Surprisingly good movies you've never seen

[RunningTheFloor]

The Legend of Bagger Vance - Will Smith, Matt Damon, and Charlize Theron.

Takes place in Savannah, GA during the Great Depression.  Three-way Golf match between Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, and Rannulph Junuh (Matt Damon's character...the hometown hero, who became a waste of life).  Will Smith plays Damon's mentor.

Great movie, especially if you enjoy the game of golf.  Most I have talked to have never seen it.  It's always one I recommend.  My favorite golf movie of all time (yes, that includes Caddyshack).

[LB3533]

Check out "Peaceful Warrior" with Nick Nolte. It is based on a true story and is really one of the great movies out there. One of the best sports movies of all time IMO.

I will agree with this recommendation as well. Also, Amy Smart + Agnes Bruckner = Woof woof!

[LB3533]

The Legend of Bagger Vance

I liked this film, but I think it is too mainstream with that cast.

The Greatest Game Ever Played would probably be more appropriate to the topic/thread.

It's a decent film, plus Casey Jones is in it.

[LB3533]

Old Boy !! Thats a must see...

If people have the stomach for it....then ya go watch it.

[Schupac]

Since this thread is about movies you've probably never seen, the more famous films should be excluded.  Onto the more obscure films I love...

Kikujiro - Japanese film with Beat Takeshi.  Kind of a touching comedy, captivating.

Dark City - Sci-fi film noir.  Cult classic.

Big Trouble in Little China - the very definition of a cult classic.  Not exactly cerebral, but very entertaining.

The Thing - the John Carpenter remake.  The special effects, which are fairly low budget, are incredible.

Brazil - Sci-fi comedy with a painful ending.  Very strange film.

Battle Royale - Japanese ... Action(?) film.  Very, very original.

Delicatessen - French horror comedy... very strange but captivating.

The Proposition - Australian "western".  I loved it.  Very gritty.

The Professional - fairly mainstream, but if you haven't seen it, go rent it.  Now.  I'll wait.

I would also add my endorsement to OldBoy.  I loved that movie.

I love more obscure films... I could go on for hours these are just what popped into my head while killing time at work.

[LB3533]

Some other non-mainstream, but popular flicks that I can recommend are:

Donnie Darko
Spirited Away (animated)
Shaolin Soccer
Kung Fu Hustle

and finally, those who like war movies....

Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War (Korean): this one made me cry and was 100x more powerful to me than Saving Private Ryan because it dealt closer to family (2 Brothers) than a bunch of strangers trying to save some Private 1st Class.

[Nerf DPOY]

I don't know if "Made" is that obscure, but that has to be one of my favorite comedies. It's inevitably always compared to Swingers because of V. Vaughn and Favreau. I actually prefer it to Swingers.

Ghost World was hilarious, I thought.

[MaxwellSmart]

Casablanca >>>> Citizen Cane- Because the more you watch Casablanca,the better it gets...Plus, you actually care about each character in it...Kane was a technical marvel for it's time.

Here's a few Great movies some of you might not have seen:

Memento
The Limey(Terence Stamp)
Seven Samurai(Original Magnificent Seven by Akira Kurosowo)
Midnight Run(Deniro as a Bounty Hunter-hysterical)
Dial M For Murder(old Hitchcock great)
Out Of Sight(George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez)
The Seven Year Itch(cause you get to see Marilyn Monroe at her hottest and in color)

[seeingreen34]

Badlands and Days of Heaven. Both were done by Terrence Malick who did The Thin Red Line and The New World. Those two really get lost because they were made in 73 and 78 and it took him 20 years to make another film. Both are considered to be masterpieces by critics. Others I would recommend:

Barton Fink (Coen Brothers)
Miller's Crossing (Coen Brothers)
Short Cuts (Altman)
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (Altman)
Rashomon (Kurosawa)
Sunset Blvd. (Wilder)
The Conversation (Coppola)
Adaptation (Spike Jonze)
An Unfinished Life (Hallstrom)

The Key To Reserva (Scorsese) - Not actually a movie but a short done by Scorsese kind of about Hitchcock. Definitely worth a look if you like Scorsese or Hitchcock. Its on youtube I think.)

There's way more than that but that's all I can think of now.

[MattG12]

Movies such as The Godfather, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, and 12 Angry Men shouldn't be on a list of "surprisingly" good movies as all four are ranked in the top 30 best all time movies by IMDb.

One surprisingly good movie I have seen is Session 9, a psychological thriller set at Danvers State Hospital in Danvers, MA(Before they tore it down). For an independent movie with a low budget, no special effects, and only a couple somewhat known actors they managed to make a great movie that truly has the ability to creep you out. You have to be able to sit through a movie and pay attention to a lot of dialog to get anything out of it or you will get bored, and fast. I may be biased however as I am very interested in the Insane Asylums in Massachusetts from Danvers to Medfield to Foxborough to Grafton. They are very scary historical places.

