100 Underappreciated Films: Part Nine
By Darren Williams
16th November 2009

81. Blanche (1971; Walerian Borowczyk)

Blanche (Branice) is the young wife on an older lord. She is loyal to her husband, even when faced with her pure-hearted step-son's affections. But during the visit of The King, Blanche also has to contend with the feelings of both The King and his page. The feelings of the four men lead to confrontations and eventually tragedy. Blanche is an old-fashioned fairy tale, the plot is simple enough, but as always the joy of this type of story is in the telling. The fact that Blanche is so colourful makes it a deceptively light tale, but it gets increasingly darker as the story goes on and the tragedy approaches. The film is very grounded in its approach, resisting the urge to spill over into all-out fantasy, the thrust of the story is human lust and the desire all the characters feel for Blanche. Blanche, like all of Borowczyk's films, is visually stunning. Almost all of the action takes place within a bizarre castle, filled with twisting staircases and strange devices, the castle comes to be as much of a character as any of the lead actors and helps set the tone for the entire film. Also, Borowczyk takes his visual aims further in Blanche as he attempts to capture the look of a period tapestry in cinema. The attention to period detail is further enchanced by the score being played on instruments from the era.

82. The Butterfly Murders (1979; Tsui Hark)

Set in a period of China where numerous factions are vying for power, the film focuses on the Shum Family. Seemingly beset by an ancient curse, the family are being attacked by clouds of poisonous butterflies. A scholar and two martial arts experts arrive to try and solve the mystery, encountering the killer butterflies and a mysterious black-clad killer along the way. The Butterfly Murders is challenging and it's a little easy to get lost in the sheer wealth of details., but the film is a jigsaw puzzle and it all does become clearer as the more pieces are revealed to the audience. One of the film's greatest strengths is the setting, Shum Castle. With its atmospheric subterranean labyrinths and hidden rooms, Shum Castle is a memorable location. But the film is visually stunning even when it's not in the castle, strong visuals are always a highlight of Tsui Hark films and The Butterfly Murders is a beautifully shot debut.

83. The Falls (1980; Peter Greenaway)

The Falls was Greenaway's first feature length film, following on from a series of shorts that, depending on your perspective, were either maddening or brilliant. The Falls has little in the way of plot, no lead characters, and is a mock documentary with a running time of over three hours. The Falls is possibly Greenaway's most bizarre work. It's certainly his greatest. The basic idea is that sometime in the future there's a Violent Unknown Event (somehow connected to birds) which has killed many and left a lot of the survivors changed in some way. Some of them have learned bizarre new languages, some are even starting to change into birds. The absurdity of the material is undercut by the fact that it's played completely straight A whimsical, odd little film. The apocalypse as seen through the eyes of Christopher Guest.

84. Goto, Island of Love (1968; Walerian Borowczyk)

The film is set on a small island called Goto, where all the inhabitant's names begin with the letter g. The people live under the dictatorship of Goto the Third. A cruel man who makes every criminal fight in pairs in a gladitorial arena. The loser is beheaded and the winner set free. One criminal Grozo, after escaping death in the arena becomes the island's dog walker, fly-catcher and boot polisher. Driven by envy and lust. he makes plans to become ruler himself and marry the beautiful Glossia, wife of the current dictator. Borowczyk creates a bizarre and memorable world in Goto, packed with surreal detail. From the optical illusion portrait that displays all of Goto's leaders, past and present to the the dictator's mother in-law being made to work in the island's brothel, Goto is a unique look at an isolated society ruled by an eccentric madman.

85. Marketa Lazarova (1967; Frantisek Vlacil)

Marketa Lazarova is an unforgettable attempt to bring the medieval era to the big screen. It certainly looks authentic, one of the few films ever made that really makes you feel as if you really are watching another era. It has brilliant action sequences. The acting, from a mostly unknown cast, is first-rate. It has one of the most marvellous scores ever recorded, and the cinematography is incredible. Man is not the most significant force in this world, and the harshly beautiful photography emphasises the wild and dangerous environment. The predators of this world are given much attention, and the legends of werewolves are greatly important, in this era if you weren't the hunter then you would certainly be the hunted. The storyline revolves around two rival clans, one has converted to Christianity, the other remains Pagan. The Christian and Pagan worlds are represented by the two female leads. Marketa Lazarova is a Christian girl, seeking order in the chaos of the world. Alexandra is a Pagan, happy to embrace the wildness of her world. Marketa is abducted by the Pagan clan, forcing a conflict that could destroy both tribes.

