Lesser Known Movie Draft
04-23-2018
, 03:36 PM
Quote:
Night and Fog (Alain Resnais, 1956)
Documentary
Alain Resnais' testament to the historical record, proof of the horrors and atrocities that man had done. General Eisenhower remarked on the importance of documenting first-hand evidence of the crimes committed by the Nazis, "[in case] in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to propaganda." Indeed, when Resnais made the film, it was censored even by the French, who were ashamed of their own collaborations. Revolutionary for its time, Night and Fog is one of those movies you only need to see once.
Even decades after its release, it continues to fight back against evil--evil that would be committed if only people were made to forget.
My list:
Raise the Red Lantern
My Dinner with Andre
Portrait of Jennie
Treeless Mountain
Night and Fog
And although I have not seen it, my understanding is the Asian equivalent, Men Behind the Sun, is far more graphic and harder to watch.
Documentary
Alain Resnais' testament to the historical record, proof of the horrors and atrocities that man had done. General Eisenhower remarked on the importance of documenting first-hand evidence of the crimes committed by the Nazis, "[in case] in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to propaganda." Indeed, when Resnais made the film, it was censored even by the French, who were ashamed of their own collaborations. Revolutionary for its time, Night and Fog is one of those movies you only need to see once.
Even decades after its release, it continues to fight back against evil--evil that would be committed if only people were made to forget.
My list:
Raise the Red Lantern
My Dinner with Andre
Portrait of Jennie
Treeless Mountain
Night and Fog
And although I have not seen it, my understanding is the Asian equivalent, Men Behind the Sun, is far more graphic and harder to watch.
Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk
04-23-2018
, 05:33 PM
Quote:
Night and Fog (Alain Resnais, 1956)
Documentary
Alain Resnais' testament to the historical record, proof of the horrors and atrocities that man had done. General Eisenhower remarked on the importance of documenting first-hand evidence of the crimes committed by the Nazis, "[in case] in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to propaganda." Indeed, when Resnais made the film, it was censored even by the French, who were ashamed of their own collaborations. Revolutionary for its time, Night and Fog is one of those movies you only need to see once.
Even decades after its release, it continues to fight back against evil--evil that would be committed if only people were made to forget.
My list:
Raise the Red Lantern
My Dinner with Andre
Portrait of Jennie
Treeless Mountain
Night and Fog
And although I have not seen it, my understanding is the Asian equivalent, Men Behind the Sun, is far more graphic and harder to watch.
Documentary
Alain Resnais' testament to the historical record, proof of the horrors and atrocities that man had done. General Eisenhower remarked on the importance of documenting first-hand evidence of the crimes committed by the Nazis, "[in case] in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to propaganda." Indeed, when Resnais made the film, it was censored even by the French, who were ashamed of their own collaborations. Revolutionary for its time, Night and Fog is one of those movies you only need to see once.
Even decades after its release, it continues to fight back against evil--evil that would be committed if only people were made to forget.
My list:
Raise the Red Lantern
My Dinner with Andre
Portrait of Jennie
Treeless Mountain
Night and Fog
And although I have not seen it, my understanding is the Asian equivalent, Men Behind the Sun, is far more graphic and harder to watch.
04-23-2018
, 08:10 PM
Round 5 pick, category Crime
The Pledge is a criminally underrated movie and is one of Jack Nicholson's best career performances imo. He plays Jerry, a cop on the brink of his retirement, who promises a mother that he will find her daughter's killer. The police arrest a mentally disabled person for the murder, who commits suicide after being interrogated. This leads all the cops to assume he was the killer, and that the case is closed. Jerry, now retired, does not think he was the killer and becomes obsessed with finding the man who killed the little girl.
The film is really about Jerry's obsession, and the toll it takes on him. It is a haunting character study of a man who gives up just about everything, including perhaps his sanity, to try and solve a case everyone else has forgotten about. The ending scene, which is a bookend of the opening scene, is incredibly powerful given what the audience learns over the course of the movie.
