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* Creator/CarolReed was a legendary British filmmaker, known for thrillers like ''Film/OddManOut'', ''The Fallen Idol'' and ''Film/TheThirdMan''. A majority of his filmography reads like a list of the greatest movies ever made. He never won an Oscar until he went against type and directed ''Film/{{Oliver}}'', a colourful, family-friendly musical based on the Dickens novel ''Literature/OliverTwist'' that hardly features a single tense, dangerous moment.
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* Creator/CarolReed was a legendary British filmmaker, known for thrillers like ''Film/OddManOut'', ''The Fallen Idol'' and ''Film/TheThirdMan''. A majority of his filmography reads like a list of the greatest movies ever made. He never won an Oscar until he went against type and directed ''Film/{{Oliver}}'', a colourful, family-friendly musical based on the Dickens novel ''Literature/OliverTwist'' that hardly features a single tense, dangerous moment.
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** Peter Laird, in his blog, when asked to rank the TMNT movies (that had come out at that point) from worst to best, he ranked the third movie above the second one. In a later blog, where he posted about [[WhatCouldHaveBeen his initial plans for the second movie]], he said, answering one of the fans, that he thinks the second one was far more ridiculous compared to the third one.
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** Peter Laird, in his blog, when asked to rank the TMNT movies (that had come out at that point) from worst to best, he point), ranked the third movie above the second one. In a later blog, where he posted about [[WhatCouldHaveBeen his initial plans for the second movie]], he said, answering one of the fans, that he thinks the second one was far more ridiculous compared to the third one.
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*** And ''Pretty Baby'', the movie that Creator/{{Paramount}} hoped to be the studio's potential blockbuster for 1978, was soon dwarfed at the box office by [[Film/{{Grease}} an adaptation of a successful stage musical]] the studio had little hope. The result: ''Grease'' was the year's highest-grossing movie and a pop-culture event, while ''Pretty Baby'' was poorly received and quickly forgotten (probably for the best, as it attracted the interest of [[PaedoHunt certain people]] due to 14-year-old Brooke Shields portraying a [[spoiler:prostitute]].
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*** And ''Pretty Baby'', the movie that Creator/{{Paramount}} hoped to be the studio's potential blockbuster for 1978, was soon dwarfed at the box office by [[Film/{{Grease}} an adaptation of a successful stage musical]] the studio had little hope. The result: ''Grease'' was the year's highest-grossing movie and a pop-culture event, while ''Pretty Baby'' was poorly received and quickly forgotten (probably for the best, as it attracted the interest of [[PaedoHunt certain people]] due to 14-year-old Brooke Shields portraying a [[spoiler:prostitute]].[[spoiler:prostitute]]).
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* Creator/RolandEmmerich is best known for keeping the DisasterMovie alive. Yet his favorite movie of his own is ''Film/{{Anonymous}}'', [[CreatorsOddball a historical drama]] questioning whether Shakespeare wrote his own plays.
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* Creator/RolandEmmerich is best known for keeping the DisasterMovie alive. Yet his favorite movie of his own is ''Film/{{Anonymous}}'', ''Film/{{Anonymous|2011}}'', [[CreatorsOddball a historical drama]] questioning whether Shakespeare wrote his own plays.
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* ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIII'' is almost universally disliked and considered worse than the [[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIITheSecretOfTheOoze second movie]]. However, both the co-creators of the [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles franchise]], Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird on separate occasions have said that they believe that the second movie is worse than the third one.
** Peter Laird, in his blog, when asked to rank the TMNT movies (that had come out at that point) from worst to best, he ranked the third movie above the second one. In a later blog, where he posted about [[WhatCouldHaveBeen his initial plans for the second movie]], he said, answering one of the fans, that he thinks the second one was far more ridiculous compared to the third one.
** Kevin Eastman, in 2014, said the following:
--->"What we tried to do with the third movie was to make it as good of a story as we could. We went through a painstaking level of do's and don'ts, what they could and couldn't do. We wanted something that would be good for all ages again. I call [[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1990 movie one]] the best, [[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIITheSecretOfTheOoze movie two]] the worst, and movie three halfway in between."
** Peter Laird, in his blog, when asked to rank the TMNT movies (that had come out at that point) from worst to best, he ranked the third movie above the second one. In a later blog, where he posted about [[WhatCouldHaveBeen his initial plans for the second movie]], he said, answering one of the fans, that he thinks the second one was far more ridiculous compared to the third one.
** Kevin Eastman, in 2014, said the following:
--->"What we tried to do with the third movie was to make it as good of a story as we could. We went through a painstaking level of do's and don'ts, what they could and couldn't do. We wanted something that would be good for all ages again. I call [[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1990 movie one]] the best, [[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIITheSecretOfTheOoze movie two]] the worst, and movie three halfway in between."
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** While Han Solo is often considered the best character Harrison Ford ever played, Ford himself said he didn't find Han terribly interesting. In contrast, Ford loves playing Franchise/IndianaJones and will play him for as long as he is able to.
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** While Han Solo is often considered the best character Harrison Ford Creator/HarrisonFord ever played, Ford himself said he didn't find Han terribly interesting. interesting, and only agreed to reprise the role in ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' knowing that [[spoiler:he would be killed off]]. In contrast, Ford loves playing Franchise/IndianaJones and will play him for as long as he is able to. to, reprising the role at ''78 years old'' for ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheDialOfDestiny''.
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* ''Film/TheHindenburg1975'': In his autobiography, Creator/RobertClary speaks particularly fondly of his performance as Spah, which he thought might win him a Best Supporting Actor Award. The film flopped, and while it has been VindicatedByHistory, his TV performances are still far better known and regarded than his (admittedly show-stealing) turn as Spah.
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* Shinya Tsukamoto regards his second film, ''Hiruko the Goblin'' (an AffectionateParody of American horror movies, including ''Film/TheThing1982'', ''Film/TheEvilDead'', even ''Film/Ghostbusters1984'' and ''Film/{{Gremlins}}'') to be more representative of his film making style than ''Film/TetsuoTheIronMan''. The latter is a CultClassic, the former wasn't released to the states until 2002, and was left out of a Blu-ray retrospective of the director's films.
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* Shinya Tsukamoto regards his second film, ''Hiruko the Goblin'' (an AffectionateParody of American horror movies, including ''Film/TheThing1982'', ''Film/TheEvilDead'', ''Film/TheEvilDead1981'', even ''Film/Ghostbusters1984'' and ''Film/{{Gremlins}}'') to be more representative of his film making style than ''Film/TetsuoTheIronMan''. The latter is a CultClassic, the former wasn't released to the states until 2002, and was left out of a Blu-ray retrospective of the director's films.
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* Ishiro Honda considers his finest film to be ''Film/{{Matango}}'', a film virtually unknown to all but Toho sci-fi fans. Instead, his most well-known and best-remembered work is, of course, ''Film/{{Gojira}}''. Subverted in that those who have actually watched ''Matango'' usually consider it among his best works.
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* Ishiro Honda considers his finest film to be ''Film/{{Matango}}'', a film virtually unknown to all but Toho sci-fi fans. Instead, his most well-known and best-remembered work is, of course, ''Film/{{Gojira}}''.''Film/Godzilla1954''. Subverted in that those who have actually watched ''Matango'' usually consider it among his best works.
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There are a lot reasons to dispute R. Lee Ermey's claim that Kubrick thought Eyes Wide Shut was his worst. See Eyes Wide Shut for more. It basically boils down to there being more accounts suggesting otherwise.
