Films which deserve more recognition
by thezakman182 | created - 16 Jan 2012 | updated - 06 Sep 2017 | PublicThanks for looking at this list. I hope you will find some stuff here to check out, or some films you already enjoy. Any feedback would be appreciated
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1. Punishment Park (1971)
R | 91 min | Drama, Thriller
"Punishment Park" is a pseudo-documentary purporting to be a film crews's news coverage of the team of soldiers escorting a group of hippies, draft dodgers, and anti-establishment types ... See full summary »
Director: Peter Watkins | Stars: Patrick Boland, Kent Foreman, Carmen Argenziano, Luke Johnson
Votes: 7,636
Banned for decades--a must see for anyone who cares about political corruption
2. Manic (2001)
R | 100 min | Drama
After attacking another player with a bat during baseball at school, Lyle's sent to the psych ward. He meets other teenagers with problems. Will group therapy help?
Director: Jordan Melamed | Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Bacall, Zooey Deschanel, Don Cheadle
Votes: 10,041 | Gross: $0.07M
Before 500 Days of Summer, Joseph and Zooey were lost teenagers in a mental institute; a film as powerful, enigmatic and sensitive as the disorders it portrays
3. The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama
A group of Catholic school friends, after being caught drawing an obscene comic book, plan a heist that will outdo their previous prank and make them local legends.
Director: Peter Care | Stars: Kieran Culkin, Jena Malone, Emile Hirsch, Vincent D'Onofrio
Votes: 14,185 | Gross: $1.78M
Comics books, pranks, anti-authority, darkness, spirituality, all of it taking place between a first serious kiss and a first serious hang over
4. Carts of Darkness (2008)
Not Rated | 60 min | Documentary
This documentary follows a group of homeless men who have combined bottle picking with the extreme sport of racing shopping carts.
Director: Murray Siple | Star: Murray Siple
Votes: 674
A documentary about homeless binners who race shopping carts down the mountains of Vancouver
5. A Life Less Ordinary (1997)
R | 103 min | Comedy, Crime, Fantasy
Upon being fired, a desperate guy kidnaps a daughter of his former boss. Two angels are sent to Earth to check if love is possible in this case.
Director: Danny Boyle | Stars: Cameron Diaz, Ewan McGregor, Holly Hunter, Delroy Lindo
Votes: 37,196 | Gross: $4.27M
Before Danny Boyle was at the top of the film world he mixed angels, karaoke, action, dimwits, car chases, assassins, babes, and an eclectic soundtrack into a wild and hilarious adventure
6. Citizen Ruth (1996)
R | 106 min | Comedy, Drama
An irresponsible, drug-addicted, recently impregnated woman finds herself in the middle of an abortion debate when both parties attempt to sway her to their respective sides.
Director: Alexander Payne | Stars: Laura Dern, Swoosie Kurtz, Mary Kay Place, Kurtwood Smith
Votes: 9,122 | Gross: $0.15M
True black comedy from the director of Sideways and the Descendants.
7. Vagabond (1985)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama
A young woman's body is found frozen in a ditch. Through flashbacks and interviews, we see the events that led to her inevitable death.
Director: Agnès Varda | Stars: Sandrine Bonnaire, Macha Méril, Stéphane Freiss, Setti Ramdane
Votes: 13,673
For anyone who has ever wanted to runaway
8. The Tracey Fragments (2007)
R | 77 min | Drama
15-year-old Tracey Berkowitz is naked under a shower curtain at the back of a bus, looking for her little brother Sonny, who thinks he's a dog.
Director: Bruce McDonald | Stars: Elliot Page, Zie Souwand, Maxwell McCabe-Lokos, Ari Cohen
Votes: 7,676 | Gross: $0.03M
A haunting, unique, and powerful tale for anyone who was ever a lost, angry, and dark teenager
9. Come and See (1985)
Not Rated | 142 min | Drama, Thriller, War
After finding an old rifle, a young boy joins the Soviet resistance movement against ruthless German forces and experiences the horrors of World War II.
Director: Elem Klimov | Stars: Aleksey Kravchenko, Olga Mironova, Liubomiras Laucevicius, Vladas Bagdonas
Votes: 97,372
Puts nearly ever war film to shame.
10. Global Metal (2008)
93 min | Documentary, Music
A continued examination of the heavy metal subculture focusing on the adaptation and performance of heavy metal in various global communities, and how the increased import of Western cultural forms has impacted new global markets.
