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Some of the most underappreciated movies ever made

In 1984, Michael Radford

Let’s begin with 1984, which is arguably the most well-known work of dystopian totalitarian fiction. Based on George Orwell’s notorious novel of the same name, which gave rise to the term “Big Brother,” this second adaptation for the screen was directed by Michael Radford and starred John Hurt and Richard Burton in his final on-screen roles. Its release year coincided with the title of the original adaptation, which was made in 1956.
The movie takes place in 1984 in London, the capital of Airstrip One (previously Britain), a country that is a component of Oceania, a bigger totalitarian state. The Ministry of Truth employs Winston Smith (Hurt), a bureaucrat, to continuously rewrite history in accordance with the Party and its all-pervasive leader Big Brother. Winston keeps a journal of his innermost thoughts despite the fact that everyone is constantly monitored and free thought is prohibited.
The fact that he meets Julia (Suzanna Hamilton), another employee of the Ministry of Truth, and that they begin dating—something that is also expressly prohibited by the Party—is even worse. The couple’s relationship ends abruptly after they are apprehended by the Thought Police. Winston is brought to the Ministry of Love for questioning and rehabilitation by his old friend O’Brien (Burton), who takes him to the dreaded Room 101, where individuals are subjected to torture by facing their deepest, darkest fears.

1984 is a gloomy and dark film that largely adheres to its original plot. The future is shown as particularly dull, faded, and gray, which effectively communicates both the Party’s pervasiveness and its lack of compassion. In fact, the whole gloomy tone of this adaption makes it quite difficult to see, making it a difficult movie to watch.

Burton does a commendable job as the face of the Party, putting on a truly terrifying performance, and John Hurt is great as Winston Smith, whose visage wonderfully captures his lengthy, mentally tormented existence. At the Valladolid Festival, both actors took home the same accolade, but Hurt took home the Best Actor honor at the Fantasporto Film Festival.

Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale (2000)

Battle Royale, a Japanese futuristic action comedy with a good dosage of black humor, is based on Koushun Takami’s novel of the same name and takes place in a society gone insane.
Japan is on the edge of anarchy as a result of the country’s economy deteriorating and more people losing their employment, particularly as the youth of the nation have reacted by becoming more disobedient and criminal. The Millennial Reform School Act, a nationally televised game in which randomly selected high school classes are dispatched to a secluded island to hunt each other down until only one is left standing, is the result of the government’s harsh measures.
The film centers on Shuya Nanahara, a kid in Kitano’s (Beat Takeshi) class, whose father has taken his own life, and Kitano’s class, a class chosen by a deranged instructor.
You might want to avoid this one if you don’t enjoy violent movies. Although Battle Royale was released ten years earlier, this is essentially the Japanese exploitation version of The Hunger Games. The children are outfitted with explosive collars that will decapitate them if they leave the designated playing area, and there is an on-screen counter that indicates the number of students who are still alive.
However, if this sounds like something you may enjoy, you’re likely to enjoy this one as well, especially because it’s a very amusing movie. Battle Royale is a dark, unsettling, and distinctive movie that is entirely twisted and a combination of satire and exploitation.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro’s 1995 The City of Lost Children

The City of Lost Children, a dark science fiction/fantasy film starring Ron Perlman, is the second feature film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro following their first hit, Delicatessen.

Living on an ocean rig, Krank (Daniel Emilfork) is a crazy scientist who is unable to dream. However, he has created a contraption that can take other people’s dreams, and he uses it to abduct kids from a nearby port town. However, he hasn’t anticipated that his older brother, the enormous One (Perlman), will come hunting for him when he takes a young kid named Denree (Joseph Lucien).

When One gets to the rig, he joins forces with Judith Vittet’s character, a young orphan named Miette, who is a member of a guild of thieves composed entirely of orphans. On their way to Krank’s hideout, they run upon a group of clones, a talking brain in a fish tank, and two Siamese twins, all of whom are portrayed by Dominique Pinon, a regular at Jeunet.

Jeunet and Caro’s second feature was a visually unique and creative dystopian fantasy universe that combined aspects of gloomy fairy tales, freak shows, and steampunk (before the phrase was widely used and popular). Although the film’s storytelling was criticized by numerous film critics at the time of its debut, its production design, costumes, photography, and limitless imagination are undoubtedly its strongest features. It’s unlikely that Ron Perlman’s performance was enhanced by the fact that he learnt all of his lines phonetically despite not knowing French.

But because of its genuinely distinctive appearance and feel, the movie did almost instantly acquire a cult following, which has only gotten bigger over time. The City of Lost Children garnered four nominations for Best Music, Cinematography, Costume Design, and Production Design at the César Awards in France, only to win the final one. It was also nominated for a Palme d’Or at Cannes.

