# Strangest Movie You Ever Saw? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 7, 2019, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616 "2019-05-07T14:50:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616/81 "2019-05-08T08:16:53Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Tossup between _[Montenegro](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082770/)_ and _[The Honorary Consu](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085236/)l_. > > The former tells the story of a bored American housewife in Sweden, who alleviates the boredom by setting a fire, eating her family’s entire dinner, and trying to poison the dog. She ends up in some sort of nightclub with a bunch of really strange people, including a stripper who dances with a radio-controlled truck sporting a dildo. Critically-acclaimed, but it left a lot of us non-critics, saying “What the hell was that?” > . The films of Dusan Makavejev are all weird (and even his sole “mainstream” movie, [The Coca-Cola Kid](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088931/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_5), is stranger that it should be), but IMHO, [Sweet Movie](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072235/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_8) is the weirdest. From its IMDB summary: > [@](#): > > In the contest of the “most virgin” Miss Monde 1984, Miss Canada wins, and prize is the marriage with the milk industry tycoon with his fifty billion dollars fortune. In their honeymoon, Miss Canada “does not accept” the golden prostate of her husband, and with the support of the family bodyguard Jeremiah Muscle, she gets boarded to Paris. There she meets a Latin lip-sync singer, El Macho, they have an intercourse in Eiffel Tour and they get stuck together. She moves to an anarchic community of sodomy and later she becomes an actress working in a erotic chocolate advertisement. Meanwhile, the revolutionary, pedophile, and mad killer Anna Planeta makes candy in her boat while sailing through the canals of a city that seems to be Amsterdam. She meets the sailor Potemkin and they have a torrid affair. Meanwhile she uses her candies to seduce young boys and kill her lovers. In the middle of the story, it is presented what seem to be footages of a Nazi doctor and a slaughter in a war with … I’d also like to note that the Pier Paolo Pasolini is not getting nearly enough love in this thread. What, is [Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073650/?ref_=nm_flmg_wr_13) too normal for you? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616/82 "2019-05-08T09:17:36Z")
Lots of wonderful choices so far. Let me add two very strange but quite wonderful movies by Robert Altman. [Images](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068732/reference) (with Susannah York as a disturbed housewife). The dream-like [3 Women](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075612/reference) (with Sissy Spacek and Shelley Duval) I shouldn’t forget to mention Polanski’s [Repulsion](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059646/reference) (with a young, gorgeous Catherine Deneuve). A rather disturbing film (and not unlike [The Machinist](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361862/reference)). ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616/83 "2019-05-08T09:47:33Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Eraserhead. Aw, c’mon! No fair ninja’ing me with the second post in the thread! ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616/84 "2019-05-08T10:31:13Z")
[Greaser’s Palace](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greaser%27s_Palace) directed by Robert Downey Sr. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616/85 "2019-05-08T10:31:48Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Speaking of Terry Gilliam, there is [_Tideland_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tideland_(film)), which is pretty controversial, but I like it. ([trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pySXc-6GoU)) Tideland _is_ odd. [Escape from Tomorrow](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2187884/), [Darling](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4126394/), and [Bunraku](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1181795/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_16) are also just as strange, though. ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_Raygun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c67d28/32.png) [@Ronald\_Raygun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_Raygun)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616/86 "2019-05-08T11:01:21Z")
I’ve been working through the 366 Weird Movies list, which has many of the films mentioned in this thread. [https://366weirdmovies.com/the-weird-movie-list/](https://366weirdmovies.com/the-weird-movie-list/) My top four favorite films are all on the list: _Vertigo_, _A Serious Man_, _Antichrist_, and _Иди и смотри_. As far as the weirdest, maybe _Doggiewoggiez! Poochiewoochiez!_, a (very) loose remake of Jodorowski’s _The Holy Mountain_ made out of film and Internet dog footage. ---
**Author:** ![UnwittingAmericans](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d9b06d/32.png) [@UnwittingAmericans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwittingAmericans)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616/87 "2019-05-08T11:20:51Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The films of Dusan Makavejev are all weird (and even his sole “mainstream” movie, [The Coca-Cola Kid](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088931/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_5), is stranger that it should be), but IMHO, [Sweet Movie](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072235/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_8) is the weirdest. From its IMDB summary: > > I’d also like to note that the Pier Paolo Pasolini is not getting nearly enough love in this thread. What, is [Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073650/?ref_=nm_flmg_wr_13) too normal for you? John Vernon (Dean Wormer from Animal House) has a cameo in Sweet Movie. I went on a “weird foreign movie” bender a couple of years ago where I watched nothing but shit like Sweet Movie and Salo and Catherine Breillat, etc. films for a few months. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616/88 "2019-05-08T18:06:36Z")
Here’s my “wide” release example of strangeness: [_Head_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_(film)). The answer to the question: What if The Monkees starred in a film co-written by Jack Nicholson? Look at this list of secondary actors: Victor Mature, Teri Garr, Carol Doda, Annette Funicello, Frank Zappa, Sonny Liston, Timothy Carey, and Ray Nitschke. A classic old time Hollywood star, an up and comer, a stripper, a Mouseketeer/teen idol, an avant-garde musician, a boxer, a character actor known for playing weirdos and a football player. How could this movie not sweep the Oscars? Because it’s crap. OTOH, it is bizarre crap. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616/89 "2019-05-08T18:29:33Z")
