I forgot to comment on Miller's Crossing. Love that movie. It might be my favorite from the Coen brothers.
twenty most underrated movies, per IMDB
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Wouldn't muting a silent movie be redundant?
(Sorry. I couldn't resist going for a cheap laugh.)
I see your point, but it's still a shame that modern media seems to treat everything before the Spielberg/Lucas era as not just irrelevant but invisible. I don't know how many articles I've seen that claim to list the 20 Greatest Comedies "of All Time," but really only list the movies they expect modern magazine readers to recognize.
Part of the problem I think is that b/w movies have been essentially banished from the airwaves, aside from maybe TCM and the wee hours of the morning. When I was growing up, the classic films of the 30s, 40s, and 50s were still staples on tv. You didn't have to be born in the Depression to watch an old Johnny Weissmuller TARZAN movie on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Or an old Boris Karloff movie, or Abbott & Costello or the Marx Bros. Nowadays, I'm not sure how kids would even be exposed to them . . . .
Thank god for TCM, which, I admit, I could watch all day.
There are certainly some titles on that list that I'd strongly agree are underrated...
The Thin Red Line
The 25th Hour
Into the Wild
Falling Down
Zodiac
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Equilibrium was hooey, tho.
Miller's Crossing and American Movie are going on my Netflix queue. Somehow managed to miss those two.
The Thin Red Line
The 25th Hour
Into the Wild
Falling Down
Zodiac
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Equilibrium was hooey, tho.
Miller's Crossing and American Movie are going on my Netflix queue. Somehow managed to miss those two.
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Captain
Wouldn't muting a silent movie be redundant?
(Sorry. I couldn't resist going for a cheap laugh.)
Well the version I watched had some horrible jangling cymbals in the background that, to be fair, did prevent me from drifting off to sleep.
Fortunately not all lists are like that. I read an AskMen list of the top thrillers around recently which led me to (finally) explore Hitchcock's oeuvre and also The Manchurian Candidate and Double Indemnity.
Even looking at this 'all modern' list, though, nobody appears to have seen even half of it. Even limited to modern films there's more stuff out there than we can handle. It's hardly surprising that older, more difficult material gets short shrift.
Cool.
I admit that, to modern sensiblities, older movies can be slower and more talky than modern films. They're often more verbal and less visual, and spend lots of time explaining cliches that younger viewers grew up knowing by heart.
Up until the eighties or so, for example, vampire movies still felt obliged to include a scene explaining what a vampire is and what the rules are. Nowadays, that would be redundant. A quick shot of fangs, or a hand sizzling in a sunbeam, and the audience is clued in.
But if you're in right frame of mind, and can switch gears into old-movie mode, they still work fine. It's just a different kind of movie-watching . . . .
Of what I've seen:
The Thin Red Line - Hated this movie! I thought the numerous narrations were such a mess. I watched it again on mute and adored it. They should have just left well enough alone.
Jackie Brown- I don't think this is overrated. Its probably my favorite Tarantino film, as I think most of his other films, except maybe Reservoir Dogs, all all over rated.
Leaving Las Vegas- I haven't seen this one in awhile, but its a little to heavy to watch over and over again. Still, great performances all around and Nic Craig has done crap since.
Falling Down- Is this the crazy one with Michael Douglas? Yeah, it's out there, but cool and keeps you going the entire time. I wonder why these are all older movies? There's probably a lot of underrated obscure recent independent things.
Before Sunrise- Eh. it's good the first time you see it when you're young, but now, not so much. And the sequel kind of ruined it.
Equilibrium- I really like this one! Good performances, sweet action, dystopia statements. I think I read somewhere how it made its money in worldwide release so they basically said, Screw you US if you don't get us. I miss SF like this!
Wow, I guess I haven't seen a lot of these. Is there a correlation between unseen and underrated? Generally I think so. If a lot of people tend to see and even misunderstand a picture, it isn't really a hidden gem. Underrated I tend to think of more as, no one knows this picture exists. Thought a lot of the shows on this list are pretty big films, just older. Hmph.