The Pledge is a criminally underrated movie and is one of Jack Nicholson's best career performances imo. He plays Jerry, a cop on the brink of his retirement, who promises a mother that he will find her daughter's killer. The police arrest a mentally disabled person for the murder, who commits suicide after being interrogated. This leads all the cops to assume he was the killer, and that the case is closed. Jerry, now retired, does not think he was the killer and becomes obsessed with finding the man who killed the little girl.
The film is really about Jerry's obsession, and the toll it takes on him. It is a haunting character study of a man who gives up just about everything, including perhaps his sanity, to try and solve a case everyone else has forgotten about. The ending scene, which is a bookend of the opening scene, is incredibly powerful given what the audience learns over the course of the movie.
04-23-2018
, 08:21 PM
04-23-2018
, 08:29 PM
HORROR!
THE ADDICTION, Abel Ferrara, 1995.
The films of Abel Ferrara are uncompromising. From Bad Lieutenant to King of New York to this one, you know you are in the hands of both a master of his craft, and one with an original point of view.
The Addiction is about a grad student in New York who is bitten by a vampire, becomes one herself, and now must struggle with her cravings. Sounds like a hoot, right? Only it's not. It takes its subject matter very seriously, and it is not a fun ride. Instead, it is a truly horrifying motion picture.
There's a scene in this movie that's absolutely insane.
In it, a bunch of vampires pose as intellectuals at a scholarly party and then suddenly and viciously attack the other guests in an orgy of blood and terror - but it plays nothing like a horror movie; instead, it is dreadfully realistic. And it is quite possibly the scariest scene in any movie I have ever seen. I was whimpering at the end of it!
The whole movie is like this. Ferrara has said this film is an allegory on the AIDS epidemic, but it's not necessary to really understand that to be completely taken in by this great, great film.
The cast is perfect, too: Lily Taylor, Annabella Sciorra, Christopher Walken, Edie Falco, Katheryn Erbe, Michael Imperioli...
The Addiction is a movie that shook me to my core.
****
Drama - Fat City
Crime - White Mischief
Sci-Fi - Coherence
Romance - Truly, Madly, Deeply
Horror - The Addiction
THE ADDICTION, Abel Ferrara, 1995.
The films of Abel Ferrara are uncompromising. From Bad Lieutenant to King of New York to this one, you know you are in the hands of both a master of his craft, and one with an original point of view.
The Addiction is about a grad student in New York who is bitten by a vampire, becomes one herself, and now must struggle with her cravings. Sounds like a hoot, right? Only it's not. It takes its subject matter very seriously, and it is not a fun ride. Instead, it is a truly horrifying motion picture.
There's a scene in this movie that's absolutely insane.
In it, a bunch of vampires pose as intellectuals at a scholarly party and then suddenly and viciously attack the other guests in an orgy of blood and terror - but it plays nothing like a horror movie; instead, it is dreadfully realistic. And it is quite possibly the scariest scene in any movie I have ever seen. I was whimpering at the end of it!
The whole movie is like this. Ferrara has said this film is an allegory on the AIDS epidemic, but it's not necessary to really understand that to be completely taken in by this great, great film.
The cast is perfect, too: Lily Taylor, Annabella Sciorra, Christopher Walken, Edie Falco, Katheryn Erbe, Michael Imperioli...
The Addiction is a movie that shook me to my core.
****
Drama - Fat City
Crime - White Mischief
Sci-Fi - Coherence
Romance - Truly, Madly, Deeply
Horror - The Addiction
04-23-2018
, 09:17 PM
Round 5
Born Losers (1967)
category: action 1762 IMDB ratings
I really like this movie and the whole motorcycle gang genre of the late 60's. This is the movie that introduced the character of Billy Jack by Tom Laughlin. Laughlin also produced this and it was at the time the biggest independent movie ever made. The movie he wanted to make was Billy Jack but couldn't get the money for it and since motorcycle gang movies were hot at the time was able to get enough money to make this one. It is the best Billy Jack movie in my opinion and it is the only one that holds up reasonably well. I almost went with the more famous Billy Jack but even though I loved it back when it just doesn't pass the test of time.
