OT: Recommend some obscure movies.

mobiggins · Post by **mobiggins** » Sat Dec 06, 2003 2:06 pm

I know some of you are film buffs.
 
 What are some of your favorite obscure movies that nobody´s seen?
 
 Curious to see everybody´s ideas. I might check out some of them.
 
 My picks are the films of Sergei Paradjanov.
 The Color of Pomegranates, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, Legend of Suram Fortress, and Ashik Kerib. They break all the rules of what we know as movie narrative and add a mysterious oriental touch to make you feel even more disoriented. Great stuff, though.

lessthanme · Post by **lessthanme** » Sat Dec 06, 2003 3:13 pm

I like one I saw on IFC, then eventually bought. "American Movie", It´s a documentary about an aspiring filmmaker living in a trailer in Wisconsin. It´s got some hilarious parts and is uplifting in an odd... trailer.. park way.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat Dec 06, 2003 3:47 pm

People have seen this, but "River´s Edge" with Crispin Glover, Dennis Hopper, Keanu Reeves and Ione Skye Leitch is the most disturbing, well written and well done "coming of age" film I´ve ever seen.
 
 Makes stuff like "The Breakfast Club" and "Sixteen Candles" look like utter pap.
 
 Take care,
 PK

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sat Dec 06, 2003 4:50 pm

There´s a lot of cool stuff on IFC and Sundance, if you´re into indie and foreign films. Those alone make Direct TV worth it.
 
 Most of the time, you´ll see movies on their schedules that most people never heard of, really small films which probably haven´t been played at the average suburban multiplex. I have to look up a lot of them on IMDB or some other sites.
 
 But they also have well-known foreign films and classics like Sanjuro. They even have indie films which became big hits, like Terminator.
 
 Gonna Tivo Kandahar (which is actually on HBO Signature) and a documentary about George Seldes which received some raves on IMDB.

Granatofan · Post by **Granatofan** » Sat Dec 06, 2003 5:01 pm

PK, that is definitely one odd movie.
 
 Mo,
 
 For a good serious dramatic film look for a Belgian film called "Character" or "Karakter". Subtitled, but an awesome movie.
 
 Another dramatic film that isn´t afraid to be a downer (for the most part) in the end is "Savior" with Dennis Quaid. Careful though as it can rip your guts out.
 
 For sheer pleasurable hilarity get "The Happiness of the Katakuris". A japanese musical with subtitles. Don´t be thrown off by the word musical. I hate musicals and this one had me on the floor laughing. The name Katakuri may be wrong. It may be Kataguri or Takaguri. My wife insists it is Katakuri.
 
 You´ve probably seen it, but if not "Orgazmo" is one you cannot go wrong with. I wouldn´t have any kids around when watching it though.
 
 "Clay Pigeons" is a good off-beat suspense-creeper. Vince Vaughn doing what he does best.
 
 An obscure funny title is "Waiting". Mostly unknowns and the movie is headlined by a "proclaimed geek" who really carries the story.
 
 I just recently saw a good suburban drama called "Better Luck Tomorrow". It´s about some hard working American school kids of asian ancestry that get involved in petty crime on the side and become big men on campus and then how that turns their world upside down.
 
 I don´t know if you like Anime (I´m not into it at all), but the Cowboy Bebop 6 DVD collection of the entire season is outstanding. Another ending that is courageous and wrenching.
 
 Ted

pigpen81 · Post by **pigpen81** » Sat Dec 06, 2003 5:01 pm

Check out the Western Channel.
 
 My fav´s lately have been:
 
 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance....with Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, and a great villain performance by a young Lee Marvin....also legendary african-american actor Woody Strode.....a great flick.
 
 Also, another John Wayne film: "The 3 Godfathers"....neat movie that takes place in the Arizona desert.

GROGtheNailer · Post by **GROGtheNailer** » Sat Dec 06, 2003 5:30 pm

Blue Velvet....Donnie Darko.....

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat Dec 06, 2003 5:46 pm

Grog:
 
 "What´s your name, neighbor?"
 
 "Jeffrey."
 
 "He´s a good kid, Frank."
 
