Unknown Gems - Print Topic

I wanted to set this thread up for people who have recently, or not so recently, watched a film that is quite unknown and has gone under the radar.

I, for one, love stumbling upon a film that wasn't a mega hit and being pleasantly surprised by the greatness of it.

So, if you have a film that's quite unknown and you love it, put it here and we can all get to know these little masterpieces together.

I'll start by suggesting Sweet Sixteen http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0313670/
One of my absolute favourites. And although it's by the great Ken Loach, I rarely hear people talk much about it. If you haven't already, I urge you to give it a watch. You'll probably need subtitles.

:)

Carrying on the theme of overlooked films from well known filmmakers I would say "The Man Who Wasn't There" by the Coen Brothers.

Its strange since it came after "O Brother Where art Thou" so their popularity was at an all time high and Joel Coen shared the best director award at Cannes for it (with David Lynch for Mulholland Dr.) yet no one ever talks about it and its never mentioned among their best.

Personally its my second favorite of theirs and I'm a huge fan of most of their work. Its almost like (yes, I'm gonna say it) its not even there...sorry, couldn't resist.

Anyway, it a masterpiece, shot in beautiful black & while with an amazing performance by Billy Bob Thornton.

Check it out.

Quoted from Colkurtz8

Anyway, it a masterpiece, shot in beautiful black & while with an amazing performance by Billy Bob Thornton.

Check it out.

Actually it was shot in color. Then it was transferred to black & white. I actually watched it in color on TV one time. It had like a golden, yellowish tone from what I remember.

Good movie though, I've always liked it.

Miracle Mile is a pretty good movie that could have used a bigger budget and some better casting, but still a really solid flick that doesn't get much praise... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097889/

Quoted from Demento

Actually it was shot in color. Then it was transferred to black & white. I actually watched it in color on TV one time. It had like a golden, yellowish tone from what I remember.

- True, I have vague memories of them saying that in the DVD commentary now that you mention it. Hard to imagine it in anything than B&W, perfectly suits the story and setting.

We've had threads like this over the years. Maybe they are still around if you dig.

I always toss out "A Midnight Clear", a splendid war drama from 1992 that few seem to know about.

Quoted from bert

I always toss out "A Midnight Clear", a splendid war drama from 1992 that few seem to know about.

I remember seeing that on TV as well. Good movie, needs more recognition.

On the subject of war movies, Overlord is one to check out, not that it's a great movie, but there are some interesting things in it. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073502

Also I was always fond of the TV remake of Sahara with James Belushi, I saw it when I was young and it stayed with me. Never liked the Bogart version which was a remake of a Russian movie, I believe. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114324/

I caught a midnight screening of The Room last night. I had no idea what to expect, I was just told to show up to the theater with a bunch of plastic spoons. It was one of the best, if not guiltiest pleasures I've ever experienced. I'd imagine it's not the same if you don't go to the cinema. A true gem!

Chan-wook Park's I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK doesn't seem to get mentioned often.

The To Do List should be seen by all.

Jeremy Saulnier's film Blue Ruin got reasonable (and deserved) attention, but his first film Murder Party is also a bit of a gem.

And Upstream Color is as good as films get.

Quoted from Heretic

but his first film Murder Party is also a bit of a gem.

I've been putting that off for a while. Since you recommend it, I just bumped it up on my list :)

All of these are going on my IMDB watchlist.

Cheers.

:)

Here's an unknown Danish mini-series I came across recently (and really enjoyed):

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0989998/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Directed by Per Fly ("The Bench", "The Inheritance" etc).

When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?

Not just an underrated film but an all time favourite. I can't believe more film buffs don't talk about it.

Always liked the idea behind the movie, MOTORAMA. It was written by the same guy that wrote After Hours, which I love.

It's not a great movie but I saw it as a kid and it was kind of creepy and had a weird vibe to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whD9mudTmJ8

Film I come back to a lot is Runaway Train -- simple yet underrated actioner from 1985. Great (if sparse) dialogue and performances from Jon Voight and Eric Roberts. Watch it for the final act alone.

More recently the low budget NZ film ‘What We Do in the Shadows’. Solid little vampire mockumentary.

Blue Sunshine, 1978. An absolutely bizarre horror/thriller starring the late director Zalman King. Seemingly normal people are turning into psychopathic murderers all over LA. King's character tries to find if all these killings are related to a strain of LSD called Blue Sunshine that these people took in the 60s. This is a weird one, ladies and gentlemen, but it has this unnerving, creepy tension running through it.