The Thin Red Line - Hated this movie! I thought the numerous narrations were such a mess. I watched it again on mute and adored it. They should have just left well enough alone.
Jackie Brown- I don't think this is overrated. Its probably my favorite Tarantino film, as I think most of his other films, except maybe Reservoir Dogs, all all over rated.
Leaving Las Vegas- I haven't seen this one in awhile, but its a little to heavy to watch over and over again. Still, great performances all around and Nic Craig has done crap since.
Falling Down- Is this the crazy one with Michael Douglas? Yeah, it's out there, but cool and keeps you going the entire time. I wonder why these are all older movies? There's probably a lot of underrated obscure recent independent things.
Before Sunrise- Eh. it's good the first time you see it when you're young, but now, not so much. And the sequel kind of ruined it.
Equilibrium- I really like this one! Good performances, sweet action, dystopia statements. I think I read somewhere how it made its money in worldwide release so they basically said, Screw you US if you don't get us. I miss SF like this!
Wow, I guess I haven't seen a lot of these. Is there a correlation between unseen and underrated? Generally I think so. If a lot of people tend to see and even misunderstand a picture, it isn't really a hidden gem. Underrated I tend to think of more as, no one knows this picture exists. Thought a lot of the shows on this list are pretty big films, just older. Hmph.
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Captain
Any film featuring a narrator gets an extra half-star from me.
I don't mind narrators, but every dang person in The Thin Red Line has a commentary. I think there are more thoughts than actually dialogue. Although its been awhile since I've seen it, and I still only watch it on mute. The cinematography is indeed breathtaking. It sells itself, no inner monologues needed. Pick one voiceover or be silent.
That's so true Greg. Not sure what age you are, but I'll be 39 in a fortnight and growing up in the 1970s and 80s, I would regularly have seen Laurel & Hardy or Chaplin and the likes of the old Flash Gordon serials, King of the Rocket Men and Tarzan aired for kids on Saturday mornings or during the school holidays. Laurel & Hardy still make me laugh as hard as anything else ever made but you never see them on tv any more. Despite the fact that there are now probably literally 100s more tv channels than when I was growing up.
That also seems to be a US/UK difference- we still get monochrome flicks on the regular channels, albeit fewer than there used to be. (Though this is probably because there are simply now more colour movies...)
Jackie Brown is certainly underrated. As Tarantino films go, I thought it was as good as Pulp Fiction and certainly superior to Kill Bill.
It's all relative, I suppose. Kids these days probably consider BACK TO THE FUTURE and THE TERMINATOR classic oldies . . . . which is a terrifying concept!
^^ Maybe the movies from those eras aren't so much "underrated" as "forgotten".
The only ones of these I've seen are Jackie Brown (okay, but in my view all Tarantino moves are starting to look alike) and Before Sunrise (okay...but again, not spectacular).
Oddly, I have not seen Into The Wild, despite being a) an Alaskan, b) a huge Jon Krakauer fan (I've read all of his books), and c) an even bigger Eddie Vedder fan (I have heard parts of the score to this movie though, because of Eddie's involvement).
I think it is because I was still living in Alaska when this young man was found, and especially since a few Alaskans tried REALLY HARD to warn this guy of the folly involved in wandering off into the Alaskan bush without proper gear (or even a decent map), all of which warnings fell on deaf ears, that we Alaskans have a pretty low opinion of this guy.
Our collective Alaskan view is that you have to be a very special kind of dumbshit to wander off into the bush without proper gear - especially when someone even offers to BUY it for you, for cryin' out loud, just to try and save you from your stupid-ass self.
I mean, Jesus...look at a frakkin' MAP, and it is abundantly obvious to even the most dense individual that you REALLY do not want to go fucking around with Mother Nature in this state. Because there is a 100% probability that Mother Nature will kick your ever-loving, existential-journey-to-find-yourself, ass.
