Films you thought brilliant that others might not have seen or heard of.

Hank_Jones

I'm really hoping to use this thread to find films to watch personally, finding it really hard to find really good films to watch recently.
Pretty much every new film is absolutely terrible and I'd love to find some good films to watch.

Some films I've seen personally which I think are good, but others might not have seen are:

The Conformist
L'Appartement
Irreversible - Not for the light hearted though.
Koyaanisqatsi

con-chance

Cashback
The Fisherking
Into the Wild
The Edge
Tropa de Elite


[/SIZE]

monkeyfudge

Just watched Koyaanisqatsi tonight actually.

With was an absolute favourite of mine growing up.

Dug it out this evening as I went to see Philip Glass at the NCH last night.

LadyW

Everything is Illuminated. Great film. Please don't be put off cos Elijah Wood is in it, there's much more to it than that.

Dozen Wicked Words

A few films that are maybe more well known than I think, but I thought were enjoyable are:

Big Night

Palookaville

The City of Lost Children (La cité des enfants perdus) (I prefer the subtitled version)

None of them are probably going to stay with you for long, but nice, easy to watch films.

dermothickey

Life is Beautiful, with Roberto Begnini
Cool Hand Luke- some people have never heard of it :eek:

johnny_ultimate

Let's try to avoid another list thread If you think people probably haven't heard of it, write a line or two about it to recommend it to them!

Some I'd imagine many haven't heard of:

Water Lilies - A superb French film from a year or two back. A film about girls on a swimming team dealing with being teenagers and learning about sexuality. It had the potential to go very wrong, but it threads the difficult thematic ground well. The soundtrack in particular is worth noting.

Festen - probably familiar to a few, but worth checking out if you haven't heard of it. One of the Dogma 95 films, it's obviously very naturalistic with little to no visual flourishes or excesses, all done with a hand-held camera. Storywise it has a chance to shine as a result. A dark, intense family drama, and gives a good reason for the admittedly pretentious Dogma films to exist!

Kikujiro - Recommended by Karl Hungus a few years ago, this is one totally worth seeking out. From the wonderful Takeshi Kitano, this is a very touching, funny portrait of a man and a lonely child on a strange road-trip. Kitano is a master of his craft, and there's a typically superb Joe Hisashi soundtrack too.

Ocean Waves / Whisper of the Heart / Pom Poko - the often forgotten Ghibli films. The first two are poignant adolescent love stories, small scale but enjoyable. Pom Poko is utter lunacy about large-testicled raccoons (I kid you not) causing mischief as they try to save their forest. They may not quite have the same magic as the better known Ghibli stuff - Pom Poko probably does tbh! - but even lesser Ghibli is something special. Avoid the Cat Returns though (semi-sequel to Whisper of the Heart)!

monkeyfudge

I thought The Cat Returns was fantastic.

Loved the cat parade with the kitty body guards.

johnny_ultimate

monkeyfudge wrote: »

I thought The Cat Returns was fantastic.

Loved the cat parade with the kitty body guards.

It just really freaks me out for some reason. I might go back to it some time, but I think I read the innocent tone entirely wrong :pac:

Poly

"The lives of others" - a brilliant German film set around the fall of the wall.

"The treasure of Sierra Madre" a great old John Houston film with Bogey, I saw this on a flight recently, and I watched it again on the way back.

LittleBook

dooferoaks wrote: »

Big Night


The City of Lost Children (La cité des enfants perdus) (I prefer the subtitled version)

None of them are probably going to stay with you for long, but nice, easy to watch films.

+ 1 ... sorta. Both Big Night and La cité des enfants perdus have stayed with me since I saw them years ago ... OK not "forever" but they're highly memorable.

Big Night was part of a "food films festival" I had including Babette's Feast, Tampopo, Eat Drink Man Woman and ... er ... Delicatessen all highly recommended in the context of this thread.

Pieces of April - Katie Holmes as an ostracised daughter trying desperately to prepare Thanksgiving Dinner for her family, particularly her estranged mother (the fantastic Patricia Clarkson) for whom it may be the last Thanksgiving.

Home for the Holidays - Another Thanksgiving film directed by Jodie Foster which contains my favourite montage of all time.

