Mr. Wolf's BIG List of Forgotten, Overlooked and Underappreciated Films.
With this list I hope to shine a light on lesser-known/under-viewed films I feel deserve a little more attention - All films on this list have received less than 10,000 votes.
Also, one film I had to remove because it's labeled "Adult": Yoshiwara enjô (1987)
If you have any comments/suggestions, feel free to leave them here: Letterboxd
Also, one film I had to remove because it's labeled "Adult": Yoshiwara enjô (1987)
If you have any comments/suggestions, feel free to leave them here: Letterboxd
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- DirectorAlain ResnaisStarsClaude RichOlga Georges-PicotAnouk FerjacAfter attempting suicide, Claude is recruited for a time travel experiment, but, when the machine goes haywire, he may be trapped hurtling through his memories.Said to have inspired Michel Gondry's 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind', the story also has a lot in common with Chris Marker's 'La Jetée' and Terry Gilliam's 'Twelve Monkeys', obviously.
- DirectorNikos KoundourosStarsDinos IliopoulosMargarita PapageorgiouGiannis ArgyrisA peaceful, frightened little man is mistakenly identified as "the dragon", a notorious criminal at large. He briefly and reluctantly rules the underworld until they realize their mistake.Golden Lion nominee 1956 (no winner awarded). Routinely regarded as one of the greatest Greek films of all-time.
- DirectorTomás Gutiérrez AleaStarsSergio CorrieriDaisy GranadosEslinda NúñezA Cuban man cycles through his opinions and memories as the threat of foreign invasion intensifies and the rest of his family moves to Miami.Ranked as the 144th best film of all time in a 2012 Sight & Sound poll.
- DirectorEliseo SubielaStarsLorenzo QuinterosHugo SotoInés VernengoA patient in a mental hospital claims to be an extraterrestial. Could he be right?The makers of this film actually sued several people connected to the 2001 science fiction film 'K-PAX' on the grounds of plagiarism, but that complaint was later withdrawn. Watch both films for yourself and see the similarities.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsAlastair SimArthur YoungOlga LindoA wealthy family is visited by a police inspector, who questions the family about the suicide of a young working-class woman.
- DirectorWojciech HasStarsJan NowickiTadeusz KondratIrena OrskaJózef visits his dying father at a remote mental institution, where time itself doesn't seem to exist, and the line between dreams and memories becomes indistinguishable.Palme d'Or nominee 1973 ('Scarecrow' (1973) and 'The Hireling' (1973) shared the honor). Not exactly material for the casual filmgoer.
- DirectorNarciso Ibáñez SerradorStarsLilli PalmerCristina GalbóJohn Moulder-BrownA strict headmistress runs a secluded school for wayward girls in 19th century France, whose students are disappearing under mysterious circumstances.Stylish and no doubt influential Spanish thriller from the writer/director of 'Who Can Kill a Child?' (1976). One thing you can say about Narciso Ibáñez Serrador, he knew how to end a horror film proper.
- DirectorJean RenoirStarsMichel SimonJanie MarèseGeorges FlamantMaurice Legrand, a meek cashier married to a nagging wife, has a secret passion: he's a Sunday painter. He falls in love with Lulu, a young woman dominated by Dédé, the pimp who she works for. Dédé pushes Lulu into a relationship with him.'The Bitch'
It was remade by Fritz Lang in the United States as 'Scarlet Street' (1945).
Notes: From Wikipedia - In the film Michel Simon falls in love with Janie Marèze, and he did off-screen as well, while Marèze fell for Georges Flamant, who plays the pimp. Renoir and producer Pierre Braunberger had encouraged the relationship between Flamant and Marèze in order to get the fullest conviction into their performances - (Flamant was a professional criminal but an amateur actor). After the film had been completed Flamant, who could barely drive, took Marèze for a drive, crashed the car and she was killed. At the funeral Michel Simon fainted and had to be supported as he walked past the grave. He threatened Renoir with a gun, saying that the death of Marèze was all his fault. "Kill me if you like", responded Renoir, "but I have made the film" - DirectorJean RenoirStarsRené LefèvreFlorelleJules BerryThe boss of a publishing company is a womanizer and a jerk, but what would happen if he suddenly disappeared?
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsMaj-Britt NilssonBirger MalmstenAlf KjellinA lonely woman recalls her first love thirteen years prior during a brief summer vacation.Golden Lion nominee 1952 ('Forbidden Games' (1952) won). Considered Ingmar's first "important" film. Bergman established many of the themes he'd explore more thoroughly in future films here.
- DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsErnesto AlonsoMiroslavaRita MacedoThe delirious journey of a mentally-disordered man who is obsessed with committing the perfect crime.
- DirectorVíctor EriceStarsOmero AntonuttiSonsoles ArangurenIcíar BollaínA woman reflects on her childhood relationship with her father, attempting to understand the depths of his despair and the truth of his myths.Golden Hugo winner 1983. Palme d'Or nominee 1983 ('The Ballad of Narayama' (1983) won). Made 10 years after his first film, this is Víctor Erice's enigmatic follow-up to his brilliant masterpiece 'The Spirit of the Beehive', a neglected gem.
