You may have seen some of these before, but I haven’t and I really repent because all of them are great in their own way, discover which ones are here. Hello, I hope you all guys are doing fine, this is my first movie post of this year 2024, and I know you will like it.
“Cinema never saved anyone's life, it is not a medicine that will save anyone's life. It is only an aspirin.” – Luc Besson
For many years I’ve been trying to watch some of these great movies while others I didn’t even know they existed.
You will find on this list two science-fiction cult classics; one of the best martial arts movies ever; a lovely story made in the 1950s, based on a short story by one of the greatest authors of the 20th century; two movies by the same French director; a cheesy action flick from the beginnings of the 1980s, and even a documentary. The movie that takes the number one place will surprise you. Legends like Omar Sharif, Yves Montand, Jean-Paul Belmondo, and Elizabeth Taylor are present here among favorites like Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich and the great Chuck Norris.
A lot has been said lately about how difficult it is to watch a movie now and the lack of options, but you can find most of these ones for free on YouTube.
So, ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, let’s begin:
10 - The Octagon (1980)
An American teenager named Scott James is raised by an adoptive Japanese father along with his half-brother; both young men are trained in the ninja style of martial arts. But when the Scott surpasses his adoptive brother, this one will become his enemy. Years later, after he accompanies a lady to her house after a party and both are attacked by ninjas, Scott becomes suspicious. He start making inquiries while other assassinations and acts of terror began to take place. Later he discovers a secret organization that kidnaps soldiers with the object of training them as ninjas to commit terrorist acts. Scott must defeat this organization, but first he must go undercover and find out where is the secret camp of the terrorists is located.
This is the movie credited to have started the ninja-craze of the 1980s and, since I was a kid in those days, I can be witness of that. It is very certain that without this movie we wouldn’t have had the American Ninja movies, all the other copycats, and cartoon characters like the evil Storm Shadow of G.I. Joe, in his white uniform. I also remember the ninja toys and the costumes everywhere; I, myself, used to have a couple of ninja action figures that came together with their set of weapons, man those were the days… Ever since I was a kid, I have always been a fan of Mr. Chuck Norris, I have watched many of his movies, but was never able to find this one until last year. He played an ok part in this one where we also have the chance to watch the great Lee Van Cleef (1925-1989) in one of his last and best cinematic roles. Directed by some guy named Eric Karson, the production, settings and acting in this movie could have all been better. The fights are well done, and the final showdown is epic. It may be considered a mediocre film, but it was one of the first in Western cinema to tackle the ninjas as a theme, and it is probably the best ninja movie ever made in the United States.
So watch it whenever you want a piece of cheesy 1980s action and don’t’ take it so seriously. Check trailer here:
The Octagon 1980 Trailer | Chuck Norris
9 - Empire Records (1995)
When he finds out the record store where he and his friends work will be taken over by a corporation, Lucas, an offbeat employee, steals the money his was supposed to deposit and goes to gamble in Atlantic City with the hopes of making enough money to prevent the store from being sold. But Lucas plan fails and things start to get even more complicated. And during the next 24 hours, the young employees and their manager, will have a wild day in which they will work, gossip, kiss, grow, make plans for the future, and even prevent a robbery. Later they will come up with a plan to save the store.
A nice movie I really repent not having watched back in the day. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a commercial success and the studio that produced it actually made it fail on purpose; it only had a limited release and very little promotion. But it gained a decent cult following over the years and since then has become a beloved movie where music is one of the most important characters. You will also see in the early roles of actors like Renée Zellweger, Liv Tyler and Anthony LaPaglia, and others who played very well their parts and would later have successful careers in the movie industry. The production design of the overloaded store and the wardrobe of the actors were a job well done. But, as I mentioned before, music could be considered an extra character and the heart of this movie. A very cool soundtrack where you will listen songs from AC/DC, The Cranberries, Evan Dando, Suicidal Tendencies, among dozens of other cool ones, but the best one, and the lead single from the soundtrack, comes courtesy of Arizona’s favorite band, Gin Blossoms.