Which is exactly what happened.
I have a hard time feeling sorry for a guy who was just ASKING to be Darwined out of existence...but I'm really torn about seeing this movie because I'm such a huge fan of Krakauer and Vedder.
Oddly, I have not seen Into The Wild, despite being a) an Alaskan, b) a huge Jon Krakauer fan (I've read all of his books), and c) an even bigger Eddie Vedder fan (I have heard parts of the score to this movie though, because of Eddie's involvement).
I think it is because I was still living in Alaska when this young man was found, and especially since a few Alaskans tried REALLY HARD to warn this guy of the folly involved in wandering off into the Alaskan bush without proper gear (or even a decent map), all of which warnings fell on deaf ears, that we Alaskans have a pretty low opinion of this guy.
Our collective Alaskan view is that you have to be a very special kind of dumbshit to wander off into the bush without proper gear - especially when someone even offers to BUY it for you, for cryin' out loud, just to try and save you from your stupid-ass self.
I mean, Jesus...look at a frakkin' MAP, and it is abundantly obvious to even the most dense individual that you REALLY do not want to go fucking around with Mother Nature in this state. Because there is a 100% probability that Mother Nature will kick your ever-loving, existential-journey-to-find-yourself, ass.
Which is exactly what happened.
I have a hard time feeling sorry for a guy who was just ASKING to be Darwined out of existence...but I'm really torn about seeing this movie because I'm such a huge fan of Krakauer and Vedder.
The Thin Red Line
Saw it originally in the theater and was bored out of my mind.. for a 2hr movie it felt like 3 and not in a LotR good 3hr way.
Jackie Brown
Awesome movie with an awesome cast.. one of my favorite Tarantino movies. I love how he cast a mainly older cast as a tribute to 70s movies.. remarkable in our youth obsessed movie culture.
Equilibrium
Nice action movie with some cool fight scenes but that's it. It's got huge plotholes and the theme has been done to death (and often enough better).
Saw it originally in the theater and was bored out of my mind.. for a 2hr movie it felt like 3 and not in a LotR good 3hr way.
Jackie Brown
Awesome movie with an awesome cast.. one of my favorite Tarantino movies. I love how he cast a mainly older cast as a tribute to 70s movies.. remarkable in our youth obsessed movie culture.
Equilibrium
Nice action movie with some cool fight scenes but that's it. It's got huge plotholes and the theme has been done to death (and often enough better).
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Captain
Oddly, I have not seen Into The Wild, despite being a) an Alaskan, b) a huge Jon Krakauer fan (I've read all of his books), and c) an even bigger Eddie Vedder fan (I have heard parts of the score to this movie though, because of Eddie's involvement).
I think it is because I was still living in Alaska when this young man was found, and especially since a few Alaskans tried REALLY HARD to warn this guy of the folly involved in wandering off into the Alaskan bush without proper gear (or even a decent map), all of which warnings fell on deaf ears, that we Alaskans have a pretty low opinion of this guy.
Our collective Alaskan view is that you have to be a very special kind of dumbshit to wander off into the bush without proper gear - especially when someone even offers to BUY it for you, for cryin' out loud, just to try and save you from your stupid-ass self.
I mean, Jesus...look at a frakkin' MAP, and it is abundantly obvious to even the most dense individual that you REALLY do not want to go fucking around with Mother Nature in this state. Because there is a 100% probability that Mother Nature will kick your ever-loving, existential-journey-to-find-yourself, ass.
Which is exactly what happened.
I have a hard time feeling sorry for a guy who was just ASKING to be Darwined out of existence...but I'm really torn about seeing this movie because I'm such a huge fan of Krakauer and Vedder.
Fortunately most of the film isn't actually set in Alaska, and I doubt he'd want you to feel sorry for him in any case.