Col Needham's Top 25 Hidden Gem Movies from the Last 25 Years
I am the Founder and CEO of IMDb and in honour of our 25th anniversary here are my favourite hidden gem movies from 1990 to 2014. For the purposes of this list, a hidden gem is defined as one with less than 10,000 IMDb votes. One movie per year and in chronological order.
This is a companion list to my Top 25 Movies from the Last 25 Years list and my Top 25 International Movies from the Last 25 Years list.
This is a companion list to my Top 25 Movies from the Last 25 Years list and my Top 25 International Movies from the Last 25 Years list.
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25 titles
- DirectorDennis HopperStarsDon JohnsonVirginia MadsenJennifer ConnellyUpon arriving to a small town, a drifter quickly gets into trouble with the local authorities - and the local women - after he robs a bank.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsTom BerengerBob HoskinsGreta ScacchiAfter a horrific car wreck leaves him an amnesiac, a man slowly begins to unravel his shocking past.
- DirectorCarl FranklinStarsBill PaxtonBilly Bob ThorntonCynda WilliamsA small town police chief awaits the arrival of a gang of killers.
- DirectorWarren LeightStarsMatthew BroderickJeanne TripplehornAnnabella SciorraBrian, painter Ellen and chef Sam timeshare an apartment on different days. A shift on Mon/Wednesdays causes mistaken identity as Ellen and Sam have never met but leave notes, food etc. behind for each other.
- DirectorDoug McHenryStarsAllen PayneJada Pinkett SmithBokeem WoodbineTwo brothers, survivors of family tragedy, take different life paths: one falls for a high-spirited waitress and dreams of success, the other follows a life of petty crime. Their lives reconnect in shattering fashion.
- DirectorMichael HoffmanStarsRobert Downey Jr.Sam NeillDavid ThewlisThe exiled royal doctor to King Charles II devotes himself to helping Londoners suffering from the plague, and in the process falls in love with an equally poor woman.
- DirectorBob RafelsonStarsJack NicholsonMichael CaineStephen DorffA man who has failed as a father and husband commits a heist to make money for his fledging business, but things become complicated when his wife interferes.
- DirectorKasi LemmonsStarsSamuel L. JacksonJurnee SmollettMeagan GoodWhat did little Eve see--and how will it haunt her? Husband, father and womanizer Louis Batiste is the head of an affluent family, but it's the women who rule this gothic world of secrets, lies and mystic forces.
- DirectorPaul AusterStarsHarvey KeitelMira SorvinoRichard EdsonA famous jazz saxophonist's life is forever changed after he is accidentally shot.
- DirectorJohn SaylesStarsDavid StrathairnMary Elizabeth MastrantonioVanessa MartinezIn an economically devastated Alaskan town, a fisherman with a troublesome past dates a woman whose young daughter does not approve of him. When he witnesses the murder of his shady brother, he, the woman and the kid run to the wilderness.
- DirectorPeter M. CohenStarsAmanda PeetBrian Van HoltJonathan AbrahamsThree egotistical swingers, who think they're God's gift to women, end up having their friendships tested when all three of them pick up and start dating the same woman.
- DirectorGeorge HickenlooperStarsAndy GarciaMick JaggerJulianna MarguliesA failed novelist's inability to pay the bills strains relations with his wife and leads him to work at an escort service where he becomes entwined with a wealthy woman whose husband is a successful writer.
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsNick NolteRalph FiennesNutsa KukhianidzeAn aging gambler on a losing streak attempts to rob a casino in Monte Carlo. But someone's already tipped off the cops before he even makes a move.
- DirectorMike HodgesStarsClive OwenMalcolm McDowellJonathan Rhys MeyersA former gangster reenters the criminal underworld after his brother suspiciously commits suicide.
- DirectorRoger MichellStarsRhys IfansDaniel CraigSamantha MortonTwo strangers become connected by a tragedy, yet one dangerously feels that the connection goes much deeper than the other is willing to admit.
- DirectorRobinson DevorStarsPape Sidy NiangAllan ArmstrongEric BreedloveAn African-born bicycle cop encounters strange and mysterious situations on his police beat in urban Seattle.
- DirectorEd BlumStarsHolly AirdEileen AtkinsHugh BonnevilleSex and love. Some seek it, some need it, some spurn it, and some pay for it, but we're all involved in it. Set on one afternoon on Hampstead Heath, London, this movie investigates the minutiae of seven couples. What makes us tick?
- DirectorSarah GavronStarsTannishtha ChatterjeeSatish KaushikChristopher SimpsonIn 1980s London, Nazneem, a young Bangladeshi woman, feels her soul is quietly dying in her arranged marriage, until the day hot-headed Karim comes knocking at her door.
- DirectorBaillie WalshStarsDaniel CraigHarry EdenEveA fading Hollywood star looks back at the days of his youth as he returns home from his best friend's funeral.
- DirectorStephen PoliakoffStarsRomola GaraiEddie RedmayneJuno TempleThe adopted daughter of a privileged British politician uncovers a family secret in the weeks leading up to World War II.
- DirectorNoel ClarkeMark DavisStarsEmma RobertsTamsin EgertonOphelia Lovibond4 girls out on a 3 days trip in to 2 cities, if they survive. While Jo is working in a supermarket, her 3 friends are all out on their adventures. A chance encounter with diamond thieves sends them on a collision course with fate itself.
- DirectorNiall MacCormickStarsFelicity JonesJessica Brown FindlaySebastian KochBeth, a bookish teenager, befriends Emilia, an aspiring novelist who has just arrived in town. Emilia soon begins an affair with Beth's father that threatens to have devastating consequences.
- DirectorRufus NorrisStarsCharlie BootyLily JamesTim RothThree suburban English families' lives intertwine with tragic consequences.
- DirectorDrake DoremusStarsFelicity JonesGuy PearceMackenzie DavisWhen a foreign exchange student arrives in a small upstate New York town, she challenges the dynamics of her host family's relationships and alters their lives forever.
- DirectorGerard JohnsonStarsPeter FerdinandoStephen GrahamNeil MaskellGood policing doesn't necessarily mean doing everything by the book. But as the business of crime in London turns to favour the Albanians and Turks, how does a "good" policeman survive?