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* Creator/StanleyKubrick regarded ''Film/EyesWideShut'' his finest contribution to cinema. This is one of his only films that hasn't been VindicatedByHistory. Yet [[http://gawker.com/205043/stanley-kubrick-may-have-seriously-considered-recasting-tom-cruise-in-eyes-wide-shut-2 other accounts]] claim he considered it to be his worst.
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* Creator/StanleyKubrick regarded ''Film/EyesWideShut'' his finest contribution to cinema. This is one of his only films that hasn't been VindicatedByHistory. Yet [[http://gawker.com/205043/stanley-kubrick-may-have-seriously-considered-recasting-tom-cruise-in-eyes-wide-shut-2 other accounts]] claim he considered it to be his worst.
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Examples of MagnumOpusDissonance in live-action films.
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* Ask people what Creator/AlfredHitchcock's best movie was, and you'll get different answers. Maybe ''Film/{{Psycho}}'', maybe ''Film/{{Vertigo}}'', maybe ''Film/NorthByNorthwest''. Most probably won't mention the film Hitchcock regarded as his favorite, 1943's ''Film/ShadowOfADoubt''.
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* Ask people what Creator/AlfredHitchcock's best movie was, and you'll get different answers. Maybe ''Film/{{Psycho}}'', maybe ''Film/{{Vertigo}}'', maybe ''Film/NorthByNorthwest''.''Film/NorthByNorthwest'' or ''Film/RearWindow''. Most probably won't mention the film Hitchcock regarded as his favorite, 1943's ''Film/ShadowOfADoubt''.
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* The [[TheWestern Western]] ''Film/HeavensGate'' was the passion project of Creator/MichaelCimino, director of the acclaimed [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam War]] movie ''Film/TheDeerHunter''. It's considered one of the [[BoxOfficeBomb biggest bombs]] in film history; it [[CreatorKiller ended Cimino's career]] and the UsefulNotes/NewHollywood era. Some consider it to have been VindicatedByHistory; it has a strong vocal audience today, to the point where restored re-releases have received great reviews.
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* The [[TheWestern Western]] ''Film/HeavensGate'' was the passion project of Creator/MichaelCimino, Creator/{{Michael Cimino|Director}}, director of the acclaimed [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam War]] movie ''Film/TheDeerHunter''. It's considered one of the [[BoxOfficeBomb biggest bombs]] in film history; it [[CreatorKiller ended Cimino's career]] and the UsefulNotes/NewHollywood era. Some consider it to have been VindicatedByHistory; it has a strong vocal audience today, to the point where restored re-releases have received great reviews.
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* Creator/JohnBelushi co-wrote a screenplay called ''Noble Rot'' which he hoped to star in and which would be his breakout into a more literate and sophisticated form of comedy role. Being a GenreThrowback to ScrewballComedy, studios were lukewarm, wanting Belushi to stick to the FatSlob characters he was known for. His depression over the lack of interest for ''Noble Rot'' is speculated to be a contributing factor to the coke-heroine binge that cost him his life.
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* Creator/DanielCraig is far happier playing [[Film/KnivesOut Benoit]] [[Film/GlassOnion Blanc]] than he ever was as Franchise/JamesBond.
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* Creator/AkiraKurosawa considered ''Film/{{Ran}}'' to be his greatest work. While it is considered one of Kurosawa's "Big Four", and very few people consider it to be ''bad'', movie buffs will generally hold ''Film/{{Rashomon}}'' in higher regard, and the general public think higher of either ''Film/TheSevenSamurai'' or ''Film/{{Yojimbo}}''.
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* Creator/OrsonWelles' most well-known and celebrated film by far (if not the only film of his many people can name) is ''Film/CitizenKane'', but he believed that his greatest completed film was either ''Film/ChimesAtMidnight'' or ''Film/TheTrial''. Many people react with shock when they do some checking and realize that ''Citizen Kane'' did not win Best Picture at the Oscars, or indeed that Welles himself ''never'' won Best Director or had a film win Best Picture, with Welles sharing the Best Screenplay Oscar with Herman J. Mankiewicz.
* Creator/CarolReed was a legendary British filmmaker, known for thrillers like ''Film/OddManOut'', ''The Fallen Idol'' and ''Film/TheThirdMan''. A majority of his filmography reads like a list of the greatest movies ever made. He never won an Oscar until he went against type and directed ''Film/{{Oliver}}'', a colourful, family-friendly musical based on the Dickens novel ''Literature/OliverTwist'' that hardly features a single tense, dangerous moment.
* This is something of a recurring narrative in the UsefulNotes/NewHollywood era of the 1970s, with numerous directors agreeing to do studio pictures in order to get the funding for the more personal pictures that they wanted to make. The studio pictures, which were usually made under [[ExecutiveMeddling some level of studio observation (however minor)]], would go on to be widely acclaimed as great films, whereas the more [[AuteurLicense personal pictures]] -- usually made under an atmosphere of ProtectionFromEditors and [[SmallNameBigEgo the director's ego]] ([[CreatorBreakdown and in some cases personal life/problems]]) having spiralled [[PrimaDonnaDirector completely out of control]] -- would bomb disastrously.
* The [[TheWestern Western]] ''Film/HeavensGate'' was the passion project of Creator/MichaelCimino, director of the acclaimed [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam War]] movie ''Film/TheDeerHunter''. It's considered one of the [[BoxOfficeBomb biggest bombs]] in film history; it [[CreatorKiller ended Cimino's career]] and the UsefulNotes/NewHollywood era. Some consider it to have been VindicatedByHistory; it has a strong vocal audience today, to the point where restored re-releases have received great reviews.
* Most of the Creator/MontyPython crew (Creator/JohnCleese in particular) consider ''Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian'' to be their greatest work, in part because it has a central theme and tells a complete story, while their other works are more or less a series of sketches. ''Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian'' is still very popular with Python fans, many of whom consider it to be the superior film, but ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' has penetrated pop culture to a far greater degree (to the chagrin of the creators, who have lingering bad memories of its TroubledProduction).
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** Creator/GeorgeLucas put a lot of work into the series, but he always intended to use the money it raised to work on the smaller, more personal projects that had brought him fame, such as ''Film/AmericanGraffiti'' and ''Film/THX1138''. Many years and billions of dollars later, the smaller, more personal projects did get made (but with different directors), in the form of ''Radioland Murders'' (1994) and ''Film/RedTails'' (2012).
** Lucas has stated that one of the reasons he keeps going back and tinkering with the initial ''Franchise/StarWars'' trilogy is that he was never happy with the final product and that the newer versions are what he always envisioned. Fan reception, on the other hand, is strongly in favor of the originals.
** Sir Creator/AlecGuinness had a long and varied career, first on stage where he held his own against Creator/LaurenceOlivier, then in a film career filled with tour de force performances that culminated in his own personal favorite, '''Adolf Hitler''' in ''The Last Ten Days'' (a proto-''Film/{{Downfall}}'', if you will). So what film is Guinness best known for? [[Franchise/StarWars A sci-fi quickie]] [[OldShame he lambasted as "fairy-tale rubbish".]]
** While Creator/MarkHamill has been unwavering in his love of the franchise and pride in working on it, he has a withering opinion of his own performance in the original trilogy, to point he's stated on Twitter he hasn't watched the films since their UpdatedRerelease in TheNineties and only because his kids wanted to see them.
** While Han Solo is often considered the best character Harrison Ford ever played, Ford himself said he didn't find Han terribly interesting. In contrast, Ford loves playing Franchise/IndianaJones and will play him for as long as he is able to.
