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Has any movie ever been as unfairly maligned as John McTiernan’s Last Action Hero? This 1993 Arnold Schwarzenegger action epic was hyped as the start of the next great action franchise in the summer of ’93, only for Arnie to run afoul of some pesky dinosaurs when it had the misfortune to open on Jurassic Park’s second weekend. However, the movie likely would have done fine at the box office were it not for the terrible buzz it received going into the opening. Hollywood declared it the most significant disaster since 1980’s Heaven’s Gate bankrupted a studio. All this is due to a few poor test screenings. In the years since its release, Last Action Hero, against all odds, has gone on to be remembered as one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s most beloved films, but why was it hated so much in the first place?

In this episode of Revisited,...

Walter Hill’s The Warriors is a cult classic. Since its release in 1979, audiences have returned to this tightly woven tale of a gang of rebels stuck on a rival territory following a big gang meet-up gone awry. There’s so much quotable dialogue, and it kicked off a fantastic run for director Walter Hill, including 48 Hrs, Streets of Fire, Extreme Prejudice, and even the recent Dead for a Dollar. However, the film was rife with issues, including a leading man being fired early in production and full-scale riots that erupted after the movie opened.

The Warriors is a celebrated slice of cinema that taps into the urges of fans, letting them live a gang fantasy on the silver screen, unlike other films. People still dress as the warring factions for Halloween, and video game developers have used the movie as a template for territorial scuffles for generations. What...