Sight & Sound's 75 Hidden Gems
As part of the Sight & Sound magazine's 75th anniversary, the editors asked 75 critics from around the world to select a single film that is "unduly obscure and worthy of greater eminence."
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75 titles
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsSpencer TracyJean SimmonsTeresa WrightThis is an account of the real life experience of actress/playwright Ruth Gordon.
- DirectorJacques RozierStarsJean-Claude AiminiDaniel DescampsStefania SabatiniParis, summer 1960. Michel is about to leave for Algeria for military service. He meets Liliane and Juliette, two inseparable friends. Michel goes on vacation to Corsica, where the two girls decide to join him
- DirectorDon WeisStarsJohn DerekElaine StewartThomas GomezIn Ispahan, Persia, a barber mistakes an emerald ring as the prize to be delivered to a prince known far and wide, only to realize that a runaway Princess is the real treasure awaited, promising to escort her to her final destination.
- DirectorRafi BukaiStarsSalim DawSuhel HaddadTuvia GelberJune 11th 1967, the Six-Day War is over and the cease fire has just begun. We follow the journey of Gassan and Haled, two Egyptian soldiers whose only wish is to make their way through the Sinai desert and safely reach the Suez Canal. Thus begins a comical, almost surrealistic saga during which they meet various groups of people across the desert, including Israeli soldiers on patrol and a pushy news reporter.
- DirectorFumiki WatanabeStarsOsamu IshiguroRyu SasakiTakeko SudoThe director investigates an unexplained death, police violence and corruption in the distribution of water in his town of Fukushima.
- DirectorNityananda DattaStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeAparna SenMumtaz AhmedA hilarious romantic-comedy where two people have their luggage exchanged during a train journey. One of them (Soumitra) is a psychiatrist, and he develops a keen interest in knowing the other party (Aparna Sen). His experience as a psychiatrist helps him to understand the happy-go-lucky and pampered Aparna Sen and woo her love.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsJohn TravoltaNancy AllenJohn LithgowA movie sound recordist accidentally records the evidence that proves that a car accident was actually murder and consequently finds himself in danger.
- DirectorEugène GreenStarsAdrien MichauxNatacha RégnierAlexis LoretParis in the seventies. A depressed graduate student hears music that will change his life; he becomes fascinated by the singer.
- DirectorIm Kwon-taekStarsAhn Sung-kiJeon Moo-songMichelle Okkyung LeeA story that follows the lives and interactions of two Buddhist monks living in South Korea.
- DirectorGillo PontecorvoStarsMarlon BrandoEvaristo MárquezRenato SalvatoriIn 1844, a British mercenary helps the revolting slaves of an Antilles island colony gain independence from Portugal, but later returns to hunt down a local rebel leader and former protégé.
- DirectorColine SerreauStarsVincent LindonCatherine FrotRachida BrakniOne night by accident, a young prostitute barges into the lives of a bourgeois, modern-but-conventional couple. Hounded down, beaten up, threatened, she will continue to struggle, with the help of a well-off lady, first for her survival--her resurrection--then for her dignity and freedom. Stormy encounters are forecast for everyone involved.
- DirectorGakuryû IshiiStarsTatsuo YamadaMasamitsu OhikeKôji NanjôWhen the leader of the once-notorious biker gang of Tokyo falls in love with a barmaid and quickly loses his rebellious ideals, the rest of the gang feels betrayed. Especially the reputedly troubled kid Ken revolts against his former friend.
- DirectorJerzy SkolimowskiStarsJane AsherJohn Moulder-BrownKarl Michael Vogler15-year-old dropout Mike takes a job at Newford Baths, where inappropriate sexual behaviour abounds, and becomes obsessed with his coworker Susan.
- DirectorWalerian BorowczykStarsUdo KierMarina PierroPatrick MageeIn 19th century London, a sex maniac sneaks into the engagement party of Dr. Henry Jekyll and Miss Fanny Osbourne, turning the event into a nightmarish whirlpool of murder and debauchery.
- DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsArturo de CórdovaDelia GarcésAurora WalkerA husband's suave exterior unravels after his marriage, and he unleashes his paranoid and volatile temper on his wife, which escalates to more dangerous and unpredictable tantrums.