* Ask people what Creator/AlfredHitchcock's best movie was, and you'll get different answers. Maybe ''Film/{{Psycho}}'', maybe ''Film/{{Vertigo}}'', maybe ''Film/NorthByNorthwest''. Most probably won't mention the film Hitchcock regarded as his favorite, 1943's ''Film/ShadowOfADoubt''.
* Creator/FrankLangella considers ''Film/MastersOfTheUniverse'' his favorite role of all, despite the film's less-than-stellar reception. He also enjoyed ''Film/CutthroatIsland'', a box office bomb, another favorite of his since he always wanted to play a pirate.
* Creator/DennisHopper's attempt to follow ''Film/EasyRider'' with an ambitious project he was conceiving for a while, ''Film/TheLastMovie'', [[FollowUpFailure bombed so hard]] that it prevented Hopper from directing again for nearly a decade.
* Leo [=McCarey=] directed two movies of 1937: the light comedy ''Film/TheAwfulTruth'' and the cynical drama ''Film/MakeWayForTomorrow''. When he received the Best Director award for ''Film/TheAwfulTruth'', he said that he'd been awarded for the wrong movie. That said ''Make Way for Tomorrow'' is highly prized and rated by cinephiles and film-makers like Creator/JohnFord, Creator/JeanRenoir, and Errol Morris.
* Out of all the actors to play {{Franchise/Batman}}, [[Film/BatmanForever Val Kilmer]] has never been very well-received. Many loved [[Film/Batman1989 Michael Keaton]] and hated [[Film/BatmanAndRobin George Clooney]] but were really just indifferent to Kilmer, finding him [[SoOkayItsAverage dull]]. Despite this, Bob Kane considered Kilmer to be the best actor to play Batman. (Kane is widely reviled throughout the comics industry and fandom for stealing credit for creating Batman from Bill Finger and others though, so this is probably not the best indicator of quality.)
* Creator/RobertoBenigni has stated in several interviews that he wanted to do his version of ''Film/{{Pinocchio 2002}}'' since he was a child. It was only after the success of ''Film/LifeIsBeautiful'' that he was given the freedom to pursue this project, which was poorly received.
* ''Film/SuckerPunch'' was a pet project of Creator/ZackSnyder that he worked on for years. However, the final movie bombed at the box office and was panned by critics as his worst movie whereas his [[Film/DawnOfTheDead2004 previous]] [[Film/ThreeHundred live-action]] [[Film/{{Watchmen}} movies]] were critically praised.
* Creator/RobReiner made ''Film/{{North}}'' with the hopes that it would be his own equivalent to ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''. [[CreatorKiller It wasn't]]. And to add insult to injury, many pointed out he'd already made such a movie [[Film/ThePrincessBride several years earlier]].
* Creator/PaulVerhoeven has stated that science fiction is not his favorite genre. Ironically, his most popular movies, ''Film/RoboCop1987'' (a film he almost turned down), ''Film/TotalRecall1990'' and ''Film/StarshipTroopers'', are science fiction, while his non-sci-fi movies have either been largely forgotten, or [[Film/{{Showgirls}} lambasted]].
* Creator/MarlonBrando has stated his personal favorite movie that he worked on was ''Burn!''. The film was a commercial failure when it originally came out. Later on in his career, despite garnering critical acclaim for his performance as Don Vito Corleone in ''Film/TheGodfather'', he turned down his Oscar and didn't attend the ceremony.
* Crossing with ThisIsGoingToBeHuge: Fox joined forces with Arthur P. Jacobs on ''Film/DoctorDolittle'', considering that the [[Literature/DoctorDolittle best-seller adaptation]] would be the start of a new franchise. It was a wretched TroubledProduction that caused a heart attack on Jacobs, and upon release was badly received by audiences and critics alike. But as Jacobs finished the movie, Fox accepted to green-light an adaptation of a [[SciFiGhetto science fiction]] novel he had the rights to given he kept the budget low. The result was ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes'', the first of a CashCowFranchise.
* Creator/MNightShyamalan thought that ''Film/TheLastAirbender'' would be his greatest work and bring him back up to his once great director status. All those Razzie Awards, critics, and fans of the animated series beg to differ, and the film instead ended up as the biggest flop in a series of poorly-received films that essentially torched Shyamalan's career. It took until the release of ''Film/TheVisit'', the first season of ''Series/WaywardPines'' and ''Film/{{Split}}'' before his reputation was restored.
* Creator/StanleyKubrick regarded ''Film/EyesWideShut'' his finest contribution to cinema. This is one of his only films that hasn't been VindicatedByHistory. Yet [[http://gawker.com/205043/stanley-kubrick-may-have-seriously-considered-recasting-tom-cruise-in-eyes-wide-shut-2 other accounts]] claim he considered it to be his worst.
* Creator/GeorgesMelies insisted that ''Film/ATripToTheMoon'' was by no means his greatest achievement, saying he was proudest of a [[TrueArtIsAngsty serious, deliberately depressing]] historical film called ''Humanity Through the Ages''. Still, the former became an international success, contributed an iconic image to the history of film, and is still regarded as one of the most historically significant films of all time.
* Creator/WoodyAllen has stated he feels his films have only continued to improve as the years have passed, with the ones he puts out now being far better than his earlier work, a view most critics and many fans find difficult to agree with.[[note]]For example, he considers ''Film/MatchPoint'' one of his best works, whereas veteran film critic Philip French of the UK ''Observer'' called it "extremely disappointing", criticizing the complete lack of humor, the "clumsy, lumbering dialogue" and Allen's lack of knowledge of the milieu he was writing about.[[/note]] Allen has also expressed confusion with the underwhelming response to his film ''Film/HollywoodEnding'', which despite his usually withering opinion of his own work, he sees as one of his funniest films. He did, however, agree with the negative response to ''Film/TheCurseOfTheJadeScorpion''.
** Allen has stated that ''Film/AnnieHall'' is not his favorite creation, but ''Film/StardustMemories'' is. Fans have long come around to love the latter, but still think the former is his best film, if not ''Film/{{Manhattan}}''.
* With regard to his acting career, UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan considered his finest performance to be in ''King's Row'' although most people remember him better for ''Bedtime for Bonzo'' or ''Death Valley Days''. Despite this, ''King's Row'' did get Academy attention, and is considered a classic.
* Ishiro Honda considers his finest film to be ''Film/{{Matango}}'', a film virtually unknown to all but Toho sci-fi fans. Instead, his most well-known and best-remembered work is, of course, ''Film/{{Gojira}}''. Subverted in that those who have actually watched ''Matango'' usually consider it among his best works.
* Creator/DavidLean tends to be known for his small-scale but stylish early films (''Film/{{Great Expectations|1946}}'', ''Film/BriefEncounter'') or his later epics like ''Film/LawrenceOfArabia'' and ''Film/DoctorZhivago''. His personal favorite was the comparatively obscure ''Film/{{Summertime}}'' (1955), starring Creator/KatharineHepburn and filmed in Venice.
* Bring up Creator/JackNicholson at a party these days and you'll most likely be hit with a reference to ''Film/TheShining'' or perhaps his turn as ComicBook/TheJoker in ''Film/Batman1989'', rather than any one of his ''twelve'' Oscar-nominated roles, the sole exception perhaps ''Film/AFewGoodMen'', and even that's because of his "[[MemeticMutation you can't handle the truth!]]" outburst. He holds the record for most Academy-Award-nominated performances by a male actor, but how many "Jack Nicholson fans" even know what you're talking about when you say ''Film/FiveEasyPieces'', ''Film/TheLastDetail'', ''Film/{{Reds|1981}}'', ''Film/TermsOfEndearment'' or ''Film/PrizzisHonor''?
