# Movies you love that no one else has even heard of **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 6, 2002, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571 "2002-07-06T01:48:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571/101 "2002-07-11T05:21:53Z")
How can I forget: \*\*Streets of Fire \*\* Michael Pare, Diane Lane & the most underused actor in Hollywood, Willem Dafoe. Amercenary goes after his ex-girlfriend who has been kidnapped by a gang. Campy-comic bookish. Great fun. It’s greatest fame is the hit song, " I can dream about you…" ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571/102 "2002-07-11T15:01:33Z")
I used to have a roommate who worked at a video store and always brought back weird and obscure films like the ones previously mentioned. I remember **Tampopo** …it’s a Japanese flick about a woman struggling to maintain a noodle stand, but is crumbling in the face of competition. Then, from out of the sunset, comes a stranger wearing a cowboy hat (complete with _Good, bad and Ugly_ type entrance music) who takes her under his wing and instructs her in the Zen ways of preparing noodles. Very clever, very tongue in cheek. **Mom and Dad Save the Universe** I think it’s supposed to be a movie for kids, but it has such funny lines and an extended stretch about stupid soldiers who keep picking up a grenade labelled “Do not touch,” it’s a riot. It stars Jon Lovitz as the would-be emperor of the universe. He’s as over-the-top as a human being can possibly get and it still works. ---
**Author:** ![OESGal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecae2f/32.png) [@OESGal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OESGal)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571/103 "2002-07-11T17:16:38Z")
Well, I feel I must chime in here too. Anyone seen **Six String Samurai**? It was very strange, yet somewhat cool. It’s about this guy who has some odd adventures on his way to LA after some atomic weapon (I think) has destroyed much of earth. Kinda like the wizard of oz, but not really. Oh, he is a guitarist too 😉 Hence the “six string” part of the title. Just watch it, trust me. How 'bout **The Madness of King George**? No one I know has seen it exept my family. Saw it years ago, but remember it being funny. Then there is **Defending Your Life** Merryl Streep is in this one. A uniqe movie, sorta romantic comedy. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571/104 "2002-07-12T04:36:48Z")
[The Dresser](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0085461) – good movie. Never met anyone who had even herad of it. [I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0093239) – same goes. ---
**Author:** ![earwiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@earwiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/earwiggy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571/105 "2002-07-12T04:55:22Z")
**Time Bandits** , does the fit the requirements? An early eighties, very weird movie **Dead and Buried** Zombie movie, excellent ending **Muriel’s Wedding** My favorite movie of all time, Toni Collette is great. **The Green Knight** Sean Connery is in this one, about Sir Gawain and all that. Kind of cheesy **The Tune** Cartoon movie by artists that usually do MTV spots about a guy’s search for the ultimate tune. **Dark City** was mentioned already but totally excellent **THX 1130 (8?)** not sure if it is 1130 or 1138, but very grim take on the future, reminded me of 1984 ---
**Author:** ![SisterCoyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@SisterCoyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SisterCoyote)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571/106 "2002-07-12T05:48:36Z")
Loved Time Bandits and Brazil. Jabberwocky was a little weird even for me. 12 Monkeys was interesting. The Fisher King…well, it did have Michael Jeter in it, anyway. THX 1138 - Lucas’ first foray into filmmaking Also, realized I forgot one on my list - it was a made for HBO movie in the early 80s starring Robert Preston called “Finnegan, Begin Again.” For some reason, I just fell in love with it. ---
**Author:** ![Melon\_Farmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Melon\_Farmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melon_Farmer)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571/107 "2002-07-12T06:14:41Z")
OESGirl, you just mentioned one of my favorite movies - **Defending Your Life** and one of my unfavorite movies - **Six String Samurai**. What are the odds? ---
**Author:** ![Manatee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/50afbb/32.png) [@Manatee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manatee)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571/108 "2002-07-12T07:32:05Z")
Howzabout **Mad Monster Party**? ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571/109 "2002-07-12T08:28:50Z")
I’ve mentioned **Samurai Fiction** in an earlier thread, but there are two other good movies by the same director, Hiroyuki Nakano. **Aka Kage** , about a team of ninjas on various missions. Like **Samiurai Fiction** , it has a serious story, but is kept just tongue-in-cheek enough to be hysterically funny at times. **Stereo Future** , set in modern times, but about a man whose dream is to act in Samurai dramas. The style makes a little more sense if you’ve seen the other two. ---
**Author:** ![earwiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@earwiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/earwiggy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571/110 "2002-07-17T02:52:58Z")
What about ALF? Hated that show ---
**Author:** ![Lorenzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4da419/32.png) [@Lorenzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorenzo)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571/111 "2002-07-17T04:24:43Z")
“Alice’s Restaurant,” a pretty fair-handed look at Arlo Guthrie’s coming of age in the 60’s. I like it a lot. “The Dark Backward”, a major studio attempt at a cult classic. Very odd yet good. The scene of the garbagemen picking up the trash is a classic. Monty Python’s “The Meaning of Life” I liked “Freejack”, too. ---
**Author:** ![p\_cific\_812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@p\_cific\_812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/p_cific_812)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571/112 "2002-07-17T04:44:12Z")
_Brainsmasher: A Love story_ OK, we got… [ul][li]Andrew Dice Clay (gritty, foul-mouthed bouncer-- who else?)[/li][li]Terri Hatcher (professional model-- makes sense)[/li][li]angry Kung-fu’ish type guys[/li][li]poorly choreograped fight scenes[/li][li]cheesy 80s 'esque romance[/ul][/li]What more does a movie need to be classic? ---
