# Underrated, Unsuccessful or otherwise Unknown films you love. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 6, 2004, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935 "2004-06-06T10:15:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![bodswood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e68b1a/32.png) [@bodswood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bodswood)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/121 "2004-06-21T07:42:28Z")
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Saw it on a plane, had not seen Clerks, had never heard of the stars or director, and just laughed. Similarly, Shrek. Couldn’t swim the hotel swimming pool during a w/e break with the family, wnet to the local cinema, disappointed that no decent films were being shown, but took a chance with this children’s cartoon. Favourite bit when Fiona throws the bouquet and Snow White and Sleeping Beauty fight for it. ---
**Author:** ![SanguineSpider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SanguineSpider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanguineSpider)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/122 "2004-06-21T17:00:43Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > There’s violent porn as well as sexual. I was talking about the violence. > > I wasn’t concerned with that. I was concerned with the **completely** unsympathetic main character. But as far as the camera crew, how about the way he insisted that a new sound guy be brought in, brushing off the fact that **two** of them had already been killed? Well, IHMO, it’s a joke. The camera crew willingly going out to film a killer doing all these horrible things to innocent folks is why this is a black comedy, a farce on documentaries. I could be wrong. Or maybe I’m too twisted for my own good. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/123 "2004-06-21T17:28:52Z")
bodswood: > [@](#): > > Shrek. I hardly think that Shrek can qualify as “Underrated, unsuccessful or otherwise unknown.” Its sequel just became the highest-grossing animated film ever. ---
**Author:** ![Kings\_Gambit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kings\_Gambit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kings_Gambit1)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/124 "2004-06-21T18:10:04Z")
> [@SanguineSpider](#): > > If you _NEED_ to see a French, black comedy with subtitles, then rent yourself **Man Bites Dog**. Odd and offensive but what the hey! **Baxter** is a close second (as another French, black comedy with subtitles). It’s Belgian, not French. [Milo Perrier] _I’m not a Frenchie, I’m a BELGIE!!_ [/Milo Perrier] 😃 ---
**Author:** ![alphaFemale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecb155/32.png) [@alphaFemale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaFemale)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/125 "2004-06-21T19:45:17Z")
**Secretary Ghost World Love & Sex** ---
**Author:** ![alphaFemale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecb155/32.png) [@alphaFemale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaFemale)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/126 "2004-06-21T19:48:58Z")
> [@alphaFemale](#): > > **Secretary > Ghost World > Love & Sex** also: **Best in Show A Mighty Wind Rushmore** ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/127 "2004-06-21T21:17:37Z")
[Carnival of Souls (1962)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055830/) A woman suffers through a car accident and travels to Utah where she becomes entranced by an abandoned carnival. Really fun, creepy and partially filmed in the studio (the Herk Harvey Soundstage) where I did my undergraduate study. [Equilibrium](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0238380/) Christian Bale is a gunslinger in a future where emotion is outlawed. Kind of 1984, kind of Brave New World, kind of Matrix. Cool gunfighting/martial arts. [Limbo](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0164085/) John Sayles. Alaska, secrets, salmon. [Picnic at Hanging Rock](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073540/) the strange case of disappearances at Hanging Rock. Based on a true story. Peter Weir directs. Everything else by Peter Weir. He’s a fantastic director. [Hedwig and the Angry Inch](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0248845/) Hilarious story of a drag queen/transgender-ish person who travels the US following her ex, who stole her songs. Musical. Great songs, very catchy. ---
**Author:** ![SanguineSpider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SanguineSpider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanguineSpider)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/128 "2004-06-21T23:43:06Z")
I dig **Equilibrium** , too! I think Bale is incredibly sexy but he’s also a very good actor. He was in a lil’ gem called, **Velvet Goldmine** , which was a pretty trippy film but I enjoyed the hell out of it (also a Bowie fan though it’s technically not a Bowie biography). I’m still in shock to learn that Bale’s going to be the new Batman… please dear God, don’t let it be cheesy. Gary Oldman’s going to be the commissioner. Please, PLEASE don’t let it suck. Did anyone else like **American Psycho** , btw? I read the book first and I’m glad they cut out a few things. ---
**Author:** ![SanguineSpider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SanguineSpider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanguineSpider)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/129 "2004-06-21T23:44:58Z")
Bleh, hit the reply before remembering to ask this: has anyone seen this lil’ flick called, \*\*The Apple \*\*? I hear it’s got a cult following now. ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/130 "2004-06-22T00:05:37Z")
**SanguineSpider** - I liked **American Psycho**. I tried to read the book afterwards, got partway through, and just couldn’t keep going. It was too much. I’m also with you on **Man Bites Dog**. I wasn’t so sure about it at first, but after a while, it becomes too absurd to not be funny. At least, it did for me. YMMV, and all that. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/131 "2004-06-22T03:16:36Z")
FilmGeek writes: \> Picnic at Hanging Rock the strange case of disappearances at Hanging Rock. \> Based on a true story. Peter Weir directs. Actually, it isn’t based on a true story. ---
**Author:** ![peritrochoid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@peritrochoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peritrochoid)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/132 "2004-06-22T04:01:54Z")
Some of my favorites have already been mentioned. Among them: _Go_, _American Psycho_, _Very Bad Things_, _Run, Lola, Run_ and _Best in Show_. But I’ll add: [_The Player_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105151/) [_Sneakers_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105435/) [_Der Krieger und die Kaiserin_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0203632/) [_Storytelling_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250081/) [_The Virgin Suicides_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0159097/) ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/133 "2004-06-22T05:05:30Z")
