Overlooked, Forgotten or Underappreciated Films
Good obscure and under-voted films. My criteria for this list is that each film either has a rating under 7.0 or less than 10,000 votes. In my opinion they are all worth a look, if not forgotten gems! For a more extensive list of great films please visit my 'Must See Movies' list. Thanks!
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- DirectorTerry ZwigoffStarsMax MinghellaSophia MylesJohn MalkovichStarting from childhood attempts at illustration, the protagonist pursues his true obsession to art school. But as he learns how the art world really works, he finds that he must adapt his vision to the reality that confronts him.
- DirectorMike NewellStarsJulia RobertsKirsten DunstJulia StilesA free-thinking art professor teaches conservative 1950s Wellesley girls to question their traditional social roles.
- DirectorJonathan GlazerStarsScarlett JohanssonJeremy McWilliamsLynsey Taylor MackayA mysterious young woman seduces lonely men in the evening hours in Scotland. However, events lead her to begin a process of self-discovery.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsMia WasikowskaNicole KidmanMatthew GoodeAfter India's father dies, her Uncle Charlie, who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her unstable mother. She comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives and becomes increasingly infatuated with him.
- DirectorChristine JeffsStarsGwyneth PaltrowDaniel CraigLucy DavenportStory of the relationship between poets Edward James "Ted" Hughes and Sylvia Plath.
- DirectorShi-Zheng ChenStarsYe LiuAidan QuinnMeryl StreepBased on actual events, a Chinese university student responds violently when his chances for a Nobel Prize are dashed by school politics.
- DirectorIrwin WinklerStarsKevin KlineAshley JuddJonathan PryceInspecting a magical biographical stage musical, composer Cole Porter reviews his life and career with his wife, Linda.
- DirectorChristine JeffsStarsAmy AdamsEmily BluntAlan ArkinIn order to raise the tuition to send her young son to private school, a mom starts an unusual business -- a biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service -- with her unreliable sister.
- DirectorScott CooperStarsChristian BaleCasey AffleckZoe SaldanaWhen Rodney Baze mysteriously disappears and law enforcement doesn't follow through fast enough, his older brother Russell takes matters into his own hands to find justice.
- DirectorM. CahillStarsMichael DouglasEvan Rachel WoodWillis Burks IIAn unstable dad who after getting out of a mental institution tries to convince his daughter that there's Spanish gold buried somewhere under suburbia.
- DirectorShekhar KapurStarsCate BlanchettClive OwenGeoffrey RushA mature Queen Elizabeth endures multiple crises late in her reign including court intrigues, an assassination plot, the Spanish Armada, and romantic disappointments.
- DirectorPaul WeitzStarsPaul DanoRobert De NiroJulianne MooreWorking in a Boston homeless shelter, Nick Flynn re-encounters his father, a con man and self-proclaimed poet. Sensing trouble in his own life, Nick wrestles with the notion of reaching out yet again to his dad.
- DirectorEdward ZwickStarsJake GyllenhaalAnne HathawayJudy GreerIn 1990s Pittsburgh, a medicine peddler starts a relationship with a young woman suffering from Parkinson's disease.
- DirectorAnand TuckerStarsSteve MartinClaire DanesJason SchwartzmanA film adaptation of Steve Martin's novel about a complex love triangle between a bored salesgirl, a wealthy businessman and an aimless young man.
- DirectorDavid O. RussellStarsJason SchwartzmanJude LawNaomi WattsA husband-and-wife team play detective, but not in the traditional sense. Instead, the happy duo helps others solve their existential issues, the kind that keep you up at night, wondering what it all means.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsLeonardo DiCaprioTilda SwintonDaniel YorkOn vacation in Thailand, Richard sets out for an island rumored to be a solitary beach paradise.
- DirectorDavid DuchovnyStarsDavid DuchovnyTéa LeoniRobin WilliamsBy working through problems stemming from his past, Tom Warshaw, an American artist living in Paris, begins to discover who he really is, and returns to his home to reconcile with his family and friends.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsColin FarrellQ'orianka KilcherChristopher PlummerThe story of the English exploration of Virginia, and of the changing world and loves of Pocahontas.
- DirectorSofia CoppolaStarsKirsten DunstJason SchwartzmanRip TornThe retelling of France's iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette. From her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at 14 to her reign as queen at 19 and to the end of her reign as queen, and ultimately the fall of Versailles.
