Forgotten Movie Classics
A comprehensive list of offbeat and hidden film treasures!
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- DirectorFrank PerrySydney PollackStarsBurt LancasterJanet LandgardJanice RuleA man spends a summer day swimming as many pools as he can all over a quiet suburban town.Devastating portrayal of suburban angst during the 1960s, based on John Cheever short story with a brilliant performance by Burt Lancaster.
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsLuke WilsonOwen WilsonNed DowdThree friends plan to pull off a simple robbery and go on the run.Wes Anderson's directorial debut stars the Wilson brothers - Owen and Luke - as pathetic, wannabe criminals. Offbeat and hilarious!
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsTom WaitsJohn LurieRoberto BenigniTwo men are framed and sent to jail, where they meet a murderer who helps them escape and leave the state.Crazy Jim Jarmusch film, an existential comedy if you will, which features three strangers - Roberto Benigni, Tom Waits and John Lurie - who end up in a Louisiana jail. Eclectic!
- DirectorSavage Steve HollandStarsJohn CusackDavid Ogden StiersKim DarbyAfter his girlfriend ditches him for a boorish ski jock, Lane decides that suicide is the only answer. However, his increasingly inept attempts bring him only more agony and embarrassment. Filled with the wildest teen nightmares.Classic '80s teen comedy as Lane (John Cusack) tries to ski the K-12 to impress exchange student Diane Franklin.
- DirectorMandy SteinStarsR.L. BurnsideJunior KimbroughCedell DavisYou See Me Laughin' is a personal journey into the lives and music of the last of the hill country bluesmen who've kept their music alive on the back porches and in the tiny juke joints of the Mississippi backwoods.Fascinating documentary explores juke joints of Mississippi with blues legends such as R. L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough.
- DirectorLili Fini ZanuckStarsJason PatricJennifer Jason LeighSam ElliottTwo small-town Texas cops go undercover to catch a major drug dealer and are sucked into the drug culture, compromising their assignment.Two undercover narcs (Jason Patric, Jennifer Jason Leigh) struggle with their own addictions. Solid acting and great soundtrack!
- DirectorPhilip KaufmanStarsKen WahlKaren AllenJohn FriedrichThe Wanderers is a teenage, Italian gang in Bronx, NYC, 1963. They have their confrontations with other gangs. Drugs and weapons are uncool. Adult life awaits them.A gang living in the Bronx fights with the "Fordham Baldies" and the mysterious "Duckie Boys." Love that football game!
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsWerner HerzogKlaus KinskiClaudia CardinaleThe love-hate relationship between Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski, the deep trust between the director and the actor, and their independently and simultaneously hatched plans to murder one another.Werner Herzog vs. Klaus Kinski! Documentary features total insanity in the Peruvian jungle!
- DirectorVincent GalloStarsVincent GalloChloë SevignyCheryl TiegsProfessional motorcycle racer Bud Clay heads from New Hampshire to California to race again. Along the way he meets various needy women who provide him with the cure to his own loneliness, but only a certain woman from his past will truly satisfy him.Chloe Sevigny gives Vincent Gallo a blowjob. Roger Ebert called it the worst film in the history of Cannes (but later recanted). I loved it!
- DirectorEric BrossStarsAdrien BrodyMichael GallagherSybil DarrowRay is a man on the move. He's got a tip on the races that's sure to turn a borrowed ten grand into a hundred. But when Ray's horse comes up short, he finds himself on the run from the mob and his girlfriend in the arms of his best friend.Solid, low-key flick deals with a dumb punk from New Jersey, Ray (Adrien Brody), who gets in trouble after he borrows $10,000.
- DirectorBobby FarrellyPeter FarrellyStarsWoody HarrelsonRandy QuaidBill MurrayA star bowler whose career was prematurely "cut off" hopes to ride a new prodigy to success and riches.A one-handed former champion bowler from Iowa becomes a "bowling manager" for an Amish bowling prodigy. Great crude humor!
- DirectorBen WagnerStarsAmy Cale PetersonScott SpeiserChristopher McCutchenA young woman attempts a "thru-hike" of the Appalachian Trail, the 2,170 mile footpath wandering the length of the Atlantic seaboard from Maine to Georgia.Three adventurers hit the Appalachian Trail for love, laughs & life lessons. Low-key independent film is worth a look.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsRoddy PiperKeith DavidMeg FosterThey influence our decisions without us knowing it. They numb our senses without us feeling it. They control our lives without us realizing it. They live.Pro wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper plays a down-on-his-luck construction worker who reveals an alien conspiracy responsible for 1980's complacency. I knew it!
- DirectorHenry Alex RubinDana Adam ShapiroStarsJoe SoaresKeith CavillMark ZupanQuadriplegics, who play full-contact rugby in wheelchairs, overcome unimaginable obstacles to compete in the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece.Excellent documentary follows the U.S. quad rugby team as they prepare for the 2004 Paralympic Games. Offbeat, awesome!