** One could argue that his first Oscar-winning role in ''Film/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest'' is well-remembered, and it is, but mostly by film buffs and psychology majors. The film is mostly remembered for Louise Fletcher's Nurse Ratched (used to make comparisons with any real-life uncaring medical professional) or is used to compare to real-life mental institutions.
** Nicholson's own favorite of all the films he made is Creator/MichelangeloAntonioni's ''The Passenger'' (1975). He loved that movie so much he bought the negative, provided commentary for it on DVD, and later provided the director with a Lifetime Achievement Award. He calls it, "the adventure of my lifetime".
* In 1977, 20th Century Fox released two films that summer: One was ''The Other Side of Midnight'', which was expected to be a huge hit thanks to being the adaptation of [[Literature/TheOtherSideOfMidnight a bestselling book]]. The other film? [[Film/ANewHope Some weird space-opera]] from that guy who did ''Film/AmericanGraffiti'' and starring a bunch of nobodies and old out-of-work actors. The connection between the two was that if a movie theatre wanted a print of the former, they had to show the latter as well. The result? ''Franchise/StarWars'' became the highest-grossing movie ever for several years and became one of the most iconic moments of pop-culture ever made, while ''The Other Side Of Midnight'' was poorly-received and quickly forgotten.
* A lifelong fan of the novel, Richard Stanley's dream project was to make the most faithful adaption of ''Literature/TheIslandOfDoctorMoreau'' ever put on screen. Once his script was greenlit, Stanley, who had made his mark on low-budget indie films, was quickly overwhelmed working on a Hollywood-scale project, and by trying to direct the increasingly difficult Creator/ValKilmer. Stanley was fired from the production before Creator/MarlonBrando had even arrived on set, and the replacement director, Creator/JohnFrankenheimer, [[TroubledProduction didn't fare]] [[BoxOfficeBomb much better.]] Stanley was so burned by the experience he didn't make another (short) film until 2011.
* While most viewers would argue that Creator/QuentinTarantino's best work is ''Film/PulpFiction'', and everyone will agree it is his signature film, there's a pretty big hint in ''Film/InglouriousBasterds'' that he considers ''that'' to be his magnum opus. Specifically, the film ends with [[spoiler: a character (who was originally going to be played by Tarantino) looking directly at the camera and saying "I think this might be my masterpiece."]] That being said, there are some people who agree with Tarantino, and even those who put ''Pulp Fiction'' in first will often cite ''Basterds'' as the runner-up.
* In interviews with [[http://deadline.com/2015/09/ridley-scott-the-martian-star-wars-2001-alien-blade-runner-prometheus-toronto-film-festival-1201522484/ Deadline]] and [[http://jessica-chastain.com/gallery/albums/PHOTOS/Magazines/2015/Oct-Empire/012.jpg Empire]], Creator/RidleyScott speaks highly of his much-derided Creator/{{Cormac McCarthy}}-penned thriller ''Film/TheCounselor'', saying that it was "One of the best things I've done and it got [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] murdered".
* While it's hard to call anything made by Herschell "the Godfather of Gore" Gordon Lewis an opus, he considers ''A Taste of Blood'' to be his best film, though ironically it's usually seen as one of his worst. ''Film/BloodFeast'' is his most well-known, and ''Film/TwoThousandManiacs'' and ''Film/TheWizardOfGore'' are generally seen as his best.
* The Italian film ''Youth'', which is set in a Swiss pension, has 2 in-universe examples.
** One is with a side character which is a retired actor. He had a few big and dramatic roles throughout his lifetime, but he is only well-known for his role in a few [[HumongousMecha robot]] movies. He was surprised to hear of a girl that she knows him from his favorite acting role.
*** The very same actor also thinks that ''Simple Songs'' is this for the main character (a composer), but it turns out that the main character thinks rather highly of it as he has written the music because it allows his wife to sing something.
** The other of the 2 main characters (a film director) thought of a certain actress that he found on the streets that he trained to become one of the truly greatest actresses of the world as his biggest achievement. By the end of the film, it is revealed that the actress barely cared about her life with him, saying that she found her own hard work on the streets to learn how to act well prior to joining him more admirable than the pure carelessness that the film director had for her during the time when she was an actor under his thumb. She even said that she had no interest to participate in one of his final films and that she already had a role in a US telenovela that she would prefer to do.
* Most Creator/JackieChan enthusiasts tend to agree that ''[[Film/DrunkenMaster Drunken Master II ]]'' is his best film, or at least the one with the best fight scenes, and it's likely his most widely-seen Hong Kong film in the west. However, Chan feels that the comparatively obscure ''Film/PoliceStory'' is his best.
* ''Film/CrimsonPeak'' was divisively received, and failed to make back its budget. Despite fans proclaiming it to not be up to the director's standards, Creator/GuillermoDelToro still regards it as one of his three best films.
* Creator/DeborahKerr was a highly decorated actress in Hollywood in the 1950s, with six Oscar nominations to her name. The films she is most remembered for today are ''Theatre/TheKingAndI'', ''Film/FromHereToEternity'' and ''Film/AnAffairToRemember''. But the film she considered to be her best performance? The 1960 British ghost story ''Film/TheInnocents'', which, while a CultClassic these days, was soundly ignored at the time by every major awards organization going. Of the films that ''did'' earn her Oscar nominations, she says that it's ''Film/TheSundowners'' that she should have won for.
* Creator/MichellePfeiffer experienced this when Creator/MatthewVaughn cast her in ''{{Film/Stardust}}''. He told the actress what his favorite film of hers was - and it was ''Film/Grease2''. Her reaction was a FlatWhat (as the movie is a ''major'' OldShame for her).
* Creator/ErrolFlynn was best known for starring in {{Swashbuckler}}s, yet his personal favorite film of his own was the boxing picture ''Gentleman Jim''.
* Creator/JohnFord's most famous films in his lifetime were ''Film/TheQuietMan'', ''Film/HowGreenWasMyValley'', ''Literature/TheGrapesOfWrath'', ''The Informer'', ''Film/{{Stagecoach}}''. Critics would cite ''Film/YoungMrLincoln''. Later generations of film-makers and audiences cited ''Film/TheSearchers'' and ''Film/TheManWhoShotLibertyValance''. What were Ford's favorites?
** ''Wagon Master'' which he described as "the purest, simplest Western I ever made." A rare title that Lindsay Anderson called "the first avant-garde Western" citing its unconventional use of music, gorgeous composition and minimalist storyline and its plot of multiple characters with no real central figure.
** ''The Sun Shines Bright'' which despite its ExecutiveMeddling, he felt was a film he achieved what he wanted to. Another obscure title.
** Even more extreme is ''The Fugitive'', his 1947 adaptation of Graham Greene's novel ''Literature/ThePowerAndTheGlory''. Ford once called it the most perfect movie he'd ever made. Critics (and Graham Greene himself) hated it, and still do.
* Creator/ChristopherLee was best known for playing Literature/{{Dracula}}, but he felt that the best Film/HammerHorror he made was ''Film/TheDevilRidesOut'', and his favorite role was Lord Summersisle in ''Film/TheWickerMan1973''.
* While she was working simultaneously on the screenplays for both films, Creator/SofiaCoppola felt that ''Film/LostInTranslation'' would be just a little-seen arthouse film, and ''Film/MarieAntoinette2006'' would be the MagnumOpus that she'd be remembered for. Instead, what happened was essentially the opposite -- ''Lost in Translation'' was a smash hit that got Coppola an Academy Award for Best Screenplay, while ''Marie Antoinette'' proved a critical and commercial bomb -- and the resulting ArtistDisillusionment that Coppola felt was enough for her to swear off making films for mainstream audiences, focusing mostly on indie productions and reportedly only agreeing to make the Netflix special ''A Very Murray Christmas'' as a personal favor to Creator/BillMurray.