Directors: Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen | Stars: Tom Araya, Ken Ayugai, Rafael Bittencourt, Max Cavalera
Votes: 4,889
If you want to learn about metal bands from the third world, this is a film for you
11. Swimming (2000)
R | 98 min | Drama
A bittersweet and intimate look at friendship, love and growing up. The easy life of summertime in Myrtle Beach is turned upside down for one local girl when two strangers come to town: a beautiful temptress and a charming drifter.
Director: Robert J. Siegel | Stars: Lauren Ambrose, Joelle Carter, Jennifer Dundas, Jamie Harrold
Votes: 947 | Gross: $0.16M
Gentle, beautiful, soothing
12. The Edukators (2004)
R | 127 min | Drama, Romance
Three activists cobble together a kidnapping plot after they encounter a businessman in his home.
Director: Hans Weingartner | Stars: Daniel Brühl, Julia Jentsch, Stipe Erceg, Burghart Klaußner
Votes: 32,382 | Gross: $0.18M
An intelligent and pragmatic look at many political and societal issues.
13. Quadrophenia (1979)
R | 120 min | Drama, Music
Jimmy Cooper loathes his dead-end job and his working-class parents. He seeks solace with his mod clique, scooter riding, and drugs, only to be disappointed.
Director: Franc Roddam | Stars: Phil Daniels, Leslie Ash, Phil Davis, Mark Wingett
Votes: 20,881
When named after a great album by one of rocks best bands, you know it'll be wicked.
14. Bang Bang You're Dead (2002)
R | 93 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Trevor is a troubled high school student, thanks to the effects of bullying. This is the story of his fight to break free.
Director: Guy Ferland | Stars: Tom Cavanagh, Ben Foster, Randy Harrison, Janel Moloney
Votes: 13,140
The best TV movie ever
15. Into the West (1992)
PG | 97 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Grandpa Ward gives a horse he found to his grandchildren, who keep it in their tower-block flat in Dublin. The horse is stolen from them, and the two young boys set out to find it and flee on it.
Director: Mike Newell | Stars: Gabriel Byrne, Ellen Barkin, Ciarán Fitzgerald, Rúaidhrí Conroy
Votes: 3,184 | Gross: $4.79M
A magical, powerful, and realistic family film to be watched, remembered and treasured
16. All Over Me (1997)
R | 86 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Claude and Ellen are best friends who live in a not-so-nice area of New York. They're involved in the subculture of '90s youth, complete with drugs, live music, and homophobia. All is ... See full summary »
Director: Alex Sichel | Stars: Alison Folland, Tara Subkoff, Cole Hauser, Wilson Cruz
Votes: 3,454 | Gross: $0.15M
A lost teen classic with amazing music and strong performances
17. Thirst (2009)
R | 134 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Through a failed medical experiment, a priest is stricken with vampirism and is forced to abandon his ascetic ways.
Director: Park Chan-wook | Stars: Song Kang-ho, Kim Ok-bin, Choi Hee-jin, Seo Dong-soo
Votes: 51,426 | Gross: $0.30M
What the world needs in the wake of Twilight
18. Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989)
R | 102 min | Drama
Set in Brooklyn during the 1950s against a backdrop of union corruption and violence. A prostitute falls in love with one of her customers. Also a disturbed man discovers that he is homosexual.
Director: Uli Edel | Stars: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Stephen Lang, Burt Young, Peter Dobson
Votes: 6,959 | Gross: $1.73M
A perfect adaption from the author of Requiem for a Dream
19. The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)
R | 150 min | Action, Biography, Crime
A look at Germany's terrorist group, The Red Army Faction (RAF), which organized bombings, robberies, kidnappings, and assassinations in the late 1960s and '70s.
Director: Uli Edel | Stars: Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek, Bruno Ganz
Votes: 40,137 | Gross: $0.48M
A powerful historical film with amazing music, interesting idea, and taut suspense
20. Little Big League (1994)
PG | 119 min | Comedy, Family, Sport
A young boy is bequeathed the ownership of a professional baseball team.
Director: Andrew Scheinman | Stars: Luke Edwards, Timothy Busfield, John Ashton, Ashley Crow
Votes: 11,562 | Gross: $12.21M
Smart, funny, inspirational, and respectful---the way a family film should be
21. Fubar (2002)
R | 76 min | Comedy, Music
Headbangers Terry and Dean explore the depths of friendship, and the art and science of drinking beer like a man.
Director: Michael Dowse | Stars: Paul Spence, David Lawrence, Gordon Skilling, Andrew Sparacino
Votes: 4,494
the perfect drinking movie
22. Roadkill (1989)
80 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A music promoter sends a young woman on a road trip in search of a band who hasn't been showing up for their gigs.
