100 Essential Films That Deserve More Attention

People embrace the enchanting glow of the big screen for all manner of reasons; to journey to faraway places they could only ever imagine, to experience the escapism of a captivating story, or maybe to indulge in an obsession with the world of cinema. For me, all three of these reasons apply - and many more - but first and foremost is the satisfaction of recommending obscure films to other like-minded individuals who adopt them as their new favourites.

With over 100 years worth of films to choose from, and many of these now available at the click of a button, it can be extremely difficult to narrow your choices down to pick a film to watch. Although cinema has been around for over four times longer than my life on this earth, I have spent what some may consider an unhealthy amount of these years delving into the history of films to discover some of the best hidden gems out there.

This series of articles aims to highlight the overlooked masterpieces that I have unearthed whilst exploring the forgotten recesses of cinema. Take a gamble on any one of these films and I guarantee that you will be eagerly awaiting all future instalments in this series. You may well have heard of a number of these films; my aim isn't merely to shine a spotlight on the most obscure films out there, but to share my enjoyment of those films which don't have the cult following I believe they deserve.

1. Happy End - Oldrich Lipsky (1967)

2. Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen - Gyorgy Pálfi (2012)

3. The Incident - Larry Peerce (1967)

4. Rapture - John Guillermin (1965)

5. Peppermint Candy -  Lee Chang-Dong (1999)

6. The Incident - Isaac Ezban (2014)

7. Milano Calibro 9 - Fernando Di Leo (1972)

8. A Visitor to a Museum - Konstantin Lopushanskiy (1989)

9. The Mudge Boy - Michael Burke (2003)

10. Angustia - Bigas Luna (1987)

11. Images - Robert Altman (1972)

12. I Stand Alone - Gaspar Noe (1998)

13. Secuestrados - Miguel Angel Vivas (2010)

14. Ladybird, Ladybird - Ken Loach (1994)

15. Angst - Gerald Kargl (1983)



16. Schramm - Jorg Buttgereit (1993)



17. The Unknown - Tod Browning (1927)

18. Taste of Fear - Seth Holt (1961)

19. The Cremator - Juraj Herz (1969)

20. Reflections of Evil - Damon Packard (2002)

21. Carriage To Vienna - Karel Kachyna (1966)

22. Tetsuo: The Iron Man - Shinya Tsukamoto (1989)



23. Symbol - Hitoshi Matsumoto (2009)



24. O Fovos - Kostas Manoussakis (1966)



25. Rapt - Dimitri Kirsanoff (1934)

26. LFO - Antonio Tublen (2014)



27. The Vanishing - George Sluizer (1988)



28. The Colour of Paradise - Majid Majidi (1999)

29. The Swimmer - Frank Perry (1968)

30. Bad Boy Bubby - Rolf De Heer (1993)

31. La Antena - Esteban Sapir (2007)

32. The War Zone - Tim Roth (1999)

33. On The Silver Globe - Andrzej Zulawski (1988)

34. Woyzeck - Werner Herzog (1978)

35. Letter Never Sent - Mikhail Kalatazov (1960)

36. Brute Force - Jules Dassin (1947)

37. Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets -Shuji Terayama (1971)

38. The Ascent - Larisa Shepitko (1977)

39. Ex Drummer - Koen Mortier (2007)

40. The Draughtsman's Contract - Peter Greenaway (1982)

41. In Cold Blood - Richard Brooks (1967)

42. The Field - Jim Sheridan (1991)

43. The Shop on Main Street - Jan Kadar/Elmar Klos (1965)

44. Port of Shadows - Marcel Carne (1938)

45. What Richard Did - Lenny Abrahamson (2012)

46. Sorcerer - William Friedkin (1977)

47. Cafe De Flore - Jean-Marc Vallee (2011)

48. Kajaki - Paul Katis (2014)

49. The Miracle Worker - Arthur Penn (1962)

50. Fireworks Wednesday - Asghar Farhadi (2006)

51. Barefoot Gen - Mori Masaki (1983)

52. The Whisperers - Bryan Forbes (1967)

53. Billy Budd - Peter Ustinov (1962)

54. I'm Not Scared - Gabriele Salvatores (2003)

55. The Boxer and Death - Peter Solan (1963)

56. The Eve of Ivan Kupala - Yuri Ilyenko (1968)

57. Lawn Dogs - John Duigan (1997)

58. Love is Strange - Ira Sachs (2014)

59. Je T'attendrai - Leonide Moguy (1939)

60. A Special Day - Ettore Scola (1977)

61. The Saragossa Manuscript - Wojiech Has (1965)

62. Interrogation - Ryszard Bugajski (1989) 

63. Ballad of a Soldier - Grigoriy Chukhrai (1956)

64. Il Sorpasso - Dino Risi (1962)

65. Dead Dicks - Chris Bavota/Lee Paula Springer (2019)

66. The Seventh Juror - Georges Lautner (1962)

67. Come and See - Elem Klimov (1985)

68. Special - Hal Haberman, Jeremy Passmore (2006)

69. Canoa: A Shameful Memory - Felipe Cazals

70. A Fugitive From The Past - Tomo Uchida