Wake in Fright (1971) is a great Outback film. (Maybe the best Australian film?) Umbrella Entertainment have recently done an excellent 4K restoration of the original film stock.
The Wicker Man (1973) - the original starring Edward Woodward - is an excellent film that builds an eerie atmostphere like no other.
Peeping Tom (1960), directed by Michael Powell is a must-watch. Perhaps the original and the best slasher?
Other films that I think are too often overlooked, at least today, are the best films by Dario Argento: Deep Red (1975), Suspiria (1977), and Tenebrae (1982). All can be watched in English, and all have gorgeous 4K restorations.
Thanks Michael, I've seen the first three you mention. I liked Wake in Fright and Peeping Tom much more than Wicker Man. I should check out the Argento films.
Peeping Tom was released two months before Psycho, which means they were being produced at the same time.
Thank you, Scott. I hope you enjoy the Argento films. And thank you for the great post. I'm keen to see all of the films that you mentioned (that I haven't yet seen).
After The Favourite and Poor Things, Lanthimos probably doesn't count as overlooked, but I think Killing of a Sacred Deer is very underrated.
As for movies overshadowed by directors' other works, for anyone interested in Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love, you really should watch Days of Being Wild and 2046, they're part of a trilogy and all really good!
I haven't liked a single thing I've seen from Wong Kar Wai, including his BMW short starring Clive Owen (the rest are four features). But Alejandro Innaritu's might have been worse, and I like some of his films.
Another overlooked film is Possession (1981), directed by Andrzej Żuławski. Very much David Lynch meets Alfred Hitchcock. Possession has a strong homage to Vertigo, and I believe it was both influenced by Lynch, and influenced Lynch later in his career.
The film is in English, and Umbrella Entertainment have an exisite 4K restoration.
Interestingly how you touch on the many great neo-noir works of 1990s. Black Widow (though from 1987) feels a part of the same wave. Yes, Ebert was wrong. Though I think Russell's best performance was in Bad Timing. She was such a star, such a face. Criminally underrated.
I'd add the films of Hal Ashby to the overlooked list.
The Last Detail (despite Nicholson's bravado performance, reveals such masculine fragility) and Bound For Glory (with Carradine as a very interesting Guthrie).
And another director, - James Foley and his 2 great crime films - At Close Range (with fantastic Sean Penn, young and shining with energy) and also After Dark, My Sweet. You also mentioned 2 Louis Malle movies (Atlantic City, Dinner with Andre). I don't think Dinner with Andre is an overlooked film really. A great movie for sure, but not overlooked or underrated. Much of his other color films - Murmur of the Heart and Lucien Lacombe especially - high class work and almost obscure at this point. Louis Malle is in France what Sidney Lumet is in the States - original director, highly skilled and successful, often better than wider known contemporaries, but somehow falling in obscurity slowly.
I agree that her best performance was in Bad Timing, I meant that she would not go on to do better films than Black Widow in the future, but she'd already done one in the past.
I agree that very skilled directors can get overlooked with the passage of time, if they haven't invented a flashy new style. And certainly his French language films are less well known in America.
I'm far from an expert on anime, but Laputa (aka: Castle in the Sky) is simply beautiful. I think it outranks Akira. I'm also fond of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and The Red Turtle. I'm frustrated by the Cowboy Bebop movie. I hope I live long enough to see someone animate Arzach successfully.
I suppose that Gallipoli is Outback adjacent? A bit maudlin, but beautifully shot. The Road Warrior is to all subsequent post-apocalyptic films what Hendrix is to electric guitarists. I've never been able to make it through The Rover, but that's my problem.
- Outback films: Michael Lopresto already mentioned Wake in Fright. I'd add The Proposition.
- I love Miller's Crossing. My favourite Coen bros film.
- Just rewatched Metropolitan with teenage son and it's still good (he agrees).
- Don't even young people know that you need to watch Badlands? Point in favour: it's explicitly referenced in the recent The Last Stop in Yuma County.
- More films overshadowed by director's later work: most of Takeshi Kitano's early ones. Sonatine is pretty well-known, but I'd argue that even Boiling Point, Kids Return and A Scene at the Sea are better than his more famous Hana-Bi.
- Hal Hartley: I recommend Simple Men and Surviving Desire.
- I don't know if he qualifies as overlooked but, however famous he is, Hirokazu Kore-eda should be more famous. Maborosi, After Life and Nobody Knows are superb.
I love My Dinner with Andre! If you like that, then the 1990 film Mindwalk is a must-see. It's directed by Bernt Amadeus Capra, and it stars Liv Ullmann, Sam Waterston, and John Heard.
Great post. It is weird how some of those on your list have such a small film oeuvre. Certainly, John Dahl and Whit Stillman fall into that category. Dahl is a very active TV director, and I just saw an episode of 'Poker Face' that he directed. 'Red Rock West' is still great but not streaming anywhere right now.
Stillman is probably to much of an independent and can't get funding (interestingly both Stillman and Carolyn Farina who was in his early films are both in 'A New York Story', streaming on Amazon; it's very much a Stillman movie though he did not direct it).
