Georgios Mpoukatsas

O ΑΝΑΧΩΡΗΤΗΣ

What exactly constitutes an underrated or a misunderstood film cannot be always unequivocally defined. It depends of how each one interprets the critical consensus, which, of course, is subject to alterations through time. Many of the films considered nowadays as classics were not particularly well received by the majority of the mainstream film critics, however there were some passionate ¨minority¨ views that slowly contributed to reversing the trend resulting in a universal acknowledgement of the film's importance. If someone looks back on time, he will not be surprised to discover that almost every film that was rather ignored on its time, but is honoured today, had its small but fervent group of supporters. Nevertheless this process of reversing the initial critical perception of a film in order to elevate it to a classic status does not always yield results.

This list contains films that in my opinion have yet to receive the attention and acknowledgement they deserve. Some films were already included in my previous list of 50 favourite lists posted on this site.

The order is random and I followed the rule of not selecting among the 300 films with classic status listed on the site.

  1. Marnie (1964) .. Alfred Hitchcock
  2. The Seventh Continent (1989) .. Michael Haneke
  3. 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance (1994) .. Michael Haneke
  4. The Sheltering Sky (1990) .. Bernardo Bertolucci
  5. Heaven's Gate (1980) .. Michael Cimino
  6. Eyes Wide Shut (1999) .. Stanley Kubrick
  7. Heimat (1984) .. Edgar Reitz
  8. Heimat 2 (1992) .. Edgar Reitz
  9. The Naked Spur (1953) .. Anthony Mann
  10. High and Low (1963) .. Kurosawa Akira
  11. Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) .. Billy Wilder
  12. Providence (1977) .. Alain Resnais
  13. La Peau Douce (1964) .. François Truffaut
  14. The Little Foxes (1941) .. William Wyler
  15. The Heiress (1949) .. William Wyler
  16. Carrie (1952) .. William Wyler
  17. Naked (1993) .. Mike Leigh
  18. Topsy Turvy (1999) .. Mike Leigh
  19. If.... (1968) .. Lindsay Anderson
  20. The Army in the Shadows (1969) .. Jean-Pierre Melville
  21. Harakari (1962) .. Kobayashi Masaki
  22. There Will Be Blood (2007) .. Paul Thomas Anderson
  23. Magnolia (1999) .. Paul Thomas Anderson
  24. The Big Heat (1953) .. Fritz Lang
  25. The Reckless Moment (1949) .. Max Ophüls
  26. Le Deuxième Souffle (1966) .. Jean-Pierre Melville
  27. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951) .. Albert Lewin
  28. The Thin Red Line (1998) .. Terrence Malick
  29. Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) .. Robert Wise
  30. Advise & Consent (1962) .. Otto Preminger
  31. Deconstructing Harry (1997) .. Woody Allen
  32. Heat (1995) .. Michael Mann
  33. The Insider (1999) .. Michael Mann
  34. Casino (1995) .. Martin Scorsese
  35. The Age of Innocence (1993) .. Martin Scorsese
  36. The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005) .. Jacques Audiard
  37. America, America (1963) .. Elia Kazan
  38. The Bridges of Madison County (1995) .. Clint Eastwood
  39. The Return (2003) .. Andrej Zvjagintsev
  40. The Big Lebowski (1998) .. The Coen Brothers
  41. Winter Light (1962) .. Ingmar Bergman
  42. La Cérémonie (1995) .. Claude Chabrol
  43. Nazarin (1959) .. Luis Buñuel
  44. Dishonored (1931) .. Josef von Sternberg
  45. Anatomy of a Murder (1959) .. Otto Preminger
  46. In the Bedroom (2001) .. Todd Field
  47. Blow Out (1981) .. Brian De Palma
  48. Children of Men (2006) .. Alfonso Cuarón
  49. Ryan's Daughter (1970) .. David Lean
  50. Oldboy (2003) .. Park Chan-wook

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