What film do you feel is an unrecognized masterpiece?

[DerekG]

I have two radically different selections.

1. "The Last Temptation of Christ"--Scorsese's most personal masterpiece, and fourth best film (behind "Raging Bull," "Mean Streets," and "Taxi Driver"). There's simply nothing else quite like it--a sublime cross between "The Gospel According to St. Matthew" and Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone." The roles of Jesus, Judas, Mary, and Paul are masterfully assayed, and Peter Gabriel's score is as intense as they get.

2. "Babe: Pig in the City"--Critically savaged at the time, Babe 2 is, in fact, a superior sequel that enchants and haunts (this latter quality is common to all great children's stories).

[Swede]

1. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Torro? played those two characters brilliantly.

[Merrick]

11. I agree - loved it. Its main obstacle:

was its theme - Drug humor simply doesnt appeal to much of the mainstream, no matter how inspired.

[Deja Q]

2. Airplane, Star Trek II, Licence to Kill...

[Ladyhawk]

33. Airplane! is probably my favorite comedy ever...either that or Holy Grail

Great pics, HypnoToad. :)

[LaPera]

3. Scorsese's..."After Hours's"

[DerekG]

9. Yes, as are many of Scorsese's "second tier" productions

"After Hours"
"The Last Temptation of Christ"
"The Age of Innocence"
"Kundun"
"Bringing Out the Dead"

These were criminally ignored, even by some critics.

[Wetzelbill]

26. oh yeah

I'd say so as well.

[jobycom]

41. Great film.

[Merrick]

4. Underground - Emir Kusturica

Awesome film. Lyrical, poignant, and hilarious. His 'Time of the Gypsies' is also terrific.

Lilya 4 Ever - Lukas Moodysson
Man Bites Dog - Rémy Belvaux

[hippywife]

5. LadyHawk

and Rob Roy.

[Wetzelbill]

7. Rob Roy, good choice

[hippywife]

10. Jessica Lange

gave a phenominal performance, I thought.

:hi: Bill!

[Wetzelbill]

15. oh yeah she did

I love Liam Neeson. Brian Cox is great. Tim Roth played an effete snot so well, lol. Really a great cast.

[DerekG]

13. "Rob Roy" boasts the greatest hero/villain combo in modern film

The noble, naive, monogamous McGregor; and the monstrous, crafty, rapist Cunningham. I've never wanted a protagonist to succeed as much as Neeson's character.

Best sword duel, too.

[Wetzelbill]

16. great observation

I agree on all counts.

[hippywife]

20. You're both correct.

Tim Roth did such a good job with his evil portrayal, I have problems watching him in other rolls.

[chaska]

19. Great film!

[Pharlo]

22. And, of even greater importance,

Liam Neeson looked better in a kilt than Mel Gibson did in 'Braveheart'. :)

And, I'm a Brian Cox fan as well.

Liked the sword fight at the end too.

[DerekG]

23. Hell, I'm heterosexual, and even *I* would have married McGregor

And "Rob Roy" shits all over "Braveheart."

[Ladyhawk]

31. Why, thank you. :) Oh... the MOVIE. My bad. :( n/t

[Wetzelbill]

35. you're a masterpiece, nonetheless

At least I think so anyway. :)

[Ladyhawk]

38. (((((((((((((((((((((((((( Wetzelbill ))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

:hug: You charmer, you. ;)

[Wetzelbill]

39. I have my moments

:evilgrin:

[Wetzelbill]

6. "Giant" by George Stevens

Touches on a lot of racial and feminist issues. James Dean gives one of the great performances of all time as "Jett Rink." Just a superbly made, nearly perfect film. I was obsessed with it for about 6 months last year.

"The Outlaw Josey Wales" by Clint Eastwood

Every bit as good as Unforgiven. A great western with a great story. Wonderful acting throughout. Really a true classic.

"Fight Club" by David Fincher. Wonderfully shot and edited. One of the best scripts ever written. It came along at a weird time and is one of those films that you really couldn't find a good way to market it. Fincher's vision for this film was pure genius. A rare instance when a film is probably better than a book. IMHO, anyway.

