Despite my love of oatstraw tea and ginger pie…
The most unusual movie I have seen that actually fascinated me is Drowning by Numbers. You probably will want to see it at least twice – once for counting and once for going “Whoa! What?”. Oh, and sit with the remote control in hand.
Both Resevoir Dogs AND Pulp Fiction.
Dr. Strangelove
Magical Mystery Tour (The Beatles)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
…to name Just a few more…
I’ll second The Wicker Man and Night Of The Hunter. And add The Kid Stays In The Picture.
pugluver there have been TV movie remakes of both Night Of The Hunter and The Bad Seed. Both actually used to turn up on Lifetime occasionally. TBS was totally unremarkable. The early 90s NOTH remake starred Richard Chamberlain in Robert Mitchum’s “Preacher” role, and tried to play more as a straight dramatic film without the “dark fairy tale” atmosphere of the original classic. Plus Chamberlain played the role too weasely to make you think for a second he could worm his way into anyone’s trust. And he was more intimidating during his guest shot as Mr. Wick’s mother on The Drew Carey Show to give you an idea how unscary he was.
I have to second Miracle Mile. It’s kind of an obscure film, but I just couldn’t stop watching it. By the end, I was sitting on the edge of the sofa and my hands were sweating. But it ended too soon. The only real glitch was why he didn’t make the phone call earlier. Didn’t really hurt the plot, though.
Another great one was the made-for tv World War III. I’ve never forgotten the line that trying to stay out of a nuclear war has absolutely nothing to do with actually getting into one.
The Bedford Incident, with Sidney Poitier was good too. You have to know a little about certain kinds of submarine based weapons to get the ending, though. The same was true of The Hunt for Red October. The ending was too confused until I thought about the weapons systems, then I got it.
There’s also a 50s or 60s movie called Games, Simone Signoret(?), James Caan, and I forget the girl. It’s one of those “who’s outsmarting who?” movies, kinda like The Sting.
I should also give a partial vote to After Hours. Odd movie, not as compelling as Miracle Mile, and you might think it’s pointless at the end unless you read Roger Ebert’s review. (In short, what the main character goes through is “just another night in New York”. I can never figure these things out on my own, so I need Ebert).
There’s also a movie from the 40s, starring Kent Smith, Ann Sheridan, and Robert Alda. I can’t remember the name of it, but it’s the same as the name of Ann Sheridan’s character (like Anne Prentiss, or something). She’s a nightclub singer, Smith is a doctor that leaves his family for her, and you just won’t believe what crime he’s convicted of in the end. It’s on TCM from time to time.
Oh, I could go on…
You’re thinking of Nora Prentiss and you’re right, the ending is a humdinger.
Crash. When I saw it, more than half the audience walked out before it was even half over.
Pink Flamingoes because it’s the only movie I know of where a big, fat cross-dresser eats dog shit fresh from the dog.
Untamed Mistress, a pretty ghastly 60s zero-budget jungle adventure. Mostly notable for not-very-subtle references to gorilla-woman interspecies love. The lead actress, a real dish, spent her formative years with a gorilla tribe, until she was “rescued”, but she wants to return to her gorilla–
I can’t type any more; my head is beginning to ache.
However, Jacqueline Fontaine is a real treat for the eyes.
The earlier referenced “Brotherhood of the Wolves” is a good one–I can’t think of another movie that features such a collision of genres (plus, Monica Belucci!). However, I think foreign movies are more likely to produce that “one of a kind” reaction due to (i) a combination of lack of beholden-ness to big budget Hollywood story archetypes and (ii) different cultural emphases. Japanese movies in particular seem to bear this out (Audition, Battle Royale, Tetsuo).
My pick–“Bubba Ho-Tep”. An elderly Elvis and a black JFK battling a mummy who’s been stealing souls from their retirement community.
wasn’t there a film that ended with the film jumping the tracks and spinning off the projector?
Not only that, but… It’s debatable whether the villain is really the villain, or the greatest benefactor humanity’s ever had. That movie gave me bad dreams as a child.
My choices: Last Night, a truly off-beat and very Canadian movie about (this isn’t a spoiler) the last night of the world.
And The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. I apparently saw that movie as a small child and years later thought I’d dreamed it. Led to a catchphrase between my brother and me: “Is it atomic?” “It’s very atomic!”
Was that your brother Alec or Stephen?
Clockwork Orange
Try Irreversible which is told in reverse order, and in which
A man tracks down and kills the man who raped and beat his girlfriend. But we find out in the “later” part of the movie (earlier in time) that he has actually killed the wrong man.
I nominate The Vanishing. By the end of the movie you’ll be wishing the proverbial “fate worse than death” on the protagonist. This despite the fact that he’s a decent guy and you’ve come to like him quite a bit.
Bugsy Malone. Pretty much a standard (if seriously cliched) gangster movie, with an all-kid cast.
Going all the way back to the OP I have to second Who is Julia? I was surprised it handled the issues as well as it did, without being sensationalistic. It made you wonder " What would it be like to look in the mirror and see a totally different person staring back? Or the survivors guilt she felt, or the sadness when the little boy woke up and saw a woman who *looked[/] like Mommy but wasn’t anymore.
Death to Smoochy In what other movie is the Ice Capades a Mafia front hmm?
Pi No movie quite like it that I’ve ever seen
Second Brazil of course, since it’s my favorite movie. 
I think tetsuo has already been mentioned. Going left field from there, I would go through Tromeo and Juliet. The only Shakesperen adaption to feature Lemmy out of Motorhead as the narrator.
For totally off the wall, I would nominate lmost anything by Jan Swankmajer. That’s genuinely strange.
I think tetsuo has already been mentioned. Going left field from there, I would go through Tromeo and Juliet. The only Shakesperen adaption to feature Lemmy out of Motorhead as the narrator.
For totally off the wall, I would nominate almost anything by Jan Swankmajer. That’s genuinely strange.
Sleuth with Michael Caine, Laurence Olivier aaaand…Michael Caine!