Waterworld (1995)

[bjornr-g 0]

Because both Waterworld and The Postman are basically the same movie. They both have 3 hour versions. Both starring Kevin Costner in a post apocalyptic world. Both great bad movies.
I love listening to the show and I think it would be a real treat to hear an episode about both or either of these films.

[Gino1387 2]

Kevin Costner, futuristic wave runners and a map made out of skin. DOOO ITTTT!

[DREY 0]

YEAH WATERWORLD! WHOOOO! THIS IS ME CHEERING LOUDLY!

[choochoo_the_wonder_slut 740]

Waterworld is bad but The Postman is a million times worse. The scene where the kid holds up the letter and he dramatically rides backs on his horse to grab it makes me yell at my tv.

[Lando 2019]

I enjoy Waterworld, I think this one would be like Fast 5, where it's ridiculous, but fun to do.

[AdamLevenberg 3]

I don't think it's fair to compare WATERWORLD and THE POSTMAN. Other than they're both long post-apocalyptic Kevin Costner movies, they're not in the same league when it comes to quality. WATERWORLD has great action, fun sci-fi ideas, dazzling cinematography, and an interesting mission. THE POSTMAN, in contrast, is three very long hours of hero worship followed by the unveiling of a giant golden Kevin Costner statue at the end. The movie is so long and there's so little tension or buildup that right before the final showdown the villain says to the hero "Don't I know you?"

[KeithJ.Powell 0]

That scene with the little kid and KC riding to get the letter in slow motion makes me laugh every time.

[nbaileyd 1]

Good Call. I cannot believe this has not received more attention on HDTGM. This movie is terrible. It is too long, too slow, over-funded and makes no sense. Costner's career fell off after this movie. Awful.

[seanotron 2307]

I actually think Waterworld is more boring than hilariously bad. Admittedly, Dennis Hopper kind of does a parody of himself in this movie, but it's mostly just a slog to get through the whole thing.

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

I actually think Waterworld is more boring than hilariously bad. Admittedly, Dennis Hopper kind of does a parody of himself in this movie, but it's mostly just a slog to get through the whole thing.

Exactly. I remember hearing about all the crazy problems and the stuff about the budget, but I still saw it opening night, and when I did I just thought "All of that talk about...this?". If it hadn't at one time been the most expensive movie ever (which is EARNED by being a nightmare to make, not like today when studios willfully piss away 200 million on something that doesn't have a chance), I don't think anyone would still talk about it. It wasn't even really a bomb either. it made just over half it's budget back in the States, which isn't GREAT, but it did pretty well internationally, which is comparable, or even a little better than "Battleship", which didn't even do a third of it's budget here, but fared OK overseas. This movie had a lot of dumb stuff in it, but I think people want to think it's crazier than it is because of all the negative hype, and it's still not nearly as stupid on paper as a lot of films that were worse that had even poorer box office performances.

[PhillipMedoc 648]

There's a great chapter covering Waterworld in the very readable book Fiasco: A History of Hollywood's Iconic Flops. It's just insane how much money was wasted making this movie, like how they built these ridiculous sets on the ocean which would sink or get destroyed in a storm. And each time, they'd spend millions repairing and rebuilding them. There's more to delve into regarding the production than the actual film itself, honestly.

 

And yeah, Dennis Hopper is just doing his standard half-assed antagonist; you could basically swap him out for King Koopa and it'd still work.

 

it made just over half it's budget back in the States, which isn't GREAT, but it did pretty well internationally, which is comparable, or even a little better than "Battleship", which didn't even do a third of it's budget here, but fared OK overseas.

OF COURSE it fared ok overseas!

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

OF COURSE it fared ok overseas!

 

I hate when people talk about how stupid a lot of American movies are (like other countries don't make anything but prestige pictures or something), but a lot of the time it's the rest of the world that eats that shit up!

[neilly 105]

I FUCKING HATED THIS MOVIE!

 

That is all.

[PhillipMedoc 648]

 

I hate when people talk about how stupid a lot of American movies are (like other countries don't make anything but prestige pictures or something), but a lot of the time it's the rest of the world that eats that shit up!

