Favorite Underrated Movies

[PrincessFrani]

Originally Posted by qwertyuiopz

little nemo isnt underrated lol


pan's labyrinth...most likely since its not english

(On Little Nemo) Really? It's not talked about too much to this day.

I didn't realize Pan's Labyrinth was underrated. Maybe the English part I can understand. Most foreign are pretty underrated from what I've heard or seen.

[james0246]

^I think qwertyuiopz confused Little Nemo with Finding Nemo. Finding Nemo is a 600 million dollar boxoffice success, with an Academy Award, and in no way underrated, but Little Nemo, the semi-classic children's movie from 1989 is definetly underrated (or at least unappreciated, I generally agree with the various critical ratings (2 out of 4 stars, etc) for this feature) cult film.

[KongZilla]

I feel that some of Lucio Fulci's (RIP) films are underrated as well. I've watched a few of his films online and my favourite of his works are Zombi 2 (1979) and The Beyond (1981) which were the best movies by this director and they were not talked about much. There are people who say that Zombi 2 is a ripoff of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1978) but I don't see the similarities except for flesh-eating zombies and to be fair, Zombi 2 was actually written before Dawn. But when Dario Argento released his Italian cut of Dawn entitled Zombi, Fulci wanted to cash in on the success of that film and changed the title of his project to Zombi 2. The scenes in New York in the beginning and at the end of the movie were later added on to the script to give some kind of connection between the two films.

[SeijiSensei]

I watched Roman Holiday on Turner Classic Movies just the other night after seeing it recommended here. It's a cute princess-and-commoner romance, but it wasn't directed by Billy Wilder. William Wyler made Roman Holiday along with epics like Ben Hur and more intimate films like The Collector suggested by james0246 above.

Billy Wilder made a variety of memorable comedies of which my favorite is probably Some Like it Hot with Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Marilyn Monroe, and Joe E.Lewis. He also made some famous dark dramatic films like Sunset Boulevard (it might be a satire, but it's definitely dark.)

Perhaps the reason Wilder was thought of as the director of Roman Holiday, along with the obvious similarity in names, is that he directed Sabrina which also starred a very young Audrey Hepburn, paired this time with the aging Humphrey Bogart. At least Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday was only thirteen years older than Hepburn; Bogart was over twice Hepburn's age (25 when the film was released).

Every generation gets to experience Bogart's work again. If you've never seen Casablanca, it should be near the top of your list. Not only it is one of the best wartime romances ever, but it's the source of many famous lines. Bryan Singer's excellent The Usual Suspects takes it name from a line in Casablanca, as does Herbert Ross's version of Woody Allen's stage play Play it Again, Sam (a slight misquote actually). Discussing all of Bogart's performances would require another page, but I'd single out The Petrified Forest, The Maltese Falcon, Key Largo, and The African Queen as "must-see" films.

[nanafan]

i forgot there was a william and a billy ...and their names are spelt differently. i have seen casablanca, it was okay, it's not something i loved, but it was good. i wonder if Toki wa Kakera Shoujo is considered underated, I don't know if many people have seen/heard of it. but i love the story, and the manga that it was based on. the animation, the characters, music, everything was beautiful.

[Zu Ra]

I am eternally hexed when it comes to names so I will start with 2008 . These movies below got the attention but never exactly were all that popular based on content . They were not underrated more under-appreciated . I will share my views when I get more time and feel more inspired as of now I will stick to one/two liners .

Ghost Town : No one has heard of it a seriously well made sweet movie


Body of Lies : Yes this Ridley Scott movie which generated the buzz but didn't go on to break any records . Sense of realism and the quintessential hero factor comes into play . Yes Leo stole the show from Crowe that quite an achievement in itself ..


The Spiderwick Chronicles : Yeah its a children movie , but compared to Narnia and Potter it failed to set box offices on fire . The most endearing factor has to be general enchantment also nostalgia via Blyton (Faraway Tree) . If Blyton Universe was ever made into a live action this is how it would look . If you are looking for a light hearted version of Pan's labyrinth this is the movie for you .

[Dilla]

Do the Right Thing by Spike Lee. The title is funny because no one in that movie actually did the right thing the entire movie.

[SeijiSensei]

That's an excellent movie, but I don't know how "underrated" it is. From the Wiki article you cite:

"The film was a success at the box office, and received numerous accolades and awards. The film has grown in stature over time; in 1999, it was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry, one of five films to do so in its first year of eligibility. In 2007, the American Film Institute listed the film as the ninety-sixth greatest American Movie in Film History."

In my recollection it was probably the most commercially successful movie about race relations since In the Heat of the Night ("They call me, Mister Tibbs!") even though it portrays deep-rooted racism among Northern whites. It was a lot easier for people outside the South to disapprove of racist actions in the ex-Confederacy than to admit there is still a lot of racism in the rest of the country as well.

