The Most Underrated Movie Of All Times

[Gaius Baltar]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/images/2008/09/16/devil_blue_dress.jpg

Devil In A Blue Dress

An American neo-noir film directed by Carl Franklin and stars Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Terry Kinney, Jennifer Beals, and Don Cheadle.
The Film takes place in 1948 Los Angeles, Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins is a World War II veteran who has been unfairly laid off at the aircraft factory. He becomes a private eye to make ends meet and pay for his mortgage. Trouble is he's never done work as sleuth. (taken for wiki)

Nobody ever talks about this movie that deserves to be ranked amongst the greatest films of all time IMO. The acting is phenominal and Denzel deserved an Oscar for his performance. I love the Noir style of story telling and its done perfect in this movie. Tom Sizemore is also at his best here, I'm just shocked that a movie this great doesnt get any respect.

[Freddy Krueger]

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Lucky Number Slevin, Primal Fear, and Resurrection are all highly underrated in my opinion.

I've never seen Devil in a Blue Dress, perhaps I'll Netflix it.

[Gaius Baltar]

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Lucky Number Slevin, Primal Fear, and Resurrection are all highly underrated in my opinion.

I've never seen Devil in a Blue Dress, perhaps I'll Netflix it.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang has quite a following already, Primal Fear was amazing and criminally underated. Lucky Number Slevin had its moments.

Whats Resurrection about?

[JCPhoenix]

Not a fan of Lucky Number Slevin but Kiss Kiss and Primal Fear are two great films. I've wanted to see Devil with a Blue Dress for a while but I just haven't been able to get a copy of it (our school sound and moving image library usually has most movies but it doesn't have that one)

My choice would be:

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w267/runnerlevelred/mouthofmadnessblue.jpg

There's better images for the movie but then I might spoil the fun. The best way to see In the Mouth of Madness is to go in without knowing anything about the storyline. Just imagine - a Charlie Kaufman-style horror movie with a bit of a Lynchian tone and a nice dose of (very intentional) camp and satire. I think it's a crime more people haven't seen this film. This is my favorite Carpenter, even over The Thing (which I love).

[spacemonkey]

Theres a movie called Photographing Fairies which not many people have seen but is freaking genius! I mean I saw it and it blew me away, sadly, almost no one Ive talked to has seen it. Its an amazing movie about these two little girls who supposedly see fairies in a forest at a certain hour of the day. The mystery that unfolds is amazing.

[Mr. Creasy]

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q68/ThaMenace/AUGUST_RUSH.jpg

[Nikalas]

In the Company of Men

The Return (RU)

Spartan

[ivana]

Angel Heart
Jacob's Ladder
Casino
The Game
The Sting
Papillon
Escape From Alcatraz
Rushmore
Rashomon

[starcat]

Return of the killer tomatoes
Eddie and the Cruisers
Stone Cold
Tarzan the Ape Man
May
Solar Babies
The Imposter
Dream a Little Dream

[Le_Big_Mac]

Used Cars
One False Move
Assault on Precinct 13
A Simple Plan

[LordSimen]

My choice would be:

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w267/runnerlevelred/mouthofmadnessblue.jpg

There's better images for the movie but then I might spoil the fun. The best way to see In the Mouth of Madness is to go in without knowing anything about the storyline. Just imagine - a Charlie Kaufman-style horror movie with a bit of a Lynchian tone and a nice dose of (very intentional) camp and satire. I think it's a crime more people haven't seen this film. This is my favorite Carpenter, even over The Thing (which I love).


Definite thumbs up on this choice. :D;)

[FireCaptain4]

Wow, a few Schmoes just moved up onto my "Awesome Peoples" list. The inclusion of "In the Mouth of Madness" and "Jacob's Ladder" certify that some of you dudes are just plain awesome.

My picks:
*What Dreams May Come
*Predator 2
*King Kong ('76)

[Gaius Baltar]

Wow, a few Schmoes just moved up onto my "Awesome Peoples" list. The inclusion of "In the Mouth of Madness" and "Jacob's Ladder" certify that some of you dudes are just plain awesome.

My picks:
*What Dreams May Come
*Predator 2
*King Kong ('76)


Oh WOW. That is one of the only 3 movies in my entire life that I actually passed out asleep during in a movie theater. What Dreams May Come was pas terrible.

[BoBoi]

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, definitely agreed on this one.

Others are...

