MOST UNDERRATED MOVIES OF ALL TIME, PART 1
A personal perspective on movies that to my mind have not had the recognition they deserve. Some will argue they have, others might agree. Here’s part one. Part two to follow soon…
Things to Come, 1936
BASED on H.G.Well’s book The Shape of Things to Come, pic offers up foresight into where the world was heading in the 1930s. Wells got it right that there was going to be another world war and he wasn’t far off on the ramifications of such a catastrophe. Once the war is over the world turns into a place where it is the survival of the fittest, until a benevolent dictator sets things right. We are then left in a perfect world, but some believe such a flawless society leads to technological breakthroughs, which in turn leads to wars, so a group of luddites try to dismantle the perfect society. Producers gave some actors dual roles by playing a character in the 1930s then a descendent of said character in the 2030s. Not a technically great movie, but deserves to be on the list.
Sergeant York, 1941.
PROBLEM with movies like this it’s easy to categorise it as another patriotic number put out by the US studio system. To do so would be doing a disservice to the movie and Gary Cooper, who won a Best Actor Oscar for the role. Pic tells the true story of Alvin York, a pacifist who ended up winning the Medal of Honour during WWI. Cooper plays the shy, retiring character superbly and the direction from Howard Hawks is probably what shines through the most. One of the great war movies.
The Day the Earth Stood Still, 1951
ONE of the first movies to give us the “man is his own worst enemy” spiels, which may date its theme to some looking at it 50 years later. Michael Rennie plays Klaatu, an alien who has come to warn Earthlings that they risk annihilation if that don’t get their act together and stop trying to kill each other (I know, the irony is not lost on me!). Klaatu is aided by a giant robot, Gort, who is invulnerable to puny human armaments and you just know he’ll lay waste to everyone if we don’t sort our shit out. Klaatu barada nikto indeed!
Kakushi-toride no san-akunin (The Hidden Fortress), 1958
DOESN'T get the kudos Seven Samurai or Yojimbo do, but this little beaut deserves to be amongst them. Kamatari Fujiwara and Minoru Chiaki play two hapless serfs who are lured by promises of riches to escort two aristocrats through enemy lines. What they don’t realise is that the man is a great general who needs to escort a princess back to her homeland after defeat by the enemy. Does have a few continuation problems, but Fujiwara and Chiaki are great. Kurasawa regular and arguably Japans greatest actor Toshiro Minfune plays the general.
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, 1962
BETTE Davis and Joan Crawford were past their prime in this 1962 thriller, yet the pic still managed to give me the shits when I was an impressionable 9 year old. Saw it again recently and didn’t feel it had lost any of its potency. Davis plays sister to Crawford, who is a former 1930s child star confined to a wheelchair. Back in ’62 this must have brought a new meaning to the term sibling rivalry. Bet it helped that the two stars apparently detested each other in real life.
Little Big Man, 1970
AS movies go, no epic, but one that kept me entranced from the get-go. Dustin Hoffman has been rightly praised for many roles, but this one seems to go under the radar – why, I’ll never know. He’s brilliant as Jack Crabb, a white man who was kidnapped at a young age by Indians who gave him the name Little Big Man. Movie starts off with the 100 year old Crabb telling his life story, and it soon becomes apparent that it is a tongue-in-cheek look at America’s wild west past. There’s a hint of Forrest Gump about it due to Crabb being at some pretty important historical moments, although I doubt Robert Zemeckis would agree.
Dog Day Afternoon, 1975
CLASSIC to me, but not so to others. Saw a recent doco about the real players in this drama and the maker of said piece stopped and asked several people in the street if they’d heard of the movie. Nary a one of them had (maybe he edited it that way!). Al Pacino gives a sympathetic portrayal of the real-life Sonny Wortzik, who in aforementioned doco comes across as a self-agrandising tosser. Sonny wants to get some cash together to help pay for his boyfriend’s sex change operation, even though they have broken up. Moments of mirth mixed with a sudden, violent ending.
Logan’s Run, 1976
MOST who took to sci-fi in the mid 70s would quote Star Wars as the beginning of their obsession. While that certainly accelerated my interest, this Michael Anderson-helmed pic certainly started it. I loved the freaky synopsis whereby 30-year olds are killed to keep the population of a post-apocalyptic Earth down. Back in 1976, 30 seemed old, now it seems like one step up from a teenager. Michael York was perfect as Logan 6 (more so than Gregory Harrison’s TV portrayal), and the sweet Jenny Agguter gives us a reason to root for Logan and her to escape the Dome.
Escape From New York, 1981
SAW this when I was 16 and everything about it just clicked. John Carpenter was always a bit left of field, and this is no exception. Always remember thinking Adrienne Barbeau would go on to bigger and better things. Not so. Made to a budget and at a time when special effects were not quite at the standard they are today. Loved it all the same. Strangely, having watching quite a few Kurt Russell movies since this one, I think he might have been miscast as anti-hero Snake Plissken. Dunno if I can quite suspend disbelief regarding Russell being a hardarse.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High, 1982
PIC now has a bit of a cult following, deservedly so IMO. Remember seeing it at the cinema when it first came out and liked it from the start. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Phoebe Cates, Sean Penn and Judge Reinhold take the Cameron Crowe-penned piece and give us all a look at how high school should have been. Don’t know if I ever looked at Judge Reinhold that same way after that scene, but it was Phoebe Cates for chrissakes!
The Right Stuff, 1983
TOM Wolfe offers up an example of how good and bad you can get it when adapting books to the big screen. Bonfire of the Vanities – great book, totally sucked as a movie. The Right Stuff – great book, even better movie. Pic tracks the rise of NASA’s Mercury project, which was intent on getting the first human in space. Some good actors in this one, but Sam Shepard is the best playing test pilot Chuck Yeagar. I really loved the direction and cinematography (and vicariously the editing, too) in this film. It is one of the few movies where the story itself, as opposed to the actors, drive it. Nominated for Best Picture, but lost out to Terms of Endearment. The Right Stuff is the better movie.
Letter to Brezhnev, 1985
IF you liked television programmes like Auf Weidersen, Pet and Boys From the Black Stuff, then this right up your alley. Two likely lasses go out to paint the town red and pick up two Soviet sailors visiting Liverpool. One of the girls, Elaine, and sailor, Peter, fall in love. The romance is fleeting as Peter has to go back to the USSR the next day. Elaine writes letters to the then General Secretary of the USSR, Leonard Brezhnev asking for her love’s return. Theme highlights the lives of those in the depressed north of England during the Thatcher years. Picture has its depressing moments, but is uplifting too. Great performance by Alfred Molina and Peter Firth as the sailors, while Alexandra Pigg and Margi Clarke don’t get left behind.
Things to Come, 1936
Sergeant York, 1941.
The Day the Earth Stood Still, 1951
Kakushi-toride no san-akunin (The Hidden Fortress), 1958
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, 1962
Little Big Man, 1970
Dog Day Afternoon, 1975
Logan’s Run, 1976
Escape From New York, 1981
Fast Times at Ridgemont High, 1982
The Right Stuff, 1983
Letter to Brezhnev, 1985
Film & TV on DVD
Some fine choices though most of those are very respected films and very well known (EG: Dog day, Hidden Fortress, the Right Stuff)
Good to see Little Big man in there, Im a massive Arthur Penn fan.
Film & TV on DVD