[Nay]

42. Gotta agree about "Fight Club." The best! Also love "Gattaca."

[Pharlo]

8. Masterpiece may be a bit of a misnomer,

but a highly underpublicized (and underrated) film, in my opinion, is 'The Boondock Saints'.

[Wetzelbill]

12. I think Goodfellas and Casino are great films too

as is "The Color of Money." Scorsese is a masterful filmmaker. He makes films that are perfect. Without flaws. And, absolutely visionary. The Last Temptation of Christ is one of those films that makes you smarter just for having seen it. The portrayal of Jesus in such a humanly manner. He's vulnerable. Hurting. It was everything that The Passion wasn't. A great film.

[Akoto]

14. The Fifth Element.

Hey, I liked it. :shrug: :P

[Wetzelbill]

18. Luc Besson is a visual genius

[El Fuego]

70. Yes!! "The Fifth Element"

The film is stuck with that "sci-fi" flick label so no one takes it seriously, but I think it is truly a masterpiece.

[chaska]

17. Delicatessen (French)

[jim3775]

21. Sweet and Lowdown starring Sean Penn and written by Woddy Allen

What more could you want from a movie?

[Wetzelbill]

24. oh that is a really good choice

Sean Penn is a machine. The man can act. Emmett Ray? That was the guy's name right? Really a brilliant performance. And, the way Allen set the film up with a documentary style set up, was genius. Definitely a creative biopic. Well done. Samantha Morton was damn good as well.

[Floogeldy]

25. "Last Of The Mohicans" with . . .

. . . Daniel Day Lewis and Madeleine Stowe.

[Wetzelbill]

a Michael Mann joint

brilliantly directed. Great acting, great score, visionary editing and cinematography. I think it's the best Indian film of it's kind. I liked it better than Dances With Wolves for sure.

[Floogeldy]

28. Not only "Indian" . . .

. . . but the American spirit as reflected by Hawkeye's personality and independence.

You have good taste. :)

[Wetzelbill]

32. I'm a total film nerd

hope I get to direct one someday too.

You have some good taste as well. :)

[Swede]

27. Great movie with a great cast and a great soundtrack.

Whew!

[Floogeldy]

29. I have the soundtrack.

I don't play it often, because it brings me to tears.

[Swede]

43. No matter where you are I will find you,if it takes a thousand years.

Beautiful.

[Floogeldy]

47. "YOU STAY ALIVE. NO MATTER WHAT OCCURS."

:thumbsup:

[TheCentepedeShoes]

44. True story

Idiot 40 year old younger son of former boss went to the movies one night, saw a preview of Last of the Mochicans. Next day he tells us all about it: "It's this great western, cowboys and Indians." So I ask "Oh, an adaptation of the Cooper novel?" And he asks, in utter wonder: "There's a book about it?"

[Floogeldy]

52. Ha ha!

That's funny. ;)

[TheCentepedeShoes]

54. Oops, forgot to tell you that -

I saw the movie and loved it. Never read the book. My best friend in HS was straight A but couldn't wend her way through Cooper.

[jobycom]

30. Hudsucker Proxie, and Big Trouble in Little China

Hudsucker Proxie has a brilliant script and an acting performance by Jennifer Jason Leigh that should have earned her the same acclaim Jodi Foster gets.

Big Trouble in Little China is just freakin' hilarious. Kurt Russel is underrated as an actor, too.

My theory. Take it or leave it.

[Gildor Inglorion]

36. "Hudsucker Proxy" is one of my favorite movies

It's brilliant all the way around, but Paul Newman outdid himself as the snarky villian "yeah, yeah sure...mashie, nibblick..."

[Wetzelbill]

34. "Miller's Crossing" by the Coen Brothers

Man, is this a great film. I loved it. It was pure out amazing.

[Gildor Inglorion]

37. "Latter Days"...if you're gay & haven't seen it, SEE IT!

Even if you're straight & just enjoy good movie-making, see it...it's funny, heartbreaking, and wonderful in the best kind of way.

[Wetzelbill]

40. "Ran" by Akira Kurosawa

a slightly overlooked classic of his.

[Poiuyt]

48. I love the slow motion battle scene in Ran

Speaking of Kurosawa, he wrote the script for Runaway Train, a very good underlooked film.

