Dan’s Movie Digest #100 – 100 Greatest Underdog Movies Part 1

Dan Owen presents

DAN’S MOVIE DIGEST #100:
THE 100 GREATEST UNDERDOG MOVIESP a r t 1 o f 4

Welcome to a special edition of Dan’s Movie Digest to celebrate its 100thissue as part of DVDfever.co.uk. In a change to proceedings,this centennial special has nothing to do with movie news. Instead, I presentto you “The 100 Greatest Underdog Movies” (GUM) over the next four days!

What do I mean by underdog? Well, GUM is basically a list of movies that havewon a place in some peoples’ hearts – despite the odds being stacked againstthem. Some of the films presented are considered “unnecessary” sequels, mostwere box-office turkeys, many were panned by movie critics, and some didn’teven get a cinema release. But they all have one thing in common – they allhave a faithful following, no matter how small.

Believe me; it’s surprising how many fun, entertaining, and excellent, moviesnever found their niche at the time they were released. Occasionally, such underdogsgets a chance at a rebirth (Blade Runner), become required cult viewing(Donnie Darko), influence a generation (Fight Club) or spawn amore successful sequel (Austin Powers), but the majority are consignedto retail bargain bins and the late-night TV schedules. If they’re lucky!

GUM is the underdog’s chance to bite back.

The movies on this list should inspire nostalgia amongst many, and maybe evenjog a few memories. However, more importantly, I hope it will encourage youto track down some of these “lost classics” and see what you’ve been missing.

Also, for more info on each individual title, where it is available on DVDas of August 2004, click on its picture.

As with all Top 100 lists, I’m sure it will also fuel debates about whysuch-and-such was ranked higher than so-and-so, and in which case you canconverse on theDiscussion Forum.

GUM reflects my own personal tastes, which I hope is shared by many of you, butit’s not a definitive listing (by any stretch of the imagination), it’s just ageneral guide to The Best Of The (Best?) Forgotten?

Let the countdown begin: 100 – 75!

100. THE GUYVER (1991)Dir: Screaming Mad George & Steve Wang. Stars: Mark Hamill

Star Wars’ own Mark Hamill appears in this insanely enjoyable yuck-fest,which has spawned sequels, that takes heavy influences from Japanese anime.It’s all about a young man who discovers a mechanical device that merges withhis own body and turns him into a cybernetic superhero. Unfortunately, a groupof mutated creatures want the “guyver” device back as part of a sinisterscheme…

As you can no doubt tell, The Guyver is a straight-forward sci-fi action moviewith some incredible make-up effects. It’s by no means clever, but it’s verywatchable and has a raw punch many mainstream movies fail to deliver. Oh, andany film directed by a man called Screaming Mad George has got to rate highly!

Watch it for: The make-up effects.

99. FREEJACK (1992)Dir: Geoff Murphy. Stars: Edward Furlong, Mick Jagger & Emilio Estevez

Seconds before an explosion, racer Alex Furlong is catapulted through time to the 21st Century by a teamof technicians who plan to sell his healthy body to an ailing rich man at McCandless Corporation, for a mindtransfer…

Freejack is a forgettable but fun time-travel caper with a miscast Estevez, but with an enjoyable Jaggeron villainous duties. The basic premise is fairly original and there are signs that this movie could havebeen a great deal better if they’d spent more time developing it. The film is mostly notable for thetalent involved – including Anthony Hopkins and Rene Russo. Not a missing treasure, by any stretch ofthe imagination, but worth a look if you see it on the late-night TV schedules…

Watch it for: The acting talent

98. THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION (1984)Dir: W.D Richter. Stars: Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin & Jeff Goldblum

Buckaroo Banzai is a rock-star/brain-surgeon/comic-book-hero/samurai who along with his group, the HongKong Cavaliers, band together to stop creatures from the 8th Dimension (all named John!) who are tryingto conquer our dimension…

Absolutely bonkers, and as such massively enjoyable nonsense with a huge cult following. Peter Weller,pre-RoboCop fame, is great as the deadpan hero, and the general sense of gleeful weirdness is justinfectiously entertaining. Brilliantly bewildering entertainment packed full of actors who would laterbecome big names. Bet this isn’t on their CVs…

Watch it for: The unpredictability

97. BIGGLES: ADVENTURES IN TIME (1986)Dir: John Hough. Stars: Neil Dickson, Peter Cushing & Alex Hyde-White

New Yorker advertising expert Jim Ferguson is at a business party, but is flung backwards through timeto 1917 during a plane dogfight. Apparently, Jim has a “time twin” – legendary WWI flying ace Biggles –whom he must help destroy a Nazi super-weapon…