- DirectorAlain CavalierStarsPatrick BouchiteyEtienne ChicotBernard CrombeyKlouk drives a station wagon with his friends.
- DirectorAbraham PolonskyStarsJohn GarfieldThomas GomezBeatrice PearsonAn unethical lawyer who wants to help his older brother becomes a partner with a client in the numbers racket.
- DirectorHéctor OliveraStarsFederico LuppiVíctor LaplaceHéctor BidondeA small revolution breaks out in a small Argentine town, as one group of Peronists calls they newly elected peronist a communist. The newly elected official enlists the aid of allies ranging from the town drunk to young peronists to help hold his post. What follows is a slapstick war with a serious message.
- DirectorAlbert Samama ChiklyStarsHayde ChiklyAhmed DziriAbdelgassen Ben TalebThe daughter of a local authority is in love with a poor minaret crier and resists a rich man from Tunisia.
- DirectorSally PotterStarsJulie ChristieColette LaffontHilary WestlakeAn avant-garde exploration of a woman's life.
- DirectorRitwik GhatakStarsMadhavi MukherjeeBijon BhattacharyaAbhi BhattacharyaA man (Abhi Bhattacharya) opposes the love between his sister and the orphan (Satindra Bhattacharya) they adopted years earlier.
- DirectorAllison AndersStarsIlleana DouglasJohn TurturroSissy BoydEdna wins a recording contract singing her own song at a competition in 1958. After trying to make it as a singer/songwriter for 11 months in NYC, she has success writing songs for others at the Brill Building.
- DirectorChatrichalerm YukolStarsSompob BenjathikulSorapong ChatreePatravadi MejudhonThree wayward characters, Toi, Phol and Nong team up to rob banks, leaving a trail of death behind them.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsBurt ReynoldsCatherine DeneuveBen JohnsonAt the instigation of a grieving father, a Los Angeles cop investigates the suspicious circumstances of a girl's apparent suicide.
- DirectorShôhei ImamuraStarsSeizaburô KawazuKazuo KitamuraTanie KitabayashiLife story of a woman born in poverty trying to succeed. Through her many schemes, she faces her ups and downs in a cyclical nature, fueled mostly by self-interest.
- DirectorIvan PasserStarsKarel BlazekZdenek BezusekVera KresadlováOne of the most important films of the Czech New Wave 60s, it was ranked among the top ten domestic films of all time. In this original sad comedy set in a small town, two classmates meet each other for the first time in ten years. They are both musicians: one is a member of the regional symphony orchestra, while the other is a local music teacher who performs at funerals.
- DirectorJorge BodanzkyOrlando SennaStarsPaulo César PeréioEdna de CássiaLúcio Dos SantosTruck driver travelling along the Transamazonic Road, a huge highway in Brazil that crosses the Amazon forest, meets a prostitute and slowly becomes aware of the problems in that region.
- DirectorAttaporn ThihirunStarsRay MacDonaldChatchai PlengpanichSuchao PongwilaiA crazed homeless man lurches through Bangkok's back alleys, breaks into a wealthy merchant's house and struggles to free his teenage daughter from sexual predators.
- DirectorPaul GrimaultStarsJean MartinPascal MazzottiRaymond BussièresA chimney sweep and a shepherdess seek to escape from the clutches of a tyrannical king.
- DirectorLuis FigueroaEulogio NishiyamaCésar VillanuevaStarsJudith FigueroaVictor ChambiLizardo PérezKukuli, a young llama herder, leaves her grandparents in the countryside of Cusco to attend the Feast of Mamacha Carmen in the town of Paucartambo.
- DirectorClarence BrownMaurice TourneurStarsWallace BeeryBarbara BedfordAlan RoscoeIn the midst of the French and Indian War, the eldest daughter of a British officer develops an attraction towards an Indian ally who is the last living warrior of his tribe, the Mohicans.
- DirectorSantiago ÁlvarezStarsLyndon B. JohnsonA montage of 1960s America, all focused on the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson.
- DirectorJohn BoormanStarsMarcello MastroianniBillie WhitelawCalvin LockhartA social satire about the last heir of a dethroned family of European monarchs whose plans to return to power through revolution become secondary after he becomes fascinated by the life of a poor London black girl and her boyfriend.
