10 Great Movies You May Have Never Heard Of
Tired of watching the same uncreative blockbuster movies over and over again? Looking for something new and original to fill your Sunday afternoon? There is always something pleasurable about uncovering a cinematic gem that few people have seen. The fact that a film is obscure doesn’t necessarily mean that it is unworthy, merely that it’s unknown. On the following article, you will find 10 Great Movies You May Have Never Heard Of but are worth checking out.
Dark City (1998)
Roger Ebert called this movie the best film of 1998. Dark City is set in a nightmarish world where the sun never rises and revolves around a man with amnesia who is wanted by police as a suspected serial killer. His worst trouble however is the Strangers, vastly powerful beings who seem to manipulate just about everything in the city, and want him because of the extraordinary powers he manifested. Watching Dark City will remind you quite a lot of the widely popular The Matrix, except Dark City came out first. Starring Rufus Sewell, William Hurt, Kiefer Sutherland, and Jennifer Connelly, Dark City is one of the most underrated science-fiction movie ever made.
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005)
The true story of Germany’s most famous anti-Nazi heroine is brought to life in this film. Sophie Scholl was the fearless activist of The White Rose, an underground non-violent resistance group. Using historical records of her incarceration and interviews with survivors, this film re-creates the last six days of her life: a journey from arrest to interrogation, trial and sentence in 1943 Munich. Unwavering in her convictions and loyalty to her comrades, her cross-examination by the Gestapo quickly escalates into a searing test of wills as the 21-yr old Scholl delivers an admirable and heroic call to freedom and personal responsibility that is both haunting and timeless.
The Snow Walker (2003)
In a rare leading role, the criminally underrated Barry Pepper plays Charlie Halliday, a former WWII fighter pilot who is now making a living as a bush pilot delivering supplies to the scattered Eskimos living in the Canadian Great North. Like many of the white in the area, he does not associate with the Inuit population except for what he can get out of them in bartering. On one of his trip, he runs across a small family of nomadic Eskimo. The female of the group, named Kanaalaq, has what Charlie suspects is tuberculosis. In exchange for some ivory, Charlie agrees to fly her to a hospital. En route back to the city, Charlie is forced to make a crash landing when the plane’s engine fails. Stranded in the middle of nowhere with meager amount of supplies, Charlie learns from the ailing woman how to survive in the cold region.
Following (1998)
Following is Christopher Nolan’s first movie, featuring the unusual non-linear plot structure which has become a staple of his movies. It tells the story of a struggling, unemployed young man who follows strangers around the streets of London and is drawn into a criminal underworld when he fails to keep his distance. Made on a $6,000 budget, the film runs only 69 minutes but is a persuasive and creepy neo-noir that is sure to play mind-games with you.
Sin Nombre (2009)
A vivid and stunning feature from first-time director Cary Fukunaga, Sin Nombre is a beautifully told drama-thriller that puts faces and motivations on the struggle of thousands of Central Americans immigrants trying to make their way to America. Cinematographer Adriano Goldman captures the grit of urban immigrants against the backdrop of Mexico’s diverse and unforgettable landscape. Despite the obvious ground for political controversy, this is a well-grounded story that keeps focus on the characters and their struggle, bypassing the broader political issues at hand.
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57 Comments
I’ve seen Following, have heard of most of the others.
One I would include is Two Lovers (then again, that was what Joaquin Phoenix was promoting when he went off the deep end). But disregarding that tidbit, I really wish more people would see it. Phoenix gives probably the performances of his career in Two Lovers.
I saw Two Lovers, I wasn’t very impressed with the movie itself, Gwyneth Paltrow was a really cold character which kind of killed it for me. Joaquin Phoenix is always on top of his game in every movie he is in.
I’d watch Two Lovers just for Phoenix, especially it being the last one before he took um, a long holiday
ok
The White Ribbon is one I’ve been wanting to see but haven’t got around to. Tell No One was excellent – enjoyed the book and the film.
Nice list! It’s good to see Ong-Bak on there. More people need to experience the badassness of Tony Jaa!
Indeed! Dude is very, very impressive. Jackie Chan and Jet Li got nothing on that guy
LOVE, LOVE LOVE The White Ribbon. So glad to see you mention it on the list because it is simply a masterpiece.
I own FOLLOWING and have heard of seven of the others. Great list from what I know – I’m hoping to give WHITE RIBBON a look sometime soon.
Definitely give it a shot, it’s a very good one!
Great list Castor.
I have been wanting to see following but haven’t found it yet. I’m noting down all these movies and maybe I can get it one day.
I have only heard of five of these and seen Dark City and The White Ribbon, which are both excellent. Especially the latter, one of Haneke’s greatest films. Ikiru, I really want to see. Nice list!
