So here we are, at the final part our feature bringing you a selection of cinematic gems for you to work your way through. Next time you...
So here we are, at the final part our feature bringing you a selection of cinematic gems for you to work your way through. Next time you're looking for some inspiration for a movie night, perhaps you'll discover something on our list you'll grow to love.
If you have any recommendations for some overlooked classics yourself, be sure to comment below and maybe we'll do a readers poll in the near future. For now, here's the final ten.
41 - City of God (Cidade de Deus)
Synopsis: Two boys growing up in a violent neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro take different paths: one becomes a photographer, the other a drug dealer.
Why you need to see it: Violent, dark and brutally uncompromising, City of God is possibly the best foreign language gangster movie that you'll ever see. Li'l Ze, Rocket & Bene's lives end up intertwined growing up and they find themselves on a collision course as they get swept up in the violence of their city, and blood is spilled by both sides.
42 - Midnight Run
Synopsis: An accountant for the mafia finds himself being chased by the FBI, the mob and a pair of relentless bounty hunters after he skips bail.
Why you need to see it: Midnight Run is one of the funniest buddy comedies out there, completely owned by the chemistry of Robert DeNiro and Charles Grodin. Their effortless charm and charisma carry the film, as they try to dodge all manner of memorable characters on their journey from New York to L.A.
43 - Barton Fink
Synopsis: Set in 1941, an intellectual New York playwright Barton Fink accepts an offer to write movie scripts in L.A. He finds himself with writer's block when required to do a B-movie script. His neighbour tries to help, but he continues to struggle as a bizarre sequence of events distracts him.
Why you need to see it: Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, Barton Fink ranks among their best outings. Offering touches of David Lynch, it’s a weird and at times creepy black comedy with stunning visuals and a career defining performance from John Turturro with great support from John Goodman and Michael Lerner.
44 - Strange Days
Synopsis: Former policeman Lenny Nero has moved into a more lucrative trade: the illegal sale of virtual reality-like recordings that allow users to experience the emotions and past experiences of others. While the bootlegs typically contain tawdry incidents, Nero is shocked when he receives one showing a murder. He enlists a friend, bodyguard Mace, to help find the killer -- and the two soon stumble upon a vast conspiracy involving the police force Nero once worked for.
Why you need to see it: Directed by Kathryn Bigelow (with a screenplay by James Cameron and Jay Cocks), the film is a pulsating, visceral thriller with a complex hero in Ralph Fiennes and two bad ass leading ladies in rock star Juliette Lewis and the fearless Angela Bassett.
45 - Glengarry Glen Ross
Synopsis: A look at the inner workings of a real estate office, as we spend a few hours with the staff there on a high-pressure sales day.
Why you need to see it: Ok, so we're aware how unappealing and mundane the story sounds, yet it is anything but boring. Featuring one of the best ensemble casts to ever work together, Glengarry glen Ross is one of the best dramas of the last 25 years. Brilliant, sharp, intelligent, and gripping, and with Kevin Spacey, Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Jack Lemmon, and Alan Arkin all getting completely outshone by Alec Baldwin in his most iconic role. Oh, and did we mention it's also the inspiration for Old Gil from The Simpsons?! See if you can work out who it is!!
46 - The City Of Lost Children (La Cité des Enfants Perdus)
Synopsis: A scientist in a surrealist society kidnaps children to steal their dreams, hoping that they slow his aging process.
Why you need to see it: One of legendary French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's lesser-seen films, this followed his much lauded Delicatessen and is every bit as surrela and weirdly wonderful as his best work. A heady mix of fantasy, sci-fi and fairytale, and with a sublimely simple story, it really is unmissable.
47 - The Right Stuff
Synopsis: The story of the original Mercury 7 astronauts and their macho, seat-of-the-pants approach to the space program.
Why you need to see it: Hard to believe it, but this movie is already over 30 years old and has aged as gracefully as it's cast. A great, old-fashioned adventure story, it manages to balance a testosterone-filled cast and story and inject it with charm and humour, and never losing it's sense of fun. Though Apollo 13 and Interstellar are contenders, there has never been a more thrilling film about the men who dedicate their lives to the exploration of space.
48 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Synopsis: When their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a procedure to have each other erased from their memories. But it is only through the process of loss that they discover what they had to begin with.
Why you need to see it: Michael Gondry’s head fuck of a movie is not for everybody, but stick with it and you will be surprisingly rewarded with phenomenal visuals and amazing performances from Winslet and Carrey that will have you up on your feet and emotionally drained by the time the climax comes around.
49 - Kagemusha
Synopsis: A petty thief with an uncanny resemblance to a samurai warlord is hired as the lord's double. When the warlord later dies the thief is forced to take up arms in his place.
Why you need to see it: There simply had to be a place on this list for Akira Kurosawa, and this movie has the best elements of all of his filmography. While it's not as well known as Seven Samurai, Ran or Yojimbo, it is every bit as majestic and sweeping an epic war drama as any of the above. Gorgeously shot and featuring a huge cast of extras for it's complicated battle scenes, Kagemusha is grand-scale, epic film-making at its absolute finest.
50 - Gone Baby Gone
Synopsis: Two Boston area detectives investigate a little girl's kidnapping, which ultimately turns into a crisis both professionally and personally, until a local private detective joins in the investigation.
Why you need to see it: Ben Affleck's debut feature film as a director is a fantastic crime drama, and as the mystery of the disappearance of Amanda McCready begins to unravel, it also becomes part morality tale. With a stellar performance from his brother Casey Affleck as a street-smart private eye, and a complex screenplay that keeps the audience off-balance as the mystery deepens, it marked Affleck out as a serious talent behind the camera and remains just as emotionally charged today.