Anyway the Born Losers a local outlaw biker gang are kidnapping and raping all the girls in the area and law enforcement is ineffective. So Billy Jack takes them on like a one man army. Billy Jack is obviously a bad ass and a half Indian ex green beret. Jeremy Slate who plays the leader of the Born Losers is really outstanding in his role. These kind of movies were very popular back in those days and this is like jumping into a time capsule. You will either love it or absolutely hate it
so far:
Mister Roberts (drama)
Vibes (adventure)
The Bedford Incident (thriller)
The Flim Flam Man (crime)
Born Losers (action)
Born Losers (1967)
category: action 1762 IMDB ratings
I really like this movie and the whole motorcycle gang genre of the late 60's. This is the movie that introduced the character of Billy Jack by Tom Laughlin. Laughlin also produced this and it was at the time the biggest independent movie ever made. The movie he wanted to make was Billy Jack but couldn't get the money for it and since motorcycle gang movies were hot at the time was able to get enough money to make this one. It is the best Billy Jack movie in my opinion and it is the only one that holds up reasonably well. I almost went with the more famous Billy Jack but even though I loved it back when it just doesn't pass the test of time.
Anyway the Born Losers a local outlaw biker gang are kidnapping and raping all the girls in the area and law enforcement is ineffective. So Billy Jack takes them on like a one man army. Billy Jack is obviously a bad ass and a half Indian ex green beret. Jeremy Slate who plays the leader of the Born Losers is really outstanding in his role. These kind of movies were very popular back in those days and this is like jumping into a time capsule. You will either love it or absolutely hate it
so far:
Mister Roberts (drama)
Vibes (adventure)
The Bedford Incident (thriller)
The Flim Flam Man (crime)
Born Losers (action)
Last edited by mrbaseball; 04-23-2018 at 09:23 PM.
04-24-2018
, 02:13 AM
04-24-2018
, 06:52 AM
Quote:
Night and Fog (Alain Resnais, 1956)
Documentary
Alain Resnais' testament to the historical record, proof of the horrors and atrocities that man had done. General Eisenhower remarked on the importance of documenting first-hand evidence of the crimes committed by the Nazis, "[in case] in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to propaganda." Indeed, when Resnais made the film, it was censored even by the French, who were ashamed of their own collaborations. Revolutionary for its time, Night and Fog is one of those movies you only need to see once.
Even decades after its release, it continues to fight back against evil--evil that would be committed if only people were made to forget.
My list:
Raise the Red Lantern
My Dinner with Andre
Portrait of Jennie
Treeless Mountain
Night and Fog
And although I have not seen it, my understanding is the Asian equivalent, Men Behind the Sun, is far more graphic and harder to watch.
Documentary
Alain Resnais' testament to the historical record, proof of the horrors and atrocities that man had done. General Eisenhower remarked on the importance of documenting first-hand evidence of the crimes committed by the Nazis, "[in case] in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to propaganda." Indeed, when Resnais made the film, it was censored even by the French, who were ashamed of their own collaborations. Revolutionary for its time, Night and Fog is one of those movies you only need to see once.
Even decades after its release, it continues to fight back against evil--evil that would be committed if only people were made to forget.
My list:
Raise the Red Lantern
My Dinner with Andre
Portrait of Jennie
Treeless Mountain
Night and Fog
And although I have not seen it, my understanding is the Asian equivalent, Men Behind the Sun, is far more graphic and harder to watch.
Great thread, all.
04-24-2018
, 09:50 AM
Round 6
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Category: fantasy 40925 IMDB ratings
Okay I am pushing the limits of "lesser known" here. But I think this is the toughest genre. I came up a few lesser but still well known options that just aren't nearly as good as this one and since technically qualifies I am going with it. Besides if you haven't seen this you need to fix that.
This just might be my favorite Woody Allen creation. It's about the magic of the movies. A bored and lonely housewife (Mia Farrow) goes to the movies every day to try and escape her dreary life. One of the actors on the screen (Jeff Daniels) in the movie she has been watching over and over notices she has been sitting through many screenings and comes down from the screen to approach her. Hence the fantasy This is material that Woody Allen can work his own magic with and this becomes a great story with great execution.
