# The Best Wierdest Film **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 20, 2008, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436 "2008-09-20T14:56:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436/21 "2008-09-20T17:21:32Z")
**Mirrormask**. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436/22 "2008-09-20T18:21:30Z")
**The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover** ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436/23 "2008-09-20T18:27:54Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > _The Forbidden Zone_ is a 1980s gem - a musical featuring 1930s jazz classics re-imagined by (early, deeply weird) Oingo Boingo. Herve Villachez is the tiny tyrant King of the Sixth Dimension, Susan Tyrell is his Queen, and Andy Warhol’s darling Viva is the Ex-Queen. > > The art direction is inspired by Max Fleischer and ether and airplane glue, and… oh hell, just [check out a clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okQxUNbqmsc&feature=related). (May not be worksafe.) That was pretty awesome! I need to find this to rent somewhere! ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436/24 "2008-09-20T18:49:42Z")
I second Greasers Palace. It is weird. Jesus landing by parachute in a zoot suit for starters. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436/25 "2008-09-20T18:55:05Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > That was pretty awesome! I need to find this to rent somewhere! [Here are some more musical numbers](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz8qq9fTesw) from _The Forbidden Zone_. I really like ‘The Queen’s Revenge’ (at 5:32) and ‘Pico And Sepulveda’ (following). I hate to post such a large link, as you really should see the whole thing without spoiling the experience; but it’s one of my favourite films and I can’t help sharing. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436/26 "2008-09-20T18:56:43Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > I second Greasers Palace. It is weird. Jesus landing by parachute in a zoot suit for starters. And The Holy Ghost is a guy in a sheet. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436/27 "2008-09-20T21:04:22Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > That was pretty awesome! I need to find this to rent somewhere! I just added it to my Netflix queue. I had been part of some sort of a test screening for what must have been an early version of it when I was in college (don’t remember the exact year, but it must have been 1970-74). I remember filling out a questionnaire after the viewing asking for my impressions and what I liked and didn’t like about it, but for some reason I’ve never seen the final version. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436/28 "2008-09-20T21:12:55Z")
[The Woman Chaser](http://http://www.geocities.com/thewomanchaser/). ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436/29 "2008-09-20T21:40:15Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > [The Woman Chaser](http://http://www.geocities.com/thewomanchaser/). [Fixed link](http://www.geocities.com/thewomanchaser/) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436/30 "2008-09-20T21:59:10Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > _ **Delicatessen** _ > A taste of the Apocalypse. A love story set in a dilapidated building in a blasted landscape, where cannibalism is the norm. I wonder if the clown would taste funny? I second this one. On top of the weird setting, premise and plot, there’s just so much entertainingly bizarre detail - the guy in the basement with the snails - the musical duets, the little impromptu rhythm skits… BTW, if you liked that movie, I recommend [Le Diner De Cons](http://www.amazon.com/Original-French-Version-English-Subtitles/dp/B000WPDCTE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1221947543&sr=8-2) - it probably doesn’t qualify as a candidate for this thread, as it’s quite a straight-up farce, but it’s masterfully done. -Without giving too much away… A group of intellectual professional men meets for dinner once a week where the entertainment is provided by their guests - they must each invite one person along - the most contemptible, pitiful or laughable idiot they can find, but it goes horribly wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436/31 "2008-09-20T22:16:24Z")
I’ll nominate [El Topo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Topo) (The Mole), certainly one of the weirdest movies ever made: > [@](#): > > Characterized by its bizarre characters and occurrences, use of maimed and dwarf performers, and heavy doses of Christian symbolism and Eastern philosophy, the film is about the eponymous character - a violent, black-clad gunfighter - and his quest for enlightenment. Images from the film are here: > **[subcin.com](http://www.subcin.com/bookfilm01.html)** I saw it when I was in college in the 1970s. A few years ago I saw it again on TV, and it was just as phantasmagorical and incomprehensible as I remember it - a combination of spaghetti western, religious allegory and freak show. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436/32 "2008-09-20T22:39:55Z")
