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We’ve received a great deal of criticism for our 100 Great Movies Every Guy MUST See article due to the generic action flicks and repetitive Hollywood story lines. In the interests of promoting lesser known movies, we’ve rented, downloaded or borrowed hundreds of guy movies you may not have heard of before. We’ve watched them, reviewed them and now we’ll list our top ten. Here they are:
#10 – The Right Stuff
Not many movies are better than the book the story is taken from, but the Right Stuff is one movie that achieves this feat. The Right Stuff is the first act of a much bigger story in which the main goal was to reach the moon before the Russians. The Space Race. This story is downplayed and instead explores the seven original astronauts plus Chuck Yeager, the guy who wasn’t chosen for the mission. What makes it great is that even though these guys knew the dangers of space travel, the risk of death or being unable to re-enter the earths atmosphere, they took those risks because they were made of the right stuff.
?Is that a man??
-?You?re damn right it is!?
Click here to buy The Right Stuff
#9 – Croupier
A story about an aspiring writer who gets a job as a croupier in a casino. When he gets involved with a patron of said casino (cue Alex Kingston in her birthday suit), she encourages him to join her gang to be the inside man (see what we did there?) for their planned heist of the casino. All the while, Jack uses his experiences for the plot of his book, “I, Croupier”. The movie is multi-layered, combining love, sex, deceit and betrayal along with robbery and murder and is definitely a sleeper. We’d never even heard of it until we saw it. Clive Owen, as usual, portrays the character fantastically.
“The world breaks everyone, and afterwards many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break, it kills – it kills the very good, and the very gentle, and the very brave, impartially. If you are none of these, you can be sure it will kill you, too, but there will be no special hurry.” -Ernest Hemingway
#8 – District/Banlieue 13
Can you imagine what a ghetto would look like in Paris in 2010? That’s the setting for this movie. An undercover cop and a former bad guy try to infiltrate a gang to defuse a neutron bomb. What ensues is a high-octane fusion of freerunning and government conspiracy. If you’re looking for an adrenaline fuelled movie with some great stunts, you could do much worse than District 13.
“You really think the government would allow District 13 to be destroyed?”
-”Six million died for not having blonde hair and blue eyes.”
#7 – The Nest
If your movie of choice is a tightly-woven action thriller, you should pick up a copy of this stylish French movie which may go by its other name, Nid de gu?pes. The film is a combination of Die Hard and Assault on Precinct 13 which, surprisingly, packs an emotional punch and may draw a sob or two from the more sensitive viewer. It’s an intelligent film with a steady pace that may not sit well with the traditional Hollywood standards but we found it absolutely thrilling and enjoyed every second of the crisp, sparkling visuals, particularly during the numerous blood-soaked shootouts. Oh and it stars this lovely lady too.
?This is where it gets complicated.?
#6 – The Sting
Robert Redford and Paul Newman star in this crime-comedy caper as Johnny Hooker and Henry Gondorff. After a big job turns bad, Johnny turns to Henry (possibly one of the greatest con-artists of all time) to set up a revenge sting against the vindictive head of the big-time gangsters Johnny had inadvertently ripped off in his initial job. The mannerisms and methods of speech portrayed by the characters will whisk you back to the middle of the Depression, yet the characters portray charisma in bounds and enough human spirit to come together in battle against devilish gangster Doyle Lonnegan. This is cinematic enjoyment at its purest.
“Luther said I could learn some things from you. I already know how to drink.”
March 13th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Did anyone mention “Nine Queens”. Right up there with “The Sting”. Great list; keep it growing.
March 13th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
good list, I’m a big fan of Takashi Miike, and a lot of the Japanese Tokyo Shock scene, try out some of these:
Ichi The Killer
Visitor Q (pretty disgusting, have a strong stomach)
Fudoh
Volcano High
Battle Royale
Dead Leaves (best anime ever)
March 13th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
damn wasabi should be up there too, great jean reno film
March 13th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
District 13 is terrible beyond the jumping around.
March 13th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
One of my favs is The Tao of Steve. Great movie!
March 13th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
This is a great post! I remember watching The Limey in college!
chris
http://www.yoursash.com
March 13th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
I was wandering around a family video back in 03 and on a whim and inspired by its nifty cover promising some sort of kinetic british drug movie (my favorite genre), i picked it up and it is one of my favorite movies of all time, behind Magnolia and Trainspotting….
March 13th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
SPARTAN (2004). Val Kilmer is a Delta Force operative (and basically one-man army) tasked with rescuing the President’s kidnapped daughter (played by Kristen Bell). The movie kicks unholy ass (as does Kilmer) and it was written and directed by David Mamet, so the dialogue is just as good as the action.
March 13th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Including the Seven Samurai killed the whole list for me. I was force-fed this mediocre movie in university and 20-years later I’m still trying to forget it.
Replace it with: Without a Paddle.
March 13th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Easy four guy movies..
Le Cercle Rogue
Le Samourai
The French Connection
Bullitt
March 13th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
BOONDOCK SAINTS
STANDER
THURSDAY
LOCK STOCK AND 2 SMOKING BARRELS
TRUE ROMANCE
(NOT A ROMANTIC MOVIE BY ANY MEANS)
LOOK THEM UP, GOOD LUCK TRYING TO FIND A COPY OF THURSDAY
March 13th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Sexy Beast
Ripley’s Game
March 13th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Trust Me – Watch These:
Hard Times (Charlie Bronson’s best)
The Big Blue (Brotherhood formed by the Sea)
Two Mules for Sister Sarah (Clint keeps his hat and boots on…Need I say more?)
Lone Wolf & Cub series (Rogue Samurai and son choose an alternative lifestyle)
March 13th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
Okay, see if you can find this film:
Expose’ aka Le Grande Arte
Photography and knife fighting in Brazil!
