Better Than Their Reputations
Favorite movies that have a rating of 5.9 or lower on this site (at the time I made this list, or updated it) Top 50 films in order, the rest listed chronologically.
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166 titles
- DirectorJohn BoormanStarsSean ConneryCharlotte RamplingSara KestelmanIn the late 23rd century, a savage trained only to kill finds a way into the community of bored immortals that alone preserves humanity's achievements.
- DirectorMichael SnowStarsHollis FramptonLyne GrossmanNaoto NakazawaClaimed by some to be one of the most unconventional and experimental films ever made, Wavelength is a structural film of a 45-minute long zoom in on a window over a period of a week. Very unconventional and experimental, indeed.
- DirectorHarry Bromley DavenportStarsPhilip SayerBernice StegersDanny BraininAn alien creature impregnates a woman who gives birth to a man who was abducted by aliens three years ago. The man reconnects with his wife and son for a sinister purpose.
- DirectorEdward D. Wood Jr.StarsEdward D. Wood Jr.Bela LugosiLyle TalbotA psychiatrist tells the stories of a transvestite (Glen or Glenda) and a pseudohermaphrodite (Alan or Anne).
- DirectorEdward D. Wood Jr.StarsGregory WalcottTom KeeneMona McKinnonEvil aliens attack Earth and set their terrible "Plan 9" into action. As the aliens resurrect the dead of the Earth, the lives of the living are in danger.
- DirectorJohn CarrStarsMerideth HazeRick BarnesJ. Martin SellersGlen falls head-over-heels for Gretta, a blue-movie actress who plays piano at a tawdry night club. She leads him into a nether-world of bizarre characters including a group of rich patrons whose desires are not only quirky but dangerous.
- DirectorElisabeth VoglerStarsNoémie SchmidtGrégoire IsvarineMarie MottetAnna misses the flight she should have taken to find Greg in Barcelona. The plane crashes.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsPaul NewmanVittorio GassmanFernando ReyDuring a future ice age, dying humanity occupies its remaining time by playing a board game called "Quintet." For one small group, this obsession is not enough; they play the game with living pieces ... and only the winner survives.
- DirectorHollis FramptonShowing the three different states of matter: liquid, solid, and gas.
- DirectorHarry SmithA sequence of surreal cutout animation imagery, largely without a discernible narrative.
- DirectorMelvin Van PeeblesStarsMelvin Van PeeblesHubert ScalesJohn DullaghanAfter saving a Black Panther from some racist cops, a black male prostitute goes on the run from "the man" with the help of the ghetto community and some disillusioned Hells Angels.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsRobert PattinsonJuliette BinocheSarah GadonRiding across Manhattan in a stretch limo in order to get a haircut, a 28-year-old billionaire asset manager's day devolves into an odyssey with a cast of characters that start to tear his world apart.
- DirectorSidney PetersonA short film which documents a competition between men for the love of the same woman.
- DirectorHung-i ChenStarsYile ChangHsiuchin ChiPrince ChiuOverwhelmed by loss after her boyfriend mysteriously vanishes, overnight radio DJ, Vicky (Tseng Peiyu), drifts through her life like it's a dream, fixated on stories of the missing and the lost-stories she shares with her audience between moody selections of classical music. Stories like: "On Earth, a lot of bees have disappeared. The strange thing is we can't find the bodies of the dead bees, not even one." As she attempts to solve the mystery of her boyfriend's disappearance, she stumbles across an online community where her boyfriend, going by the handle "Dog," was a regular participant. The site is a digital sanctuary where users contribute lyrical evidence about all the things that have gone missing, from buildings to people. The conspiracy theory that binds them together is the belief that all these missing objects are slipping over into a parallel world.
- DirectorJohn HyamsStarsJean-Claude Van DammeDolph LundgrenScott AdkinsJohn looks to take down Luc Deveraux after a home invasion claims his wife and daughter. The fight pits John against Andrew Scott and an army of genetically enhanced warriors; meanwhile, he must contend with a UniSol in relentless pursuit.
