GREAT MOVIES YOU PROBABLY NEVER HEARD OF
                                                             Part 1

I’m starting a series on movies I thought were super but which are fairly obscure, or did little business, or both. Those of you who regularly graze these posts looking for something good to watch should be pleased. 
There really isn’t a better immigrant film than the wonderful Avalon (1990), the third of Barry Levinson’s filmic missives to his city.  The immigrants happen to be Jews, but their story of making it in America applies across the board to all of us immigrants. At 126 minutes, it takes its time on small, interlocked and telling stories. You leave this one feeling warm and proud to be an American. 
In Babette’s Feast (1987) two very religious spinsters take in a young maid (Stephanie Audran). She is able to show her love, by preparing a wondrous meal. This is a lovely, simple movie that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. The feast is to die for. 
Ballad Of A Soldier (1959) is a Russian wonder. Okay, I know we’re not getting along right now, but we weren’t in 1959 either. During World War II a Russian private takes out two German tanks, almost single-handedly. His commander wants to give him a medal, but he would rather have a furlough to see his mother. He gets six days. On the way, he has many adventures including falling in love. Against great odds, he makes it to his hometown and does get to see his mom for a short time. Then he hightails it back to the front. The ending is not what we want but probably isn’t that surprising.
The Big Red One (1980)  is  a most unusual war movie. It successfully gets inside the minds of a small unit which believes itself, and seems to be, invincible. The fun part is that we don't believe it and slowly they convince us that they are truly charmed. Lee Marvin is their leader, and one of the young soldiers is Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker!). It succeeds beyond the probable, and personalizes the individual soldier's life. 
Breaker Morant (1980) introduced Aussie super-star Bryan Brown to Americans. It is based upon a true story of three soldiers in the Boer War accused of cowardice in a trumped-up charge to further Great Britain's political requirements. Director Bruce Beresford later revealed the soldiers were probably guilty as hell, but he was going for a good story and he got it. Guilty or not, it raises all kinds of questions about what became the Nuremberg defense (we were only following orders) and how ordinary people can do awful things. 
All of the films in this post are available on DVD and for streaming. All are for adults. And there will be more great movies you’ve probably never heard of in future posts.