**Author:** ![aquariusrhimme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f05b48/32.png) [@aquariusrhimme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aquariusrhimme)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571/113 "2002-07-17T15:08:44Z")
Suburbia Foxfire Man Bites Dog Dark City All good movies (I tend to like weird movies and other movies that just appeal to me for no apparent reason) ---
**Author:** ![mr.greg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@mr.greg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.greg)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571/114 "2002-07-17T16:20:58Z")
**The Efficiency Expert** aka **Spotswood** with Russell Crowe and Anthony Hopkins **Matewan** with Chris Cooper and James Earl Jones - this is about a coal mining town in West Virginia and the revolt against the company **Mean Streets** with DeNiro and Keitel - an early Scorsese film. Introduces one of the greatest derogatory terms ever - Mook. **Johnny Stecchino** with Roberto Begnini **The Ice Storm** by Ang Lee. Most people I know haven’t seen it. A great film **To The Extreme** with Vanilla Ice;) - Just kiddin’ folks. This one sucks. ---
**Author:** ![aquariusrhimme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f05b48/32.png) [@aquariusrhimme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aquariusrhimme)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571/115 "2002-07-17T17:20:31Z")
I almost forgot… Cannibal The Musical I love that movie! (I think it was Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s college film project) ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571/116 "2002-07-17T17:50:17Z")
**AHunter3** and **spooje** … yay for _Miracle Mile_! It’s one of my all-time favorite movies. Had to fight like hell to buy it on VHS several years ago; I don’t think it’s available in any format now. I watch it every now and again. Nobody’s mentioned _Closet Land_ yet, I think. Perhaps Alan Rickman’s best performance ever. Great, somewhat disturbing film. The trippy _Cube_. If you can get through the first 10 or 15 minutes of gross “traps” that get sprung on hapless victims, it’s a very suspenseful piece of work. Someone did mention _Strange Days_, and I second that. Great performances by Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett (she kick SO much ass), and James Cameron’s best script other than _The Abyss_. Good thing he didn’t direct it, though, I figure he would have loused it up. 🙂 Someone also mentioned Peter Jackson’s _Dead-Alive_ (or _Brain-Dead_ outside the States, I think), and I second that, too. Great gory fun. And I’ll add Jackson’s _Heavenly Creatures_, which I can only describe as the strangest love story I’ve ever seen on film. Merits attention, also, the the lovely Kate Winslet’s first feature (hi, Guinastasia!). Ken Branagh’s little-known _A Winter’s Tale_. A black-and-white film about a troupe of actors committed to an independent production of Hamlet on stage, and the various interactions that take place among them. Very cool. And finally, what is probably my favorite film, Peter Weir’s _Fearless_. It get almost no attention, compared to Weir’s other films (_Witness_ and _The Truman Show_, for example), but to me it is his masterwork. Great performances and a simple yet subtle story that packs an emotional wallop like a sledgehammer, with a storytelling structure Quentin Tarantino has wet dreams about. An awesome film. That should do it… I’ll have to check out a few I’ve seen on this list. Good stuff. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571/117 "2002-07-17T18:28:38Z")
Much more recent than most of these, but it hasn’t gotten the kudos I really think it should: **Lifeform**. Also called **Invader**. An “Alien” movie, but great, thought-provoking dialogue and a fun alien. And apparently I’m the only person in the state to have seen **Blacula**! Fun, fun movie. ---
**Author:** ![OESGal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecae2f/32.png) [@OESGal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OESGal)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571/118 "2002-07-17T19:49:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Melon Farmer \* > \*\*OESGirl, you just mentioned one of my favorite movies - **Defending Your Life** and one of my unfavorite movies - **Six String Samurai**. > > What are the odds? \*\* Well, isn’t that interesting? No idea what the odds would be on that one 😃 ---
**Author:** ![OESGal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecae2f/32.png) [@OESGal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OESGal)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571/119 "2002-07-17T19:53:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by aquariusrhimme \* > \*\*I almost forgot… > > Cannibal The Musical > > I love that movie! > > (I think it was Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s college film project) \*\* Oh, I forgot that one!!:rolleyes: Wish I had the time I spent watching that back, but worth seeing just to say you have. ---
**Author:** ![New\_Improved\_Scott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f17d59/32.png) [@New\_Improved\_Scott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/New_Improved_Scott)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2002, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571/120 "2002-07-18T06:32:12Z")
Let’s see, from the ones mentioned here so far; I’ve seen and liked: Free enterprise Tron Boondock Saints Final Destination The Bear (even if it was sad) Strange Days Time Bandits eh: Shallow Grave and hated: The Blood of Heroes Dead Alive As for my own movies that I liked but few people have seen: **Glory Daze** with John Rhys-Davies, Ben Affleck, and French Stewart. It’s about graduating college and having no direction in life. **The House of Yes** with Parker Posey, Tori Spelling, and Freddy Prinze Jr. The most bizarre film I’ve seen in a while. Very disturbing in a very placid way. **Transformers: The Movie** with Leonard Nimoy, Orson Wells, Judd Nelson, Robert Stack, Casey Casem, and the micromachines fast talking guy, John Moschita. An all star cast for an 90 minute commercial, where they kill your toys! Saw it a a child and having my toys die on screen sticks with you. **Robot Jox** with a bunch of big robots. It’s not that good, but has lots of stop-go animated robots! **Princess Mononoke** with the voices of Gillian Anderson, Minnie Driver and Billy Crudup. An Anime film that is deep with morality and metaphor. **Iron Monkey** A kung-fu movie with the stunt director from Crouching Tiger and the Matrix. If you take those two movies, remove the pesky plot stuff, and add more fight scenes, voila, Iron Monkey. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-love-that-no-one-else-has-even-heard-of/117571.md?page=7)