I haven't seen it in a while, nor seen at lot of Lee's most recent work, but at the time I certainly thought it was the best film he had ever made.

[Dilla]

True, it's was critically acclaimed and has stayed with critics and was really popular then, but nowadays when talking about the general populace I don't hear much about it. It's kinda faded into the background as the years went by, unlike well-known movies from the '80s like Ferris Bueller's Day Off, probably because of the subject matter it contained.

I didn't know it existed until about four years ago, myself. I saw He Got Game, Malcolm X, Jungle Fever, Summer of Sam, and Mo Better Blues before even hearing about Do the Right Thing.

So, yeah. . .

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

In my recollection it was probably the most commercially successful movie about race relations since In the Heat of the Night ("They call me, Mister Tibbs!") even though it portrays deep-rooted racism among Northern whites. It was a lot easier for people outside the South to disapprove of racist actions in the ex-Confederacy than to admit there is still a lot of racism in the rest of the country as well.

What I like about it most was that wasn't just about racism by whites, but rather racism in the community in general, long before Crash came out five years ago.

[blue skies]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

Perhaps the reason Wilder was thought of as the director of Roman Holiday, along with the obvious similarity in names, is that he directed Sabrina which also starred a very young Audrey Hepburn, paired this time with the aging Humphrey Bogart. At least Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday was only thirteen years older than Hepburn; Bogart was over twice Hepburn's age (25 when the film was released).

Every generation gets to experience Bogart's work again. If you've never seen Casablanca, it should be near the top of your list. Not only it is one of the best wartime romances ever, but it's the source of many famous lines. Bryan Singer's excellent The Usual Suspects takes it name from a line in Casablanca, as does Herbert Ross's version of Woody Allen's stage play Play it Again, Sam (a slight misquote actually). Discussing all of Bogart's performances would require another page, but I'd single out The Petrified Forest, The Maltese Falcon, Key Largo, and The African Queen as "must-see" films.

I think I've loved every Bogart film I've ever seen. The man was simply a master at what he did. Along with Bogart, I've always loved James Cagney too. The guy was as charismatic as they come on-screen, even when he was playing a ruthless murderer. The Roaring Twenties, Angels with Dirty Faces, White Heat and The Public Enemy are my personal favorites.

But speaking of Audrey Hepburn too, The Nun's Story doesn't get nearly as much attention as her other work, although it's (imho) her best performance. It's really nothing like most of her other films, and it's something that definitely stays with you. The ending is one of the most powerful I've ever seen; it still astounds me every time I watch it.

As far as a few of my other favorites go, In the Mood for Love, Amélie and Cidade de Deus are some that don't get a lot of attention (at least in the U.S. and other English-speaking countries) mostly because they're foreign films. I particularly have a soft spot for In the Mood for Love. It's a quiet, emotional little film that's simultaneously haunting and beautiful.

A huge second to whoever mentioned Big Fish, too. The book is even better.

[SeijiSensei]

One of Cagney's most famous roles is his personification of George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy. Cagney started off his career as a "hoofer" and displays his dancing ability in full force in this film. By modern standards it's incredibly jingoistic, but that doesn't detract from Cagney's performance. It's just so out of phase with his established persona as the perennial tough Irish guy, the kind of guy who'll smash a grapefruit into his lover's face, or kill indiscrimately for his mother. In his later career, the performance I remember best is his role as the ship's captain opposite Henry Fonda in Mr. Roberts, where Cagney replays that tough-guy persona in a comedic context.

I'll single out one other remarkable performance against type by actors of this period, that of John Wayne as the racist ex-soldier in John Ford's extraordinary film The Searchers. Ford and Wayne together literally wrote the twentieth century cinematic vision of the West with "The Duke" invariably portraying the hero. In The Searchers Wayne pursues Native Americans with a hatred and vengeance rarely, if ever, portrayed on the screen.

As an ex-Catholic I have a hard time watching films about priests and nuns, but I'll take your word that The Nun's Story is worth watching. I don't watch "Der Bingle" in Going My Way often either. The IMDB reviews for The Nun's Story certainly whetted my interest. I've put your other suggestions on my to-see list as well.

[PrincessFrani]

I'm not really surprised that no one mentioned "The Princess and the Goblin". It was a movie that I first saw at someone's house, then kindergarten, then a year ago on YouTube. It's pretty much what you would find a fairy tale but taken to a different level.

[james0246]

^I know that Jay Ward did a version of the story for his Fractured Fairy Tales program (this is the version I remember), but was it also made into a (non-comedic) film later on?

btw, I will galdly endorse Geta Boshi's...I mean Zu Ra's (please don't change your name to Sun-Ra next) choice of The Spiderwick Chronicles. This was a very charming film with some top notch acting (especially from young up-and-comer Freddie Highmore who plays two roles in the film) even if the story was a bit derivative.

Speaking of Freddie Highmore, he was recently a voice actor for the awful 3D/CGI remake of the classic Hungarian cartoon Vuk. I dislike providing foreign titles on this thread (since this is primarily an English speaking thread), but this indomitable classic should be celebrated. Even if you can only see the English-language version of the film, Vuk (known as The Little Fox in the US) is truly an underrated classic and one of the best animated films ever made.

[Sinestra]

1941
Gattaca
Equilibrium
The Island
Big trouble in little china
Gettysburg

[Bonta Kun]

Now theres a flick I forgot about before, the one from nanafan's sig, The Boondock Saints
While not entirely sure its underrated or not but to me doesn't seem so well known.
I was shown this years ago by a friend, I think it was just after it was released.
He said it was just amazing and had to watch it but I honestly didn't think much of it from what he told me of it.
But after watching it I duly changed my mind, it was mind blowing to say the least
Well that was what 9 years give or take, wasn't actually too into films back then, only the stuff that would appeal to my age group back then.

[Epoq]

Originally Posted by Sinestra

1941
Gattaca
Equilibrium
The Island
Big trouble in little china
Gettysburg

I haven't seen 1941, Big Trouble in Little China, or Gettysburg so I can't really say much about them... however, I completely agree with you on the other three.

Gattaca... remains to this day one of the most beautiful pieces of science fiction I have ever seen, yet almost no one knows this movie exists.

Equilibrium... made me understand what sets us apart from most other creatures on this planet: our emotions. However irrational they may be at times, without emotion we would similar to an ant colony.

The Island... was absolutely amazing in almost every way: fantastic action sequences, great acting, very talented cast and an interesting plot that doesn't leave you wondering at the end. I'm amazed this movie doesn't get more attention, it was in my opinion almost flawless.

Originally Posted by Kyero Fox

Only one i can think of is "Maximum Overdrive" and i bet not many people here have even heard or seen it

its like Resident evil but Vechicles instead of zombies.

Actually if it makes you feel better, I have seen it once in the earlier 90s, and recently as well. Unfortunately I didn't feel it was underrated, after recently seeing it I felt like I wanted the time I spent on it back... sorry. :/

[Zu Ra]

Couldn't find an appropriate thread for general discussion . The movie doesn't have a thread . So recycling this one .


Okay yesterday I was browsing through Guy Ritchie profile on Wiki and I discovered there is going to be a sequel to Rock n Rolla . Rock n Rolla was originally planned as a trilogy . When I checked up on IMDB there was no mention of it , but Holmes 2 was mentioned .

I know IMDB is a better source than Wiki . But can anyone substantiate this news on Rock n Rolla part 2 ? really curious was a big fan of the movie .

[Spectacular_Insanity]

Originally Posted by Sinestra

1941
Gattaca
Equilibrium
The Island
Big trouble in little china
Gettysburg

The ones I have bolded I have seen and loved, and I agree they are underrated.

Gattaca was a great movie. I watched it for extra credit for my biology class back in 9th grade. A great piece of science fiction, though I have to admit the future that movie had predicted scared me quite a bit.

Though The Island wasn't my favorite, I have seen it and I thought it brought real life to the moral conundrum of human cloning. Its theme kinda reminded me of The 6th Day with Schwarzeneggar.

1941 and Gettysburg were both surperb wartime movies. I think Gettysburg was by far my favorite though, if I had to choose between the two. Such a fantastic cast. I've seen the entire series that goes along with Gettysburg. It just made all the people we see as no more than historical figure so real, so human, with real dreams, worries, etc. The best depiction I've ever seen involving the battles fought during the Civil War.

[Dilla]

Fresh was a movie that, despite being critically acclaimed, went unnoticed in to the public. It tells a story of a kid in Brooklyn in the 1990s whose running drugs for multiple drug lords. Using speed chess lessons learned from his father, he uses it as the basis of his plans (Code Geass lol) to get him and his sister out of their hopeless lives.

It has some disturbing content, which was why it probably didn't sell very well. It depicts the death of children due to the cocky drug dealers and drug wars that took place in the inner-city. It doesn't glorify selling drugs, but rather the bleak life associated with it. Grade-A film.

Cast:

Sean Nelson - Fresh
Giancarlo Esposito - Esteban the Heroine (The actor is Afro-Italian American, but he plays a person of South American descent well.)
Samuel L. Jackson - Fresh's alcoholic father (What I think is his best role)

[Spectacular_Insanity]

^Sounds interesting. Though I've never even heard of that movie, it nonetheless sounds intriguing. I'll have to check it out.