- DirectorJustin ChadwickStarsNatalie PortmanScarlett JohanssonEric BanaTwo sisters contend for the affection of King Henry VIII.
- DirectorErica DuntonStarsJoe AndersonDavid P. EmrichEve HewsonTwenty-seven is more than just a number. It is a lifetime.
- DirectorSpike JonzeStarsMax RecordsCatherine O'HaraForest WhitakerYearning for escape and adventure, a young boy runs away from home and sails to an island filled with creatures that take him in as their king.
- DirectorDrake DoremusStarsFelicity JonesAnton YelchinJennifer LawrenceA British college student falls for an American student, only to be separated from him when she's banned from the U.S. after overstaying her visa.
- DirectorJohn DuiganStarsCharlize TheronStuart TownsendPenélope CruzFrom the roaring 1920s to the ruinous Spanish Civil War and Adolf Hitler's rise into power, the lives of an Irish schoolteacher, a provocative heiress and her Spanish muse are intricately interlaced, sharing the same destiny and passion.
- DirectorRebecca MillerStarsDaniel Day-LewisCatherine KeenerCamilla BelleA father and daughter isolated on an island off the East Coast and living on a once-thriving commune grapple with the limits of family and sexuality.
- DirectorJ.C. ChandorStarsRobert RedfordAfter a collision with a shipping container at sea, a resourceful sailor finds himself, despite all efforts to the contrary, staring his mortality in the face.
- DirectorSilvio NarizzanoStarsJames MasonAlan BatesLynn RedgraveA traditional girl (Lynn Redgrave) resists the advances of a swinger (James Mason) who wants her as his mistress in 1960s London.
- DirectorM. Night ShyamalanStarsSigourney WeaverWilliam HurtJoaquin PhoenixA series of events tests the beliefs of a small isolated countryside village.
- DirectorMira NairStarsReese WitherspoonRomola GaraiJames PurefoyGrowing up poor in London, Becky Sharp defies her poverty-stricken background and ascends the social ladder alongside her best friend, Amelia Sedley.
- DirectorPeter YatesStarsDustin HoffmanMia FarrowMichael TolanJohn and Mary meet in a singles bar, sleep together, and spend the next day getting to know each other.
- DirectorAnne FontaineStarsAudrey TautouBenoît PoelvoordeAlessandro NivolaThe story of Coco Chanel's rise from obscure beginnings to the heights of the fashion world.
- DirectorJames SalterStarsCharlotte RamplingRobie PorterSam WaterstonTwo American college friends, traveling in Europe near the Mediterranean, meet and fall for a charming English tourist. However, they agree not to test their friendship and just be friends with her. Soon, reality kicks in.
- DirectorFrank PerryStarsBarbara HersheyRichard ThomasBruce DavisonDuring summer vacation on Fire Island, three young people become very close. When an uncool girl tries to infiltrate the trio's newly found relationship, they construct an elaborate plot that has violent results.
- DirectorElliot SilversteinStarsJane FondaLee MarvinMichael CallanA young schoolteacher turns into an outlaw to avenge her murdered father.
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsDivineTab HunterEdith MasseyA suburban housewife's world falls apart when she finds that her pornographer husband is serially unfaithful to her, her daughter is pregnant, and her son is suspected of being the foot-fetishist who's been breaking local women's feet.
- DirectorAgnès MerletStarsValentina CerviMichel SerraultPredrag 'Miki' ManojlovicArtemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653) was one of the first well-known female painters. The movie tells the story of her youth, when she was guided and protected by her father, the painter Orazio Gentileschi. Her professional curiosity about the male anatomy, forbidden for her eyes, led her to the knowledge of sexual pleasure. But she was also well known because in 1612 she had to appear in a courtroom because her teacher, Agostino Tassi, was suspected of raping her. She tried to protect him, but was put in the thumb screws...
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsHarvey KeitelZina BethuneAnne ColletteA young man can't accept the girl he likes because of her bitter past.
- DirectorJoe JohnstonStarsViggo MortensenOmar SharifZuleikha RobinsonIn 1890, a down-and-out cowboy and his horse travel to Arabia to compete in a deadly cross desert horse race.
- DirectorPeter HyamsStarsRoy ScheiderJohn LithgowHelen MirrenA joint USA-Soviet expedition is sent to Jupiter to learn exactly what happened to the "Discovery" and its H.A.L. 9000 computer.