Okay, so the title doesn’t promise much, but Biggles is quite a laugh if you give it a chance andcontains some great stunts. Of course, the “time twin” angle is pure nonsense, and fans of the Bigglesliterary character may want to forget this film even exists, but for people who like cheesy sci-fiescapades there’s a lot to enjoy. The acting isn’t great, although the ever-reliable Peter Cushing isa highlight, and the Nazi super-weapon is a frightening piece of equipment…

Watch it for: The flying stunts

96. ANACONDA (1997)Dir: Luis Llosa. Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, John Voight & Eric Stoltz.

A film crew is taken hostage by an insane hunter (Voight), who uses them in his quest to capture theworld’s largest, and deadliest, snake…

Anaconda is pure B-movie entertainment from a cast who should have known better than to sign on thedotted line. Still, if you’re in the mood for some unintentionally hilarious serpent hokum, this isa fun distraction. Also notable for a pre-fame Jennifer Lopez making an appearance.

Watch it for: Jon Voight

95. THE BLOB (1988)Dir: Chuck Russell. Stars: Kevin Dillon

This is actually a remake of the 1958 horror sci-fi original, about a deadly blob (thanks to a secretgovernment germ warfare project – natch!) which consumes everyone in its path. Teenagers try in vainto warn the townsfolk, who refuse to take them seriously (as always), while government agents try tocover up the evidence and confine the creature…

From reliable director of enjoyable trash (Nightmare On Elm Street III and Eraser), plus the occasionalhit (The Mask), comes this rather enjoyable trash… which wasn’t a hit, sadly. The Blob is due foranother remake – and at the rate Hollywood churns out movies one should be along soon. However, checkout the original, and this 80’s update, for some scares in the meantime.

Watch it for: The death scenes

94. WATERWORLD (1995)Dir: Kevin Reynolds. Stars: Kevin Costner, Dennis Hopper & Jeanne Tripplehorn

The future world is flooded, with civilisation lost under the sea. A man known as The Marineris sentenced to death, but escapes to help a girl with a map to fabled “dry land”.

A great idea, badly executed, but with enough tasty morsels to make it worthwhile. This movie hada legendarily bad pre-production, so it was quite a relief to find an enjoyable movie at the end ofthe day. Costner is good enough, Hopper is on madman duty, and the sets and special-effects arecertainly original. Had this been scripted tighter with 21st-Century effects at its disposal, itcould have been a classic action-adventure.

Watch it for: The premise

93. SANTA CLAUS: THE MOVIE (1985)Dir: Jeannot Szwarc. Stars: Dudley Moore & John Lithgow.

An eager elf called Patch leaves Santa Clauses’ workshop to seek fame and fortune in the outside world.Soon, an evil toy manufacturer sees a way to use Patch to eliminate the competition Santa poses atChristmas time…

This is a much-derided yuletide movie, but it’s actually quite entertaining and much more appealing thanrecent Christmas turkeys like Jingle All The Way! Dudley Moore is always good to watch, while Lithgowchews the scenery with maniacal relish. The history of Santa Claus is also possibly the best-filmedexplanation of the fictional character yet put on celluloid. A shame the movie tends to sledgehammersit audience after slowly building up hope in the first half, but it’s still a fun adventure.

Watch it for: Santa’s origins

92. HACKERS (1995)Dir: Iain Softley. Stars: Johnny Lee Miller & Angelina Jolie.

A young boy is arrested by for creating a virus and banned from using a computer until his 18th birthday.Years later, he and his friends discover a plot to unleash a dangerous computer virus, and combine theirtalents to stop its creator.

On its release, Hackers seemed to present a quite unlikely scenario, but ten years later it’s strange tosee how ahead of its time it was. Notable for a pre-fame Angelina Jolie, who married co-star Johnny LeeMiller soon after making this movie.

Watch it for: The geeky-coolness

91. LORD OF ILLUSIONS (1995)Dir: Clive Barker. Stars: Scott Bakula, Kevin J. O’Connor & Famke Janssen.

During a routine case in L.A, private investigator Harry D’Amour stumbles over members of a fanaticcult who are waiting for the resurrection of their leader Nix…

Author Clive Barker is a very sick individual, and Lord Of Illusions has a number of twisted sequencesthat should make your skin crawl. Bakula looks a little lost post-Quantum Leap, but Kevin J. O’Connoris an engaging presence and there are some very surreal moments throughout. Watch out for themandrill – frightening!

