# Movies with unique style **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 28, 2014, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513 "2014-05-28T23:14:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513/21 "2014-05-29T02:15:41Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > How about [_Timecode_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timecode_(film)), the movie that split the screen into four quarters throughout it’s length? IIRC each quadrant was filmed in one take as well which meant that they all had to be filmed at the same time since some of the ‘quadrants’ ran into each other at certain times in the movie. I also remember it not being a very good movie, just neat to watch. Next up: Rope. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513/22 "2014-05-29T02:17:54Z")
Pulp Fiction. ---
**Author:** ![PurpleClogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@PurpleClogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleClogs)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513/23 "2014-05-29T02:25:37Z")
[Cool timeline of cgi movies and firsts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_computer_animation_in_film_and_television) Tim Burton films Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, TV movie The Lost World, 1925 What was that silent film a couple years ago with the dog? ---
**Author:** ![PurpleClogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@PurpleClogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleClogs)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513/24 "2014-05-29T02:49:03Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It wasn’t really the first. _[Cannibal Holocaust](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannibal_Holocaust)_ had used essentially the same idea of making a horror film as a mockumentary. Wow. Did not know that. The media at the time made a big deal about what a new concept it was, but those two plots & methods are almost identical. The Bear Fantasia ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513/25 "2014-05-29T03:19:16Z")
**Prospero’s Books** – easily the weirdest version of _The Tempest_ you’ll ever see. A completely different experience from “ordinary” film-making. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513/26 "2014-05-29T03:27:37Z")
[_Santa Sangre_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098253/) and/or any of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s films. [Immortal](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314063/?ref_=nv_sr_3), a film by renowned artist/storyteller Enki Bilal. [Scott Pilgrim vs. the World](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446029/) had a very cool, unique style. So did [Bunraku](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1181795/), a terrific film that no one has seen. [The Wizard of Speed and Time](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081766/) was amazing. I loved [The American Astronaut](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243759/). Several documentaries come to mind, but I’ll only mention [In the Realms of the Unreal](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390123/), which was beautiful and weird and amazing, both in story and in the telling. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513/27 "2014-05-29T03:59:22Z")
“Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (FF Coppola, 1992). Technically, it was nothing new, but he threw in everything plus the kitchen sink. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513/28 "2014-05-29T04:09:51Z")
_What Dreams May Come_ was visually stunning and unique, for which it rightly won the Visual Effects Oscar despite the story not making a lick of sense. Trivia note: My stepdad’s daughter, who he’s been estranged from since birth, was part of the visual effects design team. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513/29 "2014-05-29T04:34:17Z")
[Koyaanisqatsi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koyaanisqatsi) A mesmerizing film. Ralph Bakshi’s version of the[Lord of the Rings](http://agentpalmer.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/LOTR2.jpg)has been much maligned, but it certainly had a unique style. _Who Framed Roger Rabbit_ broke the mold as far as integrating live action and animation. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513/30 "2014-05-29T04:50:18Z")
> [@Wolf333](#): > > _[A Scanner Darkly](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405296/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_13)_? Preceded by _Waking Life_. > **[Waking Life](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waking_Life)** > > Waking Life is a 2001 American adult animated drama film written and directed by Richard Linklater. The film explores a wide range of philosophical issues, including the nature of reality, dreams and lucid dreams, consciousness, the meaning of life, free will, and existentialism. The series of insightful philosophical discussions at the core of the film are progressed by a young man who wanders through a succession of dreamlike realities wherein he encounters a series of interesting characters ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513/31 "2014-05-29T05:10:55Z")
> [@PurpleClogs](#): > > What was that silent film a couple years ago with the dog? _[The Artist](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Artist_(film))_. But it wasn’t anything new. The filmmakers were intentionally invoking old techniques. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513/32 "2014-05-29T05:27:49Z")