Director: Bruce McDonald | Stars: Valerie Buhagiar, Gerry Quigley, Larry Hudson, Bruce McDonald
Votes: 733
one of a kind
23. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)
R | 123 min | Drama, Horror, Romance
When the brilliant but unorthodox scientist Dr. Victor Frankenstein rejects the artificial man that he has created, the Creature escapes and later swears revenge.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Robert De Niro, Kenneth Branagh, Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Hulce
Votes: 59,363 | Gross: $22.01M
finally Frankenstein has been done justice on the screen
24. Waking Life (2001)
R | 99 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy
A man shuffles through a dream meeting various people and discussing the meanings and purposes of the universe.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Trevor Jack Brooks, Lorelei Linklater, Wiley Wiggins
Votes: 66,947 | Gross: $2.89M
Has the power to arise an endless number of philosophical discussions.
25. Away We Go (2009)
R | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A couple expecting their first child travels the U.S. seeking the perfect "family home." They have misadventures and find fresh connections with relatives and old friends who help them discover "home" on their own terms for the first time.
Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Allison Janney, Carmen Ejogo
Votes: 55,085 | Gross: $9.45M
A funny and touching film by the director American Beauty
26. Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001)
R | 172 min | Drama
The telling of an Inuit legend of an evil spirit causing strife in the community and one warrior's endurance and battle of its menace.
Director: Zacharias Kunuk | Stars: Natar Ungalaaq, Sylvia Ivalu, Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq, Lucy Tulugarjuk
Votes: 6,861 | Gross: $3.79M
An epic unlike any ever made which rivals Shakespeare
27. The Iron Giant (1999)
PG | 86 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A young boy befriends a giant robot from outer space that a paranoid government agent wants to destroy.
Director: Brad Bird | Stars: Eli Marienthal, Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Aniston, Vin Diesel
Votes: 227,631 | Gross: $23.16M
who said animated family films couldn't entertain all
28.
Screen Two (1985–1998)
Episode:
The Snapper
(1993)
R | 91 min | Drama
20 year old Irish girl Sharon Curly lives at home with her large family. But notoriety in her neighbourhood suddenly arrives when, after a night out on the town, she becomes pregnant and refuses to divulge the identity of the baby's father.
Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Colm Meaney, Tina Kellegher, Ruth McCabe, Eanna MacLiam
Votes: 6,126 | Gross: $3.32M
If you like Juno, give this film a watch
29. Meatballs (1979)
PG | 94 min | Comedy
Wacky hijinks of counselors and campers at a less-than-average summer camp.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Bill Murray, Harvey Atkin, Kate Lynch, Russ Banham
Votes: 23,884 | Gross: $43.05M
Touching, honest, funny, and Bill Murray's first film
30. Ginger Snaps (2000)
Not Rated | 108 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Two death-obsessed sisters, outcasts in their suburban neighborhood, must deal with the tragic consequences when one of them is bitten by a deadly werewolf.
Director: John Fawcett | Stars: Emily Perkins, Katharine Isabelle, Kris Lemche, Mimi Rogers
Votes: 52,320 | Gross: $0.00M
A brilliant mix of macabre, blood, werewolves, and teen girls
31. Ararat (2002)
R | 115 min | Drama, War
Interrogated by a customs officer, a young man recounts how his life was changed during the making of a film about the Armenian genocide.
Director: Atom Egoyan | Stars: Charles Aznavour, Brent Carver, Eric Bogosian, Simon Abkarian
Votes: 14,781 | Gross: $1.55M
Intelligent, unsettling, multi-dimensional, and provocative.
32. War of the Buttons (1994)
PG | 94 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
The children of Ballydowse and Carrickdowse engage in battles in which they cut off the buttons, shoelaces, and underwear of their captured opponents, in order to get the boys in trouble ... See full summary »
Director: John Roberts | Stars: Gregg Fitzgerald, Gerard Kearney, Darragh Naughton, Brendan McNamara
Votes: 4,593 | Gross: $0.01M
you're in for a fun ride
33. The Whole Wide World (1996)
PG | 111 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
In 1933 Texas, a schoolteacher and aspiring writer meets a pulp fiction writer, and a relationship soon develops between the two, but it is doomed by his slavishly devotion to his ailing mother and insistence on his freedom.
Director: Dan Ireland | Stars: Vincent D'Onofrio, Renée Zellweger, Ann Wedgeworth, Harve Presnell
Votes: 4,030 | Gross: $0.14M
A beautiful film which will leave you thinking about stories, those who create them, and those around you
34. Lost Highway (1997)
R | 134 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Anonymous videotapes presage a musician's murder conviction, and a gangster's girlfriend leads a mechanic astray.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, John Roselius, Louis Eppolito
Votes: 153,272 | Gross: $3.80M
Bizarre and brilliant
35. Mouth to Mouth (2005)
Not Rated | 101 min | Drama
Young runaway Sherry meets the radical street collective Spark. Together they experience the group's giddy thrills as well as its punishing manipulations, as Sherry's journey to paradise begins to sour.
