<<The>> best film you've never seen 35 directors champion the forgotten or critically savaged movies they love

In this book, 35 directors champion their favorite overlooked or critically savaged gems. Among these guilty pleasures, almost-masterpieces, and undeniable classics in need of revival are unsung noirs (__Murder by Contract__), famous flops (__Can’t Stop the Music__, __Joe Versus the Volcano__), art films (__L’ange__), theatrical adaptations (__The Iceman Cometh__), B-movies (__Killer Klowns from Outer Space__), and even a few Oscar-winners (__Some Came Running__). In these conversations, the filmmakers defend their choices. These films, they argue, deserve a larger audience and for their place in movie history to be reconsidered. But the conversations’ tangents, diversions, and side trips provide as much insight into the directors’ own approach to moviemaking as into the film they’re discussing. The filmmakers are the perfect hosts, often setting the tone, managing expectations, and giving advice about how you should watch each movie. They’re often brutally honest about a film’s shortcomings or the reasons why it was lost in the first place. __The Best Film You’ve Never Seen__ is not only a guide to some badly overlooked movies but a bold attempt to rewrite film history. After dark, my sweet / [James Foley, director] Austin Chick -- L'ange / [Patrick Boksnowski, director] The brothers Quay -- Arcane sorcerer / [Pupi Avati, director] Guillermo del Toro -- The beaver trilogy / [Trent Harris, director] Phil Lord -- Blume in love / [Paul Mazursky, director] Neil LaBute -- Boom! / [Joseph Losey, director] John Waters -- Breaking away / [Peter Yates, director] Richard Curtis -- Can't stop the music / [Nancy Walker, director] Jonathan Levine -- The chase / [Arthur Ripley, director] Guy Maddin -- Eureka / [Nicolas Roeg, director] Danny Boyle -- F for fake / [Orson Welles, director] Henry Jaglom -- Fearless / [Peter Weir, director] Richard Kelly -- The homecoming / [Peter Hall, director] Atom Egoyan -- The honeymoon killers / [Leonard Kastle, director] Todd Solondz -- The iceman cometh / [John Frankenheier, director] Arthur Hiller -- Institute Benjamenta / [Stephen and Timothy Quay, directors] Michael Polish -- ivansxtc / [Bernard Rose, director] Joe Swanberg -- Joe versus the volcano / [John Patrick Stanley, director] Jay Duplass -- Le joli mai / [Chris Marker, director] Steve James -- Killer klowns from outer space / [Stephen Chiodo, director] Brian Herzlinger -- A man for all seasons / [Fred Zinnemann, director] Kevin Smith -- Murder by contract / [Irving Lerner, director] Antonio Campos -- Le samouraï / [Jean-Pierre Melville, director] John Woo -- Some came running / [Vincente Minnelli, director] Richard Linklater -- The super cops / [Gordon Parks, director] Edgar Wright -- Sweet charity / [Bob Fosse, director] Bill Condon -- The swimmer / [Frank Perry, director] Alex Proyas -- 10 Rillington Place / [Richard Fleischer, director] Sean Durkin -- The trial / [Orson Welles, director] Frank Oz -- Trouble in paradise / [Ernst Lubitsch, director] Peter Bogdanovich -- Twin peaks: fire walk with me / [David Lynch, director] John Dahl -- Ugetsu / [Kenji Mizoguchi, director] Kimberly Peirce -- Under the volcano / [John Huston, director] Rian Johnson -- Who'll stop the rain / [Karel Reisz, director] John McNaughton -- WR: mysteries of the organism / [Dušan Makavejev, director] Alex Gibney. 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 Chase and Murder by Contract, famous flops Can't Stop the Music and Joe Versus the Volcano, art films L'ange and WR: Mysteries of the Organism, theatrical adaptations The Iceman Cometh and The Homecoming, B-movies Killer Klowns from Outer Space and The Honeymoon Killers, and even Oscar-winners Breaking Away and 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 streaming from Netflix or Amazon. The filmmakers are the perfect hosts, setting the tone, managing expectations, and often being brutally honest about a film's shortcomings or the reasons why it was lost in the first place. Thirty-five directors reveal which overlooked or critically savaged films they believe deserve a larger audience while offering advice on how to watch each film