Ten Great Movies You Probably Haven't Seen (but probably should): A Holiday Gift Guide

Need a stocking stuffer for the film buff in your life? Try one of these:

1. Ikiru

   A dying bureaucrat tries to build a children's playground. Something of a departure for Akira Kurosawa, this small, focused urban drama is miles away from the samurai epics he's better known for. Yet this study of a man's search for meaning is perhaps Kurosawa's most moving film.
   



2. 
   In the Bleak Midwinter (aka A Midwinter's Tale)
   

   Unemployed actors attempt to put on an unorthodox production of Hamlet at Christmastime. Kenneth Branagh made this small, modest film (in black and white) about a community production of the play about the Danish Prince right before he tackled his own oversized film of the play. Think of it as a kinder, gentler Waiting For Guffman.
   



3. 
   La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc
   

   The trial and death of Joan of Arc. One of the greatest films ever made, it was long thought that the original version of this movie was forever lost. A chance discovery in a laundry closet yielded a virtually pristine print. The dialogue (such as it is for a silent film) is taken directly out of the transcripts of the real Joan of Arc's trial.
   



4. 
   Le Samourai
   

   Conflicted, perfectionist hitman in 1960s Paris plans one last hit. Alain Delon is just too cool as contract killer Jef Costello, who makes one fatal mistake and then watches as both the police and the underworld slowly close in on him. A cool, elegant, clever noir.
   



5. 
   Local Hero
   

   Texas oilman goes to Scotland to convince recalcitrant locals to sell out; arrives, finds that locals aren't recalcitrant at all. In Bill Forsyth's engaging comedy, little is what is appears to be. The humor is relaxed and unforced, and the sly, deadpan pacing makes this film a welcome respite from the frantic, in-your-face pace of modern films.
   



6. 
   Runaway Train
   
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Article Author: Paul Frankenstein

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