Director: Alison Murray | Stars: Elliot Page, Natasha Wightman, August Diehl, Beatrice Brown
Votes: 4,432
unique, provocative, and beautiful
36. The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
R | 112 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Three trappers protect the daughters of a British Colonel in the midst of the French and Indian War.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, Russell Means, Eric Schweig
Votes: 187,773 | Gross: $75.51M
the most under rated historical epic ever
37. Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984)
PG | 143 min | Adventure, Drama
A missing heir of respected Scottish family, raised in African jungles by animals, finally returns to his estate only to realize that difference between the two worlds is really significant.
Director: Hugh Hudson | Stars: Christopher Lambert, Andie MacDowell, Ralph Richardson, Ian Holm
Votes: 21,263 | Gross: $45.90M
revolutionized superheros
38. Days of Heaven (1978)
PG | 94 min | Drama, Romance
A hot-tempered farm laborer convinces the woman he loves to marry their rich but dying boss so that they can have a claim to his fortune.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard, Linda Manz
Votes: 62,785
beautiful, enigmatic, humble, and haunting
39. The City of Lost Children (1995)
R | 112 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
A scientist in a surrealist society kidnaps children to steal their dreams, hoping that they slow his aging process.
Directors: Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Ron Perlman, Daniel Emilfork, Judith Vittet, Dominique Pinon
Votes: 71,689 | Gross: $1.51M
A fairy tale for those who want something dangerous
40. Masterminds (1997)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Comedy, Thriller
Trapped in a school in which a gang of criminals has seized control, a young troublemaker fights a cat and mouse battle from inside.
Director: Roger Christian | Stars: Patrick Stewart, Vincent Kartheiser, Brenda Fricker, Bradley Whitford
Votes: 3,792 | Gross: $1.89M
Die Hard meets Home Alone
41. Surf's Up (2007)
PG | 85 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A behind-the-scenes look at the annual Penguin World Surfing Championship, and its newest participant, up-and-comer Cody Maverick.
Directors: Ash Brannon, Chris Buck | Stars: Shia LaBeouf, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder, Jeff Bridges
Votes: 90,873 | Gross: $58.87M
Funny, great characters, an interesting cast, wicked music, professional athletes, excellent use of documentary aspects, a good message, and an inspirational and unique story
42. The War (1994)
PG-13 | 126 min | Drama, History, War
A Vietnam veteran helps his kids battle over a tree house while recovering from his traumatic war experience.
Director: Jon Avnet | Stars: Elijah Wood, Kevin Costner, Mare Winningham, Lexi Randall
Votes: 13,559 | Gross: $16.55M
a take on war we should all see
43. Fubar: Balls to the Wall (2010)
R | 85 min | Comedy
Terry and Dean head north to make sweet cash in the oil patch.
Director: Michael Dowse | Stars: David Lawrence, Jamil Jabril, Terra Hazelton, Paul Spence
Votes: 1,758
the best drinking movie just got better
44. The Doom Generation (1995)
R | 83 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Jordan White and Amy Blue, two troubled teens, pick up an adolescent drifter, Xavier Red. Together, the threesome embark on a sex-and-violence-filled journey through an America of psychos and quickie marts.
Director: Gregg Araki | Stars: James Duval, Rose McGowan, Johnathon Schaech, Cress Williams
Votes: 17,890 | Gross: $0.26M
The B-Movie of the grunge generation
45. Waltz with Bashir (2008)
R | 90 min | Documentary, Animation, Biography
An Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.
Director: Ari Folman | Stars: Ari Folman, Ron Ben-Yishai, Ronny Dayag, Ori Sivan
Votes: 60,419 | Gross: $2.28M
needs to be experienced
46. Lords of Dogtown (2005)
PG-13 | 107 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The film follows the surf and skateboarding trends that originated in Venice, California during the 1970s.
Director: Catherine Hardwicke | Stars: Heath Ledger, Emile Hirsch, Victor Rasuk, Johnny Knoxville
Votes: 58,242 | Gross: $11.01M
the way sports should be
47. This Is England (2006)
Not Rated | 101 min | Crime, Drama
A young boy becomes friends with a gang of skinheads. Friends soon become like family, and relationships will be pushed to the very limit.
Director: Shane Meadows | Stars: Thomas Turgoose, Stephen Graham, Jo Hartley, Andrew Shim
Votes: 128,773 | Gross: $0.33M
powerful, provocative, intelligent, and essential
48. Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
PG | 143 min | Drama, Music
A frustrated composer finds fulfillment as a high school music teacher.