> [@PurpleClogs](#): > > And there was a movie 5-10 years ago where the people were all digital but looked real. Can’t remember what it was. Wasn’t that a first? > [@PurpleClogs](#): > > No, not Polar Express. I’m looking through photos trying to find it. I never actually saw anything but clips. I remember a female and it was sci fi ish, maybe superhero type thing. I think I remember that, somewhere between 2000 and 2002. It was the ultimate uncanny valley movie, with all cgi “actors” that looked kinda sorta “real.” I can’t remember the name of it, though. Unless you mean [Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0346156/?ref_=nv_sr_1)? ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513/33 "2014-05-29T05:44:15Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It wasn’t really the first. _[Cannibal Holocaust](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannibal_Holocaust)_ had used essentially the same idea of making a horror film as a mockumentary. I’ve never heard of **Cannibal Holocaust** , but the gimmick of **The Blair Witch Project** is that it was a documentary supposedly compiled of found/recovered footage taken by the subjects; _that’s_ the trend it started. Is that was CH did, or is it just Spinal Tap with zombies? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513/34 "2014-05-29T05:52:22Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > I’ve never heard of **Cannibal Holocaust** , but the gimmick of **The Blair Witch Project** is that it was a documentary supposedly compiled of found/recovered footage taken by the subjects; _that’s_ the trend it started. Is that was CH did, or is it just Spinal Tap with zombies? from the link offered previously: > [@](#): > > The film tells the story of a missing documentary film crew who had gone to the Amazon to film cannibal tribes. A rescue mission, led by the New York University anthropologist Harold Monroe, recovers the film crew’s lost cans of film, which an American television station wishes to broadcast. Upon viewing the reels, Monroe is appalled by the team’s actions, and after learning their fate, he objects to the station’s intent to air the documentary. The presentation of the film team’s lost footage, functioning similar to a flashback, innovated the found footage style of narrative filmmaking, later popularized by such films as the The Blair Witch Project. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513/35 "2014-05-29T06:47:00Z")
I can think of a lot of movies that have unique visual styles, but most of them suck. For example, “Zachariah.” The sixties and seventies were a period of great visual experimentation, and frequent failure. ---
**Author:** ![HyacinthBucket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hyacinthbucket/32/3063_2.png) [@HyacinthBucket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HyacinthBucket)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513/36 "2014-05-29T11:51:35Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > I can think of a lot of movies that have unique visual styles, but most of them suck. For example, “Zachariah.” The sixties and seventies were a period of great visual experimentation, and frequent failure. And from that time period - **Grand Prix**. Incredible racing visuals and sounds, and brilliant use of split-screen and multiple checkerboard-type images not just in the opening sequence but throughout the film, and all this long before the use of in-car cameras had become a normal part of motor racing coverage. Monaco at speed from the drivers’ eye level is still dazzling. 😃 Rent the film if you can, or check out the first few minutes here starting at about 15 seconds in, and ignore the totally unnecessary added “music” that someone foolishly thought was more interesting than the actual soundtrack. In the film there was no music during this sequence at all, just the sounds of cars at speed. On a giant screen and in a theater that had what for the time was a state of the art sound system, it was guaranteed to get your adreniline pumping. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Ghyr2iG-its/maxresdefault.jpg "A tribute to the movie GRAND PRIX") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ghyr2iG-its) The storyline stunk, but the racing footage more than made up for it. ---
**Author:** ![CheshireKat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheshirekat/32/1207_2.png) [@CheshireKat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheshireKat)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513/37 "2014-05-29T13:03:30Z")
The 1992 film **[Toys](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toys_(film))** certainly fits “unusual” with its odd plot, characters and Magritte-like scenery. I loved Joan Cusack in this film. Another strange movie starring Juliette Lewis is **[Meet the Hollowheads](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095608/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_66)**. It’s rated under 5 on IMDB, but worth watching for the sheer bizarreness. ---
**Author:** ![PurpleClogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@PurpleClogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleClogs)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513/38 "2014-05-29T15:57:36Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > _Who Framed Roger Rabbit_ broke the mold as far as integrating live action and animation. I thought of that one too at first, but there were actually lots of previous [live/animated movies](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Films_with_live_action_and_animation) like Mary Poppins, Incredible Mr Limpet, Xanadu, and many others. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513/39 "2014-05-29T16:29:25Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Anything by Wes Anderson. > > **2001: A Space Odyssey** > > **The Matrix.** The Matrix is an incredibly dumb movie. But such style! ---
**Author:** ![CheshireKat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheshirekat/32/1207_2.png) [@CheshireKat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheshireKat)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513/40 "2014-05-29T16:40:20Z")
I’ll add two more suggestions - Pleasantville, and anything by Tim Burton. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-unique-style/689513.md?page=3)