Eyes Wide Shut
Requiem for a Dream
Leaving Las Vegas
House of Sand and Fog
Contact
Heat
Vanilla Sky
Donnie Brasco
Malcolm X
Munich

[jaw2929]

The movies I think are great & under-rated would be:

-Sweet Sixteen
-Ratcatcher
-Kes
-Orphans
-Stella Does Tricks
-It's a Free World
-Looks & Smiles
-Carla's Song
-Riff-Raff
-My Name is Joe
-Land & Freedom
-Raining Stones
-The Navigators


All except "Ratcatcher" are by Director Ken Loach. Fucking brilliant.

[DarthWade]

In the Company of Men

The Return (RU)

Spartan


Oh yeah, In The Company Of Men is incredible. Aaron Eckhart was amazing in that. Someday I would love to meet him in person and just tell him that. I still think about it years later.

The book version of What Dreams May Come is a lot better than the movie (although I did like the movie).

[Pentangeli]

On IMDb it's probably To Die For.

[Major Mojo]

Waiting For Guffman.

[sarah1980]

Not a fan of Lucky Number Slevin but Kiss Kiss and Primal Fear are two great films. I've wanted to see Devil with a Blue Dress for a while but I just haven't been able to get a copy of it (our school sound and moving image library usually has most movies but it doesn't have that one)

My choice would be:

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w267/runnerlevelred/mouthofmadnessblue.jpg

There's better images for the movie but then I might spoil the fun. The best way to see In the Mouth of Madness is to go in without knowing anything about the storyline. Just imagine - a Charlie Kaufman-style horror movie with a bit of a Lynchian tone and a nice dose of (very intentional) camp and satire. I think it's a crime more people haven't seen this film. This is my favorite Carpenter, even over The Thing (which I love).

u rock my friend

[Jig Saw 123]

The Fountain

[poopontheshoes7]

Bringing Out the Dead!

Where the fuck is the love for this movie???!!!

Scorcese most underrated film next to The King of Comedy. Brilliantly dark comedy. Hell, its damn black comedy. Wonderful cinematography and a great cast.

[HurricanesR1]

Sleepers....great movie with an excellent cast.

Robert De Niro
Kevin Bacon
Dustin Hoffman
Brad Pitt
Jason Patric

[RicochetShaw]

Trust (1990)

[JackassFan]

Gangster No. 1 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0210065/)

[John Galt]

Ripley's Game is criminally underrated.

[Mr. Creasy]

Just recently...
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

[ScaryFreak1827]

Vanilla Sky
Speed Racer
Sunshine

[HoyleHaw]

A River Runs Through It*
Electra Glide in Blue
Johnny Handsome
Colors
Nobody's Fool
Ruthless People*
Renaissance
Southern Comfort
Drowning Mona
Indian Runner
Q&A
Dead Again*
Mona Lisa*
The Salton Sea
The Gingerbread Man
Blood and Wine

[Antonio141]

Confining my list strictly to the horror genre:

AFRAID OF THE DARK
CLOWNHOUSE
THE REFLECTING SKIN

[SpartanLonewolf]

One of my favorite films that I think is underrated and I didn't know about until I saw it on DVD is Unknown (2006).

[Pentangeli]

Oliver Stone's Salvador is a wonderful film, and doesn't get mentioned a lot.

[MickeyKnox]

Ravenous
Strange Days
A Perfect World
In The Mouth of Madness
Revenge
Jacob's Ladder
Extreme Prejudice
Sunshine
Romeo Is Bleeding
The Fountain
Eyes Wide Shut
Pi

[Beard_of_Meat]

Jacob's Ladder
Alien 3
Bringing Out the Dead
Miller's Crossing
In the Mouth of Madness
Minority Report
Unleashed
Mishima:A Life in Four Chapters
Hook
Son of Ace Ventura Pet Detective J/K

[the_deacon]

Ms .45 1981 directed by Abel Ferrara

Find it (good luck, it's out of print but you could get lucky with it as a rental, like I did). Watch it. Now.

[SS-Block]

Signs of Life / Lebenszeichen

[ivana]

Kingpin (1996)

[Monotreme]

Top 5 most underrated movies of all time (well, in recent years mainly):

1. Contact (Robert Zemeckis, 1997) - I honestly don't understand when people talk about sci fi, they talk about 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, Solyaris - but they never mention Contact, which I think is just the most amazing, beautiful, unbelievable, deep, resonant, thought-provoking, fantastic film that deserves to be mentioned up there with the greats. It's an unequivocal masterpiece, and it deserves more recognition.

2. Artificial Intelligence A.I. (Steven Spielberg, 2001) - Speaking uf underrated sci-fi masterpieces, what about Spielberg's incredible Kubrickian exploration of what makes us human and the nature of self-identity? The film features a very conflicting ending that I think many people continue to misunderstand, but honestly, I think it's up there with the sci-fi greats.