Director: Stephen Herek | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Glenne Headly, Jay Thomas, Olympia Dukakis
Votes: 41,720 | Gross: $82.57M
for anyone who ever felt like they were going nowhere and needed some inspiraton
49. Jacob's Ladder (I) (1990)
R | 113 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Mourning his dead child, a haunted Vietnam War veteran attempts to uncover his past while suffering from a severe case of dissociation. To do so, he must decipher reality and life from his own dreams, delusions, and perceptions of death.
Director: Adrian Lyne | Stars: Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Peña, Danny Aiello, Matt Craven
Votes: 117,945 | Gross: $26.12M
the way horror movies should be
50. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
PG | 112 min | Drama, Romance
A recently widowed woman is on the road with her precocious young son, determined to make a new life for herself as a singer.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Kris Kristofferson, Mia Bendixsen, Alfred Lutter III
Votes: 27,484 | Gross: $18.60M
Martin Scorsese's lost classic
51. Pi (1998)
R | 84 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A paranoid mathematician searches for a key number that will unlock the universal patterns found in nature.
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Sean Gullette, Mark Margolis, Ben Shenkman, Pamela Hart
Votes: 186,495 | Gross: $3.22M
a low budget film which proves that most Hollywood producers should be fired
52. The Fountain (2006)
PG-13 | 97 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
As a modern-day scientist, Tommy is struggling with mortality, desperately searching for the medical breakthrough that will save the life of his cancer-stricken wife, Izzi.
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Sean Patrick Thomas, Ellen Burstyn
Votes: 248,820 | Gross: $10.14M
so much beauty was put into every little aspect of this enigmatic and unique film
53. Ryan (2004)
TV-PG | 14 min | Documentary, Animation, Short
The movie talks about the life of Ryan Larkin, a gifted Canadian animator of the late '60s and the early '70s.
Director: Chris Landreth | Stars: Ryan Larkin, Chris Landreth, Felicity Fanjoy, Derek Lamb
Votes: 3,002
among the most unique documentaries
54. Swing Kids (1993)
PG-13 | 112 min | Drama, Music
A group of teens adores forbidden music in Nazi Germany just before the outbreak of World War II.
Director: Thomas Carter | Stars: Robert Sean Leonard, Christian Bale, Frank Whaley, Barbara Hershey
Votes: 17,356 | Gross: $5.63M
before Christian Bale was Batman he was among rebellious anti-Nazi dancers in 1930s Germany
55. Begotten (1989)
Unrated | 72 min | Fantasy, Horror
Presented in a surreal, gory and entirely visual manner, Begotten tells of the death of religion, the abuse of nature by Man and a nihilistic outlook on what life ultimately is.
Director: E. Elias Merhige | Stars: Brian Salzberg, Donna Dempsey, Stephen Charles Barry, James Gandia
Votes: 11,763
probably the strangest film ever
56. Taking Woodstock (2009)
R | 120 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A man working at his parents' motel in the Catskills inadvertently sets in motion the generation-defining concert in the summer of 1969.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Demetri Martin, Henry Goodman, Edward Hibbert, Imelda Staunton
Votes: 30,014 | Gross: $7.44M
the story behind the music
57. The Basketball Diaries (1995)
R | 102 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A teenager finds his dreams of becoming a basketball star threatened after he free falls into the harrowing world of drug addiction.
Director: Scott Kalvert | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Lorraine Bracco, Marilyn Sokol, James Madio
Votes: 121,088 | Gross: $2.42M
An artistic look at darkness, drugs, crime, and teen angst
58. Return to Oz (1985)
PG | 113 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, is somehow called back to Oz when a vain witch and the Nome King destroy everything that makes the magical land beautiful.
Director: Walter Murch | Stars: Fairuza Balk, Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie
Votes: 30,375
if you loved the Wizard of Oz, do yourself a favour and watch the sequel on the opposite side of the yin yang
59. October Sky (1999)
PG | 108 min | Biography, Drama, Family
The true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes.
Director: Joe Johnston | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Laura Dern, Chris Owen
Votes: 98,088 | Gross: $32.48M
Inspiration, history, ethics, humor, strong actors, and interesting characters make this film mandatory
60. The Lookout (2007)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Chris is a once promising high school athlete whose life is turned upside down following a tragic accident. As he tries to maintain a normal life, he takes a job as a janitor at a bank, where he ultimately finds himself caught up in a planned heist.
Director: Scott Frank | Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Matthew Goode, Isla Fisher
Votes: 60,553 | Gross: $4.60M
Who said noir was dead?