I did a Substack post on California Noir fiction recently and touched on some of the movies from Raymond Shandler books. Robert Altman's 'The Long Goodby' continues to be a favorite and it pops up on the Criterion Channel.' I would add to this Hal Ashby's first movie, 'The Landlord' which I haven't seen in some time but thought it good. I don't think it's streaming anywhere unfortunately. The same goes for Pollack's 'They Shoot Horses, Don't They' which I would like to see again.
While Woody Allen’s films have been mostly mediocre in recent years, I suspect he has a dozen or more at least as good as the three of Stillman’s. And I loved Metropolitan and Barcelona, and the Last Days of Disco has grown on me. But c’mon, Annie Hall, Broadway Danny Rose, Sleeper, the Purple Rose of Cairo, Alice, Love and Death, Bananas, Manhattan, Hannah and her Sisters, Bullets over Broadway, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Midnight in Paris, Blue Jasmine, Sweet and Lowdown, Mighty Aphrodite. For 20-25 years, no one churned out more high quality films.
I know I'm coming late to this, but here's another British film that's highly regarded there but seemingly forgotten here in the States: "Distant Voices, Lives" by Terence Davies. I was absolutely floored watching it in the theater, and remember watching it on VCR thirty years ago. Now I can't convince my local library to get a copy of the DVD.
Scott, I'm not sure if you use Letterboxd, but for those reading these comments who do, I made a list of all the films mentioned here (as well as the Guy Maddin selections from the linked article). https://boxd.it/I5SDI/detail
By the way, have you considered making a Letterboxd account? It would be interesting to see what films you are watching. I presume you already keep a list of some form and it's a popular way for people to do that these days.
Wake in Fright (1971) is a great Outback film. (Maybe the best Australian film?) Umbrella Entertainment have recently done an excellent 4K restoration of the original film stock.
The Wicker Man (1973) - the original starring Edward Woodward - is an excellent film that builds an eerie atmostphere like no other.
Peeping Tom (1960), directed by Michael Powell is a must-watch. Perhaps the original and the best slasher?
Other films that I think are too often overlooked, at least today, are the best films by Dario Argento: Deep Red (1975), Suspiria (1977), and Tenebrae (1982). All can be watched in English, and all have gorgeous 4K restorations.
Thanks Michael, I've seen the first three you mention. I liked Wake in Fright and Peeping Tom much more than Wicker Man. I should check out the Argento films.
Peeping Tom was released two months before Psycho, which means they were being produced at the same time.
Thank you, Scott. I hope you enjoy the Argento films. And thank you for the great post. I'm keen to see all of the films that you mentioned (that I haven't yet seen).
I would definitely include A Hidden Life in any list of outstanding Malick films
Thanks. I focused on older films on the assumption that modern viewers would be more likely to have missed them.
David Mamet: Don't leave out State and Main. Very funny.
Yes, that's a very good one.
After The Favourite and Poor Things, Lanthimos probably doesn't count as overlooked, but I think Killing of a Sacred Deer is very underrated.
As for movies overshadowed by directors' other works, for anyone interested in Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love, you really should watch Days of Being Wild and 2046, they're part of a trilogy and all really good!
All seven films from Days of Being Wild through 2046 are pretty great. One of the best 7 film runs by any director.
I haven't liked a single thing I've seen from Wong Kar Wai, including his BMW short starring Clive Owen (the rest are four features). But Alejandro Innaritu's might have been worse, and I like some of his films.
Days of Being Wild is my favourite Wong Kar-Wai film.
Prof. Sumner, can you make another list that includes "enormous number of classic black and white films and foreign language films"?
Maybe someday, but that is far more work.
Easy, just hit Hitchcock, Wyler, and Ford and you've covered a lot of cream of the crop cinema.
Another overlooked film is Possession (1981), directed by Andrzej Żuławski. Very much David Lynch meets Alfred Hitchcock. Possession has a strong homage to Vertigo, and I believe it was both influenced by Lynch, and influenced Lynch later in his career.
The film is in English, and Umbrella Entertainment have an exisite 4K restoration.
Thanks. That sounds like my kind of film.
The Letterboxd version of the above: https://letterboxd.com/jpaz77/list/scott-sumner-overlooked-films/
Thanks JP.
Thanks for a good list.
Interestingly how you touch on the many great neo-noir works of 1990s. Black Widow (though from 1987) feels a part of the same wave. Yes, Ebert was wrong. Though I think Russell's best performance was in Bad Timing. She was such a star, such a face. Criminally underrated.
I'd add the films of Hal Ashby to the overlooked list.
The Last Detail (despite Nicholson's bravado performance, reveals such masculine fragility) and Bound For Glory (with Carradine as a very interesting Guthrie).
And another director, - James Foley and his 2 great crime films - At Close Range (with fantastic Sean Penn, young and shining with energy) and also After Dark, My Sweet. You also mentioned 2 Louis Malle movies (Atlantic City, Dinner with Andre). I don't think Dinner with Andre is an overlooked film really. A great movie for sure, but not overlooked or underrated. Much of his other color films - Murmur of the Heart and Lucien Lacombe especially - high class work and almost obscure at this point. Louis Malle is in France what Sidney Lumet is in the States - original director, highly skilled and successful, often better than wider known contemporaries, but somehow falling in obscurity slowly.