3. Revolutionary Road (Sam Mendes, 2008) - How this film escaped so many people and still manages to elude them is beyond me. Pretty much everyone I know - either on here or in real life - thought that this film was gut-wrenching, unbelievably well-acted, beautifully shot and just phenomenal in general. And yet, it still only stands at 68% on Rotten Tomatoes and was robbed of a number of Oscar nominations it more than deserved. All I can hope is that 10 years down the line, when people look back at the past decade again, they realize just how incredible this film was. I recently bumped it up to my #1 film of 2008. It's that good.

4. After Hours (Martin Scorsese, 1985) - I only saw this film recently, like a year ago - but after seeing it, I honestly don't understand how it does not have more recognition and is not considered one of Scorsese's best - which it absolutely is! It's unbelievably brilliant actually - I know that word gets tossed around a lot, but I think it's probably Scorsese's most unique and outright intelligent film. It's deeply allegorical, philosophical - Kafka-esque really, if you will. It's hilarious, weird, different, special... just unbelievable. Honorable underrated Scorsese mention: The Age of Innocence and The Aviator, both of which (but especially the latter) are up there with Taxi Driver/Goodfellas/Raging Bull for me.

5. A Serious Man (The Coen Brothers, 2009) - Like Revolutionary Road, this is a film that grew on me with time. Upon a couple more subsequent viewings, I came to the conclusion that it is none other than a masterpiece of intellectual filmmaking, one of the most deep, resonant, philosophical films ever made, one of the Coen's best and possibly my #1 favorite movie of 2009. I think the Coens have pulled off an unbelievable achievement and created a film that is SO intelligent, SO philosophical, SO intellectual and loaded that it just drove most people away. But those willing to invest, like any good art, get a great reward.

HONORABLE #6 MENTION: The Constant Gardener (Fernando Meirelles, 2005) - Just a film that I think was totally overlooked - featuring two of the best performances of all time (one of which was recognized by the Academy, one of which was totally and unjustly snubbed (Ralph Fiennes')). I think it's one of the greatest love stories and conspiracy thrillers ever committed to film; it's a beautiful, amazing work of art that is up there with City of God for me, and I think deserves more recognition.

[DaveyJoeG]

Return of the Living Dead. A great horror comedy zombie flick that predates Shaun of the Dead by almost 20 years. The characters are likable, the dialogue is hilarious, and the monsters are creepy. It also features a naked Linnea Quigley for the majority of the film. It's very 80s but not nearly as dated as some movies from that time. It also features the coolest zombie of all time(aside from maybe Bub from Day of the Dead):

http://findmeazombie.com/Pages/Tar%20man/Images/return-of-the-living-dead-tar-man%20small.jpg

I used to think Alexander was the most underrated film but I tried rewatching it this year and couldn't even finish it. Funny how your opinion of a film can change so much on a 2nd viewing.

[ilovemovies]

I'm not gonna list movies that are well liked but should be more well liked. Instead of I'm going to talk about movies that were poorly received that I think are either good or great.



Gigli - It is by no means a great movie and is definitely flawed as hell but one of the worst movies of all time? Give me a fucking break! I thought a lot of the dialogue is actually good and I enjoyed the chemistry between Bennifer and Al Pacino's cameo was awesome. Love that scene. Wish I could say the same for Christopher Walken's cameo but that is a scene that probably should have been edited out and maybe be left as a dvd extra. Not only does Walken ramble on and on, but it was such a pointless scene since we never hear from him again and it doesn't lead anywhere.


The Postman - Another movie that some would consider to be among the worst of all time but I think it's awesome. A very entertaining albiet admittedly corny epic. Some of the dialogue makes you laugh and when you consider that this is about a postman/mail man, it kind of makes me chuckle there. But heck it's a metaphore and it works beautifully despite it's share of goofiness. Love this movie. :cool:


The Dukes of Hazzard - I found this movie to be a blast! Sean William Scott and Johnny Knoxville are great together, Burt Reynolds is awesome as the villain of the movie, the car chases are awesome, the movie is frequently funny and perhaps the best surprise of the movie was Jessica Simpson who actually showed a lot of spunk and energy in this movie.


Stealth - An action with some truly awesome action especially the scene where Jessica Biel crashes into North Korea. That was such a sensational moment. And the whole story of her trying to get to the border of South Korea was a very exciting story as was the main story itself.

Mission to Mars - This is a movie that I really don't get the hate it gets. I found it to be very entertaining and I especially loved the ending. The last 10 minutes or so are quite beautiful.