Watch it for: The stage death scene.

90. JOHNNY MNEMONIC (1995)Dir: Robert Longo. Stars: Keanu Reeves, Ice T, Dina Meyer & Dolph Lundgren.

The titular Johnny is a data courier, who carries secretive data inside his head that’s too largefor standard computer formats. Unfortunately, he’ll die if the data isn’t downloaded after a certain time!

Strangely, just as The Matrix was forming in the minds of its creators, Reeves’ first foray intosci-fi was a box-office clanger. However, Johnny Mneomic isn’t actually that bad, although the premise ismore interesting than the lacklustre execution. There are some good moments and some strong ideasfloating around, but it just lacked direction and punch.

Watch it for: The intriguing concept

89. ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN (1975)Dir: John Hough. Stars: Donald Pleasance, Kim Richards & Ike Eisenmann

Tia and Tony are two orphaned youngsters with extraordinary powers. Lucas Deranian poses as theiruncle in order to deliver them into to his megalomaniacal boss Aristotle Bolt, who wants to exploittheir abilities. The children decide to flee to Witch Mountain, where their true origins will be revealed…

Ahh, warm memories of 70’s live-action Disney movies. The Witch Mountain series was particularlymemorable – as every kid watching wanting to have the same powers as Tony and Tia. Donald Pleasancejust has a fabulous voice perfectly atoned to cordial bad guy duties, and while the mystery behind thechildren is hard an X-Files sized conundrum, it’s still a fun trip getting there. Oh, and you canunofficially include Return To Witch Mountain with this entry in the list – with Christopher Leejust as engaging and with the infamous Mr Yoyo and those street kids. Bliss.

Watch it for: The sense of good-natured fun

88. FRIGHT NIGHT (1985)Dir: Tom Holland. Stars: Chris Sarandon & Roddy McDowell.

Teenager Charlie Brewster is a fan of old horror movies, but gets more than he bargained forwhen his neighbour (Chris Sarandon) turns out to be a malevolent vampire. Brewster decides tostop the bloodsucker, with help from a washed-up horror actor called Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowell).

The 1980’s seemed to crawl with vampire movies, and while Fright Night never attained the status ofThe Lost Boys, it certainly managed to scare a lot of kids with its OTT make-up (check out thelength of those fangs!). Mind you, nearly 20-years later, the cheesy 80’s fashions and hairstyles arefar scarier! Watch out for Al Bundy’s neighbour Marcy Darcy, too…

Watch it for: The marvellous make-up

87. THE LIMEY (1999)Dir: Steven Soderbergh. Stars: Terence Stamp & Pete Fonda.

Essentially, this is a U.S remake of British gangster flick Get Carter. Thankfully, Soderbergh didn’tAmericanize it and cast Sylvester Stallone. He took a dependable English actor (Stamp) and an ageingHollywood icon (Fonda). Hell, if Tarantino had done it the world would have noticed the castingverve on display here.

The Limey does suffer from a snail’s pace and a disappointing (yet thankfully unpredictable) ending,but it still bubbles and fumes throughout. “I’m coming to fucking get him!”, indeed.

Watch it for: Terence Stamp

86. LEGEND (1985)Dir: Ridley Scott. Stars: Tom Cruise & Tim Curry

A demon who seeks to create eternal night by destroying the last of the unicorns and marrying afairy princess is opposed by the forest boy Jack and his elven allies in this magical fantasy from Ridley Scott.

We all know Scott can make duds (check out his post-Thelma & Louise output in the 90’s) but TomCruise can star in them, too. Yep! Legend is a very mixed-up movie, veering from magical, todownright silly. Still, Tim Curry’s make-up is possibly the best ever seen on screen, and did youknow that there are two different soundtracks to Legend – one by Tangerine Dream and the otherby Jerry Goldsmith? A magical, memorable failure.

Watch it for: Curry’s make-up

85. THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU’RE DEAD Dir: Gary Fleder. Stars: Andy Garcia & Christopher Walken

Jimmy The Saint videotapes the terminally ill, so that they can give “Afterlife Advice” to their survivors.Business has been bad recently, so Jimmy turns to loan sharks, who He hasn’t been doing too well lately andhas had to turn to loan sharks, before a crime boss demands a favour…

There are gangster movies aplenty these days, but only a few make their mark on the global consciousness(The Godfather, Goodfellas, etc). Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead certainly isn’t swimmingwith the big boys, but neither is it deserving of such ignorance. Walken is as menacing as ever, ofcourse, and the movie is full of witty and inspired moments. Maybe the ridiculously long title killedthe audience?

