50 Underrated Gems - Joyful, Breathtaking Classics!
I've rated nearly 2,000 titles on IMDB and here are my SURPRISE CLASSICS -- the films that have a 7.1 IMDB rating or lower but I think you MUST SEE. If you like anything on this list, you'll probably like them all. Some of them are cheesy, but they are all wonderful in a cult classic way. Maybe you've never heard of them. Maybe you have but dismissed them too quickly. Give these underdog movies a chance!!
It starts with the ones I feel most strongly about.
It starts with the ones I feel most strongly about.
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- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsPaul MercurioTara MoriceBill HunterA maverick dancer risks his career by performing an unusual routine and sets out to succeed with a new partner.This film is perfect in every way, remarkably crisp the way that Back to the Future was. The passion of two people with a dream is distilled into a phenomenon.
- DirectorBrad AndersonStarsHope DavisAlan GelfantPhilip Seymour HoffmanAn unlucky in love nurse finds her life taking a detour when her mother places a personals ad in the paper, while on the other side of Boston, a plumber is trying to change careers.This romantic comedy is flawless. Although it never got wide distribution, it's incredibly touching.
- DirectorChris EyreStarsAdam BeachEvan AdamsIrene BedardArnold rescued Thomas from a fire when he was a child. Thomas thinks of Arnold as a hero, while Arnold's son Victor resents his father's alcoholism, violence and abandonment of his family.Smoke Signals would be an incredibly touching story about family and friendship even without the native american angle that draws you in and teaches you about this culture in a way that's neither preachy nor trite.
- DirectorDan EckmanStarsDonald GloverD.C. PiersonDominic DierkesA group of former Encyclopedia Brown-style child-detectives struggle to solve an adult mystery.This movie didn't have the money for wide distribution or big action scenes, but it is full of incredibly intelligent humor. I guarantee it will make you laugh.
- DirectorMichael CuestaStarsJosh LucasLena HeadeyBrian CoxA man's newly transplanted heart leads him on a dangerous journey to find out who murdered its donor.I'm a fan of Edgar Allan Poe and this film, which didn't have the budget for wide distribution, is a hidden gem. So spooky! So clever! Such plot twists!! Oh my god, see it!
- DirectorStuart GordonStarsEzra GoddenFrancisco RabalRaquel MeroñoA boating accident runs a young man and woman ashore in a decrepit Spanish fishing town which they discover is in the grips of an ancient sea god and its monstrous half human offspring.The big horror author after Edgar Allan Poe was H.P. Lovecraft, and this is the best adaptation of his work I've ever seen. This intellectual horror will shake you to your core without gimmicks like gore or idiots running around with chainsaws and trick cinematography to startle you.
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsSylvester StalloneOrnella MutiPeter RiegertA gangster attempts to keep the promise he made to his dying father: that he would give up his life of crime and "go straight".Did you know that Sylvester Stallone wrote the script for Rocky? Give the guy some cred! Oscar is a fantastically complex comedy in the style of Gilbert & Sullivan -- it never stops moving, even for a second, but everything fits together, it's not a big heap of coincidences.
- DirectorBrian DannellyStarsJena MaloneMandy MooreMacaulay CulkinWhen a girl attending a Christian high school becomes pregnant, all of her former friends turn on her and she is ostracized and demonized.This comedy is not only funny but it has a very unusual message -- a warning about how religion can go too far, especially when it creates barriers between people.
- DirectorPeter MedakStarsGeorge HamiltonLauren HuttonBrenda VaccaroZorro, the legendary swordsman, has passed on his weapon and his sense of duty to his noble son, Diego, a dashing swashbuckler like his father. But after an injury sidelines Diego, he is forced to hand the mask over to his twin, Ramon.Trust me trust me trust me!!!! This is the BEST, most underrated comedy I have ever seen. It's not exactly pure Zorro. It's a wonderfully campy adaptation that is full of joy. It's so so good. God, it's so much fun to watch Zorro zip around and make fools of the badguys.
- DirectorJonathan MostowStarsKurt RussellJ.T. WalshKathleen QuinlanA man searches for his missing wife after his car breaks down in the middle of the desert.This thrill with Kurt Russell does not let up. From the moment the tension starts it builds and builds without needing a gimmick like a nuclear bomb or space battle. It's all done with about 12 people in a small town but it's COMPLETELY HAIR-RAISING!!
- DirectorArthur HillerStarsPeter FalkAlan ArkinRichard LibertiniOn the eve of their children's marriage, NYC in-laws Sheldon Kornpett and Vince Ricardo embark on a series of misadventures involving the CIA, the Treasury Department and Central American dictators.Before the remake with Michael Douglas, this film is perfect because the casting is perfect. Peter Falk was born to be likable yet supremely irritating to a straight man, and Alan Arkin was born to be the straight man who just can't say no. It's so joyful and has a great twist ending.
- DirectorDavid MirkinStarsSigourney WeaverJennifer Love HewittGene HackmanA mother and daughter con team seduce and scam wealthy men.Let's face it guys, women can twist us around their finger when they want to. This wonderful romantic comedy plays up that concept with likable con women including Sigorney Weaver! I like a good woman power film. There are just too many films that only have men as the heroes.