The Spirit - I found this movie to be a real hoot. Yes, it's a very campy movie but the cast I thought played this to perfection playing their parts with relish. Also love the look of the movie. Sure, it's kind of a copy of Sin City's style, but it didn't feel like a carbon copy of Sin City to me. It felt like it's own original design. An enormously entertaining and highly enjoyable flick.

The Good German - Again, I really don't get why this is hated at all. I LOVED it! George Clooney is fantastic as is Cate Blanchett and Tobey Maguire. I thought Clooney and Blanchett had great chemistry. The movie is full of mystery and intrigue. It obviously recalls Casablanca and while it's obviously not on the same level as that timeless classic, it's still a really terrific movie and the black and white photography looks simply sensational.

Nine - One of last year's very best movies if you ask me. But for some reason it was largely ignored by audiences and dissed by critics. I don't know why. I found the movie to be hypnotically compelling from begining to end with some really awesome musical numbers, an amazing production design, the movie looks great and the first-rate ensemble cast headlined by the always fantastic Daniel Day Lewis, all giving great performances. It's a fascinating character study of Day Lewis's character and his struggle to juggle the women of his life and finish the movie that he's currently making with both his personal and professional life falling a part. Nearly as great as Chicago if you ask me.

Aeon Flux - Loved the story, loved the look of the movie, loved the action. Admittedly the acting is a little flat but I thought this scifi actioner was a blast from begining to end and it just kept getting better and surprising me. The production design is amazing.

Bangkok Dangerous - Nicolas Cage gives a solid performance in a stylish and quite cool action flick. I found his character to be interesting and well written. I liked his relationship with the deaf woman and the action was well shot and exciting and the movie looks great.

The Big Bounce - Loved the chemistry between Owen Wilson and Sara Foster who I thought gave a star making performance but unfortunately either a) I was the only one or b) no one else saw the movie so they didn't see what I saw. The supporting cast rocks and I loved the twists and turns of the story. This may not be up there with the great Elmore Leonard adaptations (Get Shory, Out of Sight) but it's sharp, funny and sexy movie from begining to end.

The Haunting in Connecticut - The reason why this movies works, IMO, is because they actually got me to care about the characters. The whole story involving the son with cancer is delicately handled and frequently touching. Virginia Madsen is very good and because they are able to make me care, when the spooky stuff actually starts to occur, I had a real rooting interest. I liked it. Very underrated.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier & Star Trek: Nemesis - Two Star Trek movies that got a ton of flack but I loved them both. Especially Nemesis.

[overwatch]

Bangkok Dangerous - Nicolas Cage gives a solid performance in a stylish and quite cool action flick. I found his character to be interesting and well written. I liked his relationship with the deaf woman and the action was well shot and exciting and the movie looks great.

Bangkok Dangerous is probably one of the worst movies I've seen. However I did like Mission to Mars, so we're in agreement there.

[oh-dae-su]

Crawlspace - Silly but still a little entertaining. It's a STTV movie about a couple who find a man living in their crawlspace but let him stay there because they have no kids. Yes, the movie is VERY silly at times but I still found it entertaining.

Bad Ronald - This finally got an official DVD release recently, it's a little hard to explain but it is silly, but still entertaining.

The Woodchip Massacre - Just look up the plot, it's hilarious.

[QUENTIN]

Medium Cool and Punishment Park come to mind and I think the former would hold the top spot for me.

Fresh, Blue Collar, Lucia, Fat City, Last Summer, Holy Ghost People, The Fifth Horseman is Fear, and Eyvand of The Hills would be up there too.

Ripley's Game, The Man From Elysian Fields, Spartan, Black Snake Moan, Moonlight Mile, The Garden, Revolutionary Road, Bringing Out The Dead, Your Friends & Neighbors, Beautiful Girls, King of The Hill, Europa, Homicide, and After Dark, My Sweet are some of the biggest ones from the last two decades since most folks seem to be sticking to that period.

[Frank the Tank]

At Close Range - Walken in one of his best roles and definately his scariest performance. He plays the most evil, mean-spirited scumbag ever, but it's Walken so you can't take your eyes off the creep. Sean Penn also delivers a great performance and the film has a shocking scene towards the last twenty minutes that may cause some to not like the film. Lots of early appearances from familiar faces like Kiefer Sutherland, Crispin Glover, Evil Ed from Fright Night, Chris Penn, Mary Stuart Masterson and David Straitharn.

Ravenous - This one needs way more love. Such a weird yet intoxicating movie with one of the best scores in a film period. Great performances from everyone with the standout being Robert Carlyle. Guy Pearce does his typical great job, but the real shock is Jeffrey Jones being a very good dramatic actor. Many intense/memorable scenes and one of my favorites of the 90's.

