Lesser Known Movies Worth Seeing

[Tetsubo]

Circle of Iron. Recently came out on DVD. It is a film about Zen that Bruce Lee wanted to make, and I think wrote the story. Very obscure, very cool, IMHO.

Six-String Samurai

Near Dark - best vampire movie ever made

Kill Bill makes so much more sense once you've watched Circle Of Iron.

I didn't know it was out on DVD yet. My thanks.

 

[Particle_Man]

Existence was one I liked. The joy of virtual reality gaming...and I always wanted to do the restaurant scene in a real restaurant since I saw it.

Dead Man, with Johnny Depp. Tres Cool. Western, but done the "meaning of life when I am going to die" way.

Big Night, about 2 1950's italian bros. trying to make it big in America. Very well done.

The Imposters. Takes one back to 1930's wacky comedies.

And, the original, accept no tv substitute, accept no hollywood remake, La Femme Nikita. That one might be lesser known by now...these kids don't know their cinematic past...

 

[sniffles]

"Beauty and the Beast", aka "La Belle et la Bete", 1946, French, directed by Jean Cocteau. THE best film version of the fairy tale ever. No damned singing teapots!! And the special effects are pretty impressive for post-WWII France with no budget and no ILM or Rick Baker.

Cocteau's "Orpheus" is pretty neat too. Who would have thought of magical rubber gloves to allow you to enter Hades?

 

[mikedidthis]

Seconding "Dead Man" and "Delicatessan".

Adding in "Harold and Maude" and "Time Bandits". These two are probably well-known here, but I find that people in general seem never to have heard of either of them. If you watch Time Bandits, be sure to get the widescreen DVD. Terry Gilliam was using the entire movie frame, not just the parts you can see on a standard TV set. The VHS version has terrible pan-n-scan and horribly washed-out colors. The DVD corrects that.

 

[Wombat]

"Beauty and the Beast", aka "La Belle et la Bete", 1946, French, directed by Jean Cocteau. THE best film version of the fairy tale ever. No damned singing teapots!! And the special effects are pretty impressive for post-WWII France with no budget and no ILM or Rick Baker.

Cocteau's "Orpheus" is pretty neat too. Who would have thought of magical rubber gloves to allow you to enter Hades?

Superb films, both of them! I particularly love the arm-candelabras

I have two very obscure likes...

Cold Feet -- Keith Carradine, Tom Waits, Sally Kirkland, Bill Pullman, and Rip Torn in a tale of horses, jewel thievery, and high-fashion footware. Very silly, very odd, but well-acted all the way around and with a wild ending ... definitely sit through the credits.

Highway 61 -- starring ... Nobody! It all starts in a small Canadian town where the local barber, Corky, a man who has an ambition to play flugelhorn in a New Orleans-style jazz band but only gets gig with a local BTO cover band, finds a dead body in the bathtub out back of his shop. A little while later a woman comes into town claiming the body is that of her brother and she needs to take him to New Orleans for a funeral. A roadtrip down the storied Highway 61 ensues involving drugs, Jello Biafra as a border crossing guard, hunting for a chicken dinner, bingo, and possible pursuit by the Devil. Again, very funny, very weird, and very, very original.

 

[Psionicist]

The Last Casino: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0419909/ Canadian TV-movie, defenitely the best movie of 2004 (in my opinion, that is).

Ong-bak: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0368909/ Better martial arts scenes than Jet Liu and.. that famous guy who makes lots of action comedies. One of the best "pure" action movies I've seen.

The Parlor: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0296134/ ...

Elling: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0279064/ Great norwegian drama/comedy. Incredible acting.

The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0307109/ Homeage to 60's horror movies.

Primer: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0390384/ Geek movie about time. Really freeky.

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0071691/ This movie is worth to watch for the acting alone.

 

[TracerBullet42]

Not true, by a long shot, in my case. I loved Pulp Fiction and hated Boondock Saints.

And I didn't care for Pulp Fiction all that much and absolutely love Boondock Saints.

I'll add Welcome to Collinwood to the list. It's a great flick about criminals who just can't seem to pull off the perfect crime. Sam Rockwell, William H. Macy, Luis Guzman, and Michael Jeter are stellar in this film. And George Clooney even makes an appearance.

 

[Fast Learner]

I have a bunch, but for now I'll second 1989's Slipstream, with the amazing Bob Peck (you'll likely recognize him, even if you don't know the name), Mark Hamill (who is good in the film), and Bill Paxton (who is excellent in the film). Small parts include Ben Kingsly, Robbie Coltrane, and F. Murray Abraham.

It's the story of a post-apocalyptic world where tremendous winds cover the Earth, making for some very interesting adaptations. Science fiction, but of the more fantastic type, so fantasy fans should enjoy it, too.

Not a truly great movie from a "best movies ever made" standpoint, but some awesome ideas, well-presented.

 

[Hijinks]

I will throw out "Beloved," which I know will make most men groan and say "Oh no not Oprah!" but it's actually a very good film. It helps if you've read the book. And for those men who just can't get over Oprah being in it... Thandie Newton naked? better?

 

[Fast Learner]

Except that, to me, Thandi Newton was unbearably horrific in the film, completely ruining the movie for me. I've not been able to look at her since.