Julia (1977)

Every so often, I move all the entries on my Netflix queue with a listed wait time to the top and see what comes next. If not for this method, I might have put Julia off indefinitely. How often am I in the mood for a dark-looking '70s drama whose title is a woman's name? Still, it had acting awards, an Academy Best Picture nomination, and direction by the seemingly underrated Fred Zinnemann, so I'd have to see it eventually.

In the '30s, Lillian Hellman (Jane Fonda) is a rather famous writer, thanks in part to schmoozing with the even more famous Dashiell Hammett (Jason Robards). But an old friend, Julia (Vanessa Redgrave), recruits her for a mission that would normally go to a non-Jewish nobody: smuggling funds for the resistance in Nazi territory. Julia's too injured to do the task herself. It's too bad they couldn't meet again under better circumstances; indeed, meeting at all is iffy....

The Nun's Story (1959)

I consider Fred Zinnemann a bit underrated. Sure, he had his honors in life, but how often do even film buffs mention the director of High Noon, From Here to Eternity, and A Man for All Seasons? I don't recognize many more of his titles, but they tend to have IMDb ratings in the sevens. Throw in Oscar nominations plus a young Audrey Hepburn and I'm there.

The story begins in late '20s Bruges when Gaby (Hepburn) begins convent life as "Sister Luke." By the '30s, her bumpy road has led her to Belgian Congo, where she serves as a nurse and hopes to convert some natives along the way, despite brash nonbeliever Dr. Fortunati (Peter Finch). But she always considers herself more disciplined in medicine than in faith, and the latter especially gets put to the test when Germany invades her homeland....