Tele's List of 100 Lesser-Known or Under-Appreciated Films Everyone Should See (THE LIST IS COMPLETE! p26)

[RandomCat]

 Two straight movies I've seen and love. Think you're getting to mainstream, Tele.

 

Forbidden Planet is a bonafide classic. Side point, first saw Robbie in an episode of Columbo.

[DAR]

1 hour ago, Telemachos said:

71. Top Secret! (1984)

written by: David Zucker & Jim Abrahams & Jerry Zucker and Martyn Burke
directed by: David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker
starring: Val Kilmer

 

Synopsis:
A parody of WWII spy movies in which an American rock and roll singer becomes involved in a Resistance plot to rescue a scientist imprisoned in East Germany.

 

The famous ZAZ comedy team is probably best known for AIRPLANE and NAKED GUN, but they're also responsible for TOP SECRET!, an absurd over-the-top parody that was Val Kilmer's first film role. Like their other movies, the plot is really an excuse for every conceivable type of gag, with as many as possible packed into each scene. If you don't laugh at one of them, odds are something else a couple of seconds later will tickle your funny bone.

 

 

Bravo

[Goffe]

so many 80's movies... Tele you need to expand your horizons 

[Dementeleus]

67. The Secret of Roan Inish (1994)

written and directed by: John Sayles (from a book by Rosalie K. Fry)
starring: Jeni Courtney

 

Synopsis:
10-year-old Fiona is sent to live with her grandparents in a small fishing village in Donegal, Ireland. She soon learns the local legend that an ancestor of hers married a Selkie - a seal who can turn into a human.

 

A beautiful and gentle modern fairy tale. John Sayles is one of the more famous American independent filmmakers, and he's known for doing a lot of uncredited rewrites and polishes on big-budget studio movies in order to finance his independent films. He's quietly made a career as one of the best (and under-appreciated) filmmakers of the 1980s and '90s.

 

The famous cinematographer Haskell Wexler shot this film, using a lot of natural lighting and bringing a real sense of lush specialness to the screen.

 

 

[Fancyarcher]

Forbidden Planet is very good, and Top Secret is hilarious.

[Dementeleus]

66. The Mouse That Roared (1959)

written by: Roger MacDougall & Stanley Mann (from a novel by Leonard Wibberley)
directed by: Jack Arnold
starring: Peter Sellers, Jean Seberg

 

Synopsis:
An impoverished backward nation declares a war on the United States of America, hoping to lose, but things don't go according to plan.

 

This is a broad parody about international diplomacy and relations. A tiny European nation — the Duchy of Grand Fenwick — is dealing with the crash of their economy, and their leaders have the clever idea to follow the same example as Germany and Japan in WWII: declare war on the United States and lose, and the U.S. will quickly give plenty of aid to rebuild their former enemy in the name of peace. There are some slight complications: Grand Fenwick has no navy and the technology and armaments for their small army (of a dozen men or so) is frozen in the middle ages: chain mail and long-bows. Nonetheless, they decided to launch an invasion of the U.S., with surprising success.

 

Peter Sellers plays three roles, including the Duchess of Grand Fenwick, and this riff on mutually assured destruction and Cold War paranoia is a delight.

 

 

 

[Dementeleus]

65. The Brood (1979)

written and directed by: David Cronenberg
starring: Oliver Reed, Samatha Eggar

 

Synopsis:
Amidst a series of brutal murders, a man tries to uncover an unconventional psychologist's therapy techniques on his institutionalized wife.

 

This low-budget little shocker is a perfect distillation of Cronenberg's themes and aesthetics. It starts out small, deliberate, mainly almost entirely with psychological issues and traumas, and steadily becomes more and more unsettling until the totally gonzo final act. The actual specific details of the big reveal are pretty absurd, but Cronenberg so carefully reveals each piece of information that you buy into the whole affair.

 

The central thrust of the story is about trust and deceit and how people hurt each other (emotionally, physically, psychologically), told primarily through three characters: a husband and wife, who've separated (he thinks she's insane, she thinks he's poisoning their child against her), and their young daughter. Cronenberg was going through a divorce at the time, and the movie feels incredibly personal.

 

I'm sure our resident Canadian horror buff @Baumer has seen this plenty of times, but for you other Canucks out there (hi @DAJK) check out some horror from up north.

 

 

[75Live]

finally catching up on the list.  I think finally there were one or two I haven't seen  

[narniadis]

Hmmm Roan Inish is the only one of this latest batch that I have seen.