- DirectorTony MaylamStarsBrian MatthewsLeah AyresBrian BackerA former summer camp caretaker, horribly burned from a prank gone wrong, lurks around an upstate New York summer camp bent on killing the teenagers responsible for his disfigurement.A cut above (no pun intended) the typical summer camp slasher film of the 1980s and notable for early appearances by Jason Alexander, Holly Hunter and Fisher Stevens.
- DirectorA. Edward SutherlandStarsW.C. FieldsPeggy Hopkins JoyceRudy ValleeAssorted wacky characters converge on a Chinese hotel to bid on a new invention: television.Grand Hotel spoof stars W.C. Fields, George Burns, Gracie Allen and Bela Lugosi. Cab Calloway sings "Reefer Man."
- DirectorHerk HarveyStarsCandace HilligossFrances FeistSidney BergerAfter a traumatic accident, a woman becomes drawn to a mysterious abandoned carnival.This low-budget but highly influential horror classic was made for $30,000 in Lawrence, Kansas, and at Salt Lake City's Saltair amusement park.
- DirectorJohn DahlStarsNicolas CageDennis HopperLara Flynn BoyleUpon arriving to a small town, a drifter is mistaken for a hitman, but when the real hitman arrives, complications ensue.Nicholas Cage stars as a drifter who gets embroiled in a murder-for-hire plot. Dennis Hopper plays "Lyle from Texas."
- DirectorMonte HellmanStarsJames TaylorWarren OatesLaurie BirdWhile drag-racing through the American Southwest in a Chevrolet 150, a driver and his mechanic cross paths with an enigmatic hitchhiker and the tall-tale-spinning driver of a GTO.Stoic buddies The Driver (JT) and The Mechanic (Dennis Wilson) take an existential trip on the road to nowhere.
- DirectorStacy PeraltaStarsSean PennJay AdamsTony AlvaDocumentary about the pioneering 1970s Zephyr skating team.A fascinating look at the influential Zephyr skateboarding team in the 1970s. Narrated by Sean Penn.
- DirectorTed KotcheffStarsDonald PleasenceGary BondChips RaffertyAfter a bad gambling bet, a schoolteacher is marooned in a town full of crazy, drunk, violent men who threaten to make him just as crazy, drunk, and violent.Bonded teacher “John Grant” (Gary Bond) embarks on a nightmarish, booze-soaked odyssey through a desolate wasteland of total depravity in the sweltering Australian outback. Great supporting cast includes Donald Pleasence and Chips Rafferty. Highly recommended!
- DirectorHarvey HartStarsCliff RobertsonErnest BorgnineHenry SilvaTwo groups of armed men eye each other across a body of water. An deadly incident ensues and the first group returns to their town in fear of the consequences, which never come.They realize that far greater danger is offing.Deliverance meets Southern Comfort as hardcore gun enthusiast "Major Rex" (Cliff Robertson) and his hunting buddies get into a pointless confrontation with another hunting party that leads to violence and plans for a vengeful showdown.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsAl JolsonMadge EvansFrank MorganA New York tramp (Jolson) falls in love with the mayor's amnesiac girlfriend after rescuing her from a suicide attemptA delightfully offbeat musical comedy starring Al Jolson as "Bumper" - the self-proclaimed "Mayor of Central Park." Forget about the ridiculous plot and enjoy Jolson at his best, the catchy Rodgers and Hart songs and rhyming dialogue, and the great supporting cast, including silent comedians Harry Langdon (as the garbage-picking “Egghead”) and Chester Conklin (as “Sunday”).
- DirectorColin EgglestonStarsJohn HargreavesBriony BehetsMike McEwenWhen a suburban couple go camping for the weekend at a remote beach, they discover that nature isn't in an accommodating mood.In this offbeat, low-budget “Ozploitation” film, an endlessly bickering Australian couple—“Peter” and “Marcia” (John Hargreaves and Briony Behets)—embarks on the weekend camping trip from hell.
- DirectorRichard C. SarafianStarsBarry NewmanCleavon LittleCharlotte RamplingDuring the 1970s, car-delivery driver Kowalski delivers hot rods in record time, but always runs into trouble.An existential road movie that essentially features an extended car chase accompanied by a great soundtrack with a nihilistic ending. The mysterious, stoic, pill-popping “Kowalski” (Barry Newman) makes a bet that he can drive a 1970 Dodge Challenger from Denver to San Francisco in 15 hours. As you can probably expect, mayhem ensues!
- DirectorAlbert BrooksStarsAlbert BrooksJulie HagertySylvia FarrelA husband and wife in their 30s decide to quit their jobs, live as free spirits and cruise America in a Winnebago.Yuppie ad exec (Albert Brooks) gets fired from his $100,000 job and convinces his wife (Julie Hagerty) to quit her job so the couple can drop out of society (just like in "Easy Rider"!). So they buy a Winnebago and hit the open road with the use of their precious "nest egg." However, things go horribly wrong when the couple decides to make a pitstop in Las Vegas in this frequently hilarious comedy directed by Brooks.
