Director Guy Ritchie has defended his box-office flop Swept Away, insisting it would have been hailed if he had made it before becoming famous.

The 2002 film, which starred Ritchie's wife Madonna, was pounded by critics and ignored by cinema-goers. It 'won' an unprecedented five Razzie Awards - a prize giving naming and shaming the worst in the business - and was even described by Sophia Loren as "the worst movie I have ever seen in my entire life".

However Ritchie insists his only mistake was to release the movie - and more recent flop Revolver - after finding fame and success with 1998's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and 2000's Snatch.

He tells Complex magazine, "I like the movie. Both Swept Away and Revolver weren't supposed to be vastly successful movies. I was already established by then, but those are the kind of movies you should make before you're established. I went about it all wrong."

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(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)