The BEST Movies Nobody Has Heard Of? - Page 18

For some reason, "The Mouse That Roared" just came to mind. Good Peter Sellers flick with political commentary that isn't outdated even now.

One of my favorite movies is the beautiful but quirky Oh What a Lovely War! (1969). It was the first film Richard Attenborough ever directed. It is filled with lush images and moving music, which by use of WW-I songs tells a tragic story of how nearly an entire generation of British boys died in that brutal war. I was a fan of the musical theater piece of the same name before Attenborough made the movie version so I saw the film in the theater when it was first released and loved it. Unfortunately, it bombed at the box office and Attenborough didn't approve its release on video until 2006. I immediately bought the DVD and still watch it regularly, most recently last night. It is one of the few films I like enough to upgrade to BD if a BD version is ever released.

Oh What a Lovely War! is very theatrical but it is beautiful indeed, and moving, too.

One could say the same about Wilde's Naked Prey vs Gibson's Apocalypto

Here's a couple
The Man from Earth
Flawless Deniro/Hoffman
Smilla's Sense of Snow 1st half better the the 2nd but still a good view, IMHO
Black Robe
Lady in White

Didn't make it through the whole thread, so I apologize if these have already been named, but these are a couple that most people I run into haven't seen:

"Big Night" - great foodie movie with Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub, Isabella Rossellini, Minnie Driver, and another actor whose name escapes me right now

"Nobody Knows" - a small Japanese movie based on a true story that just really affected me like few other films.

I know "Kentucky Fried Movie" was already named earlier in the thread but I have to mention it again just because it brings back special memories of junior high for me. Somehow my friends and I got hold of an old video of it and thought it was greatest insider joke of a movie.

I'll second "Nobody Knows" (Dare mo shiranai), great movie!!

Holy long-lived threads, Batman! This will be by my count the fourth time I have contributed, and I just read from my last submittal to the end to make sure these were not yet mentioned:

Joe Versus the Volcano - Yes it does star that most famous modern romantic comedy pair, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. But to my mind, this movie is better than any of their other pairings. In addition to comedy, it has great music: Eric Burdon's version of Sixteen Tons, Elvis Presley's Blue Moon, Good Lovin' by the Young Rascals, and a Spanish version of On the Street Where You Live from the musical My Fair Lady. It also has an unremitting existentialist plot, and is sprinkled with gemlike cameo appearances by the likes of Lloyd Bridges (the obsessed billionaire), Robert Stack (the Doctor), and Barry McGovern (the luggage salesman). After bombing at the Box Office, now a definate cult film, but unseen by many.

The Collector (1965) - From the John Fowles novel of the same name, the dark tale of a Butterfly Collector who is so socially inept that he cannot talk to women - so he collects them as he does butterflies. A great early feature film appearance by British character actor Terence Stamp that would earn him a lifetime career playing heavies and villians. Samantha Eggar at her most seductive age is his first victim.

The Lost Battalion (2001) - A feature length, made-for cable (A&E), historicly accurate, and well-acted war movie set in the closing weeks of WW1. Rick Schroder stars as Major Charles Whittlesey, who leads 500 American men into the Argonne Forest in Winter. It is a time when battles are fought with machine guns, airplanes, tanks, and accurate artillary - but communications still depends upon carrier pigeons - which are routinely shot at by both sides. Whittlesey and his men are behind the German lines, surrounded, they have little ammunition or supplies, and are being shelled by both sides - but they will not surrender during a 5 day battle.

Hopscotch - A little known comedy starring Walter Matthau in one of his best roles. The supportting cast includes Sam Waterston, Glenda Jackson, and Ned Beatty. "The Most Dangerous Man in the World" is publishing his memoirs, exposing the CIA, the KGB, and the FBI. He'll have to be smarter than all of them to survive. He is - and it's very funny.

Stealing Beauty (1996) - One of the wife's favorites, and seemingly not very well known. Not a bad story if the female in your life insists upon viewing a film with you - and it does include a lengthy topless scene with the 19-year-old Liv Tyler, who is on a quest to find her Father and lose her virginity, all in one vacation at an Italian country villa.

I can't let a reference to Walter go by without mentioning Charley Varrick - one of my all time favourites - which includes a classic duel between him and Joe Don Baker. Contains this exchange:

Charley Varrick: I like your bed. You may find this hard to believe but I've never slept on a round bed.
Sybil Fort: Is that so?
Charley Varrick: What's the best way? North, south, east, or west?
Sybil Fort: That depends on what you had in mind.
Charley Varrick: What I had in mind was boxing the compass.

I loved The Collector, too. I saw it not long after I read Fowles novel by the same name. The film was a worthy retelling of Fowles creepy tale, which left the same sense of unease that the novel had given me. The young Terrance Stamp and Samantha Eggar were both outstanding. William Wyler received a Best Director Oscar nomination as did Eggar, for Best Actress, and the screenwriters for Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.

