The Best Film You've Never Seen 35 Directors Champion the Forgotten or Critically Savaged Movies They Love

Revealing a festival of guilty pleasures, almost-masterpieces, and undeniable classics in need of revival, 35 directors champion their favorite overlooked or critically savaged gems in this guide. The list includes unsung noir films The Chaseand Murder by Contract, famous flops Can't Stop the Musicand Joe Versus the Volcano, art films L'angeand WR: Mysteries of the Organism, theatrical adaptations The Iceman Comethand The Homecoming, B-movies Killer Klowns from Outer Spaceand The Honeymoon Killers, and even Oscar-winners Breaking Awayand Some Came Running. The filmmakers, including Guillermo del Toro, John Waters, John Woo, Edgar Wright, and Danny Boyle, defend their choices, wanting these films to be loved, admired, and swooned over, arguing the films deserve a larger audience and their place in movie history be reconsidered. Some were well-loved but are now faded or forgotten, others ran afoul of critics or were just buried after a dismal opening run, and still others never even got proper distribution. A few of these titles qualify as bona fide obscurata, but now most can be found on DVD or via streaming from Netflix or Amazon. The filmmakers are the perfect hosts, setting the tone, managing expectations, and often brutally honest about a film's shortcomings or the reasons why it was lost in the first place.

Robert K. Elder is the author of The Film That Changed My Life, It Was Over When . . ., It Was Love When . . ., and Last Words of the Executed and the editor of John Woo: Interviews. He is a journalist and teacher and has contributed articles to the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, Onion AV Club, and many other publications. He lives in Chicago.