Secretary - "approaches the tricky subject [of sadomasochism]...with a stealthy tread, avoiding the dangers of making it either too offensive, or too funny"

Buffalo 66 - starring, written and directed by Vincent Gallo, the story of a young man fresh out of prison who decides that kidnapping a random girl (Christina Ricci) in order to present her to his nutty parents as his wife is doable. Parents are played perfectly by Anjelica Huston and Ben Gazzara, worth it for Gazzara's "singing" and Ricci's tap-dancing alone.

delbertgrady

LittleBook wrote: »

Buffalo 66 - starring, written and directed by Vincent Gallo ... worth it for Gazzara's "singing" and Ricci's tap-dancing alone.

I'd have suggested Buffalo 66 as well, though it tends to radically divide people. I love it, but I only know a handful of other people who do. Christina Ricci tapdancing to King Crimson is a great sequence.

I'd suggest The Monkees' 1968 film, Head. About as far-removed from their TV show as you can get, it's a plot-free sequence of bizarre scenarios (one where they're employed to portray dandruff in a TV commercial, before being vacuumed away), archive news footage, random vox pop clips, and some cracking tunes. Rumours of Charles Manson being in a crowd scene are the stuff of urban myth, but you do get blink-and-you'll-miss-them appearances from Jack Nicholson and Dennis Hopper, and it's the only film you're likely to see Frank Zappa with a talking cow.

Binky Mc

Bat 21. I just really like chinooks!

Renn

My Winnipeg (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1093842/)



Would safely say this falls into the love/hate category and I'm definitely in the former one. It's an unusual film in that it's described as a 'surrealist-inflected pseudo-documentary', or as Maddin himself says, 'docu-fantasia'. Can't say I've come across too many like it. If you like your German expressionism, your silent movies, and mix that with a love letter to Winnipeg, then this is for you.


Seconds (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060955/)



This one totally took me by surprise. Great and depressing at the same time, with John Randolph being superb for his part. Though it does lose its way slightly halfway through, thanks to some strange Rock Hudson scenes, it picks it up for the finale, and gives us one of the best endings out there. Ahead of its time, that's for sure.


The Hidden (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093185/)



Only caught this recently (recommended to me by someone saying it was a combination of The Thing and The Terminator) and had ****loads of fun with it. It's got the horror, the sci-fi, got the 80s cheese, flamethrowers, some ridiculously funny scenes and MacLachlan doing his whole FBI role before his Twin Peaks days. Just a really entertaining movie.


Chop Shop (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0990404/)



If you like your realism, and you like your City of God type flicks, then this is probably the one for you. Although it's better than that. Bahrani makes it look gritty, makes it slow, but it's a great character study which comes across as natural due to performances from Polanco and co. It's probably closer to reality than most documentaries you come across. Probably should have put this on the top of the list.

Skerries

12:01 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106188/


its a film that was released around the same time as Groundhog Day and has a similar theme but more grounded in sci-fi, and even though it was a straight to vhs it is actually a good film with the lovely Helen Slater

Dogs in Space http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogs_in_Space


it stars the late Michael Hutchence and centres around a bunch of people in the late 70's in Australia living in a house and just the general chaos of young people with no inhibitions
it really appealed to me growing up as a great coming of age film

KevArno

Ok, so I am totally going to lower the tone here, but has anyone seen Monster Island?? Ridiculous movie with Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Carmen Electra, and Adam Weeeeeee(st)... I have been ridiculed for watching this but truth be told I tought it was hilarious. It is a total B-movie pastiche, so if you want to see over acting, plenty of fourth wall breakages, pipe cleaner monster spiders, dodgy stop gap animation, and Adam West then this (I hope) is the only place to look... In advance, I do apologise

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382856/

Hank_Jones

Just thought I'd add a couple more that crossed my mind.

Koyaanisqatsi - Experimental film with Francis Ford Coppola as executive producer.
Extremely well done film that matches up the soundtrack from Phillip Glass with the visuals.
It's an experience in editing and film making, well worth a look.

Streetwise - Documentary following street kids and their lives on the street of Seattle in 1984.
Really gritty stuff, shows some terrible hardships.

