50 Greatest Most Underrated Movies
This list is a list of underrated movies that recieved great critical acclaim but were generally overlooked by the public for reasons such as little or no wins at the Acedemy Awards and American Film Institute or lack of promotion, yet deserved more credit than they recieved for overall cinematic quality. (1970s-present)
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50 titles
- DirectorRobert De NiroStarsRobert De NiroChazz PalminteriLillo BrancatoAn intense drama about a boy torn between his tough, hard-working father and a violent yet charismatic crime boss.AFI/AA
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsGabriel ByrneAlbert FinneyJohn TurturroTom Reagan, an advisor to a Prohibition-era crime boss, tries to keep the peace between warring mobs but gets caught in divided loyalties.AFI/AA
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsVal KilmerSam ShepardGraham GreeneA young mixed-blood FBI agent is assigned to work with a cynical veteran investigator on a murder on a poverty-stricken Sioux reservation.* AA
- DirectorMichael Caton-JonesStarsRobert De NiroLeonardo DiCaprioEllen BarkinThe story about the relationship between a rebellious 1950s teenager and his abusive stepfather, based on the memoirs of writer and literature Professor Tobias Wolff.*AA
- DirectorEdward ZwickStarsDenzel WashingtonMeg RyanLou Diamond PhillipsA U.S. Army officer, despondent about a deadly mistake he made, investigates a female chopper commander's worthiness for the Medal of Honor.*
- DirectorMike JudgeStarsRon LivingstonJennifer AnistonDavid HermanThree company workers who hate their jobs decide to rebel against their greedy boss.
- DirectorMichael CrichtonStarsSean ConneryDonald SutherlandLesley-Anne DownEngland, 1850s. A master criminal aims to rob a train of a large sum of gold. Security is incredibly tight and the task seems an impossible one. However, he has a plan and just the right people to carry it out.*AA
- DirectorAndrew V. McLaglenStarsJohn WayneForrest TuckerChristopher GeorgeCattle baron John Chisum joins forces with Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett to fight the Lincoln County land war.
- DirectorUlu GrosbardDustin HoffmanStarsDustin HoffmanTheresa RussellGary BuseyThe difficulties of a career burglar to reinsert himself after being released on parole.AA
- DirectorRobert MooreStarsPeter FalkAlec GuinnessPeter SellersFive famous literary detective characters and their sidekicks are invited to a bizarre mansion to solve an even stranger mystery.AA
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsSean ConneryRyan O'NealMichael CaineOperation Market Garden, September 1944: The Allies attempt to capture several strategically important bridges in the Netherlands in the hope of breaking the German lines.AA/AFI
- DirectorMichelangelo AntonioniStarsJack NicholsonMaria SchneiderJenny RunacreUnable to find the war he's been asked to cover, a frustrated war correspondent takes the risky path of co-opting the identity of a dead arms-deal acquaintance.AA
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsJulie AndrewsOmar SharifAnthony QuayleDuring a Caribbean vacation, a British civil servant finds herself falling in love with a Russian Agent.AA
- DirectorJohn BerryStarsDiahann CarrollJames Earl JonesLawrence Hilton-JacobsIn the 1970s Harlem, garbage collector Roop feels intimidated by the idea of dating Claudine who is a single mother of six on welfare.AA
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsLee MarvinErnest BorgnineKeith CarradineIn 1933, during the Depression, Shack the brutal conductor of the number 19 train has a personal vendetta against the best train hopping hobo tramp in the Northwest, A No. 1.AA
- DirectorPeter YatesStarsRobert MitchumPeter BoyleRichard JordanAfter his last crime has him looking at a long prison sentence for repeat offenses, a low level Boston gangster decides to snitch on his friends to avoid jail time.AA
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsBurt LancasterBruce DavisonJorge LukeAfter fierce war chief Ulzana and a small war party jump the reservation bent on murder and terror, an inexperienced young lieutenant is assigned to track him down.AA
- DirectorMark RydellStarsJohn WayneRoscoe Lee BrowneBruce DernRancher Wil Andersen is forced to hire inexperienced boys as cowhands in order to get his herd to market on time but the rough drive is full of dangers and a gang of cattle rustlers is trailing them.AA
- DirectorDavid Hugh JonesStarsAnne BancroftAnthony HopkinsJudi DenchTrue story of a transatlantic business correspondence about used books that developed into a close friendship.
- DirectorAlan MetterStarsRodney DangerfieldSally KellermanBurt YoungTo help his discouraged son get through college, a funloving and obnoxious rich businessman decides to enter the school as a student himself.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsSean ConneryRob BrownF. Murray AbrahamForrester, the author of a famous book, decides to help Jamal, a 16-year-old student, discover his writing prowess by mentoring him and enrolling him into a prestigious private school.AA
- DirectorDoug LimanStarsFranka PotenteMatt DamonChris CooperA man is picked up by a fishing boat, bullet-riddled and suffering from amnesia, before racing to elude assassins and attempting to regain his memory.
- DirectorJon FavreauStarsWill FerrellJames CaanBob NewhartRaised as an oversized elf, Buddy travels from the North Pole to New York City to meet his biological father, Walter Hobbs, who doesn't know he exists and is in desperate need of some Christmas spirit.