- DirectorGuy MaddinStarsJason PatricIsabella RosselliniUdo KierGangster and deadbeat dad Ulysses Pick embarks on an unusual journey through his home.
- DirectorStan BrakhageJoseph CornellA short black and white film which documents a decaying mansion, secluded garden, and children playing.
- DirectorJulia LeighStarsEmily BrowningRachael BlakeEwen LeslieA haunting portrait of Lucy, a young university student drawn into a mysterious hidden world of unspoken desires.
- DirectorQuentin DupieuxStarsStephen SpinellaRoxane MesquidaWings HauserA homicidal car tire, discovering it has destructive psionic power, sets its sights on a desert town once a mysterious woman becomes its obsession.
- DirectorStewart RaffillStarsChristine EbersoleJonathan WardTina CasparyAn alien trying to escape from NASA is befriended by a wheelchair-bound boy.
- DirectorBruce BaillieStarsElla FitzgeraldA 3 minute pan to the left.
- DirectorHyuk ByunStarsLee Jung-jaeShim Eun-haCho Jae-hyunA documentary filmmaker falls for one of his subjects while interviewing her about her relationship with her boyfriend.
- DirectorLarry JordanA surreal, dreamlike experimental film blending baroque, Victorian and space age imagery with odd sound effects.
- DirectorBen WheatleyStarsTom HiddlestonJeremy IronsSienna MillerLife for the residents of a tower block begins to run out of control.
- DirectorSally PotterStarsColette LaffontRose EnglishTony GaconWhat happens after the curtain falls on the death of Mimi, tragic heroine of Puccini's La boh?me? In Thriller, Mimi teams up with the opera's comic heroine Musetta to investigate her own death.
- DirectorB. Reeves EasonJoseph KaneStarsRay CorriganLois WildeMonte BlueCrash Corrigan, a recent graduate of Annapolis, and Diana, a go-getting reporter, join Professor Norton for a search for the source of a string of earthquakes, Atlantis. They ride Prof. Norton's rocket submarine searching the sea and little Billy Norton, the professor's son stows away, of course. When they find Atlantis they are caught in a war between peaceful Atlanteans, note their white capes, and war-monging Atlanteans, note their black capes. After many harrowing moments for Crash, Diana, Prof. Norton and Billy, they barely get away with their lives when they escape a tower of Atlantis raised to the surface for the sole purpose of dominating or destroying the Earth (Which one depends on the compliance of the upper world dwellers.)
- DirectorHugh HarmanRudolf IsingStarsKen DarbyRochelle HudsonRudolf IsingA streetcar conductor has adventures with a would-be passenger hippo, a cow blocking the tracks, and a runaway train while he, his passengers, and some hobos sing the title song.
- DirectorHarry HornerStarsPeter GravesAndrea KingHerbert BerghofAn American scientist is able to contact and communicate with Mars with shattering political, economic, and spiritual repercussions.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsPamela DuncanRichard GarlandAllison HayesA beautiful woman is sent back in time via hypnosis to the Middle Ages where she finds she is suspected of being a witch, and subject to being executed.
- DirectorJames BenningStarsFred GardnerLandscape shots of Utah with narration chronicling its history by way of The New York Times excerpts from the 1850s to the 1990s.
- DirectorBronwen HughesStarsMichelle TrachtenbergRosie O'DonnellGregory SmithHarriet M. Welsch is a spy. But when her friends find her secret notebook, the tables are turned on her. Can she win them back and still keep on going with the spy business?
- DirectorEduardo de GregorioStarsNathalie BayePhilippe LéotardBulle OgierA UNESCO translator stumbles across a group which is hiding and supporting Nazis and facilitating their travel around the world.
