I concur.
Another movie I like a whole lot is It’s Kind of a Funny Story.
“Next Stop, Greenwich Village” is a great movie.
My list could go on a long time:
Mr. 880 – about a friendly neighborhood counterfeiter.
Screen Door Jesus – probably shouldn’t count, since it was barely released, but a hilarious satire on religious fanaticism.
The Time of Their Lives – Charming Abbott and Costello movie that isn’t a comedy; Costello is quite good as a sad sack hero.
Young and Innocent – nice Alfred Hitchcock “running man” movie.
Local Hero – charming film about a small Irish village and how plans to set up a refinery affects them.
Gallipoli – WWI drama, an early Mel Gibson film
Slither (1973) – James Caan, Peter Boyle, Sally Kellerman, and Louise Lasser on the hunt for stolen money.
Hearts of the West – about moviemaking in early Hollywood. Has my favorite movie quote of all time (see below). (I also just learned that Harlan Ellison also loved the quote).
I don’t think many Americans shelled out bux to go see an art film about an East German playwright and the Stasi agent assigned to surveil him, but I found The Lives of Others to be a very touching film.
Likewise, Pan’s Labyrinth, which I saw around the same time, was brilliant. But I don’t think that was all that obscure; most people I’ve mentioned it to seem to be familiar with it.
A couple of my favorite films aren’t really that obscure; but I don’t think they were blockbusters, either, so maybe not that many people saw them. I had a coworker who lived in my building, who had a vast collection of obscure Chinese fantasy/sci-fi/martial arts flicks. He showed me Hero, about a year and a half before the U.S. theatrical release (and with, I thought, a much better translation for the English subtitles). Again, not really that obscure - Hero was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar the year it came out over here - but it was a stunning and beautiful film.
As was A River Runs Through It, with Tom Skerritt, Craig Sheaffer, and Brad Pitt. This is the film I’ve seen that comes closest to being as good as the book upon which it’s based. And given that the Norman Maclean novella is IMO one of the finest pieces of American literature from the last century, that’s saying something.
Another vote, too, for The Red Violin.
Have you seen Where Dreams Go To Die? It’s Ethan Newberry (“The Ginger Runner”)‘s film about Gary Robbins’ 2017 Barkley Marathons, when he missed becoming the 16th finisher by an excruciating six seconds (after 60 hours!).
Double post. The board is acting weird again.
Local Hero is set in Scotland, not Ireland.
Minor hijack for a movie review, if you don’t mind…
Harry and Tonto was mentioned a few times in this thread. It had been on my list for a while anyway, so I watched it last night. When I encounter a good film I find I either know it right away, or I don’t get it at first and don’t know what to make of it. This was the latter.
I found it mildly amusing as I watched it, liked it more as it went. But I didn’t think it would be one I’d be revisiting. Kept thinking about it, kept thinking about it. Went to bed and found myself thinking about it some more. Woke up this morning and decided it was a really good film that I will be re-watching. One of the reviews I read, possibly Roger Ebert’s, said Art Carney’s performance was so deft that you sort of don’t notice it. I went back and watched two scenes: The one where he visits an old lover in a retirement home, and the final scene when he’s talking to the cat lady at the beach. Both very touching.
I think we’re meant to see a bit of ourselves in most main characters, and I aspire to be like Harry when I’m an old man. He’s very good-natured, although prone to crankiness when crossed or feels his time is being wasted. And he’s very open to new learning and new people. Struck me as young at heart in that way. Glad this thread got me in the mood to watch.
I forgot about this one, this is a wonderful parody of serial killer tropes, almost like a supernatural Man Bites Dog (which I don’t count as obscure here).
I remember the bit about how supernatural serial killers just walk slowly at around 30 miles per hour, while the victim is running away.
I need to go off and buy this dvd…
Hawks (1988), Timothy Dalton and Anthony Edwards as two men dying of cancer stealing an ambulance and having one last fling in Amsterdam, darkly funny, and still not available on dvd.
Some excellent South African films:
Paljas
The Road to Mecca
Boesman and Lena (the 1973 production with the playwright Fugard, not the remake with Danny Glover and Angela Basset, which is … OK)
Fiela se Kind (there was also a recent remake, haven’t seen it)
The Angel, the Bicycle and the Chinaman’s Finger
Seconded.
My contributions:
'Round Midnight
The Conversation
In the Bedroom
Far from Heaven
The Last of Sheila (which I learned about on SDMB)
So glad you saw this! The acting is great, and the writing is top notch. It spoke for its time, but it still applies today. Very early on, Harry jokes to the oldster selling the newspapers, “Who is Vice-President this week?” – “Who cares?” - cynicism.
