Monday, December 18, 2006

Another list -- "overlooked movies"


I don't like making them myself, but I do enjoy other people's lists, especially those that don't try to be definitive "bests." And here is one that's fun -- The Guardian's list of "lost" overlooked movies. They aren't really lost, of course. Many are well-recognized by movie-lovers. But it's nice to see a little recognition for "Top Secret," "Safe," "Tin Cup," "The Swimmer," and "Narrow Margin" (I like the remake of that one, too). Films I have not heard of ("Babylon," "The Bill Douglas Trilogy," "The Ninth Configuation," "The Low Down") are so enticingly described that I will forgive the list some pedestrian choices (Disney's animated "Robin Hood" and teen hit "Save the Last Dance" are not in the same league as the other films) and some irretrievable messes (the remake of "Breathless?").

I've always wanted to visit Roger Ebert's annual Overlooked Film Festival. But then, I've always wanted to assign people to watch movies like prescription medication -- in many cases, they'd do a lot more good.

Many thanks to EW for directing me to the list.

1 comment:

Billy said...

Some interesting choices, only a handful of which I've seen. I remember seeing "A New Leaf" as a family when I was a kid, and my mother laughed her head off. I can't remember if I thought it was funny; I think I did. "Wise Blood" is good. I saw that with my father when I was in high school. I could have sworn it came out in 1977, the same summer as "Annie Hall" and "Star Wars," which I also saw with him, since it was pretty much him and me that summer, but IMdB says 1979 too. Weird. A few more, but I won't waste space here. Good to be reminded of them. I would put on my overlooked list "On Valentine's Day" (1986), a wonderful, quiet film written by Horton Foote, starring Matthew Broderick and, in a performance that made a huge impression on me, Steven Hill, long before he was on "Law and Order." I'd never heard of him and made a mental note of his name, I was so impressed.