- DirectorJean-Claude LauzonStarsMaxime CollinGinette RenoGilbert SicotteThe story of a young Canadian boy who tries to escape mentally from his disturbed family thanks to his fantasy and imagination.
- DirectorHelmut KäutnerStarsRomy SchneiderHorst BuchholzMara LaneA poor 22 y.o. Hungarian man who's recently arrived in Paris meets a seemingly wealthy 17 y.o. Parisian girl. They fall in love, but tragedy ensues when the truth behind the girl is revealed.
- DirectorTomu UchidaStarsHashizô ÔkawaMichiko SagaRyûnosuke TsukigataIn the reign of the Emperor Suzaku (930- 946 A.D.), various mishaps happen after a strange white rainbow in appearance in the sky over Kyoto. The Emperor orders a famous astronomer, Yasunori, to consult a certain Chinese book of secrets to calm the fear of the people. Yasunori has two disciples, Yasuna and Doman. But he desires that Yasuna succeeds him because Doman is interested only in power. Assisted by Yasunori's wife, Doman sends his follower, Akuemon, to kill Yasunori. Doman also steals the secret book and puts the blame on Yasuna and his sweetheart, Sakaki, Yasunori's adopted daughter. Sakaki commits suicide and Yasuna kills Yasunori's wife in his rage. He retrieves the secret book and sets out on a journey without destination. He meets her younger sister, Kuzunoha, with whom he falls in love at Sakaki's home town. Lord Iwakura, Yasunori's brother-in-low, advices the Court that the Crown Prince has no child and this causes tourmoils. Akuemon is summoned to catch a white female fox which is to be used for charming away the curse on the Prince. Akuemon fails to find a white female fox, but meets Yasuna who has protected the foxes. Akuemon beats Yasuna and takes Kuzunoha with him. But Yasuna is rescued by a white fox. The white fox asks his daughter to transform herself in the shape of Kuzunoha to live together with him. After that, they have a baby. When Kuzunoha escapes from Akuemon and comes to Yasuna, the female fox in the shape of Kuzunoha disappears leaving a poem (tanka) beside her sleeping baby.
- DirectorFrank TuttleStarsLuther AdlerPatricia KnightWilliam L. ShirerActor becomes Hitler's valet, murders him, takes his place and ruins Nazi Germany's war efforts.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsVictor MooreBeulah BondiFay BainterAn elderly couple are forced to live hundreds of miles apart when they lose their house and none of their five children will take both parents in.
- DirectorFrantisek VlácilStarsJosef KemrMagda VásáryováNada HejnaA grim portrayal of the shift from Paganism to Christianity in medieval central Europe - as a young virgin promised to God is kidnapped and raped by a marauder who her religious father seeks to kill in return.
- DirectorMehboob KhanStarsNargisDilip KumarV.H. DesaiDilip loves Neena, but she treats him only as a friend. Later she gets married to Rajan. When he comes to know that Dilip once loved Neena, he misunderstands them and things change a lot then.
- DirectorJacques DemyStarsAnouk AiméeGary LockwoodAlexandra HayGeorge is unemployed, broke, about to be drafted to Vietnam, and suddenly madly in love with the divine Lola, a woman he has only briefly glimpsed. Now George searches for his potential amour through the City of Angels.
- DirectorGerardo de LeonStarsLeopoldo SalcedoJoseph EstradaLilia DizonBased on actual events, "The Moises Padilla Story" tells of a man's gallant stand, courage and struggle to fight an oligarchic governor who commands a private army to enforce his repressions of freedom.
- DirectorAbel FerraraStarsChristopher WalkenWillem DafoeAsia ArgentoTwo businessmen are hired to steal secrets from a rival, and decide to use a beautiful call girl to do so.
- DirectorKamran ShirdelA documentary which explores what did or did not happen on a rainy night a young boy allegedly saved a train from crashing.
- DirectorNicole VédrèsStarsClaude DauphinRené AlexandreGuillaume ApollinaireDocumentary limning the life of Paris and its citizens during "La Belle Epoque," the years between 1900 and 1914. Beginning with the Paris Exposition of 1900 and the completion of the Eiffel Tower, the film progresses through cultural, technological, and social changes, from peaceful and sometimes näive times to the rumbling foreshadowing of the war that would disrupt France and Europe for years to come.