Pretty sure both are available on youtube, or at least they used to be.

funky cheese

Buffalo 66 - starring, written and directed by Vincent Gallo, the story of a young man fresh out of prison who decides that kidnapping a random girl (Christina Ricci) in order to present her to his nutty parents as his wife is doable. Parents are played perfectly by Anjelica Huston and Ben Gazzara, worth it for Gazzara's "singing" and Ricci's tap-dancing alone.[/QUOTE]

I loved this movie. I have yet to see the brown bunny? Has anyone seen this?

Nolanger

Charlie Chan at the opera.

Delicate_Dlite

Oldboy, an amazing Korean film I saw a few years ago. Based on manga, I believe.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1321511/

pitkan

The Alamo (original John Wayne) The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three (original Walter Matthau) Capricorn One .

Also Starring LeVar Burton

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) - (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065466/)
Really good film that falls under pretty much every genre of film - well worth a look if you haven't seen it... If you like stuff along the lines of A Clockwork Orange, you'll probably really enjoy this...



The Warriors (1979) - (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080120/)
I'm surprised by the vast amount of self proclaimed film buffs who haven't seen this one... It's easily one of the greatest films ever made... Make sure you see it soon, if you haven't already...

dermothickey

thumbs up for the warriors....also the wanderers, along the same lines but lighter

seraphimvc

Runaway Jury With John Cusack :pac: is easy to tell if the person is a movie lover or not when you ask if he knows about this film! (i kid i kid:P)

DazMarz

15 Minutes; an oft-ignored entry on Robert deNiro's C.V. that, while not as good as some of his previous works, is still a highly entertaining and darly comic yarn. DeNiro is a celebrity cop and Edward Burns is a New York City Fire Marshall, both of whom are chasing down two Eastern European (well, one Czech and one Russian) criminals who are videotaping their murders, in the hopes of getting their own '15 Minutes Of Fame'. Kelsey Grammer features in a role he was born to play as the sleazy, Maury-Povich-esque newsman who would do anything for a scoop. Well worth a look.

JP Liz V1

Confidence - Its directed by James Foley and stars Ed Burns, Rachel Weisz, Dustin Hoffman and Paul Giamatti - a witty thrilling con movie

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0310910/

jab1

savior,a really great movie starring dennis quaid,set in the balkans during the war,based on a true story..
also i seen a mega french film a few years back called 36 starring daniel auteiul and gerrard depardeu,best way of describing this movie is a frech version of the pacino deniro movie heat,well worth a look i really enjoyed it.also one more was an italian movie called romanzo criminal another very good movie,

minister poxbottle

barfly
drugstore cowboy
naked lunch (the guy from manchester who goes to london)
runaway train

these are some of my favourites which a lot of people i know have never heard of

TheManWho

Brigham City is a nice little murder mystery film from Richard Dutcher, the so called "father of mormon cinema". It's not brillant but it's good and it's interesting. The mormon religious aspect is not too overbearing and the film is relatively and undeservedly unknown.

nachoman

BrainCandy - An extremely funny film in my opinion.
It was shown on rte 2 once a couple of years back.
The Canadian comedy troupe 'kids in the hall' wrote and starred in this film as various characters, it really is surreal and over the top, hasn't been released in the cinema because certain parts of the film were deemed too controversial at the time which is a shame because it could have been a classic.

D.S.

Delicate_Dlite wrote: »

Oldboy, an amazing Korean film I saw a few years ago. Based on manga, I believe.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1321511/

Fantastic movie - directed by Chan-Wook Park and second part of a trilogy of films about revenge. Oldboy is definitely the stand-out movie of the three. Story relates to a not-so-nice character who is imprisoned by a rogue group without explanation for 15 years and abruptly released and given 5 days to find his captor.

Worth checking out.


Some other non-hollywood films worth checking out:

- Internal Affairs Trilogy - Scorcese based The Departed on this trilogy. The original is far superior imo and worth a look if you liked what Scorcese achieved.

- Ong Bak/Ong Bak 2 - personally I prefer the first movie but both are excellent Tony Jaa movies from Thailand. Tony Jaa is a martial arts expert and is probably the best guy in the world to watch right now. Storylines are weak/a bit naff but the action scenes are absolutely incredible.