[Daikaiju Tokyo ni Arawaru](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0313950/) (The Great Monster came to Tokyo) Yeah, it’s a Japanese monster movie, but with a twist: you never actually see any of the monsters. The entire film is set in a small, semi-rural town on the west coast of Japan, far from the destruction. It’s more about how the people there react to the occasional snatches of news about the rest of the country being attacked, and wondering if they’re next. Very touching. [Jisatsu Circle](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0312843/) (Suicide Club) :eek:. That pretty much sums it up. I’ve watched a lot of weird movies, and lot of them seem to just be random, free-floating strangeness. This one knows exactly where it wants to focus its weirdness, and keeps hitting it harder and harder and harder. Breathtaking. I suppose this reviewer (who didn’t like it) probably says it best: > [@](#): > > `Jisastsu Circle' (AKA Suicide Club) is a painful movie to watch. From its gory and sensational opening to its `patronizing’ final moments, `Suicide Club' shamefully exploits and capitalizes on death and those taking their own lives in the most gruesome of ways... [director]Sono's nihilistic fascinations are most disturbing and recalls such blatantly `mean-spirited’ and in-your-face films as the `Guinea Pig' series and `All Night Long’. It is true that `Suicide Club' shares some themes with `Battle Royale’ but where they differ is in `Suicide Club’s’ total cynicism and dark abandonment. ---
**Author:** ![SanguineSpider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SanguineSpider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanguineSpider)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/134 "2004-06-22T19:09:45Z")
> [@look!ninjas](#): > > **SanguineSpider** - I liked **American Psycho**. I tried to read the book afterwards, got partway through, and just couldn’t keep going. It was too much. I’m also with you on **Man Bites Dog**. I wasn’t so sure about it at first, but after a while, it becomes too absurd to not be funny. At least, it did for me. YMMV, and all that. See? I’m not the only one… yay. It’s not a film that I like admitting to liking but since no one knows me IRL, I’m safe. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/135 "2004-06-22T19:30:19Z")
I just rewatched **Man Bites Dog** a couple of nights ago. It’s freakin’ brilliant. I first encountered it in a film class back in school and I instantly fell in love with it. Absolute deadpan satire (I think it helps that I don’t speak French) about the role of the media in modern society. The whole cursed time the OJ trial was dominating the news I was continually asking people if they’d ever seen the movie. No one had. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/136 "2004-07-12T20:56:56Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#): > > Picnic at Hanging Rock the strange case of disappearances at Hanging Rock. > Based on a true story. Peter Weir directs. > [@Wendell Wagner](#): > > Actually, it isn’t based on a true story. Huh. I’ll have to tell my no-nothing self-proclaimed god-of-all-film-knowledge ex-film prof this. He’ll be very interested. This is the same man who proclaimed [The Thirteenth Warrior](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120657/) the greatest film ever made and was convinced that nothing in [Almost Famous](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181875/) could have possibly happened. We tried to explain that it was a romanticized view of ACTUAL EVENTS, but he just scoffed at us. KC dopers will know him as one of the movie critics on Walt Bodine’s show and as a sometimes critic on channel 5. Then there was the time he hit on Annette Funicello during an interview with her and Frankie Avalon during a discussion about her worsening MS. But that’s another story. Hijack over. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/137 "2004-07-12T22:28:03Z")
I was gonna say Six String Samuri, but since it’s already been mentioned, I’ll say [SLC Punk](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133189/). ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/138 "2004-07-13T01:17:58Z")
My favorite movie is **The Nasty Girl** , made by Michael (not Paul) Verhoeven in 1990. It’s about Germans’ attempt to come to grips with the Nazi past. The lead character, Sonja, is a bright young high school student who enters an essay contest about “My hometown in the Third Reich” expecting that her research will show the people of her Bavarian village bravely resisted the Nazis. When she begins finding evidence to the contrary, many of the town’s powerful people turn against “that dreadful girl” (a much better translation of the movie’s title, **Das Schreckliche Mädchen** ). I’m also a big fan of two movies based on Sherman Alexie’s books: **Smoke Signals** and **The Business of Fancydancing**. ---
**Author:** ![kevja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/139 "2004-07-13T01:27:28Z")
House of Games/1987 The Gambler/1974 The Driver/1978 52 Pickup/1986 Priest/1995 ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935/140 "2004-07-13T01:49:17Z")
> [@Maureen](#): > > **[The Last Supper](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113613/)** is a wonderful dark comedy that didn’t get near the recognition it deserved. I’m constantly recommending it, and with the exception of **ShibbOleth** , I don’t know anyone who’s seen it without my first lending it/recommending it. > > **For Roseanna** is a sweet little peice of fluff, I absolutely love it. Again, have yet to meet anyone who’s seen it but me. I love that movie. There’s a movie theater in Minneapolis (The Parkview on Chicago Ave) that tends to show the straggler movies. I was in the neighborhood and had no idea what the movie was about but it definitely is one of my favorites… I always loved the line: > [@](#): > > these angry feminists, and I say angry feminist like there’s any other kind. [Alfred Hitchcock’s **Rope**](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040746/) has always been one of my favorites with its continuous shot feel. The scene with the rope slowly moving across the apartment into the kitchen drawer just gets me everytime. [God Said Ha!](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119207/) seems to be a frequently overlooked movie. Julia Sweeney (Saturday Night Live) talks for about an hour and a half about how her life changed when her brother is diagnosed with cancer and her family moves in with her. I’ve seen this movie about 20 times and it never fails to make me laugh and cry. [Amazon Women on the Moon](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092546/). Silly little interlaced skit movie with “Lots of Actors” as the credits say. It’s a bit dated (1987) but definitely good for some immature adult fun (some scenes aren’t very kid friendly). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-unsuccessful-or-otherwise-unknown-films-you-love/248935.md?page=8)