Battlefield Earth's $44 Million Disaster and the Shame of Bad German Movie Translations
The low point for cinematic spending was the $44 million flop *Battlefield Earth*, drawing ire for its production values and ideological baggage. Similarly, the discussion flagged German translations of foreign film titles as particularly weak and uninspired.
Commenters split on the worst cinematic failure: some hammered studio blockbusters like *Independence Day: Resurgence* and *Man of Steel* for being overblown spectacles, while others preferred attacking niche entries like *Salo* or *El Topo*. Regarding bad media, the critique was visceral, citing 90s Disney films on grainy CAM recordings complete with advertising insertions. Furthermore, specific political leanings, like *Pearl Harbor*'s jingoism, received sharp jabs from users like Ehrmantrout.
The consensus settles on three distinct failings: over-budget Hollywood wreckage, fundamentally lazy localization in foreign titles, and the degraded quality of early pirated media formats. The clearest fault lines exist between criticizing corporate cinematic ambition and criticizing low-effort cultural artifacts.
Key Points
*Battlefield Earth* stands as the definitive example of cinematic failure.
InevitableSwing cited its high budget ($44M) and connection to L. Ron Hubbard’s work as proof of its awfulness.
German localization of movie titles is consistently substandard.
Maerman exemplified this by pointing out the uninspired translation for a foreign film.
Pirated media quality was significantly degraded.
luthis recalled traumatic 90s viewing experiences with grainy CAM recordings and ad breaks.
Large-scale sci-fi spectacles fail spectacularly.
StarWars/Sci-Fi Commenters named *The Hobbit*, *Man of Steel*, and *Justice League* as prime examples of empty spectacle.
Some film criticism prefers niche arthouse villains over blockbusters.
The controversy saw debate splitting between criticizing studio flops versus pointing fingers at films like *Salo*.
Political messaging in mainstream cinema is visible and problematic.
Ehrmantrout criticized *Pearl Harbor* specifically for its apparent jingoistic streak.
Source Discussions (3)
This report was synthesized from the following Lemmy discussions, ranked by community score.