The 100 Movies That Get No Respect: An Analysis and Evaluation of the Most Underrated Films of All Time

By Robbie King

Discover the Hidden Gems of Cinema's Forgotten Masterpieces!

Unveil the unspoken magic of "The 100 Movies That Get No Respect" – a captivating film criticism book that takes you on a thrilling journey through the underappreciated wonders of cinema. Delve into the fascinating world of 100 exceptional films, hailed by critics and experts as the true cream of the crop, yet unjustly sidelined from the pantheon of the greatest.

Immerse yourself in an in-depth analysis of these extraordinary movies, spanning the modern era from 1975 to the present day. From box office sensations like Batman, Indiana Jones, and Terminator 2 to Oscar winners like Titanic, Patton, and Wall Street, and even cult classics like The Breakfast Club, Red Dawn, and Aliens – they all share a common fate: being overlooked for the true brilliance they hold.

"The 100 Movies That Get No Respect" is more than just a collection of cinematic treasures; it's an eye-opening exploration of artistry, creativity, and unparalleled storytelling. Join us as we celebrate the unsung heroes of the silver screen, unveiling their hidden qualities and demonstrating the extraordinary level of achievement that merits undeniable respect.

Indulge in popcorn entertainment with American Pie, Caddyshack, and Superbad, and be amazed by the depth and brilliance these films possess, waiting to be recognized by the masses. Prepare to be captivated by compelling narratives, breathtaking visuals, and powerful performances, all bound together in this extraordinary compendium.

Whether you're a film enthusiast or simply curious about the best-kept secrets of cinema, "The 100 Movies That Get No Respect" promises to be an enlightening and unforgettable journey through the uncharted territory of cinematic brilliance. Get ready to rediscover these hidden gems and witness their rightful ascent to the top echelons of cinematic greatness!

Don't miss your chance to encounter the best of the best and experience a new appreciation for cinema's overlooked masterpieces. Grab your copy now and become part of the exclusive league that celebrates the true essence of cinematic genius.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Oct 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9798350917000

Book preview

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Copyright © 2023 by Dr. Robbie King and RK Enterprises Publishing, a division of RK Enterprises, LLC.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other, non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

For permission, requests, write to the publisher, addressed Attention: Permissions Coordinator at the address below:  RK Enterprises Publishing, 2900 Parkway Boulevard, Kissimmee, FL, 34747, United States of America.

Ordering Information:

Quantity sales. Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address above.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 1-82420183998

First Edition, First Printing.

ISBN 979-8-35-091700-0

Printed in the United States of America

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 28 27 26 25 24 23

I get no respect. That’s the story of my life… no respect, I get no respect at all, you kidding? No respect at all.

Rodney Dangerfield, American Comedian

This book is dedicated to my mother, Mrs. K, for watching all those movies with me throughout the years despite the fact she did not like a single one of them. Thank you.

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Table of Contents

Introduction

48 Hours

A Perfect Murder

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Action Jackson

Aliens

American History X

American Pie

An Officer and a Gentleman

Back to the Future

Back to the Future II

Batman

Batman Begins

Beverly Hills Cop

Black Rain

The Big Lebowski

Bram Stoker's Dracula

The Breakfast Club

Caddyshack

Child’s Play

Cliffhanger

Cobra

Coming to America

Conan the Barbarian

The Dark Knight

Death Wish

Die Hard

Die Hard 2

Dirty Harry

E.T. the Extraterrestrial

Fatal Attraction

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Falling Down

First Blood

Fletch

Friday Night Lights

The Fugitive

Funny Farm

Ghost World

Ghostbusters

The Goonies

Groundhog Day

Halloween

Happy Gilmore

Heat

Home Alone

The Hunt for Red October

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Jaws

The Joneses

Jurassic Park

The Karate Kid

The Last Boy Scout

The Last Castle

Lethal Weapon

The Longest Yard

Lost in Translation

Midnight Run

Misery

Mr. Mom

Mrs. Doubtfire

The Naked Gun

The Nutty Professor

Ocean’s 11

Office Space

Patton

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Point Break

Predator

The Program

Red Dawn

Risky Business

RoboCop

Rocky 3

Rocky 4

The Russia House

Saving Private Ryan

Scream

Sgt. Bilko

Shakespeare in Love

The Shining

The Social Network

SuBUrbia

Star Wars

The Sting

Sudden Impact

Superbad

The Terminator

Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Thirteen Days

Titanic

Top Gun

The Truman Show

Uncle Buck

Under Siege

The Unforgiven

Wall Street

Wild Things

The Wizard of Lies

Introduction

Whenever any one of us opens a book on the history of cinema or, on most occasions, a volume on the best films ever made, we almost always get a rehash, reprint, or reorganization of the same cluster of motion pictures that are and have consistently been classified as la crème de le crème. Productions like The Godfather (1972), Citizen Kane (1941), Battleship Potemkin (1925), and dozens more are and have always been dependably categorized at the zenith.