For people who like Psychological movies and thrillers like myself...
Donnie Darko, Memento, The Prestige, Rear Window, Frailty, The Machinist, American Psycho, Eyes Wide Shut, The Butterfly Effect, American Beauty, Mulholland Drive, The Number 23, The Shining, A Clockwork Orange, Fight Club, Secret Window, Pi, and Requiem For A Dream are all excellent movies, no some of them don't come as a surprise.

In case you are wondering I am a film junkie, I can name you a list of great movies for nearly every genre, currently movies that make me think like the ones listed above are my favorite, and I would have to say Donnie Darko, Memento, and Fight Club would have to take the cake as the top 3.

[BrickJames]

Movies such as The Godfather, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, and 12 Angry Men shouldn't be on a list of "surprisingly" good movies as all four are ranked in the top 30 best all time movies by IMDb.

One surprisingly good movie I have seen is Session 9, a psychological thriller set at Danvers State Hospital in Danvers, MA(Before they tore it down). For an independent movie with a low budget, no special effects, and only a couple somewhat known actors they managed to make a great movie that truly has the ability to creep you out. You have to be able to sit through a movie and pay attention to a lot of dialog to get anything out of it or you will get bored, and fast. I may be biased however as I am very interested in the Insane Asylums in Massachusetts from Danvers to Medfield to Foxborough to Grafton. They are very scary historical places.

For people who like Psychological movies and thrillers like myself...
Donnie Darko, Memento, The Prestige, Rear Window, Frailty, The Machinist, American Psycho, Eyes Wide Shut, The Butterfly Effect, American Beauty, Mulholland Drive, The Number 23, The Shining, A Clockwork Orange, Fight Club, Secret Window, Pi, and Requiem For A Dream are all excellent movies, no some of them don't come as a surprise.

In case you are wondering I am a film junkie, I can name you a list of great movies for nearly every genre, currently movies that make me think like the ones listed above are my favorite, and I would have to say Donnie Darko, Memento, and Fight Club would have to take the cake as the top 3.

Session 9 was great.  As were Pi and and Requiem For a Dream, but I doubt people haven't seen those.

I'd want to say "Boondock Saints" but people have probably seen that as well.

Fight club and Clockwork..cmon.  Great movies, but unseen? Really?

I'm sorry, but Donnie Darko is terrible.  I de-recommend that one folks.

[blackshoescelt]

Going back for just a moment, Citizen Kane is the best film I've ever seen.  Everything in that movie was exact.  I think it would win the Oscar tomorrow if it came out today. The only thing I have seen close to it is Pulp Fiction.  But, to the subject at hand
How about:

Big Night
Diggstown, or
the Milagro Beanfield War
 

[bucknersrevenge]

Since this thread is about movies you've probably never seen, the more famous films should be excluded.  Onto the more obscure films I love...

Kikujiro - Japanese film with Beat Takeshi.  Kind of a touching comedy, captivating.

Dark City - Sci-fi film noir.  Cult classic.

Big Trouble in Little China - the very definition of a cult classic.  Not exactly cerebral, but very entertaining.

The Thing - the John Carpenter remake.  The special effects, which are fairly low budget, are incredible.

Brazil - Sci-fi comedy with a painful ending.  Very strange film.

Battle Royale - Japanese ... Action(?) film.  Very, very original.

Delicatessen - French horror comedy... very strange but captivating.

The Proposition - Australian "western".  I loved it.  Very gritty.

The Professional - fairly mainstream, but if you haven't seen it, go rent it.  Now.  I'll wait.

I would also add my endorsement to OldBoy.  I loved that movie.

I love more obscure films... I could go on for hours these are just what popped into my head while killing time at work.

Somebody's definitely gettin Tommies for this choice. Awesome awesome flick. Alex Proyas who directed this, The original Crow with Brandon Lee and I, Robot definitely doesn't do enough work. Had Nolan not done such a terrific job with Bale reviving the Batman series Proyas would've gotten my vote to try.

[celticmaestro]

The Legend of Bagger Vance - Will Smith, Matt Damon, and Charlize Theron.

Takes place in Savannah, GA during the Great Depression.  Three-way Golf match between Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, and Rannulph Junuh (Matt Damon's character...the hometown hero, who became a waste of life).  Will Smith plays Damon's mentor.

Great movie, especially if you enjoy the game of golf.  Most I have talked to have never seen it.  It's always one I recommend.  My favorite golf movie of all time (yes, that includes Caddyshack).

I do like this film, Robert Redford directed it too if I remember correctly.

[freshinthehouse]

Not sure how unknown these are but whatev:

Affliction
Safe Men
Wonder Boys
Narc
The Descent
UHF
In the Bedroom
The Lives of Others (German)
The Limey
Dead Ringers
Collateral
Balls of Fury