** However in recent years ''Marie Antoinette'' is getting [[https://www.avclub.com/sofia-coppola-s-marie-antoinette-was-as-misunderstood-a-1846841000 reevaluated]] as a [[http://www.audienceseverywhere.net/marie-antoinette-10th-anniversary-retrospective/ feminist study]]of a reviled (female) historical figure which many believe was why it was critically hated in the first place.
* In her later years, Creator/IngridBergman admitted to being somewhat rankled that ''Film/{{Casablanca}}'' ("an assembly-line wartime propaganda picture") came to eclipse her more "important" and artistic films with [[Creator/AlfredHitchcock Hitchcock]] and Rossellini, and [[Film/AutumnSonata her collaboration]] with Creator/IngmarBergman, among others; in her own words, all people ever wanted to talk about was "that one with Bogart".
* ''Franchise/DieHard'': While Creator/BruceWillis believes [[Film/DieHard the first film]] [[FirstInstallmentWins is the best one]], he's said that among the sequels, ''Film/LiveFreeOrDieHard'' was the best one. Many fans, however, tend to think ''Film/DieHardWithAVengeance'' was the best, in large part [[OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight because it's the only one directed by the original]] ''[[OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight Die Hard]]'' [[OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight director]], Creator/JohnMcTiernan.
* Shinya Tsukamoto regards his second film, ''Hiruko the Goblin'' (an AffectionateParody of American horror movies, including ''Film/TheThing1982'', ''Film/TheEvilDead'', even ''Film/Ghostbusters1984'' and ''Film/{{Gremlins}}'') to be more representative of his film making style than ''Film/TetsuoTheIronMan''. The latter is a CultClassic, the former wasn't released to the states until 2002, and was left out of a Blu-ray retrospective of the director's films.
* Creator/BrookeShields is known primarily as an actress, but her acting career is pretty undistinguished. She must be considered and better remembered as a fashion model.
** ''Film/PrettyBaby'' is the movie where Brooke Shields got her first starring role, and the only one she enjoyed during filming, but is not considered among Creator/LouisMalle’s best works. Malle never considered in his lifetime ''Pretty Baby'' his finest film; it was just a filler film between ''Film/BlackMoon'' and ''Film/AtlanticCity'', and, as a result, was left out of a Blu-ray retrospective of the director's filmography.
*** And ''Pretty Baby'', the movie that Creator/{{Paramount}} hoped to be the studio's potential blockbuster for 1978, was soon dwarfed at the box office by [[Film/{{Grease}} an adaptation of a successful stage musical]] the studio had little hope. The result: ''Grease'' was the year's highest-grossing movie and a pop-culture event, while ''Pretty Baby'' was poorly received and quickly forgotten (probably for the best, as it attracted the interest of [[PaedoHunt certain people]] due to 14-year-old Brooke Shields portraying a [[spoiler:prostitute]].
* Creator/MaxLandis wrote ''Film/{{Bright}}'' intending it to be his ''Film/ANewHope'' - but after the film received copious rewrites by director Creator/DavidAyer, Landis liked [[https://mobile.twitter.com/slashfilm/status/943662578063966208 a tweet]] calling it "an embarrassing disaster." Most people now know him for co-writing ''Film/{{Chronicle}}'' with Creator/JoshTrank (and being Creator/JohnLandis' son).
* Creator/PattyJenkins enjoyed working on ''Film/WonderWoman1984'' more than she did on the [[Film/WonderWoman2017 first]], having criticized some things from the latter in the lead-up to the release of the sequel, like Diana using a sword or the studio-enforced third act, and she defends it to this day. ''[=WW84=]'' is how she prefers the superheroine to be, but most critics and audiences [[FirstInstallmentWins prefer the first film]].
** The very mixed reception to ''Wonder Woman 1984'' hasn't stopped Creator/WarnerBros from submitting the movie to ''every'' UsefulNotes/AcademyAward category, something they've never done with any film in the Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse (they did with ''Film/{{Joker|2019}}'', which had more obvious OscarBait features).
* When Creator/SteveMartin met Creator/OliviaHussey, he gushed that she had starred in his favorite movie growing up. She thought he was talking about ''Film/RomeoAndJuliet1968''. Nope - ''Film/BlackChristmas1974.''
* Creator/IshiroHonda, best known for directing ''Film/Godzilla1954'' and kickstarting the entire {{kaiju}} genre, considered ''Film/AllMonstersAttack'' to be one of his favourite films to have directed, likely due to its grounded tone, which relegates fantasy kaiju elements to {{Dream Sequence}}s, and a familiar domestic Japanese setting with more realistic issues, rather than another sci-fi giant monster flick, which he was frustrated he was pigeonholed into later in his career. Among Godzilla fans, it's widely considered one of the worst, if not ''the'' absolute worst film in the entire franchise for its annoying child protagonists, shoddy production value, and overuse of StockFootage.
* Creator/RolandEmmerich is best known for keeping the DisasterMovie alive. Yet his favorite movie of his own is ''Film/{{Anonymous}}'', [[CreatorsOddball a historical drama]] questioning whether Shakespeare wrote his own plays.
* ''Film/TheDirtyDozen'': Despite being one of his biggest hits, star Creator/LeeMarvin reportedly wasn't happy with the final product, which he described as a "dumb moneymaker" that didn't properly capture how this situation would have really played out in the actual war - and he would know, [[ActorSharedBackground being a World War II veteran himself]]. Marvin even went as far as to compare this film, unfavorably, to his later WWII epic ''Film/TheBigRedOne'' which he said was a much more accurate depiction of WWII.
----
* Creator/CarolReed was a legendary British filmmaker, known for thrillers like ''Film/OddManOut'', ''The Fallen Idol'' and ''Film/TheThirdMan''. A majority of his filmography reads like a list of the greatest movies ever made. He never won an Oscar until he went against type and directed ''Film/{{Oliver}}'', a colourful, family-friendly musical based on the Dickens novel ''Literature/OliverTwist'' that hardly features a single tense, dangerous moment.
* This is something of a recurring narrative in the UsefulNotes/NewHollywood era of the 1970s, with numerous directors agreeing to do studio pictures in order to get the funding for the more personal pictures that they wanted to make. The studio pictures, which were usually made under [[ExecutiveMeddling some level of studio observation (however minor)]], would go on to be widely acclaimed as great films, whereas the more [[AuteurLicense personal pictures]] -- usually made under an atmosphere of ProtectionFromEditors and [[SmallNameBigEgo the director's ego]] ([[CreatorBreakdown and in some cases personal life/problems]]) having spiralled [[PrimaDonnaDirector completely out of control]] -- would bomb disastrously.
* The [[TheWestern Western]] ''Film/HeavensGate'' was the passion project of Creator/MichaelCimino, director of the acclaimed [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam War]] movie ''Film/TheDeerHunter''. It's considered one of the [[BoxOfficeBomb biggest bombs]] in film history; it [[CreatorKiller ended Cimino's career]] and the UsefulNotes/NewHollywood era. Some consider it to have been VindicatedByHistory; it has a strong vocal audience today, to the point where restored re-releases have received great reviews.
* Most of the Creator/MontyPython crew (Creator/JohnCleese in particular) consider ''Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian'' to be their greatest work, in part because it has a central theme and tells a complete story, while their other works are more or less a series of sketches. ''Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian'' is still very popular with Python fans, many of whom consider it to be the superior film, but ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' has penetrated pop culture to a far greater degree (to the chagrin of the creators, who have lingering bad memories of its TroubledProduction).