- Battle of Red Cliff - John Woo directed. Story of how a united China came about. V well done. It's a two part story which was recut into one film for English Audiences. Watch the original two-part story if you can as it really tells the story of Chinese War strategies and politics at the time. Some great action sequences

- Bubba Ho Tep - cheesy but imo hiliariou B movie with Bruce Campbell about how Elvis is not dead but living in a rest home in the States and is being chased by a Egptyian mummy...

- Delicatessan - v different French post-apocalyptic flick...

- Mongol - story of Genghis Khan told by a Russian director (Sergei something)...v good and a different take on the character...nominated for Best Foreign film in Academy Awards some years back..

LittleBook

D.S. wrote: »

- Bubba Ho Tep - cheesy but imo hiliariou B movie with Bruce Campbell about how Elvis is not dead but living in a rest home in the States and is being chased by a Egptyian mummy...

+ 1,000,000 on Bubba Ho-tep, how could I forget it!

Elvis Presley: It ain't much of a home but it's all I got and I'll be damned if I let some foreign, graffiti writin', soul suckin', son of a bítch in an oversized cowboy hat and boots take my friend's souls and shít 'em down the visitors toilet!

:pac:

And if anyone enjoys reading as much as watching films, Bruce Campbell's books are hilarious reads.

"If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor" - autobiography
"Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way"

spikeprint

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Its an oldie but its really great. 2 sisters are going at it, Davis is an ex child star that treats her sister like a dog. Its a wicked thriller.

Another oldie, Some Like It Hot, starring Marlyn Monroe. Think Mrs Doubtfire or Tootie, only far funnier.

Deadly Pursuit, starring Sidney Poiter and Tom Berenger. Its a buddy movie from the eighties. A great mix of thrills and comedy, its surprisingly good.

Midnight Run, starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin. Another excellent buddy movie with a plot that keeps everything ticking over nicely.

The Name of the Rose, starring Christian Slater and Sean Connery. Its a thriller set in a 13th century monastery. Visually it sends you back to the time, all with a compelling story line.

One of the best films of the noughties, Perfume: Story of a Murder, based on the excellent Peter Suskind novel. Authentic sets and powerful performances make this one a keeper. Its a modern classic.

Birth of a Nation, even with its overtly racist tones, is one any true film buff must see. Its a silent movie, about the Klu Klux Klan, by DW Griffiths. If only for its groundbreaking style, this is one not to shy away from. The current reworking, Rebirth of a Nation boasts a snappy new soundtrack from DJ Spooky and the Kronos Quartet, the latter being responsible from playing Clint Mansells soundtrack to Requiem for a Dream (another brilliant flick that should not be missed).

While on old silent movies, Eisensteins Battleship Potemkin is another unmissable movie. He is the father of film, and has influenced virtually every film director since his time. Groundbreaking direction has led this film to be referenced in many modern movies, like the steps scene in The Untouchables.

Best film of last year, Moon, from David Bowies son. Simple but surprisely effective, with a stellar turn from Sam Rockwell. If you haven't seen it, watch it now.

Other worthy mentions are The Prestige, The Boys From Brazil, Marathon Man, Midnight Cowboy, Groundhog Day, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Bus 174, Clerks, Inglourious Basterds, etc.

I could go on all night, I have a strong love for movies.

karma_

LittleBook wrote: »

+ 1,000,000 on Bubba Ho-tep, how could I forget it!

Elvis Presley: It ain't much of a home but it's all I got and I'll be damned if I let some foreign, graffiti writin', soul suckin', son of a bítch in an oversized cowboy hat and boots take my friend's souls and shít 'em down the visitors toilet!

:pac:

And if anyone enjoys reading as much as watching films, Bruce Campbell's books are hilarious reads.

"If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor" - autobiography
"Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way"

I have recommended so many people to watch Bubba Ho-Tep but they never do, too bad because it's a little gem of a film and they have no idea what they are missing.

Soul Stretcher

Revanche.

Austrian film about love, death of a loved one, blame and revenge.
Whose fault is it if life doesn't go your way ? (from cover of DVD).

Oh... can't find the words to say how brilliant I think this film is.

Renn

Yeah Revanche was definitely one of the better ones from last year (even though it's been around for nearly three years at this stage). It's a slow burner but well worth it.

blackalicious

Hank_Jones wrote: »

Just thought I'd add a couple more that crossed my mind.