Richard Fleischer’s 1973 Soylent Green

Adapted from Harry Harrison’s novel Make Room! Make Room!, Richard Fleischer’s 1973 science fiction picture Soylent Green is set in a dystopian future.

In 2022, the world is experiencing terrible ecological circumstances and overcrowding as a result of the greenhouse effect. Food is extremely scarce, and the Soylent Corporation, which recently unveiled their newest food source, “Soylent Green,” provides the majority of nutrients. Detective Frank Thorn (Charlton Heston) is tasked with looking into the murder of a wealthy businessman who was on the board of the Soylent Corporation in this setting.

He begins investigating the matter with his housemate and friend “Sol” Roth (Edward G. Robinson), but when too much of an underlying plot is discovered, the governor closes the case. However, Thorn continues his research, and his friend Roth uncovers the horrifying truth about Soylent Green.

Even if Soylent Green’s visuals haven’t held up well over time, the tale itself is powerful and a perfect illustration of the many socially conscious science fiction movies from the 1970s.

Screen great Edward G. Robinson played his final appearance in the movie; he passed away 12 days after filming was over, making his euthanasia scene all the more poignant. Even if Soylent Green has several flaws, science fiction fans should not miss it, especially if they enjoy their science fiction with strong social concerns.

The Trial (Welles, Orson, 1962)

Orson Welles directed the film adaptation of Franz Kafka’s novel of the same name, The Trial, which is perhaps the best cinematic representation of one of the author’s works.

One morning, some men who won’t reveal their identities wake up Joseph K (Anthony Perkins), who is then placed under open arrest for a crime that isn’t stated throughout the whole movie. From that point on, Josef K attempts to find justice and explanations in an apparently never-ending and utterly nonsensical bureaucracy.

He talks to his neighbor (Jeanne Moreau), a lawyer (Orson Welles), the lawyer’s mistress (Romy Schneider), and the wife of a courtroom guard (Elsa Martinelli) while traveling and seeking answers, but it is all in vain because it seems like the entire world is designed to push one to the brink of madness. In the end, Josef K receives a death sentence without ever understanding the specific charge against him.

One could easily argue that The Trial’s good aspects are also its weaknesses. It is labyrinthine, incredibly frustrating, psychologically devastating, and genuinely Kafkaesque. This kind of seems to be the objective of the film, which is a tough one to see and leaves one wondering what the hell they just saw. The audience shares Josef K’s irritation and misery.

The film’s scenery and cinematography are stunningly shot in black and white, and Anthony Perkins plays the ideal character of the man who, despite his best efforts, never succeeds. Despite receiving mostly negative reviews when it was first released, the movie was nominated for a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and won the Critics Award for Best Film from the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. The movie later became quite popular, but some people still think it’s a head-scratcher that prioritizes flair above substance. And even though it might be true, I believe that’s kind of the purpose.

Terry Gilliam’s 1995 12 Monkeys

Terry Gilliam is the director of 12 Monkeys, which stars Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, and Brad Pitt. It was inspired by one of the best short films ever produced, Chris Marker’s La Jetée, which did not make this list because it was recently included in my Post-Apocalyptic one. The movie is a part of Gilliam’s dystopian trilogy, which was recently finished with The Zero Theorem and preceded by Brazil (which is also on this list).

Time travel is the main idea of 12 Monkeys. In a future world, the majority of the population has been wiped off by a pandemic, and those who remain are compelled to dwell underground in caverns because the air outside is poisonous. In this world, James Cole (Willis), a convicted criminal, has the opportunity to be pardoned if he agrees to go on a perilous mission that involves going back in time to collect a sample of the virus and learn more about The Army of the 12 Monkeys, a terrorist group that was involved in the virus outbreak.

He is initially inadvertently transported back in time to 1990, where he finds himself in a mental health facility and meets Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt), the insane son of a virologist, and Dr. Railly (Stowe). He is returned to 2035 and then sent off once again, arriving in WWI before arriving in 1996, the year he was originally supposed to end up and where he must discover whether Goines and his organization are responsible for the viral outbreak.

12 Monkeys, a complexly written time-travel film that takes place in multiple times and deals with dreams, psychosis, and a world that has fallen apart, gave Terry Gilliam the biggest box office hit of his career. With Pitt maybe demonstrating for the first time that he was much more than just a handsome face (together with Seven, which was released the same year) and Willis giving one of his career’s highlights, Gilliam is able to extract some outstanding performances from his cast.

12 Monkeys is a wild and entertaining science fiction film that seems to be bursting at the seams but ultimately manages to put everything together, even though it falls short of its outstanding source material. Brad Pitt was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in one of the two Academy Awards for the movie. He was able to win the same prize in the same category at the Golden Globes that year, even if he did not win it.