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** Creator/GeorgeLucas put a lot of work into the series, but he always intended to use the money it raised to work on the smaller, more personal projects that had brought him fame, such as ''Film/AmericanGraffiti'' and ''Film/THX1138''. Many years and billions of dollars later, the smaller, more personal projects did get made (but with different directors), in the form of ''Radioland Murders'' (1994) and ''Film/RedTails'' (2012).
** Lucas has stated that one of the reasons he keeps going back and tinkering with the initial ''Franchise/StarWars'' trilogy is that he was never happy with the final product and that the newer versions are what he always envisioned. Fan reception, on the other hand, is strongly in favor of the originals.
** Sir Creator/AlecGuinness had a long and varied career, first on stage where he held his own against Creator/LaurenceOlivier, then in a film career filled with tour de force performances that culminated in his own personal favorite, '''Adolf Hitler''' in ''The Last Ten Days'' (a proto-''Film/{{Downfall}}'', if you will). So what film is Guinness best known for? [[Franchise/StarWars A sci-fi quickie]] [[OldShame he lambasted as "fairy-tale rubbish".]]
** While Creator/MarkHamill has been unwavering in his love of the franchise and pride in working on it, he has a withering opinion of his own performance in the original trilogy, to point he's stated on Twitter he hasn't watched the films since their UpdatedRerelease in TheNineties and only because his kids wanted to see them.
** While Han Solo is often considered the best character Harrison Ford ever played, Ford himself said he didn't find Han terribly interesting. In contrast, Ford loves playing Franchise/IndianaJones and will play him for as long as he is able to.
* Ask people what Creator/AlfredHitchcock's best movie was, and you'll get different answers. Maybe ''Film/{{Psycho}}'', maybe ''Film/{{Vertigo}}'', maybe ''Film/NorthByNorthwest''. Most probably won't mention the film Hitchcock regarded as his favorite, 1943's ''Film/ShadowOfADoubt''.
* Creator/FrankLangella considers ''Film/MastersOfTheUniverse'' his favorite role of all, despite the film's less-than-stellar reception. He also enjoyed ''Film/CutthroatIsland'', a box office bomb, another favorite of his since he always wanted to play a pirate.
* Creator/DennisHopper's attempt to follow ''Film/EasyRider'' with an ambitious project he was conceiving for a while, ''Film/TheLastMovie'', [[FollowUpFailure bombed so hard]] that it prevented Hopper from directing again for nearly a decade.
* Leo [=McCarey=] directed two movies of 1937: the light comedy ''Film/TheAwfulTruth'' and the cynical drama ''Film/MakeWayForTomorrow''. When he received the Best Director award for ''Film/TheAwfulTruth'', he said that he'd been awarded for the wrong movie. That said ''Make Way for Tomorrow'' is highly prized and rated by cinephiles and film-makers like Creator/JohnFord, Creator/JeanRenoir, and Errol Morris.
* Out of all the actors to play {{Franchise/Batman}}, [[Film/BatmanForever Val Kilmer]] has never been very well-received. Many loved [[Film/Batman1989 Michael Keaton]] and hated [[Film/BatmanAndRobin George Clooney]] but were really just indifferent to Kilmer, finding him [[SoOkayItsAverage dull]]. Despite this, Bob Kane considered Kilmer to be the best actor to play Batman. (Kane is widely reviled throughout the comics industry and fandom for stealing credit for creating Batman from Bill Finger and others though, so this is probably not the best indicator of quality.)
* Creator/RobertoBenigni has stated in several interviews that he wanted to do his version of ''Film/{{Pinocchio 2002}}'' since he was a child. It was only after the success of ''Film/LifeIsBeautiful'' that he was given the freedom to pursue this project, which was poorly received.
* ''Film/SuckerPunch'' was a pet project of Creator/ZackSnyder that he worked on for years. However, the final movie bombed at the box office and was panned by critics as his worst movie whereas his [[Film/DawnOfTheDead2004 previous]] [[Film/ThreeHundred live-action]] [[Film/{{Watchmen}} movies]] were critically praised.
* Creator/RobReiner made ''Film/{{North}}'' with the hopes that it would be his own equivalent to ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''. [[CreatorKiller It wasn't]]. And to add insult to injury, many pointed out he'd already made such a movie [[Film/ThePrincessBride several years earlier]].
* Creator/PaulVerhoeven has stated that science fiction is not his favorite genre. Ironically, his most popular movies, ''Film/RoboCop1987'' (a film he almost turned down), ''Film/TotalRecall1990'' and ''Film/StarshipTroopers'', are science fiction, while his non-sci-fi movies have either been largely forgotten, or [[Film/{{Showgirls}} lambasted]].
* Creator/MarlonBrando has stated his personal favorite movie that he worked on was ''Burn!''. The film was a commercial failure when it originally came out. Later on in his career, despite garnering critical acclaim for his performance as Don Vito Corleone in ''Film/TheGodfather'', he turned down his Oscar and didn't attend the ceremony.
* Crossing with ThisIsGoingToBeHuge: Fox joined forces with Arthur P. Jacobs on ''Film/DoctorDolittle'', considering that the [[Literature/DoctorDolittle best-seller adaptation]] would be the start of a new franchise. It was a wretched TroubledProduction that caused a heart attack on Jacobs, and upon release was badly received by audiences and critics alike. But as Jacobs finished the movie, Fox accepted to green-light an adaptation of a [[SciFiGhetto science fiction]] novel he had the rights to given he kept the budget low. The result was ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes'', the first of a CashCowFranchise.
* Creator/MNightShyamalan thought that ''Film/TheLastAirbender'' would be his greatest work and bring him back up to his once great director status. All those Razzie Awards, critics, and fans of the animated series beg to differ, and the film instead ended up as the biggest flop in a series of poorly-received films that essentially torched Shyamalan's career. It took until the release of ''Film/TheVisit'', the first season of ''Series/WaywardPines'' and ''Film/{{Split}}'' before his reputation was restored.
* Creator/StanleyKubrick regarded ''Film/EyesWideShut'' his finest contribution to cinema. This is one of his only films that hasn't been VindicatedByHistory. Yet [[http://gawker.com/205043/stanley-kubrick-may-have-seriously-considered-recasting-tom-cruise-in-eyes-wide-shut-2 other accounts]] claim he considered it to be his worst.
* Creator/GeorgesMelies insisted that ''Film/ATripToTheMoon'' was by no means his greatest achievement, saying he was proudest of a [[TrueArtIsAngsty serious, deliberately depressing]] historical film called ''Humanity Through the Ages''. Still, the former became an international success, contributed an iconic image to the history of film, and is still regarded as one of the most historically significant films of all time.
* Creator/WoodyAllen has stated he feels his films have only continued to improve as the years have passed, with the ones he puts out now being far better than his earlier work, a view most critics and many fans find difficult to agree with.[[note]]For example, he considers ''Film/MatchPoint'' one of his best works, whereas veteran film critic Philip French of the UK ''Observer'' called it "extremely disappointing", criticizing the complete lack of humor, the "clumsy, lumbering dialogue" and Allen's lack of knowledge of the milieu he was writing about.[[/note]] Allen has also expressed confusion with the underwhelming response to his film ''Film/HollywoodEnding'', which despite his usually withering opinion of his own work, he sees as one of his funniest films. He did, however, agree with the negative response to ''Film/TheCurseOfTheJadeScorpion''.