I’m about half and half on this list, some heard but not seen. Glad to see Sophie Scholl and Ong Bak xD
Ikiru is a film I need to see. I keep putting it off for some reason.
It’s on Netflix Instant like most if not all of Kurosawa’s movies.
The only one I haven’t heard of is The Snow Walker. I’ve seen Dark City, Following, and Ong-Bak… didn’t really care for any of them. Dark City is probably the best of the bunch, but just moves too slowly. Following was… not good, though I love Nolan. And the action of Ong-Bak is great, but everything else is terrible. The others I do, eventually, plan on seeing.
I’ve heard of almost all, seen just short of half, and need to see more. I’ll let Castor guess which one I’d champion of the bunch.
Uhh, Dark City?
I can’t really tell which but I can already eliminate Ikiru since it couldn’t possibly be that movie.
I’ve heard all of these but with the exception of “Ikiru” and some of “Dark City”, I haven’t seen these because either I couldn’t find the time nor am I really interested.
Maybe I should give those I put in the latter a chance for them to be seen.
Whassup Dark City!
I just bought Dark City on BluRay yesterday for only $10! I’ve heard of most of these, but haven’t seen any of them except Dark City and the first half of Following.
one of my favorite movies of all time is “Murder in the First” which starred Kevin Bacon. It was my film review in high school and it really moved me.
this was about a boy who was wrongfully accused and was sentenced to life in alcatraz. he was kept underground with no food and sun and drinks pee for 1000 days, when he went out he became inhuman. one ambitious young lawyer heard about this and tried his case and won it. this was the case that made alcatraz shut down.
among the list maybe im gonna try tell no one and sophie scholl
Murder in the First sounds like a good one! Thanks for the recommendation Sub
Love that movie! Super depressing, but Kevin Bacon is genius and super scary!
I loved the Orphanage. Best horror movie I have seen in a while.
I’ve heard of these, but I haven’t actually watched all of them yet.
Dark City is one of those greats that gets overlooked. Black Dynamite is way better than any of the grindhouse films and if you’re a film buff with any interest in foreign cinema and haven’t heard of Ikiru, well, you’re in for an education.
One of the major goals of my blog is to highlight overlooked and forgotten films. It doesn’t always work out that way, but I’m happy with the diversity of films I cover on my blog.
I was very surprised to see that Ikiru has only 17,000 votes on IMDb. Like most of Kurosawa’s movies, they are actually quite under-seen despite how famous of a director he was.
I gave The White Ribbon a try a few months back and turned it off halfway through. Just nothing compelling enough to keep you with it.
Great list Castor…I already seen both Ikiru and White Ribbon. Have to watch other films too. BTW thanks for sharing. Cheers
The Ice Pirates.. now thats a sweet movie no one may not have heard of
Hahahaha, great forgotten piece of film history there and I own it:P Good call Ross! Robert Urich, Angelica Huston, pre-Hellboy Ron Perlman, space herpes and jive talking robots…so bad it’s good:)
I remember seeing that one when it came out. Man I laughed and laughed. There’s one with laughs throughout
Yay on Dark City! It’s indeed a great sci-fi, I think even Nolan cited that as one of his inspirations. There are indeed a few of these I’ve never heard of, so thanks Castor, that Sophie Scholl looks intriguing, I might check that out. The White Ribbon is in my Netflix queue, looking forward to that.
I’d suggest BELLA (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482463/) which won TIFF’s People’s Choice Award in 2006, wonderful little film.
LOVED Black Dynamite, Ong-Bak was some mighty cool shit, and I’ve been dying to watch Dark City again for ages now, been way too long. Every other one of these are all high on my TO SEE list and hopefully this is just what I needed to finally watch Tell No One already. Awesome post, man.
Snow Walker is a great film from the under appreciated Barry Pepper. Kind of has a Hallmark movie (or TV movie) feel to it but quite impressive. Nice shout out there. Also Following really does play mind games with you. Makes Memento’s twist seem unimpressive by comparison huh?
Saw Ikiru for the first time during my 12 Days of Kurosawa and really loved it. Take the recommendation Univarn game me and see High and Low and Stray Dog. Both just as well done!
I’ve heard of all of these except for Tell No One and Snow Walker. Good list. I’ll actually step in to “boo” on Black Dynamite; not a bad movie, but not a particularly good one, either. It’s the sort of parody that winks at the audience far too much to be really effective as both a ribbing of the genre and an homage to it. I get the impression that Sanders has simply seen a lot of blaxploitation movies, which is great but doesn’t necessarily lend itself to a strong spoof. Michael Jai White is awesome, of course, but he’s the only person who gets what’s going on in the entire movie.
