OT: Movies you probably never heard of but ought to check out.

[Steelerone]

I think one of the most underrated movies is "Almost Famous". Great music, great cast, fun story about rock and roll, Kate Hudson before she was famous, Phillip Seymour Hoffman - "of course I'm home, I'm uncool. ......... Friendship is the booze they feed ya. ........ I met you, you are not cool. "

I think Hoffman is one of the most underrated actors of all time. He died too young.

 

[trb123]

L'age d'or (1930) directed by Bunuel.
It is available free on youtube.

If you ever find a good blu ray disc for Ragtime (1981), please let me know. For many years, I could not find this DVD on Amazon. A few months ago the DVD once again became available.

I have never watched The great impersonation (1935).

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1981) was a 8 and 1/2 hr B'way play (by the Royal Shakespeare Company) that was broadcast on TV. The tickets were very expensive. You can still get the DVD's on ebay. From the Time review: Sell the car, pawn the kids, but go.

 

[dbmill]

L'age d'or (1930) directed by Bunuel.
It is available free on youtube.

Directed by Bunuel with association with Salvador Dali, their second film together. The first one, Un Chien Andalou (1929), contains the famous image of the razor slitting the eye. I saw this one at the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, FL, while we were down there for a women's basketball Final Four (women's basketball and surrealism are some combination for a vacation). At any rate, these two films are possibly surrealism at its height as practiced by two of its best known artists. And I wouldn't attempt to try to explain either one of them to anyone, they are certainly out there.

 

[Scud49]

Tip of the hat to ConnDog - I was going to mention "The Flim Flam" man w/ George C Scott- surprisingly good movie. A couple - if you like WW2 spy thrillers - check out "Eye of the Needle" with Donald Sutherland, its pretty taut throughout, Rotten Tomatoes gives it an 81% approval rating. One other is Steven Spielberg's first big success - "Duel". Very tense and captivating - R.T. gave it an 88% approval rating.

 

[dbmill]

"We're No Angels (with Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov, and Basil Rathbone, among others) was one of my mother's favorite movies (she was a big Ustinov fan, while Bogart is one of my favorite actors). It is a fun film. "Horse Soldiers" is another in a long line of John Ford/John Wayne westerns. It is more than watchable (and my wife and I have seen it a lot), but it doesn't rank with other Ford/Wayne western classics such as "Stagecoach", "Fort Apache", "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon", "Rio Grande", "The Searchers", and "The Man Who Killed Liberty Valance".

 

[dbmill]

Dbmill, I think his last movie appearance was in a very political movie, "Advise and Consent". And, as usual, he was great. If you ever get a chance go to "Calf-Killer", a site for old time radio. You can download just about any program you want anywhere from the thirties on. He was a guest on the Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy show several times and the repartee between he and Charlie is hilarious.

One of Laughton's last movies was Spartacus, and he is great as a Roman senator who opposes the rise of Lawrence Olivier's political aspirations in that film.

 

[trb123]

Die Niebelungen (1924)
Silent film directed by Fritz Lang in two parts.
Part 1: Siegfried
Part 2: Kriemhilds Rache

The seventh Seal (1957)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman. This is certainly not an obscure movie.

Some BBC serials:

The voyages of Charles Darwin (1978) Six 1 hr episodes

The search for the Nile (1971) Five 1 hr episodes

In search of the dark ages (1981) 350 minutes
Narrated by Michael Wood

 

[itsasport]

These were will regarded at the time of release- but time flies.

The Caine Mutiny, Bogart, in the role of the damaged captain, was great.

In Harm's Way,,,war, no matter how necessary , is a horrible, destructive business for everyone involved, The waves crashing on the shore and score during the end credits was very powerful. Probably John Wayne's best performance

A bunch of movies with Gregory Peck-
Moby DIck,
To Kill a Mockingbird
Gentleman's Agreement,
On the Beach- The manipulation of the Waltzing Matilda score was very effective.

 

[Ukonnfan]

“Same Kind of Different As Me” - Netflix

 

[Calbysdad]

Lots of older movies on here and a lot of great selections. I would highly recommend Garden State - writer, director and lead actor is Zach Braff (from Scrubs). Natalie Portman has a great role as well and The Shins will "change your life".

Swingers is another but probably not under the radar.

 

[Bigpetunia]

Great quarantine topic...thanks to all.I'll offer two:
1. Pan's Labyrinth. A del Toro film, set in Franco's Spain. One of the greatest films ever made. I'm not usually a fan of the phantasmagorical, but the manner in which fantasy is employed to heighten the portrayal of despotism and cruelty in a world gone (and still going) mad is breathtaking.
2. The Pawnbroker. Rod Steiger's portrait of an embittered, and closed-off-from-the-world Holocaust survivor is tough to watch, but amazingly skilled.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Three Days of the Condor
IMDB 4 of 5 Rotten Tomateos 86%
In this 1975 thriller, Turner is a bookish CIA researcher based in New York City. Sent to pick up lunch, Turner returns to discover that everyone in his tiny office has been murdered. When an attempt is made on his life, he finds himself on the run from both the CIA and the police.
Box office $27M
Director: Sydney Pollack
Writers: James Grady (novel), Lorenzo Semple Jr. (screenplay)
Stars: Robert Redford (Turner), Max von Sydow, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson

I really like Max von Sydow in this movie -- or any movie. Some interesting dialog throughout this movie. For example:

Max von Sydow as Joubert

• (Max von Sydow) "Well, the fact is, what I do is not a bad occupation. Someone is always willing to pay."
• (Robert Redford) "I would find it -- tiring."
• (Max von Sydow) "Oh, no; it's quite restful. It's almost peaceful. No need to believe in either side, or any side. There is no cause.