And while their statuses on those lists is absolutely warranted, the reality is that most books and lists of marvelous flicks seem to be copy-pasted versions of previous publications. We get it, The Maltese Falcon (1941), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), and La Dolce Vita (1960) are wonderful movies, but how many times can we read about why they are so flawless? How many times can we hear about the cinematography in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) or the soundtrack in The Sound of Music (1965) or the surrealism in Vertigo (1958)? To be honest, personally I am sick of it, and many people are too.

And the reason as to why this is the case is because film quality often blends in with pretentiousness, and at times it seems that people who enjoy more common productions or stories in genres other than epics or drama are often shamed by ivory tower critics or supposedly artistic filmmakers like it was some sort of intellectual race to see who is more artistically trained or who knows more about what constitutes a good video.

For these reasons, many productions that are genuinely good often get shadow-banned from the lists of the most magnificent pictures ever made and are instead relegated to a sort of tier 2 of good stories, when this absolutely should not be the case.

The reality is that there are many movies out there that are nothing short of brilliant in every sense but are, for one reason or another, shamed into never being on those lists because they are not as aesthetically promising nor as profound as the pictures normally located on those supposedly deep catalogues.

This has happened way too often, and there are stunning motion pictures out there that are never considered part of the pack because pretentious filmmakers do not deem them to be of artistic enough quality nor of sufficient political nor philosophical dialogue.

For those reasons I have decided to compile a register of brilliant videos that I, (as an academic-level film critic and film historian, with two -this will be my third- books on the subject published), consider excellent flicks but that, for one reason or another, are seldomly if ever included in the list of the best productions ever made.

Hence, this is an inventory of the best non-cliché motion pictures ever made, or an itemization of the best movies made that are normally never included as part of the finest ever (or as I like to call them, the ones that don’t get no respect – to paraphrase my idol Rodney Dangerfield).

In here you will find some genuinely terrific movies. Some have received the respect of winning multiple awards, some even the academy award for best picture, but despite this honor they are seldomly, if ever, ranked as high as those supposed masterpieces, which is why I have decided to compile my own. So, now without further ado, let us bring to the screen and to our attention those 100 movies that truly don’t get any respect.

Who Am I?

Before we can proceed, however, I think it is important for you to know who I am and why I am qualified to talk about

film quality. Well, I am a clinical psychologist by profession, but I have spent the last nearly 40 years watching films (at least one a day and sometimes as many as four or five) and I have spent decades studying film theory, filmmaking and film criticism. I have produced dozens of short films have written many full-length feature-film screenplays and I am about to produce my very first flick.

I have also written and published two film criticism and film history books, one titled The 100 Most 80s Movies of the 80s (2022), in which I analyze and deeply critique a variety of 80s films and the impact they had on the decade, and other being the world’s first comprehensive book on the 80s action film genre titled Lethal Weapons Die Hard (2023), a history and film criticism book on the 1980s action film category as well as its impact on life and the influence it had on cinema in general.

The volume you hold in your hand is my third publication on the subject of film criticism and I am extremely proud to bring it to your attention and honored and thankful that you are reading it.

48 Hours

Out of all the collection of 80s action movies in existence, whether they be in the buddy cop comedy sub-genre or not, 48 Hours is and will forever be near the top in almost every single category.

The brain product of Walter Hill, who was attempting to make an action film in the vein of Dirty Harry, complete with Clint Eastwood himself in the main role, this movie was so good and so innovative that it resulted in a vital step in the creation of the 80s action picture in the process and the buddy cop genre as a side effect.  

The movie, which stars Nick Nolte in an iconic role as a tough-as-nails no-nonsense cop with troubles with his superiors in the department (which would later become an archetype of the action film hero of the 80s era), tells us a straightforward story of how the Nick Nolte character must recruit a convict from prison (Eddie Murphy) for 48 hours to solve the double homicide of two police officers at the hands of a recently escaped criminal and his accomplice, as Murphy was their former accessory (and they both betrayed him).  

The narrative is pretty simple, but that’s not what makes the motion picture formidable. What makes the movie extraordinary is the fact that a combination of factors converges to give us a vastly entertaining and comical feature. Said aspects are the following:  

First of all, we have beyond brilliant acting from both Nolte and Murphy. They carry the movie from start to finish, and they live it up to the limit. Nolte's role as a tough troubled take-no-crap detective is so perfect it seems as genuine as can be. Murphy, on the other hand, plays a smart-ass convict with street-smart skills and relentless attitude, and he does so to perfection. His role is even more impressive considering that it was his first, and it is easy to see why he became such a Hollywood superstar after this character.  