- DirectorPeter ThompsonStarsPeter ThompsonUniversal Citizen is a multifaceted personal travelogue that brings us to a real Universal Hotel, in Guatemala, and to the same public square in Siena that appears at the beginning of Universal Hotel; at the center of the film are Thompson's off screen meetings with a Libyan Jew and former Dachau inmate who works as a smuggler in Guatemala and refuses to be photographed
- DirectorWilliam MorganStarsJean MoorheadBarbara WeeksArt MillanPaula Parkins is the teenage daughter of wealthy parents who can't seem to make time for her, so she looks for thrills as the leader of her all girl-gang who rob and rape young men.
- DirectorLeslie ThorntonA short film by Leslie Thornton that explores the mysteries of the orient from a feminine perspective.
- DirectorNeil BreenStarsNeil BreenLaura HaleMike BradyThe controversial story of a lone genius who closes down the Las Vegas Strip... The goverment can't stop him. As he reunites with his dead girlfriend each night.
- DirectorAntonio MargheritiStarsReb BrownCorinne CléryJohn SteinerA warrior seeks his true origins in a seemingly prehistoric wasteland.
- DirectorRandy MooreStarsRoy AbramsohnElena SchuberKatelynn RodriguezIn a world of fake castles and anthropomorphic rodents, an epic battle begins when an unemployed father's sanity is challenged by a chance encounter with two underage girls on holiday.
- DirectorJoseph M. NewmanJack ArnoldStarsJeff MorrowFaith DomergueRex ReasonAliens come to Earth seeking scientists to help them in their war.
- DirectorWalter R. BoothAn old proprietor is startled by the sudden appearance of a skull. Just as he draws back from the uncanny object, the doors of a mediaeval wardrobe fly back and a hand prods him with a sword. He turns to confront his assailant when it vanishes, and at the same instant the skull flies to the other end of the room. He clutches at the skull, when it turns into the half form of a girl from the waist up, suspended in mid-air. As he gazes in amusement, the other half of the girl, fully dressed from her waist down, walks across the room, and the two halves of the figure join, making a girl complete. In an amorous fashion the old man folds his arms around the girl's waist with the intention of stealing a kiss, but the girl immediately changes into an old woman, who grins in evident delight at the old man's discomfort. In great anger he throws her into the wardrobe and locks the door. Unseen by him, the woman has again become a girl. A great effect is here produced. Through the doors, which are solid and closed, the form of the girl appears through the woodwork. Hastily opening the door, the old man is then confronted by an Egyptian mummy. Other strange things happen. As the pawnbroker flies from the room a large and grotesque head arises from the smoke and slowly advances toward the spectators. Larger and larger the head grows until it fills the entire picture, and appears as though it would swallow the whole audience. A most laughable and mystifying scene.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonWilliam HeiseStarsHenry Welton"A glove contest between trained cats. A very comical and amusing subject, and is sure to create a great laugh." (by Edison Films)
- DirectorAlexandre PromioA tracking shot of the golden horn in Istanbul seen from the gulf. Black and white film from 1897.
- DirectorAuguste LumièreLouis LumièreWomen washing their clothes by the river.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsHenry B. WalthallDorothy WestGrace HendersonA Confederate soldier shames his mother and sister by going AWOL during battle. His sister takes his place, with tragic results, leaving him to live out his life in shame, hiding to protect his family name.
- DirectorHans RichterRhythm 23 (Rhythmus 23, 1923) is an extension of the same film but with more angles and overlays added, and adding lines rather than adhering to the squares of the original. It looks so similar that the academic argument that both "21" and "23" were made in 1923 looks rather likely. Richter himself at some exhibitions showed these two together as a single film called Un film de Hans Richter. The hand-colored Rhythm 25 (Rhythmus 25, 1925) was the final "chapter," but it does not survive."
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsVirginia ValliCarmelita GeraghtyMiles ManderTwo couples' romances are fancifully intertwined.