61. Johnny Mad Dog (2008)
98 min | Drama, War
A cast of unknown performers are used in this drama about child soldiers fighting a war in the West African Country Liberia.
Director: Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire | Stars: Christophe Minie, Daisy Victoria Vandy, Joseph Duo, Dagbeth Tweh
Votes: 3,535
sucks you into the horrors of African war
62. Ivan's Childhood (1962)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama, War
During WWII, Soviet orphan Ivan Bondarev strikes up a friendship with three sympathetic Soviet officers while working as a scout behind the German lines.
Directors: Andrei Tarkovsky, Eduard Abalov | Stars: Nikolay Burlyaev, Valentin Zubkov, Evgeniy Zharikov, Stepan Krylov
Votes: 39,947
better than what most director ever did, but for Tarkovsky it was a start
63. The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)
G | 88 min | Action, Adventure, Family
When a princess is shrunken by an evil wizard, Sinbad must undertake a quest to an island of monsters to cure her and prevent a war.
Director: Nathan Juran | Stars: Kerwin Mathews, Kathryn Grant, Richard Eyer, Torin Thatcher
Votes: 14,767 | Gross: $6.98M
One of the first fantasy epics
64. Barney's Version (2010)
R | 134 min | Comedy, Drama
The picaresque and touching story of the politically incorrect, fully lived life of the impulsive, irascible and fearlessly blunt Barney Panofsky.
Director: Richard J. Lewis | Stars: Paul Giamatti, Rosamund Pike, Jake Hoffman, Macha Grenon
Votes: 26,254 | Gross: $7.50M
It'll give you a lot to think and laugh about
65. Merlin (1998)
Not Rated | 61 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Legendary wizard Merlin tells his story of his war against Queen Mab of the Sidhe and his creation of Camelot.
Stars: Sam Neill, Helena Bonham Carter, John Gielgud, Rutger Hauer
Votes: 22,539
the best mini-series ever
66. Far North (2007)
R | 89 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A soldier's unexpected arrival affects two women's simple existence.
Director: Asif Kapadia | Stars: Michelle Yeoh, Michelle Krusiec, Sean Bean, Gary Pillai
Votes: 3,242
one wild adventure
67. The Commitments (1991)
R | 118 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Jimmy Rabbitte, an unemployed Dublin boy, decides to put together a soul band made up entirely of the Irish working class.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Robert Arkins, Michael Aherne, Angeline Ball, Maria Doyle Kennedy
Votes: 38,812 | Gross: $14.92M
Ireland's greatest writer and a brilliant band tell a hilarious, hopeful, touching, and honest story
68. Dune (1984)
PG-13 | 137 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A 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.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Kyle MacLachlan, Virginia Madsen, Francesca Annis, Leonardo Cimino
Votes: 179,696 | Gross: $30.93M
if any story ever took you to a different world, it was Dune
69. No Man's Land (I) (2001)
R | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, War
Bosnia and Herzegovina during 1993 at the time of the heaviest fighting between the two warring sides. Two soldiers from opposing sides in the conflict, Nino and Ciki, become trapped in no man's land, whilst a third soldier becomes a living booby trap.
Director: Danis Tanovic | Stars: Branko Djuric, Rene Bitorajac, Filip Sovagovic, Georges Siatidis
Votes: 48,838 | Gross: $1.06M
many complain about Amelie not winning any Oscars, here's why
70. Valhalla Rising (2009)
Not Rated | 93 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Forced for some time to be a fighting slave, a pagan warrior escapes his captors with a boy and joins a group of Crusaders on their quest to the Holy Land.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn | Stars: Mads Mikkelsen, Maarten Stevenson, Alexander Morton, Stewart Porter
Votes: 63,668 | Gross: $0.02M
For lovers of barbaric actions, epic scenery, lost history, and wild characters
71. Freaks (1932)
Not Rated | 64 min | Drama, Horror
A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.
Director: Tod Browning | Stars: Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams, Olga Baclanova, Roscoe Ates
Votes: 50,630 | Gross: $0.63M
the beginning of bizarre motion pictures
72. Videodrome (1983)
R | 87 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A programmer at a Toronto TV station that specializes in adult entertainment searches for the producers of a dangerous and bizarre broadcast.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: James Woods, Debbie Harry, Sonja Smits, Peter Dvorsky
Votes: 103,056 | Gross: $2.12M
It gets better and more relevant every year
73. Walkabout (1971)
GP | 100 min | Adventure, Drama
Two city-bred siblings are stranded in the Australian Outback, where they learn to survive with the aid of an Aboriginal boy on his "walkabout": a ritual separation from his tribe.