One of my favorites!
so far:
Mister Roberts (drama)
Vibes (adventure)
The Bedford Incident (thriller)
The Flim Flam Man (crime)
Born Losers (action)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (fantasy)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Category: fantasy 40925 IMDB ratings
Okay I am pushing the limits of "lesser known" here. But I think this is the toughest genre. I came up a few lesser but still well known options that just aren't nearly as good as this one and since technically qualifies I am going with it. Besides if you haven't seen this you need to fix that.
This just might be my favorite Woody Allen creation. It's about the magic of the movies. A bored and lonely housewife (Mia Farrow) goes to the movies every day to try and escape her dreary life. One of the actors on the screen (Jeff Daniels) in the movie she has been watching over and over notices she has been sitting through many screenings and comes down from the screen to approach her. Hence the fantasy
This is material that Woody Allen can work his own magic with and this becomes a great story with great execution.One of my favorites!
so far:
Mister Roberts (drama)
Vibes (adventure)
The Bedford Incident (thriller)
The Flim Flam Man (crime)
Born Losers (action)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (fantasy)
04-24-2018
, 11:00 AM
COMEDY!
VICTOR/VICTORIA, Blake Edwards, 1982.
Blake Edwards is the master of slapstick, as we know from all the Pink Panther movies. In choosing one and only one Edwards movie, I had a hard time picking between this an what is probably my favorite of his films, S.O.B. While I absolutely love the latter, it's probably a little too "movie industry insider" to be of much entertainment to the general public. But it is hilarious.
Victor/Victoria, however, is a film everyone would love. It takes place in 1930s New York and Chicago and it stars Julie Andrews as a down and out singer who schemes with her gay friend, Robert Preston, to become the toast of New York by impersonating a female impersonator.
Yes, you read that right. Julie Andrews pretends to be a man pretending to be a woman.
This movie is so damn funny it's ridiculous. Not only do you have legends like Andrews and Preston, you've got James Garner as a gangster who falls for Julie Andrews' character even though she might be a he! You've also got Alex Karras as Garner's gay bodyguard and Lesley Anne Warren in her Oscar-nominated role as Garner's girlfriend.
There's a type of scene that only Edwards and maybe Charlie Chaplin could pull off, and it's one that Edwards is known for: those long, elaborate, silent scenes where people come in and out of rooms, closing doors, just missing one another, sneaking around, trying not to be found out...well, the one in this movie has got to be ten minutes long! And you're laughing the whole damn time.
Slapstick is incredibly difficult to pull off, and when it doesn't work, it's groan-inducing. And believe me, Blake Edwards has made a few baaaaad movies in his time. But Victor/Victoria is not one of them. It's one of those movies that should be considered a classic, but for some reason, no one remembers it. I do, and I love seeing it any chance I get.
****
Drama - Fat City
Crime - White Mischief
Sci-Fi - Coherence
Romance - Truly, Madly, Deeply
Horror - The Addiction
Comedy - Victor Victoria
VICTOR/VICTORIA, Blake Edwards, 1982.
Blake Edwards is the master of slapstick, as we know from all the Pink Panther movies. In choosing one and only one Edwards movie, I had a hard time picking between this an what is probably my favorite of his films, S.O.B. While I absolutely love the latter, it's probably a little too "movie industry insider" to be of much entertainment to the general public. But it is hilarious.
Victor/Victoria, however, is a film everyone would love. It takes place in 1930s New York and Chicago and it stars Julie Andrews as a down and out singer who schemes with her gay friend, Robert Preston, to become the toast of New York by impersonating a female impersonator.
Yes, you read that right. Julie Andrews pretends to be a man pretending to be a woman.
This movie is so damn funny it's ridiculous. Not only do you have legends like Andrews and Preston, you've got James Garner as a gangster who falls for Julie Andrews' character even though she might be a he! You've also got Alex Karras as Garner's gay bodyguard and Lesley Anne Warren in her Oscar-nominated role as Garner's girlfriend.
There's a type of scene that only Edwards and maybe Charlie Chaplin could pull off, and it's one that Edwards is known for: those long, elaborate, silent scenes where people come in and out of rooms, closing doors, just missing one another, sneaking around, trying not to be found out...well, the one in this movie has got to be ten minutes long! And you're laughing the whole damn time.