- DirectorHenri ChometteAn experimental avant-garde film from director Henri Chomette in which the pure elements of form are emphasized.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsEl BrendelMaureen O'SullivanJohn GarrickNew York, 1980: airplanes have replaced cars, numbers have replaced names, pills have replaced food, government-arranged marriages have replaced love, and test tube babies have replaced ... well, you get the idea. Scientists revive a man struck by lightning in 1930; he is rechristened "Single O". He is befriended by J-21, who can't marry the girl of his dreams because he isn't "distinguished" enough -- until he is chosen for a 4-month expedition to Mars by a renegade scientist. The Mars J-21, his friend, and stowaway Single O visit is full of scantily clad women doing Busby Berkeley-style dance numbers and worshiping a fat middle-aged man.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsEdmund GwennJill EsmondC.V. FranceAn old traditional family and a modern family battle over land in a small English village and almost destroy each other.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsLeon M. LionAnne GreyJohn StuartA gang of thieves gather at a safe house following a robbery, but a detective is on their trail.
- DirectorJoseph CornellStarsCharles BickfordRose HobartNoble JohnsonFootage selected from 'East of Borneo' and other films is arranged and edited so as to highlight actress Rose Hobart.
- DirectorDave FleischerSeymour KneitelStarsBudd HulickF. Chase TaylorHarold NicholasAn animated short chronicling the adventures of Colonel Stoopnagle and Budd.
- DirectorWilliam VanceOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesVirginia NicolsonWilliam VanceA colonial scene in the U.S. An old lady sits astride a bell while a man in blackface, wig, and livery pulls the bell rope. From an upper door emerges an old man, dressed as a dandy, who tips his hat to the woman as he walks down stairs grinning. Others leave the same door and walk down the same stairs: a shabby man, a cop, and, several times, the same dandy. The man in blackface hangs himself; the dandy continues to smile. A bell tolls, a grave beckons. In the dark, the dandy plays the piano. Is he Death?
- DirectorHarry SmithAn experimental film from artist Harry Smith and part of his Number series of various animated scenes.
- DirectorChuck JonesStarsMel BlancThe Two Curious Puppies wander into a theater and run afoul of a trickster magician's rabbit, a playful seal and an intimidating little bird.
- DirectorDwinell GrantAgainst a background of bluish light, several objects appear: a square, a circle, and a set of rods. As the background color occasionally varies in shade between blue and rose, the objects move around, forming various patterns.
- DirectorSpencer WilliamsStarsCathryn CavinessSpencer WilliamsJuanita RileyAn atheist accidentally shoots his Baptist wife. She dies and goes to a crossroads, where the devil tries to lead her astray.
- DirectorChuck JonesStarsMargaret Hill-TalbotMarjorie TarltonSniffles' car breaks down in a storm. He finds shelter in a nearby windmill, where he meets Batty.
- DirectorHarry SmithAn experimental film from artist Harry Smith and part of his Number series of various animated scenes.
- DirectorAlex LovyStarsMel BlancZedra CondeA mouse, sleeping in the Zowie Cafe, has his sleep disturbed by the jukebox. He crawls into the machine, but the mechanism flings him out the coin return. The mouse lands in a glass of Zowie beverage, which he happily drinks. Bottles tip over, releasing the spirits (both alcoholic and ghostly) within. The ghosts form a band, at first just playing rhythm (with peanuts as maracas). Turtles in the cafe's fountain start dancing. A lobster on a plate does a 'Carmen Miranda' impression. The figures on a lamp dance around the shade. A cactus dances with the mouse. The mouse hits the floor, knocking several mouse ghosts loose; they form a conga line, leading to the mouse's bed, where he falls back to sleep.
- DirectorJames P. HoganStarsDavid BruceEvelyn AnkersGeorge ZuccoA university chemistry professor experiments with an ancient Mayan gas on a medical student, turning the would-be surgeon into a murdering ghoul.
