Best Forgotten Films
by SomeCreepinaVan | created - 13 Sep 2015 | updated - 08 Dec 2016 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Mission (1986)
PG | 125 min | Adventure, Drama, History
Eighteenth-century Spanish Jesuits try to protect a remote South American tribe in danger of falling under the rule of pro-slavery Portugal.
Director: Roland Joffé | Stars: Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Ray McAnally, Aidan Quinn
Votes: 65,717 | Gross: $17.22M
2. Wavelength (1983)
PG | 87 min | Sci-Fi, Thriller
Two young lovers learn that a small group of child-like space aliens are marooned on Earth and are being held prisoner at a top secret military facility. The couple then decide to liberate ... See full summary »
Director: Mike Gray | Stars: Robert Carradine, Cherie Currie, Keenan Wynn, Cal Bowman
Votes: 932
3. Titus (1999)
R | 162 min | Drama, History, Thriller
Titus returns victorious from war, only to plant the seeds of future turmoil for himself and his family.
Director: Julie Taymor | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange, Osheen Jones, Dario D'Ambrosi
Votes: 21,472 | Gross: $1.92M
4. Rob Roy (1995)
R | 139 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
In 1713 Scotland, Rob Roy MacGregor is wronged by a nobleman and his nephew, becomes an outlaw in search of revenge while fleeing the Redcoats, and faces charges of being a Jacobite.
Director: Michael Caton-Jones | Stars: Liam Neeson, Jessica Lange, John Hurt, Tim Roth
Votes: 45,694 | Gross: $31.60M
5. Communion (1989)
R | 107 min | Biography, Drama, Horror
On December 26th Whitley Strieber has a strange nightmare. In the following days, plagued by painful headaches, his behavior becomes increasingly erratic. Later, under hypnosis, he realizes that his dream was not a dream at all.
Director: Philippe Mora | Stars: Christopher Walken, Lindsay Crouse, Frances Sternhagen, Andreas Katsulas
Votes: 7,561 | Gross: $1.92M
6. Hamlet (1996)
PG-13 | 242 min | Drama
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother remarrying the murderer, his uncle. Meanwhile, war is brewing.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Julie Christie, Derek Jacobi, Kate Winslet
Votes: 40,063 | Gross: $4.41M
7. Mask (1985)
PG-13 | 120 min | Biography, Drama
A teenager with a massive facial skull deformity and biker gang mother attempt to live as normal a life as possible under the circumstances.
Director: Peter Bogdanovich | Stars: Cher, Eric Stoltz, Sam Elliott, Estelle Getty
Votes: 32,552 | Gross: $48.23M
8. Open Range (2003)
R | 139 min | Action, Drama, Romance
A former gunslinger is forced to take up arms again when he and his cattle crew are threatened by a corrupt lawman.
Director: Kevin Costner | Stars: Kevin Costner, Robert Duvall, Diego Luna, Abraham Benrubi
Votes: 78,182 | Gross: $58.33M
9. In the Name of the Father (1993)
R | 133 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An Irish man's coerced confession to an I.R.A. bombing he did not commit results in the imprisonment of his father as well. Meanwhile, a British lawyer fights to clear their names and free them.
Director: Jim Sheridan | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Pete Postlethwaite, Alison Crosbie, Philip King
Votes: 187,180 | Gross: $25.01M
10. Thief (1981)
R | 123 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An ace safe cracker wants to do one last big heist for the mob before going straight.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson, Jim Belushi
Votes: 39,054 | Gross: $11.49M
11. The China Syndrome (1979)
PG | 122 min | Drama, Thriller
A reporter finds what appears to be a cover-up of safety hazards at a nuclear power plant.
Director: James Bridges | Stars: Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas, Scott Brady
Votes: 33,051 | Gross: $51.72M
12. The Elephant Man (1980)
PG | 124 min | Biography, Drama
A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of kindness, intelligence and sophistication.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud
Votes: 258,565
13. Jack the Bear (1993)
PG-13 | 99 min | Comedy, Drama
Danny DeVito is John Leary, a professional clown, whose wife's death in a car accident has left him to care for his two young boys.
Director: Marshall Herskovitz | Stars: Danny DeVito, Gary Sinise, Robert J. Steinmiller Jr., Miko Hughes
Votes: 4,406 | Gross: $5.15M
14. Heaven's Gate (1980)
R | 219 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
During the Johnson County War in 1890 Wyoming, a sheriff born into wealth does his best to protect immigrant farmers from rich cattle interests.