- DirectorFrantisek VlácilStarsJosef KemrMagda VásáryováNada HejnaA grim portrayal of the shift from Paganism to Christianity in medieval central Europe - as a young virgin promised to God is kidnapped and raped by a marauder who her religious father seeks to kill in return.Voted the greatest Czech film of all-time.
- DirectorJacques RivetteStarsJuliet BertoDominique LabourierBulle OgierA mysteriously linked pair of young women find their daily lives preempted by a strange boudoir melodrama that plays itself out in a hallucinatory parallel reality.Just see it. Many will be perplexed to the point of disliking it, others, like I, will be enthralled by its strange magic.
- DirectorMarcel CarnéStarsArlettyMarie DéaFernand LedouxIn medieval France, the Devil intervenes when one of his two envoys, sent to seduce and deceive mortals, falls instead for a victim.'The Devil's Envoys'
- DirectorToshio HirataOsamu TezukaStarsKatsue MiwaRyouko KitamiyaKazuko SugiyamaWhen Unico, a young unicorn, is taken from his family by evil gods, his powers of joy and happiness are put to the test. Can Unico's power triumph the darkness?Starts out light, but soon gets very dark. Thus is the fate of "Unico". AKA - 'The Fantastic Adventures of Unico'.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsGérard DepardieuFanny ArdantHenri GarcinTwo ex-lovers wind up living next door to each other with their respective spouses. Forbidden passions ensue.
- DirectorRoy BoultingStarsHywel BennettRussell NapierHayley MillsA troubled man becomes infatuated with a beautiful young woman and uses a childlike alter-ego to get close to her.Daryl Hannah's catchy whistling from 'Kill Bill' was borrowed this film and was composed by Bernard Herrmann, Alfred Hitchcock's frequent collaborator.
- DirectorKonrad WolfStarsSasha KrusharskaJürgen FrohriepErik S. KleinThe tragic love of a Jewish girl and a Nazi officer is presented as a symbol of human purity defeated by fascism and racial prejudice.
- DirectorYusaku SakamotoEiichi YamamotoIn a small and colourful town, a little girl, a tiny grey mouse, a plentiful sycamore tree, a troublesome moth and a vivid community of posters coexist in a forgotten street corner.
Osamu Tezuka’s childhood experiences in wartime Japan indelibly shaped the themes and motifs of his manga and anime. His award-winning animation Story of a Certain Street Corner (aka Tales of the Street Corner/ ある街角の物語, 1962) is the most lyrical expression of Tezuka’s humanist, anti-war sentiments...-Nishikata Film Review
- DirectorWladyslaw StarewiczStarsNina StarA partly-animated short film, a fairy-tale-like telling of why the nightingale only sings at night. A young girl who has caught a nightingale dreams about the nightingale and its mate, and comes to realize that birds are not made to be captive but free. In return for its freedom, the nightingale loans the child its voice for use in the daytime, which is why nightingales only sing at night.
- DirectorIvan AksenchukStarsNina GulyaevaAnatoliy PapanovVladimir TroshinBased on the fairy tale by Andersen. A film about love and friendship. The little mermaid falls in love with a handsome prince and saves him from death. To be with him, the Little Mermaid loses her voice in exchange for a human form.
'The Little Mermaid' "On the motives of a fairy tale of Andersen. The Film is about love and friendship. Mermaid falls in love with fine prince and rescues him from destruction. She wanted to be with him so she loses her voice in exchange for a human appearance."
- DirectorHsiao-Hsien HouStarsChi-Kuang WangShu-Chen LiHsiu-Ling LinA coming-of-age story about a young brother and sister who spend a pivotal summer in the country with their grandparents.
Grandpa (Koo Chuen) and Grandma (Mei Fong) live in the fertile Taiwanese countryside. A boy (Wang Chi-Kwang) and his sister (Sun Cheeng-Lee) are packed off to their grandparents when their mother falls ill. Though relationships are strained at first, the boy and girl end up having a wonderful summer with grandpa, as the old man takes them on fishing trips and helps them in their search for a lost cow. Summer At Grandpa's didn't have a very long theatrical life in Taiwan, though it proved more successful on the international scene. The film's original title was Tung-Tung-Te-Chia-Ch'i, which in itself is reason enough to see it - Allrovi
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsKinuyo TanakaMitsuko MitoKuniko MiyakeA woman's struggle for equality in Japan in the 1880s. Eiko Hirayama leaves Okayama for Tokyo, where she helps the fledgling Liberal Party and falls in love with its leader Kentaro Omoi, just as the party is being disbanded by the government. Eiko and Omoi are jailed because of a fire at a factory instigated by Chiyo, a servant girl from Eiko's home in Okayama, who was sold to slavery. A few years later the 1889 constitution is proclaimed, Eiko, Omoi, and Chiyo are pardoned, and the Liberal Party is reinaugurated. However Omoi does not campaign for women's rights.
- DirectorVladimir MotylStarsAnatoliy KuznetsovPavel LuspekayevSpartak MishulinAt the end of the Russian Civil War, Red Army soldier Fyodor Sukhov is ordered to guard the harem of a Caspian Sea guerrilla leader.