[JackDragna]

59. I wouldn't call "Ran" underappreciated.

Most people consider it to be a masterpiece of cinema.

[Wetzelbill]

66. most people couldn't even tell you what it is

It's relatively underappreciated compared to The Seven Samurai, Rashoman and several of his better known films. I'm the only person I know- along with one of my brothers who I practically made- who has watched it. It wasn't even nominated for a Best Foreign Film Academy Award. On a few of the top 100 Foreign films of all time lists I looked at it wasn't even mentioned. To me, that's pretty underappreciated. But, you are right if you mean that many people who know film consider it a masterpiece. That would be true.

[barb162]

45. Where's Poppa

[NNadir]

46. Das Boot.

It has to be watched in German though, for full effect.

[DerekG]

53. Actually, "Das Boot" is regarded as a masterpiece

And it certainly is.

[Rabrrrrrr]

49. Conan the Barbarian; Last Temptation; 5th Element; Star Trek II; Airplane

Some mentioned by others already. All briliant films in their own right, incredibly and artistically executed, with amazing soundtracks (except maybe Airplane), and a VERY serious attention to excellence and perfection, AS WELL AS telling timeless, brilliant, phenomenal stories (except Airplane, which, since it is total farce, sort of misses that one - but it's farce at its most elevated and perfect level).

[Spider Jerusalem]

50. "Pi".

Great film with amazing black-and-white cinematography, a complex plot, a rather interesting subtext (that God is everywhere in the universe, if one has the eyes to see), and a rather ambiguous ending.

[Rabrrrrrr]

51. Oh, yeah - that one is fucking great!

Almost made me motion sick, but great!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

55. Cube Zero

Do you believe in God? Just answer yes or no.

[sundog]

56. dogville

one of my fave flicks of all time... says everything & nothing

[sir_captain]

57. Barry Lyndon

definitely in my top 5 films of all time.

[driver8]

65. I absolutely love the movie "Barry Lyndon."

A very underrated movie.

[Telly Savalas]

58. Starship Troopers

Although filmed in 1997, this film brilliantly captures the essence of the quasi-fascist mentality that drives the Bush Administration and its allies.

[bvar22]

60. Lonely Are the Brave

"Lonely Are the Brave"
1962 Black & White
Kirk Douglas
Walter Matthau
Carrol O'Conner (before Archie)
George Kennedy

The LAST FREE American trying to escape on horseback across the border into Mexico gets run over by a Commercial Truck carrying a load of toilets.

[enigmatic]

61. "Gates Of Heaven" and "My Dinner With Andre"

"Andre" I've talked about enough, but Errol Morris' dicumentary "Gates Of Heaven" is an obscure classic, and my favorite film of his by a country mile.

David Byrne's "True Stories" pretty much ripped off Morris' style hook, line, and sinker..

http://www.ebertfest.com/six/gates_of_heaven_review.htm

[Robeson]

62. Don's Party.

[Kickin_Donkey]

63. "The Razor's Edge" -- Bill Murray version ...

I think people were thrown off because Bill Murray played a straight role and it wasn't a comedy like "Caddyshack" or "Stripes."

[enigmatic]

64. Great choice

One of my favorite books, and I think Murray was great as Larry Darrell in this version..

[SKKY]

67. "Talk to her" by Pedro Almodovar...

...and "Henry: Portrait of a serial killer" by I don't know who.

[Clintmax]

68. "My Own Private Idaho"

:rofl:
Just kidding! That one is one weird movie!

[Wilkes and Liberty]

69. In the farce category: The Ritz

This film is set in a gay bath house in NY City in the days before AIDS, when gays could still be gay indeed. Jack Weston is a straight guy hiding out there, on the lam from his homocidal brother-in-law (Jerry Stiller). He encounters possibly the world's worst lounge act (Rita Moreno), a straight detective with a soprano voice (Treat Williams), and any number of variously zany men in search of love (F. Murray Abraham leading the pack). Made in 1976, this has been long out of print on DVD, but if you are as unscrupulous as I am, you may manage to find a bootleg copy.

[Mutley]

71. Trainspotting.

One of my all-time favorite movies, and I feel it is really only an undergroud cult hit.