Ahh, actually I was trying to riff on "overseas", because... you know... Waterworld... I'll show myself out.

 

But you are absolutely correct. Dark Shadows was panned and made barely $80 million domestically on a $150 million budget. It made over twice that in foreign markets, for a total of $245 million. In most people's minds the movie was a flop, but it was profitable for everyone involved.

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

Ahh, actually I was trying to riff on "overseas", because... you know... Waterworld... I'll show myself out.

 

But you are absolutely correct. Dark Shadows was panned and made barely $80 million domestically on a $150 million budget. It made over twice that in foreign markets, for a total of $245 million. In most people's minds the movie was a flop, but it was profitable for everyone involved.

Awwwwww shit, I get it! Y'know, when I brought up "Battleship" before, I was actually going to start talking about water as well, so I almost mentioned it before you did.

[sillstaw 414]

There's a great chapter covering Waterworld in the very readable book Fiasco: A History of Hollywood's Iconic Flops.

 

My favorite story from that was how the movie originated as a pitch for a "Mad Max" ripoff for Roger Corman's production company. Corman (best known for making movies like "Attack of the Crab Monsters" on small budgets and short timeframes) rejected it, saying, "Are you crazy? This would cost us $5 million!"

[Blast Hardcheese 636]

Has anyone recommended Waterworld? I'm surprised this "Mad Max On the Water" hasn't been featured on the show yet. Its sheer awfulness is, in my opinion, on par with Battlefield Earth and Batman and Robin.

 

Thoughts?

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

When I first saw it, I kind of wondered where all the money went, because it didn't seem to be onscreen. Everything looked beat up and shitty, which I know was the point, but it sure didn't LOOK like the most expensive movie ever at that point. I also recall it not being all that terrible, or too terribly interesting.

[Joven 373]

I genuinely like Waterworld, I've watched it many many times (although not recently), never knew or cared how expensive it was so wasn't expecting perfection and kinda remember thinking at the time when he was hanging from the balloon that the green screen/projection or whatever was pretty bad, but I liked the boat, thought almost everyone but the kid did a good job, and really liked the aesthetic of the world.

[Lando 2019]

When I first saw it, I kind of wondered where all the money went, because it didn't seem to be onscreen. Everything looked beat up and shitty, which I know was the point, but it sure didn't LOOK like the most expensive movie ever at that point. I also recall it not being all that terrible, or too terribly interesting.

 

I recall seeing an episode of Entertainment Tonight when the movie was just about to come out. If I recall correctly, they said that a huge part of the budget was the scene where he dives to the bottom of the ocean. They said that they had to shoot a ridiculous number of takes of that scene because even the tiniest bubble coming from Costner's nose or mouth would make it impossible to edit out with the green screen.

[Quasar Sniffer 4174]

 

My favorite story from that was how the movie originated as a pitch for a "Mad Max" ripoff for Roger Corman's production company. Corman (best known for making movies like "Attack of the Crab Monsters" on small budgets and short timeframes) rejected it, saying, "Are you crazy? This would cost us $5 million!"

Now THIS is a movie I want to see. Anybody have $5 million they want to invest in a Roger Corman production?

[HotSaucerman 2051]

Waterworld is underrated. People say its hit, but its, meh, pretty good. I remember hearing how bad it was supposed to be but I watched it and it didn't stand out as awful or anything. Not bad for what it was.

[dlo burns 129]

Waterworld is underrated. People say its hit, but its, meh, pretty good. I remember hearing how bad it was supposed to be but I watched it and it didn't stand out as awful or anything. Not bad for what it was.

Really it's the perfect lazy weekend afternoon movie that tripped the wrong trigger of the press

[jarrycanada 2483]

Kevin Costner has remained off the radar for too long.

[seanotron 2307]

I saw this in theaters, and I remember some of my friends falling asleep halfway through. I envied them, really.

 

Like I said before, it's more boring than anything else. Half-formed ideas that don't really go anywhere.

 

Also, this was that point in the early 90s where Jeanne Tripplehorn was kind of a sex symbol, I guess? The 90s were weird.