Watch it for: Christopher Walken

84. SO I MARRIED AN AXE MURDERER (1993)Dir: Thomas Schlamme. Stars: Mike Myers & Nancy Travis

Years before Austin Powers rescued him from his post-Wayne’s World slump, Mike Myers starred inhis black comedy as Charlie MacKenzie – a coffeehouse poet, who meets Harriet, a meat butcherwho may (or may not) be a notorious serial-killer…

Okay, first thing’s first – Axe Murderer isn’t that funny, I know. Especially when compared to Myers’other films. It just has a certain strangeness that is weirdly enjoyable to watch. A few gags work,most fail to hit their targets, but it doesn’t matter because there’s just the hope it’ll all escalateinto farce as the title suggests. By the end, you’re proven wrong because the movie doesn’t hit a stride– but it was curiously enjoyable getting there…

Watch it for: The premise

83. HOOK (1991)Dir: Steven Spielberg. Stars: Robin Williams & Dustin Hoffman.

Steven Spielberg always wanted to film Peter Pan, so it was strange to find him directing thiswarped “sequel” to J.M Barrie’s classic book – where an adult Peter Pan, with no memory of NeverNever Land, is thrown back into conflict with Captain Hook after the dastardly pirate steals his children…

What should have been a rip-roaring crowd-pleaser is a letdown, but there’s still much to enjoy alongthe way – otherwise it wouldn’t be on this list! Unfortunately, Spielberg’s decision to have Hook’sship permanently docked robs the film of the expected seafaring action, but there’s a wonderfully prissyportrayal of Hook by Hoffman and the usual Spielberg polish to keep kids entertained and (occasionally)exhilarated. This adventure is quite rightly viewed as a disappointment, but it still scrapes someentertainment from the famous characters.

Watch it for: Dustin Hoffman’s Hook.

82. WISHMASTER (1997)Dir: Robert Kurtzman. Stars: Andrew Divoff & Tammy Lauren

A statue carrying a jewel is destroyed, a young gemologist (Tammy Lauren) discovers she hasaccidentally awoken an evil genie, or Djinn, who twists peoples’ wishes into nightmares…

Wishmaster has a deliciously perverse premise and uses it quite effectively throughout the film,dispensing death and destruction based on twisting the wish maker’s words. The gravel-voiced Divoffis clearly relishing the theatrics of the film – and could have become a notable horror icon if thesequels were as clever. Despite this, Wishmaster is good Friday night horror to watch while eatingpizza with friends – nothing more, nothing less. Oh, and it has a clever ending, too – always a bonus!

Watch it for: The ingenious death scenes

81. KRULL (1983)Dir: Peter Yates. Stars: Ken Marshall & Lysette Anthony

An indescribable monster and its army The Slayers attack the planet Krull. To stop the invaders,two hostile nations decide to join their forces by the marriage of Princess Lyssa and Prince Colwyn.But during the ceremony, the Slayers attack the palace and kidnap Lyssa, leaving Colwyn to trackher down with a five-blade sword…

Everyone knows Krull. It’s the one where a pre-EastEnders Todd Carty shows up in the background,remember? The one where everything looks decidedly low budget and quite dodgy, but endearing andstrangely hypnotic. This is old-fashioned British swords and magic with half the budget, yetdouble the ambition. Great fun.

Watch it for: Bernard Bresslaw’s Cyclops

80. THE TALL GUY (1989)Dir: Mel Smith. Stars: Jeff Goldblum & Emma Thompson

Dexter King plays straight man to unpleasant comedian Ron Anderson. He falls in love with Kate,a pretty nurse he meets when he is receiving injections for hayfever. When Anderson fires him, heacquires the title role in a musical stage version of “The Elephant Man”. Kate dumps him when shesuspects he is having an affair with a fellow cast member, and he must win her back.

