We bought The Last Valley solely based on the box cover and the actors in it!
I’ll second that. Lots of funny scenes. I liked the bit where Shaun and his mate are trying to kill a zombie by throwing old LPs at them.
Good thread, folks! I’m going to print this one out.
I recently got A Walk in the Sun on DVD. The DVD production isn’t the best (it’s a little dark in places) but this WW2 story is all about the dialog. If you watch this gem, you’ll never be able to see Richard Conte without thinking Butt me! (Made in 1945, solid cast.)
A few of my favorite relatively obscure films:[ul]
[li]“I Wanna Hold Your Hand”–An early Zemeckis/Spielberg film about a group of New Jersey teenagers on a road trip to NYC to see the Beatles. Starred Nancy Allen, Bobby DiCicco, Theresa Saldana, Mark McClure(Jimmy Olsen from “Superman”), Wendy Jo Sperber, and MST favorite Eddie Deezen(“Laserblast”). One of the best written, best acted and funniest teen comedies of all time, IMHO.[/li][li]“Wizards”–Ralph Bakshi animated film. Entertaining for both children and adults (though the ending may be a bit much for younger children).[/li][li]“J-Men Forever”–Firesign Theater’s Proctor and Bergman insert new dialogue into clips of old movie serials for a hilarious look at the war on drugs–more than 20 years ago![/li][li]“Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex…” and “Zelig”–Two of Woody Allen’s lesser known films. The former is a takeoff on David Reuben’s best-selling book with some great cameo appearances and Gene Wilder in a role you just won’t believe! The latter is a pseudo-documentary about Leonard Zelig, the “Human Chameleon” and, IMO, the only really funny film he’s made in the last 20 years.[/li][li]“Bob Roberts”–Another pseudo-documentary, directed by and starring Tim Robbins. The most scathing indictment of the neo-con revolution to date. Look for a young Jack Black in this one, along with another brilliant villain role by Alan Rickman.[/li][li]“They Live”–On the surface, a silly sci-fi film. Now think of what’s happened in this country since the Reagan years, watch this film, and see if it (even if only momentarily) makes you go “Hmmmmm”. [/li][/ul]
I t was a good book.
Highway 61 is one of my favorites that no one seems to know about. Except sometimes, and it’s always a delight to hear that someone has. I found this on VHS, cheap, and I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of it many times over.
Happy Accidents, starring Marisa Tomei and Vincent D’Onofrio, is such a sweet picture. You care about the characters and it keeps you guessing. Very nice.
Americathon—John Ritter is President Chester Roosevelt in the far-off year 1998. America is bankrupt and the Hebrab Empire is about to foreclose on it. Americans no longer drive, since they have no more oil, but they refuse to abandon their TVs, so to save the country, a telethon is launched. It’s based on a Firesign Theater sketch. Great movie.
And I have to second Hopscotch. This is a treasure.
I also second A Polish Vampire in Burbank. My sister and I were watching TV late one night and it just came on. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. If you like camp, you just can’t pass this one up. If I ever made a movie and it turned out even slightly as good as this, I’d be bursting with pride.
I used to think that no one had ever heard of Planes, Trains and Automobiles, but it seems to have emerged as a holiday classic, which pleases me to no end.
I don’t know whether it’s very well known or not, but tonight i watched Southern Comfort.
Great film.
Seconded. That’s the first time I saw Powers Boothe after he was Jim Jones (too convincingly) in a movie abvout the Jonestown Massacre/suicide.
Fandango Is ** Kevin Costner’s** first big role, I think, before Silverado.
I love this little film and no one I know has ever seen it.
Wonderful, quirky, romantic, road comedy. Jello Biafra’s cameo as a US customs officer is hysterical. Probably the best of Bruce McDonald and Don McKellar’s collaborations.
See also, Don McKellar’s Last Night, as mentioned earlier. A deadpan comedy about the end of the world.
And, Bruce McDonald’s masterpiece Hard Core Logo. It isn’t just a great Canadian punk rock movie, it’s one of the greatest rock’n’roll movies, ever. It’s criminal that one of the best movies of its genre is so little known. It definitely ranks up there alongside This is Spinal Tap, Gimme Shelter and Almost Famous.
I’d like to offer a screwball comedy from the 1960s called John Goldfarb, Please Come Home. Richard Crenna stars as a U2 pilot who’s plane is shot down while flying over a desert kingdom. As it happens he is a former All-American and Notre Dame’s first Jewish quarterback. The king is played by Peter Ustinov (who is Jewish) who happens to have a wuss of a son who tried out for the Notre Dame team and didn’t make it. The king agrees to return Goldfarb to the Americans if Notre Dame’s football team will play his. He convinces Goldfarb that the only way he’s going to get home is to coach the king’s team and win! Shirley MacLaine plays an American reporter who sneaks into the harem in order to get the inside story. The movie is about as politically incorrect as it can be and hysterically funny.
Another favorite of mine that sank almost without a trace is The Hot Rock. It stars Robert Redford and George Siegel. The cast also features Moses Gunn and Zero Mostel. The plot is that Gunn, a diplomat for a small, new African nation hires some criminals to steal a diamond that ended up on the wrong side of the border when the colony was partitioned after independence. The “rock” is in New York in a museum as part of an exhibit on Africa. The gang plots an elaborate scheme to steal the diamond that goes awry. They then need to steal it again… and again. Each successive caper requiring more elaborate equipment and more complicated plans. The movie also has a wonderful Quincy Jones score
I’ll have to add Screen Door Jesus. A wonderful exploration of the nature of faith – and very funny in spot. The scene where the grandmother explains Jesus to her grandchildren is priceless (“And he rose from the grave three days later.” “Like in a horror movie?” and my favorite, “If Jesus could do anything, he could make a robot with a soul.” – the clip is online as “VeraLynn Explains It All.”)
Before Sunrise by indie director Richard Linklater.
If you have not seen this film, I envy you. The jacket tries to pass it off as a standard chick-flick/love story, but it’s so much more than that.
It’s one of the most beautiful, thoughtful, and heartbreaking films I’ve ever seen. I’m surprised more people haven’t heard of it.
The Sequel, Before Sunset, is not too shabby either.
The Quiet Earth (http://imdb.com/title/tt0089869/) : A very thought-provoking sci-fi movie
Second vote: Silent Running (http://imdb.com/title/tt0067756/): Another sci-fi movie with no laser guns
I swear that the robots from Silent Running were recycled in Star Wars (as junk robots on the Jawa vehicle on Tatooine in New Hope, and in Jaba’s “android” center in RotJ).
Ahhh Yes, Silent Running. One of my old favorites and a regular at the midnight showing. Huey, Dewey and Lewey were the robots and, now that you mention it, R2D2 is very similar in appearance and actions.
Thanks for the reminder.
Nic
A second for the Sadist. I vividly remember viewing it as a child and being totally disturbed by it. Watching it recently on dvd it still has power. The movie to me defines danger to the unwary.
La Jette, the Chris Marker short that 12 Monkeys was based on (a less obscure really good film).
Tapeheads, with Tim Robbins and John Cusack. Campy, funny.
Great movie! It’s based on one of Donald Westlake’s Dortmunder novels, all of which I highly recommend.
Afghanistan bananastand!