Slapstick is incredibly difficult to pull off, and when it doesn't work, it's groan-inducing. And believe me, Blake Edwards has made a few baaaaad movies in his time. But Victor/Victoria is not one of them. It's one of those movies that should be considered a classic, but for some reason, no one remembers it. I do, and I love seeing it any chance I get.
****
Drama - Fat City
Crime - White Mischief
Sci-Fi - Coherence
Romance - Truly, Madly, Deeply
Horror - The Addiction
Comedy - Victor Victoria
04-24-2018
, 11:19 AM
Round 6 - Documentary – Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)
I grew up in NYC and still live in the area, but I have always been fascinated by California - especially Los Angeles. Like many others, the city always represented something magical and dreamlike to me. And, like many young people who had never actually been there, my image was shaped mostly by the movies. Not just because the movie industry was based in L.A., but because so many movies were filmed there. In a sense, the city itself was a major character in many of my favorite movies growing up. I was even obsessed with the Valley - movies like the Bad News Bears, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and the Karate Kid seemed like they were set in this perfect world of sunshine, palm trees, and mountains. As a teenager I was obsessed with the mini-golf place where Ralph Macchio takes Elizabeth Shue on a date in Karate Kid - we had nothing like that in dingy Staten Island. I dreamed of moving to LA one day (that never happened).
So I guess it figures that many of my favorite all-time movies are set in LA (Mulholland Drive, Clueless, Chinatown, L.A. Confidential to name a few). In all of these movies, Los Angeles is not just the setting, but a character in its own right.
So needless to say, for a film buff and fan of the city, "Los Angeles Plays Itself" was a documentary I knew I wanted to see. Watching it feels like sitting in on a seminar with a great and somewhat obsessive film professor - whose obsession is the representation of the city of Los Angeles in the movies. Thom Anderson, the director and narrator, is in fact a film professor (at CalArts in Valencia), and he has assembled what is probably the definitive analysis of the city of Los Angeles in cinema. It is nearly 3 hours long but flies by - an incredible number and variety of movie clips are included, as well as some fascinating historical footage of the city. Anderson is an LA resident and combines his knowledge and love of the city with his knowledge of cinema, to make for a truly fascinating experience. He touches on how the city is depicted in movies to sell an image, and covers all aspects of how it has been represented (or perahps more often, misrepresented) in film - touching on the city's architecture, history, geography, culture, socioeconomics, politics, etc.
If you are a film buff, you will love this documentary. If you are a fan of Los Angeles, you will love it also. If you are both, it will probably end up being one of your favorite documentaries.
Picks so far:
Round 1 - Drama - Local Hero
Round 2 - Comedy - State and Main
Round 3 - Romance - Breaking Away
Round 4 - Western - The Shootist
Round 5 - Crime - The Pledge
Round 6 - Documentary - Los Angeles Plays Itself
I grew up in NYC and still live in the area, but I have always been fascinated by California - especially Los Angeles. Like many others, the city always represented something magical and dreamlike to me. And, like many young people who had never actually been there, my image was shaped mostly by the movies. Not just because the movie industry was based in L.A., but because so many movies were filmed there. In a sense, the city itself was a major character in many of my favorite movies growing up. I was even obsessed with the Valley - movies like the Bad News Bears, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and the Karate Kid seemed like they were set in this perfect world of sunshine, palm trees, and mountains. As a teenager I was obsessed with the mini-golf place where Ralph Macchio takes Elizabeth Shue on a date in Karate Kid - we had nothing like that in dingy Staten Island. I dreamed of moving to LA one day (that never happened).
So I guess it figures that many of my favorite all-time movies are set in LA (Mulholland Drive, Clueless, Chinatown, L.A. Confidential to name a few). In all of these movies, Los Angeles is not just the setting, but a character in its own right.
So needless to say, for a film buff and fan of the city, "Los Angeles Plays Itself" was a documentary I knew I wanted to see. Watching it feels like sitting in on a seminar with a great and somewhat obsessive film professor - whose obsession is the representation of the city of Los Angeles in the movies. Thom Anderson, the director and narrator, is in fact a film professor (at CalArts in Valencia), and he has assembled what is probably the definitive analysis of the city of Los Angeles in cinema. It is nearly 3 hours long but flies by - an incredible number and variety of movie clips are included, as well as some fascinating historical footage of the city. Anderson is an LA resident and combines his knowledge and love of the city with his knowledge of cinema, to make for a truly fascinating experience. He touches on how the city is depicted in movies to sell an image, and covers all aspects of how it has been represented (or perahps more often, misrepresented) in film - touching on the city's architecture, history, geography, culture, socioeconomics, politics, etc.
