Name a little-known movie that deserves more recognition

Cafe Society
21

Underappreciated, although I think TCM showed it recently (or maybe not): The original Bedazzled, from 1967, with Peter Cook as the devil and Dudley Moore as the schlub, trying to get into the pants of Elinor Bron (about which I always asked myself “why?”). The personifications of the seven deadly sins were wonderful, capped by Raquel Welch as Lust (“Lillian Lust, the Babe with the Bust”).

Completely unknown, I think: Run Wild, Run Free from 1969, with Mark Lester (right after Oliver!) and John Mills. You may only like this if you had family issues as a child that made you withdrawn and lonely.

22

I actually liked the circa 2000 one better (with Brendan Fraser and Elizabeth Hurley). To each their own. :slight_smile:

23

In America from 2002 is really, really good - an emotional roller-coaster that will make you cry.

Hotel Mumbai from 2018 is a white-knuckle thriller.

24

Dunno what the cut off for “little known” is but I’d say:

24 Hour Party People, hilarious take on the post-punk 80s Manchester music scene, Somewhat biased, as I have huge emotional attachment to said music scene, but I think would be well worth watching for anyone (I don’t know if any dopers have watched it without a background knowing the bands involved and can second this opinion):

Lifeforce somewhat campy space vampire romp. But actually a pretty solid scifi horror, definitely holds up better than some of the more well known horror films of the era (I’m looking at you Scanners :slight_smile: )

Also does In The Loop count as little known? If so definitely needs more recognition.

Likewise for Four Lions.

25

Great suggestion. In a similar vein, I recommend Take Shelter with Michael Shannon, who plays the “is he crazy or is he the only one sane” role.

It certainly had some good moments. But also from the Disney/Pixar studios, also in the “released and overshadowed the same year as Encanto” category, I think Luca is a wonderful film about family, chosen family, friendship, and coming of age. It is, IMO, far superior to Encanto.

I’m not going to quibble too hard about Whiplash being little-known, but it did win 3 Oscars, and was nominated for best picture. But I will also say that movie has stuck with me - I think about it a lot.

26

My Life without Me
Darkside Blues

27

I liked Four Lions.

My suggestion? Big Trouble, a 2002 black comedy based on a Dave Barry novel. It was scheduled for release in late September 2001 but certain real-life events made that timing, if not impossible, then at least a really bad idea.

Another is Nicholas Nickleby, a 2002 film adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel. I really liked this movie.

There are others; I see a lot of movies.

28

Crime Wave, a film written by, directed by, and starring Winnipeg filmmaker John Paizs. An aspiring B-movie writer living with an average family starts to mingle fantasy and reality. It must be seen to be appreciated!

29

A similar fate befell Buffalo Soldiers. IIRC basically the studio buried as they thought its unflattering portrayal of US soldiers would not go down well in the newly post-9/11 world, Its not a classic or anything but worth watching:

30

For some values of little-known (big stars, and I think now becoming a cult classic) I submit: Millennium (1989). Cheryl Ladd time-travels to meet Kris Kristofferson with slightly predictable results, but the story is much bigger than that. Based on a terrible novel by John Varley, but the novel itself was an expansion of Varley’s own short story Air Raid, which is an extremely tight little classic of sci-fi literature.

The movie’s a bit of a mess but it’s a charmer – exciting mid-air drama, fast cars, sultry 1980s saxophones, and a hell of a story. As an added bonus, it has a small role for Scott Thompson of the Kids in the Hall.

31

Love Serenade. Strange story of two sisters who live together in a backwater town in Australia. When big city DJ Ken Sherry moves in next door, they go nuts competing for his attention. But there’s something fishy about this guy, does he really have gills?

With Miranda Otto, directed by Shirley Barrett who sadly died a couple of weeks ago.

32

There are a lot of great made for TV movies that have been forgotten about:

Something About Amelia
The Burning Bed
In Broad Daylight
The Terry Fox Story
The Park is Mine
Hidden in America

among others.