- DirectorHoward BrethertonStarsJohn HubbardRita QuigleyJoan BlairA bank clerk in a small town returns home from a vacation in Indianapolis, and hears a story on the radio about a girl found murdered there. The description of the killer fits him exactly, and when two girls are murdered in his town, suspicion falls on him - especially when he can't provide an alibi for the time the girls were killed.
- DirectorEdgar G. UlmerStarsJohn CarradineJean ParkerNils AstherIn Paris, an artist hires portrait models, and after he finishes their portraits, he strangles them.
- DirectorD. Ross LedermanStarsJohn BealTrudy MarshallJimmy LloydMilton Higby, an inventor of gadgets that don't sell finds himself accused of a crime he didn't commit---the killing of a girl he had just met---, and takes to the open road with the police in close pursuit. In his travels, he stumbles across the body of another murder victim and switches identities with the corpse. With his new name he poses as the long-lost son of a wealthy industrialist until he is exposed and charged also with the second murder.
- DirectorWilliam BerkeStarsRussell WadeLuana WaltersEdmund MacDonaldA woman apparently marries a corrupt deputy D.A. to get evidence that a certain criminal was framed for murder.
- DirectorSeymour FriedmanStarsHurd HatfieldJean WillesTom PowersIn San Francisco's Chinatown, a Chinese-speaking Caucasian criminal robs an antiquities shop and murders the owners, leaving the police with one clue, the killer's voice heard on the phone by a switchboard-operator.
- DirectorFletcher MarkleStarsFranchot ToneJean WallaceMyron McCormickNew York Assistant District Attorney Howard Malloy investigates a series of murders and uncovers an extremist group.
- DirectorSidney PetersonStarsJeremy AndersonElma BarrettJack KloughA short experimental film by Sidney Peterson using double overlapping lenses to tell the story of a woman and a deep sea diver.
- DirectorHarry SmithAn experimental film from artist Harry Smith and part of his Number series of various animated scenes.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsLew AyresTeresa WrightVictor JoryA badly injured fugitive explains to a priest how he came to be in his present predicament.
- DirectorFred F. SearsStarsJohn HodiakJohn DerekDavid BrianAn innocent cowboy convicted with three robbers, fresh out of Yuma Territorial Prison, travels with them to get a share of their hidden loot.
- DirectorReginald Le BorgStarsBarbara PaytonFrederick ValkJohn SlaterA scheming blonde seduces a fighter and convinces him to murder her husband, a fight manager.
- DirectorChristopher MaclaineA short film which documents a Scottish dance festival.
- DirectorHugo HaasStarsCleo MooreHugo HaasJohn AgarA beautiful blonde leads a man down the road to ruin.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsDan DuryeaGene LockhartPatric KnowlesIn Singapore, a private detective and the British authorities are on the trail of a crime syndicate that kidnaps a nuclear physicist with the aim of selling him to the highest bidder.
- DirectorMarie MenkenAn exploration of a garden, accompanied by birdsong.
- DirectorRobert BreerAn experimental short film from Robert Breer with various colorful animations.
- DirectorFred F. SearsStarsSteven RitchDon MegowanJoyce HoldenTwo scientists are involved in a car accident and find an unconscious man in the remains. They take him to their lab and inject him with a serum they have been working with. Sadly, the serum turns the man into a murderous werewolf.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsDick MillerRussell JohnsonAbby DaltonCloud Nine, the local teen hangout, has been taken over by a pair of escaped killers, who hold the local teens hostage. The bartender realizes it's up to him to save the kids.
- DirectorIrvin S. Yeaworth Jr.StarsRobert LansingLee MeriwetherJames CongdonA scientist discovers a formula enabling him to pass through solid surfaces, but he also rapidly ages, which forces him to kill humans in order to reverse the aging process by absorbing his victims' energies.
- DirectorCharles F. HaasStarsSteve CochranMamie Van DorenRay DantonA detective is assigned to track down and capture a crazed serial rapist.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsSophia LorenAnthony QuinnMargaret O'BrienStory of theatrical troupe that travels through the Old West.
