Unappreciated masterpieces?

[DNO]

I'm with you on the spirit of the title, but the "Boys in Marketing" might oppose us.

I'm going to encourage you to try a few TV series as I think they are the best modern "film" being made. "Downton Abbey" (especially season one), "Hell on Wheels," "Call the Midwife" (more than any, very classic film in its overall aesthetic and approach to story telling), "Mad Men," "Boardwalk Empire," "True Detective" (basically modern film noir) and "Orange is the New Black" are all quality shows, with fully developed characters, intricate plots that play out over many episodes and serve as intelligent commentary on the human condition (what good art does).

These series (and others) are where the quality in "film" is today. Most movies, even the "good" ones, are at best okay and none that I've seen in years compares with any of the above shows.

Very good point regarding the quality of some TV productions. I'd encourage people to view "The Wire" as well...one of the best works of drama I've ever seen. Five seasons and not a single weak episode.

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Ian, you're going to love Road to Perdition, especially if you're a father...it does strike a chord about the importance of fatherhood, and the tenuous hold we all have on time and life.

Another couple of WW2 movies you don't hear much about (but, I enjoyed immensely), are Roman Polanski's 2002 The Pianist (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0253474/) and 2004's Der Untergang (Downfall)(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363163/?ref_=nv_sr_1).

Also, as was mentioned before, HBO's 2001 Conspiracy (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266425/?ref_=nv_sr_4) will send chills down your spine as genocide is discussed matter-of-factly, and with cold efficiency....plus, it has Stanley Tucci and Kenneth Branagh.

Rob

 

[Horace Debussy Jones]

I nominate "Valkyrie". Just watched it again recently, and found it to be a riveting world war 2 drama based closely upon real events. Even though Tom Cruise was in it, he managed to do a good job at portraying Claus von Stauffenberg in the film.

 

[EmergencyIan]

Ian, you're going to love Road to Perdition, especially if you're a father...it does strike a chord about the importance of fatherhood, and the tenuous hold we all have on time and life.

Another couple of WW2 movies you don't hear much about (but, I enjoyed immensely), are Roman Polanski's 2002 The Pianist (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0253474/) and 2004's Der Untergang (Downfall)(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363163/?ref_=nv_sr_1).

Also, as was mentioned before, HBO's 2001 Conspiracy (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266425/?ref_=nv_sr_4) will send chills down your spine as genocide is discussed matter-of-factly, and with cold efficiency....plus, it has Stanley Tucci and Kenneth Branagh.

Rob

Rob, I'm really looking forward to seeing it. Hopefully, I will have to DVD before the weekend. I'll post and/or let you know once I see it.

- Ian

 

[Blackthorn]

I nominate "Valkyrie". Just watched it again recently, and found it to be a riveting world war 2 drama based closely upon real events. Even though Tom Cruise was in it, he managed to do a good job at portraying Claus von Stauffenberg in the film.

I totally agree. I'm not a Cruise fan, but this was a masterpiece, even to his acting.

 

[Stearmen]

I don't think I will eve be a Leonardo DiCaprio fan, but, he was pretty good in The Aviator. [video=youtube;zikFDK4cuQA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zikFDK4cuQA[/video]

 

[Fading Fast]

I don't think I will eve be a Leonardo DiCaprio fan, but, he was pretty good in The Aviator. [video=youtube;zikFDK4cuQA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zikFDK4cuQA[/video]

I wasn't a fan, but "Shutter Island" converted me - he can act. I think it is the cheesy "Titanic" that put him on the map that gave me a bad first impression of him. But movies, like the one you mentioned "The Aviator," and "Shutter Island" and "Django Unchanged" have grudgingly changed my mind. The man can act.

 

[skydog757]

I remember seeing "A Simple Plan" when it first came out and enjoyed it quite a bit. I just read the novel and it has spurred me to watch it again. Although the film does not follow the book, I think it is the better for it.

 

[Blackthorn]

I agree, both the book and the movie were excellent.