 "SHUT THE F*CK UP!"
 
 <IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon_smile.gif">
 
 "Raymond? Candy Colored Clown!"
 
 Take care,
 PK

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sat Dec 06, 2003 6:39 pm

Frank Booth: What kind of beer you like neighbor?
 Jeffrey: Heineken
 Frank: Heineken? Heineken? ***** that s***! PABST BLUE RIBBON!

mobiggins · Post by **mobiggins** » Sat Dec 06, 2003 7:19 pm

American Movie is great. What a neat little "documentary."
 I didn´t like Karakter. It tried to be too Dickensian, and failed, I thought.
 Happiness of the Katakuris is too weird for weirdness´s sake. I liked Miike´s Audition much better. He´s got an irreverent streak that when left unchecked can churn out some really bad stuff.
 Sanjuro is fun, but Yojimbo´s where it´s at.
 Also Kurosawa´s non-samurai flicks like Stray Dog, Ikiru, and Drunken Angel are worth a look.
 Netflix is the best thing to happen to film guys like me.
 Also worth checking out is Kieslowski. Anything by him, especially The Decalogue.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sat Dec 06, 2003 7:31 pm

Yeah I got the Trilogy DVD box set so I´m looking to watching those again.
 
 I hear there is another DVD rental service that specializes in indie and foreign films. It´s Green something, based out of San Francisco.
 
 Happieness by Todd Solandz is a bit different.

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Sun Dec 07, 2003 12:37 am

Well, I can´t really comment on the newer "independent" movies; I am partial to the older films. I just haven´t seen all that many new independent films the last couple years.
 
 Golly, what a question. I could go on forever . . . .
 
 As to movies ´no one has seen,´ well, I´m amazed how many people I´ve met who have never seen a Marx Bros. film. Obviously I am a freak about the Marx Bros. Absolutely brilliant, funny as hell, they still stand up very well in terms of content, although not in terms of technical form. If you can deal with the antiquated entertainment conventions of the 20s and 30s, then there is a LOT to love about these films, especially the earlier ones with Zeppo (although "Night at the Opera" is one of my favorites, even though Zeppo is replaced by some cheezy ´flavor of the month´ type B-level studio contract goof-ball). Horse Feathers (of course, with Zeppo) is special to me because it´s basically all about football.
 
 If you can deal with silent movies, Buster Keaton was a national treasure and a true genius; way ahead of his time, and I would consider Jackie Chan to be a modern version of Buster in terms of performance (does his own stunts, and with major comic flair), although obviously not as a filmmaker. Anything by Buster (silent, sound did not treat him well), whether it be a short or a feature, is superb. Harld LLoyd movies are incredibly funny too. I like those guys better than Chaplin, but Chaplin´s short film "The Rink" busts my gut every time I see it. That man could do ridiculous things on roller skates. In fact most of Chaplin´s shorts, I really like. I like silent films, ´cause you can just listen to your own tunes. And shorts are great too, a forgotten form of filmmaking I wish could be revived.
 
 To the modern days of color and sound, John Sayles "City of Hope" I remember as being really incredible a few years ago when I saw it. IMO it is pretty underrated, and a lot of folks I know haven´t ever seen it. I dunno, maybe it doesn´t hold up, but generally Sayles is a safe bet. "Matewan" for example is just amazing.
 
 My favorite movie about movie-making (if you care) has to be Francois Truffaut´s "Day for Night" ("La Nuit Americaine"). It is uncanny how well it captures the essence of the process of making movies, and I love it more every time I see it. Whenever I get depressed, it helps me remember why I work in the movies. Also Truffaut´s "Shoot the Piano Player" ("Tirez sur le Pianist") is my favorite Truffaut film that no one has ever seen. It´s a bit quirky and funny, but if you get the sense of humor, it is very enjoyable.
 
