I was just thinking of this today. What are your favorite films that you don't think gets the respect they deserve?
Night of the Hunter is far more respected than it was in it's initial release in 1955, but I think there's a real case that it is the greatest American movie, and one of the most influential. Maybe my favorite movie. Also, one of the great original soundtracks.
Parallax View might be my favorite 70s thriller apart from The Conversation. It's one of the bleakest films of a bleak decade, and is alternatively terrifying, dreamlike and brutally satirical. The film isn't without it's faults, but the occasionally jarring or unlikely plot developments are disorienting enough that they somehow add to the atmosphere of disorientation. Also one of my favorite soundtracks. The test sequence is one of my favorite sequences in any film ever.
Shivers and The Brood. I think Shivers, Cronenerg's first feature, is one of the most interesting 70s body horror films, and also one of the best horror-comedies ever made. It's fantastically transgressive. The Brood, however, is one of the best horror movies of the 70s, almost the equal of Alien.
In the Company of Men and Your Friends and Neighbors are both fantastic, though I'm pretty sure everyone forgot about them after The Wicker Man.
The Carlos miniseries is going to either be one of the best films or the best television series of this decade.
Existenz.
Probally one of the few films to handle video games well. It really is very good. But nobody has heard of it.
I think there's a few of British 'folk horror' films, like the Wicker Man that are overshadowed by it but some of my favourites. Blood on Satan's Claw and Witchfinder General (which is particularly beautiful) are both unfortunately missed.
Peeping Tom is a film I love. It's now very highly rated but the reception at the time more or less destroyed Michael Powell's career.
The Court Jester
Dark City which got overshadowed by Matrix (really overrated specially the sequels).
Fassbinder's The World on a Wire which also inspired Matrix is even more obscure but at least it got a blu-ray release in France and in the US.
As for the movies quoted before:
Night of the Hunter is a classic, probably my favourite black and white movie since it was shot with it in mind.
Carlos has been quite popular actually since its release actually. Even got a small cinema release in some countries such as Germany.
Existenz by Cronenberg and with Jude Law is actually a pretty good ,if almost mainstream as known, movie to me.
All early Cronenberg is held in high regard even by the artsty-fartsy critics of Les Cahiers du Cinéma for instance but then so is Carpenter.
I thought Witchfinder General was pretty famous as a classic British horror movie. Got a release in France as well. Unlike Satan's Claw, it got referenced by the metal band Cathedral though ;)
Peeping Tom is the forefather of the serial killer movie, no less...
Only the original matrix is overrated, the sequels are generally considered a disappointment.
Does underrated only include well known films that are considered to be crap or also obscure films?
If the latter, I would include Velvet Goldmine in my list.
The Changeling, not the recent one, but an older 70s horror film with George C. Scott. Always sends chills down my spine.
Quote from: Josephus on October 18, 2012, 07:24:02 AM
The Changeling, not the recent one, but an older 70s horror film with George C. Scott. Always sends chills down my spine.
It's an excellent movie - one of my favorites in the genre - but I dunno if it is underrated: seems to me it is generally regarded as excellent.
Quote from: Malthus on October 18, 2012, 07:53:25 AM
Quote from: Josephus on October 18, 2012, 07:24:02 AM
The Changeling, not the recent one, but an older 70s horror film with George C. Scott. Always sends chills down my spine.
It's an excellent movie - one of my favorites in the genre - but I dunno if it is underrated: seems to me it is generally regarded as excellent.
I never really hear people talking about it so much. But maybe you're right.
I am recently fond of this 2010 hardly-known vampire film: Stake Land
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stake_Land
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fen%2F7%2F7c%2FStake_Land_%2528film%2529.jpg&hash=11e690e4df459a95b35292e5a159c6ac85da0715)
QuoteBlood on Satan's Claw and Witchfinder General (which is particularly beautiful) are both unfortunately missed.
Wicker Man, Don't Look Now and Daughters of Darkness are all personal favorites, will have to look these up.
Peeping Tom is generally considered a classic these days. It's really, really good. Like Psycho good.
Quote from: Viking on October 18, 2012, 03:50:21 AM
The Court Jester
I absolutely love that movie.
There's also
Me And The Colonel with Danny Kaye.
Offhand, the first film that springs to mind is Tremors.
Tremors was quite the hit in its day.
Quote from: Malthus on October 18, 2012, 07:53:25 AM
Quote from: Josephus on October 18, 2012, 07:24:02 AM
The Changeling, not the recent one, but an older 70s horror film with George C. Scott. Always sends chills down my spine.
It's an excellent movie - one of my favorites in the genre - but I dunno if it is underrated: seems to me it is generally regarded as excellent.
I'm sure I've watched it, can recall it was rather good, but not a lot else.
My vote goes for 'Electra Glide in Blue', I bet it would be real cheesy if I saw it again.
Quote from: Tyr on October 18, 2012, 02:55:05 AM
Existenz.
Probally one of the few films to handle video games well. It really is very good. But nobody has heard of it.
