Crowdsourcing tonight’s film selection was a roaring success—See for yourself by clicking here, with all of the great picks by readers. Thank you to all who participated.

In a close call, I am going to go with the debut for the now-legendary writers/directors Joel and Ethan Coen: Blood Simple. (1984). Hat Tip to reader “mike camp.” This is a gripping, stylish thriller, and a must-watch.

From imdb.com 

A rich but jealous man hires a private investigator to kill his cheating wife and her new man. But, when blood is involved, nothing is simple.

It was his first feature film and remains, far and away, his best.

Writer/Director/Actor Kevin Smith has not followed-up on Clerks. (1994) the way in which I am sure many would have hoped after seeing this witty mid-1990’s vignette of wise-cracking New Jersey video rental store clerks.

Despite the disappointment of some of his subsequent films, that does not take away from how entertaining and original the dialogue is in Clerks..

From Wikipedia:

 Clerks, was shot for the sum total of $27,575 in the convenience store where Smith worked. It went to the Sundance Film Festival in 1994, where it won the Filmmaker’s Trophy and was picked up by Miramax before the festival’s end. In May 1994, it went to the Cannes International Film Festival where it won both the Prix de la Jeunesse and the International Critics’ Week Prize. Released in October 1994 in two cities, the film went on to play in 50 markets, never playing on more than fifty screens at any given time. Despite the limited release, it was a critical and financial success, earning $3.1 million.^[9]

Once Upon a Time in America (1984) headlines Robert De Niro, James Woods, and Joe Pesci. Directed by the great Sergio Leone, this sweeping epic fuses together some of the greatest talents in the history of cinema.

From imdb:

A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.

The Messenger (2009) is a great film to watch, considering all of the war headlines of late.

Ben Foster, Samantha Morton, and Woody Harrelson dominate the screen.

From imdb.com

An American soldier struggles with an ethical dilemma when he becomes involved with a widow of a fallen officer.

The Last Seduction (1994) is a film I have been meaning to recommend for a while now. You do not want to miss Linda Fiorentino’s classic performance as a monstrous femme fatale, along with the perfectly-cast Peter Berg and Bill Pullman.

From imdb.com

A devious sexpot steals her husband’s drug money and hides out in a small town where she meets the perfect dupe for her next scheme.

The film captures small-town upstate New York very well, along with the no-nonsense 1990’s in general.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUwODsSlMc0

Das Boot (1981) is undoubtedly one of Director (and writer, in this case) Wolfgang Peterson’s finest works, and that is saying something.

The gripping action/adventure/drama focuses on life inside a WWII German U-boat.