- DirectorVictor HalperinStarsBela LugosiMadge BellamyJoseph CawthornA young man turns to a witch doctor to lure the woman he loves away from her fiancé, but instead turns her into a zombie slave.The first zombie film! Bela Lugosi steals the show as evil voodoo master “Murder Legendre,” who controls a crew of zombies. A nice little atmospheric horror flick.
- DirectorJohn HoughStarsPeter FondaSusan GeorgeAdam RoarkeDown-on-their-luck racers Larry and Deke steal from a supermarket manager to buy a car that will help them advance their racing chances. Their escape does not go as planned when Larry's one-night stand, Mary, tags along for the ride.A super cool car chase movie starring Peter Fonda as "Larry," a reckless race car driver with NASCAR aspirations. So he and his mechanic "Deke" (Adam Roarke) rob a grocery store of $150,000 to finance the dream. Larry's one-night stand "Mary" (Susan George) joins them and the trio embarks on an extended car chase trying to evade the law, especially determined sheriff "Franklin" (Vic Morrow). Expect plenty of car crashes and a nihilistic ending!
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsVincent PriceMark DamonMyrna FaheyUpon entering his fiancée's family mansion, a man discovers a savage family curse and fears that his future brother-in-law has entombed his bride-to-be prematurely.Vincent Price (with his hair dyed blond!) stars as the deranged, hyper-sensitive “Roderick Usher in the first of eight Roger Corman films adapted from Edgar Allan Poe tales for American International Pictures. The film was scripted by Richard Matheson and based on Poe’s classic 1839 short story The Fall of the House of Usher.
- DirectorJeff LiebermanStarsGeorge KennedyMike KellinChris LemmonFive young people venture into the backwoods of Oregon to claim a property, and find themselves being stalked by a hulking, machete-wielding psychopath.A low-budget backwoods slasher flick from the early 1980s that features some genuinely scary moments and makes good use of locale (filmed on location in Silver Falls State Park, Oregon).
- DirectorBrett IngramStarsGeorge BickfordBruce BickfordGreg McClellanMonster Road explores the wildly fantastic worlds of legendary underground clay animator Bruce Bickford. Tracing the origins of his remarkably unique sensibility, the film journeys back to Bickford's childhood in a competitive household during the paranoia of the Cold War and examines his relationship with his father, George, who is facing the onset of Alzheimer's Disease. Bickford's films, especially the dark and magical clay animations he created for Frank Zappa in the 1970s, have achieved cult status worldwide. Entirely self-taught, the 56-year-old Bickford works alone in a makeshift basement studio in his house near Seattle. Bickford's father George, a retired Boeing engineer of the Cold War era, is the other main character. George's talent for maximizing the space inside airplanes and missiles parallels his son's animations, which often contain dozens of inch-tall figures fighting battles on a tiny set. George's wondrous musings about the universe reveal a deep admiration for the implicit architect of such splendor while atheism prevents him from admitting the possibility of a God. Along with the wonder of creation, George considers the pain of a life spent disengaged from his family and centered on the imperfections in those around him.Offbeat documentary explores the fascinating life and work of legendary underground clay animation artist, Bruce Bickford.
- DirectorSteve De JarnattStarsAnthony EdwardsMare WinninghamJohn AgarA young man hears a chance phone call telling him that a nuclear war has started and missiles will hit his city in 70 minutes.Nerdy jazz trombonist finally finds the love of his life and then picks up a random call in a phone booth and discovers that the world is about to end – or is it?
- DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsPeter SellersTippy WalkerMerrie SpaethA mischievous, adventuresome fourteen-year-old girl and her best friend begin following an eccentric concert pianist around New York City after she develops a crush on him.Two teenage girls become totally infatuated with Henry Orient (Peter Sellers) a self-centered, womanizing avant-garde (and decidedly second-rate!) concert pianist.
- DirectorSam PillsburyStarsNicolas CageErika AndersonJudge ReinholdThierry's wife Zandalee married the poet he once was. Taking over his dad's company in New Orleans gives him stress and impotence. Thierry meets his high school buddy Johnny at a bachelor party. The painter Johnny can satisfy Zandalee.Judge Reinhold portrays “Thierry,” a dull, ex-poet and impotent businessman whose wife, “Zandalee” (the beautiful Erika Anderson), falls for a struggling, tortured artist named “Johnny” (another over-the-top performance by Nicolas Cage). A true guilty pleasure!
- DirectorTodd LouisoStarsPhilip Seymour HoffmanAnnie MorganKathy BatesA depressed widower spends his time huffing gasoline fumes, buying toy planes and acting reckless in public while avoiding reading his wife's suicide note.The late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman gives an amazing performance as “Wilson Joel,” a website designer who turns to inhaling gasoline fumes (using a bogus interest in remote-control airplanes as a cover) in order to cope with his wife Liza’s inexplicable suicide. A low-key gem!