# Underrated, Unsuccessful or otherwise Unknown films you love. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 6, 2004, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935 "2004-06-06T10:15:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/61 "2004-06-07T22:07:05Z")
Second page abd no Ginger Snaps yet, shame on you šŸ˜‰ Iā€™ll also add Ginger Snaps 2, and another for City of Lost Children. Not available on DVD in US is Delicatessan (by the same director as City for Lost Children, and even darker). And every vampire film by Jean Rollan. ---
**Author:** ![nocturnal\_tick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@nocturnal\_tick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nocturnal_tick)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/62 "2004-06-07T22:13:10Z")
Damn Ginger Snaps was great. What was the line where she says about being a werewolf is liking touching yourself. She is such a dark character. I love it šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/63 "2004-06-07T22:51:10Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > _The Commitments-_ (Another nod to Roddy Doyle). Iā€™ll admit that here on the SD, _The Commitments_ would hardly qualify as ā€œunkown,ā€ but I am amazed at the number of people I run into out here IRL whoā€™ve never heard of it. Iā€™d love to find \*The Commitments, The Snapper, \* and _The Van_ as a boxed set somewhere. Can the Irish Dopers maybe help me out, here? In print, yes; ā€œThe Barrytown Trilogyā€ collects all three novels of the Rabbitt family, and each is better than the one before. In film/DVD, it will probably never happen, as the flicks were all made by different studios. (The characters donā€™t even have the same names from movie to movie.) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/64 "2004-06-07T23:00:43Z")
**Devils on the Doorstep** , a 2000 film from China. [My review](http://moviegeek.homestead.com/files/siff2001reviews3.htm#devils). Itā€™s in my top 50 lifetime (maybe top 30), and nobody I know has ever heard of it, let alone seen it, despite having won a major prize at Cannes. Might be hard to track down, but itā€™s absolutely worth the effort; strongly recommended, with zero reservations. I promise, you will be blown out of your shoes. > [@Ilsa\_Lund](#): > > **Showgirls:** I canā€™t say anything about _Showgirls_ that hasnā€™t been said better by **Cervaise** and othersā€¦ Thanks. I saw it again three or four weeks ago. Gets better and deeper and more interesting every time. Plus I saw it with a guy for whom it was the first viewing; I gave him a five-minute introduction so heā€™d have the context, and did a little talking here and there throughout to underline some important point, and at the end he sat in stunned silence. Then he said, quietly: ā€œHoly shit.ā€ My work here is done. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/65 "2004-06-07T23:18:12Z")
Iā€™ll second **A Boy And His Dog**. Havenā€™t seen it in years, though. **Delicatessen** : Very, very black French comedy. **Night on Earth** : Think international **Taxicab Confessions** and you wonā€™t be too far off. **Schizopolis** : Utterly bizarre comedy. **200 Motels** : One of the many reasons people thought Frank Zappa was up to his eyeballs in illicit chemical refreshments. **Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within** : Beaten at the box office by **Legally Blonde**. Iā€™m still a little pissed over that. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/66 "2004-06-07T23:23:53Z")
[The Beast of War](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094716/), a very underrated film about the Russians in Afghanistan. Itā€™s like Das Boot, but replace the sub with a tank. A little bit of Platoon thrown in there with internal conflicts, too. My favourite bit: the tank unloading an impressive show of all its firepower - on a heard of deer. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/67 "2004-06-07T23:25:35Z")
\*that should be \*herd \* of deer, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/68 "2004-06-07T23:41:46Z")
