton was set on fire during a stunt gone wrong.
09:14The first director was terminated, with all his footage scrapped.
09:17Then there's the original actor for the Tin Man, who had a reaction to the aluminium
09:21dust and had to be hospitalised.
09:27Imagine that without even mentioning Garland herself, who endured all sorts of physical,
09:32emotional and mental turmoil to keep her, quote-unquote, camera ready.
09:36I mean, we could go on.
09:37It's honestly amazing how such a dangerous and hostile work environment created one of
09:41cinema's most beloved films.
09:47So are there any movies that didn't make this list that you just can't look at the
09:51same again?
09:52Let us know in the comments below.