It would be hard to beat _Rubber_. _Fantastic Planet_ A French cartoon movie. Enough said. _A Town Called Panic_. Imagine if a French director did a stop motion pastiche of _Toy Story_ with a budget of $10,000 and you sort of get an idea of what this movie is. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616/90 "2019-05-08T19:03:33Z")
**Tree of Life**. It was also boring as hell. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616/91 "2019-05-08T19:49:32Z")
The ultimate in strange is probably _[Un Chien Andalou](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Un_Chien_Andalou)_. The opening scene is still shocking (and gross), and the movie has no actual plot – just weird images. Which is pretty much what to expect from a Salvador Dali and Luis Bunuel teamup. > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I’ve never seen “The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover” nor have I seen it mentioned here until now. Has anyone here seen it, or will admit to it? When it came out, and for several years afterwards, THAT seemed to define “strange movie.” > > [The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097108/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) I saw it and liked it a lot, but it’s definitely strange. Next to the cannibalism, the most memorable bit of weirdness was that the characters clothes would change color when they went into another room. Peter Greenaway evidently did a lot of weird stuff, but I haven’t been able to see much else. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616/92 "2019-05-08T20:37:17Z")
I found a little list here: [Canonically Weird (The List) | 366 Weird Movies](https://366weirdmovies.com/category/weird-movies/) I must have seen at least half of them. A few are even masterpieces. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616/93 "2019-05-08T20:57:34Z")
[Re: The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover] > [@RealityChuck](#): > > I saw it and liked it a lot, but it’s definitely strange. Next to the cannibalism, the most memorable bit of weirdness was that the characters clothes would change color when they went into another room. > > Peter Greenaway evidently did a lot of weird stuff, but I haven’t been able to see much else. **Colibri** pointed out\*\* A Zed and Two Noughts\*\* (my strongest memory of that is the two twins who aspire to _become_ conjoined) and **The Draughtsman’s Contract** (fairly conventional). At the other end of the scale you have **Drowning by Numbers** which largely consists of a series of games - some played by the characters, some forming part of the film (the numbers 1 to 100 appear randomly on objects through the film; if I remember correctly, scenes begin with visual recreations of renaissance paintings, or something like that); it also has a plot, but I won’t spoil it for you (Hah!). And then there’s **M is for Man, Music, Mozart** [(snippet)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfpLSv2gz_g), my major memory of which is dozens of naked middle aged men slapping their thighs. Nope, me either - but I will always watch, because Greenaway is always…odd.\*\* Prospero’s Books\*\*, His adaption of The Tempest, has John Gielgud speaking the lines of every character (though other actors play the parts). Greenaway’s explanation, as I remember it, was that if you have access to a voice like that, you use it. Fair point. j ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616/94 "2019-05-08T21:00:39Z")
Gummo I have probably seen weirder movies since, but that one broke the ‘WTF!? Mold’. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616/95 "2019-05-08T21:26:03Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > I found a little list here: [Canonically Weird (The List) | 366 Weird Movies](https://366weirdmovies.com/category/weird-movies/) Did you find it in posts #53 and #86? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616/96 "2019-05-08T21:46:51Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Mmm, for me it’s a tossup between _Head_ (starring the Monkees!) or the all-star mess that is the 1967 _Casino Royale_. And “Head” was rated G, no less! ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616/97 "2019-05-08T22:19:04Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I’ve never seen “The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover” nor have I seen it mentioned here until now. Has anyone here seen it, or will admit to it? When it came out, and for several years afterwards, THAT seemed to define “strange movie.” The strangest guy I’ve ever known said that it was too weird for him. That made it a hard pass for me. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616/98 "2019-05-08T22:44:06Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > The strangest guy I’ve ever known said that it was too weird for him. That made it a hard pass for me. Sorry for the late response. Sure, I’ve seen it. Yes, it’s a good film. I didn’t even think it was that “weird” (though I have admitted to seeing a substantial chunk of that infamous “certified weird” list, so who knows what are my standards, bear in mind). The thing to remember is, it’s an artistic film, so sometimes if someone does something (or if colours change between shots, or whatever), it is metaphorical or symbolic; you are not watching a documentary. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616/99 "2019-05-08T23:34:41Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Sorry for the late response. Sure, I’ve seen it. Yes, it’s a good film. I didn’t even think it was that “weird” (though I have admitted to seeing a substantial chunk of that infamous “certified weird” list, so who knows what are my standards, bear in mind). The thing to remember is, it’s an artistic film, so sometimes if someone does something (or if colours change between shots, or whatever), it is metaphorical or symbolic; you are not watching a documentary. YMMV but any film involving cannibalism and scatology is weird in my book. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616/100 "2019-05-08T23:48:23Z")
I’ve tried a couple of times to watch _Magical Mystery Tour_, but the weird factor is just a bit too much for me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-movie-you-ever-saw/833616.md?page=6)