Koyaanisqatsi - Experimental film with Francis Ford Coppola as executive producer.
Extremely well done film that matches up the soundtrack from Phillip Glass with the visuals.
It's an experience in editing and film making, well worth a look.

Streetwise - Documentary following street kids and their lives on the street of Seattle in 1984.
Really gritty stuff, shows some terrible hardships.

Pretty sure both are available on youtube, or at least they used to be.

never heard of streetwise, checked it out the other night very good, if ya liked that you should check out black tar heroin http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0221023/ also great if not a little grim

Princess: Danish animation about a priest who avenges the death of his sister who was a porn actress, i loved this and im not usually into animation http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419073/

Chunking Express: one of my all time favourites hard to explain but its basically a mixture of thriller and love story but unlike any film ive seen before, check it out http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109424/

Pusher 2: the whole trilogy is very good but this is my favourite, danish crime drama, it follows the story of drug dealer just released from prison who find out he has a son, amazing http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0396184/

Paradise LOst: watched tthis for the first time last night and i was blown away, the best documentary ive ever seen. Following the brutal murder of three little boys in the heart of the bible belt in America, three teenagers who wear black clothes and listen to metalica, are charged and we get to see the trial unfold.. MUST WATCH its on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CyTJgAfSRs

mikhail

LittleBook wrote: »

+ 1,000,000 on Bubba Ho-tep, how could I forget it!

A certain character going down shooting always tears me up, and the flashback to where Elvis loses his copy of the contract is just the right amount over the top to make me fall off my chair laughing. The film has minor pacing problems, but it's a little gem.

There are a lot of 1984 fans out there, but the film version is supposed to be disappointing. Instead, pick up a copy of Terry Gilliam's Brazil, which is in the same vein, but as a black farce pretending to be a love story.

Divorce - Italian Style is hilarious. Won an Oscar in its day, but not that well known now.

spikeprint

Just watched Paradise Lost, excellent stuff, thanks for the recommendation! Jesus, those boys were stitched up by a load of religous nuts.

My favourite documentary is The Fog of War. Its an interview with Robert McNamara, with a Philip Glass soundtrack. Excellent stuff.

Nolanger

Most dangerous game - old man-on-the-run movie.

Woddle

Innocent voices
Absolutely brilliant

mav79

Just watched Leaves of Grass by Ed Norton and laughed my ass off.
Might not be for everyone but wasn't expecting much and thoroughly enjoyed it.

saltie

Buffallo 66

Renn

mav79 wrote: »

Just watched Leaves of Grass by Ed Norton and laughed my ass off.
Might not be for everyone but wasn't expecting much and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Watched it a few weeks ago, it's great. One of the few good things to be released this year so far. Norton is just great in this. Felt like a Coen bros movie at times too.

SuperInfinity

Les Diaboliques.

D.S.

Les Grand Bleu (The Big Blue) by Luc Besson...filmed in English and French.., recommend the Directors cut which is about 3 hours long...

Story of free divers who continue to push themselves to go to greater depths...

Extremely well filmed...more of an atmospheric piece..probably Besson's best movie imo....

fontanalis

jab1 wrote: »

savior,a really great movie starring dennis quaid,set in the balkans during the war,based on a true story..
also i seen a mega french film a few years back called 36 starring daniel auteiul and gerrard depardeu,best way of describing this movie is a frech version of the pacino deniro movie heat,well worth a look i really enjoyed it.also one more was an italian movie called romanzo criminal another very good movie,

Good film but not an easy watch.

ricero

the foot fist way stars danny mcbride of east bound and down and pineapple express fame very good movie

alabandical

One of my favourite films to watch is Gosford Park - a Robert Altman film that turns the whodunnit on its head. It also boasts a magnificent ensemble.

Mickeroo

Must recommend Red Sun/Soleil Rouge, its a western starring Charles Bronson and Toshiro Mifune as an outlaw and a Samurai forced to grudgingly work together to track down a mutual enemy, I can never get over how many people have never heard of it and how hard it is to get hold of! It's not of the quality of Once Upon a Time in the West or Yojimbo and the like but well worth watching to see those guys work together!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_E9vFLw-R0

indough

ha, seven samurai and magnificent seven members ride together