Director: Michael Cimino | Stars: Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, John Hurt, Sam Waterston
Votes: 17,158 | Gross: $3.48M
15. Duel (1971 TV Movie)
PG | 90 min | Action, Thriller
A business commuter is pursued and terrorized by the malevolent driver of a massive tractor-trailer.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Dennis Weaver, Jacqueline Scott, Eddie Firestone, Lou Frizzell
Votes: 78,436
16. An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
R | 124 min | Drama, Romance
A young man must complete his work at a Navy Officer Candidate School to become an aviator, with the help of a tough Gunnery Sergeant and his new girlfriend.
Director: Taylor Hackford | Stars: Richard Gere, Debra Winger, David Keith, Robert Loggia
Votes: 62,638 | Gross: $129.80M
17. Grey Owl (1999)
PG-13 | 118 min | Biography, Drama, Western
The story of the life and work of the Canadian fur trapper-turned-conservationist who claimed to be an aboriginal North American.
Director: Richard Attenborough | Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Stewart Bick, Vlasta Vrana, Annie Galipeau
Votes: 4,046 | Gross: $0.63M
18. Tuck Everlasting (2002)
PG | 90 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
A young woman meets and falls in love with a young man who is part of a family of immortals.
Director: Jay Russell | Stars: Alexis Bledel, Jonathan Jackson, Sissy Spacek, William Hurt
Votes: 25,361 | Gross: $19.16M
19. The Legend of 1900 (1998)
R | 169 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A baby boy discovered on an ocean liner in 1900 grows into a musical prodigy, never setting foot on land.
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore | Stars: Tim Roth, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Mélanie Thierry, Bill Nunn
Votes: 69,160 | Gross: $0.26M
20. The Killer Elite (1975)
PG | 122 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Mike Locken, who works for a private security firm affiliated with the C.I.A., is betrayed by his partner and left apparently crippled for life.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: James Caan, Robert Duvall, Arthur Hill, Bo Hopkins
Votes: 7,227
21. This Boy's Life (1993)
R | 115 min | Biography, Drama
The story about the relationship between a rebellious 1950s teenager and his abusive stepfather, based on the memoirs of writer and literature Professor Tobias Wolff.
Director: Michael Caton-Jones | Stars: Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Barkin, Jonah Blechman
Votes: 58,378 | Gross: $4.10M
22. Talk Radio (1988)
R | 110 min | Drama, Thriller
A rude, contemptuous talk show host becomes overwhelmed by the hatred that surrounds his program just before it goes national.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Eric Bogosian, Ellen Greene, Leslie Hope, John C. McGinley
Votes: 14,623 | Gross: $3.47M
23. Dreams (1990)
PG | 119 min | Drama, Fantasy
A collection of tales based upon eight of director Akira Kurosawa's recurring dreams.
Directors: Akira Kurosawa, Ishirô Honda | Stars: Akira Terao, Mitsuko Baishô, Toshie Negishi, Mieko Harada
Votes: 29,200 | Gross: $1.96M
24. Shalako (1968)
M/PG | 113 min | Drama, Western
In 1880 New Mexico, a group of European hunters runs afoul of the Apache but is aided by an ex-cavalryman turned guide.
Director: Edward Dmytryk | Stars: Sean Connery, Brigitte Bardot, Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins
Votes: 3,485
25. Used Cars (1980)
R | 113 min | Comedy
When the owner of a struggling used car lot is killed, it's up to the lot's hot-shot salesman to save the property from falling into the hands of the owner's ruthless brother and used-car rival.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Kurt Russell, Jack Warden, Gerrit Graham, Frank McRae
Votes: 16,777
26. Slums of Beverly Hills (1998)
R | 91 min | Comedy, Drama
In 1976, a lower-middle-class teenager struggles to cope living with her neurotic family of nomads on the outskirts of Beverly Hills.
Director: Tamara Jenkins | Stars: Natasha Lyonne, Alan Arkin, Bryna Weiss, Marisa Tomei
Votes: 14,623 | Gross: $5.48M
27. Once Were Warriors (1994)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama
A family descended from Maori warriors is bedeviled by a violent father and the societal problems of being treated as outcasts.
Director: Lee Tamahori | Stars: Rena Owen, Temuera Morrison, Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell, Julian Arahanga
Votes: 36,859 | Gross: $2.20M
28. Radio Flyer (1992)
PG-13 | 114 min | Drama
A father recounts a dark period of his childhood when he and his little brother lived in the suburbs.
Directors: Richard Donner, David Mickey Evans | Stars: Lorraine Bracco, John Heard, Adam Baldwin, Elijah Wood
Votes: 14,214 | Gross: $4.65M
29. Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)
PG-13 | 104 min | Comedy, Drama
A bored New Jersey suburban housewife's fascination with a free-spirited woman she has read about in the personal columns leads to her being mistaken for the woman herself.
