Buzz
It can be disheartening to reflect on how so many films today fall short, especially when you consider the countless remarkable films envisioned by gifted filmmakers that never got made, or never moved beyond their concept stages. What follows is a list of ten such movies that, for the most part, only lived in the imaginations of their creators. Some were mere dreams, others progressed to the planning phase, but none were realized in anything close to their original vision. So, the next time you're stuck watching a mind-numbing rom-com or a ridiculous mumblecore disaster pretending to be art, let it remind you how these masterpieces never came to fruition.
10. Gangs of New York
The Movie: Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York, featuring The Clash.
The film eventually came to life in 1999 with Daniel Day-Lewis devouring every scene – even overshadowing co-star Leonardo DiCaprio. Upon release, it sparked division among critics and viewers, some calling it a masterpiece, while others deemed it a chaotic mess. One can only wonder how different the reception would have been had it been made back in the mid-’70s, when it was originally envisioned as a project for punk icons The Clash.
Fresh off his success with the 1976 film Taxi Driver, director Martin Scorsese was at the peak of his career and had the power to bring his dreams to the screen. His vision? A big-budget, historical epic based on Herbert Asbury’s extensive history of the New York underworld, starring none other than The Clash, who would also contribute to the soundtrack. In essence, Gangs of New York was meant to showcase Joe Strummer and his bandmates violently carving their way through 1860s New York, all while blasting hits like 'Clash City Rocker' and 'I’m So Bored With the USA.'
However, by the time Scorsese tried to push the project forward, his musical film New York, New York had flopped, and Star Wars had reshaped Hollywood into a landscape dominated by special-effects-driven blockbusters – a direction Scorsese was uninterested in. Gangs of New York was then put on hold for over two decades, and the idea of involving The Clash was, unsurprisingly, abandoned.
The final version of Gangs of New York retains a faint echo of its original concept, notably in the opening fight scene, where Peter Gabriel’s 'Signal to Noise' plays as an anachronistic backdrop. But for the most part, the film ended up as a fairly traditional historical epic. For better or worse, the original idea likely would have been a far more fascinating experience.
9. Lord of the Rings
The Movie: Lord of the Rings starring The Beatles.
Whether this was more than just a fleeting rumor or a whimsical idea born during the haze of acid trips and the making of Sergeant Pepper is still debated, but the story endures that throughout the 1960s, The Beatles attempted to acquire the rights to JRR Tolkien’s geek classic as a vehicle for their own starring roles.
It’s hard to even start imagining what this film would have looked like. The casting choices alone are enough to baffle the mind. Ringo as Samwise Gamgee? Paul as Legolas? George as Treebeard? John as… well, who knows? Given that all of the Beatles’ other films were either comedies or musical ventures, this would have been an entirely new, unexplored genre for them.
On the flip side, The Beatles never made a truly terrible film, and their fame and wealth could have drawn some serious talent to any project they chose to tackle. Moreover, their first two films were directed by Richard Lester – a genius filmmaker whose work on the Three Musketeers series shows he had the chops to manage large, epic films. This concept was so outrageous, it might have actually succeeded.
8. Masque of the Red Death
The Movie: Akira Kurosawa’s The Masque of the Red Death.
This concept mostly appears as a brief mention in Donald Richie’s detailed book, *The Films of Akira Kurosawa*, but there’s a persistent rumor that the legendary Japanese filmmaker, known for masterpieces like *Seven Samurai* and *Yojimbo*, and who influenced directors such as George Lucas and Sergio Leone (with *Star Wars* borrowing elements from Kurosawa’s *The Hidden Fortress*, and *A Fistful of Dollars* being a shot-for-shot remake of *Yojimbo*), actually completed a script that reimagined Edgar Allan Poe’s chilling short story in a Japanese setting.
Considering Kurosawa’s success adapting Western literary classics like Shakespeare’s *Macbeth* and *King Lear*, and Dostoevsky’s *The Idiot*, this idea stands out as one of the most enticing on this list. Kurosawa’s work spans grand historical epics and intimate family dramas, but a horror film was never part of his portfolio. Regardless of how it would have turned out, it would have been captivating to witness his interpretation of the genre.
Unfortunately, by the time the script was completed, the Japanese film industry had shifted towards producing low-budget monster films like *Godzilla*, leaving Kurosawa without work for several years. It wasn’t until the early '80s, with foreign financial backing, that he made his return. *Masque of the Red Death* was ultimately left behind.
7. Dune
The Movie: Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Dune.
Undoubtedly, this ranks as one of the most influential films never to be made. In the ‘70s, Chilean prodigy Alejandro Jodorowsky was riding the wave of success from *El Topo*, an utterly baffling surrealist Western that only found success in a time when everyone seemed to be perpetually under the influence. All available evidence suggests that Jodorowsky was, and still is, essentially completely mad. Despite this, he managed to secure the funding and approval to begin pre-production on a massive adaptation of Frank Herbert’s *Dune*. True to his style, Jodorowsky allegedly paid Salvador Dalí a million dollars for a cameo role as the emperor of the galaxy.
