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Know any great but little-known movies? (Original Post) red dog 1 16 hrs ago OP
"Local Hero"... wcmagumba 16 hrs ago #1
I love that one greatauntoftriplets 16 hrs ago #7
First title to pop into my head. FalloutShelter 3 hrs ago #52
The gods must be crazy. Woodwizard 16 hrs ago #2
THAT one, I did see. some_of_us_are_sane 16 hrs ago #4
Those look GREAT! some_of_us_are_sane 16 hrs ago #3
Prospect is my sleeper rec crud 16 hrs ago #5
Thanks. Never saw it some_of_us_are_sane 16 hrs ago #10
Cradle Will Rock SleeplessinSoCal 16 hrs ago #6
Hearts and Souls LogDog75 16 hrs ago #8
The Secret of Roan Inish. greatauntoftriplets 16 hrs ago #9
YES! Bayard 11 hrs ago #36
Black Robe bluedigger 16 hrs ago #11
This was an excellent film JoseBalow 16 hrs ago #16
Excellent film! markodochartaigh 11 hrs ago #37
Indeed! ZZenith 11 hrs ago #43
Melody (1971) Wiz Imp 16 hrs ago #12
This one? BootinUp 16 hrs ago #13
Peanut Butter Falcon Coolgoober 16 hrs ago #14
love that movie Skittles 16 hrs ago #15
Andrei Rublev (1966) JoseBalow 15 hrs ago #17
Nothing But a Man 68er 15 hrs ago #18
Or this one? BootinUp 15 hrs ago #19
"Happy Accidents" skypilot 15 hrs ago #20
I don't know if it's great, but My Favorite Year chowmama 15 hrs ago #21
that is definitely a little jewel of a comedy. I loved it nt yellowdogintexas 12 hrs ago #26
Go tell the Spartans question everything 15 hrs ago #22
agreed, I had it lower in the thread -- JT45242 3 hrs ago #54
One of my FAVORITES.... from 1949 some_of_us_are_sane 15 hrs ago #23
I'll second that one. Jeebo 12 hrs ago #33
"The Conversation" with Gene Hackman directed by Francis Ford Coppola mucifer 14 hrs ago #24
that is a great and very tense movie nt yellowdogintexas 12 hrs ago #28
LA SORCIRE (1956) -- THE BLONDE WITCH Marina Vlady's Dark Spell French Film Noir question everything 12 hrs ago #25
The Magie of Belle Isle yellowdogintexas 12 hrs ago #27
Beautiful movie. niyad 11 hrs ago #41
A Man Called Ove (original Swedish version, NOT the American A Man Called Otto) chia 12 hrs ago #29
I love the Swedish version so much! HeartsCanHope 9 hrs ago #47
Yes, Lassgrd was perfect, and unforgettable. chia 2 hrs ago #59
I'm not sure this one is exactly little known - Starman... 3catwoman3 12 hrs ago #30
Bottle Shock... Enter stage left 12 hrs ago #31
One of my favourites. niyad 11 hrs ago #40
Hammett. boonecreek 12 hrs ago #32
The Wall Jeebo 11 hrs ago #34
Until the End of the World. fierywoman 11 hrs ago #35
Two with Johnny Depp Bayard 11 hrs ago #38
Another one from Johnny Depp: "Cry Baby". When John Waters went mainstream. Wiz Imp 4 hrs ago #49
"A Woman Rebels" and "Grace Quigley", both with Katharine Hepburn. niyad 11 hrs ago #39
The Lobster 2015 jgo 11 hrs ago #42
Big Night deserved way more accolades than it got. ZZenith 10 hrs ago #44
A Room with a View. CTyankee 10 hrs ago #45
"The World's Fastest Indian" starring Anthony Hopkins... GReedDiamond 10 hrs ago #46
'La Pacte des Loups' OldBaldy1701E 4 hrs ago #48
Lonely are the Brave VGNonly 3 hrs ago #50
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen; The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Ferrets are Cool 3 hrs ago #51
Two classic foreign films: Das Boot and Au Revoir Les Enfants JT45242 3 hrs ago #53
I loved Jo Jo Rabbit genxlib 2 hrs ago #55
"Meantime" film by Mike Leigh. Onthefly 2 hrs ago #56
"The Commitments" bringing soul music to Dublin Ritabert 2 hrs ago #57
"Romeo is Bleeding" w/Gary Oldman & Lena Olin. CrispyQ 2 hrs ago #58
7 Up. Documentary crew visits people every seven years and document their lives. Midnight Writer 2 hrs ago #60
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Emile 1 hr ago #61
Aronofsky's Pi markodochartaigh 19 min ago #62

some_of_us_are_sane

(2,974 posts)
10. Thanks. Never saw it
Thu Feb 19, 2026, 08:47 PM
16 hrs ago

but found it on Tubi. Will be watching, Pedro Pascal is a terrific actor.