Maybe it’s me but I feel like Big Fan is one of those movies nobody’s either seen or heard of, and it’s too bad because Patton Oswalt is astoundingly good in it– moreso than you might expect for the funnyman, but it’s a genuinely great performance that everyone overlooked in 2009, myself included. There’s more to recommend the film for than just that bit you really will come for the film and stay for Oswalt, he’s that good.
Save the Green Planet is another one, though it’s been out long enough that I’m assuming it’s earned a little more notoriety than it had a few years ago. Regardless, great little science fiction film from South Korea with a tragic character arc in Shin Ha-kyun’s character and a really, really sobering climax.
And finally, Keoma, one of those spaghetti Westerns most don’t seem to be aware of.
I completely agree with Big Fan. It seems like no one has watched it, but it’s actually a pretty solid film. You don’t have to be a sports fan to appreciate it either.
Maybe now I’ll finally check Big Fan out. It’s withered off of my DVR at least twice. Ive never watched it.
Wow I’ve seen 3 of these. Go me.
Loved Sin Nombre, I like films that don’t have happy endings. Was surprised to see Fukunaga’s doing Jane Eyre next.
Ahah don’t spoil it now
Black Dynamite is DY-NO-MITE!
“That’s you, Tricky Dick! So I’m here to deliver you one presidential ass-whupping!”
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Great list because I haven’t seen most of these. I have rented Dark City twice now and end up returning it because no one wants to watch it with me! I did see Black Dynamite, great flick and quite a homage to the genre. I saw alot of those when I was growing up. I was dragged to a Kurosawa festival as a teen and I couldn’t get into it at all. I may revisit so of his films in the future.
Such a great list here, and I’m heartened by the fact that I’ve seen a few of these, so I know what to expect as far as quality. You know, I actually own the soundtrack to Black Dynamite!
Watched one. The White Ribbon IS very Haneke, which is very non-American in a way that the individual isn’t strong enough to withstand sociological forces. And his ending is the most likely ending for the town, even if isn’t satisfactory the first time he reveals it.
Ikiru is a really special film. It’s natural to see Kurosawa’s name and think “samurai!” but this film proves he could do a lot more than battle sequences.
If you’ve seen Ikiru and liked it, look into the catalog of Yasujiro Ozu, who does slow-paced domestic dramas that are moving and tender.
How is it possible that people have still not seen “Dark City”? Get thee on Netflix people! It is one of those movies you either love or hate, there is no inbetween. Most of these movies I’ve seen or are in my queue with the exception of “Snow Walker”. I heart Barry Pepper (did anyone recognize him in “True Grit” pre-credits?!). I posted a long list of my favorite unseen movies on my blog: http://wwqtw.blogspot.com/2010/11/best-movies-you-may-have-never-seen.html
Sorry a bit late in the game but I just had to thank you for having “Tell No One” on this list! I LOVED that movie!
Nice List – FYI… the author of Tell No One is actually Harlen Coben not Harvey
Cool list. I’ve always wanted to watch White Ribbon. Never got around to it.
Dark City IS great. I love it. But it IS pretty hardcore sci-fi. And Dark right from jump street (the title) I can see why a lot of people steer clear.
Great List, I’ve either seen or own most of them & love them. Couple suggestions:
1. Nochnoy dozor [2004] (Night Watch)
2. Dnevnoy dozor [2006] (Day Watch)
3. not out yet is Sumerechniy Dozor (Twilight or Dusk Watch) & Posledniy Dozor (Final or Last Watch)… These are based on sci-fi novels by a Russian author, & the movies rival hollywood productions
4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)
5. The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009)
6. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (2009)
These 3 are Swedish, based on novels of the same names. excellent flicks (has rape scenes, so don’t watch if offended), There is a re-make of Dragon Tattoo in English with Daniel Craig & Rooney Mara coming out soon as well (Dec 2011)
I’ve heard lots of good things about some of the films on your list, however unfortunately never seen any of them. Think I’ll have to change that!
I have seen Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior and Dark City (including the director’s cut).
I tried to watch Black Dynamite but I could not get through it. Not my style. I watched about half of The White Ribbon.
Thanks for these suggestions, Castor. I only saw this on scribol.com now. From these movies I only saw Sophie Scholl and Sin Nombre, which I agree were fantastic.
I’ll definitely check the other ones out. I hadn’t even heard of Following – will have a look.
I also agree with Karto on the Night’s and Day’s Watch movies – they were great too.
Ikiru and The White Ribbon are essential films. Kurosawa is one of the Top 3 directors of all time and Haneke is in the Top 3 directors working today. I might be late on this but great selection Castor! I will catch the ones I haven’t seen yet.
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