March 13th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Pretty good list few more suggestions..
Boondock Saints
Nikita, another french movie from Luc Besson with a female assasin. The american remake was awful.
Leon, Luc Besson’s finest
Haute tension (Switchblade Romance), french horror
Nochnoy dozor (Nightwatch) , Dnevnoy dozor (Daywatch), part of a russian trilogy, the third is in the making
Ritana (Returner) good Japanese scifi
March 13th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
/Damn you guys
My netflix list has 275 dvds now.
March 14th, 2008 at 12:21 am
Great list! I’ve only seen 3 of those and only heard of 6. Adding to my Netflix…
after reading the list I was pumped about the comments to see what was missed
but guys, seriously, we can do better than Payback and Snatch and the sort
fun and great movies, but do they go on this list?
I read this and think Ronin, Leon (the professional here in US of A) and maybe something older like Bridge over River Kwai or a Bridge too Far or The Best Years of our Lives
that’s my two cents
March 14th, 2008 at 1:27 am
I can’t believe Snatch isn’t up there that is a great movie as well as Revolver <—not Available in the states though.
March 14th, 2008 at 2:04 am
La Femme Nikita, the movie not the series. Mmmmm, explody! French.
March 14th, 2008 at 11:02 am
The 101 Reykjavik movie is also better than the book.
March 14th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Good list. But Sexy Beast is perhaps one of the best movies of all time…the dialogue is amazing.
March 14th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Great list, I definitely want to see at least half of them. Thanks.
My suggestion: Themroc.
A guy is fed up with his life, and decides to live like a caveman in the city. For food, he roasts a policeman. (Sorry about the spoiler, but this fact is also on the front cover, and I wanted to get your attention.)
It’s a French movie, but don’t worry about subtitles: there’s not a word spoken the whole time, except ‘Themroc’. And grunts.
March 14th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Good lists, seen nearly thm all except the district 13, though think i’ll give it a watch, seems rather popular.
One totally essential guy movie is missing. The Boondock Saints. One of the best comedy action films of the last 10 years.
March 14th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Boondock Saints, anyone? Nothing like two Irish blokes out to right the wrongs of Boston’s Russian mafia.
March 15th, 2008 at 7:29 am
Great Escape-Steve McQueen and gang.
Papillion-Steve and dustin Hoffman
March 15th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Mea Culpa – Gave an incorrect title for a film:
It should be -
Exposure aka A Grande Arte
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101834/
Here are two more that should be on our list:
I, The Jury http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084112/
The Challenge http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083726/
March 16th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
great list ya’ll. I am going to try all these movies out!
March 16th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
I suggest Boondock Saints. Not that wellknown but it’s a movie
all guys love .
cheers
March 17th, 2008 at 1:11 am
i like just wanted to look at this list and i am in high school and my friends think i have really werid movie taste but actually its them watching all those chic flicks while i watch district 13 and every other movie on the list besides “the sting”. I was sooo suprised and i love all these movies so good job. Also,i defentaly recommend distric 13 to everyone….plus he doesn’t have a flabby tummy so its okay to look out….also the story plot is amazing!
March 18th, 2008 at 7:23 am
Nice list! The only movie I know I have seen right off is District 13, guess I have some catching up to do.
March 19th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Dude! Do you guys watch movies? All those are popular flicks. everyone’s heard of them. Chicks too!
March 20th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Romper Stomper
Once Upon a Time in the West
Straw Dogs
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
The Smashing Machine (documentary)
Blood Simple
Insomnia (original version)
May 4th, 2008 at 3:41 am
Fort Apache the Bronx on of the best movies ever
May 16th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
the list is awesome and so are the other posters’ suggestions – we’ve seen most of them, too. but how about, “Man Bites Dog”? that’s another awesome film.
i’m a girl who hate chick flicks, by the way. so hubby enjoys watching movies with me.
June 25th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
The Killing. A very early Kubrick film.
June 27th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
This list and the users posts/suggestions is a goldmine for discovering movies!! it’s got the utorrent queue flying
I suggest OldBoy as an ultimate guy flick, it has a great story, extreme violence/action, dark comedy and a twisted love story that might keep the missus watching too
I can also vouch for Ong Bak, extremely brutal martial arts and no boring bits.
and I agree with the others pointing out that half the movies listed here are very popular and can hardly be called “Movies You?ve Probably Never Seen”
June 27th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
P.S. I watched district 13 and I gotta ask, How the HELL do you keep up with the subtitles? unless you’re speeding of your head I think it’s ridiculous how fast those Frenchmen speak. other than that the action was good and not much more but I don’t regret watching it
August 14th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Stickmen.
September 11th, 2008 at 3:39 am
y’know who “probably” never saw these movies!?…………………….yanks
the rest of the english speaking world has
we READ reviews, we are AWARE of culture
these movies are on tv all the fucking time in europe…
“how do you keep up with the subtitles”!!!!!!!!!
you make me fucking sick
October 20th, 2008 at 4:51 am
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November 11th, 2008 at 8:39 am
OldBoy… definitely. Thursday is an awesome flick, too. I happen to have a copy on VHS, but other than that… it really is hard to find. I also suggest Ghost Dog: The Way of The Samurai with Forrest Whitaker. So good.
April 4th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Did you guys know that the quote for Croupier was from Hemmingway? I just thought I’d be the fiftieth person to mention it.
May 15th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Great list. The Nest is a hugely entertaining action flick. Definitely one folks should check out.
October 3rd, 2009 at 6:19 pm
Seven Samurai does not belong on this list. It is not a “guy movie”, it is one of the greatest movies in the history of cinema.