 

Richard Farnsworth is great in the handful of roles that I have seen him in - obviously The Straight Story, but to me he will always be Matthew from Anne of Green Gables (the 1985 Canadian / Disney Version)

 

He was also good as the Sheriff in Misery

Edited June 13, 2016 by narniadis

[Dementeleus]

5 minutes ago, 75live said:

finally catching up on the list.  I think finally there were one or two I haven't seen  

 

I'll take it.

 

Hopefully there'll be a few more.

[narniadis]

What I find interesting about lists like this one - which deviate heavily from what would be considered the status quo is that it gives me reasons to actually put a film on my "to-watch" list. Obviously time is not on my side since I run on average 2 years from the time I put something on my Netflix que to the time I get to watch it but with so many choices it's nice to see "why" I should watch something - although there are obviously some that are just not up my alley - B Cinema sci-fi and/or horror probably wouldn't get the time of day from me lol....

[TalismanRing]

6 minutes ago, narniadis said:

Hmmm Roan Inish is the only one of this latest batch that I have seen.

 

Richard Farnsworth is great in the handful of roles that I have seen him in - obviously The Straight Story, but to me he will always be Matthew from Anne of Green Gables (the 1985 Canadian / Disney Version)

 

He was also good as the Sheriff in Misery

 

He's always great, such a  natural screen presence and it's crazy he started acting so late in life   I also love him in Green Gables (the two PBS mini series were all around wonderful)

 

So far I think I've seen everything so far except the Maccio movie and the Cronenberg just posted though I don't know why since it has Oliver Reed.

 

 

[75Live]

6 minutes ago, Telemachos said:

 

I'll take it.

 

 

  Hide contents

Hopefully there'll be a few more.

 

 

Oh I am sure there will be more too  

 

Still loving the list  

[Dementeleus]

15 minutes ago, narniadis said:

What I find interesting about lists like this one - which deviate heavily from what would be considered the status quo is that it gives me reasons to actually put a film on my "to-watch" list. Obviously time is not on my side since I run on average 2 years from the time I put something on my Netflix que to the time I get to watch it but with so many choices it's nice to see "why" I should watch something - although there are obviously some that are just not up my alley - B Cinema sci-fi and/or horror probably wouldn't get the time of day from me lol....

 

I love your reply because IMO that's the whole reason to do these lists... not just mine, obviously, but all the others that happen. It's like Apple Music for movies, or something -- a curated list by a person with particular tastes, and you can pick and choose as you like, depending on your own preferences. I like this much more than just a generalized group judgement -- there are more interesting outliers.

[baumer]

Yep, plenty I haven't seen now.  Most of them are films before 1970 of course.  I haven't even heard of a couple of the films mentioned here. 

 

As for The Brood, Cronenberg is an absolute beast in the 70's and 80's.  The Brood is intense and gory...two of his trademarks.  Sorry to do this again, but I'm sure Tele won't mind if I pimp some of my work out again.

 

Check out my top ten Canadian horror films, and then check the site for top ten horror films from other countries....it's a pretty cool feature on the other site I frequent.

 

http://www.top10films.co.uk/archives/24854

 

Love Top Secret as well...I'm loving all of your choices so far Chris.  I will definitely try to find some of these.

[Porthos]

2 hours ago, Telemachos said:

66. The Mouse That Roared (1959)

 

The presence of this (and Forbidden Planet for that matter since I don't think it is all that unknown or under-appreciated) raises my hopes that we might see something involving a certain "Marxist" comedy team on this list at some point. 

[Dementeleus]

3 minutes ago, Porthos said:

 

The presence of this (and Forbidden Planet for that matter since I don't think it is all that unknown or under-appreciated) raises my hopes that we might see something involving a certain "Marxist" comedy team on this list at some point. 

 

We should take a poll of how many people here have seen FP.  

[Goffe]

learn with this guy Tele

http://boxd.it/DxOs

[Porthos]

6 minutes ago, Telemachos said:

 

We should take a poll of how many people here have seen FP.  

 

Technically the title is "Lesser Known or Under-Appreciated" films not "Watch This Film You've Heard of and Know is Great But Haven't Gotten Around To It Yet, You Heathens."

 

[baumer]

9 minutes ago, Telemachos said:

 

We should take a poll of how many people here have seen FP.  

 

I have not seen it.