- DirectorPeter BergStarsBilly Bob ThorntonJay HernandezDerek LukeBased on H.G. Bissinger's book, which profiled the economically depressed town of Odessa, Texas and their heroic high school football team, The Permian High Panthers.AA
- DirectorRoger DonaldsonStarsAnthony HopkinsDiane LaddIain ReaThe story of New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent years rebuilding a 1920 Indian motorcycle, which helped him set the land speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967.AA
- DirectorMarc ForsterStarsWill FerrellEmma ThompsonDustin HoffmanI.R.S. auditor Harold Crick suddenly finds his mundane Chicago life to be the subject of narration only he can hear: narration that begins to affect his entire existence, from his work to his love life to his death.
- DirectorGregory HoblitStarsAnthony HopkinsRyan GoslingDavid StrathairnAfter shooting his wife, Ted confesses his crime and asks the court to move his case to trial. He represents himself against Willy, a successful lawyer. But there's more to the case than meets the eye.AA/AFI
- DirectorPhilippe FalardeauStarsReese WitherspoonArnold OcengGer DuanyA group of Sudanese refugees, given the chance to resettle in the U.S., arrive in Kansas City, Missouri, where their encounter with an employment agency counselor forever changes all of their lives.AA
- DirectorLee DanielsStarsForest WhitakerOprah WinfreyJohn CusackAs Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.AA
- DirectorNat FaxonJim RashStarsSteve CarellToni ColletteAllison JanneyShy 14-year-old Duncan goes on summer vacation with his mother, her overbearing boyfriend, and her boyfriend's daughter. Having a rough time fitting in, Duncan finds an unexpected friend in Owen, manager of the Water Wizz water park.
- DirectorJoe WrightStarsSaoirse RonanCate BlanchettEric BanaA sixteen-year-old girl who was raised by her father to be the perfect assassin is dispatched on a mission across Europe, tracked by a ruthless intelligence agent and her operatives.
- DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsPaul NewmanMichael OntkeanStrother MartinA failing ice hockey team finds success with outrageously violent hockey goonery.AFI
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsMichael CaineDonald SutherlandRobert DuvallA German plot to kidnap Sir Winston Churchill unfolds at the height of World War II.AA
- DirectorMira NairStarsDenzel WashingtonSarita ChoudhuryRoshan SethAn ethnic Indian family is expelled from Idi Amin's Uganda in 1972 and lives in Mississippi 17 years later. The dad sues Uganda to get his property back. The grown daughter falls in love with a Black man.
- DirectorJodie FosterStarsJodie FosterDianne WiestAdam Hann-ByrdA single mother raises a child prodigy on her own, struggling to give him every opportunity he needs to express his gift.
- DirectorSean PennStarsDavid MorseViggo MortensenValeria GolinoA Vietnam vet comes home to his small town and finds himself in conflict with rules that his brother has vowed to uphold.AA
- DirectorBoaz YakinStarsDenzel WashingtonWill PattonWood HarrisIn 1971 Virginia high school football was everything to the people of Alexandria. But when the school board was forced to integrate an all-black school with an all-white one, the very foundation of football's tradition was put to the test.
- DirectorPeter KosminskyStarsMichelle PfeifferRenée ZellwegerRobin WrightA teenager journeys through a series of foster homes after her mother goes to prison for committing a crime of passion.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsGlenn CloseJulianne MooreLiv TylerConflict arises in the small town of Holly Springs when an old woman's death causes a variety of reactions among family and friends.AA
- DirectorMatthew VaughnStarsCharlie CoxClaire DanesSienna MillerIn a countryside town bordering on a magical land, a young man makes a promise to his beloved that he'll retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the magical realm.AA
- DirectorBrian G. HuttonStarsClint EastwoodTelly SavalasDon RicklesA group of U.S. soldiers sneaks across enemy lines in WWII France to get their hands on a secret stash of Nazi treasure.AA
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodMichael MoriartyCarrie SnodgressA mysterious preacher protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying to encroach on their land.AA
- DirectorFrank CoraciStarsAdam SandlerDrew BarrymoreChristine TaylorRobbie, a singer, and Julia, a waitress, are both engaged, but to the wrong people. Fortune intervenes to help them discover each other.
- DirectorHerbert RossStarsWhoopi GoldbergMary-Louise ParkerDrew BarrymoreRobin shares a ride in her car with Jane from New York to Los Angeles. They stop at Jane's friend Holly's place in Pittsburgh and take her with them west, making a long stop in Tucson. The three very different women become close friends.AA
- DirectorDaryl DukeCurtis HansonStarsElliott GouldChristopher PlummerSusannah YorkA timid bank teller anticipates a bank robbery and steals the money himself before the crook arrives. When the sadistic crook realizes he's been fooled, he tracks down the teller and engages him in a cat-and-mouse chase for the cash.AA
- DirectorJerry SchatzbergStarsGene HackmanAl PacinoDorothy TristanAn ex-con drifter with a penchant for brawling is amused by a homeless ex-sailor, so they partner up as they head east together.AA
- 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.AA
- DirectorJohn SingletonStarsJon VoightVing RhamesDon CheadleA dramatization of a 1923 horrific racist lynch mob attack on an African-American community.AA
- DirectorTaylor HackfordStarsKathy BatesJennifer Jason LeighChristopher PlummerA big city reporter travels to a small town where her mother has been arrested for the murder of an elderly woman for whom she worked as a housekeeper.AA
- DirectorJohn DahlStarsNicolas CageDennis HopperLara Flynn BoyleUpon arriving to a small town, a drifter is mistaken for a hitman, but when the real hitman arrives, complications ensue.AA