Individually, both actors are masterful in their roles, but their chemistry together is simply outstanding. It is so wonderful that it makes the movie, and in the process, it laid the foundation for the buddy cop genre. Initially the two despise each other but have to work together and are generally agreeable. One is a wild card, and the other is more tough and ruthless, and this clash provides plenty of disagreements, humor and fights.  

Eventually, however, they warm to each other and come to respect and trust the other, becoming true friends. This is a formula, of course, that we have heard many times before, but it works marvels in this picture, and it was quite original at the time, as this film began that trend.

The second factor that provides the perfection of this flick is how well shot and directed it is. The action is fast paced, with intense cuts, and wonderful action sequences that we would later come to see regularly in many 80s classics that came after.  

Another factor that contributes to the quality of this movie is the story itself, which, although not perfect, truly has many twists and turns that keep us guessing and make the film quite fast paced and never boring.  

The dialogue too, is amazing, with great punch lines, insults, and genuine street talk. This, in many ways, is what differentiates this picture from many more that would come later. The language is crude and dark, and does not

hold back, which is why perhaps so many people were impressed by it.  

The climax is satisfying and there are really no holes in the story. A little more character development would have been better, as well as an elaboration of Nolte’s girlfriend, who is flat and really has no reason for being in the film (aside from simply showing the audience that Nolte is troubled). Aside from that, a more intense final fight with the two villains, rather than a direct execution, would have heightened the plot more, and interestingly, this is something that future action films were adamant on doing.  

Other than that, the movie works great, and it is one of the finest action films ever made.

A Perfect Murder

In my decades of watching cinema, I have seen hundreds of mystery-themed films, and I have to say that while almost all provide some intrigue and level of shadowy entertainment, very few are powerful enough to truly captivate the viewer and draw them deeply into the web created by the storyline. Some of these flicks are included in this book, but A Perfect Murder stands tall above the rest as the finest mystery thriller ever created.

Conceptualized and executed as a loose remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 Dial M for Murder, which itself was based on the play of the same name, this feature is primarily character driven. It offers an incredibly powerful story about a love triangle gone wrong, evolving into a murder threesome and then an investigative trio. The film is enhanced by powerful dialogue, brilliant acting, and purposefully-rigidly-filmed scenes in closed locations that are static, almost as if the picture itself were a play. The gradual pacing and buildup of tension result in a bombastic and highly satisfying climax.

The basic plot entails Steven, an apparent Wall Street millionaire played by Michael Douglas who suspects that his young United Nations-employed, polyglot and heiress wife is dating a younger man who apparently is a classically trained painter. Steven digs deeper and discovers that the painter is actually a criminal known for swindling rich lonely women out of their money by

pretending to be a sensitive artist. Instead of trying to drive him away or reporting him to the authorities, Douglas hires him to kill his spouse for half a million dollars.

However, Steven's motivation is not revenge, but rather the quest for his wife's $100 million inheritance, which he will obtain if she passes away. Faced with either prison or payment for the murder, the painter-criminal accepts, and Douglas’ character outlines the perfect murder plan for him. However, when the planned homicide fails to take place and the heiress instead slays the would-be assassin (who turns out to be a friend of the painter), chaos ensues. Steven finds himself needing to pay the artiste the rest of the cash, pushing him to the brink of financial ruin, while a brilliant NYPD detective investigates the case.

The film builds tremendous suspense as the subsequent scenes unfold, with mysteries intertwining and untangling from all angles, suspects coming and going, and deep mutual tension and mistrust between the characters evolving into the plot. It is a symphony of secretive beauty that pulls the viewer into its intricate plot, with something new popping up every second.

The climax of the story is brilliantly executed, scripted, and choreographed, providing a fresh take on the mystery field without relying on clichés. The female hero survives but at a cost, perhaps as a moral consequence of her infidelity.

What is interesting here, and what this leads to and from, is the fact that no character is without serious flaws. They are all damaged in their own way, with varying degrees of evil. The painter is a repeat convicted criminal, the protagonist is a Wall Street raider who commits insider trading and is willing to kill his wife for money, and the wife is an amoral free spirit who married more for appearances and has a subtle level of alcoholism and engages in brutal levels of adultery.

No one here is moral or upright, and for these reasons, they all receive punishment, with the severity of the penalty matching their crimes. What adds to the narrative’s development and intrigue is that the flick's protagonist is also the villain (Steven), flawlessly and charismatically played by Michael Douglas in another dazzling performance. His portrayal of a sociopath makes him even more dangerous and difficult not to like.