I agree that her best performance was in Bad Timing, I meant that she would not go on to do better films than Black Widow in the future, but she'd already done one in the past.
I agree that very skilled directors can get overlooked with the passage of time, if they haven't invented a flashy new style. And certainly his French language films are less well known in America.
I'm far from an expert on anime, but Laputa (aka: Castle in the Sky) is simply beautiful. I think it outranks Akira. I'm also fond of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and The Red Turtle. I'm frustrated by the Cowboy Bebop movie. I hope I live long enough to see someone animate Arzach successfully.
I suppose that Gallipoli is Outback adjacent? A bit maudlin, but beautifully shot. The Road Warrior is to all subsequent post-apocalyptic films what Hendrix is to electric guitarists. I've never been able to make it through The Rover, but that's my problem.
Yes, in my view Miyazaki films like Laputa and Nausicaa are far better than Akira.
Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro are even better.
I love so many of those Miyazaki movies, and The Cat Returns strikes me as the most "overlooked." Spirited Away is the best overall IMHO.
Oops and I guess TCR has a different director, same studio. My bad.
The one anime film I'd recommend is Grave of the Fireflies.
Great post.
- Outback films: Michael Lopresto already mentioned Wake in Fright. I'd add The Proposition.
- I love Miller's Crossing. My favourite Coen bros film.
- Just rewatched Metropolitan with teenage son and it's still good (he agrees).
- Don't even young people know that you need to watch Badlands? Point in favour: it's explicitly referenced in the recent The Last Stop in Yuma County.
- More films overshadowed by director's later work: most of Takeshi Kitano's early ones. Sonatine is pretty well-known, but I'd argue that even Boiling Point, Kids Return and A Scene at the Sea are better than his more famous Hana-Bi.
- Hal Hartley: I recommend Simple Men and Surviving Desire.
- I don't know if he qualifies as overlooked but, however famous he is, Hirokazu Kore-eda should be more famous. Maborosi, After Life and Nobody Knows are superb.
I love Koreeda's films, especially Nobody Knows.
I liked Hana-Bi and Sonatine, so I'll have to check out Kitano's earlier films.
Glad to hear that Badlands is still watched. I think The New World is my favorite.
I love My Dinner with Andre! If you like that, then the 1990 film Mindwalk is a must-see. It's directed by Bernt Amadeus Capra, and it stars Liv Ullmann, Sam Waterston, and John Heard.
Thanks, I'll look for it.
Great post. It is weird how some of those on your list have such a small film oeuvre. Certainly, John Dahl and Whit Stillman fall into that category. Dahl is a very active TV director, and I just saw an episode of 'Poker Face' that he directed. 'Red Rock West' is still great but not streaming anywhere right now.
Stillman is probably to much of an independent and can't get funding (interestingly both Stillman and Carolyn Farina who was in his early films are both in 'A New York Story', streaming on Amazon; it's very much a Stillman movie though he did not direct it).
I did a Substack post on California Noir fiction recently and touched on some of the movies from Raymond Shandler books. Robert Altman's 'The Long Goodby' continues to be a favorite and it pops up on the Criterion Channel.' I would add to this Hal Ashby's first movie, 'The Landlord' which I haven't seen in some time but thought it good. I don't think it's streaming anywhere unfortunately. The same goes for Pollack's 'They Shoot Horses, Don't They' which I would like to see again.
Thanks for those suggestions.
While Woody Allen’s films have been mostly mediocre in recent years, I suspect he has a dozen or more at least as good as the three of Stillman’s. And I loved Metropolitan and Barcelona, and the Last Days of Disco has grown on me. But c’mon, Annie Hall, Broadway Danny Rose, Sleeper, the Purple Rose of Cairo, Alice, Love and Death, Bananas, Manhattan, Hannah and her Sisters, Bullets over Broadway, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Midnight in Paris, Blue Jasmine, Sweet and Lowdown, Mighty Aphrodite. For 20-25 years, no one churned out more high quality films.
I know I'm coming late to this, but here's another British film that's highly regarded there but seemingly forgotten here in the States: "Distant Voices, Lives" by Terence Davies. I was absolutely floored watching it in the theater, and remember watching it on VCR thirty years ago. Now I can't convince my local library to get a copy of the DVD.
Scott, I'm not sure if you use Letterboxd, but for those reading these comments who do, I made a list of all the films mentioned here (as well as the Guy Maddin selections from the linked article). https://boxd.it/I5SDI/detail
Thanks Arthur.
By the way, have you considered making a Letterboxd account? It would be interesting to see what films you are watching. I presume you already keep a list of some form and it's a popular way for people to do that these days.
I'm not familiar with Letterboxd, but I'll look into it.
Might be good to make it clear at the end that the quote from Wikipedia is about the movie Bad Timing, save people a search...
Sorry for the slow reply. I fixed it.