Don't know if this has hit cult status, but Near Dark is one of my all-time favorite Vampire movies. Think it came out in '89, and the same week as The Lost Boys came out so it got overshadowed by that. Really great flick. Bill Paxton's such a bad ass in this... I love it!

Oh yeah, and still haven't seen The Lost Boys yet.

Steve

Quoted from SAC

Oh yeah, and still haven't seen The Lost Boys yet.

Steve

There's a pub near me full of girls who look just like that.

Hmmm. I might go down there tonight.

R

Frank Zappa's Dub Room Special was one that I personally loved

It is technically a music video but not so much so...

A ton of live video mixed with clay-mation.

It also weaved a great story that was both anti-establishment and pro free speech.

Shawn.....><

Quoted from SAC

I've saw them both... Near Dark was better.

I thought Near Dark was Okay, I found Lost Boys to be lame.

Get Low http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1194263/?ref_=nv_sr_1

You Kill Me http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0796375/?ref_=nv_sr_1

The Guard http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1540133/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Safety Not Guaranteed http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1862079/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Let the Bullets Fly http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1533117/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Just watched a film called Dorothy

It's an Irish supernatural/psychological thriller. Highly recommended.

http://m.imdb.com/title/tt1034306/?ref_=m_nmfmd_dr_2

I'd never heard of it, or the director but it is excellent. Definitely worth a few dollars on amazon. It's not scary, but it is very interesting.

Saw this movie Broken with Tim Roth and Cillian Murphy on TV the other day. It was an Okay Drama. Worth a look, bit melodramatic... okay, maybe more than a bit :)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1441940

Quoted from Demento

Saw this movie Broken with Tim Roth and Cillian Murphy on TV the other day. It was an Okay Drama. Worth a look, bit melodramatic... okay, maybe more than a bit :)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1441940

Saw it a few weeks ago. On TV, as well. Definitely melodramatic. The scenes with Cillian Murphy's character crying on the phone about how great Skunk is and the church scene were the worst. How well the movie worked with generating emotion, though... really impressive imo. Powerful, powerful movie if you're willing to just sit back and ignore the fact that it's quite OTT.

Saw a few good ones recently:

Trade from 2007

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399095/

Powerful thriller about sex trafficking with Kevin Kline.

Haunter

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2345567/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Supernatural thriller from the director of Cube.

5 Minutes of Heaven

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1238291/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

With Liam Nesson and James Nesbitt

All well worth a watch.

Quoted from Scar Tissue Films

Haunter

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2345567/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Supernatural thriller from the director of Cube.

Watched this a while ago.

Not bad. Interesting idea but I got pretty bored near the end and didn't care for it too much.

Any one ever hear of "The Taking Of Deborah Logan"? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3387648/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Not a bad little horror flick.

Yeah, the first half was better than the second...like most supernatural mystery thrillers in ran out of places to go.

Once the mystery was solved the narrative started grinding...it should have got to the resolution quicker.

I'll check that one out.

Just watched another reasonably good one:

The Dark Hour

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0484273/

A 6/10 is about right. Those kind of dark sci-fi things are up my street, so I enjoyed it.

I think Taking of Deborah Logan is very good, particularly given it's found footage...

I'll chip in with the following recent views...

Housebound - New Zealand Horror Comedy - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3504048/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

The Secret in Their Eyes - Argentinian Thriller - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1305806/?ref_=nv_sr_4

Big Bad Wolves - Israeli Dark Thriller - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2309224/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Check out my website http://www.subterrene.co.uk where I do mini reviews of all the films I watch, including all the obscure stuff I can find ;-)

Anthony

Yeah Anthony, not really into the found footage genre. Grown a bit tired and boring. But the subject Deborah Logan focused on was quite different and it interested me. Ending got a bit silly but still thought it was fun.

Your website looks pretty cool. Think I'll have to stop by every now and then for some ideas on what to watch (or what not). Cool idea.

Yeah, I agree Glenn, think it worked because it started as a straight drama, and the fact that it's not just a bunch of teens running round with shaky cams... you're right though, ending got a bit silly ;-)

Glad you like the website, Subterrene was a fanzine I edited back in the day, decided to bring it back as an online piece a few years ago, keeps me from getting too bored between scripts :-)

Anthony

Top notch immigration/gang film:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1127715/

Sin Nombre.

Latin AMerican films always seem very raw and real. Recommended.