The adventure genre is one of the oldest and most esteemed in cinema. From the early days of silent pictures, with beloved efforts like Douglas Fairbanks‘ The Thief of Bagdad to modern classics like Harrison Ford‘s Raiders of the Lost Ark, the adventure genre had helf an esteemed place in audiences’ hearts. It has produced some of the most significant pictures in cinematic history, and it will keep doing so for years to come.
However, not all adventure movies are made equal. Some lack the same name recognition and sheer acclaim as the efforts’ most enduring efforts, despite being just as worthy, at least quality-wise. These movies are the subject of this list, the cinematic adventures that have been all but forgotten by audiences despite aging beautifully. Like the best of grapes, these movies have ripened with age, becoming truly timeless entries into the adventure genre that deserve far more attention from fans.
‘Captain Horatio Horblower’ (1951)
The great Gregory Peck stars in this one as the legendary fictional captain Horatio Hornblower. The film plot sees him commanding the HMS Lydia and rescuing a noblewoman, Lady Barbara Wellesley (Virginia Mayo), the sister of the Duke of Wellington. However, she’s already betrothed to Horblower’s rival, Rear Admiral Leighton (Denis O’Dea).
A classic swashbuckling tale of heroics and adventure, Captain Horatio Hornblower is a throwback to the days of cinema when movies were grand, moralistic, and crowd-pleasing. Peck is pitch-perfect as the titular character, and his romance with Mayo’s Barbara is convincing enough to give the plot a strong emotional hook. Still, the selling point here is the film’s spirit of adventure, which it proudly flaunts during the naval battles, some of which rank among cinema’s all-time best.
‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ (1969)
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is George Lazenby‘s only movie as James Bond, and what a movie it is. The plot sees 007 facing his archenemy, Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas), who has yet another plan for world domination. However, the film is perhaps most famous for featuring Contessa Teresa di Vincenzo (Dame Diana Rigg), the one Bond Girl who actually married him.
It might seem ridiculous to suggest that a Bond movie is forgotten. However, consider that On Her Majesty’s Secret Service has the fewest votes on IMDb out of all 007 movies, and you’ll see what we mean; it’s for sure the most overlooked out of all the Bond movies. It’s a shame, too, because On Her Majesty’s Secret Service has aged incredibly well, not only for Lazenby’s often-discarded performance as the most emotionally intelligent and vulnerable of them all. The central romance is also very compelling, with Rigg making Tracy a distinct Bond Girl worthy of being the only one who could tie the knot with 007.
‘Jeremiah Johnson’ (1972)
The late great Robert Redford stars as the titular character in Sydney Pollack‘s Western adventure Jeremiah Johnson. The film centers on Johnson, a war veteran who goes to the mountains to lead a simple life. Aided by an experienced mountain man, Johnson builds a life for himself with a new wife and adopted son, only to face conflict again with a group of Crow Indians.
Today, Jeremiah Johnson is best remembered as the movie that originated that one GIF of Robert Redford smiling as the camera zooms in. However, it’s actually a subversive Western and sobering, rather insightful depiction of war trauma and the seemingly inescapable nature of conflict. Yet, it offers a hopeful look at it, including an ending that hits hard still. It’s also based on a true story, making it even more impressive.
‘The Secret of NIMH’ (1982)
Don Bluth is a giant of American animation, one of the minds behind some of the best animated movies in the 20th century. Following his departure from Disney in 1979, during which he led a mass exodus of animators, he established his company and produced his first feature, 1982’s The Secret of NIMH. Based on the children’s book, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, the plot centers on a courageous mouse whose mission to save her ill son becomes entangled with the larger conflict between rats who have been scientifically experimented on.
The Secret of NIMH is dark stuff indeed, dealing with mature themes and a complex plot that remains among the most ambitious in the medium. The atmosphere is gloomy to the point of being oppressive, and the lab rats are truly disturbing at times. Yet, Bluth injects so much vibrancy with the beautiful, detailed hand-drawn animation, thus creating an exquisite visual experience that few 2D animated movies have ever been able to match. Today, as animation becomes more respected, The Secret of NIMH stands out as an ideal of what the genre can achieve when created with genuine passion.
‘The Rocketeer’ (1991)
Joe Johnston‘s The Rocketeer is among the most terribly underappreciated superhero movies ever made. Based on the eponymous character, the film stars Billy Campbell as stunt pilot Cliff Secord, who discovers a rocket pack that allows him to fly and becomes a hero. He is soon tracked by eccentric millionaire Howard Hughes (Terry O’Quinn) and the FBI, not to mention the Nazis who first stole the pack from Hughes.
The superhero boom of the 2010s has seemingly passed, and the new movies in the genre feel more by-the-numbers than ever. Thus, a picture like The Rocketeer seems outright revolutionary, thanks to its embrace of pulpy sensibilities and film serials and a singular, striking visual approach. It also feels very comics-accurate, perhaps not in its adaptation of the story, but rather in its treatment of the titular character. With its nostalgic tone and archetypal story, The Rocketeer is very much a throwback to the idealized vision that first made superheroes such enduring figures in pop culture.
‘The Triplets of Belleville’ (2003)
Animation has produced many modern gems, many of them sadly forgotten due to the market’s competitive nature. Among these underappreciated gems is the French 2003 adventure The Triplets of Belleville, a throwback to silent movies that uses song and pantomime to tell its story. It follows Madame Souza, who goes on a quest to rescue her Tour de France-cyclist grandson from the mob after they kidnap him. Along the way, she meets the titular sisters, music hall singers who join her.
The Triplets of Belleville was nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar in 2004, becoming one of the first indie productions to achieve the honor. The visual style is rather unique, and the music is infectious, resulting in a distinct musical adventure unlike anything you’ve seen in modern animation. Today, The Triplets of Belleville has become something of a cult classic, but its standing deserves to be far higher, especially now that animation is becoming more recognized as a genuine medium full of possibilities.
‘The Lost City of Z’ (2016)
You would think that a movie starring Charlie Hunnam, Robert Pattinson, and Tom Holland would be more popular. Alas, James Gray‘s The Lost City of Z remains sadly underappreciated, even by adventure fans. Based on the real-life story of explorer Percy Fawcett, played here by Hunnam, the film chronicles his journeys to Brazil to discover a supposedly lost city deep within the Amazon, accompanied by his son, Jack (Holland), and fellow explorer Henry Costin (Pattinson).
Like many of Gray’s other movies, The Lost City of Z is a haunting but ultimately poignant portrayal of one man’s psyche, his all-consuming drive and ambition that ultimately lead him to an uncertain end. The film is grand in scope but introspective in essence, resulting in an adventure movie that sacrifices some spectacle for emotional power. The Lost City of Z is an adventure movie for the new millennium, and further proof that Gray is among the greatest auteurs working today.
