obscure MUST SEE movies

[jjp]

I don't know if it is a MUST SEE, but it is pretty cool:

Formula 51
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0227984/
Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Carlyle, Meatloaf, Emily Mortimer
From IMDB:
Elmo McElroy (Jackson) is a streetwise American master chemist who heads to England to sell his special new formula - a powerful, blue concoction guaranteed to take you to 'the 51st state.' McElroy's new product delivers a feeling 51 times more powerful than any thrill, any pleasure, any high in history. But his plans for a quick, profitable score go comically awry when he gets stuck in Liverpool with an unlikely escort (Carlyle) and his ex-girlfriend (Mortimer) and becomes entangled in a bizarre web of double-dealing and double-crosses.

[talgkjertel]

Persona - if I could only own one DVD, this would be it. This is Ingmar Bergman in his most experimental period, yet it is the most complex movie I have ever seen. Mulholland Drive was heavily inspired by Persona, it's got a lot of the same plot points and themes. You got to see this even if you didn't like Mulholland Drive though, this is an obvious masterpiece and a must see for every movie buff.


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The Celebration ('Festin', in its original dutch)

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The Celebration is Danish, and the original title is Festen.

[BarryLyndon]

Here, let me help you guys out:

1. Raw Justice: Pam Anderson and a couple of other [censored]. Awesome movie.

2. Au Voir Les Enfants: Lots of holocaust movies out there, this one was easily the most quietly earnest I've seen. The treaasure hunt scene is one of the finest I've seen in the 90s.

3. Scarecrow: Nobody's [censored]' seen this. Nobody! Al Pacino and Gene Hackman are two street wanderers who meet each other on a road in the middle of nowhere and go on a road trip. Any further description fails to give the film justice. One of the best films / endings I've ever seen.

4. "The Dreamers": Not really "obscure," but I doubt most of mainstream society's heard of it. Bertolucci contemplates fine lines between sexuality, political revolution, and cinema obsession. Eva Green is hot.

5. Bad Company: Jeff Bridges, who is one of the finest and most underrated actors of his generation, plays a thief who takes a civil war draft dodger under his wing. Directed by Robert Benton.

6. Croupier(!): Everytime I mention this film, I get two responses - "holy [censored], that film was awesome" or "what?" Clive Owen plays a writer who's father is a professional gambler. Dad hooks Clive up with a job at a Casino, and Clive has an intense (which is what he does best) internal struggle between being a writer, gambler, and card dealer. Crisp, edgy, and it earns its darkness every step of the way.

7. Barry Lyndon: I get a ton of "what?"s everytime I bring this film up. Directed by Kubrick, the film easily ranks up there with "Full Metal Jacket" and "Dr. Strangelove" in terms of quality.

You can go to imdb for more detailed descriptions. Enjoy.

[chopstick]

This thread is more on track than I had thought it would be. I did shake my head at some of the suggestions (how is All The President's Men possibly considered obscure?), but there are some decent suggestions, enough that I added two movies to my netflix queue.


not really obscure, but close enough that I agree with:
primer
following
city of lost children (borderline on obscure)
oldboy (not really obscure)
city of god (not really obscure, but soooooooo good)
Grave of the Fireflies


my suggestions:
mirrormask
intacto
the cooler
immortal beloved

[guids]

Croupier was good.


Obscure (kinda) mob/crime movies, that while may not be must see, I like:

Wannabes
10th and wolf
The Good Thief
Criminal
Thief

[27offsuit]

Manito

This took a prize at 2001 Sundance I think. I stumbled onto it one night on the Sundance channel and it was just a really raw movie. All nonames add to the gritty realism.

[wdcbooks]

Festen - You will find it mostly as 'Celebration' in video stores. Breaking the Waves is the best known of the Dogme 95 group of films, but Festen is the best. The idea is that films are shot only with natural light and sound, and use a hand held camera to restore realism and immediacy to film. I actually think the uses of this technique are very limited, but Festen is a masterpiece.

It centers around a reunion of a dysfunctional family and simply follows the family from the dinner table to the bedroom as secrets are revealed and the family falls apart. It is brilliantly acted and filmed and is one of the best films I have seen that was made in the past couple of decades.

M - M stars the wonderful Peter Lorre (see my avatar) as a child murderer who can't help himself. For people interested in film history this is a brilliant bridge between the world of silent film and sound. Compared to today's movies there are long periods of silence, but it has one of the most famous speeches in movie history. It also has the unforgettable whistling of the killer before he strikes. Fritz Lang directs and the imagery is unforgettable, check out the child's balloon drifting slowly away. We don't need to see the actual murder. This is one of the few films on the thirties that is just as gripping today as it was when it was filmed.

[SossMan]

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Two Australian films made by the same team.

1. The Dish - story of the first moon landing told from the perspective of the guys running the radio telescope in Parkes in NSW Australia. Great light comedy / drama / storytelling

2. The Castle - A man's home is his Castle. Story of a bloke who stands up for his rights when the Federal Government tries to acquire his property for airport expansion.

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the castle was awesome.

[wet work]

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Croupier was good.


Obscure (kinda) mob/crime movies, that while may not be must see, I like:

Wannabes
10th and wolf
The Good Thief
Criminal
Thief

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey Guids have you seen The General? Another semi-obscure but, I think, really good flick. It's about Martin Cahill the famous Irish gangster. It was directed by John Boorman and Brendan Gleason plays Cahill-- and does an awesome job. He also looks alot like Cahill IIRC. If you haven't seen it I think it's right up your alley.


For the OP I'll add another crime film. Rififi. I'm sure a lot of people here are aware of it but I think as far as the general public goes it would be considered obscure.

[kipin]

Russian Ark - I have praised this movie in the past, but I think this fits in perfectly with the idea of an obscure MUST SEE movie.

This movie is quite simply, a piece of cinematic history. The movie spans the course of 300 years of Russian history doing so in ONE continuous shot. The film is beautifully filmed, crescendoing into one of the most magnificent, and well choreographed scenes ever. If you havn't seen, or heard of this movie, and are a fan of history and the arts, this is a MUST SEE movie.

If you are looking for the sequel to Armageddon, feel free to pass this over.

Wikipedia entry on Russian Ark. (May contain spoilers)