And one truly terrible TV movie every knows about but most have NOT seen…

The Star Wars Holiday Special.

33

Just today I was thinking of the scene where the priest shows them what writing is all about. It really shows how mind-blowing the idea of writing is, if you’ve never heard about it before. Neat personal fact, I was friends-of-a-friend with the girl who played the Manitou spirit back in my university days.

My suggestions would be two Newfoundland-adjacent movies.

Buried on Sunday.

The community is in an economic crisis due to the cod fishing moratorium, but finds its fortunes transformed when an AWOL Russian nuclear submarine surfaces at the island. With only four remaining crewmen, including the former missile programming officer-turned-prisoner (Tommy Sexton) on board, Knickel buys the submarine, discovers a cache of tactical missiles, and subsequently declares the island an independent nuclear power.

It’s an early 90s analogy for the problems Newfoundland had with the fisheries, and its relationship with the Canadian federal government. Also, some post-USSR shenanigans.

Then, Secret Nation.

The film tells the story of Frieda Vokey, a graduate history student working to complete her history thesis on confederation. She returns to her home in Newfoundland to investigate evidence that Newfoundland’s 1949 entry into Canada was a conspiracy. Following the death of a politician, whose papers contain evidence, she begins to believe that the referendum results were faked, with British spies helping the cause.

Not many people realize how dirty the politics were behind the vote for Newfoundland to join Canada. There probably wasn’t an actual conspiracy to fake the vote, but there definitely was some shady shit going down. Kind of cool in that it features some of the historical debates from the Newfoundland legislature at the time.

34

Daybreakers - A movie based on the familiar trope of somebody who is bit by a vampire becomes a vampire. The movie takes this idea and runs with it. It’s set in a world where vampirism appeared a few years back and pretty much everyone has now become a vampire and they are running out of people to feed on.

35

My interest the past 20 years or so has been mainly Asian film. Not necessarily the “mainstream/released in the U.S.” movies, but stuff that the typical American wouldn’t come across unless they were seeking it out. So, there’s like 100 of these I could mention here. Especially some of the best of Korean cinema. I swear, there are some movies that punch me right in the gut and pull emotions out of me I didn’t even know I had.

For example, Han Gong-ju. My god, what a gut punch. Or maybe, A Moment to Remember. If you’ve ever heard about how Koreans have cornered the market on effective melodramas, this movie confirms that in spades. I’ve seen it like 8 times and I’m a basket case at the end every time.

Or, for a lighter note, I recommend Sunny (2011). I adored this amazing movie. The funny parts were hilarious; the sentimental parts were handled well; and the dramatic moments were spot on. The poignancy of how we age from childhood, and what becomes of our dreams and friendships–this movie has a lot to say. It’s wonderful that it was able to say such things so honestly and effectively. Parts had me in stiches and parts had me in tears. Some of it, you’d have to be familiar with Korean culture, but there’s a lot to enjoy even if this is the first Korean movie you ever watched.

36

Nightcrawler, from 2014. Tells the story of a guy living on the fringes of society who decides to start a career as a “stringer” (a videographer who takes footage of breaking news to re-sell to local TV stations). A searing indictment of news culture as it currently exists in the U.S. and arguably Jake Gyllenhaal’s greatest performance. He portrays one of the creepiest humans I have ever seen in a film.

37

You Can Count On Me was the first thing I ever saw Mark Ruffalo in, and I loved that movie.

My own contribution to this thread is Frailty. Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, Powers Boothe in a tight little murder drama.

I’d also recommend A Simple Plan. Two brothers (Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton) and a friend find a downed plane with a bagful of money inside it. Distrust and suspicion start eating at each of them as they try to see if anyone will find the plane and discover the money is missing.

38

One of my favorite movies. “How’d he go to the bathroom?”

I love Back to the Beach. Frankie and Annette 20 years or so later. It’s hilarious, and Frankie Avalon’s idea. Annette! Frankie! Connie!

