Ten Movies For Those Who Prefer The Unusual
Ten Movies For Those Who Prefer The Unusual
These are ten esoteric movies that I have watched over the years, more than once - mostly unusual and very different from each other. Only one is less than 35 years old, and it was shown 15 years ago. The descriptions are from Wikipedia, and my comments are in italics. In reverse order as to their age, we start with the most recent one:
1. Big Fish (2003)
Big Fish is a 2003 American fantasy comedy-drama film based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Daniel Wallace. The film was directed by Tim Burton and stars Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, and Marion Cotillard. Other roles are performed by Steve Buscemi, Helena Bonham Carter, Matthew McGrory, Alison Lohman, and Danny DeVito among others.
Edward Bloom (Finney), a former traveling salesman in the Southern United States with a gift for storytelling, is now confined to his deathbed. Will (Crudup), his estranged son, attempts to mend their relationship as Bloom relates tall tales of his eventful life as a young adult (portrayed by McGregor in the flashback scenes).
Big Fish was shot on location in Alabama in a series of fairy tale vignettes evoking the tone of a Southern Gothic fantasy. The film received award nominations in multiple film categories, including four Golden Globe Award nominations, seven nominations from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, two Saturn Award nominations, and an Oscar and a Grammy Award nomination for Danny Elfman's original score.
Helena Bonham Carter, who is an amazingly adaptive actress, plays 2 entirely different roles.
2. Tender Mercies (1983)
Tender Mercies is a 1983 American drama film directed by Bruce Beresford. The screenplay by Horton Foote focuses on Mac Sledge, a recovering alcoholic country music singer who seeks to turn his life around through his relationship with a young widow and her son in rural Texas. Robert Duvall plays the role of Mac; the supporting cast includes Tess Harper, Betty Buckley, Wilford Brimley, Ellen Barkin and Allan Hubbard.
Financed by EMI Films, Tender Mercies was shot largely in Waxahachie, Texas. The script was rejected by several American directors before the Australian Beresford accepted it. Duvall, who sang his own songs in the film, drove more than 600 miles (966 km) throughout the state, tape recording local accents and playing in country music bands to prepare for the role.
The film encompasses several different themes, including the importance of love and family, the possibility of spiritual resurrection amid death, and the concept of redemption through Mac Sledge's conversion to Christianity. Following poor test screening results, distributor Universal Pictures made little effort to publicize Tender Mercies, which Duvall attributed to the studio's lack of understanding of country music.
The film was released on March 4, 1983, in a limited number of theaters. Although unsuccessful at the box office, it was critically acclaimed and earned five Academy Award nominations, including one for Best Picture. Tender Mercies won Oscars for Best Original Screenplay for Foote and Best Actor for Duvall.
Duvall is a pretty good C&W singer in this movie.
3. The Stunt Man (1980)
The Stunt Man is a 1980 American film directed by Richard Rush, starring Peter O'Toole, Steve Railsback, and Barbara Hershey. The film was adapted by Lawrence B. Marcus and Rush from the 1970 novel of the same name by Paul Brodeur. It tells the story of a young fugitive who hides as a stunt double on the set of an anti-war movie whose charismatic director will do seemingly anything for the sake of his art.
It was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Peter O'Toole), Best Director (Richard Rush), and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. However, due to its limited release, it never earned much attention from audiences at large. As O'Toole remarked in a DVD audio commentary, "The film wasn't released. It escaped."
Steve Railsback, who played Charles Manson in Helter Skelter, still appears to have a bit of Manson's madness in this film, and O'Toole is almost a caricature of himself.
4. Meetings With Remarkable Men (1979)
Meetings with Remarkable Men is a 1979 British film directed by Peter Brook and based on the book of the same name by Greek-Armenian mystic, G. I. Gurdjieff, first published in English in 1963. Shot on location in Afghanistan (except for dance sequences, which were filmed in England), it starred Terence Stamp, and Dragan Maksimović as the adult Gurdjieff. The film was entered into the 29th Berlin International Film Festival and nominated for the Golden Bear.
The plot involves Gurdjieff and his companions' search for truth in a series of dialogues and vignettes, much as in the book. Unlike the book, these result in a definite climax—Gurdjieff's initiation into the mysterious Sarmoung Brotherhood. The film is noteworthy for making public some glimpses of the Gurdjieff movements.