- DirectorKen RussellStarsWilliam HurtBlair BrownBob BalabanA psycho-physiologist experiments with drugs and a sensory-deprivation tank and has visions he believes are genetic memories.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsRobert DuvallDonald PleasenceDon Pedro ColleyIn the 25th century, a time when people have designations instead of names, a man, THX 1138, and a woman, LUH 3417, rebel against their rigidly controlled society.
- DirectorGarth JenningsStarsMartin FreemanYasiin BeySam RockwellMere seconds before the Earth is to be demolished by an alien construction crew, journeyman Arthur Dent is swept off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher penning a new edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
- DirectorMike BarkerStarsHelen HuntScarlett JohanssonTom WilkinsonA 1930s American socialite creates a scandal in the expatriate high society of the Amalfi Coast of Italy when she forms a secretive relationship with a wealthy American unbeknownst to his young wife.
- DirectorGillian ArmstrongStarsRalph FiennesCate BlanchettCiarán HindsIn mid-1800s England, Oscar is a young Anglican priest, a misfit and an outcast, but with the soul of an angel. As a boy, even though from a strict Pentecostal family, he felt God told him through a sign to leave his father and his faith and join the Church of England. Lucinda is a teen-aged Australian heiress who has an almost desperate desire to liberate her sex from the confines of the male-dominated culture of the Australia of that time. She buys a glass factory and has a dream of building a church made almost entirely of glass, and then transporting it to Bellingen, a remote settlement on the north coast. Oscar and Lucinda meet on a ship going to Australia; once there, they are for different reasons ostracized from society, and as a result "join forces" together. Oscar and Lucinda are both passionate gamblers, and Lucinda bets Oscar her entire inheritance that he cannot transport the glass church to the Outback safely. Oscar accepts her wager, and this leads to the events that will change both their lives forever.
- DirectorJames IvoryStarsRalph FiennesNatasha RichardsonVanessa RedgraveIn 1930s Shanghai, a blind American diplomat develops a curious relationship with a young Russian refugee who works odd--and sometimes illicit--jobs to support members of her dead husband's aristocratic family.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsRalph FiennesMiranda RichardsonGabriel ByrneA mentally disturbed man takes residence in a halfway house. His mind gradually slips back into the realm created by his illness, where he replays a key part of his childhood.
- DirectorRian JohnsonStarsRachel WeiszAdrien BrodyMark RuffaloThe Brothers Bloom are the best con men in the world, swindling millionaires with complex scenarios of lust and intrigue. Now they've decided to take on one last job - showing a beautiful and eccentric heiress the time of her life with a romantic adventure that takes them around the world.
- DirectorJane CampionStarsGeneviève LemonKaren ColstonTom LycosAn introspective young woman's life is upturned by the arrival of her maladjusted sister.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsKim HunterTom ConwayJean BrooksA woman in search of her missing sister uncovers a Satanic cult in New York's Greenwich Village and finds that they could have something to do with her sibling's random disappearance.
- DirectorAlberto LattuadaStarsCarla Del PoggioJohn KitzmillerGiulietta MasinaAn African-American soldier stationing in Italy refuses to make a deal with local gangsters. However, when a girl he loves turns desperately to prostitution, Jerry is forced to change his mind to save her.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsKinuyo TanakaRanko HanaiYûji HoriA few days in the life of a quiet geisha, single mother of a young, smart boy, in the lively Tokyo quarter of Ginza. A woman devoted to other people's needs, she will end by taking part herself in one of the many disguises of Ginza.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsKirk DouglasMilly VitalePaul StewartIn 1949, former concentration camp inmate and Berlin native Hans Muller, immigrates to Israel where, due to psychological problems, he can't adjust to peacetime life.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsJoan CrawfordCliff RobertsonVera MilesA lonely middle-aged woman meets a younger man, but their relationship is threatened after the man's troubled past reveals itself.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsJean SebergDavid NivenDeborah KerrSpoiled Cecile, 17, spends her summer at the French Riviera with her rich, widower, playboy dad and Elsa. Anne, her late mom's friend, visits and brings changes to all.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsNicolas CagePatricia ArquetteJohn GoodmanHaunted by the patients he failed to save, a monumentally burned-out Manhattan ambulance paramedic fights to maintain his sanity over three increasingly turbulent nights.