River's Edge - All I need to say to sell this to people is that it seemed like Crispin Glover and Dennis Hopper are in a contest to try to outweird one another in this film. Despite Hopper dancing with a blowup doll, I'd give Glover the win for weirdness. Just the way he delivers his lines always left a smile on my face. The scenes the two share are just a joy to watch. Keanu plays a stoner yet he's very likeable in this and I thought he was decent enough. Daniel Roebuck is chilling as John. Ione Skye is beautiful. Joshua John Miller (AKA Homer from Near Dark) is the only weak link and he's pretty awful. Still the film has some very disturbing moments yet still should classify as a black comedy at points.

Blue Collar - It's a shame that this isn't remembered as one of the best films of the 70's. I think the way it was marketed is to blame. It was mismarketed as a Richard Pryor comedy when it really is one of the bleakest films of the decade. The trailer showcasing this and also spoils most of the film. Nobody should ever watch the trailer, terrible shit. The poster also portrays it as a Pryor comedy and has to be one of the worst posters I've ever seen. Paul Schrader's first film and probably his best film as well. Pryor has a few funny lines, but he delivers a great serious performance as does Harvey Kietel and Yaphet Kotto. In fact, all three should've been nominated for Oscars. Pryor has a few amazing verbal beatdowns on of some corporate folks that are incredible. This film also features a very uncomfortable and tragic death scene. It remains a tense and memorable film right until the explosive ending. I can't believe Kotto, Pryor, and Kietel didn't like each other off screen and came to blows between takes. They have great chemistry together and play off one another perfectly. I love this and more people need to see this.

[QUENTIN]

River's Edge - All I need to say to sell this to people is that it seemed like Crispin Glover and Dennis Hopper are in a contest to try to outweird one another in this film. Despite Hopper dancing with a blowup doll, I'd give Glover the win for weirdness. Just the way he delivers his lines always left a smile on my face. The scenes the two share are just a joy to watch. Keanu plays a stoner yet he's very likeable in this and I thought he was decent enough. Daniel Roebuck is chilling as John. Ione Skye is beautiful. Joshua John Miller (AKA Homer from Near Dark) is the only weak link and he's pretty awful. Still the film has some very disturbing moments yet still should classify as a black comedy at points.

Blue Collar - It's a shame that this isn't remembered as one of the best films of the 70's. I think the way it was marketed is to blame. It was mismarketed as a Richard Pryor comedy when it really is one of the bleakest films of the decade. The trailer showcasing this and also spoils most of the film. Nobody should ever watch the trailer, terrible shit. The poster also portrays it as a Pryor comedy and has to be one of the worst posters I've ever seen. Paul Schrader's first film and probably his best film as well. Pryor has a few funny lines, but he delivers a great serious performance as does Harvey Kietel and Yaphet Kotto. In fact, all three should've been nominated for Oscars. Pryor has a few amazing verbal beatdowns on of some corporate folks that are incredible. This film also features a very uncomfortable and tragic death scene. It remains a tense and memorable film right until the explosive ending. I can't believe Kotto, Pryor, and Kietel didn't like each other off screen and came to blows between takes. They have great chemistry together and play off one another perfectly. I love this and more people need to see this.

Great to see Blue Collar getting some more love. If I recall correctly, Buck is a big fan too. That movie doesn't get nearly the props it deserves and in a year with another brilliant and underrated/forgotten performance from Dustin Hoffman in Straight Time, I'd say Pryor deserved the Oscar he was never in consideration for.

River's Edge is also one of my favorite flicks from the 80's and Crispin Glover deserved a nomination for his manic, can't-take-your-eyes-off-him turn. I feel like it would be a beloved cult classic if only more people saw it.

Ravenous and At Close Range are solid flicks as well, nice choices all around.

The work of Claude Chabrol generally seems really underappreciated and underseen outside of film critic circles too. He kinda gets left out of the French New Wave discussion for his more stylistically daring contemporaries. Le Boucher in particular is a masterpiece and it seems to have only recently gotten that recognition.

[Sheriff Jigsaw]

Vanilla Sky (greatest movie of all time)
Punch drunk love
Frailty
Boiler room
Be kind rewind

All of the movies above are relatively well known, but for some reason or another haven't received the overall praise they so deserve especially Vanilla sky which is one of the saddest emotion provoking movie's ever made.

[the great tenenbaum]

True Romance

Spun

I Heart Huckabees

and

Big Trouble in Little China

[Psycho-Pirate-99]

-Equilibrium
-6ixtynin9
-Wonderland
-Seraphim Falls
-Session 9
-Before The Devil Knows Your Dead
-Cube
-Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
-11:14

[Mr. Creasy]

The Lovely Bones