Kicka$$. Still amazed at how few people I know have even heard the name let alone the movie.

Can I add Frailty?

I watched the Kick-Ass BD for the third time last night and loved it again. When I checked the IMDb site, I saw that Kick-Ass is on its Top 250 Best Films list with nearly 90,000 votes. That's well deserved praise, it seems to me. Nick Cage's performance as Big Daddy was the best work he had done in years and the 11 year old Chloe Moretz, who played Hit Girl, was a wonder.

Completely agree! Cage's final scene was gripping and eery - many movies cop out there. This did not. Moretz is a rising star but this movie should have made her a superstar...if only it had been marketed better.

The Loved One (best black comedy of all time)
Wise Blood (amazing John Huston film)

Thought of another one...A Grande Arte.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZVeMwMO3mw

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101834/

Unfortunately I don't think this is available on DVD.

I completely agree about Hopscotch. My favorite Matthau film. There was a short thread on it here years ago, when it was released on DVD.

Frailty Rules.


I have a friend that watched Kick Ass for his second time, and he didn't think it was as good as his first viewing. I told him so, being that I went to see it with him upon release and I merely thought it was just as good as Spiderman 1, which isn't an amazing movie by any means (it even worked on many of the same principles). I guess Kick@ss has a lot of fanbois that need to check out other superhero movies, one of them being Darkman.

Anyhow, here's some to add:

John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness
Cannibal Holocaust (not for the weak)
Westworld
Neighbors

It see that it has already been mentioned, Zero Effect. I can't believe that the tomatocritics only gave it 66%. And it is one of the few detective movies where I didn't guess the ending.

[Edit] Another one I like is Duets, with Paul Giamatti, Gwyneth Paltrow & Maria Bello, about a group of people that compete in karaoke contests.

I have heard about this movie...And movie was great,...^^

I'm guessing you didn't grow up in the 70's because Michael Chichton's Westworld was pretty well known as was it's sequel Futureworld. In fact I've read that their doing a remake of it.

Yeah, that's just the point--Westworld is only known to older folks.

Ask anyone in their teens or 20s if they have heard of this movie, and 9/10 you'll probably hear "No".

It's one of my favorite Sci-Fi flicks. A remake would be awesome.

Westworld is the first Terminator, for those who know nothing about it. It's also essentially the first Jurassic Park too.

Office Space.

My favorite comedy an no one around my area that I've mentioned it to has ever heard of it.

Yeah, I agree. Same for Soylent Green. I'm sure a lot of younger people probably never heard of that either.

westworld was and is great - no need for a remake (it will only be a lesser film).

black robe was good - actually saw it in the theater when it came out.

smoke signals was another one - saw in theater.

..............

"the visitor" was a great one also.

.........

not sure how "never heard of" applies - some did have teatrical release, even if it passed by the masses.

"I claudius" might apply for the younger who never heard of it. the old TV miniseries of the 1970's.

"Arranged" was a real sleeper - not in too many theaters outside of NY back in 2005?, but it is quite good - not excellent but it might be "never heard of" by nearly all.

"color of paradise" would be another example.

I posted a few years ago on this thread "lathe of heaven" - the BBC/PBS TV production of 1980? which might apply. But in this instance I'm repeating myself.

"Dark blue world" is another - though I found it on DVD, and it may have had a theatrical impact that I missed,

Bandslam movie...

It was mentioned earlier in this thread but I just saw Paperhouse again (last time I saw it was in the theater when it came out in 1988) on IFC. Really worthwhile and a pity it isn't well known.

Greying hair, eroding run times, Guns N' Roses is Classic Rock, and now this!

Hope the old folks home is serving soup today - easier on the false teeth.

Awesome thread... I'm surprised by how many of these I've already seen and how many I've never heard of. Lots of new stuff added to the Netflix queue...

Here are a few that I don't think I saw mentioned:

Paprika - a total mind trip about a device that allow people to invade your dreams, great visuals in this animated film.

Dream With the Fishes - Buddy movie with a guy who is trying to kill himself and someone who is terminally ill. Includes naked bowling.

Melvin Goes to Dinner - Awesome dialog-heavy movie about 4 people talking over dinner. Lots of small cameos from people before they were stars (Jack Black, Jenna Fischer, Fred Armisen).

Whale Rider - Heart-breaking story about a young New Zealand girl that wants to be the next tribal chief.

The Terrorist - Story of a female suicde bomber in the days leading up to her "mission" when she finds out that she's pregnant. Very powerful.

Election - Reese Witherspoon as a high school student running for class president. Matthew Broderick plays her teacher. Very clever movie.

Exiled - A Johnnie To film about a group of childhood friends who go down separate paths and are brought back together by fate.

The End- all but forgotten Burt Reynolds comedy from 1978 about a terminaly ill man's inept attempts to commit suicide. Features a hillarious performance from Dom Deluise. Available on NetFlix instant, btw.