16 Brilliant Films Still Unavailable on Blu-Ray
Ranked by IMDB rating plus theyshootpictures.com ranking, with underrated films bumped up the list by yours truly. The original version, from November 2014, had 40 films; 14 of its top 18 were released, within a few years but only one of the remaining 22. For this version 3, the opposite has happened; 6 of the top 7 remain, but half of the remaining 18 have appeared. This version adds an addition; there may be others I could add.
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- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsMiriam HopkinsKay FrancisHerbert MarshallA gentleman thief and a lady pickpocket join forces to con a beautiful perfume company owner. Romantic entanglements and jealousies confuse the scheme.Lubitsch at his best. That should say it all; tragic that it no longer says enough. Criterion.
- DirectorLindsay AndersonStarsMalcolm McDowellRalph RichardsonRachel RobertsAn ambitious coffee salesman has a series of improbable and ironic adventures that seem designed to challenge his naive idealism.I've bumped up this infinitely watchable mock-epic (whose revised Plot Outline above I wrote). The DVD, which I bought for $15 in 2007, is now going for $59.
- StarsAl PacinoMeryl StreepEmma ThompsonSeveral disparate but connected individuals go through the AIDS crisis in the mid-1980s.Since the late Mike Nichols' greatest accomplishment is really an epic movie, not a mini-series, it's rank is a bit arbitrary. Does stream in HD at HBO Max, though.
- DirectorKim Ki-dukStarsKim Ki-dukOh Yeong-suJong-ho KimA boy is raised by a Buddhist monk in an isolated floating temple where the years pass like the seasons.Rapturously beautiful flick finally lost its surprising spot in the Top 250. Bumped up.
- DirectorCosta-GavrasStarsYves MontandIrene PapasJean-Louis TrintignantThe public murder of a prominent politician and doctor amid a violent demonstration is covered up by military and government officials. A tenacious magistrate is determined not to let them get away with it.After 40+ years, I finally saw this great political thriller again, but I still can't buy properly. Criterion.
- DirectorMichael PowellStarsKarlheinz BöhmAnna MasseyMoira ShearerA young man murders women, using a movie camera to film their dying expressions of terror.Cinema's first sympathetic portrayal of a serial killer so offended sensibilities that it notoriously ended Powell's career. Criterion, and out of print.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsEric PortmanSheila SimDennis PriceThree modern-day pilgrims investigate a bizarre crime in a small town while on their way to Canterbury.Not anywhere close to Powell and Pressburger's most famous, but possibly their second best after The Red Shoes. Criterion.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsGene WilderHarrison FordRamon BieriA Polish rabbi wanders through the Old West on his way to lead a synagogue in San Francisco. On the way, he is nearly burned at the stake by Native Americans and almost killed by outlaws.* Read my review here for why this is the most underrated comedy of all time.
- DirectorNeil LaButeStarsAaron EckhartMatt MalloyStacy EdwardsTwo business executives--one an avowed misogynist, the other recently emotionally wounded by his love interest--set out to exact revenge on the female gender by seeking out the most innocent, uncorrupted girl they can find and ruining her life.* Cringe comedy's brutal and perverse cousin is actually a stunning exploration of the nature of human evil.
- DirectorRyan FleckStarsRyan GoslingAnthony MackieShareeka EppsAn inner-city junior high school teacher with a drug habit forms an unlikely friendship with one of his students after she discovers his secret.Iconic indie where Gosling put himself on the map as an actor.
- DirectorKenneth LonerganStarsLaura LinneyMatthew BroderickAmy RyanA single mother's life is thrown into turmoil after her struggling, rarely seen younger brother returns to town.Made (my fellow Northfield Mt. Hermon grad) Laura Linney a star.
- DirectorMick JacksonStarsClaire DanesJulia OrmondDavid StrathairnA biopic of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who has become one of the top scientists in the humane livestock handling industry.Fabulous Emmy-winning biopic. Streams for free in HD at HBO Max.
- DirectorAlbert BrooksStarsDick HaynesAlbert BrooksMatthew TobinA film crew sets out to record a year in the life of an average family, but things quickly start going wrong.* A takedown of the incipient reality TV genre, with Brooks as "himself" making Michael Scott look like a paragon of self-awareness.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsCary GrantJoan FontaineVictor McLaglenIn 19th century India, three British soldiers and a native waterbearer must stop a secret mass revival of the murderous Thuggee cult before it can rampage across the land.My Dad's favorite film; classic Hollywood adventure that doubtlessly inspired the likes of Indiana Jones.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsTreat WilliamsJerry OrbachRichard ForonjyA New York City narcotics detective reluctantly agrees to cooperate with a special commission investigating police corruption, and soon realises he's in over his head, and nobody can be trusted.* Lumet's exquisite original longer cut appeared on network TV and has never been seen since. Are you listening, Criterion?
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsWendy HillerRoger LiveseyPamela BrownA young Englishwoman goes to the Hebrides to marry her older, wealthier fiancé. When the weather keeps them separated on different islands, she begins to have second thoughts.The 2022 addition (should have added it a while ago).