Some great film directors made two good movies before an amazing third, but many have had longer paths to glory, marked by lesser-known works. Appreciation doesn’t even necessarily guarantee high viewership of titles, and quite a few films by highly acclaimed directors are relatively unknown today. Even viewership isn’t a good criterion for the qualification of an underappreciated film, as Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Part III has been watched by all fans of the franchise, but is criminally underrated because it doesn’t live up to the standard set by the first two films.
Many directors reinvented their careers to make different movies after telling the same story many times, and this gamble has never paid off consistently. Some have done it successfully and found adoration for their different work from their fans. Yet other great directors have made only one horror movie or just one movie in a different genre from the rest of their filmography, or one in each genre before establishing a niche for themselves. Whatever the reason, many A-list directors have some films that don’t get the kind of love they deserve.
10
The Killing (1956)
Directed By Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick’s most famous project is arguably The Shining, which has a hilarious horror movie moment that was supposed to be scary. However, most of his works, which are for the majority in different genres, are well-known and highly acclaimed. He’s praised for his diversity and the masterful grasp he had on filmmaking as a craft, as he seamlessly moved from one style to the other throughout his career.
Probably because it’s the least Kubrick-ian film in its sensibilities, his heist movie The Killing remains drastically underappreciated.
However, probably because it’s the least Kubrick-ian film in its sensibilities, his heist movie The Killing remains drastically underappreciated. Kubrick’s works can be identified by their deliberate pacing, the iconic framing choices he makes, and perfect editing. While the framing techniques Kubrick would later become famous for are missing from The Killing, it’s still a solid heist film with his signature control over cinematic elements that create a carefully planned and told story, as deftly designed as the heist in the film, told through expertly managed non-linear narration.
Directed By Robert Zemeckis
Robert Zemeckis is most famous for taking viewers back to the future three times in one of the most entertaining and perfect movie trilogies of all time. Beyond that, Zemeckis’ filmography is filled with cinema about the extremes of technology, made to explore humanity’s relationship with such advancements. Even his latest film, Here, one of 2024’s flops that could become cult hits in the future, explores the applications of a unique technology in the form of a house.
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So, it’s not surprising that Zemeckis tried his hand at an extraterrestrial movie as well. Starring Jodie Foster, the movie Contact explores how people could react to communication from an extraterrestrial entity. It also delves into the thematic conflicts between science and religion that a phenomenon like this would undoubtedly bring up. It’s contemplative, witty, engaging, and entertaining, but unfortunately, it gets overshadowed by Zemeckis’ bigger achievements.
8
Bottle Rocket (1996)
Directed By Wes Anderson
It isn’t surprising that the debut films of directors who shot to fame later in their careers are lesser-known or underappreciated. However, such a trend also suggests that viewers aren’t always as inclined to dig up directors’ roots just because they enjoy their work today. That might seem unfair to their craft, as one can gain a much deeper understanding of a filmmaker’s best movies if they know the journey they’ve taken on their way to becoming acclaimed.
Bottle Rocket was Wes Anderson’s directorial debut for a feature film and also his first collaboration with Owen Wilson.
This is why Bottle Rocket is perhaps Wes Anderson’s most underappreciated movie that feels like it deserves more love. Yes, it doesn’t contain the signature symmetrical framing that he’s become most famous for today, but it’s a perfectly good movie as it is. While Bottle Rocket appears less stylized by the standards of Anderson’s present direction, each frame is still meticulously designed. You can notice the classic Wes Anderson traits in the character designs and the feel-good whimsical approach to the storytelling that he would master later in life.
7
The Rainmaker (1997)
Directed By Francis Ford Coppola
Just before he co-wrote and starred in Good Will Hunting, which won him and Ben Affleck the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Matt Damon starred in a lesser-known Francis Ford Coppola movie. It was the first time he worked with the highly renowned director, whose 2007 film Youth Without Youth would mark the second and last time the actor and filmmaker would work together for now.
Based on John Grisham’s 1995 novel of the same name, The Rainmaker follows a Memphis State University Law School graduate played by Damon. He takes on a high-profile case that will test his caliber and requires him to work with a scrappy paralegal played by Danny DeVito. The gripping legal drama follows the adventures of the two as they open up a practice and take on corporate America to help out the family of a terminally ill boy who desperately needs insurance, and is one of Francis Ford Coppola’s best movies.
6
Duel (1971)
Directed By Steven Spielberg
It is hard to say what Steven Spielberg’s most famous movie is. Between Jaws, which was followed by one of the worst movie sequels of all time, any of the Indiana Jones movies, E.T., Saving Private Ryan, Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park, Lincoln, The Terminal, and Catch Me If You Can, he has proven time and time again his caliber as a filmmaker. With an illustrious career spanning decades and genres, this man has no niche — he’s great at whatever he does. His repertoire is too diverse now to define concretely what a Steven Spielberg film is.
