Arguably the 20 most boring films in cinema

Here is a controversial list that has been compiled by consulting various rankings and a little bit of personal addition. Boring films? We are sure some of these choices are controversial, but as the saying goes, "One man's trash is another man's treasure." One thing is for sure: the following titles have certainly got people talking.

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It may seem surprising because it did well at the worldwide box office but, yes, many were bored with the film adaptation of 'Fifty Shades of Grey'. In fact, in a British poll it was ranked as the number one most boring film.

Some consider this film a masterpiece and others hate this feature film directed by Terrence Malick. Among those who detest this film is Sean Penn, with whom the director shot a lot of footage that was later discarded in the final edit. So the actor ended up as a presence without dialogue and without a defined meaning in the final version.

In the boring films ranking, this epic starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman usually ranks high. It is considered a flop by some, despite being directed by Baz Luhrmann, the successful director of 'Moulin Rouge’ and 'The Great Gatsby'. Despite its criticism, it ranks as the second highest grossing Australian film of all time - second only to Crocodile Dundee.

Directed by Andy Warhol and without much back story or justification for its production: eight hours of a fixed shot of the Empire State Building. Really, nothing more. Is there anyone in the world who has seen this film in its entirety?

The American version of the Spanish film “Open Your Eyes” is criticised by almost every Spaniard on the planet; but it raked in a total worldwide gross income of $203,388,341. The film is made for a different audience than the original and lacks depth. Interestingly, Penelope Cruz plays the same character in both versions.

The 'Lord of the Rings' saga is almost a religion to some and to say that you are bored with its films is seen as a sin in some eyes. However, even die-hard-Tolkien fans were somewhat disappointed with the adaptation of 'The Hobbit' and expressed their disappointment on IMDb and similar forums. Although there are still a handful of true believers defend this instalment and the other two films that make up 'The Hobbit' trilogy.

Almost three hours of film in which a camera pans through rooms in a house where a Romanian family meets. Some critics saw this film as a masterpiece, but there are viewers who were almost sick with boredom in front of the screen.

Not content with the resounding failure of 'Waterworld', Kevin Costner returned to the apocalyptic with 'The Postman' and once again he crashed. Both at the box office, and in the eyes of critics. So, of course, it is also often included in many lists of deadly boring films.

Turned into a classic for being considered the best 'worst' film of all time (with Ed Wood's permission). 'The Room' is a yawn-inducing, laugh-out-loud boredom gem. Directed by and starring the eccentric Tommy Wiseau, it inspired James Franco's 'The Disaster Artist'.

It's not that it's 'bad' - well, Martin Scorsese can hardly shoot something absolutely infamous - but it's a demonstration that a director sometimes needs someone to recommend cutting footage.
Netflix gave Martin Scorsese total freedom and he shot a 3 hour, 30 minutes film! Impossible. Despite a wonderful cast there are times you will find yourself reaching for the espresso machine.

Universally criticised, 'Catwoman', played by Halle Berry, was a box-office flop and is also included in many lists as one of the worst films of all time.
Halle Berry looked spectacular, but that couldn’t save the film. Let's be honest, it would have been difficult for anyone to compete with Michelle Pfeiffer's version. However, 'Catwoman' will return, so lets see how Zoe Kravitz fares in the upcoming Batman film.

There were those who claimed that Adam Sandler deserved an Oscar (or at least a nomination) for his performance in this film directed by the Safdie brothers. A strange kind of comedy where people watching it have found no middle ground: it is either a masterpiece or irremediable boredom.

It was directed by the great Paul Thomas Anderson ('Boogie Nights') and based on the novel by Thomas Pynchon. Moreover, it stars the immense Joaquin Phoenix. Yet, it all went wrong... It's so boring that some people made a list on IMDb and put it at number one for boredom.

A 1995 erotic drama directed by Paul Verhoeven. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 22% based on 63 reviews, with an average rating of 3.9/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Vile, contemptible, garish, and misogynistic". That pretty much sums up the film.
How boring was it? Well the term “Showgirls bad” has now been adopted by more than one film reviewer.

Photo: MGM/still from 'Showgirls'

A real Marmite film, you either love it or hate it, but it was revolutionary at the time.
Three filmmakers make a documentary about a local legend known as the Blair Witch. The three disappear, but their equipment and footage are discovered a year later. The viewer watches the film as seen through the filmmakers camcorder. Some loved it others considered it a poorly made home movie. Either way, for the genre, it's pretty boring.

Photo: Artisan Entertainment/still from 'The Blair Witch project'

Big-budget biblical drama with an all-star cast including Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson and Anthony Hopkins. Despite incredible special effects, 'The Wrap' referred to the film as a 'Biblical Waterworld' and, at over two hours long, you can see why.

Possibly because of Tom Cruise's dodgy Irish accent, this 1992 American Western epic was criticised for its slow and uninteresting story. It received average reviews, but lacked any real sustenance in the plot and was really painfully slow at times.

Photo: Universal Pictures/still from 'Far and Away'

The name of the film itself makes me want to yawn. But if you're still thinking about giving this film a go, head off and buy a book about quilt-making and see how you get on. Not only are the characters completely devoid of any emotional resonance, the whole idea of a bunch of elderly women making a quilt while they reminisce about their lives doesn't inspire much interest anyway.

Photo: Universal Pictures/still from 'How to make an American Quilt'

Robert Altman has a habit of letting a big cast wander around improvising incessant chatter. But the naturalistic director finds absolutely nothing funny or fresh to say about the fashion industry and the 'journalists' who cover it. So he made the film without ever once feeling the need to impose any wit or drama onto proceedings. With no likeable characters, everybody is a vacuous, self-absorbed idiot, leaving an uninteresting self satisfying, smug piece of cinema.

Photo: Miramax/still from 'Pret A Porter'

A remake of a 1974 Italian film of the same name, directed by Guy Richie and starring his then-wife, Madonna, was a box office nose dive, grossing less than a tenth of its $10 million budget worldwide. With Madonna being criticized for her bad performance, it has definitely made it to a few 'boring film' lists but has also been widely referred to as one of the worst films of all time.

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