For years it has been one of my favourite films, ever since I saw it projected in my family room in Toronto with a 16mm projector by my ex-wife's Yoga teacher. Gurdjieff, the philosopher and mystic, seeks the meaning of life - why he exists.
5. Vanishing Point (1971)
Vanishing Point is a 1971 American action road movie directed by Richard C. Sarafian and starring Barry Newman, Cleavon Little, and Dean Jagger.
The story was based on two actual events: the disgraced career of a San Diego police officer and a high-speed pursuit of a man who refused to stop and was killed when he crashed into a police roadblock. Infante modeled the character of Super Soul after legendary rock and roll singer The Big Bopper. His script reflected the popular counterculture lifestyle of the time, containing elements of rebellion, drugs, sexual freedom, and rock and roll.
Newman recalls that Fox had no faith in the film and released it in neighborhood theaters only to disappear in less than two weeks. However, it was a critical and commercial success in the UK and Europe which prompted the studio to re-release it in the United States on a double bill with The French Connection. After completing its run at the cinema box office, the film gained extended life as it became a second feature favorite in drive-in theaters across the US. A cult following began to develop, due in large part to a broadcast on network television in 1976.
Steven Spielberg named it as one of his favorite films.
A cult favourite, great soundtrack.
6. Duel (1971)
Duel is a 1971 American television (and later full-length theatrical) road thriller film written by Richard Matheson, which is based on his own short story. The film is the full-length film directing debut of American director, producer, and screenwriter Steven Spielberg.
Duel stars Dennis Weaver who portrays a terrified motorist driving a Plymouth Valiant who is stalked upon remote and lonely California canyon roads by the mostly unseen driver of an unkempt 1960 Peterbilt 351 tanker truck. Spielberg says that the effect of not seeing the driver makes the real villain of the film the truck itself, rather than the driver.
Duel was initially shown on American television as an ABC Movie of the Week installment. It was eventually released to cinemas in Europe and Australia; it had a limited cinema release to some venues in the United States, and it was widely praised in the UK. The film's success enabled Spielberg to establish himself as a film director.In the Archive of American Television website. Spielberg is quoted in an interview given by Weaver as saying: "You know, I watch that movie at least twice a year to remember what I did"
Duel was initially shown on American television as an ABC Movie of the Week installment. It was eventually released to cinemas in Europe and Australia; it had a limited cinema release to some venues in the United States, and it was widely praised in the UK. The film's success enabled Spielberg to establish himself as a film director.
One of the scariest films I ever saw - if you put yourself in Dennis Weaver's shoes. It left me feeling nervous whenever a big truck was near me while I was driving.
7. The Wages of Fear (1952) (French, with English Subtitles)
The Wages of Fear (French: Le salaire de la peur) is a 1953 French-Italian thriller film directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, starring Yves Montand, and based on the 1950 French novel Le salaire de la peur (lit. "The Salary of Fear") by Georges Arnaud. When an oil well owned by an American company catches fire, the company hires four European men, down on their luck, to drive two trucks over mountain dirt roads, loaded with nitroglycerine needed to extinguish the flames.
The Wages of Fear was critically hailed upon its original release. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote "The excitement derives entirely from the awareness of nitroglycerine and the gingerly, breathless handling of it. You sit there waiting for the theatre to explode. In 1992, Roger Ebert stated that "The film's extended suspense sequences deserve a place among the great stretches of cinema." It currently holds a 100% approval rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes aggregated from 41 reviews.
The last 3 are all films from the late 1930s, and less likely to have been seen by most persons living today. Although they may have been popular back then, they would probably be considered esoteric today.
The tension, as you wait for a truck to explode, is palpable.
8. Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a 1939 British romantic drama film directed by Sam Wood and starring Robert Donat and Greer Garson. Based on the 1934 novella Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton, the film is about Mr Chipping, a beloved aged school teacher and former headmaster of a boarding school who recalls his career and his personal life over the decades. Produced for the British division of MGM at Denham Studios, Goodbye, Mr. Chips was voted the 72nd greatest British film ever in the BFI Top 100 British films poll.