A very nice coming of age story, part drama part comedy, that captures the spirit of the 1990s without its most cynical and annoying part. Cool to watch with a group of friends. Check trailer here:
Empire Records (1995) Official Trailer
8 - The Fifth Element (1997)
Malign alien forces threaten to destroy planet Earth. The four elements of life, found in Egypt in 1914, must come together to form the only weapon capable of defeating a great evil that appears every five thousand years… but a missing fifth element is also needed. Fast forward to 2263, where evil industrialist Zorg ambushes a ship carrying the weapon and destroys it. But, from the wreckage of the space ship, scientists on Earth are able to recreate a humanoid woman named Leeloo, who can only speak in a strange language. Frightened by the unfamiliar setting, Leeloo escapes and lands in the air taxi cab of Korben Dallas, who is retired major in Earth's Special Forces. Meanwhile, Zorg has come aware that the elements of the weapon were not in the space ship he destroyed and also starts chasing the humanoid woman. Then Korben must help Leeloo to get the elements of the weapon and try to stop the impending destruction of Earth.
Directed by Luc Besson, this French Sci-fi flamboyant story was the most expensive movie produced outside of Hollywood at that time. Besson had the idea for this story sine he was a teenager and even wrote several drafts back then; the inclusion of a taxi cab in a futuristic environment is a homage to his own father who used to work as a taxi driver. The narrative is a little wacky and can get confusing at times; it also comes as cartoonish and several parts are just plain dumb comedy. But it is also a very imaginative, creative, and full of rich details. The special effects are really well done, and the whole production team did an excellent job using models for creating a future New York City; you won’t believe it, but there is hardly any CGI shots in this movie. French master designer Jean-Paul Gaultier, personally checked the costumes of 500 extras for just one scene. Bruce Willis played an ok, if somewhat repetitive, part as the cool taxi driver/military major. Gary Oldman, again as the bad guy in another Luc Besson movie, did a fine job as the antagonist. But I think Milla Jovovich was the best here, she spoke in a fictional language and proved she was an actress to take notice, way before committing herself to the horrible Resident Evil movies. The inclusion of Chris Tucker and his buffoonish and hysterical acting was totally unnecessary. I remember back in the day people talking about this movie, some said it was amazing while others considered a piece of trash. It also divided critics and won awards for best and worse movie for that year.
As a science-fiction fan, I really repent not having watched this one back in the day. Don’t make the mistake I did and watch it as soon as you can. Check trailer:
THE FIFTH ELEMENT - Trailer
7 - The Burglars (1971)
In the beautiful Athens of the early 1970s, a slick criminal, together with his crew, sets a plan to steal the emerald collection of a rich old man. After the robbery, the escape plan is delayed by troubles with a ship, so they decide to conceal the loot and hide for a few days. But things don’t go smoothly as they thought, and will get even more complicated when a corrupt detective discovers the identity of the criminals and decides to go after them with the hopes of getting the loot for himself.
The cool Jean-Paul Belmondo (1933-2021) as the slick criminal Azad and the great Omar Sharif (1932-2015) as the corrupt Greek detective Zacharia, along with sexy blonde Dyan Cannon star in this nice, if not great, action heist thriller, typical of the 1970s. It may not be director’s Henri Verneuil (1920-2002) best effort, and could be a rather conventional movie, but it still has its charms. You will see here cool car chases (shot in real traffic), shootouts, corruption, torture, betrayal and greed, all of which will make you wonder why these characters want to live a life like this. I love how the day-to-day life of the 1970s is captured here. The settings and production could have been better. The music by Ennio Morricone fits appropriately, and gives the story a nice Mediterranean vibe. And Belmondo’s wardrobe looks great and timeless. It may be a little on the bubblegum side of cinema, but this is the kind of gritty film, full of machismo, men of this day and age desperately need to imbibe.
So, watch Bebel performing amazing stunts and have fun. Check trailer:
The Burglars trailer
6 - Five Deadly Venoms (1978)
When an old dying martial arts master suspects his former students have been using his teachings for doing evil, he sends his last student, a young man named Yang, to find out what is happening. Each of the other ex-students have been trained in one specific animal-based technique: The Snake, The Scorpion, The Centipede, The Lizard, and The Toad, and cover their faces with masks that represent their style. While doing is his inquires, Yang gets involved in a web of mystery, corruption, and assassinations. The young man also discovers not all of the five deadly students are bad and some don’t even know each other. But Yang knows the weakness of each style, and trains himself to face them at the end.
This is one of the most famous movies ever produced by the mythical Shaw Brothers Studio, and can boast of being one of the superclassics of the always cool martial arts genre. Together with The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978) and Enter the Dragon (1973) is regarded as one of the best martial arts movies ever; it is also considered director Chang Cheh best movie. Set in ancient China, you will find yourself immersed in a story of deceit, lies, corruption, torture, and assassinations. Although is an action/martial arts story, there is barely any fights for the first 30 minutes or so. I really liked the production, the settings, the fight choreographies, the masks and costumes of each of the five deadly fighters; a particular torture scene is really gruesome, and the big fight at the end is just insane. By the way, this movie is mentioned in Junot Diaz’s short story Aguantando, in which the protagonist remembers his difficult life in The Dominican Republic of the 1970s.