Director: Nicolas Roeg | Stars: Jenny Agutter, David Gulpilil, Luc Roeg, John Meillon
Votes: 27,357 | Gross: $0.02M
step into the wilderness
74. The Straight Story (1999)
G | 112 min | Biography, Drama
An old man makes a long journey by lawnmower to mend his relationship with an ill brother.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Jane Galloway Heitz, Joseph A. Carpenter
Votes: 97,519 | Gross: $6.20M
touching, inspirational, humane, gentle, funny, brilliantly acted, and completely true
75. Angel Heart (1987)
X | 113 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A private investigator is hired by a man who calls himself Louis Cyphre to track down a singer named Johnny Favorite. But the investigation takes an unexpected and somber turn.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, Charlotte Rampling
Votes: 95,868 | Gross: $17.19M
noir+fantasy=brilliance
76. My Dinner with Andre (1981)
PG | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
Two old friends meet for dinner; as one tells anecdotes detailing his experiences, the other notices their differing worldviews.
Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Andre Gregory, Wallace Shawn, Jean Lenauer, Roy Butler
Votes: 25,802 | Gross: $5.25M
incredibly intelligent dialogue which will make you think and want to have similar discussions more often
77. The Return (2003)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
In the Russian wilderness, two brothers face a range of new, conflicting emotions when their father - a man they know only through a single photograph - resurfaces.
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev | Stars: Vladimir Garin, Ivan Dobronravov, Konstantin Lavronenko, Nataliya Vdovina
Votes: 47,517 | Gross: $0.50M
it can not be described till you experience it
78. eXistenZ (1999)
R | 97 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A game designer on the run from assassins must play her latest virtual reality creation with a marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ian Holm, Willem Dafoe
Votes: 107,253 | Gross: $2.84M
takes you to another world and will make you think hard while being entertained
79. The Fly (1986)
R | 96 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz, Joy Boushel
Votes: 202,034 | Gross: $40.46M
be afraid, be very afraid
80. Kicking and Screaming (1995)
R | 96 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A bunch of guys hang around their college for months after graduation, continuing a life much like the one before graduation.
Director: Noah Baumbach | Stars: Josh Hamilton, Eric Stoltz, Samuel Gould, Catherine Kellner
Votes: 15,189 | Gross: $0.70M
it'll take you back to your college days
81. What We Do Is Secret (2007)
R | 92 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The true-life story of Darby Crash, who became an L.A. punk icon after getting kicked out of high school and forming The Germs with a collection of friends who have little experience with their instruments or playing music.
Director: Rodger Grossman | Stars: Shane West, Rick Gonzalez, Bijou Phillips, Noah Segan
Votes: 2,051 | Gross: $0.06M
drags you straight into a punk rock moshpit
82. Tape (2001)
R | 86 min | Drama
Three old high school friends meet in a Michigan motel room to dissect painful memories from their past.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, Uma Thurman
Votes: 21,137 | Gross: $0.49M
stick it in your vcr
83. Badlands (1973)
PG | 94 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An impressionable teenage girl from a dead-end town, and her older greaser boyfriend, embark on a killing spree in the South Dakota Badlands.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, Warren Oates, Ramon Bieri
Votes: 78,431
incredibly influential and beyond underrated
84. Brand Upon the Brain! (2006)
Not Rated | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Returned home to his long-estranged mother upon a request from her deathbed, a man raised by his parents in an orphanage has to confront the childhood memories that have long haunted him.
Director: Guy Maddin | Stars: Gretchen Krich, Sullivan Brown, Maya Lawson, Jake Morgan-Scharhon
Votes: 3,717 | Gross: $0.23M
truly bizarre
85. O (2001)
R | 95 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
An update of Shakespeare's 'Othello' with a young cast, set in an upper class prep school, & centered around basketball player Odin.
Director: Tim Blake Nelson | Stars: Mekhi Phifer, Julia Stiles, Martin Sheen, Josh Hartnett
Votes: 21,925 | Gross: $16.02M
should be used to teach Shakespeare in high schools
86. Au hasard Balthazar (1966)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama
The story of a mistreated donkey and the people around him. A study on saintliness and a sister piece to Bresson's Mouchette.
Director: Robert Bresson | Stars: Anne Wiazemsky, Walter Green, François Lafarge, Jean-Claude Guilbert
Votes: 22,839 | Gross: $0.04M
poetry
87. Show Me Love (1998)
Not Rated | 89 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two teenage girls in small-town Sweden. Elin is beautiful, popular, and bored with life. Agnes is friendless, sad, and secretly in love with Elin.