His friend Jakob is hilarious, and the conversations between the men are spot-on about society, and he shows his humanity towards Harry. We also see the hitchhikers point of view (and everyone he meets), especially his children’s relationship, and the idea of wanting to help, but not wanting it to affect them -which is impossible. Even the grandsons were funny, and we can see three generations. Funny, too.
LOL, I have not and no offense but I think I’ll keep it that way. The only reason I watched Revenger’s Tragedy was because of the Jacobean theater origin–the violence was a bit of a surprise although it shouldn’t have been. They were remarkably bloodthirsty back in the day!
Note, this is from a U.S. perspective. I’m sure plenty of folks have seen these from their respective countries.
–Secret Sunshine. It won an award at Cannes so maybe more folks in the U.S. have seen it than I would think. Stars IMO the best actress of the past 20 years (Do-yeon Jeon). Not the best “Korean actress” but just damn the best in the world. One of the best-acted scenes I’ve ever watched in a movie is in this film–a scene where for the most part she doesn’t even say anything. She conveys everything via an expression–how her world is changing in real time just via a reaction shot.
And another one by Do-yeon Jeon – The Harmonium in My Memory.
Some more Korean movies that I’m guessing most folks reading this will not have seen:
Sunny (Extrememly funny, thoughtful, and engaging film of 7 girls who form a friendship pact as young high schoolers, and then re-connect as adults.)
M (Amazingly visual dreamlike story of a writer who rediscovers his muse in the memories of his first love, who may or may not be real.)
Marathon (Fantastic true story movie about a boy with autism and the dedication of his mother who pulls out all the stops to see that he lives his dream of running a marathon race.)
No Blood, No Tears (Really fun heist action/comedy. Also stars…wait for it…Do-yeon Jeon)
Wanee and Junha (romantic drama with a bit of a twist)
A Moment to Remember (the best romantic melodrama I’ve ever seen)
I better stop or my Korean list will become unwieldy. (But it won’t include any Ki-duk Kim! My reaction to his films mostly ranges from really hate to outright detest).
A couple of 5-star Japanese films:
The Mystery of Rampo (A mystery writer creates a story where a woman murders her husband by allowing him to suffocate in a trunk. But he burns the manuscript before it ever gets published. The next day, he reads a story in the newspaper where a woman murders her husband by allowing him to suffocate in a trunk. Lots of fantastical mystery elements in this one.)
Angel Dust (Detective tries to figure out a serial killer who is elusive despite his predictability: every Monday at 6:00 PM a 20-something girl drops dead right in the middle of the crowded Tokyo subway).
Sure, why not. A couple of worthy HK films
Men Suddenly in Black (extremely funny comedy with some spoof elements)
C’est la Vie, Mon Cheri (good romance)
and a guilty pleasure…A Chinese Torture Chamber Story (Category III spectacle with the added bonus of being funny as hell)
Let me narrow things down, quite specifically: Early films of Kim Dickens.
Palookaville with William Forsythe is a hoot.
Truth or Consequences, N.M. is not a hoot. Very gritty.
Things Behind the Sun with a lot of good people. Eerie/dreamy/non-standard.
Zero Effect. While a SDMB fave, not known to most people in the real world.
I saw this movie as a teenager and… well it definitely sticks with you. I still remember it pretty distinctly 20 years later.
My suggestion is **Clockwatchers **(1997), starring Toni Collette, Parker Posey, Alanna Ubach and Lisa Kudrow. It starts out like an indie comedy but takes a turn for the more dramatic when you start to get a glimpse of who people really are behind the facade. It is an extremely realistic portrayal of working a shitty office job (I’m not really selling it, am I?)
One of my all-time favorites that seemingly slipped through the cracks… whenever I mention it, people get it confused with the completely unrelated **Clockstoppers **(2002)
My suggestion is Breaker Morant (1988).
Set during the Boer War in South Africa and featuring a trio of British Colonial soldiers on trial for war crimes, it examines the nature of the contract between soldiers and the government they fight for.
It got 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
**I Saw The Devil **
This is currently the best movie I’ve watched this summer. Intense, brutal, immensely well made and satisfying. Very intense and sometimes violent, but just a masterpiece.
It is a well known Korean movie, but I don’t know anyone who talks about it and I’d never seen it. It might be better than Oldboy, honestly.
(streamed on Hulu, by the way)
Oh, yes. It’s almost Twin Peaks like in its eeriness and ability to stick in your mind. Kind of off-putting.