- DirectorYoshitarô NomuraStarsYoshiko KugaHizuru TakachihoIneko ArimaTeiko's new husband disappears on a business trip. She discovers a pair of mysterious postcards hidden away in a book that may be clues to his fate.
- DirectorWhit StillmanStarsTaylor NicholsChris EigemanTushka BergenAn American working in Barcelona, having sworn off beautiful women, is forced to be host to his playboy cousin in this witty comedy of good intentions and mixed signals.
- DirectorE. Elias MerhigeStarsJohn MalkovichWillem DafoeUdo KierThe filming of Nosferatu (1922) is hampered by the fact that its star Max Schreck is taking the role of a vampire far more seriously than seems humanly possible.
- DirectorAlbert HughesAllen HughesStarsJohnny DeppHeather GrahamIan HolmAfter five ritualistic murders are committed in 1888 London, Inspector Abberline's assignment is to investigate the "Jack the Ripper" murders. Along with a string of mutilated prostitutes, he uncovers a conspiracy involving the government.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsChristopher PlummerLily ColeHeath LedgerHaving made a deal with the Devil himself for immortality many millennia ago, the now decrepit mystic Doctor Parnassus fights for the freedom of his only daughter's soul.
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsJoaquin PhoenixJosh BrolinOwen WilsonIn 1970, drug-fueled Los Angeles private investigator Larry "Doc" Sportello investigates the disappearance of a former girlfriend.
- DirectorMichael DowseStarsDaniel RadcliffeZoe KazanMegan ParkWallace, who is burned out from a string of failed relationships, forms an instant bond with Chantry, who lives with her longtime boyfriend. Together, they puzzle out what it means if your best friend is also the love of your life.
- DirectorAlan RickmanStarsKate WinsletAlan RickmanStanley TucciTwo talented landscape artists become romantically entangled while building a garden in King Louis XIV's palace at Versailles.
- DirectorWhit StillmanStarsChloë SevignyKate BeckinsaleChris EigemanStory of two female Manhattan book editors fresh out of college, both finding love and themselves while frequenting the local disco.
- DirectorJames LapineStarsJudy DavisHugh GrantMandy PatinkinIn 1830s France, pianist/composer Frédéric Chopin is pursued romantically by the determined, individualistic woman who uses the name George Sand.
- DirectorRaffaello MatarazzoStarsYvonne SansonAmedeo NazzariFrançoise RosayThe tragic love story between marble-quarry owner Mario and Luisa, daughter of one of his employees.
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsJake GyllenhaalMélanie LaurentSarah GadonA man seeks out his exact look-alike after spotting him in a movie.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsLeonardo DiCaprioArmie HammerNaomi WattsJ. Edgar Hoover, powerful head of the F.B.I. for nearly fifty years, looks back on his professional and personal life.
- DirectorRalph BakshiStarsChristopher GuardWilliam SquireMichael ScholesThe Fellowship of the Ring embark on a journey to destroy the One Ring and end Sauron's reign over Middle-earth.
- DirectorAnton CorbijnStarsRobert PattinsonDane DeHaanPeter LucasA photographer for LIFE Magazine is assigned to shoot pictures of James Dean.
- DirectorJustin KurzelStarsMichael FassbenderMarion CotillardJack MadiganMacbeth, the Thane of Glamis, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.
- DirectorJulian JarroldStarsMatthew GoodePatrick MalahideHayley AtwellA poignant story of forbidden love and the loss of innocence set in England prior to World War II.
- DirectorRaul GarciaStarsChristopher LeeBela LugosiJulian SandsAn animated anthology of five tales adapted from Edgar Allan Poe's stories.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsJohnny DeppFrank LangellaLena OlinA book broker discovers his latest find may summon Satan.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsBoris KarloffEllen DrewMarc CramerOn a Greek island during the 1912 war, several people are trapped by quarantine for the plague. If that isn't enough worry, one of the people, a superstitious old peasant woman, suspects one young girl of being a vampiric kind of demon called a vorvolaka.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsRichard DixRussell WadeEdith BarrettThird Officer Tom Merriam accuses Captain Will Stone of being a homicidal maniac, but no one believes him.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsDennis O'KeefeMargoJean BrooksA seemingly-tame leopard used for a publicity stunt escapes and kills a young girl, spreading panic throughout a sleepy New Mexico town.
- DirectorMadonnaStarsAbbie CornishJames D'ArcyAndrea RiseboroughThe affair between King Edward VIII and American divorcée Wallis Simpson, and a contemporary romance between a married woman and a Russian security guard.