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Not sure if it was mentioned earlier, but the Coen Brothers' 1990 Miller's Crossing is a masterpiece; for the dialogue and soundtrack especially--the never-ending, never-reloading gun battles are a stretch, though, and remind me of Bruce Willis' Last Man Standing nonsense. But otherwise, it's a forgotten jewel!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100150/

[video=youtube;W2YPsfwSPGg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2YPsfwSPGg[/video]

Rob

 

[Blackthorn]

Yesterday I saw Jakob the Liar for the first time ever. Wow, brilliant movie on every level.

 

[Smithy]

"The Talented Mr Ripley" - first saw it at the flicks when it came out and loved it then and saw it again recently. I reckon this is a cracker of a film, well acted, beautifully shot, wonderful clothing and locations and one of the best movie soundtracks.

 

[Fading Fast]

"The Talented Mr Ripley" - first saw it at the flicks when it came out and loved it then and saw it again recently. I reckon this is a cracker of a film, well acted, beautifully shot, wonderful clothing and locations and one of the best movie soundtracks.

I am a fan as well and agree with all your points. The movie inspired me to read the book, which is part of a series that, so far - I've read the first two - are very enjoyable reads.

 

[1mach1]

Ishtar
[video=youtube;aHp8p3Y3K-g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHp8p3Y3K-g[/video]

 

[Fading Fast]

Last week I watched "In Name Only" a 1939 Cary Grant, Carole Lombard and Kay Francis movie in which Grant and Francis are in a loveless marriage (she married him for money and position), but Grant and Lombard fall in love and have an affair. The basic plot of the movie is Grant trying to get a divorce and Francis using Grant's family to manipulate it so that she doesn't have to; meanwhile, we see the effect that has on Grant and Lombard's relationship.

First, I'm amazed this was made after the pre-code period as it doesn't present marriage in a good light and makes you sympathetic to the extra-marital affair and divorce. Away from that striking oddity for the time, it is a very good solid movie (reminds me a bit of "Suspicion" in that the movie feels "simple" and even a bit "small" on the surface, but the tension and issues it deals with are large and handled well).

Maybe it was the subject matter, maybe it was the year (a lot of great movies were made in '39), but I've always thought this is an overlooked gem.

 

[1mach1]

Diner
[video=youtube;dGZZ-CLphCI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGZZ-CLphCI[/video]

 

[Smithy]

"Spy Game" with Brad Pitt and Robert Redford. I saw this at the flicks when it came out and have seen it a few times since and always enjoy it. Both leads are good and the chemistry between them is excellent but Redford steals the show. An intelligent spy thriller will some fantastic dialogue and an engaging plot.

 

[Blackthorn]

"Spy Game" with Brad Pitt and Robert Redford. I saw this at the flicks when it came out and have seen it a few times since and always enjoy it. Both leads are good and the chemistry between them is excellent but Redford steals the show. An intelligent spy thriller will some fantastic dialogue and an engaging plot.

I agree.

 

[Blackthorn]

This week I saw The Book Thief. Wow, I can't believe how many great movies I have never heard of before.

 

[Fading Fast]

This week I saw The Book Thief. Wow, I can't believe how many great movies I have never heard of before.

Two others that are similar and good are "Sarah's Key" and "The Reader."

I am of two minds about all three movies which create fictional stories around the Holocaust. All three are well-constructed stories, with interesting characters dealing with real moral dilemmas amidst the horror of WWII and the super-horror of the Holocaust and for that I applaud them. But there is a small part of me that feels slightly manipulated by these stores and am not fully sure why. Maybe I believe the Holocaust was of such outsized moral ugliness that creating fiction around it is disrespectful, but I don't feel these movies were disrespectful, so I am still searching for the cause of my unease.

That over-thought-out confusion aside, I think you will enjoy the two movies I mentioned above if you enjoyed "The Book Thief," which was not only beautifully filmed, but wove just a small amount of mysticism into the movie without making it hokey.