What are they talking about? Killing people for money!

I just saw it earlier this year. I thought it was a good flick, but somewhat dated. Faye Dunaway's character especially.

 

[Conndog]

A couple more that I like:
Regarding WWII movies, 1) Attack- starring Jack Palance, Eddie Arnold, Lee Marvin, drama of cowardly commander and betrayed soldier who vows revenge, and 2) The Secret of Santa Vitorria- comedy about hiding wine from Germans in Italian town
And for any Ealing Studios fans (British films), you can't go wrong with any of the Alec Guiness offerings such as Kind Hearts and Coronets, or my favorite The Man in the White Suit

 

[dbmill]

Great quarantine topic...thanks to all.I'll offer two:
1. Pan's Labyrinth. A del Toro film, set in Franco's Spain. One of the greatest films ever made. I'm not usually a fan of the phantasmagorical, but the manner in which fantasy is employed to heighten the portrayal of despotism and cruelty in a world gone (and still going) mad is breathtaking.
2. The Pawnbroker. Rod Steiger's portrait of an embittered, and closed-off-from-the-world Holocaust survivor is tough to watch, but amazingly skilled.

Pan's Labyrinth is very good, but has some other significance to me. It is the last film that I saw in a real movie theater (I've seen a few others put on by local film society's in local halls, but they are hardly movie theaters). Right around that time a friend of ours had a Netflix gift subscription that he had never started up. He knew I was something of a movie buff, so he asked us if we were interested in it. I said sure, and since then that is how I have watched recent releases ever since. This pretty much solved a problem that I was having at the time, namely the off the beaten track films that I was most interested in watching were often in and out of the theaters before I got could around to going to the theater to actually see them. Of course, it often means I'm watching recent releases several months after their initial run in the movie houses, but that has never bothered me.

 

[SVCBeercats]

I just saw it earlier this year. I thought it was a good flick, but somewhat dated. Faye Dunaway's character especially.

Some what dated? It is 45 years old!

 

[Rixxx]

Eye of the Needle, WW2 drama, is from the book of the same title by Ken Folette, the same author wrote Pillars of the Earth trilogy that is out on DVD.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

A couple more that I like:
Regarding WWII movies, 1) Attack- starring Jack Palance, Eddie Arnold, Lee Marvin, drama of cowardly commander and betrayed soldier who vows revenge, and 2) The Secret of Santa Vitorria- comedy about hiding wine from Germans in Italian town
And for any Ealing Studios fans (British films), you can't go wrong with any of the Alec Guiness offerings such as Kind Hearts and Coronets, or my favorite The Man in the White Suit

Conndog, Loved ATTACK! Great movie!

 

[Sargassoc]

Lone Star directed by John Sayles (1996). The cast is great: Kris Kristofferson, Matthew McConaughey, Elizabeth Peña, Chris Cooper, and a fabulous cameo by the wonderful Frances McDormand.

Among other things (no spoilers), it explores the tension of three stories-- secrets between parents and their children-- that are interwoven into one, final compelling story with a mind-blowing ending.

I show it to high school seniors and they really have to work through a lot of their own stuff before they can be OK with the whole thing. I can watch it over and over again (and do, because I show it yearly).

 

[Hope]

'The Bad Lieutenant', starring Harvey Keitel
"Get me a Bud, a high-boy"

 

[Scud49]

"For a Few Dollars More" with Clint Eastwood, Lee van Cleef, and Gian Maria Volonte as the psychopathic killer Indio. Eastwood and Van Cleef play 2 rival bounty hunters who form an uneasy partnership going after the crazed bandit Indio and his gang. This is the one that proceeded the more well known "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. It's just as good, and always scores a place high up in the "Greatest Westerns Ever" lists.

 

[dbmill]

Lone Star directed by John Sayles (1996). The cast is great: Kris Kristofferson, Matthew McConaughey, Elizabeth Peña, Chris Cooper, and a fabulous cameo by the wonderful Frances McDormand.

Among other things (no spoilers), it explores the tension of three stories-- secrets between parents and their children-- that are interwoven into one, final compelling story with a mind-blowing ending.

I show it to high school seniors and they really have to work through a lot of their own stuff before they can be OK with the whole thing. I can watch it over and over again (and do, because I show it yearly).

A great movie, we saw it during its initial release many years ago. Probably the best movie John Sayles ever directed during his career during which he was probably the top independent movie maker of his time. We saw Lone Star several times many years ago, and it is one of those films that my wife still talks about her admiration for it. Absolutely memorable role for Kris Kristofferson.

The title of this thread is "Movies you have probably never heard of, but ought to check out". This film is really the poster child for that title, not the many classic titles that have popped up in this thread.

 

[nwhoopfan]

"Spy Game" stars Robert Redford and Brad Pitt and has some solid character actors, directed by one of the Scott brothers. I'm not sure why it's not more well known. Good taut twisty espionage flick.

"Wildlike" is tough to watch in a few scenes, but overall is wonderful I think. Mostly just 2 actors, Bruce Greenwood and Ella Purnell, with the state of Alaska practically being another character itself.