- DirectorMark WatersStarsJamie Lee CurtisLindsay LohanMark HarmonTess and her daughter, Anna, do not get along. However, things take a turn when, in a freak incident, they switch bodies and are forced to live each other's lives.I'm not a teenage girl, I don't have a sister, and I don't have a daughter. Why do I love this film so much!! I think the word again is "joy". There's just a ton of joyful antics, but it's a really intelligent film, not stupid like so many Disney flicks. I love how the plot all weaves together without ridiculous coincidences. It's tremendously uplifting.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsKyle MacLachlanVirginia MadsenFrancesca AnnisA Duke's son leads desert warriors against the galactic emperor and his father's evil nemesis to free their desert world from the emperor's rule.This is a highly cheesy movie. But it's done with such panache! Such visuals! So many deep themes! It really is the secret "Star Wars" of its decade. If you like science fiction, see it!
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsEdward FurlongChristina RicciBess ArmstrongA talented young photographer, who enjoys snapping photos of his satirical, perverted Baltimore neighborhood and his wacky family, gets dragged into a world of pretentious artists from New York City and finds newfound fame.This intelligent comedy is about a photographer with a dream, an everyman, whose gift is that he sees people the way they REALLY are... so his photographs get him in trouble! And things just spiral up and up in a small town way with a great ending.
- 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.Worthy of Tom Stoppard, this crisp play has so many levels and layers!! It's Powerful with a capital P, and the acting -- oh, the acting!!! WHY HAVE YOU NOT SEEN THIS YET?
- DirectorsMark NeveldineBrian TaylorStarsJason StathamAmy SmartCarlos SanzProfessional assassin Chev Chelios learns his rival has injected him with a poison that will kill him if his heart rate drops.Potentially the best ARTY action movie of all time, this is what happens when you put incredible action thrills into a plot that's so So SO intelligent and fire it up with comedy and hugely impressive acting. Wow!! If you like action movies you NEED to see this.
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsDougray ScottKate WinsletSaffron BurrowsA young genius frantically races against time to crack an enemy code and solve the mystery surrounding the woman he loves.Like many of the films on this list, this is a crossover, nailing it both as a pure thriller, and as a drama that's on the incredibly important topic of breaking codes during World War II. And such acting!!
- DirectorWilford LeachStarsKevin KlineAngela LansburyLinda RonstadtAfter a young man leaves a band of pirates, hilarity ensues.A flawless musical that has Kevin Kline!! Tap tap tap. Is this thing on? What more do you need to hear? It's everyone's favorite Gilbert & Sullivan.
- DirectorWayne KramerStarsHarrison FordAshley JuddRay LiottaCrossing Over is about illegal aliens of many nationalities in the Los Angeles area and the authorities and individuals dealing with them.Remember Crash (2004), the incredibly powerful Oscar winning movie that plays with race in a way that's kinda arty but SO CAPTIVATING and not preachy that you didn't care? This is like Crash but for immigration. It's a drama that's not melodramatic or over-your-head. Just fascinating.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsJeff BridgesIsabella RosselliniRosie PerezA man's personality is dramatically changed after surviving a major airline crash.Tragedy! Hope! Pain! Courage! A man survives a plane crash and launches himself so deeply into saving another that he forget to save himself. It's got Jeff Bridges!
- DirectorEdward ZwickStarsDenzel WashingtonBruce WillisAnnette BeningThe secret U.S. abduction of a suspected terrorist leads to a wave of terrorist attacks in New York City, which leads to the declaration of martial-law.I've chosen The Siege, The Sum of All Fears, and The Kingdom because they all touch on international affairs and dangers like nuclear weapons. Some day, there will be a nuclear explosion and people will ask, "why weren't we warned?" See these films and get a reality check combined with great action flicks.
- DirectorPhil Alden RobinsonStarsBen AffleckMorgan FreemanIan MongrainCIA analyst Jack Ryan must stop the plans of a Neo-Nazi faction that threatens to induce a catastrophic conflict between the United States and Russia's President by detonating a nuclear weapon at a football game in Baltimore, Maryland.I've chosen The Siege, The Sum of All Fears, and The Kingdom because they all touch on international affairs and dangers like nuclear weapons. Some day, there will be a nuclear explosion and people will ask, "why weren't we warned?" See these films and get a reality check combined with great action flicks.
- DirectorPeter BergStarsJamie FoxxChris CooperJennifer GarnerA team of U.S. government agents are sent to investigate the bombing of an American facility in the Middle East.I've chosen The Siege, The Sum of All Fears, and The Kingdom because they all touch on international affairs and dangers like nuclear weapons. Some day, there will be a nuclear explosion and people will ask, "why weren't we warned?" See these films and get a reality check combined with great action flicks.
- DirectorStephen GaghanStarsGeorge ClooneyMatt DamonAmanda PeetA politically charged epic about the state of the oil industry in the hands of those personally involved in and affected by it.And Syriana.
