All-Time Underrated and Overlooked Movies
I'm a Virgo, which means that I love lists. This is my list of what I consider to be the most underrated and overlooked movies ever made. These aren't just boring art-house movies that people only pretend to like, although I may have a few in here. These are mostly mainstream, audience-pleasing movies that just got missed for one reason or another. The meanings of the terms "underrated" and "overlooked" are debatable, so I just use them in general. Note: Some of the movies on my list may have gained in popularity since I discovered them, but nevertheless I still include them here. Not in any particular order.
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- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsEdward WoodwardJack ThompsonJohn WatersThree Australian lieutenants are court martialed for executing prisoners as a way of deflecting attention from war crimes committed by their superior officers.Incredible movie from Australia. Not only the #1 underrated movie of all time in my opinion, but it might be my #1 movie period.
- DirectorJohn SaylesStarsChris CooperJames Earl JonesMary McDonnellA labor union organizer comes to an embattled mining community in 1920 West Virginia, brutally and violently dominated and harassed by the mining company.From director John Sayles, who has several titles on this list.
- DirectorHerbert RossStarsRichard BenjaminJames CoburnJames MasonA year after Sheila is killed by a hit-and-run driver, her wealthy husband invites a group of friends to spend a week on his yacht playing a scavenger hunt mystery game. The game turns out to be all too real and all too deadly.How did this amazing little movie go unnoticed?
- DirectorPeter UstinovStarsRobert RyanPeter UstinovMelvyn DouglasWhen a kind-hearted sailor is made to join an English vessel at war in 1797, he finds himself caught between devotion to his crewmates and obedience to their hated, cruel master-at-arms.Quite possibly my all-time favorite movie. A shame that most of humanity doesn't know about it.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsRobert De NiroJean RenoNatascha McElhoneA freelancing former U.S. Intelligence Agent tries to track down a mysterious package that is wanted by the Irish and the Russians.I love a well made car chase, and this movie has two of the greatest ever.
- DirectorTom TykwerStarsClive OwenNaomi WattsArmin Mueller-StahlAn Interpol agent attempts to expose a high-profile financial institution's role in an international arms dealing ring.This is an expertly made thriller, with some truth to it.
- DirectorGregory JacobsStarsJohn C. ReillyDiego LunaMaggie GyllenhaalTwo con artists try to swindle a currency collector by selling him a counterfeit copy of an extremely rare currency bill.An almost totally unknown con-game, grifter movie.
- DirectorTom TykwerStarsCate BlanchettGiovanni RibisiRemo GironeA woman takes the law into her own hands after police ignore her pleas to arrest the man responsible for her husband's death, and finds herself not only under arrest for murder but falling in love with an officer.Same director as The International. Different, but solid thriller.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsJake GyllenhaalRobert Downey Jr.Mark RuffaloBetween 1968 and 1983, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.This is a pretty well known movie, but not as highly rated as it should be. I don't necessarily believe it as a true story, but it's a top-notch thriller.
- DirectorMarc WebbStarsZooey DeschanelJoseph Gordon-LevittGeoffrey ArendAfter being dumped by the girl he believes to be his soulmate, hopeless romantic Tom Hansen reflects on their relationship to try and figure out where things went wrong and how he can win her back.This one now has a huge following. But hey, if you didn't know about it, you need to watch it.
- DirectorBilly RayStarsChris CooperRyan PhillippeDennis HaysbertFBI upstart Eric O'Neill enters into a power game with his boss, Robert Hanssen, an agent who was put on trial for selling secrets to the Soviet Union.Another under the radar espionage flick. Again, I don't believe that it is a "true story," but as a movie I loved it.
- DirectorDavid MametStarsLindsay CrouseJoe MantegnaMike NussbaumA psychiatrist comes to the aid of a compulsive gambler and is led by a smooth-talking grifter into the shadowy but compelling world of stings, scams, and con men.This is director David Mamet, so prepare for some unusual dialog.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsJeff BridgesJoan AllenMartin LandauThe story of Preston Tucker, the maverick car designer and his ill-fated challenge to the auto industry with his revolutionary car concept.Another one from the "How in the world did this slip under the radar" file.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsRyan O'NealBruce DernIsabelle AdjaniA getaway driver becomes the latest assignment for a tenacious detective.Despite recent attempts to equal it, nothing beats The Driver for car chase action. Not one, but the two greatest car chases of all time!
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKirk DouglasRalph MeekerAdolphe MenjouA colonel defends three of his soldiers in a court-martial after they abandon a suicidal attack.
- DirectorDavid MametStarsVal KilmerDerek LukeWilliam H. MacyThe investigation into a kidnapping of the daughter of a high-ranking US government official.More David Mamet dialog. Savor it.
- DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsChevy ChaseMadolyn Smith OsborneKevin O'MorrisonA couple swap city life for the country, but their picturesque new hometown turns out to be just a little bit different to what they were expecting.Should sit alongside Animal House and Caddyshack and the like, but somehow remains overlooked. It's pitch perfect.
- DirectorAntony HoffmanStarsVal KilmerCarrie-Anne MossTom SizemoreAstronauts, and their robotic dog AMEE (Autonomous Mapping Evaluation and Evasion), search for solutions to save a dying Earth by searching on Mars, only to have the mission go terribly awry.A 1950's style science fiction adventure. Don't over analyze. Just enjoy.
- DirectorJohn DahlStarsNicolas CageDennis HopperLara Flynn BoyleUpon arriving to a small town, a drifter is mistaken for a hitman, but when the real hitman arrives, complications ensue.
- DirectorPeter YatesStarsAlbert FinneyTom CourtenayEdward FoxPersonal assistant Norman struggles to get deteriorating veteran actor Sir through a difficult performance of King Lear.Albert Finney does one of the best acting jobs ever.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsScarlett JohanssonJonathan Rhys MeyersEmily MortimerAt a turning point in his life, a former tennis pro falls for an actress who happens to be dating his friend and soon-to-be brother-in-law.A simple thriller that packs a punch. I can watch this over and over again.
- DirectorJohn MaddenStarsGwyneth PaltrowAnthony HopkinsHope DavisThe daughter of a brilliant but mentally disturbed mathematician, recently deceased, tries to come to grips with her possible inheritance: his insanity. Complicating matters are one of her father's ex-students, who wants to search through his papers, and her estranged sister, who shows up to help settle his affairs.One of two movies on my list named Proof! Love this musical score as well.
- DirectorErrol MorrisStarsRandall AdamsDavid HarrisGus RoseA film that successfully argued that a man was wrongly convicted for murder by a corrupt justice system in Dallas County, Texas.Remains one of the best ever crime documentaries.
- DirectorDavid O. RussellStarsBen StillerPatricia ArquetteTéa LeoniA young man, his wife, and his incompetent case worker travel across country to find his birth parents.The director of this is now pretty famous, and I'm sure this has a strong cult following. Some hilarious moments.
- DirectorTerence YoungStarsAudrey HepburnAlan ArkinRichard CrennaA recently blinded woman is terrorized by a trio of thugs while they search for a heroin-stuffed doll they believe is in her apartment.This might have been watched back in the day, but I doubt today's generation knows much about it.
