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There are some celebrities who, by virtue of what they represent and contribute beyond their talent, become something more than simply what their chosen profession would indicate. Such a man is Sidney Poitier, the first African-American to win a Best Actor Oscar.

I just got back from San Francisco, a strange, beautiful, bewitching city that has been gradually revealing itself to me since my first visit over forty years ago. As with all great movies, every time I see it I see something new.

At age 83, Anthony Hopkins became the oldest person ever to win a Best Actor Oscar, for his astonishing portrayal of a proud man struggling with dementia in “The Father” (2020).

In August 1947, RKO released a tingling film noir entry called “Crossfire.” It had been shot in 24 days for just $250,000. Eclipsed months later by Elia Kazan’s “Gentleman’s Agreement,” a glossier film that dealt with the same issue, it stands as the first American film to confront the issue of anti-Semitism at a time when this scourge was even more prevalent in our society.

As the weather warms, in our house the Brazilian tracks start playing, mainly those glorious sixties samba tunes from Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Gilberto, Stan Getz, and so many others. The music is sexy, sad, and impossibly romantic, like the country itself.

A recent visit to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, where it all began back in 1903, started me thinking about all the classic movies that explore the risk, adventure and excitement of aviation. Whether in the context of war or peace, the airplane has been very good for movies, and vice versa.

Looking back half a century (can it really be half a century?), I’m reminded that 1971 was a very good year for movies.

I’ve assembled ten outstanding “under the radar” titles released over the past five years that didn’t earn a single Oscar nod, but that win awards from those audiences lucky enough to find them. Just watch a few, and see for yourself.