There are no superheroes, no super bangs, and no dinosaurs and aliens.
I watch a lot of movies, and sometimes I'm also fascinated by the little classics that are hidden from everyone's sight. But I'm not saying I don't like blockbusters, it's just that smaller movies usually offer a more satisfying experience and thinking, but these little classics that make people think aren't that easy to find, which means you have to watch a lot of really bad movies before you can discover it.
But I did find them, so recommend them to you, it's really not easy to find them.
1. [Duel], DUEL (1971)
Director: Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Alien ET, Jurassic Park, etc.)
Producer: Universal Television
Distribution: Universal Pictures
Spielberg is known for a lot of movies — and honestly, almost all of them. His name has become synonymous with cinematic entertainment. But not many people have heard of DUEL. It was originally a film that aired on television, but was later released in theaters after adding some extra footage. The film tells the story of the mild-mannered David Mann (Dennis Weaver) driving through the desert on a business trip.
As Mann passed by a rusty old tanker truck, he inadvertently provoked the nameless driver. The result was a cat-and-mouse game of life and death in his car and the tanker truck on the largely empty highway in the Mojave Desert. It's a thrilling and scary journey...
The film provides some great early examples of Spielberg's creative directing style and has made him an important new talent in the world of cinematic entertainment.
The film "Duel" received many positive reviews and was considered by some to be one of the greatest television movies of all time.
Released on October 14, 2014 as a Blu-ray disc, as part of an eight-film set selected by director Steven Spielberg.
Released as a separate Blu-ray movie on May 5, 2015.
Dialogue, The Conversation (1974)
Director: Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather series Apocalypse Now, etc.)
Production: The Directors Company
Publisher: Paramount Pictures
The 1970s were a beautiful decade for Francis Ford Coppola. He wrote and directed The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, and Apocalypse Now, as well as Patton. This series of achievements earned him 10 Oscar nominations, 5 of which won, and made Coppola a filmmaker to be reckoned with. During this time, he made a classic movie that many people did not know: Dialogue, which led to two more Oscar nominations.
The film introduces us to a surveillance expert, Harry Kaul, who loves private life and doesn't trust anyone, so he shuts himself in his apartment with a triple burglar alarm door. While spying on a young couple, he found them in danger. Should he continue surveillance or save the couple? As he solves this problem, he slowly begins to lose control of his carefully constructed intimate world...
The Dialogue movie is a great study of paranoia and its impact on the people around them, and I often wonder if that's really the case with people who work in the intelligence community. If so, I feel sorry for them. It's a fascinating suspense thriller.
In 1995, The Dialogue was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry because of its "cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance."
Actor Gene Hackman named the film his favorite.
In 2012, the Film Editors Association ranked the film as #11 for the best edited film of all time.
The Duellists (1977)
Director: Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator, Blade Runner, Black Hawk Down, etc.)
Production: Enigma Productions
Before becoming a legendary director with films like Alien, Blade Runner, and Selma and Louise, Scott directed a small film called The Duelist. It was his first film.
The duelist tells the story of two French lieutenants (Harvey Keitel and Keith Caraddin) who fought a series of duels over 16 years after being insulted insignificantly. What starts out as a relatively simple affair slowly escalates into genuine hostility and hatred between the two illustrates the human impact of obsession and unbridled anger on human nature.
The sword fights in the film are all real, and both actors take the shot very seriously and insist on shooting with real sabers so that the audience can clearly see the details of the duel that is taking place.
Scott thus set a precedent for actual combat, as he could capture stunning visuals in movies.
On a small budget, it was shot on location in France, England and Scotland, without setting the film, and the final duel was fought in the woods near the ruins of a small castle. The environment has as much of an impact on the suspense and action of the scene.
It's a beautiful work — one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen — and it should be nominated for an Academy Award for Cinematography.
The New York Times included the film in its list of the best 1,000 films of all time.
January 29, 2013, Shout! Factory released the film on Blu-ray discs.
The Thief, Thief (1981)
Director: Michael Mann (Inside Out, Miami, Enemy of the People)
Production: United Artists
In my memory, "Thief" was the first R-rated movie I saw. Along with Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark, it became one of my favorite movies. The film tells the story of Frank (James Kane), a talented jewelry thief with a criminal record who is desperate to get out of his criminal career and live a normal life.
He reluctantly joined forces with local thugs and committed diamond theft... The film realistically portrays his forced bleak and realistic picture, in which you either have to say that one day you will be killed or let your soul die in the shell.
Kahn plays the melancholy loner, who, though a successful thief, can't get what he really wants from life.
"The Thief" shows Michael Mann's flamboyant style, which was also perfectly reflected in his later film The Line of Fire: well-choreographed gunfights, dramatic lighting, and beautiful night scenes. At the same time, the soundtrack of the film is also a classic - one of the best film scores ever made.
Thief is a "real" film, where the characters and problems and the people are presented in the face and handling of problems are very real.
The film received wide acclaim. It has a 94% rating on review site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 31 reviews with an average rating of 7.7/10.
These are the unknown classics of the well-known directors that I share with you. If you're a true movie lover, I don't think these films should be missed. These are all films worth thinking about.
These little classics have some common features:
They are simple, but also very complex.
These films were not made to make money, they were born because of the talent of a director.
They don't have a lot of eye-catching special effects, but they're full of plots, so you won't distract you from the storyline when you watch the movie.
They all have good directors, solid performances, and great stories.
Well, that's it for today's sharing. Pass by please like the message, and continue to pay attention, your attention is the motivation of the "Why Magazine" efforts! Thank you!