Yes I’m back with hopefully another long and exciting thread full of movies to watch.
The Company Of Wolves-
Really cool and kinda strange little fairytale like film, features different stories in different time periods and has werewolves.
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989, U.K./West Germany, dir. Terry Gilliam)
Carrie (1976, U.S., dir. Brian De Palma)
Excalibur (1981, U.K., dir. John Boorman)
The Borrowers
Dragonslayer
City of Ember
Not really “lesser known,” but we’ve been watching Ray Harryhausen movies from the 50s and 60s, such as THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD and JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS, and the claymation/animatronics are a delight. Plots and acting are rather dull, but Bernard Hermann music is fantastic.
Stardust.
I haven’t seen it in ages but as a kid I always loved the Sword and the Sorcerer.
Pretty big stretch to say Carrie is a “lesser known” movie.
I’ve recommended this before: 7 Faces of Dr Lao.
Unfortunately, that’s the problem with any thread that asks for lesser known examples of anything. There’s no clear way of saying if something is lesser known.
I’m the OP and I’m open to pretty much anything being posted as long as it isn’t a blockbuster movie in theaters now or something like Princess Bride that is well known.
Anything else goes, and the primary point of the thread is to find overlooked movies.
It occurred to me to pair that with its evil twin- Something Wicked This Way Comes.
My parents took me to see Dr Lao at the Drive-In when I was a child. Adored it!
And of course, ya gotta love the sensitive portrayal of an Asian character by an Anglo actor! (Tho it WAS Tony Randall who did add genuine pathos to his portrayal.)
Ink - an indie film from a few years ago. Weird, but cool.
Reign of Fire - I think this is better than it’s given credit for, though McConaughey’s over-the-top acting does bring it down a bit. Christian Bale and Isabella Scorupco are good, though. It’s the second best movie about dragons. (Dragonslayer is #1)
Erik the Viking - written and directed by Terry Jones (Monty Python) and starring a young Tim Robbins. Silly and funny.
Stardust was great, and should have been huge. Maybe it will become this generation’s Princess Bride. Well worth checking it out.
On the other hand Your Highness was an epic fail and is deservedly slinking into oblivion. Not even Natalie Portman in a furkini could save it.
Eh, I don’t think there’s a problem with people just using their own criteria. But if your criteria is silly, the rest of us can make fun of you. Carrie is one of the most well known horror movies of all time. Its spoofed in pop-culture pretty regularly, and even people who haven’t seen it are probably aware of it and most could probably give an accurate summary of the premise.
Near Dark, possibly the best vampire movie of all time, mostly because nobody ever actually says the word “vampire.”
“We’re… different.”
I think that making fun of other posters is a bad idea, and outside of the Pit it’s not allowed, I believe.
Ofelas (US title: Pathfinder) Norwegian movie based on Lapp mythology.
Hrafninn flýgur (aka When the Raven Flies) (US title Revenge of the Barbarians ) Basically Yojimbo or Fist Full of Dollars, but with Vikings. Filmed in Iceland.
Ulysses Kirk Douglas in Homer’s Odyssey
The Vikings Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtiss
The Odyssey Armand Assante in Homer’s Odyssey. Not as bad as one would expect from a TV movie.
King Richard and the Crusaders, based on Sir Walter Scott’s story The Talisman
The Long Ships Richard Widmark as a Viking cheiftan versus Sidney Poitier as a Moorish sultan.
There have been several film versions of H. Rider Haggard’s novel She. The 1935 version, starring Helen Gahagan, is good. The 1982 version, starring Sandahl Bergman, is not. I have not seen the 1965 version, starring Ursula Andress.
Correct. Make fun of their criteria instead.
*Ladyhawke *is a pretty good fantasy/romance that is marred by a hilariously inappropriate soundtrack. (All that synthesizer music may have seemed like a good idea in 1985, but it really has not aged well.) It stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Rutger Hauer as lovers who are separated by a curse and Matthew Broderick as a young thief who agrees to help them break the spell.
Inkheart is… acceptable. I thought it lacked a lot of plot, so bought the book to see what I’d missed. Unfortunately the book is horrifyingly dull and had the same plot problems. It has Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent in it, to make up for the irritating Brendan Fraser.
The Spiderwick Chronicles is also based on a book, but it’s really good, if you can put up with a British actor’s dodgy American accent. It’s got David Strathairn in it.
My favourite fantasy films are: Willow, Krull, Legend, The Neverending Story, Labyrinth, and The Dark Crystal.
Cocteau’s La Belle et La Bete is still the best adaptation of a fairy tale ever, though people only think of the Disney version.
Black Moon by Louis Malle. It’s more a poem than a movie and is indescribable, but clearly is fantasy (with the best unicorn in film).
Son of Dracula, with Harry Nilsson in the title role, and Ringo Star as his assistant. The portrayal was a real departure for the time, though it’s now standard.
Defending Your Life. Charming Albert Brooks film about the afterlife.
If TV productions are allowed, I’d also add Steambath, on a similar theme.