Every man should be a martial arts movies fan, and here you have one of the best ever. Check trailer:
Five Deadly Venoms (1978) Trailer
5 - Planet of the Vampires (1965)
The crew of the Argos space ship must investigate what happened to the crew of another ship. When they suddenly land in the lost planet of Aura strange things start happening and the astronauts start to behave violently towards each other. They go to explore the rest of the other ship and find out all the others are dead. They stumble a giant skeleton inside another ship and realize the planet is inhabited by malign invisible forces that want to possess the bodies of the members of the ship and set a course of destruction… to planet Earth.
Both Ridley Scott’s films Alien (1979) and Prometheus (2012) borrow elements from this fantastic lost gem of science-fiction: a ship that lands in a mysterious planet, strange things happening; the space jockey in Alien resembles the giant skeleton the crew of the Argos ship find in the Aura planet. 14 years before Alien, Italian master of horror Mario Bava managed to fuse science-fiction with horror and made one of if not the best science-fiction movie of Italian 20th century cinema. Despite a low-budget and unknown actors, Bava created a work of magnetic and eerie atmosphere, and nice settings. Originally named Terrore nello spazio, the script was based in an Italian short story named Una note di 21 hore, by author Renato Pestriniero. Sure, it has its flaws particularly with the script and the acting; also the budget constraints didn’t help to make a better production. But it is still a good and enticing vampire movie with a nice pace and action every sci-fi lover most watch. I love the use of the green color on this film, and the settings; the costumes were also great.
This is probably the most underrated science-fiction movie I have ever seen. Don’t miss it. Check trailer here:
Planet of the Vampires Trailer (1965)
4 - I... comme Icare (1979)
One morning, in a fictional Western state, a president seeking his reelection is suddenly assassinated. All the evidence points at the work of a man that was found dead, an investigation is later made and the case is about to be closed. But state attorney Henri Volney realizes something else has happened and decides to start his own investigation. Volney will find himself involved in a web of lies, mystery, murder, and corruption that only gets worse the higher levels he goes.
I discovered this one by chance last year on TV5 Monde, I really liked it and have tried to watch it a couple of times more. Translated in English as I as in Icarus, this is probably director Henri Verneuil’s last good film; it won awards and received other nominations. Obviously inspired by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, this is a good political thriller that has its share of suspense and intrigue, but the whole plot is sometimes confusing; there is also a some kind of pessimism, typically French, that surrounds the whole story and makes itself present at the very end. I really loved the idea of a fictional country. Part of the interiors and exteriors were shot in France, but others, and the best parts, were shot in the city of Brasilia, and its modernist and unique architecture proved to be excellent for this story. The production, settings and wardrobe were also well made; it is worth noticing the wardrobe of Monsieur Montand, elegant and timeless, perfect of a state attorney. The great Ennio Morricone was responsible for the music score. And Yves Montand was excellent in his role as attorney Volney, his presence and gravitas give a sense seriousness and quality to this film.
I really hope you can watch someday this political thriller made by a good director and an excellent character actor. Check trailer here:
I... comme Icare (1979) Trailer
3 - Budo: The Art of Killing (1979)
The only documentary on this list and it’s definitely worthwhile. It focus on the history, evolution, philosophy, and techniques of several Japanese martial arts, including Karate, Aikido, Kendo, Sumo, and Judo among others. There are also demonstrations of traditional weapons, like the katana sword and the nunchaku. The name Budo refers to the samurai warrior. From the beginning, where a depiction of the seppuku ritual is performed, you are transported to a captivating world in which you will see from children, adults, old people, and even modern day samurais perform amazing feats like breaking bricks with elbows and foreheads, shooting arrows while riding on a horse, and tough trainings in the snow. Beautiful natural landscapes combine with interiors of training facilities. Something that surprised me was to learn there is a martial arts practiced exclusively by women. The ending is amazing, watch a samurai chop what could be the head of a person in just the split of a second.