LogDog75

(1,198 posts)
8. Hearts and Souls
Thu Feb 19, 2026, 08:39 PM
16 hrs ago

The night Thomas Reilly was born, his parents were in an accident with a bus. The passengers on the bus were killed and as ghosts they were tied to Thomas from the day he was born. As a baby and a child, he could see and hear the ghosts and the ghosts loved him. But the also got him in trouble and Social Services was called to talk to his parents. The ghosts decide to "vanish," much to the displeasure of young Thomas, but they're still with him. About 25 years later, the bus driver returns to take them away. He tells them they were supposed to have worked out their personal problems. Now, the ghosts decide to reappear to Thomas to get him to help them resolve the problems in their lives. Thomas is shocked by their reappearance but reluctantly agrees to help them causing him to get into a number of embarrassing and comic situations all the while trying to resolve his own relationship problem with his girlfriend.



This is a cute and funny move starring Robert Downey Jr., Charles Grodin, Alfre Woodard, Kyra Sedgwick, Tom Sizemore, and Elisabeth Shue. The boy playing young Thomas Reilly is really adorable especially when he's in his school's boy's room singing Walk Like a Man with the ghosts.

Wiz Imp

(9,505 posts)
12. Melody (1971)
Thu Feb 19, 2026, 08:51 PM
16 hrs ago

A British film about 12 year old kids who want to get married. Written by Alan Parker and Starring Jack Wild and Mark Lester who previously starred together in Oliver! and features music by the Bee Gees and a great closing scene using Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's "Teach Your Children". Just a charming little film told from the viewpoint of the children.

68er

(3 posts)
18. Nothing But a Man
Thu Feb 19, 2026, 09:18 PM
15 hrs ago


Why weren't Ivan Dixon and Abbey Lincoln nominated for Oscars for this early Civil Rights-era gem? (Well, okay, the question kind of answers itself, alas.)

Some great recs all through this thread, too.

skypilot

(9,115 posts)
20. "Happy Accidents"
Thu Feb 19, 2026, 09:24 PM
15 hrs ago

It stars Marisa Tomei and Vincent D'Onofrio. Marisa stars as Ruby Weaver, a woman with a history of relationships with troubled men who she feels compelled to "fix". She meets a guy named Sam who seems sweet and quite normal until he tells her...
I'm not going to give away what it is that he tells her or how things play out afterwards. I will however stress that if you should come across this movie streaming somewhere and decide to watch it (or if you simply look it up) DO NOT read the synopsis. Every synopsis I've seen of this movie reveals what it is that Sam tells Ruby about himself. I was lucky enough to have read only one review of the movie before I saw it and that reviewer did not spoil things. It's a lot more fun that way. I highly recommend this movie.

chowmama

(1,054 posts)
21. I don't know if it's great, but My Favorite Year
Thu Feb 19, 2026, 09:36 PM
15 hrs ago

I've always thought it was a little jewel of a comedy. Well written and pretty accurate, according to those who actually worked on My Show of Shows. Peter O'Toole is funny and tragic as an aging Errol Flynn type. All the writer characters had equivalents in real life.

JT45242

(3,959 posts)
54. agreed, I had it lower in the thread --
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 09:53 AM
3 hrs ago

Three dimensional characters rather than the caricatures that Platoon made of the soldiers.

some_of_us_are_sane

(2,974 posts)
23. One of my FAVORITES.... from 1949
Thu Feb 19, 2026, 10:04 PM
15 hrs ago

Jeanne Crain & Ethel Barrymore in Elia Kazan's "Pinky" (1949)

The whole film is right on YouTube

Jeebo

(2,557 posts)
33. I'll second that one.
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 01:08 AM
12 hrs ago

Excellent recommendation. Pinky is a great movie. Came out my birth year.

— Ron

mucifer

(25,622 posts)
24. "The Conversation" with Gene Hackman directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Thu Feb 19, 2026, 10:55 PM
14 hrs ago
?si=ERQrmZuV8SHRqfHj

Cindy Williams, Terrie Garr and Harrison Ford are also in it.

yellowdogintexas

(23,637 posts)
27. The Magie of Belle Isle
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 12:39 AM
12 hrs ago
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1839654/

We just sort of tripped over it a couple of days ago; then we saw "Morgan Freeman" and it was a done deal.

This is a very sweet movie and Freeman is his usual wonderful self.

Feast of the Seven Fishes https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7846056/
A slice of life story that follows a large Italian family on Christmas Eve as they prepare for the traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes, reminisce about the past, and seek love in the future. This is a Christmas movie but you don't care if it isn't Christmas when you watch it.

chia

(2,779 posts)
29. A Man Called Ove (original Swedish version, NOT the American A Man Called Otto)
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 12:42 AM
12 hrs ago

NB there are several unsuccessful suicide attempts central to the plot main character.

&themeRefresh=1

HeartsCanHope

(1,589 posts)
47. I love the Swedish version so much!
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 03:35 AM
9 hrs ago

Tom Hanks is a favorite actor, but the Swedish version is like the book by Fredrik Backman of the same name, (really good!)

and I just loved Rolf Lassgård, the actor who played Ove. Truly a gem! Highly recommend both Backman's book AND the Swedish film.

chia

(2,779 posts)
59. Yes, Lassgrd was perfect, and unforgettable.
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 10:33 AM
2 hrs ago

I haven't read the book but I will someday when my "to read" stack is smaller.

