What films have you seen that no one you know has ever seen? I don’t mean foreign (to the US) films that many people have heard of but never seen, like The Seventh Seal or Belle Du Jour, but films that were so poorly distributed or watched that no one has even heard of them.
Two of my favorites are:
Vozvrashcheniye (The Return), a Russian film in which the you are offered up all kinds of thriller-esque foreshadowing, and then when the ultimate event actually occurs, it is so different, heartfelt, and bittersweet than what you were expecting that it blows you out of the water.
Diamond Men, about diamond salesmen. Not a great movie; the performances, except for the always perfect Robert Forster, were kind of blah, and the dialog was nothing to write home about, but the movie did the terrific thing of not letting the viewer get ahead of the plot. Just when you think you know what is going to happen next, the movie makes a right angle turn into a different direction.
Layer Cake, last year’s effort from Matthew Vaughn. (Snatch, Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels.) Great fun. No one seems to have heard of it 'round here, which I find completely mystifying.
There’s a great movie called Crime Wave that nobody’s seen. No, not that one. Not that one either. Nope, that’s not the one. This one!
First of all, it’s filmed entirely on old Kodak stock, and has a beautiful supersaturated look that helps to make it look like something from another time altogether. The atmosphere is very surreal. The action centers around an aspiring screenwriter who wants to make the ultimate Colour Crime Film. His problem is that he can only write beginnings and endings – he can’t manage to connect them up. (We’re shown his beginnings and endings as he continually revises them) He’s a great character. He lives in a rented space in a suburban family’s garage, and he can only write be the light of a streetlamp that comes in through the window. The family’s preteen daughter is fascinated by him – she’s the narrator. (The writer is so introverted that he doesn’t speak at all.) She’s determined to help him get his movie made. And then-- then they meet Dr. Jolly.
If you ever have an opportunity to see this film, don’t pass it up. You’ve never seen anything like it, guaranteed. (David Lynch comes close, sometimes.)
The Blue Iguana: Quirky movie starring a pre-Practice Dylan McDermott as a bounty hunter run afoul of the IRS and forced into a Mexican bank heist. Memorable for its film-noire style and goofy supporting cast, including Dean Stockwell, Tovah Feldshuh, Pamela Gidley, James Russo, Jessica Harper and Flea.
Six-String Samurai, a post-apocalyptic rock ‘n’ roll movie that features guitar-slinging swordsman Buddy Holly fighting a variety of villains and bandits as he crosses the wasteland of America on his way to “Lost Vegas.” The movie is extremely low-budget, but it feels like an anime come to life, and features one of the greatest soundtracks ever, thanks to the Siberian surf band called The Red Elvises.
“Bad Medicine,” a mid-80’s comedy about American students at a dismal medical school in some fictional Latin American country. I think it’s pretty damn funny and I thought Alan Arkin did a great job and had a great scene where he talks about being the minority who nobody respects as a doctor. Netflix doesn’t even carry this movie, last I checked, and I’d love to see it again.
It had a lot of good gags, though they might not look very funny any more, as they’ve probably been incorporated into more famous movies in the meantime.
Yes, I know here in CyberWorld, everyone knows about it. Cause we are all pathetic Lusers.
In my life, I have met two people that have seen this movie: the guy who introduced it to me and strangley enough, the husband of one of my best friends when he got my reference to " John Small Berries."
Other than that, it’s been a dry spell.
oh, and Lion in Winter. No one I know IRL has ever seen it. It never gets mentioned whenever those Top 100 Films Evar!!!1111!!! come out. I don’t know why. It is simply awesome and has a plot,dialoge, acting and sets. That’s what is wrong with it.
Gotta agree with you there, BBVL. Fandango an early Kevin Costner, Jude Nelson flick about some college boys coming of age in Vietnam times and how they go on a quest in south texas. Dealing with War, drafting and dodging issues.
Very entertaining. Costner is completely charming and Judd Nelson is wonderful as a total weenie. " I’m not a weenie."
The guy who ends up giving them parachuting lessons steals the show.
I watched Heavy, a movie about a meek man whose life spirals out of control and he’s too withdrawn to do anything about it, a couple days ago and really liked it but judging by the lack of commentary at IMDb and other movie sites, it looks like I’m one of maybe three dozen people to’ve seen it.
Last Night, a heartwarming Canadian movie about the night before the end of the world. The only person I know who has seen it is the person who introduced me to it.
Yeah, I was sad for a couple hours afterwards but liked it because I identified with the protagonist to an extent. Wanting to change but feeling powerless to be able to is something I relate to all too well.
Orlando. Well, I’m sure someone has seen it, but most people I know have never heard of it. When I was in high school, I saw Madonna on MTV talking about this movie. They showed a small clip, and I was so taken with the look of the film that I made it my mission to find it. When I finally did find it and was able to watch it, I was impressed. I guess no one else was as taken with the clip as I was though, because aside from my best friend, I’ve never met anyone else who has seen it.
Mockingbird Don’t Sing - In 1970, a 13-year-old girl, Katie Stanton, is discovered in a small L.A. suburb. Her parents kept her locked up and tied to a potty chair since she was born. She cannot speak, walk or communicate. Based on a true story. Very sad story, but not a tearjerker.
Oh, man…I saw Orlando at an on-campus showing years ago in grad school…and I thought it was terrible. Now that I’m older, I might have some appreciation for it, but at the time it was a running joke meaning “awful.”
Sordid Lives and Daddy’s Dyin’… Who’s Got the Will?, both by Del Shores and both no-budget flicks about a southern family coming together for a funeral starring Beau Bridges, are hysterical and have had essentially no audience.
Jesus of Montreal is one of the best and most intelligent films ever made to deal with Christianity (its origins and its modern practice).