Top 51 Overlooked Gems, Misunderstood Masterpieces and Overall Underappreciated Films
My selection of 51 films that you may or may not have heard of. Many of them did not get much exposure or recognition for whatever reasons. However, all are great films in their own right and deserves to be acknowledged for being so.
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51 titles
- DirectorElem KlimovStarsAleksey KravchenkoOlga MironovaLiubomiras LauceviciusAfter finding an old rifle, a young boy joins the Soviet resistance movement against ruthless German forces and experiences the horrors of World War II.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsRobert De NiroJames WoodsElizabeth McGovernA former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.Yes, this is an arguable inclusion on the list as it has a pretty strong fan base. But in my humble opinion, it rightly deserves this place because of the fact that its usually not mentioned in the same esteem as the Godfather or Goodfellas as one of the greatest gangster film ever made. Unjustly ravaged upon its tragic American release, it will probably never be as highly regarded within the publics consciousness.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsTom CruiseNicole KidmanTodd FieldA Manhattan doctor embarks on a bizarre, night-long odyssey after his wife's admission of unfulfilled longing.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsJames CoburnMaximilian SchellJames MasonGerman commander Hauptmann Stransky places a squad in extreme danger after Sergeant Rolf Steiner refuses to lie for him.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsGabriel ByrneAlbert FinneyJohn TurturroTom Reagan, an advisor to a Prohibition-era crime boss, tries to keep the peace between warring mobs but gets caught in divided loyalties.
- DirectorTrey ParkerStarsTrey ParkerDian BacharStephen BlackpoolThe sole survivor of an ill-fated mining expedition tells how his taste for gold was replaced by that of human flesh.This is where it all began for Trey Parker and Co. Without it, the phenomenon known as South Park would have never happened and musical comedies would still have remained within the realms of political correctness. A masterpiece of gag, gore, vulgarism, and tap dancing all within one neat package. All together now: "The sky is blue and all the leaves are green......"
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsForest WhitakerHenry SilvaJohn TormeyAn African-American Mafia hit man who models himself after the samurai of old finds himself targeted for death by the mob.
- DirectorTommy Lee JonesStarsTommy Lee JonesBarry PepperDwight YoakamRanch foreman Pete Perkins looks to fulfill the promise to his recently deceased best friend by burying him in his hometown in Mexico.
- DirectorRian JohnsonStarsJoseph Gordon-LevittLukas HaasEmilie de RavinA teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.
- DirectorJohn WooStarsTony Leung Chiu-waiJacky CheungWaise LeeWhen three close friends escape from Hong Kong to war-time Saigon to start a criminal's life, they all go through a harrowing experience which totally shatters their lives and their friendship forever.John Woo's heartbreaking war film was almost certainly destined for neglect upon its commercially disastrous debut during the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989. This is a crying shame as it is the action maestro's best and most complex work to date. Brutal and unflinching, it is also a deeply human story that reflects the pointlessness of violences and the effects of pursing wealth at all cost.
- DirectorJaco Van DormaelStarsJared LetoSarah PolleyDiane KrugerA boy stands on a station platform as a train is about to leave. Should he go with his mother or stay with his father? Infinite possibilities arise from this decision. As long as he doesn't choose, anything is possible.
- DirectorSergio CorbucciStarsJean-Louis TrintignantKlaus KinskiFrank WolffA mute gunfighter defends a young widow and a group of outlaws against a gang of bounty killers in the winter of 1898, and a grim, tense struggle unfolds.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsSean ConneryRyan O'NealMichael CaineOperation Market Garden, September 1944: The Allies attempt to capture several strategically important bridges in the Netherlands in the hope of breaking the German lines.Surely, how could a WWII epic with a legion of screen icons be totally forgotten? Okay, so there are a few stereotyping of different nationalities here and there. However, they are just minor flaws considering that they manage to pull off such an ambitious behemoth of a film yet still manages to focus mostly on drama instead of action. Please take note Michael Bay.
- DirectorMarc CaroJean-Pierre JeunetStarsRon PerlmanDaniel EmilforkJudith VittetA scientist in a surrealist society kidnaps children to steal their dreams, hoping that they slow his aging process.
- DirectorKar-Wai WongStarsBrigitte LinMaggie CheungLeslie CheungA broken-hearted hit man moves to the desert where he finds skilled swordsmen to carry out his contract killings.Wong Kar Wai himself once described his overlooked wuxia epic as the "middle child" of his films. And frankly, who are we to argue? This is where Zhang Yimou's Hero and House of Flying Dagger got their looks from. The movie that changed the face of martial art cinema really deserves better.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsPhilip Seymour HoffmanEthan HawkeAlbert FinneyWhen two brothers organize the robbery of their parents' jewelry store the job goes horribly wrong, triggering a series of events that sends them, their father and one brother's wife barreling towards a shattering climax.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsKenneth BranaghJulie ChristieDerek JacobiHamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother remarrying the murderer, his uncle. Meanwhile, war is brewing.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsRod SteigerJames CoburnRomolo ValliA low-life bandit and an I.R.A. explosives expert rebel against the government and become heroes of the Mexican Revolution.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsSean ConneryMichael CaineChristopher PlummerIn 1880s India, two former British soldiers decide to set themselves up as Kings in Kafiristan, a land where no white man has set foot since Alexander the Great.
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsLee MarvinMark HamillRobert CarradineA hardened sergeant and the four core members of his infantry unit try to survive World War II as they move from battle to battle throughout Europe.
- DirectorHark TsuiStarsWenzhuo ZhaoXin Xin XiongSonny SuA swordsmith trains his friend's orphaned son. The boy seeks revenge for his father's murder but loses an arm rescuing the swordsmith's daughter. A hermit girl nurses him, and he learns swordsmanship with his father's broken sword.
- DirectorWaris HusseinStarsMark LesterTracy HydeJack WildTwo youngsters declare to their parents that they want to get married as soon as possible.Without a doubt the most obscure selection here, Melody is the definition of a long lost forgotten gem. Like most films on the list, this sweet romantic fantasy about two school kids falling in love and wishing to be married began life as a flop in both the US and Britain. Despite its enduring popularity in Japan and parts of Latin America, it remains to be seen by the rest of the world. Also, Bee Gee had never sound better on film since Saturday Night Fever.
- DirectorAlex ProyasStarsRufus SewellKiefer SutherlandJennifer ConnellyA man struggles with memories of his past, which include a wife he cannot remember and a nightmarish world no one else ever seems to wake up from.Aussie Alex Proyas' misunderstood sci-fi masterpiece is the thinking man's Matrix. While the script is no Shakespeare, it more than makes up in terms of visual and depth. A gems of the 90s that demands to be rediscovered.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsJames WoodsJim BelushiMichael MurphyA burnt-out photojournalist becomes involved in a Central American revolution.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsBette DavisJoan CrawfordVictor BuonoA former child star torments her paraplegic sister in their decaying Hollywood mansion.