I use 1000 IMDB votes as a standard for determining if a film is “obscure” or not- is this reasonable?
With 1,067 votes on the IMDB, I think that Two Lane Blacktop is obscure enough. I think it’s a great minimalist movie.
Damn, I was coming in here specifically to suggest Noises Off. It’s one of those great zany frantic ensemble comedies like Clue or Big Trouble* or It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World. Made all the better seeing something so upbeat from a cast with so many combined later tragedies (Christopher Reeve’s paralysis, John Ritter’s sudden heart failure, Denholm Elliot’s death from AIDS). And of course it is one of the movies that has cemented in my mind the notion that Michael Caine is a god.
*Another widely unknown movie that had the misfortune of a comedic plot revolving around a nuclear weapon on a hijacked plane set to release in September 2001. I learned about it from this board, and it is a good laugh with a strong cast.
Well then maybe you can answer a burning question:
Are Jay and Silent Bob based on real people? And no, I don’t mean Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes themselves. I mean, are (were) there two stoners who stood in front of the store all day, and KS and JM are emulating them?
According to Kevin Smith, Silent Bob’s character is loosely based on someone Kevin & Jay did hang out with. Jay is based on the 16 year old Jason Mewes.
Jim
I like that standard; it’s easy to determine and has a common sense feel to it.
So I withdraw Erik the Viking (3000+ votes,) The I Inside (1700+ votes) and Shallow Grave (11,000+ votes, wow.)
Closet Land still qualifies with its underwhelming 610 votes. That’s fine, as it was the first movie I thought of when reading the thread title, anyway.
Good choice, but it wasn’t Jody Foster that made that film; it was Meg Foster.
Missouri Breaks - A weird 70s western starring Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson, and directed by Arthur Penn (of Bonnie and Clyde). Brando plays an assassin who argues with his mule and dresses up in a bonnet and apron for no apparent reason. What’s not to like?
There’s some really good ones mentioned in this thread so far.
I’m going to have to include:
Roadside Prophets John Cusaks performance is still one of the best things I’ve ever seen, even if it’s a minor bit in the movie.
**Thursday ** Out Tarantinos the man himself. I may be one of the only people who’s ever seen this awesome hunk of trash.
Lunchmeat Uber gross out 80’s slasher flick.
Meet the Feebles Yeah, so Peter Jackson helped write it and it’s gotten way bigger since the LOTR stuff, but when I was a wee lad this was the height of humor. Because of this I STILL love things with puppets behaving inappropriately.
I was going to say **Picnic at Hanging Rock ** but it got 5000+ votes. This movie haunted me when it came out and still does, and I have to say it ties Reservoir Dogs for my favorite ever. It and Gallipoli solidify Peter Weir as one of my absolute favorites.
John Sayles’ **Passion Fish ** is also a wonderful small movie. Great performances by Mary McDonnell, Alfre Woodard, David Straithairn and Vondie Curtis-Hall
Diva is an intriguing french film from 1981.
Ahh! I found one of my choices with only 46 votes. I’m not sure if I would recommend Celeste (1981) but it has the distinction of being the most slow-moving movie I’ve ever seen. It is the story of Marcel Proust’s attendant, and it definitely comes across just how tedious it is for her to sit there for hours waiting for him to summon her.
Ooo, and Cal with 352 votes. IRA man, Catholic woman… Soundtrack by Mark Knopfler who of course also graced Local Hero.
Radio Inside is a good character piece with good performances by William McNamara (the cutie from Copycat with Sigourney Weaver) and Elizabeth Shue.
Let Him Have It doesn’t have too many votes either…just a heart-wrenching film.
Wow, **Made in Heaven ** has only 841 votes. It is a sentimental favorite in part because Timothy Hutton’s then-wife Debra Winger has an uncredited role as the (male) heavenly guide Emmett.
And **Choose Me ** has only 769?? I thought that was a classic.
Trouble in Mind as well, with Kris Kristofferson.
Ahh, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, with a brilliant Jennifer Jason Leigh, fares somewhat better!
RealityChuck writes:
> Good choice, but it wasn’t Jody Foster that made that film; it was Meg Foster.
No, Meg Foster had a relatively small part in Carny, but it co-starred Jody Foster.
Ice pirates a funny lesser known sci fi/comedy movie
Even though I’m not sure this counts, I’m going to say two Lindsay Anderson movies: if… and O Lucky Man (and to complete the ‘Mick Travis Trilogy’ is Britannica Hospital, but I haven’t seen that yet). They’re a lot more well known in England, but I don’t think they’re as well known here in the States.
I think If… is considered something of a classic. Back in he 1970s they sold the script to this film. I saw it n grad school. I remember the ads for O Lucky Man! when it was released.
OTOH, I haven’t seen hide nor hair of them in years, and I never see them on TV or at video stores, o maybe they are unknown today.
That’s the film about Craig and Bentley, right? I saw that many years ago in high school- you’re right, it’s excellent. Very good performances, and a truly heart-wrenching film. Should be required viewing for anyone with even a vague interest in crime and punishment, IMO…
Damn you, gigi! When I got to page three with no mention of Alan Rudolph, I thought for sure that I’d be the first to mention Choose Me. I love that film!
So I’ll mention The Interview (1998), an Australian film with Hugo Weaving. With 1,118 votes on IMBd, it’s slightly over the unofficial “limit,” but I think most of those votes must have been cast by Aussies, because AFAIK, it did not get a theatrical release in the US, and has had very limited play on cable here.
It is an incredible tour de force of acting by Weaving and Tony Martin as a man who is hauled into a police station and the cop who interrogates him. I can’t say much without giving away too much, but it is amazingly tense and compelling film.
Zacharaiah is a hippie Western from 1971 and was a big favorite of me and my friends when we were teenagers, but I haven’t seen it in decades and might not think so highly of it today. It was written by members of the Firesign Theater, features a young Don Johnson, and the IMDb says it is based on Hesse’s Siddhartha, a point that completely escaped me at the time. The main reason we went to see it was that it featured music by my favorite rock band, The New York Rock Ensemble. (And with only 182 votes, it is certifiably obscure.)
Noises Off is one of my favorite comedies. Every time I watch the last two performances (before the one on Broadway of course) I laiugh so hard I cry.
Speaking of John Sayles… **Baby It’s You ** starring a young Rosanna Arquette and a gorgeous Vincent Spano. 523 votes??
Return of the Secaucus 7 only has 629 votes?? I’m stunned.
Lianna 335 votes??
Whoa, imdb says John Sayles is involved in the writing of Jurassic Park 4. Intriguing!
I love the fact that we can’t double-post anymore!