Well, we’re talking mileage, and it obviously varies. Yeah, it wasn’t Ibsen, but it was good for what it was. I liked it, and Bill Paxton surprised me by actually acting a little.
Barry Lyndon (sp?). Far and away one of Kubrick’s best. By the end of the movie, you almost end up rooting for everybody, even when they’re in conflict. Everybody has motives that you can understand, and there’s still dramatic tension. Great, great, great movie.
More Ewan McGregor hotness: Brassed Off. About a band in a mining town in England. The closing of the mine may spell the end of the band. It’s absolutely wonderful.
Happy, Texas, starring Steve Zahn (a vastly underrated actor) and Jeremy Northam. Also William H. Macy and Illeana Douglas.
I don’t know how obscure this one is, but Cold Comfort Farm is hilarious. I’m one of the few people I know in real life who’s seen it. Same goes for One Night at McCool’s.
Seconding Doc Holliday, Little Voice, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Secret of Roan Inish, The Emperor’s New Groove (hooray John Goodman!), Topsy Turvy, Muriel’s Wedding, Sordid Lives, and Renaissance Man.
Not all of these are exactly obscure, but they’re all great, IMO.
Pretty much anything directed by Ernt Lubitsch. The man was a genius. Allow me to call your particular attention to The Shop Around the Corner, with Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan. Another great Lubitsch title, less well known but just as good, is * Trouble in Paradise* (1932).
Hardly obscure, but I have never tuned past Philadelphia Story without stopping to watch the rest of it. I just love the love scene between Jimmy Stewart and Katharine Hepburn.
And while I’m thinking about Mr. Stewart, Harvey.
From the same era, Miracle on 34th Street (the 1947 original, of course).
Coming to more recent times, I became a fan of Alan Rudoph after seeing Choose Me. I consider it the Casablanca of the 1980s. (A tip: if you watch it on video, try to use a big enough screen that you can read the paintings and posters on the walls.) Most of Rudolph’s other films are worth watching.
In most of Albert Brooks’s movies, I’ve found him to range from annoying to extremely annoying. But with Defending Your Life he justified his existence, with some help from Meryl Streep.
More recently, two foreign films that stand head and shoulders above almost everything I’ve seen in the last ten years are Il Postino and the Japanese Shall We Dance.
Oh, and I almost forgot: Catwoman with Halle Berry.
Just kidding!
I’ll second the The Salton Sea, and Orgazmo both very good.
I dont know how hidden of a gem it is but Donnie Darko is one of my favorites.
steelyard blues donald southerland, peter boyle, howard hessman and jane fonda from 1973
Oh, I most definitely second this one. Even if I didn’t like the rest of the movie (which I did), this one is worth it for the St. Crispian’s Day speech alone. I always get choked up by Benitez’s understated, yet heartfelt rendering of that moving speech.
Also loved Sibling Rivalry, Quick Change, and Freeway.
And I’ll add High Strung (AKA Pissed Off) to the list.
If we’re tralking hidden gems, then Ripley’s Game should fit the bill. One of those major motion pictures that went straight to video. Apparently NewLine was too busy promoting Lord Of The Rings to bother with it. As a bonus, John Malkovich is really, really nasty.
I think some of you have mentioned some genious films: Heathers and Better Off Dead. “I want my two dollars!” is the quintessential scream of everyone who was once a paperboy.
I’m shocked, though that noone has mentioned Priscilla, Queen of the Desert nor the original, best G-rated movie ever, The Italian Job. Mini-me would have fit into one of those real Mini’s quite easily.
And how about Run Lola, Run or Montenegro Tango for something vulgar (I think it may just be called “Montenegro” in othr places).
Just some notions…
I will grant that Paxton did a good job. Even whatsisname did well; he was creepy as hell (and I do enjoy him in most of his roles). It just didn’t translate on to the screen well at all. Bottom line: I didn’t enjoy myself, but I don’t want to dog a movie that you dig. To each his/her own.
I’ll add one more and I understand any derision it receives. The Island of Doctor Moreau is one of my personal faves. Go watch 28 Days Later and Moreau. It’s basically the same movie, just different metaphors. Hell, Lord of the Flies is basically the same thing. It really is a pretty interesting flick (especially the montage at the end).
Also, this is where Mini-Me comes from. And the weird doctor guy from South Park.
That Thing You Do - The movie that made me want Steven Tyler to be my father-in-law.
The Beast - A Soviet tank goes astray in Afghanistan.
Ride With The Devil - The best Ang Lee movie you haven’t seen & a beautiful film score.
I’ll second this movie, but, much as I liked the Hitler thing, my biggest laugh scene was when the cow hit the windshield of the Lucy bus.
Yea, verily yea!
You guys are going to crucify me for this, but I love Prince of Darkness. It’s hokey, the antichrist is An alien in the form of a big barrel of rotating green goo for some reason, and it’s got one of the brothers from Simon and Simon in it, and the last 30 minutes could be edited in just about any order you wanted, but damned if it’s still not scary as hell!
Prince of Darkness? I’m planning on showing that at a future Bad Film Festival. I’d be grateful if anyone can make any sort of explanation of the plot.
Who needs plot? Alice Cooper kills a dude with the frame of a bicycle. What else would one need.
Five fav’s that no one else I’ve talked to seems to have seen:
Straight To Hell: Oh, it’s shit, but c’mon, it had the Pogues in cowboy hats, the cast from Repo Man, and a whole bunch of quotable lines (“Salsa y Ketchup”). And Shane MacGowan looks like he actually sobered up a little to act (or at least stumble around looking bored).
The Ruling Class: Weird, disturbing flick. And is this the third Peter O’Toole movie to make this thread or the fourth?
The Quiet Earth: Apocalypse, New Zealand style. RIP, Bruno.
Lifeforce: Starring a very young very nekkid Mathilda May. Some of the worst miniatures in the history of film, too.
Tale of a Vampire: Julian Sands makes an awesome vampire. Should’ve been Lestat.
A lot of good movies here. I’ll begin by seconding (or n[sup]th[/sup]ing), in no particular order, the votes already cast for The Producers, The Emporer’s New Groove, Tampopo, Let it Ride, Heathers, Quick Change (Even though I found it completely unbelievable that NYers could get that effing lost. The city is the easiest city in North America to navigate. It’s an East-West grid. How can you get that lost?), Renaissance Man (Which is the only movie I’ve ever seen that shows what my boot camp was like. I almost said real, but I know that there are horror stories that are true.), Earth Girls are Easy, and Real Genius.
Some movies that haven’t been mentioned:
Adventures in Babysitting. Another 80’s suburban comedy. Heartwarming, lots of action, and very satisfying. Nice humor, and few cliches that I recall. And a very appealing Elizabeth Shue. 
I’m something of a born again Cary Grant fan. I was too young to enjoy his films while we were both alive, and didn’t discover them until I was doing travelling sales and caught a Cary Grant birthday-a-thon on the old AMC while spending the night in a hotel in Utica. All of these are laugh-out-loud funny at times, and just good fun.
For something a bit more modern, and a bit of sick humor, too: Killing Time
Oh, just to keep my World Otakunization Project Secret Leader card active I’ll throw in a few anime, too. Don’t worry, they won’t be too crazy.
First: A Miyazaki - Spirited Away Beautiful animation, beautiful story.
Second: A short film - Legend of the Forest. The final work completed during Osamu Tezuka’s lifetime. It’s a film tracing the story of a forest, and following the evolution of animation as an artform. No voices, one could think of it as an anime Fantasia.
Finally: Night on the Galactic Railroad. Not a typical anime. And that’s all I’m going to say about it.