> [@Mr. Kobayashi](#): > > \*that should be \*herd \* of deer, sorry. Me: sure Iā€™ve heard of deer. Mr. Kobayashi: No, no, a deer herd. Me: What do I care if a deer heard? Iā€™ve got nothing to hide from a deer. Mr. Kobayashi: arrggggggggggggā€¦ :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/69 "2004-06-08T02:59:39Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > One that I love: _Highway 61_, a quirky Canadian road-comedy movie with the best portrayal of Satan ever committed to celluloid. Anyone up for bingo?.. Which sorta reminds me: [Motorama](http://imdb.com/title/tt0104922/) was a frigging great film. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/70 "2004-06-08T03:48:25Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > One that I love: _Highway 61_, a quirky Canadian road-comedy movie with the best portrayal of Satan ever committed to celluloid. Anyone up for bingo? When I saw this thread I thought of [Last Night](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0156729/), another Canadian film by Don McKellar, who also directed _Highway 61_. It wasnā€™t anywhere near the greatest film Iā€™ve ever seen, but it was an elegant, understated little drama about the end of the world. It just had this perfect sense of its own scale; it knew exactly how far it was reaching, and it achieved that with real grace. I know I sound like a Hallmark card, but this film really charmed me with its perfect execution. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/71 "2004-06-08T04:01:26Z")
Two others Iā€™ve mentioned many times before: **Creator** **The Last of Sheila** ā€“ my all-time favorite mystery, the illegitimate hlf-brother of **Sleuth** ---
**Author:** ![inquiring\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@inquiring\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inquiring_mind)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/72 "2004-06-08T04:57:03Z")
I second these previous choices: **Medium Cool** - the only picture directed by the great cinematographer Haskell Wexler **Housekeeping** - Christine Lahti here is none better. **The Last Detail** - avoid the sanitized version by all means **This Boyā€™s Life** - DiCaprio before being chewed up by the Hollywood maw. More sleepers: **Saint Jack** (1979)- Bogdanovich was able to make this picture as a result of winning a lawsuit (with then girlfriend Cybill Shepard) against Hugh for publishhing her nude pictures in Playboy (?). Shot in old Singapore in 1979, these locations no longer exist in the new cleaned up Singapore. Outstanding performances by Ben Gazzara and Denholm Elliot. I suspect this is the first appearance in a commercially released film of transsexuals cavorting in the nude. **Two for the Road** (1967)- every facet of a long marriage portrayed through numerous road trips during their marriage (and before). Spliced together as a film --not necessarily in the order it happened. Acting by Hepburn and Finney is the best in their career. **The Shooting Party** (1984) - updated version of Renoirā€™s 1938 film, _The Rules of the Game_. The setting is the summer before World War I in an English country estate. If youā€™ve seen Renoirā€™s film, you know the the rest. **The Year of Living Dangerously** (1982, not sure if this was underrated)- You want the young Mel Gibson? Peter Weir filmed this after Gallipoli with Mel. But this is not the only reason to watch this complex, compelling film of Indonesia in 1965 under he brutal dictatorship of Suharto. Linda Huntā€™s performance is worth the price of admission. The soundtrack definitely adds to the memerizing effect of the film. **Fast, Cheap and Out of Control** (1997) - Errol Morris film of four eccentrics who obviously enjoy their pursuits. How Morris connects the stories into a whole is genius. **The Male Animal** (1942)- Another landmark role for Henry Fonda. His reading of the Sacco Vanzetti letter is worth the buildup. Based on a story by James Thurber. **Billy Budd** (1962) - the late great Peter Ustinovā€™s only film as director. Heā€™s suberb as the captain of the British warship who impresses an American sailor (Terence Stamp in his film debut as the homoerotic Billy Budd); unforgettable performance by Robert Ryan as the personifcation of evil. **1984** - donā€™t know how long this was in release but itā€™s now out in DVD. John Hurt is perfect as Winston. Also with Richard Burton. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/73 "2004-06-08T05:43:38Z")
Of those already mentioned, Iā€™d sure agree with **ā€œIt the Terror From Beyond Spaceā€, ā€œLocal Heroā€ and ā€œVideodromeā€**. I think Iā€™ll enter two that havenā€™t been mentioned yet:\*\* [Five Million Years To Earth](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062168/) (OR ā€œQuatermass and the Pitā€ as the Brits call it.)\*\* Even our own Bad Astronomer, Phil Plaitt, loves this movie. It is more of a thought-provoking, cerebral movie than the usual monster, spaceship sci-fi fare. My other choice **[Phase IV](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070531/)**. Again, another science fiction movie that is not made from the usual sci-fi formula. Iā€™d suggest reading more about these on the IMDB. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/74 "2004-06-08T06:11:54Z")
