underrated gems(no particular order)
by sreeni_pacino | created - 10 May 2011 | updated - 22 Nov 2013 | Publicmost have the movies which are truly wonderful and most of them mentioned here have not been mentioned in many lists although being very good movies,so i have titled these movies as underrated gems
welcome for any comments
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1. And the Band Played On (1993 TV Movie)
PG | 141 min | Drama, History
The story of the discovery of the AIDS epidemic, and the political infighting of the scientific community hampering the early fight with it.
Director: Roger Spottiswoode | Stars: Matthew Modine, Alan Alda, Patrick Bauchau, Nathalie Baye
Votes: 11,011
a very good emotional drama not to be missed
2. Door to Door (2002 TV Movie)
PG | 90 min | Biography, Drama
A man with cerebral palsy is determined to become a salesman.
Director: Steven Schachter | Stars: William H. Macy, Kyra Sedgwick, Kathy Baker, Joel Brooks
Votes: 4,440
sooperb acting from william h macy(really an underrated actor)
3. Fresh (1994)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Death and violence anger a twelve-year-old drug courier, who sets his employers against each other.
Director: Boaz Yakin | Stars: Sean Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, Samuel L. Jackson, N'Bushe Wright
Votes: 14,593 | Gross: $8.09M
4. The Experiment (2001)
R | 120 min | Drama, Thriller
For two weeks, 20 male participants are hired to play prisoners and guards in a prison. The "prisoners" have to follow seemingly mild rules, and the "guards" are told to retain order without using physical violence.
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel | Stars: Moritz Bleibtreu, Christian Berkel, Oliver Stokowski, Wotan Wilke Möhring
Votes: 96,109 | Gross: $0.14M
this is the movie to watch not the remake!!!!!!
5. Daens (1992)
138 min | Biography, Drama, History
In the 1890s, Father Adolf Daens goes to Aalst, a textile town where child labor is rife, pay and working conditions are horrible, the poor have no vote, and the Catholic church backs the ... See full summary »
Director: Stijn Coninx | Stars: Jan Decleir, Gérard Desarthe, Antje de Boeck, Michael Pas
Votes: 4,398
6. The Aura (2005)
Not Rated | 134 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A deluded taxidermist plans the perfect crime.
Director: Fabián Bielinsky | Stars: Ricardo Darín, Manuel Rodal, Dolores Fonzi, Mariana Malamud
Votes: 14,747 | Gross: $0.06M
7. Seven Days in May (1964)
Approved | 118 min | Drama, Thriller
United States military leaders plot to overthrow the President because he supports a nuclear disarmament treaty and they fear a Soviet sneak attack.
Director: John Frankenheimer | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Fredric March, Ava Gardner
Votes: 17,346 | Gross: $7.96M
8. The Method (2005)
115 min | Drama, Thriller
7 Spanish top corporate job candidates are left in a room and informed on computer screens about their tasks and that one of them is an observer. Let the psyching begin.
Director: Marcelo Piñeyro | Stars: Eduardo Noriega, Najwa Nimri, Eduard Fernández, Pablo Echarri
Votes: 12,165 | Gross: $0.01M
very witty movie
9. Felon (2008)
R | 104 min | Crime, Thriller
Locked up for killing an intruder in self-defense, a family man must cope with life in the violent penal system.
Director: Ric Roman Waugh | Stars: Stephen Dorff, Marisol Nichols, Vincent Miller, Anne Archer
Votes: 83,577 | Gross: $0.04M
10. 10 Rillington Place (1971)
GP | 111 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
What happened to the women at 10 Rillington Place? The story of British serial killer John Christie, who committed most or all of his crimes in the titular terraced house, and the miscarriage of justice involving Timothy Evans.
Director: Richard Fleischer | Stars: Richard Attenborough, Judy Geeson, John Hurt, Pat Heywood
Votes: 9,789
11. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Approved | 116 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A veteran British barrister must defend his client in a murder trial that has surprise after surprise.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester
Votes: 137,930 | Gross: $8.18M
12. Joint Security Area (2000)
Not Rated | 110 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
After a shooting incident at the North-South Korean border DMZ leaves two North Korean soldiers dead, a neutral Swiss and Swedish team investigates what actually happened.
Director: Park Chan-wook | Stars: Lee Yeong-ae, Lee Byung-hun, Song Kang-ho, Kim Tae-woo
Votes: 34,224
great movie from chan wook park backed up by great acting,very different from his other movies!!
13. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
R | 103 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
After being mistaken for an actor, a New York thief is sent to Hollywood to train under a private eye for a potential movie role, but the duo are thrown together with a struggling actress into a murder mystery.
Director: Shane Black | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, Corbin Bernsen
Votes: 237,467 | Gross: $4.24M
really good dark action comedy movie not much appreciated what it deserves
14. Lone Star (1996)
R | 135 min | Drama, Mystery, Western
When the skeleton of his murdered predecessor is found, Sheriff Sam Deeds unearths many other long-buried secrets in his Texas border town.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Peña, Stephen Mendillo, Stephen J. Lang
Votes: 32,358 | Gross: $13.27M
this one is not to be missed
15. The Damned United (2009)
R | 98 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The story of the controversial Brian Clough's 44-day reign as the coach of the English football club Leeds United.