For his performance as Mr. Chipping, Donat received the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1939. In 2003, the American Film Institute ranked Mr. Chipping the 41st greatest film hero of all time. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards for Outstanding Production, Best Director, Actor, Actress, Best Writing, Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound.[9] It was up against Gone with the Wind in all seven categories; Robert Donat won for Best Actor, beating Laurence Olivier, Clark Gable and James Stewart, though Goodbye, Mr. Chips lost to Gone With the Wind in five of the six remaining categories, while Mr. Smith Goes to Washington won Best Original Story.
One of the reasons I enjoyed this film as much as I did is because I attended a boy's school, which although was a day school only - (go in the morning and return home late afternoon) - was almost exactly like the school in the movie - a typical English school. There was a teacher at my school who was very much MY Mr. Chips. We even played Cricket.
9. The Life of Emile Zola (1937)
The Life of Emile Zola is a 1937 American biographical film about French author Émile Zola, played by Paul Muni and directed by William Dieterle. It has the distinction of being the second biographical film to win the Oscar for Best Picture. It premiered at the Los Angeles Carthay Circle Theatre to great success both critically and financially. Contemporary reviews cited it the best biographical film made up to that time. In 2000, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Set in the mid through late 19th century, it depicts Zola's friendship with Post-Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne, and his rise to fame through his prolific writing, with particular focus on his involvement late in life in the Dreyfus affair.
Contemporary reviews were unanimous in their praise. Frank S. Nugent of The New York Times wrote, "Rich, dignified, honest, and strong, it is at once the finest historical film ever made and the greatest screen biography, greater even than The Story of Louis Pasteur with which the Warners squared their conscience last year ... Paul Muni's portrayal of Zola is, without doubt, the best thing he has done."....Harrison's Reports called it "A dignified, powerful, and at times stirring historical drama, brilliantly directed, and superbly acted by Paul Muni, as Zola, the great French writer."..... The Life of Emile Zola topped Film Daily's year-end poll of 531 critics as the best film of 1937.
The tremendous praise that Paul Muni received for his performance was in my opinion insufficient. Paul Muni does not "act" his part, he "becomes" the person whom he depicts, making him my favourite actor of all time.
10. The Good Earth (1937)
The Good Earth is a 1937 American drama film about Chinese farmers who struggle to survive. It ... was ... based on the 1931 novel of the same name by Nobel Prize-winning author Pearl S. Buck.
The film stars Paul Muni as Wang Lung. For her role as his wife O-Lan, Luise Rainer won an Academy Award for Best Actress. The film also won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Karl Freund. It was nominated for Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Picture. Its world premiere was at the elegant Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles.
The film's budget was $2.8 million, a small fortune at the time, and took three years to make. A five-hundred-acre farm in Porter Ranch, California, was transformed into a replica of Chinese farmland for this film. Many of the characters were played by Western actors made to look Asian with aid of make-up techniques developed by Jack Dawn and used for the first time in this film. However, some of the supporting cast did include Chinese American actors.
Contemporary reviews were positive. Frank S. Nugent of The New York Times praised the film as "a superb translation of a literary classic ... one of the finest things Hollywood has done this season or any other. While it has taken some liberties with the novel's text, it has taken none with its quality or spirit." Variety declared it "a remarkable screen production" and called Muni's performance "splendid", but questioned whether the subject matter would make for good box office. Film Daily raved, "A 'must see' picture, possessing absorbing drama, passionate sincerity and brilliant performance.
The Good Earth was nominated for a total of five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director (Sidney Franklin), Best Cinematography (Karl Freund), and Best Film Editing (Basil Wrangell). In addition to the Best Actress award (Luise Rainer), the film won for Best Cinematography.
This movie is one of the ones where they used white actors to play persons of different races, but Paul Muni and Louise Rainer were exceptional in doing so. In one case it was named one of the most politically incorrect movies Hollywood ever made. However, there is a scene when they are walking home after their marriage and he (Muni) is eating a peach and throws away the pit. O-lan (Ranier) picks up the pit and plants it in front of their home. Over the years it flourishes. I could see my wife doing something like that.
