Add "Solaris" (Soderbergh & Cameron) to my list. Suspenseful, dense, disturbing yet utterly hopeful. And Dylan Thomas is the greatest poet ever.
What are your fav “Off Hollywood” films
I thought I'd ask other's here to share their thoughts on flicks they've found to be outstanding, or even their own personal favs… aside from those which Hollywood has promoted to the hilt and everyone already knows about unless they’ve benn living on Saturn.
So if you can think of those ‘non main stream’ efforts, or those films which either didn’t get their due, or only a few likely know about, but are indeed, very good to great film experiences, please share your thoughts here. This would be kind of like an indi list of movies so to speak.
So…. What are your fav non block buster flicks?
Here are some of my favs in no particular order:
1 Lonestar State of Mind
2 Thursday
3 A Bronx Tale
4 Clay Pigeons
5 Palmetto
6 Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead
7 Prophecy (any of the first 3)
8 Hollow Point
9 Ice harvest
10 Take the Money and Run
If you have to include a mainstreamer or two go ahead. I’m curious to see as esoteric as many of us are with audio, what’s up with our tastes in film, and hopefully broaden some perspectives there.
Have fun, and thanks very much
So if you can think of those ‘non main stream’ efforts, or those films which either didn’t get their due, or only a few likely know about, but are indeed, very good to great film experiences, please share your thoughts here. This would be kind of like an indi list of movies so to speak.
So…. What are your fav non block buster flicks?
Here are some of my favs in no particular order:
1 Lonestar State of Mind
2 Thursday
3 A Bronx Tale
4 Clay Pigeons
5 Palmetto
6 Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead
7 Prophecy (any of the first 3)
8 Hollow Point
9 Ice harvest
10 Take the Money and Run
If you have to include a mainstreamer or two go ahead. I’m curious to see as esoteric as many of us are with audio, what’s up with our tastes in film, and hopefully broaden some perspectives there.
Have fun, and thanks very much
77 responses Add your response
If you can think of those ‘non main stream’ efforts, or those films which either didn’t get their due, or only a few likely know about, but are indeed, very good to great film experiences, please share your thoughts here."The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" (1964), directed by Jacques Demy (in French). "Summer" (1986), directed by Eric Rohmer (in French) "The Last Picture Show" (1971), directed by Peter Bogdanovich. "Nazarin" (1959), directed by Luis Bunuel (in Spanish). "The Red Balloon" (1956), directed by Albert Lamorisse (in French); for children of all ages! Regards, -- Al |
my favorite this week is "district 9", a sorta sci-fi film for guys like me who don't like (or understand) sci-fi. made by a first-time south african director (albeit under the aegis of peter jackson), it's a really imaginative, sad, socially-conscious story about a mass of cool-looking aliens who get stranded on earth. many things get blown up, hearts are broken, tears are shed. three thumbs up. i dunno if tarantino qualifies as "off hollywood", but "inglorious basterds" also kicked serious ass. |
Loomisjohnson LOL.... "inglorious basterds" LOL... Loved the story… hated the way it was showcased with it’s litany of subtitles. If you liked those so much, check out Spike Lee’s “The Mystery of St. Anna”. It has as good a story line as the ones you mention here and plenty of subtitles to keep anyone who enjoys them quite happy. Truth be told I think it’s a better story overall than either of them. Other pretty good movies lost something IMHO with their incessant volleys of print littering the screen underneath the emotive content.. such as “Passion Of the Christ”…. “Davinci Code”… “Apocolypto”, “The Mummy”… etc. . it never ceases to amaze me when a film is a regional or period piece that it is still being subtitled. Especially given the intended distribution it will ultimately get if it’s good. Independent movies I can see doing such a thing. If international distribution is the aim up front, it’s worse a thing still. Don’t todays audiences have sufficient intelligence to figure out the guys in the German uniforms are German? That they would be speaking German ordinarily? That the fellas in the monster suits are monsters or aliens? The folks wearing fig leaves are well, probably not up on the English language? We get it. Trust me all you film makers! We get it! Sheeshhh! Give ‘em accents if you have to but let’s move on from on screen text… save that for commuting to and from work while we’re behind the wheel where no one gets hurt! ! It’s confounding to me. Especially if that’s what they think then why use sub titles at all? Shouldn’t we be too dunb to read them? Oh yeah… there’s that texting thing again. Sometimes films try to hard. Get too artsy fartsy as they attempt to envoke more ambiance into the films nature, and by doing so subtract from it’s impact, it’s flow and it’s entertainment coefficient.. BTW… I felt this way long before reading became a serious challenge for me. If a film is intended for widespread distribution across many language barriers, and as well a major well funded project, some of the budget ought to be spent on adding those additional varied language tracks too. All that being said… my DVD of the orig version of “Inherit The Wind” featuring Spencer Tracy, has Russian Subtitles! Front to back! Ya gotta wonder how the Russian school teacher presented this to the class. Was it a class on there is no God, or theatrical comedic pursuits, or… How about those crazy Americans!, see how they litter their judicial system with such things? Sorry…. I’ll put the soap box away now. |
"stanger than paradise" jim jarmusch "down by law" jim jarmusch "Dead Man" jim jarmusch "ghost dog" jarmusch...ok, all of his work is stellar. "ichi the killer" takashi miike "visitor Q" takashi miike "gozu" miike..ok, almost all of his work is noteworthy. His early yakuza funded films are also amazing, i.e the triad society trilogy "dreams" akira kurosawa...actually, EVERYthing by kurosawa. "happiness" todd solondz "welcome to the dollhouse" solondz...ok, all of his films are better than most. "boogie nights" pt. anderson...once again, he is another major player in my favorite movie scene. "barton fink" coen brothers...ok, you get the gist. one more director, anything by Terry Gilliam. "brazil" etc. |
"The Last Station" About the last days of Tolstoy. Stars Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren. "Make Way For Tomorrow" A heartbreaking movie from 1937 starring Buelah Bondi and Victor Moore. Entire film made with character actors, no stars or leading men/women. Directed by Leo Mccarey who directed Cary Grant the next year in "The Awful Truth" He won the Oscar for best director for "Awful Truth". While giving his acceptance speech he said "You have given me the award for the wrong film. "Make Way For Tomorrow" is the best movie I ever made". "Freaks" the 1932 original. A very disturbing movie "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" Trite, I know. Scary good though. |
A couple new Hollywood releases prompt these suggestions. First, another remarkable film with child actors is the original Swedish "Let the Right One In". The Hollywood remake look like they pumped it up with special effects and such, I have heard its not bad. But I really loved the low budget original. The second is that runaway train blockbuster that I dont remember the name of. The one I recommend is called appropriately, "Runaway Train". Staring Jon Voit (a cantidate for that weird actor thread) and Eric Roberts, with Rebecca DeMornay. Based on a screenplay by Akira Kurosawa, featuring great performances, by the leads, and the powerful and raw imagery make this real a one of a kind action film. Someday, when I have time, maybe I will bore everyone going on and on about the Asian films I have fallen for lately. |
A film that I didn't think of when I submitted my earlier post in this thread: "The Gods Must Be Crazy." http://www.godsmustbecrazy.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gods_Must_Be_Crazy (Just the original, not the sequels). I can't imagine anyone not having a smile on their face after seeing this film. Regards, -- Al |