86. The Merchant of Four Seasons (1971; Rainer Werner Fassbinder)

Hans (Hirschmuller) is a fruit seller who walks the streets of Germany accompanied by his dominating wife (Hermann). When he gets propositioned by an attractive woman during a sale, his wife's questioning drives him to the nearest bar. One night, in a drunken rage, he beats his wife, causing her to leave him. She returns after Hans suffers a heart attack that leaves him unable to work. They hire an old friend to help with the business and on the surface things start to improve. But as the business flourishes Hans slips further into a decline. Hans is a loser, he's failed in everything he's attempted in life and has been beaten down by the scorn of society to the point where he finds little pleasure in any aspect of his life. The film is composed of a number of flashbacks that show his frequent disappointments, Hans' mother considered him worthless, even mourning the fact that he returned home safely from the army. We learn that he only sells fruit because he lost his job with the police for taking sexual favours from a suspect. What the film is really about is the slow destruction of the human soul. and we watch as Hans self-destructs with the knowledge that there's no way out for someone like him.

87. Mind Game (2004; Masaaki Yuasa)

Nishi is a young loser who wants to be a comic book artist. He's long had a crush on childhood friend Myon, but his insecurity stops him from asking her out. At the start of the film they run into each for the first time in several years. They go to her parent's restaurant to see her sister and catch up. Two yakuza come to the restaurant looking for Myon's father to pay a debt. The yakuza rape Myon and kill Nishi, by shooting him through his arse. Nishi dies and goes to heaven where he meets an unpleasant God. God is late for an appointment, giving Nishi the chance to sneak out of heaven. He arrives back in body just before he's killed, clenches his buttocks around the gun, and manages to turn the tables on the Yakuza and flee with the sisters.During a high speed chase, they're forced onto a bridge where they take a death plunge into the mouth of an enormous whale. Inside the whale they meet an old man who's been trapped there for so long that he's constructed a house inside the whale and found a way of surviving in its belly. During the time inside the whale the characters develop, grow and face their insecurities. Nishi learns to write and draw manga as well as starting a relationship with Myon. They finally escape from the whale wiser people. The film uses an incredible variety of animation styles to create its fantastical and phantasmagorical world. The experimental animation alone would be enough to make the film into a must-see but the film goes far deeper than that, the narrative talks about the nature of reality, fantasy and spirituality and is one of the most thought-provoking films of recent times.

88. Rat Pfink a Boo Boo (1965; Ray Dennis Steckler)

Rat Pfink A Boo Boo started life as a kidnapping story called 'The Depraved'. Carolyn Brandt is harassed by obscene phone calls and then abducted. But during filming Steckler got bored and decided to rewrite the script. So halfway through the film the two male leads step into a closet together and come out of the closet dressed as Batman and Robin knock-offs, Rat Pfink and Boo Boo. Rat Pfink A Boo Boo is one of the most inept films you'll ever see. From the ludicrous script change to the z-grade acting, Rat Pfink is a failure on nearly every level. It's also one of the most insanely entertaining films you could ever hope to see. The cheapskate production values just add to the brilliantly hilarious mess. Rat Pfink and Boo Boo are true unsung heroes, and remember, they only have one weakness. Bullets.

89. They Drive By Night (1938; Arthur Woods)

One of the most atmospheric horror/thrillers of its era. It could also be argued as an early example of British noir. Shorty Matthews is a man trapped in circumstances beyond his control. Upon his release from prison he visits a female friend and finds her dead, strangled with a silk stocking. Fearing he will be blamed for the crime he goes on the run. Heading North he rescues another female friend, Molly, from being raped by a truck-driver. She believes in his innocence and resolves to help him clear his name. Together they meet Walter, an amateur detective and student of psychology who offers to help them find the real killer. 1930s British society is depicted a world of spivs, rapists and petty criminals. The night is depicted as a strange and frightening place, always gloomy, windswept and raining where murky roadside cafes stay open and all night and no-one is to be trusted.

90. To Sleep with Anger (Charles Burnett)

Gideon lives with his family in a wealthy L.A. suburb. Gideon and his wife are deeply religious and try to instill the same values in their children. One day, an old friend from the South, Harry (Danny Glover) arrives on their doorstep to stay for a while. Harry is and he doesn't want to leave. Harry sets the family at war, and even appears to curse Gideon into a coma. Does Harry have some dark magical powers, is he maybe even The Devil? The use of folklore is strong in this film, but Burnett drags that folklore out of its familiar environments and sets it firmly in modern day America. Religion is deeply important to Gideon, so is superstition, and it seems as if the loss of a charm early in the film could be responsible for Harry's appearance. There is the possibility that Harry really is The Devil. There's certainly something otherworldly about him, and Harry is a familiar nickname for The Devil. He arrives in a religious family and tests their faith, he also tests their loyalty to each other. But he's just as likely to be an incarnation of The Trickster. A mischievious spirit who appears in many world religions. The Trickster can be malicious or benign, but he's mostly interested in balance. He forces the family to confront buried resentments, even if he goes about it in a malevolent fashion. Burnett is a fascinating filmmaker and this enthralling piece of magic realism should have confirmed his position as one of America's greatest film-makers.