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I just thought of another one - The Fountainhead. It was panned by most critics, and even Ayn Rand who had wirtten the novel ended up not liking it. I enjoyed it, but I had a wish to be an architect back then when I saw it for the first time.
I just thought of another one - The Fountainhead. It was panned by most critics, and even Ayn Rand who had wirtten the novel ended up not liking it. I enjoyed it, but I had a wish to be an architect back then when I saw it for the first time.
Its interesting that sometimes people enjoy movies for very different reasons. I never saw that movie but I read the book long ago--when I was still an undergraduate in college. (At the time I was a committed Libertarian-- that phase of my life lasted for about 3 months...when I turned to some other political philosophy, I don't remember what it was
The Fountain head is up right now if you want to watch it..... just a sec....
Take a look Enjoy....
Thanks for posting The Fountainhead but I really pretty busy now-a-days. May watch it in the next week or two.... (I actually haven't watched a movie in several months).
No problem Krish, I'll leave it up as long as I can, but I only have limited space on the server and can't leave it up forever....
I promised perrie I wouldn't do that....
"Duel" was GREAT !
So was "Apocalypse Now", if you like "Really Unusual" !
I can't stand Brando so I never saw AN, but my husband really liked it.
He only had about a five minute stint in the 2.5 hour movie towards the end. Even then, he had a line or two, and you couldn't see him that well.
Here ya Go IIM...
Duel 1971
Enjoy!......
Everyone should try and see The Stunt Man. It has an unusual premise and an unusual vibe that lasts the whole movie (Who do you trust?) Great acting by Peter O'Toole.
I have it and am considering posting it....
I could watch any of the 10 movies I listed many times and not tire of them.
Here you go John,
The Stuntman 1980.......
Enjoy.....
I guess this was the original uncut version - I don't recall seeing quite so much nudity. Of course the "bear toy" was always there.
I always prefer the original version over the re-cut versions brother......
When I post Duel, it will be the television version cause that is the original...... (it was a made for TV movie that became so popular that they recut it for the cinema)
Thanks. I am watching it.
My pleasure my friend, Enjoy...
One would have to guess which one was crazier - the Director O'Toole or the Stuntman Railsback.
ZULU
Bend It Like Beckham
It Could Happen To You
Good pick, John. Bend it Like Beckham was an excellent movie - shows the generational differences caused by tradition. There are others that indicate social mores, traditions, different expectations for girls, like Whale Rider.
"B" movies are great.
Especially if your drunk.
How about D Movies?
This one is unusual-- but....
It Came From Outer Space (1953) Official Trailer
The trailer makes a big deal of it being in 3-D-- I wonder if that's when 3-D movie glasses first came out?
(It makes me laugh it's so corny-- but I think its supposed to be very scary...?)
Cardboard 3D plastic lens glasses came out in 1952 which is when I saw my first 3D movie. It was Bwana Devil - there was a scene when a tiger or lion jumped towards the camera up close and everybody ducked behind the seat in front of them. The next 3D movie was House of Wax in 1953 with Vincent Price. I think they did a remake of that in 2005.
The Ed Wood movies were the REAL "D" movies. Try watching Plan 9 From Outer Space if you want a laugh. or Invasion of the Killer Tomatoes.
Please post in text the names of the movies you posted with YouTube. It appears I'm going to have to post that request on every movie article I post.
CRAP! I forgot about your YouTube blackout.
Tank Girl
Being John Malkovich
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Being John Malkovich is definitely weird. As for Queen of the Desert, I like to watch Terrance Stamp no matter what he does. I've not seen Tank Girl, although I once had an Israeli woman client who was built like a fireplug, and we called her the Tank Driver.
Why did you post an internal error message? You aren't the only one to do it I have noticed.
That was a you tube error message......
4. Meetings With Remarkable Men (1979)
I actually haven't seen any you listed. I've heard of several--but didn't know what they were about.
And of course I've heard of Gurdjieff. Now that I know what its about I will see the movie-- these types of mysticism have always interested me.
I posted it last year.... Decent movie if a little droll at times....
It isn't the kind of movie that pleases a wide audience - one needs to appreciate that it depicted a relentless quest for the meaning of life, and how to achieve that knowledge.
Actually for several years of my life that one one of the main things I did . . . (I suppose that deep down inside I'm a sort of "closet philosopher"....LOL!