If you are a film buff, you will love this documentary. If you are a fan of Los Angeles, you will love it also. If you are both, it will probably end up being one of your favorite documentaries.
Picks so far:
Round 1 - Drama - Local Hero
Round 2 - Comedy - State and Main
Round 3 - Romance - Breaking Away
Round 4 - Western - The Shootist
Round 5 - Crime - The Pledge
Round 6 - Documentary - Los Angeles Plays Itself
04-24-2018
, 05:32 PM
Okey dokey, time to grab your loved one, a blanket, cup of cocoa (or bottle of wine), turn on the fireplace, and relax for 92 minutes of Romantic Comedy. Is this movie going to make you fall in love all over again? Will it make you laugh at the romanticly comedic nature? Is it going to be on your must watch list forever? Honestly, no, but it is a bloody darn decent movie and I'm putting it on my list.
Ladies and ladies with dangling bits, I'd like to introduce you to...
Wait for it....
First off, I'm sure you know this guy...
And this dinosaur avoiding individual...
But did you know that this guy had them act together?
That's right my selection is...
The Tall Guy - Romance
We all know that Richard Curtis loves hooking up American's and Britons, in fact he may be a modern day hero in bridging the divide between those pesky tea tossing tosspots, and the well spoken Brits!
You've seen Four Weddings, you've seen Notting Hill, you've seen Love Actually, but have you see a Yank stage actor fall in love with an English Nurse? No... then get watching!!!
Movie List:
Bad Taste - Sci-Fi
The Rules of the Game - Comedy
Lords of Dogtown - Drama
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father - Documentary
Out of the Past - Film Noir
The Tall Guy - Romance
Ladies and ladies with dangling bits, I'd like to introduce you to...
Wait for it....
First off, I'm sure you know this guy...
And this dinosaur avoiding individual...
But did you know that this guy had them act together?
That's right my selection is...
The Tall Guy - Romance
We all know that Richard Curtis loves hooking up American's and Britons, in fact he may be a modern day hero in bridging the divide between those pesky tea tossing tosspots, and the well spoken Brits!
You've seen Four Weddings, you've seen Notting Hill, you've seen Love Actually, but have you see a Yank stage actor fall in love with an English Nurse? No... then get watching!!!
Movie List:
Bad Taste - Sci-Fi
The Rules of the Game - Comedy
Lords of Dogtown - Drama
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father - Documentary
Out of the Past - Film Noir
The Tall Guy - Romance
04-24-2018
, 05:50 PM
This next one, I feel like it may be a little too well known, but it has 45,906 reviews. Let me know if you don't approve.
I'll be walking down the what I thought was the Thriller road, only to find IMDB calls it Crime. Good job that's a category!
Anyway, have you ever thought Woody Harrelson would look good as a train enthusiast? Yup, me too! Well let's throw in a edgy, misspent youth wife into the mix, throw them onto a train from Beijing to Moscow, and let them communicate with their cabin-"mates".
it's not like anyone can go missing on a train is it? Many see this as a modern Hitchcock esq film, but the director cites North by Northwest and Strangers on a Train as inspiration.
I highly recommend this if you have not seen it....
Transsiberian - Crime
I'll be walking down the what I thought was the Thriller road, only to find IMDB calls it Crime. Good job that's a category!
Anyway, have you ever thought Woody Harrelson would look good as a train enthusiast? Yup, me too! Well let's throw in a edgy, misspent youth wife into the mix, throw them onto a train from Beijing to Moscow, and let them communicate with their cabin-"mates".
it's not like anyone can go missing on a train is it? Many see this as a modern Hitchcock esq film, but the director cites North by Northwest and Strangers on a Train as inspiration.
I highly recommend this if you have not seen it....
Transsiberian - Crime