Director: Lukas Moodysson | Stars: Alexandra Dahlström, Rebecka Liljeberg, Erica Carlson, Mathias Rust
Votes: 55,412 | Gross: $0.17M
initially called *beep* Amal
88. Pieces of April (2003)
PG-13 | 80 min | Comedy, Drama
A wayward daughter invites her dying mother and the rest of her estranged family to her apartment for Thanksgiving dinner.
Director: Peter Hedges | Stars: Katie Holmes, Oliver Platt, Patricia Clarkson, Derek Luke
Votes: 22,127 | Gross: $2.53M
a touching tale to watch with the family on thanksgiving
89. Flesh+Blood (1985)
R | 126 min | Adventure, Drama
In medieval Europe, a young girl from a noble family is obsessed with her captors - commoners.
Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Burlinson, Jack Thompson
Votes: 20,020 | Gross: $0.10M
if you like the title look no further
90. Goin' Down the Road (1970)
R | 90 min | Drama
Two friends leave the picturesque yet rural province of Nova Scotia for the nightlife and culture of Toronto. They soon end up wistful and nostalgic about Nova Scotia though after finding out that Toronto isn't as fun as they'd hoped.
Director: Donald Shebib | Stars: Doug McGrath, Paul Bradley, Jayne Eastwood, Cayle Chernin
Votes: 979
go with this film
91. Once Were Warriors (1994)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama
A family descended from Maori warriors is bedeviled by a violent father and the societal problems of being treated as outcasts.
Director: Lee Tamahori | Stars: Rena Owen, Temuera Morrison, Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell, Julian Arahanga
Votes: 36,864 | Gross: $2.20M
Powerful, meaningful, and brutal
92. Fly Away Home (1996)
PG | 107 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
A father and daughter decide to attempt to lead a flock of orphaned Canada Geese south by air.
Director: Carroll Ballard | Stars: Jeff Daniels, Anna Paquin, Dana Delany, Terry Kinney
Votes: 27,130 | Gross: $24.51M
never have family films and animals mixed together better
93. Black Christmas (1974)
R | 98 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
During their Christmas break, a group of sorority girls are stalked by a stranger.
Director: Bob Clark | Stars: Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, John Saxon
Votes: 48,378 | Gross: $4.05M
the original and best slasher film
94. The World's Fastest Indian (2005)
PG-13 | 127 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The story of New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent years rebuilding a 1920 Indian motorcycle, which helped him set the land speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967.
Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Diane Ladd, Iain Rea, Tessa Mitchell
Votes: 58,630 | Gross: $5.13M
severely under marketed
95. Solomon Kane (2009)
R | 104 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A ruthless mercenary renounces violence after learning his soul is bound for hell. When a young girl is kidnapped and her family slain by a sorcerer's murderous cult, he is forced to fight and seek his redemption slaying evil.
Director: M.J. Bassett | Stars: James Purefoy, Max von Sydow, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Pete Postlethwaite
Votes: 76,431
if you want fantasy and action then this is a beast for you
96. Black Book (2006)
R | 145 min | Drama, Thriller, War
In the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, a Jewish singer infiltrates the regional Gestapo headquarters for the Dutch resistance.
Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Thom Hoffman, Halina Reijn
Votes: 80,531 | Gross: $4.40M
a unique, intelligent, and incredibly entertaining war picture
97. House of Flying Daggers (2004)
PG-13 | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A romantic police captain breaks a beautiful member of a rebel group out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Ziyi Zhang, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Dandan Song
Votes: 116,281 | Gross: $11.05M
a beautiful blend of romance, action, history, and nature
98. Gattaca (1997)
PG-13 | 106 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A genetically inferior man assumes the identity of a superior one in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel.
Director: Andrew Niccol | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law, Gore Vidal
Votes: 323,367 | Gross: $12.34M
Science fiction and film noir meets beauty, intelligence, inspiration, and ethics.
99. Pleasantville (1998)
PG-13 | 124 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Two 1990s teenage siblings find themselves transported to a 1950s sitcom where their influence begins to profoundly change that colorless, complacent world.
Director: Gary Ross | Stars: Tobey Maguire, Jeff Daniels, Joan Allen, William H. Macy
Votes: 136,363 | Gross: $40.57M
Intelligent, funny, provocative, original, and free spirted
100. The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
PG | 91 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A thirteen-year-old girl, who lives with her absentee father, befriends a disabled teenage amateur magician and invites him, gradually, into her tenuous struggle against a predatory local neighbor.
Director: Nicolas Gessner | Stars: Jodie Foster, Martin Sheen, Alexis Smith, Mort Shuman
Votes: 18,094
A haunting and chilling character study which will makes you want to be like Jodie Foster's most brilliant character.
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