- DirectorDavid Burton MorrisStarsChris MulkeyJohn JenkinsKaren LandryIt's Christmas time in the twin cities. Billy's working a lot of overtime, running barges on the Mississippi. He calls his friend Eddie, whom he hasn't seen in six months, and asks a favor: to drive with him to see his pregnant girlfriend, Patti, because Billy hasn't told her he's married and already has two children. The road trip of guy talk becomes a night of truths exchanged between men and women.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsGary CooperAnn HardingJohn HallidayA Victorian-era architect commissioned by the Duke of Towers to design his stables falls in love with the Duchess.
- DirectorLee H. KatzinRobert McKimsonStarsMichael A. MillerRay ChippewayDennis LardenA rock band becomes embroiled in foreign affairs when they're sent to go on tour in Albania as a cover to find hostages in a remote castle held by Communist enemies of the U.S.
- DirectorJack ClaytonStarsAnne BancroftPeter FinchJames MasonBeautiful Mother of five Jo leaves the banality of her marriage to second husband Giles to wed her passionate screenwriter lover, Jake Armitage. As suspicions of Husband Jake's philandering grows, Jo's sanity spirals.
- DirectorCarlos SauraStarsAna TorrentConchita PérezMayte SanchezIn the twilight of Francisco Franco's dictatorship, an 8-year-old orphan and her two sisters find shelter in the house of their stern aunt and try their best to acclimatize to a new reality. Can they summon up the courage to grow up?
- DirectorKeisuke KinoshitaStarsHideko TakamineTakahiro TamuraKôshirô MatsumotoA young man decides to become a warrior, causing trouble for his clan.
- DirectorPeter MedakStarsPeter O'TooleAlastair SimArthur LoweA member of the House of Lords dies, leaving his estate to his son. Unfortunately, his son thinks he is Jesus Christ. Their other, somewhat more respectable family members plot to steal the estate from him; murder and mayhem ensue.
- DirectorSiegrid AlnoyStarsSasha AndresCarlo BrandtPierre-Félix GravièreEchoes of Dostoyevsky. At the start, Christine Blanc is a temp, her boyfriend has gone. Near the story's end, she's been offered a steady job, she has a fiancé, other men seem interested in her, she's passed her driving test, and, after she wins 1000 Euros in a scratch-off, her colleagues sing that she's a jolly good fellow ("one of us"). But something's askew: her gaze is too direct, her eyes open too widely; conversational gambits hit odd notes; she parrots others' words; she cooks too much food when she invites a supervisor to dinner. When the supervisor takes Christine on a spontaneous outing that disorients her, her oddities become something else. Can things ever be normal?
- DirectorDouglas TrumbullStarsBruce DernCliff PottsRon RifkinIn a future where all flora is extinct on Earth, an astronaut is given orders to destroy the last of Earth's botany, kept in a greenhouse aboard a spacecraft.
- DirectorVáclav KrskaStarsEduard CupákFrantisek SlégrMarie BrozováA 17 year old boy with a literary bent is smitten with a local beauty in her twenties. Does it matter to him whether she returns his admiration?
- DirectorZoltán HuszárikStarsZoltán LatinovitsÉva RuttkaiÉva LeelössyAn old man is recollecting all the women he met in his youth. An old woman wants them to commit suicide together but changes her mind. The little town has a doctor whose wife can not forget the old man, and the waiter who serves him his dinner doesn't know that Sinbad will soon court her.
- DirectorSteve RobertsStarsTrevor HowardPatrick MageeDenise CoffeyThe very eccentric English peer Sir Henry Rawlinson attempts, with the help of his mad family & servants, to exorcise the ghost of his brother Humbert.
- DirectorJean-Pierre Dikongue-PipaStarsPhilippe AbiaArlette Din BeliGisèle Dikongue-PipaNgando and Ndomé; are in love. Ngando wishes to marry Ndomé; but her family reminds him that the traditional dowry must be settled. Unfortunately, Ngando is poor and unable to fulfill the tradition. Ndomé; is pregnant and bears his child. According to the village tradition, she must take a husband, at least one who can afford to pay the dowry. The villagers decide that Ndomé; should marry Ngando's uncle, who has already three sterile wives. In despair, the young man kidnaps his daughter upon the day of the traditional feast. An African Romeo and Juliet story.