- DirectorTaika WaititiStarsLoren TaylorJemaine ClementCraig HallThe tale of two socially-awkward misfits and the strange ways they try to find love: through revenge on high-school bullies, burgers, and video games.
- DirectorSarah GavronStarsCarey MulliganAnne-Marie DuffHelena Bonham CarterIn 1912 London, a young working mother is galvanized into radical political activism supporting the right for women to vote, and is willing to meet violence with violence to achieve this end.
- DirectorJames GrayStarsMarion CotillardJoaquin PhoenixJeremy RennerIn 1921, an innocent immigrant woman is tricked into a life of burlesque and vaudeville until a dazzling magician tries to save her and reunite her with her sister who is being held in the confines of Ellis Island.
- DirectorEdgar G. UlmerStarsJohn CarradineJean ParkerNils AstherIn Paris, an artist hires portrait models, and after he finishes their portraits, he strangles them.
- DirectorNicholas HytnerStarsMaggie SmithAlex JenningsJim BroadbentA man forms an unexpected bond with a transient woman living in her van that's parked in his driveway.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsCatherine DeneuveDavid BowieSusan SarandonA love triangle develops between a beautiful yet dangerous vampire (Catherine Deneuve), her cellist companion (David Bowie), and a gerontologist (Susan Sarandon).
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsNorma ShearerLeslie HowardJohn BarrymoreYoung love is poisoned by a generations long feud between two noble families.
- DirectorLiv UllmannStarsColin FarrellJessica ChastainSamantha MortonOver the course of a midsummer night in Fermanagh in 1890, an unsettled daughter of the Anglo-Irish aristocracy encourages her father's valet to seduce her.
- DirectorDavid O. RussellStarsJennifer LawrenceRobert De NiroBradley CooperJoy is the story of the title character, who rose to become founder and matriarch of a powerful family business dynasty.
- DirectorRichard BrooksStarsElizabeth TaylorVan JohnsonWalter PidgeonAn American journalist returns to Paris - a city that gave him true love and deep grief.
- DirectorLasse HallströmStarsHeath LedgerSienna MillerJeremy IronsThe fabled romantic Giacomo Casanova, after failing to win the affection of the Venetian woman Francesca Bruni, strives to discover the real meaning of love.
- DirectorArthur BertheletStarsWilliam GilletteMarjorie KayErnest MaupainWhen a couple of swindlers hold young Alice Faulkner against her will in order to discover the whereabouts of letters which could spell scandal for the royal family, Sherlock Holmes is on the case.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceEric CampbellCharlie is an immigrant who endures a challenging voyage and gets into trouble as soon as he arrives in America.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceDave AndersonThe Little Tramp and his dog companion struggle to survive in the inner city.
- DirectorF. Richard JonesJames YoungStarsMabel NormandGeorge NicholsLaura La VarnieMickey, an orphan who has been brought up in a mining settlement, is sent to New York to live with her aunt.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceSyd ChaplinCharlie is a boot camp private who has a dream of being a hero who goes on a daring mission behind enemy lines.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsLillian GishRichard BarthelmessDonald CrispA frail waif, abused by her brutal boxer father in London's seedy Limehouse District, is befriended by a sensitive Chinese immigrant with tragic consequences.
- DirectorOscar MicheauxStarsEvelyn PreerFlo ClementsJames D. RuffinAbandoned by her fiancé, an educated black woman with a shocking past dedicates herself to helping a near bankrupt school for impoverished black youths.
- DirectorJohn S. RobertsonStarsJohn BarrymoreMartha MansfieldBrandon HurstDr. Henry Jekyll experiments with scientific means of revealing the hidden, dark side of man and releases a murderer from within himself.
- DirectorRobert WieneStarsFern AndraHans Heinrich von TwardowskiErnst GronauGenuine is an ancient and cruel divinity, who seduces men and induce them to kill as a proof of love.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsLillian GishRichard BarthelmessMrs. David LandauA naive country girl is tricked into a sham marriage by a wealthy womanizer, then must rebuild her life despite the taint of having borne a child out of wedlock.
- DirectorMax LinderStarsMax LinderAlta AllenBetty K. PetersonAfter breaking a mirror in his home, superstitious Max tries to avoid situations which could bring bad luck-- but in doing so, causes himself the worst luck imaginable.