Director: Tom Hooper | Stars: Colm Meaney, Henry Goodman, David Roper, Jimmy Reddington
Votes: 45,925 | Gross: $0.45M
really great drama sport movie(more on the drama side)
16. Missing (1982)
PG | 122 min | Biography, Drama, History
When an idealistic American writer disappears during the Chilean coup d'état in September 1973, his wife and father try to find him.
Director: Costa-Gavras | Stars: Jack Lemmon, Sissy Spacek, Melanie Mayron, John Shea
Votes: 23,380 | Gross: $14.00M
really great political movie with sooprb perfmance from jack lemmon
17. Matewan (1987)
PG-13 | 135 min | Drama, History
A labor union organizer comes to an embattled mining community brutally and violently dominated and harassed by the mining company.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell, Will Oldham
Votes: 8,917 | Gross: $1.68M
another under appreciated history movie!!!!
18. Network (1976)
R | 121 min | Drama
A television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchor's ravings and revelations about the news media for its own profit, but finds that his message may be difficult to control.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, Robert Duvall
Votes: 170,712
19. Of Mice and Men (1992)
PG-13 | 115 min | Drama, Western
A nomadic farm worker looks after his dimwitted, gentle-giant friend during the Great Depression.
Director: Gary Sinise | Stars: John Malkovich, Gary Sinise, Ray Walston, Casey Siemaszko
Votes: 47,313 | Gross: $5.10M
i liked this than the original
20. Nothing But the Truth (I) (2008)
R | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In Washington, D.C., a reporter faces a possible jail sentence for outing a CIA agent and refusing to reveal her source.
Director: Rod Lurie | Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Vera Farmiga, Angela Bassett
Votes: 39,864 | Gross: $0.00M
21. Quiz Show (1994)
PG-13 | 133 min | Biography, Drama, History
A young lawyer, Richard Goodwin, investigates a potentially fixed game show. Charles Van Doren, a big time show winner, is under Goodwin's investigation.
Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Ralph Fiennes, John Turturro, Rob Morrow, Paul Scofield
Votes: 73,360 | Gross: $24.82M
22. Revanche (2008)
Not Rated | 121 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Ex-con Alex plans to flee to the South with his girl after a robbery. But something terrible happens and revenge seems inevitable.
Director: Götz Spielmann | Stars: Johannes Krisch, Irina Potapenko, Andreas Lust, Ursula Strauss
Votes: 15,963
23. Salvador (1986)
R | 122 min | Drama, History, Thriller
A burnt-out photojournalist becomes involved in a Central American revolution.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: James Woods, Jim Belushi, Michael Murphy, John Savage
Votes: 23,161
24. Shock Corridor (1963)
Approved | 101 min | Drama, Mystery
Bent on winning a Pulitzer Prize, a journalist commits himself to a mental institution to solve a strange and unclear murder.
Director: Samuel Fuller | Stars: Peter Breck, Constance Towers, Gene Evans, James Best
Votes: 13,067
horrifying film
25. Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)
PG | 109 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
A prepubescent chess prodigy is encouraged to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer.
Director: Steven Zaillian | Stars: Joe Mantegna, Ben Kingsley, Max Pomeranc, Joan Allen
Votes: 42,417 | Gross: $7.27M
26. The Killing Fields (1984)
R | 141 min | Biography, Drama, History
A journalist is trapped in Cambodia during tyrant Pol Pot's bloody 'Year Zero' cleansing campaign, which claimed the lives of two million 'undesirable' civilians.
Director: Roland Joffé | Stars: Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, John Malkovich, Julian Sands
Votes: 59,233 | Gross: $34.70M
gem of a movie
27. The Long Goodbye (1973)
R | 112 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Private investigator Philip Marlowe helps a friend out of a jam, but in doing so gets implicated in his wife's murder.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Elliott Gould, Nina van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden, Mark Rydell
Votes: 37,306 | Gross: $0.96M
28. The Browning Version (1951)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama
Andrew Crocker-Harris (Michael Redgrave), a classics teacher at an English school, is afflicted with a heart ailment and an unfaithful wife (Jean Kent). His interest in his pupils wanes as he looks towards his final days in employment.
Director: Anthony Asquith | Stars: Michael Redgrave, Jean Kent, Nigel Patrick, Wilfrid Hyde-White
Votes: 5,442
a mixed package
29. The Man from Earth (2007)
Not Rated | 87 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
An impromptu goodbye party for Professor John Oldman becomes a mysterious interrogation after the retiring scholar reveals to his colleagues he has a longer and stranger past than they can imagine.
Director: Richard Schenkman | Stars: David Lee Smith, Tony Todd, John Billingsley, Ellen Crawford
Votes: 200,262
gripping!!!
30. Cell 211 (2009)
113 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The story of two men on different sides of a prison riot -- the inmate leading the rebellion and the young guard trapped in the revolt, who poses as a prisoner in a desperate attempt to survive the ordeal.
