Okay maybe the title is a little over-dramatic but these are good movies several of which you may never even heard. Realize these are my picks not some movie critic, director, actor or movie “film expert”. I believe only two or three of them received any kind of critical recognition. However, I feel they are all entertaining and two convey key times in American history in a very nostalgic way. So again these are my picks and I “am solely responsible for their content” as they say. I hope you decide to check some or all of these out if you haven’t seen them. If you have, re-watch them. So here they are in alphabetical order.

American Graffiti is George Lucas’ “cultural touchstone” movie set in the early 1960’s. It all takes place in one night in a California town and involves drag racing, drive in cruising, “parking” to make out, car club gangs, going off to college, chasing your high school sweetheart, and chasing a mystery dream girl – just to name a few. I watched it as a teen in the 70’s and I envisioned the 60’s as that cool. It was what we all wished our summer nights were. It’s packed with a cast of great actors some of whom became big stars. The list includes Ron Howard, Cindy Williams (Of Laverne and Shirley), Paul Le Mat who was great in this movie but never got the attention I believe he deserved), Richard Dreyfuss, and several others notable actors. Harrison Ford even has a small role as a semi bad guy while Suzanne Somers has a cameo but pivotal role. If the early ‘60s weren’t that cool they should have been. Look for the name of the first film Lucas directed on the license plate of one of the main car characters in the movie.”Better Off Dead” is a hilarious but sometimes slightly dark comedy starring John Cusack. However, many people will tell you they’ve never even heard of it. If you start laughing when someone intones, “Two dollars. I want my two dollars” you’ve seen this movie. It has a great supporting role is filled by Curtis Armstrong of Risky Business ‘Moonlighting’ and the “Revenge of the Nerds” films. Some people may find this movie disturbing as it has comical elements about Cusack’s character Lane Meyer attempting to commit suicide. Look for when Lane is accidentally pushed off an overpass into a garbage truck. There’s a classic line there. Watch through the credits for the line at the end, which is used in a far more famous movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”.

“Born Free” is the story of a couple who raise an orphaned lion cub at a national park in Kenya Africa. Eventually they have to teach her to survive in the wild and release her. This is a great movie. If it doesn’t get you all misty-eyed at some point you have no feeling. However, it does have a happy ending. Hey there’s no cursing, senseless violence, has a great plot and is actually based on not “inspired by” a true story. I saw it as a kid at a drive in with my parents and brother. It’s a lifetime memory. This is an enjoyable movie for adults and children.

“Bullitt” Hey it’s got the ‘King of Cool” Steve McQueen in a turtleneck wearing a shoulder holster driving a Mustang. Although a little short on plot the famous car chase with Bullion’s Mustang and the Dodge Charger on the streets of San Francisco makes the movie. Some say the cars are also stars and I’d definitely agree. While the chase may seem tame compared to the unrealistic often computer generated car chase sequences of today’s movies this one is fairly realistic or at least believable. The cast includes another ’60s cool icon Robert Vaughn (the Man From U.N.C.L.E.) and Jacqueline Bisset. The car chase alone is worth the “price of admission”.

“Marathon Man” Dustin Hoffman does a great job in this movie of unknowingly bringing down a World War II Nazi war criminal, Dr. Christian Szell, played by Sir Laurence Olivier. However his brother played by Roy Scheider, is killed by Szell while Hoffman’s character Thomas “Babe” Levy is tortured by Szell in a diabolical but appropriate for the character way. Scheider, I think is a great actor and is the star in another movie on this list. Szell seems to be a very Joseph Mengele type character and Robert Devane as Janeway the shadowy government agent and Marthe Keller as Elsa, Babe’s girlfriend, provide some twists and betrayals. It will keep you involved.

Sharky’s Machine” This is one of the movies you may not have heard of but is a really good mystery/action movie. It stars Burt Reynolds as Tom Sharky, an Atlanta narcotics detective who gets demoted to the Vice division after being involved in a hostage incident where a bus driver is accidentally shot. Sharky and his unit stumble on a high class prostitution ring and find out one of the clients is a candidate for governor of Georgia. The owner of the ring “Victor” tries to have the prostitute killed but “Billy Score” a venomous henchman and hit-man kills Dominoe’s roommate. Sharky tries to hide the girl “Dominoe” played by Rachel Ward while trying to take down Victor. Meanwhile Billy Score plays havoc with Sharky and his machine. There is plenty of gunplay and action sequences including a great stunt fall from a high rise by the late stuntman Dar Robinson. It was filmed in Atlanta as a bonus for us Southerners. The first few minutes set the tone and then you will be hooked.

“Sorcerer” This film stars Roy Scheider and a cast of people who were and are pretty much unknown. However, this is still a really good movie. Scheider plays Jackie Scanlon a mobster on the run from the mob. He’s hiding out in a South American country with several others who are hiding out for various reasons. An oil well fire prompts an offer of money and citizenship that Scanlon and some of the others can’t refuse. They sign on to haul unstable dynamite through the jungle , over mountain passes, swollen rivers, collapsing bridges and other hazards and hurdles to deliver the dynamite to be used to extinguish the fire. It’s a suspenseful journey. When I saw it at the movie theater a friend of mine had to be literally pulled back down into his seat. He was that into it. Once you start watching it it’s like a train wreck. You can’t look away .The films very fitting soundtrack is done by Tangerine Dream, who did notable music on “Risky Business”, “Thief”, “Firestarter” and a song on “Visionquest”. Some critics have lauded it as an “overlooked masterpiece”. I usually shun most movies recommended by movie critics but I have to heartily agree on this one.

“The Right Stuff” The biopic of the first 15 years of America’s space program is adapted from Tom Wolfe’s novel of the same name. It focuses on the professional and personal lives of the Mercury astronauts and their families. It is long but worth hanging in for. Two sittings might be a good idea as it runs a little over three hours. The cast is heavy with good actors some of whom were not well known at the time of it’s making. It includes Scott Glenn as Al Shepard, Ed Harris as John Glenn, Dennis Quaid as Gordon Cooper, Fred Ward as Gus Grissom, Sam Shepard as Chuck Yeager and Barbara Hershey as Glennis Yeager. It even has General Chuck Yeager in a small role. It depicts the early days of test piloting and astronaut training when huge computers had less capability than our phones do now. There’s plenty of drama as sometimes the test pilots don’t make it home due to crashes and even the training for the space missions can have deadly consequences. Arthur Knight writing for The Hollywood Reporter said, “Rarely has a film made a historic accomplishment seem so vivid and personal.” and “It makes you wonder quite suddenly why there aren’t more movies like this.” Start watching it and you’ll get hooked. It’s a really good movie and I don’t say that often.

So there my eight picks of what I feel are overlooked or even mostly forgotten movies that are really worth watching. I could have listed more but am bound by space constraints. I hope you will check some or all of these out. They are primarily just good entertainment movies, and isn’t that what movies are for?

 

– Mark Haski

Tags:  American Graffiti Better Off Dead Born Free Bullitt Marathon Man Mark Haskins Movies Sharky's Machine Sorcerer The Right Stuff

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