Yet Duel clearly feels alien to the vibe one would associate with Spielberg. That’s rather understandable, given that it’s the first feature film he directed by himself. An angsty and gory road rage thriller doesn’t sound like Spielberg; yet, it is, and it’s also just as good as any title he’s famous for today. While it’s not similar to Spielberg’s later works in terms of themes explored and tone of narrative, his ability to tell a tight, engaging story in the most energetic way possible shines through brightly in Duel as well.
5
Panic Room (2002)
Directed By David Fincher
While Kristen Stewart will remain best known for her breakout role in the Twilight movies, she has been acting since she was eight years old. One of her earliest on-screen roles was beside Jodie Foster at 11 in David Fincher’s most underappreciated movie. Fincher, who’s a great director with a terrible first movie, had already earned himself a fan following with Se7en (1995), and then Fight Club (1999).
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So, why Panic Room gets as overlooked as it does is anyone’s guess. Written by David Koepp, it tells the gripping story of a recently divorced woman and her daughter during a home invasion. The claustrophobic framing, the tight screenplay, the brilliant performances, and the gradual increase in tension and stakes in the movie — there’s no dearth of trademark Fincher traits in Panic Room, which deserves much more recognition than it gets.
4
Hugo (2011)
Directed By Martin Scorsese
While he’s a diverse filmmaker who’s delved into many genres, Martin Scorsese is most famous for his epic biopics and crime films. Exceptions like Shutter Island and Silence do prove that most of his works, irrespective of genre, are appreciated and highly acclaimed. One of the most vocal living filmmakers with his kind of longevity in the industry, Scorsese expresses his love for cinema at every opportunity he gets. Whether or not you’re a film buff, you’ll have seen the famous “Absolute Cinema” quote that’s now become a meme.
Scorsese’s love for the medium is made apparent through the childlike wonder with which the story unfolds.
So, it’s not surprising that among his other biopics of gangsters, boxers, and fraudulent Wall Street brokers, he’ll have made a movie about the man who created fictional cinema. Yes, Hugo, one of Martin Scorsese’s most underrated movies, based on the 2007 book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, features Georges Méliès as a character. While Hugo is a fictional character and the story is fictional, Scorsese’s love for the medium is made apparent through the childlike wonder with which the story unfolds. It feels like a lover letter from him to the director of the first fictional film.
3
Big Eyes (2014)
Directed By Tim Burton
Big Eyes
- Release Date
-
December 25, 2014
- Runtime
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106 Minutes
- Writers
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Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski
Tim Burton’s love for artistry is also obvious from his filmography, which comprises imaginative and visually striking films. Whimsy is particularly a trademark of his work, from his campy horror comedies to his stop-motion work, like Corpse Bride, which is a great horror movie perfect for a family watch. The tone associated with Burton’s movies is a quirky subversion of dark storytelling techniques, be it horror movies or action movies.
So, even though his love for this aesthetic makes it seem less unlikely, a biopic of Margaret Keane barely sounds like something Tim Burton would have made. That doesn’t, however, justify the lack of appreciation that the movie receives. Not only does it do a beautiful job of exploring the extent of exploitation Keane faced at the hands of her husband, but it’s notably evocative in the moments where she’s depicted painting. A vibrant biopic featuring one of Amy Adams’ most underrated performances, it’s a fantastic film that shouldn’t be overlooked.
2
Insomnia (2002)
Directed By Christopher Nolan
When it comes to complete filmographies that almost every movie buff has seen, director Christopher Nolan perhaps perches at the top of the list. Entertaining large-scale epic adventures with uniquely satisfying twists in the narrative or the approach to storytelling — there’s a lot to love about Nolan’s work, although his writing of female characters leaves a lot to be desired. It might be an unpopular opinion about such a popular movie, but his Interstellar is highly overrated.
Christopher Nolan himself has said that he believes his most underrated film is Insomnia (via The Nolan Variations).
While his blockbusters made in IMAX and featuring unbelievably captivating cinematography get overhyped, his first studio film remains sadly underappreciated. Starring Robin Williams in a rare serious role opposite Al Pacino, Insomnia tells the story of a detective who is haunted by his guilty conscience. While the story is relatively straightforward for a Christopher Nolan movie, it’s a compelling exploration of the human psyche, and one can see hints of the themes that would define his characters in later movies like Memento and Inception.
1
Hard Eight (1996)
Directed By Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson is maybe the most underrated American director. His name is often unfairly omitted from discussions regarding the best directors of all time despite never making a bad film in a career spanning nearly three decades. So, it’s difficult to say which specific film of his is most underappreciated. The popularity of his most famous title, There Will Be Blood, does show that he isn’t entirely overlooked.
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However, with Inherent Vice, Punch-Drunk Love, Magnolia, The Master, and Boogie Nights, it’s obvious that they all deserve more love. That being said, no Paul Thomas Anderson movie is more underappreciated than his directorial debut feature Hard Eight. It is Anderson’s first film starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, who’d go on to become a regular cast member for the director’s projects. Hard Eight takes an archetypal noir character, played by Philip Baker Hall, puts him in a casino in the 1990s, and patiently watches him unravel. It shouldn’t be this overlooked.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