- DirectorKurt MaetzigStarsYôko TaniOldrich LukesIgnacy MachowskiWhen an alien artifact discovered on Earth is found to have come from Venus, an international team of astronauts embarks to investigate its origins.
- DirectorAntonio MargheritiStarsRik Van NutterGabriella FarinonDavid MontresorIn the 22nd Century, Ray Peterson, reporter for the Interplanetary News, is assigned to write a story aboard a space station.
- DirectorJulian RoffmanStarsPaul StevensClaudette NevinsBill WalkerA young archaeologist thinks he is cursed by an Aztec mask that makes him have strange nightmares. Before committing suicide, he sends the mask to his psychiatrist, who soon plunges into the mask's nightmarish world.
- DirectorMaury DexterStarsKent TaylorMarie WindsorWilliam MimsMartians replace a scientist and his family to pave the way for their invasion of Earth.
- DirectorHerschell Gordon LewisStarsWilliam KerwinMal ArnoldConnie MasonAn Egyptian caterer kills various women in suburban Miami to use their body parts to revive a dormant Egyptian goddess while an inept police detective tries to track him down.
- DirectorJack SmithStarsFrancis FrancineSheila BickJoel MarkmanAn experimental film that features graphic sexual imagery, an earthquake, and a lipstick commercial.
- DirectorJack SmithStarsReese HaireKen JacobsJerry SimsA black and white short filming three men rummaging through a group of destroyed buildings.
- DirectorWalerian BorowczykA bizarre, semi-abstract animated film, based around the theme of angels being processed by a nightmarish factory. It has been interpreted as an allegory of the concentration camp experience and as a portrait of the industrialisation and collectivisation of the Soviet period.
- DirectorLarry JordanAn experimental short from Larry Jordan in which a horse rider and gymnast are filmed.
- DirectorJean RollinStarsPascal FardoulisJulieNadine NinioA couple is lost in a labyrinthine of streets. When they find their way out, they do not know where they are or how they got there.
- DirectorAnton HoldenStarsJanine LenonSteve HollisterJoanna MillsIn Manhattan, prostitutes are being murdered by a psycho. A detective is assigned to track him down and bring him in.
- DirectorHollis FramptonAn abstract Frampton short, in which a series of beautiful white lights float around in a black void.
- DirectorCurtis HarringtonStarsJohn SaxonBasil RathboneJudi MeredithThe year is 1990. An alien species makes contact with Earth through radio transmissions. After astronauts from earth venture to the planet, they find one - a female, who's mute. As they transport her back to earth, one by one, the male crew members die. It's too late when they realise she needs their blood to survive.
- DirectorWoody AllenSenkichi TaniguchiStarsWoody AllenThe Lovin' SpoonfulFrank BuxtonWoody Allen re-dubs the Japanese spy film Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Kagi no kagi (1965), turning it into a comedy about an agent pursuing the world's greatest egg salad recipe.
- DirectorAntonio MargheritiStarsTony RusselLisa GastoniMassimo SeratoA deranged scientist is using his employer's top-secret bio-laboratory to engage in clandestine experiments. When he starts kidnapping leading citizens for use in his twisted tests, it's up to rogue cop Mike Halstead to come to the rescue.
- DirectorJean-Marie StraubStarsIrm HermannKristin PetersonHanna SchygullaThree sequences are linked together in this short film by Straub; the first sequence is a long tracking shot from a car of prostitutes plying their trade on the night-time streets of Germany; the second is a staged play, cut down to 10 minutes by Straub and photographed in a single take; the final sequence covers the marriage of James and Lilith, and Lilith's subsequent execution of her pimp, played by Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsRonald MlodzikJack MessingerPaul MulhollandA group of Canadian university students agree to partake in a grisly psychological experiment, which renders them incapable of speech but able to communicate telepathically.