Amid all the madness, Jodorowsky managed to assemble a team of writers and designers who would, quite simply, shape the visual identity of science fiction cinema for an entire generation. Among them was Moebius, a French cartoonist whose designs would go on to influence *Star Wars*, *Alien*, *Tron*, *The Fifth Element*, *Blade Runner*, and virtually every other major sci-fi film; Dan O’Bannon, who later wrote *Alien*; Ralph McQuarrie, whose work would become iconic in *Star Wars* and its sequels; and last but certainly not least, a Swedish goth visionary named H.R. Giger, whose designs for *Alien*, including the infamous acid-blooded creature, would redefine the look of movie monsters forever.
Naturally, budget issues and Jodorowsky’s unpredictable nature caused the production to derail, leading to the breakup of the design team, which then went on to shape the visual style of almost every significant sci-fi film in the following three decades.
6. The Little Prince
The Movie: Orson Welles’ and Walt Disney’s The Little Prince.
Orson Welles, the maverick filmmaker, actor, writer, storyteller, wine spokesperson, and jack-of-all-trades, had a career filled with some of cinema’s greatest achievements and equally notable unmade films. Among the many projects he dreamed of bringing to life were adaptations of *Moby Dick*, *King Lear*, and *Catch-22*, but this one is perhaps the most heartbreaking lost opportunity.
In the late 1940s and '50s, Welles was gradually drifting away from Hollywood, spending increasing amounts of time in Europe. He partnered with independent producer Alexander Korda and worked on numerous projects that never quite materialized. The one that came the closest was an adaptation of aviator Saint-Exupéry’s beloved and poignant children’s story, *The Little Prince*.
True to form, Welles proposed an ambitious vision, blending live-action with animation, a feat he insisted could only be achieved by Disney. Legend has it that the idea progressed to a meeting between Welles, Walt Disney, and Disney’s executive team. After Welles’s pitch, he left the room, and Disney reportedly told his colleagues, ‘Gentlemen, there’s only room for one genius at this company.’ With Disney’s refusal to participate, the project lost its momentum, Welles moved on to other endeavors, and his vision of *The Little Prince* remained a dream unfulfilled.
5. The Fountainhead
The Film: Michael Cimino’s *The Fountainhead*.
Michael Cimino’s rise and fall in Hollywood is one of the most storied tales in the industry. From humble beginnings as a director of commercials and writer for Clint Eastwood films, Cimino shot to fame with *The Deer Hunter*, now regarded as one of the greatest films of the 1970s. However, he followed this triumph with *Heaven’s Gate*, which went down as one of the biggest box-office flops in cinematic history.
During the peak of his success, Cimino was the hottest director in town, and one of the grand projects he dreamed of was an epic version of Ayn Rand’s *The Fountainhead*, starring Kris Kristofferson, his lead actor from *Heaven’s Gate*. A man known for his perfectionism, Cimino likely saw himself in the novel’s protagonist, a brilliant architect who refuses to compromise his artistry in the face of opposition. Given his prowess for visual storytelling, it’s easy to imagine the stunning modernist architecture of the novel being brought to life in Cimino’s hands.
Unfortunately, Cimino’s trajectory didn’t mirror Rand’s protagonist’s heroic struggle. The disastrous failure of *Heaven’s Gate* effectively ended his career and crushed his dreams of adapting *The Fountainhead*, turning him into a pariah in Hollywood. More recent reports suggest that he now lives in Paris, where he has adopted the persona of a transvestite.
4. Napoleon
The Film: Stanley Kubrick’s *Napoleon*.
After the monumental success of *2001: A Space Odyssey*, legendary director Stanley Kubrick, like many other filmmakers before him, was eager to leverage his newfound clout to create his dream project: a grand historical epic about the life of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Out of all the films on this list, Kubrick’s *Napoleon* likely came the closest to being made. He poured an enormous amount of effort into pre-production, completing most of the necessary preparations. The costumes were designed, funding was secured, locations were scouted, and the cast was nearly finalized, with Jack Nicholson, then a rising star, set to play the French emperor.
However, fate had other plans. A major film about Napoleon, *Waterloo*, had bombed at the box office, and the steep costs of Kubrick’s envisioned project suddenly seemed like a financial risk. The investors backed out, and thus Kubrick’s *Napoleon* was doomed to remain an unrealized dream.
Napoleon has arguably become the most famous film that was never made. After Kubrick’s death, the director’s famously secretive control over his projects ceased, and much of the material he had prepared for *Napoleon* was made available to the public. The script has circulated widely online, and Kubrick’s family even published a book showcasing much of the film’s pre-production materials.
However, Kubrick was notorious for altering his material significantly during the lengthy shoots that defined his filmmaking process. *2001: A Space Odyssey* and *Barry Lyndon*, for instance, barely resemble their original ideas or the screenplays they were based on, while *The Shining* was rewritten almost daily during its production.
Indeed, those who have read the *Napoleon* script will quickly realize that it’s, at best, a rough outline of what Kubrick envisioned. It’s more of a broad framework, tracing Napoleon’s life along basic historical events. The visual and auditory grandeur Kubrick was known for simply cannot be captured in writing, and how he would have brought the remarkable tale of a humble Corsican soldier who rose to dominate Europe and then dramatically fell from power is something we can only imagine.
