Right! Because they hadn’t been invented yet!
If you like that, try Drowning by Numbers.
I haven’t shuttled all the way through page 2 yet, so forgive me if it’s been mentioned:
Quick Change. Bill Murray tries to rob a NYC bank dressed as a clown. Never got much notice, even though it’s Bill Murray, but I think it comedic genius.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead…
Gary Oldman and Tim Roth Shakespeare style! Throw in a lil’ Dreyfus and you’ve got a winner! It’s witty and wonderful!
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).
The Magic Christian, with Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr. I’m not totally sure what it was about, but it was really damned funny. It’s worth it just to see Yul Brynner, in drag, serenading Roman Polanski.
Nothing personal, SanguineSpider, but I must add a disclaimer. Man Bites Dog is a very violent film, and the protagonist is extremely sadistic. I didn’t find it to be “odd”: I found it to be pornographic. Be advised, anyone who’s thinking of checking it out.
The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao - If my word is good enough, then consider that Joel on MST3K declared this his favorite movie of all time.
I would just like to put in a vote for the social realist adventure comedies of the 70s:
Harry & Walter Go to New York
and
Swashbuckler
These are more like guilty pleasures, actually.
My personal favorite obscure movie is The Bounty. Made in 1984, it’s a fascinating mixture of Hollywood veterans, rising stars, and as-of-then unknowns who have since risen to star status. Lawrence Olivier makes his final film appearance as a fleet admiral. Anthony Hopkins plays Captain Bligh. Mel Gibson is Fletcher Christian. Liam Neeson, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Bernard Hill also appear as members of the Bounty’s crew. The acting is first-rate in every sense.
It’s also the first film of the events surrounding the famous mutiny that tells the story in an historically accurate manner. Captain Bligh is not reduced to a caricature of the sadistic disciplinarian, but played as a three-dimensional person with flaws and virtues. Fletcher Christian is not a stouthearted rebel, but a lovestruck weakling who throws away everything he knows (destroying many lives in the process) due to thinking with the wrong head.
The only thing that feels at all out of place in this film is Vangelis’ score which, while often lush and beautiful, feels too modern in a period piece.
The monster movie that breaks new ground. 
When these threads come along, I always mention The Year My Voice Broke, so I’ll say The Year My Voice Broke. A bittersweet coming-of-age film set in rural Australia. Really nice.
I also recommend its more widely seen squel Flirting, which includes a young Nicole Kidman in its cast.
I haven’t seen that one, but another Alan Rudolph movie, Trouble in Mind I found intriguing, if very quirky. Its IMDb rating of 6.0 reflects that it’s not everyone’s cuppa more than the quality of the film. Women 30-44 love it for some reason. It’s not on DVD yet.
DD
Some really great movies in this thread!
How about:
Buckaroo Banzai
O, Lucky Man!
The Milagro Beanfield War
And I second the vote for Three-Cornered Moon. I had always thought that *Bringing Up Baby * was the best screwball romantic comedy until I saw this one!
And how could I forget one of my favorites! * Performance * with Mick Jagger, James Fox, and Anita Pallenberg. A very twisted little movie about sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll, and gangsters.
Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945). A sentimental old movie about the a family of Norwegian immigrants in Wisconsin. Edward G. Robinson plays the father with Margaret O’Brien as the seven year-old daughter. Have a tissue handy.
Dragonslayer
It probably wasn’t great art (like I care), but it was a delightful fantasy that worked for small children, and a fair amount of comedy and even satire for the grownups. Excellent effects, good writing and acting. Unfortunately, it was released just about the same time as Raiders of the Lost Ark, and it never stood a chance - completely overshadowed.
A few years back I had the chance to check out this really great, realistic thriller. I think it was called Titanic or some such. Such a superb movie that no one I knew had seen it. The realistic stylings of the era it was portraying was largely underated as well. I also think it did not make that much at the box office whenever it was released. Really a shame, should be better known.
Kizarvexius writes:
> Lawrence Olivier makes his final film appearance as a fleet admiral.
Olivier lived for five more years after this film and made two more feature films, a TV film, and three more miniseries.
Dragonslayer…
I love that movie, too! 
And I did say Man Bites Dog was offensive. I remember only one scene with sex in it, though. Honestly, I wasn’t all that offended by this flick… how many killers go around with a camera crew recording their every move? I don’t think it’s any more sadistic than Natural Born Killers.
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?
That film didn’t sit any better with me. And it’s not a matter of my not liking any film that has violence in it. Fight Club is on my top ten list, and Reservoir Dogs was on it for a long time, till it got edged out by newer discoveries. MMV.