Here ya go Krish.....
Meetings With Remarkable Men 1979
Enjoy.....
For your viewing pleasure; VANISHING POINT------>
This is not the Television version but the Cinematic version, or, in other words, UN-Cut. I wouldn't watch it with your kids or at work.....
LOL. Do you mean the girl on the motorcycle or the drugs? (Just going to start watching it now)
Just covering our butts brother in case someone don't like titties on film or motorcycle riding sans panties....
They might not like good black guys getting beat up by bad white guys either.
A great movie. I consider it predictive of America - overrating the 'freedom', overstepping it, until it ends. And that is borne out by the music:
"Where Do We Go From Here?".....and then "Nobody Knows".
Good luck America - you need it.
And, for your viewing pleasure....
Tender Mercies 1983.......
Probably Robert Duval's greatest performance.....
I saw "Big Fish" at the theater (very rare for me). I liked it. I liked how at the end all of his tall tales had and element of truth to them
Will be posting it in a day or so....
Here you go Trout.....
BIG Fish....... 2003......
Try not to giggle too much....
Enjoy....
In my best Rod Sterling voice...And now for your consideration, the wierdest movie of all time......The Forbidden Zone (Susan Tyrell and Herve Villichese (sp).
Movie review....
Is this the "Forbidden Zone" you are talking about?
Cause if you are, I have it...
I am SO much in agreement with you concerning political correctness. Sure, political correctness to a reasonable extent is not so bad, but it has become a burgeoning monster in America and Canada. I notice that an article has just been posted about it.
Have not seen Remarkable Men nor Wages of Fear. Perhaps we are just from different circumstance but I don't really see any of the rest as unusual and mainstream. Not that there aren't some great films on the list. Though Big Fish sort of out did itself with some of the worst southern accents in film history, I'm talking to you Mr McGregor, I still quite liked it. At its heart a very sweet film.
So, I'm having trouble even thinking of unusual and good/great movies. Let's see.
Vallhalla Rising. A film by Nicolas Winding Refn with my favorite Danish actor, Mads Mikkelsen as One Eye.
Flukt (Escape) a Roar Uthaug film. As long as I am on the Viking Train.
Enter the Void. Gaspar Noe. Same feller who did Irreversible. A good film but difficult viewing. Anyhow, Void.
The Devils. Ken Russell. Old school. '71, I think. Based on The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley. Story of Urbain Grandier, a priest, Jesuit I think, in 17th cent France burned for witchcraft.
Eraserhead. David Lynch. Always good for an oddball chuckle.
Dogtooth. Yorgos Lanthimos. Tres beaucoup strange.
XXY. Lucia Puenzo. Stange and wonderful Argentine film. Coming of age hermaphrodite fun.
Boy Meets Girl. Eric Schaeffer. A surprisingly sweet transgender romcomdram.
The Square. Rubin Ostlund. Art, wealthy patrons, brutal satire, frightening monkey man. And Elizabeth Moss!
Except for the classic films, Zola, Chips and Good Earth, I felt that the films I listed were a little out of the mainstream. The classic ones actually had good attendance, but I listed them because there are very few members of NT whom I believe have ever seen them. It's just opinion on my part, Tex.
I had to take down three movies to make room for the last three.
So, FIFO, First in First out.
The Fountainhead, The Stuntman and Vanishing Point are now offline. they all received 10+ streams so those that watched them or downloaded them I hope you enjoyed them.
Next up, the Life of Emile Zola 1937, The Good Earth 1937, and finally, Wages of Fear 1953. I have to do some work on Wages of Fear cause it is in French and the copy I have does have subtitles but they are external to the video and need to be burned into video. (it can't handle seperate sub files) This is so people who don't understand french can follow the dialogue...
Will post when they are up....
For your viewing pleasure.....
The Life Of Emile Zola 1937
Paul Muni in one of his great roles.....
Enjoy....
And a classic from overseas....
The Wages of Fear 1953
Enjoy....
Another Classic....
The Good Earth 1937.......
Enjoy....
And, filling out the unusual classic movies.....
Goodbye Mr Chips 1939.....
Mr Donat is great actor self in this one....