Awakenings (1990)
Sure, it received 3 Oscar nominations but I've never even heard of it before I saw the trailer on the Taxi Driver DVD. The film is fantastic and the acting is just great stuff. Robin Williams gives perhaps the best performance of his career while Robert De Niro is just terrific. The film almost made me cry as well.


Ordinary People (1980)
Well, it did win Best Picture but a lot of people seem to hate it a lot since it beat Raging Bull in the BP race that year. As much as I do admire Raging Bull, Ordinary People really moved me with its touch of suburbia tragedy and a very real set of characters.


The others mentioned here are great (and underrated) as well -- The Insider, The Godfather: Part III, Donnie Brasco, etc.

But it's hard to say The Insider is exactly underrated because it still got 7 Oscar nominations and it is very well-made and well-praised even though I see it slipping off the IQ-insulting IMDb's 250 within the next few months unless a miracle happens (Pirates of the Caribbean is still up there if anyone's curious). Sure, we don't think The Insider when someone mentions Al Pacino or Russell Crowe, it's just that I thought both actors had a much more powerful presence in the films they are actually known for, but they're great in The Insider as well.

Reading your replies make me want to watch Heat. I should have seen a long time ago when it aired on television. I guess now I should get it on DVD while summer's still around.