Director: Daniel Monzón | Stars: Luis Tosar, Alberto Ammann, Antonio Resines, Manuel Morón
Votes: 70,787
31. Interrogation (1989)
TV-MA | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Tonia goes out drinking. She wakes up in prison, not having a clue why she's there. She is tortured to encourage her to confess to a crime she is not aware of.
Director: Ryszard Bugajski | Stars: Krystyna Janda, Adam Ferency, Janusz Gajos, Agnieszka Holland
Votes: 3,684
32. Prayers for Bobby (2009 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 90 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
True story of Mary Griffith, gay rights crusader, whose teenage son committed suicide due to her religious intolerance. Based on the book of the same title by Leroy Aarons.
Director: Russell Mulcahy | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Henry Czerny, Ryan Kelley, Austin Nichols
Votes: 17,955
emotional
33. Wit (2001 TV Movie)
PG-13 | 99 min | Drama
A renowned professor is forced to reassess her life when she is diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Emma Thompson, Christopher Lloyd, Eileen Atkins, Audra McDonald
Votes: 11,406
34. Hands Over the City (1963)
Not Rated | 101 min | Drama
Prior to a city council election, the collapse of a building leaves a land developer and his political backers defending themselves against a scandal.
Director: Francesco Rosi | Stars: Rod Steiger, Salvo Randone, Guido Alberti, Marcello Cannavale
Votes: 3,287
great political film
35. Places in the Heart (1984)
PG | 111 min | Drama
In central Texas in the 1930s, a widow with two small children tries to save her small 40-acre farm with the help of a blind boarder and an itinerant black handyman.
Director: Robert Benton | Stars: Sally Field, Lindsay Crouse, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan
Votes: 13,597 | Gross: $34.90M
36. Mother (2009)
R | 129 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A mother desperately searches for the killer who framed her son for a girl's horrific murder.
Director: Bong Joon Ho | Stars: Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin, Jin Goo, Yun Je-mun
Votes: 71,675 | Gross: $0.55M
37. Walk on Water (2004)
R | 103 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Following the suicide of his wife, an Israeli intelligence agent is assigned to befriend the grandchildren of a Nazi war criminal.
Director: Eytan Fox | Stars: Lior Ashkenazi, Knut Berger, Caroline Peters, Gideon Shemer
Votes: 7,047 | Gross: $2.71M
38. Something the Lord Made (2004 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 110 min | Biography, Drama
A dramatization of the relationship between heart surgery pioneers Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas.
Director: Joseph Sargent | Stars: Cliff McMullen, Yasiin Bey, Luray Cooper, Alan Rickman
Votes: 15,372
brilliant
39. Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
Not Rated | 147 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A surly convicted murderer held in permanent isolation redeems himself when he becomes a renowned bird expert.
Director: John Frankenheimer | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Karl Malden, Thelma Ritter, Neville Brand
Votes: 19,313
40. Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)
Approved | 89 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Mystery
While on the telephone, an invalid woman overhears what she thinks is a murder plot and attempts to prevent it.
Director: Anatole Litvak | Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster, Ann Richards, Wendell Corey
Votes: 12,558
41. Shooting the Past (1999– )
182 min | Drama, History
A US property developer realises that he has a battle on his hands when he tries to renovate a London building containing a vast photographic collection and discovers that the library employees will resort to anything to thwart him.
Stars: Lindsay Duncan, Timothy Spall, Liam Cunningham, Billie Whitelaw
Votes: 1,307
42. A Face in the Crowd (1957)
Approved | 126 min | Drama, Music
A female radio reporter turns a folk-singing drifter into a powerful media star.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, Anthony Franciosa, Walter Matthau
Votes: 17,104
43. The Flowers of War (2011)
R | 146 min | Drama, History, Romance
An American finds refuge during the 1937 Japanese invasion of Nanking in a church with a group of women. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Xinyi Zhang, Tianyuan Huang
Votes: 55,734 | Gross: $0.01M
44. Shooting Dogs (2005)
R | 115 min | Drama, History, War
A Catholic Priest and an English teacher get stranded in a school in Kigali during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Director: Michael Caton-Jones | Stars: John Hurt, Hugh Dancy, Dominique Horwitz, Louis Mahoney
Votes: 11,969
45. The Servant (1963)
Unrated | 116 min | Drama
Upper-class Tony hires servant Hugo Barrett, who turns out to have a hidden agenda.
Director: Joseph Losey | Stars: Dirk Bogarde, Sarah Miles, Wendy Craig, James Fox
Votes: 13,831 | Gross: $0.04M
46. Elena (2011)
Not Rated | 109 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
When a sudden illness and an unexpected reunion threaten dutiful housewife Elena's potential inheritance, she must hatch a desperate plan ...
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev | Stars: Nadezhda Markina, Andrey Smirnov, Aleksey Rozin, Elena Lyadova
Votes: 15,217 | Gross: $0.02M
47. The Maid (2009)
Not Rated | 95 min | Comedy, Drama
A drama centered on a maid trying to hold on to her position after having served a family for 23 years.
Director: Sebastián Silva | Stars: Catalina Saavedra, Claudia Celedón, Mariana Loyola, Andrea García-Huidobro
Votes: 6,463 | Gross: $0.55M
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