- DirectorAdolfo Best-MaugardStarsEstela IndaJosé CasalHeriberto G. BatembergA dancer and prostitute in Mexico City is unsaddled by guilt about her raunchy life and even tries to find happiness.
- DirectorYannis FagrasStarsEkavi DoumaPanagiotis KarrasNikos PomonisAn act of violence turns a girl into a woman and leads her to a new life.
- DirectorDavid KoeppStarsKevin BaconZachary David CopeKathryn ErbeAfter being hypnotized by his sister-in-law, a man begins seeing haunting visions of a girl's ghost and a mystery begins to unfold around him.
- DirectorBarnet KellmanStarsDolly PartonJames WoodsGriffin DunneA woman ditches her small-town life for big-city Chicago, where she becomes a sensation as a radio-show host.
- DirectorWilliam KeighleyStarsMark StevensRichard WidmarkLloyd NolanA covert FBI agent infiltrates a ruthless gangster mob, but his life is at risk from a mysterious informant who funnels inside information to the hoodlums.
- DirectorJonathan NossiterStarsDavid SuchetLisa HarrowJared HarrisThis film concerns two mysterious characters who meet on a Sunday in Queens. Madeleine the most unsettling creature of that name since "Vertigo" is a middle-aged, moderately successful actress. Oliver/Matthew is either a homeless man or a famous film director or both. Madeleine hails him on the street as the latter, launching a bizarre chain of events that includes a conversation in a diner, a very unromantic sexual encounter, the arrival of Madeleine's odd husband and unsuspecting daughter, and a child's birthday party. The film also compassionately tracks the daily rounds of Oliver/Matthew's fellow denizens of the homeless shelter, some of whom will be recognizable to New York audiences.
- DirectorBruce McCullochStarsMolly ShannonWill FerrellElaine HendrixA nerdy Catholic schoolgirl, Mary Katherine Gallagher, dreams of superstardom.
- DirectorIrakli KvirikadzeStarsElguja BurduliRuslan MikaberidzeBaadur TsuladzeA family of swimmers distinguish themselves in sport but run into trouble with Stalin's police, in this period portrait of how even the light side of life was poisoned by terror.
- DirectorIrene StarewiczWladyslaw StarewiczStarsClaude DauphinRomain BouquetSylvain ItkineWhen Renard the Fox's mischievous pranks go too far, King Lion is forced to attempt to bring the trickster to justice.
- DirectorStephanie RothmanStarsDon MarshallPhyllis DavisEna HartmanAfter the abolishment of the death penalty, California murderers are dumped on an island to spend the rest of their lives unsupervised. There, two groups are formed, one lead by a psychopath, and another group determined to bring him down.
- DirectorMario O'HaraStarsNora AunorChristopher De LeonBembol RocoA woman falls in love with a Japanese soldier during the Japanese Occupation in the Philippines; the whole town turns against her.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsRobert MitchumTeresa WrightDiana LynnAround the turn of the 20th century, during a harsh northern California winter, members of a ranching family are squabbling among themselves while the two oldest sons go hunting for a panther that is killing their livestock.
- DirectorAlain Robbe-GrilletStarsJean-Louis TrintignantMarie-France PisierChristian BarbierA movie producer, director and assistant take the Trans-Europ-Express from Paris to Antwerp. They get the idea for a movie about a drug smuggler on their train and visualize it while taping the script.
- DirectorSidney M. GoldinAubrey ScottoStarsMaurice SchwartzJudith AbarbanelMark SchweidWealthy, powerful sweatshop owner falls in love with employee's teenage daughter, who feels obligated to marry him after he shares his wealth with her parents, though she actually loves a young Marxist unionizer.
- DirectorBarbara LodenStarsBarbara LodenMichael HigginsDorothy ShupenesWanda, a lonely housewife, drifts through mining country until she meets a petty thief who takes her in.
- DirectorBruno BozzettoStarsNando GazzoloVittoria FebbiCarlo RomanoA greedy villain tries to coerce a woman into marrying him so he can take over her land, when a stranger rides into town intent on taking down the bad guys.
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsKristy McNicholChrista LangVernon WeddleA trainer attempts to retrain a vicious dog that's been raised to attack black people.