 Oh boy, that just scratches the surface. The thing about movies is there are so many great older films that get forgotten, but are actually quite good, just sitting around to be discovered again. As for myself, I´m just deciding I need to see every John Ford film, because he is without question a true master. Few ever have been or ever will be as in command of the medium like he was.

pigpen81 · Post by **pigpen81** » Sun Dec 07, 2003 1:28 am

Yes Hugo....harold Lloyd movies are absolute classics and funnier than most "funny" movies made today. Check out "The Freshman"(I believe that´s the title)....pure LMAO.

mobiggins · Post by **mobiggins** » Sun Dec 07, 2003 3:51 am

Man, I cannot STAND Solonz and his films. They´re so masochistic, so indicative of what a tortured loser he is, they´re hard to watch. Welcome to the Dollhouse is actually decent, then he started getting all the praise and got so full of himself. Happiness and Storytelling are pieces of garbage.
 
 I´m not up on my silents the way I should be, but I do like The Man with the Movie Camera by Vertov, and you can´t beat one of the last (and possibly greatest silent films ever made), Carl Th. Dreyer´s Passion of Joan of Arc. That film is amazing to watch.
 
 I like Truffaut, but I haven´t seen nearly as much as I should. I can´t stand Goddard, though. I simply can´t sit through a whole film of his. And it´s not that I don´t understand what he´s getting at. He overly-intellectualizes everything, and there´s no heart in his movies. It´s just cold analysis, and I don´t like it one bit.
 
 If you like silent films, you should checkout Paradjanov, like I mentioned above. He pays huge homage to the silents, but is unlike any director ever to put his eye to a camera. His stuff is incredibly beautiful.

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Sun Dec 07, 2003 9:05 am

Man with a Movie Camera is one of my absolute favorites as well. I like the silent comedies a bit more than the dramas, though, but I haven´t seen Joan of Arc since school.
 
 I too prefer Truffaut to Goddard, by a long shot. A looooong shot. Couldn´t agree with you more biggins, on that one.
 
 I look forward to checking out some Paradjanov, but first I must see Liberty Valance (one of the grips on the movie I´m on was going on about that one last week) and more John Ford films.

mobiggins · Post by **mobiggins** » Sun Dec 07, 2003 2:10 pm

If you check out Paradjanov, start with The Color of Pomegranates, and approach it with a VERY open mind. It´s the story of Sayat Nova, a 14th (or so) century Armenian troubadour, told through the movie equivalent of Orthodox Christian Icons. There is NO camera movement, and about three lines of dialogue through the whole 90 minute affair. But every frame is so meticulously composed and beautiful, that it is a sight to behold. Then go on to the rest of the films. They´re all available on DVD except for Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors; you´ll have to get that at a really good rental store that caters to independents, foreign, etc. if there is such a thing in your area. Well, come to think of it, even the DVD´s you´ll have to get at a good rental store, because Blockbuster won´t carry them. Anyway, but let me know if you do check him out, I´d be curious to see what you think.
 I´m glad you share my opinion of Goddard. I´ve seen like three or four of his films and I can´t remember the title to a single one of them, even though I watched them with a film discussion group full of people who loved his stuff. In the discussion afterward, I thought there would be some insights that I missed, and there were some interesting points made, but I caught on to his project, and he doesn´t have to do it in such an intellectually snobbish way. It´s clever, but it´s aloof, and exclusive, and it got on my nerves.
 I do like Bresson´s movies, though. He´s intellectual, but not snobbishly so. A Man Escaped is one of my all-tme favorites.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Sun Dec 07, 2003 5:26 pm

PK,
 
 Funny you mentioned River´s Edge. Josh Miller, who plays the little kid Tim, was in my wife´s class at the Iowa Writer´s Workshop the last couple years.
 
 Mo, I totally agree with you about Happiness. Easily the ugliest movie I´ve ever watched. I was so disappointed.
 
 Waiting for Guffman is funny as hell, an earlier movie from the Best in Show/Mighty Wind troupe.
 
 Waking Ned Devine is another great comedy, which I don´t think was too widely seen. It has a brilliantly funny ending.
 
 Lone Star (from the mid-90s) was a good mystery movie from John Sayles. Definitely worth checking out.
 
 Finally, Tao of Steve is a good one about dating.

pigpen81 · Post by **pigpen81** » Sun Dec 07, 2003 6:34 pm

Agree on Waking Ned Devine....that ending was classic.