Thunderheart Val Kilmer. Sam Shepard. Graham Greene. Fred Ward. The FBI investigates a murder on a Sioux reservation.

For TV movies I recommend Escape from Sobibor.. It’s about the true 1943 mass escape from Sobibor, a death camp. It deserves to be better known.

39

Kongo (1932) – Lurid jungle-based tale of revenge; one of the most politically incorrect movies ever released by a major studio.

The President Vanishes (1934) - As trouble brews overseas, rapacious business leaders want to get the U.S. into another war to boost profits… but then POTUS disappears! Overdone (and zero cred), but surprisingly topical.

Les Disparus de St. Agil (1938) - Disappearances and murder in a boy’s school lead a trio of students to team with gruff teacher Erich von Stroheim (excellent and unusually sympathetic) to uncover the culprit.

Canyon Passage (1946) - Shot in glorious Technicolor at the height of the color season in Oregon’s lush forests, this unusual Western focuses on a pioneering community, its interactions with the local Native Americans and a surprising variety of sexual tensions.

Un Revenant (1946) - Thought dead, ballet producer Louis Jouvet returns to seek an elaborate revenge on those who ruined him.

The Fallen Idol (1948) - Graham Greene story about a kid “protecting” butler Ralph Richardson as police investigate the death of his wife.

The Black Book, a.k.a. Reign of Terror (1949) - Period film noir set during the French Revolution: guess what everyone’s after….

State Secret (1950) - Surgeon Fairbanks, Jr. goes to Vosnia - they have their own language - to operate on its dictator. After the patient dies, Doug amscrays for his life. Unusual opening POV sequence and excellent supporting cast: Glynis Johns, Herbert Lom, and especially bad guy Jack Hawkins.

Death in the Garden (1956) - Characters on the lam in an unforgiving jungle battle the elements and their own psyches in this ultra-ironic Buñuel film.

Man on the Tracks (1957) - Polish drama of long-time, recently fired train engineer found dead on the tracks. Flashbacks reveal he was more than just a hardass with a Hitler moustache, but was it an accident, suicide or…?

The Graceful Brute (1962) - Shot almost entirely within one apartment, this is a black comedy about a family with a professed entitlement to scam. They meet their match in the title character played by gorgeous Ayako Wakao.

Three Outlaw Samurai (1964) - Title characters take sides in a peasants vs. scumbag landowner dispute in enjoyable and engrossing sword opera.

The Sword of Doom (1966) - One of the greatest samurai films ever. Psychotic master swordsman Tatsuya Nakadai goes nuts after watching Toshiro Mifune in action. Incredible ending.

Horrors of Malformed Men (1969) - Not a horror film, but a bizarre, dreamlike story (made and banned in Japan) about a man and his extremely dysfunctional family.

Latitude Zero (1969) – Toho-produced film pits futuristic sub commander Joseph Cotton against rival Cesar Romero (who’s also a very mad scientist) in hugely entertaining fantasy.

And Hope to Die (1972) – Caught by a gang of crooks while on the lam, Jean-Louis Trintignant is forced to participate in a kidnapping gone wrong while bonding with gang leader Robert Ryan.

40

Drive-In, from 1976. It’s a comedy about the goings-on at a Texas drive-in theatre one weekend night. It’s one of those films where a few different stories are followed, none of which seem to have any relation to the others, but everything comes together in the end.

It’s a slice of 1970s Americana, with roller disco, shaggin’ wagons, and so much more. Best of all is the film the drive-in is showing: a fictional film called Disaster '76. And every time the theatre screen needs to be shown, a different disaster is happening on it: ships sink, buildings burn, aircraft fall out of the sky, and so on. Nice parody of 1970s disaster pictures.

Fun film, and it made the late movie on TV a few times back in the 1980s, but I haven’t seen it since. Or heard of it since, for that matter. But it is, as I said, a slice of 1970s Americana that reflects the era better than some from that time, IMHO.