IMHO, \*\*[Choose Me](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0087054/combined) \*\* is one of the great ā€œlostā€ films of the 1980s. Interesting, quirky love story with several strange triangles going on. The only problem with seeing it on video is that unless you have a big screen TV, you may miss the running commentary on the film thatā€™s written on the walls of the various rooms itā€™s set in. By the same director, [Alan Rudolph](http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0748928/), who directed **Made in Heaven** , mentioned above, which I also like a lot. I also loved **[Il Postino](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0110877/combined)** and the Japanese **[Shall We Dance?](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0117615/combined)** Both are beautifully acted, simple but touching human stories. ---
**Author:** ![jimdigritz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@jimdigritz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimdigritz)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/75 "2004-06-08T10:56:00Z")
off the top of my head, I like these: [Clue](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088930/) 1985 Dark Comedy with Tim Curry. [Blow](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0221027/) 2001 Depp is perfect as the real life George Jung. Not exactly unknown, but many have missed it. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/76 "2004-06-08T11:56:01Z")
I donā€™t know if you can consider it underrated or unsuccessful, but not a lot of people talk about [Do the Right Thing](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097216/) anymore. I think this is Spike Leeā€™s best movie, and it had me alternately laughing and in tears throughout. Any movie with Samuel L. Jackson has to be cool right? (OK, forget Star Wars). šŸ˜ƒ [Sheā€™s Gotta Have It](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091939/) is pretty unknown, but also a great movie. For some reason, a lot of people hated [Bamboozled](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0215545/), but I thought it was a great movie. I havenā€™t had a chance to see [25th Hour](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0307901/) yet, but I hear it is really good. Can you tell Iā€™m a big Spike Lee fan? And Iā€™m whiter than Clifton (the guy who runs over Bugginā€™ Outā€™s new white Air Jordans with his bike). ---
**Author:** ![No\_Disguise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@No\_Disguise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Disguise)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/77 "2004-06-08T12:04:19Z")
**Run Ronnie, Run** Made by the Mr. Show guys. Itā€™s little-known, got bad reviews, and Iā€™ll agree itā€™s not _good_ per se, but itā€™s fucking hilarious. Hilarious. Itā€™s one of those movies that gets funnier with each viewing. Speaking of movies that get funnier with each viewing, **The Big Lebowski** deserves a spot on this list too, though Iā€™m not sure how popular it is. Most people I ask havenā€™t seen it. ---
**Author:** ![nocturnal\_tick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@nocturnal\_tick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nocturnal_tick)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/78 "2004-06-08T12:10:52Z")
Going along with **jimdigritz\*\*\*\*Clue** , I think that **Murder by Death** is definitely under-rated. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/79 "2004-06-08T12:16:00Z")
> [@Maureen](#): > > **[The Last Supper](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113613/)** is a wonderful dark comedy that didnā€™t get near the recognition it deserved. Iā€™m constantly recommending it, and with the exception of **ShibbOleth** , I donā€™t know anyone whoā€™s seen it without my first lending it/recommending it. Iā€™ve seen it and will also recommend it. It changes your outlook on homegrown tomatoes, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/80 "2004-06-08T12:36:47Z")
> [@No Disguise](#): > > Speaking of movies that get funnier with each viewing, ā€¦ Another one that gets funnier with each viewing is [Super Troopers](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247745/). **Farva** : Hey, letā€™s pop some Viagras and issue tickets with raging, mega-huge boners. **Thorny** : You know, Farva, only you can make a dark man blush. And no, weā€™re not doing it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935.md?page=5)