** Allen has stated that ''Film/AnnieHall'' is not his favorite creation, but ''Film/StardustMemories'' is. Fans have long come around to love the latter, but still think the former is his best film, if not ''Film/{{Manhattan}}''.
* With regard to his acting career, UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan considered his finest performance to be in ''King's Row'' although most people remember him better for ''Bedtime for Bonzo'' or ''Death Valley Days''. Despite this, ''King's Row'' did get Academy attention, and is considered a classic.
* Ishiro Honda considers his finest film to be ''Film/{{Matango}}'', a film virtually unknown to all but Toho sci-fi fans. Instead, his most well-known and best-remembered work is, of course, ''Film/{{Gojira}}''. Subverted in that those who have actually watched ''Matango'' usually consider it among his best works.
* Creator/DavidLean tends to be known for his small-scale but stylish early films (''Film/{{Great Expectations|1946}}'', ''Film/BriefEncounter'') or his later epics like ''Film/LawrenceOfArabia'' and ''Film/DoctorZhivago''. His personal favorite was the comparatively obscure ''Film/{{Summertime}}'' (1955), starring Creator/KatharineHepburn and filmed in Venice.
* Bring up Creator/JackNicholson at a party these days and you'll most likely be hit with a reference to ''Film/TheShining'' or perhaps his turn as ComicBook/TheJoker in ''Film/Batman1989'', rather than any one of his ''twelve'' Oscar-nominated roles, the sole exception perhaps ''Film/AFewGoodMen'', and even that's because of his "[[MemeticMutation you can't handle the truth!]]" outburst. He holds the record for most Academy-Award-nominated performances by a male actor, but how many "Jack Nicholson fans" even know what you're talking about when you say ''Film/FiveEasyPieces'', ''Film/TheLastDetail'', ''Film/{{Reds|1981}}'', ''Film/TermsOfEndearment'' or ''Film/PrizzisHonor''?
** One could argue that his first Oscar-winning role in ''Film/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest'' is well-remembered, and it is, but mostly by film buffs and psychology majors. The film is mostly remembered for Louise Fletcher's Nurse Ratched (used to make comparisons with any real-life uncaring medical professional) or is used to compare to real-life mental institutions.
** Nicholson's own favorite of all the films he made is Creator/MichelangeloAntonioni's ''The Passenger'' (1975). He loved that movie so much he bought the negative, provided commentary for it on DVD, and later provided the director with a Lifetime Achievement Award. He calls it, "the adventure of my lifetime".
* In 1977, 20th Century Fox released two films that summer: One was ''The Other Side of Midnight'', which was expected to be a huge hit thanks to being the adaptation of [[Literature/TheOtherSideOfMidnight a bestselling book]]. The other film? [[Film/ANewHope Some weird space-opera]] from that guy who did ''Film/AmericanGraffiti'' and starring a bunch of nobodies and old out-of-work actors. The connection between the two was that if a movie theatre wanted a print of the former, they had to show the latter as well. The result? ''Franchise/StarWars'' became the highest-grossing movie ever for several years and became one of the most iconic moments of pop-culture ever made, while ''The Other Side Of Midnight'' was poorly-received and quickly forgotten.
* A lifelong fan of the novel, Richard Stanley's dream project was to make the most faithful adaption of ''Literature/TheIslandOfDoctorMoreau'' ever put on screen. Once his script was greenlit, Stanley, who had made his mark on low-budget indie films, was quickly overwhelmed working on a Hollywood-scale project, and by trying to direct the increasingly difficult Creator/ValKilmer. Stanley was fired from the production before Creator/MarlonBrando had even arrived on set, and the replacement director, Creator/JohnFrankenheimer, [[TroubledProduction didn't fare]] [[BoxOfficeBomb much better.]] Stanley was so burned by the experience he didn't make another (short) film until 2011.
* While most viewers would argue that Creator/QuentinTarantino's best work is ''Film/PulpFiction'', and everyone will agree it is his signature film, there's a pretty big hint in ''Film/InglouriousBasterds'' that he considers ''that'' to be his magnum opus. Specifically, the film ends with [[spoiler: a character (who was originally going to be played by Tarantino) looking directly at the camera and saying "I think this might be my masterpiece."]] That being said, there are some people who agree with Tarantino, and even those who put ''Pulp Fiction'' in first will often cite ''Basterds'' as the runner-up.
* In interviews with [[http://deadline.com/2015/09/ridley-scott-the-martian-star-wars-2001-alien-blade-runner-prometheus-toronto-film-festival-1201522484/ Deadline]] and [[http://jessica-chastain.com/gallery/albums/PHOTOS/Magazines/2015/Oct-Empire/012.jpg Empire]], Creator/RidleyScott speaks highly of his much-derided Creator/{{Cormac McCarthy}}-penned thriller ''Film/TheCounselor'', saying that it was "One of the best things I've done and it got [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] murdered".
* While it's hard to call anything made by Herschell "the Godfather of Gore" Gordon Lewis an opus, he considers ''A Taste of Blood'' to be his best film, though ironically it's usually seen as one of his worst. ''Film/BloodFeast'' is his most well-known, and ''Film/TwoThousandManiacs'' and ''Film/TheWizardOfGore'' are generally seen as his best.
* The Italian film ''Youth'', which is set in a Swiss pension, has 2 in-universe examples.
** One is with a side character which is a retired actor. He had a few big and dramatic roles throughout his lifetime, but he is only well-known for his role in a few [[HumongousMecha robot]] movies. He was surprised to hear of a girl that she knows him from his favorite acting role.
*** The very same actor also thinks that ''Simple Songs'' is this for the main character (a composer), but it turns out that the main character thinks rather highly of it as he has written the music because it allows his wife to sing something.
** The other of the 2 main characters (a film director) thought of a certain actress that he found on the streets that he trained to become one of the truly greatest actresses of the world as his biggest achievement. By the end of the film, it is revealed that the actress barely cared about her life with him, saying that she found her own hard work on the streets to learn how to act well prior to joining him more admirable than the pure carelessness that the film director had for her during the time when she was an actor under his thumb. She even said that she had no interest to participate in one of his final films and that she already had a role in a US telenovela that she would prefer to do.
* Most Creator/JackieChan enthusiasts tend to agree that ''[[Film/DrunkenMaster Drunken Master II ]]'' is his best film, or at least the one with the best fight scenes, and it's likely his most widely-seen Hong Kong film in the west. However, Chan feels that the comparatively obscure ''Film/PoliceStory'' is his best.
* ''Film/CrimsonPeak'' was divisively received, and failed to make back its budget. Despite fans proclaiming it to not be up to the director's standards, Creator/GuillermoDelToro still regards it as one of his three best films.
* Creator/DeborahKerr was a highly decorated actress in Hollywood in the 1950s, with six Oscar nominations to her name. The films she is most remembered for today are ''Theatre/TheKingAndI'', ''Film/FromHereToEternity'' and ''Film/AnAffairToRemember''. But the film she considered to be her best performance? The 1960 British ghost story ''Film/TheInnocents'', which, while a CultClassic these days, was soundly ignored at the time by every major awards organization going. Of the films that ''did'' earn her Oscar nominations, she says that it's ''Film/TheSundowners'' that she should have won for.
* Creator/MichellePfeiffer experienced this when Creator/MatthewVaughn cast her in ''{{Film/Stardust}}''. He told the actress what his favorite film of hers was - and it was ''Film/Grease2''. Her reaction was a FlatWhat (as the movie is a ''major'' OldShame for her).
* Creator/ErrolFlynn was best known for starring in {{Swashbuckler}}s, yet his personal favorite film of his own was the boxing picture ''Gentleman Jim''.