Director: Susan Seidelman | Stars: Rosanna Arquette, Madonna, Aidan Quinn, Mark Blum
Votes: 26,086 | Gross: $27.40M
30. Air America (1990)
R | 113 min | Action, Comedy, War
A young pilot finds himself recruited unwittingly into a covert and corrupt CIA airlift operation in Laos during the Vietnam conflict.
Director: Roger Spottiswoode | Stars: Mel Gibson, Robert Downey Jr., Nancy Travis, Ken Jenkins
Votes: 30,555 | Gross: $31.05M
31. The Emerald Forest (1985)
R | 114 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
After the son of engineer Bill Markham is abducted by an aboriginal tribe on the edge of the rain forest, the engineer spends the next 10 years searching for him.
Director: John Boorman | Stars: Powers Boothe, Meg Foster, Yara Vaneau, William Rodriguez
Votes: 11,005 | Gross: $24.47M
32. The Phantom (1996)
PG | 100 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
The Phantom, descendent of a line of African superheroes, travels to New York City to thwart a wealthy criminal genius from obtaining three magic skulls which would give him the secret to ultimate power.
Director: Simon Wincer | Stars: Billy Zane, Kristy Swanson, Treat Williams, Catherine Zeta-Jones
Votes: 35,823 | Gross: $17.30M
33. Detroit Rock City (1999)
R | 95 min | Adventure, Comedy, Music
In 1978, four rebellious teenagers try to scam their way into a KISS concert.
Director: Adam Rifkin | Stars: Edward Furlong, Giuseppe Andrews, James DeBello, Sam Huntington
Votes: 41,363 | Gross: $4.22M
34. The Final Countdown (1980)
PG | 103 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A modern aircraft carrier is thrown back in time to 1941 near Hawaii, just hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Director: Don Taylor | Stars: Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, Katharine Ross, James Farentino
Votes: 26,963 | Gross: $16.65M
35. A Perfect World (1993)
PG-13 | 138 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor, an escaped convict on the run from the law, while the search for him continues.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood, Laura Dern, T.J. Lowther
Votes: 86,959 | Gross: $31.16M
36. Black Rain (1989)
R | 125 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Two NYC cops arrest a Yakuza member and must escort him when he's extradited to Japan.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Michael Douglas, Andy Garcia, Ken Takakura, Kate Capshaw
Votes: 59,719 | Gross: $46.21M
37. The Bridges of Madison County (1995)
PG-13 | 135 min | Drama, Romance
Photographer Robert Kincaid wanders into the life of housewife Francesca Johnson for four days in the 1960s.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep, Annie Corley, Victor Slezak
Votes: 88,953 | Gross: $71.52M
38. 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
39. Cruising (1980)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A police officer goes undercover in the underground S&M gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer who is preying on gay men.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, Karen Allen, Richard Cox
Votes: 28,069 | Gross: $19.80M
40. The Wind and the Lion (1975)
PG | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A Berber chieftain triggers an international incident, drawing the involvement of Theodore Roosevelt, when he kidnaps an American widow and her children in 1900s Morocco.
Director: John Milius | Stars: Sean Connery, Candice Bergen, Brian Keith, John Huston
Votes: 10,154 | Gross: $0.75M
41. The Lion in Winter (1968)
PG | 134 min | Biography, Drama, History
1183 A.D.: King Henry II's three sons all want to inherit the throne, but he won't commit to a choice. When he allows his imprisoned wife Eleanor of Aquitaine out for a Christmas visit, they all variously plot to force him into a decision.
Director: Anthony Harvey | Stars: Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn, Anthony Hopkins, John Castle
Votes: 34,229 | Gross: $22.28M
42. The Crucible (1996)
PG-13 | 124 min | Drama, History
A Salem resident attempts to frame her ex-lover's wife for being a witch in the middle of the 1692 witchcraft trials.
Director: Nicholas Hytner | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Paul Scofield, Joan Allen
Votes: 40,196 | Gross: $7.34M
43. Let It Ride (1989)
PG-13 | 90 min | Comedy, Action
A nosy cab driver gets a hot tip on a race horse and wins big, but he can't seem to stop gambling. Will he go broke or walk home with a pretty penny?
Director: Joe Pytka | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, David Johansen, Jennifer Tilly
Votes: 6,881 | Gross: $4.97M
44. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
R | 98 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Kids all over America want Silver Shamrock masks for Halloween. Doctor Daniel Challis seeks to uncover a plot by Silver Shamrock owner Conal Cochran.
Director: Tommy Lee Wallace | Stars: Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin, Dan O'Herlihy, Michael Currie
Votes: 61,022 | Gross: $14.40M
45. The Road (I) (2009)
R | 111 min | Drama, Thriller
In a dangerous post-apocalyptic world, an ailing father defends his son as they slowly travel to the sea.
Director: John Hillcoat | Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Robert Duvall
Votes: 254,312 | Gross: $0.06M
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