I've heard of Cronenberg's 1999 bowel movement.
***
I've mentioned Joe Dante's Explorers before. It's probably the movie with the most points in both columns, being both criminally underrated (to the extent it rates at all--I don't believe it even has a proper DVD in print right now) and of the highest quality (I gave it an A+).
Otherwise, maybe the Truman Show? I don't know if I want to say it's underrated, because it released to good reviews and afaik financial success. However, no one really talks about it anymore, which is a shame, since it's probably the best movie of the 1990s and one of my favorite of all time, and manages to be prescient science fiction at the same time it undertakes its religious allegory, so seamlessly that apparently a lot of people never even grasp what it's doing on the latter end (which, to be fair, means that a lot of people are kinda dumb).
Prince of Darkness and In the Mouth of Madness are highly underrated, even by people who ostensibly have a love for John Carpenter films (Ghosts of Mars is
not underrated :bleeding: ).
And there's always Temple of Doom.
Quote from: Malthus on October 18, 2012, 07:53:25 AM
Quote from: Josephus on October 18, 2012, 07:24:02 AM
The Changeling, not the recent one, but an older 70s horror film with George C. Scott. Always sends chills down my spine.
It's an excellent movie - one of my favorites in the genre - but I dunno if it is underrated: seems to me it is generally regarded as excellent.
I just watched this a couple of days ago, and while it's good, I dunno if I'd go as far as excellent. It's also not much of a horror film--more of a mystery.
I kept wanting someone to say that maybe if Joseph had been this active when he was alive maybe his dad wouldn't have drowned him. :goodboy:
I thought they didn't do as much with the most interesting idea the movie had as they could have--I mean, they treat the senator as essentially complicit, but I couldn't help but see him as a victim himself, and a rather sympathetic character.
Killing Zoe.
Zero Effect. Hands down, Bill Pullman's and Ben Stiller's best performances. Really good stuff.
Exorcist III. A little hamfisted, but George C. Scott chews the scenery like a badass.
The Spanish Prisoner. Campbell Scott does his best I'm Not George C. Scott performance; Steve Martin is a perfect con man.
Quote from: Scipio on October 18, 2012, 07:22:42 PM
The Spanish Prisoner. Campbell Scott does his best I'm Not George C. Scott performance; Steve Martin is a perfect con man.
That was a good 'un.
The Mechanic (Orignal)
Leaving Las Vegas
King of New York
Outland
The Professional
Devils Rejects
Kindergarten Cop
Outland. :thumbsup:
Professional: 12 year old Natalie Portman :boner:
Quote from: Ideologue on October 18, 2012, 06:53:27 PM
Quote from: Malthus on October 18, 2012, 07:53:25 AM
Quote from: Josephus on October 18, 2012, 07:24:02 AM
The Changeling, not the recent one, but an older 70s horror film with George C. Scott. Always sends chills down my spine.
It's an excellent movie - one of my favorites in the genre - but I dunno if it is underrated: seems to me it is generally regarded as excellent.
I just watched this a couple of days ago, and while it's good, I dunno if I'd go as far as excellent. It's also not much of a horror film--more of a mystery.
I kept wanting someone to say that maybe if Joseph had been this active when he was alive maybe his dad wouldn't have drowned him. :goodboy:
I thought they didn't do as much with the most interesting idea the movie had as they could have--I mean, they treat the senator as essentially complicit, but I couldn't help but see him as a victim himself, and a rather sympathetic character.
All good points. Though I still call it a horror, in that it's a haunted house thing. And the wet ball bouncing down the stairs always gets me. :menace:
Quote from: 11B4V on October 18, 2012, 09:22:41 PM
Leaving Las Vegas
Won Nicolas Cage an Oscar. You think it's even better than that? :huh:
My current fave "underrated" film is probably still Primer. I've met a disappointingly few number of people that have ever seen it, or even heard of it.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on October 18, 2012, 09:36:03 PM
My current fave "underrated" film is probably still Primer. I've met a disappointingly few number of people that have ever seen it, or even heard of it.
Oh? That's a shame. I thought it kind of blew up and it was pretty widely seen. It is rather good. Oh of course I only movies I watch are thoroughly esoteric so what do I know? :P
Quote from: JosephusThough I still call it a horror, in that it's a haunted house thing. And the wet ball bouncing down the stairs always gets me.
True, but it's not very far into it before you realize the ghost is basically benign--at least in the sense that he harbors a very targeted hatred--and only wants his own back.
Quote from: Ideologue on October 19, 2012, 12:25:38 AM
Oh of course I only movies I watch are thoroughly esoteric so what do I know? :P
This is true; those and shitball old movies, you've missed everything else in between.
Straw Dogs. Whether you liked it or not, it hits you in the guts
Happiness.
Unfaithful
A Perfect Murder
Queen Margot
Bram's Stoker's Dracula
Christine
Halloween III
And I will always have a soft spot for Porky's. :blush: