# Recommend intelligent, thought provoking films please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 2, 2011, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903 "2011-04-02T02:18:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/61 "2011-05-31T02:53:37Z")
_The Believer_ with Ryan Gosling as a Jewish Nazi makes American History X look like a trite after-school special. Also features Billy Zane, Summer Phoenix and Garret Dillahunt (one of the best screen psychos ever) in one of his first roles. Ryan Gosling, as always, steals the show. The acting is unbelievable. Please, please watch this movie, it’s one of the most interesting I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/62 "2011-05-31T04:34:11Z")
The next film you watch should be Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/63 "2011-05-31T04:45:06Z")
[\*The Magdalene Sisters \*](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318411/) [_Maria Full of Grace_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390221/) [_The Woodsman_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361127/) - Kevin Bacon does an amazing job. I never really thought much of him as an actor before this. ---
**Author:** ![Frau\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ccd318/32.png) [@Frau\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frau_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/64 "2011-05-31T05:25:54Z")
_Lone Star_ (1996, John Sayles) _The Ice Storm_ _Vertigo_ _The Spanish Prisoner_ another vote for _The Station Agent_ another vote for _Closer_ and, while not in the same league, I see some themes in _The American_ and _The International_ that are similar to themes in some films in the o-post ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/65 "2011-05-31T07:45:21Z")
> [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](#): > > If you haven’t seen **Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind** , I would add that. Definitely. It was all I could talk about for a week after I first watched it. Excellent. > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > For my money, the best science fiction movie ever: [Primer](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390384/). It will make you think and think and think and think again in order to get what actually happened. Two years later…I’m still trying to figure out what the hell happened. [Gran Torino](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gran_torino/) - I’m floored nobody has mentioned this yet. [Four Lions](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/four_lions/) - Story about four inept British terrorists. Still not sure what to think of it. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/66 "2011-05-31T08:22:17Z")
You have failed, dopers. Only now, post #66, has perhaps one of the most “intelligent and thought provoking” movies been mentioned: **2001: A Space Odyssey** You’re welcome. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/67 "2011-05-31T22:33:24Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > _The Believer_ with Ryan Gosling as a Jewish Nazi makes American History X look like a trite after-school special. Also features Billy Zane, Summer Phoenix and Garret Dillahunt (one of the best screen psychos ever) in one of his first roles. Ryan Gosling, as always, steals the show. The acting is unbelievable. Please, please watch this movie, it’s one of the most interesting I’ve seen. I’ll second this recommendation. I found the whole thing thought provoking. ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/68 "2011-06-01T01:47:55Z")
A few more recommendations: [Ran](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089881/) [Never Let Me Go](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1334260/) [Lawrence of Arabia](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056172/) Really, the possibilities are endless! ---
**Author:** ![FredGarven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@FredGarven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FredGarven)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/69 "2011-06-01T19:05:31Z")
[Life is Beautiful](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118799/) - If you don’t mind subtitles or if you understand Italian, you cannot go wrong with this one. I cannot remember the last time a film touched me like this one. [Pulp Fiction](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110912/) - This one falls in the Crime, Drama, Thriller, Dark Comedy category. It is a must see for any film lover. In my opinion, though it may not seem “serious” on the surface, it satisfies your requirement of “a film that actually cares about presentation of it’s content in an artistic and sensitive fashion”. [Quentin Tarantino](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000233/) always delivers in that way. [Moon](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/) - I liked this one so much, I had to watch it twice in a row. Beware, my wife hated it. So it may take a certain kind of person to get it. And Last, but not least: [The Man From Earth](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0756683/) - IMDB Storyline: An impromptu goodbye party for Professor John Oldman becomes a mysterious interrogation after the retiring scholar reveals to his colleagues he is an immortal who has walked the earth for 14,000 years. This is certainly a thought-provoking movie. It is also one of my favorites. Also, I realize your extra week of time off has since come and gone, but I thought I would add these anyway for those who haven’t ever seen or heard of them. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/70 "2011-06-02T03:48:30Z")
[The White Ribbon](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1149362/) is one of my favorites of the last few years. The film takes place in a German town during the years preceding WWI. [Hunger](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0986233/). It’s about Irish hunger striker Bobby Sands. The conversation with the priest is fantastic. Also it was the breakout role for Michael Fassbender who will be enjoyed next week in X-Men. [Another Year](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1431181/) is Mike Leigh’s latest entry. [Antichrist](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0870984/) by the now infamous Lars von Trier is the definition of thought provoking. It’s a bit disturbing, but I quite liked it. [Incendies](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1255953/) may not be out in video stores (although it may, have’t checked). A mother sends her two children on a quest to help them better understand her. It might have been my favorite 2010 movie. Those are all recent movies but they were the first five that popped into my head (Aside from Meek’s Cutoff, but I was pretty sure you’d have to go to a theatre for that one). ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/71 "2011-06-02T04:21:38Z")
**Blade Runner** ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/72 "2011-06-02T04:34:39Z")
In[Feast of Love,](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H_fmBCS5tU) Charles Baxter’s story is beautifully illustrated in this film, and Morgan Freeman is the perfect Greco-Roman god narrator fallen to earth. Okay, that was a bit melodramatic. This is a gritty, dirty, sexy film with many plot twists, an angel to fall in love with, a heartbreaking loss, and a hard won payoff. But as a film student and lifelong connoisseur of film: this is my number 3. I promise your heart will grow with this one. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/73 "2011-06-02T04:39:21Z")
\*\*Cinema Paradiso Schindler’s List High Noon Once Upon a Time in America Once Upon a Time in the West The Best Years of Our Lives The Big Chill Bloody Sunday Boyz in the Hood Bamboozled Breaker Morant Gallipoli Letters From Iwo Jima The Caine Mutiny The Conversation Apocalypse Now Cool Hand Luke Full Metal Jacket Gandhi Groundhog Day Empire of the Sun The Day of the Jackal The French Connection The Fortune Cookie The China Syndrome Goodfellas Henry V How Green Was My Valley In Cold Blood Judgement at Nuremburg La Confidential \*\* When you’re done with these, let me know. I got more. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/74 "2011-06-02T12:41:55Z")
\*[Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119107/). [Grand Canyon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon_%281991_film%29). \* Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![notquitekarpov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@notquitekarpov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notquitekarpov)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/75 "2011-06-02T13:04:16Z")
Another vote from me for “ **The Lives of Others** ”. One of the few films I have sat through where the audience stood and clapped at the end. ---
**Author:** ![MattProle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ed8c4c/32.png) [@MattProle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MattProle)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/76 "2011-06-02T13:41:16Z")
I must all those that have provided their well thought out recommendations. I hope others have also benefited from this public offering of favorites. ~ Mattprole ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/77 "2011-06-02T14:32:39Z")
_Wings of Desire_ (Not the American remake, _City of Angels_. Just…not) _A Dry White Season_ _Time of the Gypsies_ _When Father was Away on Business_ _Come and See_ ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/78 "2011-06-02T22:19:32Z")
> [@FredGarven](#): > > And Last, but not least: > > [The Man From Earth](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0756683/) - IMDB Storyline: An impromptu goodbye party for Professor John Oldman becomes a mysterious interrogation after the retiring scholar reveals to his colleagues he is an immortal who has walked the earth for 14,000 years. > > This is certainly a thought-provoking movie. It is also one of my favorites. > > Also, I realize your extra week of time off has since come and gone, but I thought I would add these anyway for those who haven’t ever seen or heard of them. Ah, again I am too slow. How about this one: [Special](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0479162/) It’s the first movie I noticed Michael Rapaport in and now I’m seeing him in other stuff. Good acting and a very interesting movie. Seems like Science Fiction, but it’s not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903.md?page=3)