Underseen and Underrated Films, Volume One:

By Leo Milmet, Bird on Fire Resident Film Critic

 

Many films each year fly under the radar of most audiences. Also, even more great films get less popular as time goes on. This eventually adds up to quite a few films that many people love, but that even more people never get to see.

 

Here are a few of my favorite films from each decade of film’s popularity that seem to have been forgotten or overlooked by the newest generation of film buffs. The two recent films I included (In Bruges and Silence) are films that are incredible but don’t seem to have been given their due by the masses, despite heavy critical acclaim.

 

Lesser-known films you should put on your viewing list include . . .

Safety Last! (dir. Harold Lloyd, 1923): A great silent comedy that is most impressive in that its influential humor and great story hold up remarkably well.

M (dir. Fritz Lang, 1931): One of the original film-noirs. A brilliant German crime film about a child murderer whose disturbing crimes lead him to be chased not only by the police, but by the Mafia as well. The film was incredibly progressive and daring for its time, and is just as bold and innovative today as it must have been in 1931.

Shadow of a Doubt (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1943): As paranoid as Rear Window, as suspenseful as Psycho. Hitchcock’s favorite film of his own, and for good reason.

Paths of Glory (dir. Stanley Kubrick, 1957): An emotionally stunning war film concerning the lack of warmth in a cold, inhumane system. Includes one of the greatest final scenes of all time.

Night of the Living Dead (dir. George A. Romero, 1968): The original zombie film. A dark and bleak low-budget horror classic.

The Last Picture Show (dir. Peter Bogdanovich, 1971): The best ensemble film about small-town life.

Rain Man  (dir. Barry Levinson, 1988): A sensitive and subtle road-trip dramedy of brotherly bonding featuring two of the best performances of the 1980s. A popular film in its time (it won Best Picture at the Academy Awards), but a film one rarely hears about today.

Ed Wood (dir. Tim Burton, 1994): A fittingly strange film about the misfits of ‘50s Hollywood and the fantastically terrible films they produced. Martin Landau’s portrayal of Bela Lugosi hits and exceeds the mark of true excellence. For cult film lovers like me, this one’s an absolute treat, and one of my favorite films of all time.

In Bruges (dir. Martin McDonagh, 2008): A great character-based dark comedy that creates pure hilarity out of very disturbing content and doesn’t miss a beat. The first feature film of Martin McDonagh, whose amazing filmmaking is now earning him serious Oscar buzz for his new film, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Silence (dir. Martin Scorsese, 2016): A powerful, emotionally draining masterpiece about the strength and will of faith and of the human spirit.

 

Editor: Brennan Nick