* Creator/JohnFord's most famous films in his lifetime were ''Film/TheQuietMan'', ''Film/HowGreenWasMyValley'', ''Literature/TheGrapesOfWrath'', ''The Informer'', ''Film/{{Stagecoach}}''. Critics would cite ''Film/YoungMrLincoln''. Later generations of film-makers and audiences cited ''Film/TheSearchers'' and ''Film/TheManWhoShotLibertyValance''. What were Ford's favorites?
** ''Wagon Master'' which he described as "the purest, simplest Western I ever made." A rare title that Lindsay Anderson called "the first avant-garde Western" citing its unconventional use of music, gorgeous composition and minimalist storyline and its plot of multiple characters with no real central figure.
** ''The Sun Shines Bright'' which despite its ExecutiveMeddling, he felt was a film he achieved what he wanted to. Another obscure title.
** Even more extreme is ''The Fugitive'', his 1947 adaptation of Graham Greene's novel ''Literature/ThePowerAndTheGlory''. Ford once called it the most perfect movie he'd ever made. Critics (and Graham Greene himself) hated it, and still do.
* Creator/ChristopherLee was best known for playing Literature/{{Dracula}}, but he felt that the best Film/HammerHorror he made was ''Film/TheDevilRidesOut'', and his favorite role was Lord Summersisle in ''Film/TheWickerMan1973''.
* While she was working simultaneously on the screenplays for both films, Creator/SofiaCoppola felt that ''Film/LostInTranslation'' would be just a little-seen arthouse film, and ''Film/MarieAntoinette2006'' would be the MagnumOpus that she'd be remembered for. Instead, what happened was essentially the opposite -- ''Lost in Translation'' was a smash hit that got Coppola an Academy Award for Best Screenplay, while ''Marie Antoinette'' proved a critical and commercial bomb -- and the resulting ArtistDisillusionment that Coppola felt was enough for her to swear off making films for mainstream audiences, focusing mostly on indie productions and reportedly only agreeing to make the Netflix special ''A Very Murray Christmas'' as a personal favor to Creator/BillMurray.
** However in recent years ''Marie Antoinette'' is getting [[https://www.avclub.com/sofia-coppola-s-marie-antoinette-was-as-misunderstood-a-1846841000 reevaluated]] as a [[http://www.audienceseverywhere.net/marie-antoinette-10th-anniversary-retrospective/ feminist study]]of a reviled (female) historical figure which many believe was why it was critically hated in the first place.
* In her later years, Creator/IngridBergman admitted to being somewhat rankled that ''Film/{{Casablanca}}'' ("an assembly-line wartime propaganda picture") came to eclipse her more "important" and artistic films with [[Creator/AlfredHitchcock Hitchcock]] and Rossellini, and [[Film/AutumnSonata her collaboration]] with Creator/IngmarBergman, among others; in her own words, all people ever wanted to talk about was "that one with Bogart".
* ''Franchise/DieHard'': While Creator/BruceWillis believes [[Film/DieHard the first film]] [[FirstInstallmentWins is the best one]], he's said that among the sequels, ''Film/LiveFreeOrDieHard'' was the best one. Many fans, however, tend to think ''Film/DieHardWithAVengeance'' was the best, in large part [[OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight because it's the only one directed by the original]] ''[[OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight Die Hard]]'' [[OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight director]], Creator/JohnMcTiernan.
* Shinya Tsukamoto regards his second film, ''Hiruko the Goblin'' (an AffectionateParody of American horror movies, including ''Film/TheThing1982'', ''Film/TheEvilDead'', even ''Film/Ghostbusters1984'' and ''Film/{{Gremlins}}'') to be more representative of his film making style than ''Film/TetsuoTheIronMan''. The latter is a CultClassic, the former wasn't released to the states until 2002, and was left out of a Blu-ray retrospective of the director's films.
* Creator/BrookeShields is known primarily as an actress, but her acting career is pretty undistinguished. She must be considered and better remembered as a fashion model.
** ''Film/PrettyBaby'' is the movie where Brooke Shields got her first starring role, and the only one she enjoyed during filming, but is not considered among Creator/LouisMalle’s best works. Malle never considered in his lifetime ''Pretty Baby'' his finest film; it was just a filler film between ''Film/BlackMoon'' and ''Film/AtlanticCity'', and, as a result, was left out of a Blu-ray retrospective of the director's filmography.
*** And ''Pretty Baby'', the movie that Creator/{{Paramount}} hoped to be the studio's potential blockbuster for 1978, was soon dwarfed at the box office by [[Film/{{Grease}} an adaptation of a successful stage musical]] the studio had little hope. The result: ''Grease'' was the year's highest-grossing movie and a pop-culture event, while ''Pretty Baby'' was poorly received and quickly forgotten (probably for the best, as it attracted the interest of [[PaedoHunt certain people]] due to 14-year-old Brooke Shields portraying a [[spoiler:prostitute]].
* Creator/MaxLandis wrote ''Film/{{Bright}}'' intending it to be his ''Film/ANewHope'' - but after the film received copious rewrites by director Creator/DavidAyer, Landis liked [[https://mobile.twitter.com/slashfilm/status/943662578063966208 a tweet]] calling it "an embarrassing disaster." Most people now know him for co-writing ''Film/{{Chronicle}}'' with Creator/JoshTrank (and being Creator/JohnLandis' son).
* Creator/PattyJenkins enjoyed working on ''Film/WonderWoman1984'' more than she did on the [[Film/WonderWoman2017 first]], having criticized some things from the latter in the lead-up to the release of the sequel, like Diana using a sword or the studio-enforced third act, and she defends it to this day. ''[=WW84=]'' is how she prefers the superheroine to be, but most critics and audiences [[FirstInstallmentWins prefer the first film]].
** The very mixed reception to ''Wonder Woman 1984'' hasn't stopped Creator/WarnerBros from submitting the movie to ''every'' UsefulNotes/AcademyAward category, something they've never done with any film in the Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse (they did with ''Film/{{Joker|2019}}'', which had more obvious OscarBait features).
* When Creator/SteveMartin met Creator/OliviaHussey, he gushed that she had starred in his favorite movie growing up. She thought he was talking about ''Film/RomeoAndJuliet1968''. Nope - ''Film/BlackChristmas1974.''
* Creator/IshiroHonda, best known for directing ''Film/Godzilla1954'' and kickstarting the entire {{kaiju}} genre, considered ''Film/AllMonstersAttack'' to be one of his favourite films to have directed, likely due to its grounded tone, which relegates fantasy kaiju elements to {{Dream Sequence}}s, and a familiar domestic Japanese setting with more realistic issues, rather than another sci-fi giant monster flick, which he was frustrated he was pigeonholed into later in his career. Among Godzilla fans, it's widely considered one of the worst, if not ''the'' absolute worst film in the entire franchise for its annoying child protagonists, shoddy production value, and overuse of StockFootage.
* Creator/RolandEmmerich is best known for keeping the DisasterMovie alive. Yet his favorite movie of his own is ''Film/{{Anonymous}}'', [[CreatorsOddball a historical drama]] questioning whether Shakespeare wrote his own plays.
* ''Film/TheDirtyDozen'': Despite being one of his biggest hits, star Creator/LeeMarvin reportedly wasn't happy with the final product, which he described as a "dumb moneymaker" that didn't properly capture how this situation would have really played out in the actual war - and he would know, [[ActorSharedBackground being a World War II veteran himself]]. Marvin even went as far as to compare this film, unfavorably, to his later WWII epic ''Film/TheBigRedOne'' which he said was a much more accurate depiction of WWII.
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