Filmed entirely in the fascinating country of Japan and directed by Masayoshi Nemoto, this documentary is a cult classic and a must-see for every martial arts practitioner or aficionado. It has a great cinematography with an artistic sense. This is the best martial arts documentary I have ever seen in my life, and whether you're into martial arts or not, do yourself a favor and don’t miss this one. I discovered it last year while (always the curious me) I was reading an article in blackbeltmag.com about great 1970s martial arts movies that aren't Enter the Dragon. "As long as the universal truths of heaven, the earth and man remain, the spirit of Budo shall endure."
They say this extraordinary piece of cinema is out of print and you can only find it online, so if you can get your hands on it don’t let it go. Check trailer:
Budo - The Art of Killing
2 - The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)
Charles Wills, now a famous American writer, returns to Paris years later to look for his daughter. There, Charles starts remembering the life he used to have years ago when he was a reporter working after World War II and met the beautiful Helen whom he later married. But tragedy has occurred and, despite his success, Charles feels lost and needs to make peace with his past and overcome obstacles in order to regain the life he used to have.
It’s great when you stumble upon a film that it’s truthful to its source material and even surpasses it. Based on the marvelous short story Babylon Revisited by the great F. Scott Fitzgerald, director Richard Brooks (1912-1992) crafted a beautiful and moving story that should get more praise and love. I’m not a fan of Liz Taylor, but even I have to admit the woman made great movies back in the day and worked with top-notch directors, think of movies like Giant (1956) or Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). She’s is the heart of this story and really shines here in her role as the loving, if somewhat unstable, wife of an aspiring writer who after many rejections decides to give up. I like the slow pace of this movie and can understand it can get a little melodramatic at times, but the beautiful shots of Paris, the whole production, the lovely music, the settings, and the wardrobe of the actors will fix all of that. This movie was also the debut film of future James Bond, Sir Roger Moore, and was a hit at the box office, earning MGM a profit of $980,000 according to studio records. It is also one of the best movies ever made in the iconic capital of France.
A movie I didn’t even know it existed until last year, and really surprised me as to how good it is; it could be my favorite movie of this entire list. As a F. Scott Fitzgerald fan, I really hope you watch this one and read some of his books; his short stories are some of the best ever written. Check trailer here:
THE LAST TIME I SAW PARIS (1954) Theatrical Trailer
1 - Akira (1988)
Trying to explain the plot of this ravaging and mind-blowing experience could be beyond reach... but I'll do my best. Thirty years after the Third World War, the city of Neo-Tokyo is submerged in chaos and anarchy. A corrupt and dictatorial government conducts experiments with a kid named Akira and others just to exploit their telekinetic faculties with the intention to save Japan. But things will go wrong when the teenager Tetsuo acquires unbelievable powers from the failed experiment and sets to destroy everything in front of him. When the military forces proved to be unable to stop Tetsuo, Kaneda, the young leader of a motorcycle gang, will try the impossible in order to stop the monster that was once his friend.
This is the movie on this list I’ve been trying to watch the most, until I found it by chance last year on Reddit. A magnum opus of science-fiction and the cyberpunk genre, and possibly the greatest anime film ever made. Director Katsuhiro Otomo, painted a hallucinating nightmare, full of rich details, for this depiction of a post-apocalyptic Tokyo where gangs seem to have taken control while a failed corrupt government is more interested in strange experiment with children. A number of 2,212 shots and 160,000 single pictures, make this film, while a total of 327 different colors were used, 50 of which were exclusively created for the film. Although is an impressive work of art and really blew my mind, what I didn’t like was the overcomplicated plot and the accelerated narrative that can get confusing and incoherent; also this movie is a bit too long from what you would expect from an animated movie. But the authenticity, the way it is shot, where you see buildings, streets, bridges, stadiums, parks, cars and other vehicles, all in rich and bright colors, is so impressive you cannot stop wondering how the hell did they make this in 1988; in those days CGI barely existed and I think it wasn’t used on this film. There is something rather philosophical and poetic in all of the destruction you will see here. An incredible masterpiece that to this day hasn’t been surpassed and probably never will.
Don’t look for more and watch the trailer:
Akira (1988) Trailer
So there you have it, ten different movies from different genres, all great in their own sense. Cinema is the most popular and the most accessible of all of the arts (well, not quite, but you know), and as a movie lover myself I can guarantee all these movies are definitely worth your time and you will love them too. I hope you have liked this post, let me know what you think in the comment section. Have you ever seen any of these movies? Which one caught your attention the most? Which great old movies did you discover last year?
If there is any other topic about movies or cinema in general you would like me to cover, don’t hesitate and leave it in the comment section.
This is my first movie post of this year, now check my first from last year here:
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Orlando Caine.