Anybody who has watched even one Zack Snyder film will tell you that the director approaches his work in a very particular and, to put it mildly, unusual way. Snyder leaves you with mixed feelings; some see him as a visionary, while others see him as a failure. Although he has directed some of the most famous comic book films ever, he has also produced a number of absolute failures.

Snyder has a very personal approach to his movies. It is gritty and dark, but it can also be campy and exaggerated, which is difficult to achieve given that campy and gritty are rarely compatible. While some of his works are well-received, others are panned, as the recent example of Rebel Moon illustrates.

But, aside from Rebel Moon, Zack Snyder has another epic failure in his filmography, a film that he himself views as a misunderstood masterpiece, while almost everyone else thinks it is an exploitative movie that failed to do anything to justify the story as it is. Of course, we are talking about Sucker Punch, and here recently revealed what inspired him to make this movie.

Sitting down with Evan Schwartz, Snyder mostly discussed his critical and commercial failure, Sucker Punch, which he still lauds. He has also recently said that he would love to go back to that movie and re-release a longer cut of the film, which, in light of his recent failures, doesn’t seem like a good plan. While talking about the movie, Snyder recently revealed what inspired the film that became such a controversial flop:

ZS: I was influenced by the movie Frances. It’s about Frances Farmer and how she was this famous actress who got lobotomized and put into a mental institution and was raped in there. I saw it in 1982, so that would make me a sophomore in high school. At the same time, All That Jazz was a big influence on me. So it’s like All That Jazz and Frances had a baby and in some ways it was me, and in other ways it was this idea that just sort of started to percolate. That’s why I think it’s set in this ambiguous sort of late 1950s, early 1960s world. All bets are off as far as the rules of engagement at a mental institution. Once you’re checked in you’re crazy; your rights are gone. You don’t have any say.

ES: Anything you say will make you sound crazy.

ZS: Yeah. It’s almost worse than being in jail in a lot of ways. Brazil was a big influence on the movie as well. I’d say those three movies really – Brazil, Frances, and All That Jazz really were the main influences of the movie. I’ve never gotten around to doing the director’s cut. I still plan to at some point. But in the original ending when Babydoll is in the chair in the basement with Blue – she’s already been lobotomized – when the cop shines the light on her, the set breaks apart and she stands up and she sings a song on stage.

Source: Letterboxd

Did you like Sucker Punch? Does it do justice to the films that inspired it? Let us know what you think in the comments below!