Richard Curtis is now a world-famous writer of practically every hit British rom-com of the past 15years (Four Weddings…, Notting Hill, Love Actually, etc). The Tall Guy did its job and pushed Curtisonto greater things, but don’t forget this movie because it’s actually quite amusing (in places). Whocan forget Goldblum’s dash across London dressed as The Elephant Man (“I need to get to a hospital!”),or a sequence more famous than the film itself – Goldblum and Thompson having noisy sex in a crampedroom. That scene was responsible for a great number of teenaged fantasies…

Watch it for: The sex scene

79. GREASE 2 (1982)Dir: Patricia Birch. Stars: Maxwell Caulfield & Michelle Pfeiffer

An English student at a 1960’s American high school has to prove himself to the leader of a girls’gang whose members can only date “greasers”…

This car is systematic! Automatic! Hyyyydromatic! Why it’s—the wrong movie! There’s no Travolta orNewton-John in sight and Grease 2 couldn’t hope to be as good, but it’s not a disaster by anystretch of the imagination. A young Pfeiffer is good value, the whole biker angle is decent enough,and even the songs are hummable ditties (“Where does the pollen go?”) Go on, give it another go– you might like it! “I need a coo-ooo-oo-ool ri-der! A coo-ooo-oo-ool rider!”

Watch it for: The cheesy songs

78. GHOSTBUSTERS 2 (1989)Dir: Ivan Reitman. Stars: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd & Sigourney Weaver

The discovery of a massive river of ectoplasm and a resurgence of spectral activity allows theout-of-work Ghostbusters to revive their business.

It was inevitable that the Ghostbusters phenomenon would be revived. Lightning didn’t strike twice,but forgive it a few flaws in logic, a limp villain, and a silly Statue Of Liberty idea, and it’sactually a good laugh. The actors are all great, particularly Murray, and there are some decent scaresdotted around the place (the morphing painting). Worth another look with an open-mind and all memoriesof Stay Puft Marshmallow Men firmly locked away…

Watch it for: The special effects

77. WILD WILD WEST (1999)Dir: Barry Sonnenfeld. Stars: Will Smith, Kevin Kline & Kenneth Brannagh

Jim West is a former Civil War hero. Artemus Gordon is an inventive U.S. Marshal who excels indisguise. When the US President is threatened by psychotic Confederate Arliss Loveless, the duo teamup to bring him to justice.

Make no mistake; Wild Wild West is a very good idea. The production design and Jules Verne-esqueimagination on display is wonderful, but the script wasn’t ready and Kevin Kline has zero chemistrywith Smith. However, despite these crucial faults, Wild Wild West is a generally enjoyable filmthat just wasn’t quite ready to be born…

Watch it for: The production design

76. SHOWGIRLS (1995)Dir: Paul Verhoeven. Stars: Elisabeth Berkeley & Kyle McLachlan

Nomi Malone sets out for Las Vegas to become a showgirl. After working as a stripper, she getsher big break at a chorus line audition for the Stardust Casino production, “Goddess”. But shesoon finds out that showbiz is a tough world…

Verhoeven is a director that loves to push boundaries of taste and decency. RoboCop remains hisgreatest achievement, of course, followed by Basic Instinct, but Showgirls is where he let all hisinhibitions go. Everything about Showgirls is just wrong – it’s gaudy, sexist, exploitative, frivolous,and terribly acted – but it knows it. This is bad film as an art form. It has gathered a die-hardcult following, and burned itself onto the memories of everyone who has ever seen it.Who can forget the laughably unerotic swimming pool scene?

Watch it for: The tits (obviously)

75. ROBOCOP 2 (1990)Dir: Irvin Kershner. Stars: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen & Tom Noonan

RoboCop is back to clean-up Detroit City from an addictive new drug called NUKE. Unfortunately, a crimelord called Caine becomes involved in a trial to replace RoboCop with a new model…

Anticipation for RoboCop 2 was massive after the first movie’s huge impact in the 80’s, but itdisappointed many at the time. Of course, an even worse sequel, a dismal TV show, and a quartet of sillyTV-movies later, and RoboCop 2 is far from disappointing. The movie sacrifices the original’s satiricaledge for bloodthirsty and grisly scenarios (brain surgery, a dental torture, etc), but maintains astranglehold on its audience throughout.

The truth is RoboCop 2 didn’t work because it lacked a focus on Murphy’s cybernetic predicament –unlike the original. A creepy subplot with Murphy stalking his wife, who presumes her husband dead,is abandoned ridiculously early and the finale plays like an adult episode of Transformers. Whencompared to the original it pales terribly, but with hindsight of a totally bastardized franchise– this sequel is at least entertainingly morbid.

Watch it for: Robo’s dismemberment

Page Content copyright © Dan Owen, 2004.

Email Dan Owen