15 Undercover And Not-So Undercover Favorites
- Descriptions by Netflix
1 All That Jazz (1979, B. Fosse)
Bob Fosse's autobiographical film celebrates the raunchy underbelly of show business. Successful director-choreographer Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider) is at the top of the Broadway heap. But he stands powerless as his world slowly collapses around him; his obsession with work has almost destroyed his personal life, and only his bottles of Dexedrine keep him going. Soon, it's clear Gideon will have to make a choice -- his art or his life.
2 The Boat/Das Boot (1981, W. Peterson)
Nominated for six Academy Awards, this edge-of-your-seat German-language triumph follows the trials of a German U-boat crew during World War II. Upon its restored re-release in 1997, an hour was added to the original film, which surprisingly augmented its impact. It also played as a six-hour German miniseries. In all its forms, the realistic and gripping battle scenes and palpable human struggle make Das Boot a critical hit.
3 Boys from Brazil (1978, F. Schaffner)
In this thriller based on Ira Levin's novel, a young Nazi seeker, Barry Kohler (Steve Guttenberg), stumbles on the trail of the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele (Gregory Peck), the "Angel of Death." Kohler learns of an evil plot Mengele is planning and shares this information with seasoned Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman (Sir Laurence Olivier), who doesn't take the information seriously until he makes his own grim discovery.
4 Deep Cover (1992, B. Duke)
In cocaine dealer Jeff Goldblum's Los Angeles empire, Laurence Fishburne is a rising star. He's also an undercover cop working for the Drug Enforcement Agency. Trouble is, Fishburne can't figure out who's worse: the criminals he's setting up or his "good guy" colleagues. Packed with plenty of action and great performances (Goldblum has never been more kinetic), Deep Cover offers a disturbing look at crime and power.
5 The Ferpect Crime/Crimen Ferpecto (2004, A. De la Iglesia)
Rafael (Guillermo Toledo), a top department store salesman with his pick of the comely female staff, thinks he has the perfect life -- that is, until a rivalry with co-worker Don Antonio (Luis Varela) ends in murder, and Rafael must find an alibi. Lourdes (Monica Cervera), the one salesgirl Rafael has hitherto spurned, comes to his aid, but at a price. Alex De La Iglesia's hilarious crime caper nabbed six nominations for Spain's Goya Awards.
6 Hollywood Ending (2002, W. Allen)
Woody Allen plays Val Waxman, a once-famous film director who's down on his luck and just needs one good picture to bring his career back. But when Val gets an offer to make a big film, his paranoia causes him to go psychosomatically blind. He and a few friends scramble to cover up his disability and keep the studio executives from discovering that Val's directing the film in the dark!
7 Identity (2003, J. Mangold)
Ten complete strangers are stranded at a remote desert motel during a raging storm and soon find themselves the target of a deranged murderer. As their numbers thin out, the travelers begin to turn on each other, as each tries to figure out who the killer might be. This spine-tingling thriller stars John Cusack, Jake Busey, Rebecca DeMornay, Clea DuVall and Ray Liotta.
8 Jackie Brown (1997, Q. Tarantino)
Director Quentin Tarentino added his deft touch to nicely placed wry humor, combined that with an all-star cast (including Samuel L. Jackson, Pam Grier and Robert De Niro) and delivered the action-crime caper Jackie Brown. Jackie is a flight attendant who smuggles cash on the side. When busted and pressured to help with an investigation, she plans to play the opposing forces against each other and walk away with the dough.
9 Nine Queens/Neuve Reinas (2000, F Bielinsky)
This Argentinian heist flick revolves around a sheet of not-so-rare stamps, two con artists (Ricardo Darin, Gaston Pauls) and a sucker mark (Ignasi Abadal). As in the best con films, a femme fatale is required issue, and Nine Queens doesn't fail: Leticia Brédice is sex incarnate. If you like the swindle films of David Mamet, Nine Queens is right up your alley.
10 Raise the Red Lantern/Da Hong Deng Long Gao Gao Gua (1991, Y. Zhang)
After her father's death, 19-year-old Songlian (Gong Li) marries the much older Chen Zuoqian, becoming the latest concubine in Chen's burgeoning harem. As the fourth wife, Songlian finds herself at the bottom of an oppressive hierarchy, in which competition for the master's attention -- and the attendant privileges it carries -- is intense. This lushly filmed drama was Oscar-nominated for Best Foreign Language Film and won a BAFTA Award in the same category.
11 Rope (1948, A. Hitchcock)
James Stewart stars with Farley Granger and John Dall in a highly charged thriller inspired by the real-life Leopold-Loeb murder case. Granger and Dall are riveting as two friends who pride themselves on committing the "perfect murder" -- until their former teacher (Stewart) becomes increasingly suspicious. ... Before the night is over, the professor will discover how brutally his students have turned his academic theories into chilling reality.
12 Serial Mom (1995, J. Waters)
John Waters takes aim at his favorite target -- the social set of his hometown Baltimore -- in another of his taste-challenged satires. Kathleen Turner plays Beverly Sutphin, the suburban-mom-turned-serial killer who slays those who fail to uphold her idea of suburban perfection -- for instance, women who dare to wear white shoes after Labor Day! Along for the ride are Waters regulars Ricki Lake, Traci Lords, Mink Stole and Patty Hearst.
13 Slumdog Millionaire (2008, D. Boyle)
After coming within one question of winning 20 million rupees on the Hindi version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" 18-year-old Mumbai "slumdog" Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is arrested on suspicion of cheating. While in custody, Jamal regales a jaded police inspector (Irfan Khan) with remarkable tales of his life on the streets, as well as the story of Latika (Freida Pinto), the woman he loved and lost. Danny Boyle's film was nominated for four Golden Globes, including Best Picture (Drama).15
14 The Train (1964, J. Frankenheimer)
During World War II, a French train engineer (Burt Lancaster) attempts to stop a Nazi-led train from leaving France with valuable works of art stolen from a museum. Lancaster performs all of his own stunts in this action-filled drama from influential from director John Frankenheimer (Birdman of Alcatraz, The Manchurian Candidate). Franklin Coen and Frank Davis received Oscar nominations for the film's original screenplay.
15 Zelig (1983, W. Allen)
"Human chameleon" Leonard Zelig (Woody Allen) soars to celebrity in the 1920s and '30s with his unexplained ability to transform himself into anyone he meets. Allen's mockumentary finds Zelig in the unlikeliest of places -- from the intensity of a New York Yankees dugout to the frenzy of a Nazi rally. But his doctor, brainy psychiatrist Dr. Eudora Fletcher (Mia Farrow), insists that Zelig's condition can only exist in his mind.
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