The only role worthy of righteousness is that of the lead detective, an Arabian-American immigrant played brilliantly by none other than David Suchet, paying homage to his Hercule Poirot character from Agatha Christie's BBC adaptations of the world's greatest detective. He personifies righteousness and is brilliant in unraveling the intricacies of the case, even if he remains somewhat removed from the central events.

The picture doesn't provide a truly sympathetic character, but instead of detracting from the plot, this absence serves as a positive motivator, offering a fresh perspective in the field.

Aside from the storyline, the video is perfect in many other ways. The music score creates an atmosphere of mystery, and the setting excellently contrasts with the social hierarchies of New York while hinting at false tranquility within comfortable surroundings. Additionally, the acting, not only from the brilliant Michael Douglas and David Suchet but also from Gwyneth Paltrow and Viggo Mortensen, is nothing short of spectacular.

Everything in this movie is designed to create an atmosphere that builds up intensity, enhances the narrative, and builds tension. Its execution is nothing short of perfect. It is truly a pleasure to watch and is indubitably the finest production in its genre.

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Upon reviewing this film, it is important to take into consideration the context upon which this movie was created. The year was 1984, and slasher films had been made continuously and nearly to death (pun intended) ever since John Carpenter released his masterpiece Halloween in 1978. Good films in that genre were far in between, with Friday the 13th and the Halloween II being possibly the two sole examples. This, did not, however, stop filmmakers from creating their own rehashing of the genre in order to exploit its monetary possibilities. The formula of nearly no budget and high profits was enticing to everyone, but by 1984, it has been so overexploited that coming up with something remotely original or different was near impossible.  

In came Wes Craven, with limited experience as a filmmaker but with tons of ideas and quite the dynamic way of creating movies. In his efforts he takes the entire genre by storm with a whole new type of slasher film that is both scary, intense, and wildly entertaining.  

Everything about the movie is original. The main character, (a normal High School girl turned a relentless and cunning survivalist) becomes the perfectly formidable and invincible foe against Freddy Krueger, a serial killer who haunts dreams, not reality. Krueger has already killed her best friend and the best friend’s boyfriend and has haunted her repeatedly, but Nancy Thompson fears nothing, and she knows she can defeat him by bringing him into the world of reality and killing him there.  

Yet, despite her incredible tactics and intelligence, Krueger is hard to beat, as he too seems invincible and much more intelligent and eviler than the apparently dumb brutes we see in other films of the era. But our heroine succeeds and manages to subdue him, despite an open ending that leaves everyone with questions.  

This is the main strength of the film. We have a bold and strong female character that is not a victim final girl, but a fighting final girl that is as much a threat to the killer as the killer is to everyone else. On the other side we also have a murderous villain that is as strong as he is smart and ruthless, and together, it’s a no-holds-barred match to the end.  

The storyline of the movie is well constructed, and the film is incredibly well-paced, building up gradually to a bombastic climax, with intensely scary scenes in between that seem to mimic and at times be as scary as films like The Exorcist. The scene of the final showdown between Krueger and Nancy is simply superb, and I would rank it as one of the best in horror film history.  

The music score enhances the narrative quite nicely, and Craven’s dynamic takes and shots work really, really well in making the film interesting and fast paced despite it being a suspenseful horror flick.  

The acting, especially on the part of Heather Langenkamp as Nancy Thompson, Robert Englund as Krueger and Johnny Depp as the boyfriend, is superb, with Englund and Langenkamp being absolutely fantastic, especially her, considering she was only 19 years old at the time of filming.  

In terms of production design, the movie is flawless, with visual effects in terms of the murders and gore that are incredible even for today’s standards, and even more so considering the low, low budget of the movie. Krueger’s makeup in itself, is worth the entire movie’s budget in contemporary high-budget movies.  

This was the magic of Craven: being able to create and produce a wonderful piece of cinema, with intensity, horror, and suspense with a brilliant script with such a low budget.  

Of course, the movie is not without its flaws, such as bad acting from a few secondary characters and a few plot holes concerning the main character’s mother, but they are not important considering the incredible quality of this film.  

It is, without a doubt, one of the best horror films ever, and I would rank it up there next to the original Halloween, and certainly better than any other slasher.  

Action Jackson

When Carl Weathers was hired by Sylvester Stallone in 1975 to appear as the world champion heavyweight boxer Apollo Creed in Rocky, an immediate star was born. Weathers was a brilliant actor and performer, but this was not why he was primordially booked. His physique, which was a product of a combination of genetic excellent plus a profound work ethic, was so good that it could have been the best body ever to be portrayed on the screen up until that point (Stallone was still years away from his signature build and Arnold was still a bodybuilder with his first starring part still seven years away).

Yet despite his enormous potential, Weathers' only world known appearances came in the Rocky franchise, with Rocky, Rocky 2, Rocky 3, and Rocky 4 in 1985, and the audience were always left wishing for him to star as a