3catwoman3

(29,054 posts)
30. I'm not sure this one is exactly little known - Starman...
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 12:43 AM
12 hrs ago

…with Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen. One of my favorite movies.

Enter stage left

(4,445 posts)
31. Bottle Shock...
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 12:53 AM
12 hrs ago

A movie about how a California winery beat all of the French wineries in 1976 in France during a blind tasting test. Chateau Montelena beat all of the other wines to be named the best Chardonnay in the test.

It's based on a true story, but is very entertaining with Alan Rickman, Bill Pullman and Chris Pine as stars. But you will also fall in love with the supporting cast.

Chateau Montelena is in Calistoga, part of Napa Valley.

The French were shocked at just how good the American wines were.

If you have ever enjoyed a good wine you will enjoy this movie.

boonecreek

(1,462 posts)
32. Hammett.
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 01:08 AM
12 hrs ago

Fictional story of author Dashiell Hammett. Co-starred Peter Boyle, Marilu Henner
and in a nice touch Elisha Cook Jr. from the Maltese Falcon.

Jeebo

(2,557 posts)
34. The Wall
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 01:13 AM
11 hrs ago

The Wall is one of the best science fiction movies ever made, IMHO. Also one of the best foreign language movies I've ever seen. And I don't know anybody who's ever seen it, or even heard of it. I think you can watch it for free on YouTube.

— Ron

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1745686/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_10_tt_7_nm_1_in_0_q_The%2520Wall

Bayard

(29,133 posts)
38. Two with Johnny Depp
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 01:24 AM
11 hrs ago

"Benny & Joon," and, "What's eating Gilbert Grape." Gilbert has the best performance I have ever seen out of Leonardo DeCaprio.

ZZenith

(4,462 posts)
44. Big Night deserved way more accolades than it got.
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 02:12 AM
10 hrs ago

It’s about food, and a lot more.

“SINK YOUR TEETH INTO THE ASS OF LIFE!!!”

?si=PudiUQ8QuHcnBNHe

CTyankee

(67,984 posts)
45. A Room with a View.
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 02:18 AM
10 hrs ago

This is a beautiful movie with a musical score that includes "O Mio Babbio Caro" which is a lovely aria.

GReedDiamond

(5,536 posts)
46. "The World's Fastest Indian" starring Anthony Hopkins...
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 02:43 AM
10 hrs ago

...the true story about an old guy from New Zealand who sets a world land speed record at Bonneville with his vintage Indian motorcycle.

Full movie, for free on YouTube:

VGNonly

(8,447 posts)
50. Lonely are the Brave
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 09:40 AM
3 hrs ago

Story by Edward Abbey, screenplay by Dalton Trumbo, starring Kirk Douglas.

JT45242

(3,959 posts)
53. Two classic foreign films: Das Boot and Au Revoir Les Enfants
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 09:51 AM
3 hrs ago

I'll add an obscure Vietnam war movie : Go Tell the Spartans

A couple of forgotten comedies : A mighty Wind or Top Secret (the airplane groups spoof of spy movies)

genxlib

(6,109 posts)
55. I loved Jo Jo Rabbit
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 10:17 AM
2 hrs ago

I think it is one of the funniest yet poignant movies I have ever seen

On paper it sounds like a really bad idea. A naive boy in WW2 Germany idealizes Hitler and daydreams Adolf as an invisible friend. Meanwhile, his mother is in the resistance and harbors a young jewish girl.

Both funny and heartbreaking it walks an incredible tight rope on such a sensitive subject.

Really great film. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2584384/

Onthefly

(1,222 posts)
56. "Meantime" film by Mike Leigh.
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 10:24 AM
2 hrs ago

From Criterion.com https://www.criterion.com/films/28805-meantime

A slow-burning depiction of economic degradation in Thatcher’s England, Mike Leigh’s Meantime is the culmination of the writer-director’s pioneering work in television. Unemployment is rampant in London’s working-class East End, where a middle-aged couple and their two sons languish in a claustrophobic public-housing flat. As the brothers (Phil Daniels and Tim Roth) grow increasingly disaffected, Leigh punctuates the grinding boredom of their daily existence with tense encounters, including with a priggish aunt (Marion Bailey) who has managed to become middle-class and a blithering skinhead on the verge of psychosis (a scene-stealing Gary Oldman, in his first major role). Informed by Leigh’s now trademark improvisational process and propelled by the lurching rhythms of its Beckett-like dialogue, Meantime is an unrelenting, often blisteringly funny look at life on the dole.
FILM INFO

United Kingdom
1984
107 minutes

CrispyQ

(40,857 posts)
58. "Romeo is Bleeding" w/Gary Oldman & Lena Olin.
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 10:29 AM
2 hrs ago

Oldman is one of my favorite actors, but Lena Olin makes the movie!! "He loves those toes."

Midnight Writer

(25,233 posts)
60. 7 Up. Documentary crew visits people every seven years and document their lives.
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 11:00 AM
2 hrs ago

They started following their subjects when they were seven years old. They are now 70.

This series of films fascinates me. You can plainly see the seven-year-old's personality peeking through the eyes of the sixty-three year-old.

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