3. *Megalopolis*
The Film: Francis Ford Coppola’s *Megalopolis*.
Alongside *Napoleon*, this is perhaps the most famous film that never came to be. At least one draft of the screenplay has surfaced online, and as recently as 2000, Coppola was allegedly shooting second-unit footage for the project. In fact, it’s rumored that *Megalopolis* has lingered in Coppola’s mind since the early 1980s in one form or another.
From what little is known, *Megalopolis* may have been one of the most ambitious films ever envisioned: a combination of Ayn Rand’s *The Fountainhead*, the historical Cataline conspiracy of ancient Rome, and a futuristic version of New York City. It tells the story of a brilliant city planner who transforms New York into the global epicenter of culture and economy, all while facing opposition from political conservatives, organized crime, and powerful corporations conspiring to ruin him.
However, *Megalopolis* also includes elements that are completely original and downright strange. The main character, for instance, appears to possess the supernatural ability to stop time at will. In short, this is the kind of movie that could either be a spectacular success or a career-ending disaster, with nothing in between.
Given all this, it’s easy to understand why the film never materialized. Simply put, the cost of creating such a grand vision would have been astronomical. Without a major Hollywood studio behind it, *Megalopolis* likely could never have been made. And given Hollywood’s reluctance to take risks on such an unconventional film, it has never seen the light of day. With Coppola now focusing on low-budget, self-financed independent projects, it’s likely that the dream of *Megalopolis* is lost for good. In essence, the film has been abandoned.
Note: One notable absence that readers will undoubtedly point out is Terry Gilliam’s *The Man Who Shot Don Quixote*. The reason for its exclusion is precisely because it’s so well-known. Thanks to the acclaimed documentary *Lost in La Mancha*, the saga of its troubled production is widely recognized, making it almost redundant to include it here, especially when there are many lesser-known stories to explore.
2. Red Harvest
The Film: Bernardo Bertolucci’s *Red Harvest*.
Though he’s been relatively quiet in recent years, Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci was once one of the most celebrated directors worldwide, influencing both European art cinema and Hollywood filmmakers, such as Francis Ford Coppola (notably, *The Godfather Part II* lifted shots directly from Bertolucci’s *The Conformist*). In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Bertolucci had plans to adapt Dashiell Hammett’s iconic pulp detective novel, *Red Harvest*, for the big screen, aiming to bring it into Hollywood.
At first glance, the highly intellectual Bertolucci may not seem like the ideal director for a gritty pulp thriller, but in fact, he and Hammett shared more common ground than one might assume. Both Bertolucci and Hammett were lifelong communists, and Hammett’s bloody narrative (featuring a staggering body count) of a morally ambiguous detective who pits rival gangs against each other in a corrupt city was meant to serve as both a biting critique of American capitalism and a traditional hard-boiled detective story.
Though *Red Harvest* has been indirectly adapted several times (notably in Kurosawa’s *Yojimbo* and Sergio Leone’s *A Fistful of Dollars*), the original’s unflinching violence and scathing political critique may have been too much for Hollywood at the time. Bertolucci’s reputation as a fiercely independent and controversial filmmaker likely didn’t make the project any easier to get off the ground.
For reasons unknown, *Red Harvest* never materialized, and Bertolucci moved on to direct more conventional epics like *The Last Emperor*. Given Bertolucci’s lack of experience with genre filmmaking, it’s intriguing to wonder what he and his iconic cinematographer, Vittorio Storaro, could have achieved in crafting a noir gangster movie. How Bertolucci would have merged the genre’s conventions with the novel’s radical political themes remains one of the great unanswered questions in film history.
1. Chinatown
The Film: The *Chinatown* Trilogy.
When Robert Towne penned the script for *Chinatown*, now hailed as one of the finest screenplays ever written, he envisioned it as more than just an homage to the classic film noirs of the 1940s and ’50s. Towne aimed to create a sweeping narrative about the dark history behind the rise of modern Los Angeles.
It was, unsurprisingly, a grim history. Towne planned to explore how corruption and collusion were instrumental in the creation of both Los Angeles and, more broadly, modern America. While the first film tackled land fraud and water rights, the second was intended to focus on oil, and the third on pollution and environmental decay.
*Chinatown*, of course, became an iconic classic, with director Roman Polanski pushing the film’s tone even darker than Towne originally envisioned. However, the planned sequels didn’t unfold as expected. Polanski’s conviction for sexual assault and subsequent flight to Europe ended any hopes of a quick continuation. The second installment, *The Two Jakes*, didn’t arrive until nearly twenty years later. Towne was set to direct, but star Jack Nicholson took over that role after ousting the writer.
Nicholson, while an immensely talented actor, proved to be less adept as a director. *The Two Jakes* was a mere shadow of its predecessor and has since been largely forgotten. With its failure, the third film was quietly abandoned, and it remains unclear whether a script was ever even written. What the trilogy could have achieved if fully realized remains a mystery, but given the talent involved, it undoubtedly could have been something truly remarkable.