I second **El Topo**. The local theater did a screening of that last year and it totally blew my mind. It was literally the weirdest experience I ever had in the film, and I was shocked that the whole thing took less than two hours. I’ve thought about watching it again, but I honestly don’t know if I could sit through it again. It really disturbed me on a lot of levels. I’m not saying it’s a bad movie–it’s not. It’s just…yeah. Also, of note, it’s one of the most misogynistic movies I had ever seen. Possibly the most misogynistic movie. ---
**Author:** ![BrynSublime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@BrynSublime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrynSublime)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436/33 "2008-09-20T23:12:15Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > \*\*Being John Malkovich. > > Brazil. > > A Clockwork Orange.\*\* > > Arguably, **The Fifth Element.** > > I’m sure there’s much more, but that’s all that’s at the top of my head. I second **Being John Malkovich** and **The Fifith Element** , although I didn’t really like these films, I can see how other people would. Chris Tucker’s character in **The Fifth Element** ruined it for me… he was beyond annoying. As soon as I posted the thread I knew someone would say **A Clockwork Orange** and I wasn’t disappointed! Although I personally couldn’t stand the film. I’m also a little surprised that no one has yet said **2001: A Space Odessey**. I didn’t like it, but I know a lot of people who do. And I thought of another pretty wierd movie that I really liked: **Adaptation** with Nicholas Cage. It was strange, yet original and beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436/34 "2008-09-20T23:16:18Z")
[Freaks](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022913/) (considering it was released in 1932…) **Blue Velvet** is another one. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436/35 "2008-09-20T23:22:30Z")
I’ll second the [_Cremaster Cycle_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cremaster_Cycle) nomination, and absolutely _Cremaster 3_. Watched a couple of them after accidentally wandering into the wrong bit of an art gallery in Cologne several years ago. Very strange indeed. Secondly, a film I ended up skipping through the other week as I really wasn’t in the mood for violent weirdness, but try Jan Svankmajer’s live action/animated surreal horror [_Little Otik_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Otik) (childless couple adopt tree stump that turns carnivorous). ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436/36 "2008-09-20T23:32:27Z")
I always liked [Rubin and Ed](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubin_and_Ed), but it’s been at least 15 years since I last saw it. **Being John Malkovich** was amazing. > [@](#): > > I second Being John Malkovich and The Fifith Element, although I didn’t really like these films, I can see how other people would. Chris Tucker’s character in The Fifth Element ruined it for me… he was beyond annoying. I agree about Chris tucker, but I grew to tolerate his character, and I grew to really like the movie a lot. Joe ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436/37 "2008-09-20T23:53:02Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I’ll nominate [El Topo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Topo) (The Mole), certainly one of the weirdest movies ever made: Hey that is by the same guy who made **Holy Mountain**. Kind of amazing that with the whole world of cinema to pick from, someone so obscure made this list twice. Those are some really, really, really strange movies. **NOT SAFE FOR WORK** [Here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsMtjxOxiHY) is the “Frogs and Lizards reenact the conquest of the Aztecs” scene from **Holy Mountain**. Be warned that it’s more than a little disturbing and I imagine some frogs and lizards were indeed hurt in the filming. ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436/38 "2008-09-20T23:57:58Z")
_**[Man Bites Dog](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103905/)**_ Documentary of a serial killer. Live and on location. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436/39 "2008-09-20T23:59:29Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Hey that is by the same guy who made **Holy Mountain**. Kind of amazing that with the whole world of cinema to pick from, someone so obscure made this list twice. Those are some really, really, really strange movies.. Not so amazing, Jodorowsky is about as weird as it gets. When you consider that _Sante Sangre_ (his most “mainstream” movie) makes David Lynch look like Steven Spielberg… Tarkovski deserves a mention, too. _Stalker_ is a good introduction, but _The Mirror_ is the real mind-bender. **Eonwe** , rejoice - _Forbidden Zone_ is at last available on DVD, after languishing in VHS-only land for far too long. ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436/40 "2008-09-21T00:35:03Z")
Eraserhead, as mentioned, is truly great. [Naked Lunch](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_Lunch_(film)) is solidly weird as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-wierdest-film/464436.md?page=3)