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What Are Your Favorite Obscure Movies?
At the bottom of a webpage, between the “Actresses Who Age Badly” and “Bizarre Creatures of the Sea,” was a clickable list I couldn’t resist — “9 Great Movies You’ve Never Seen”. It turns out I had seen two of the movies, both of which I liked; the original Das Boot (with subtitles), and Fearless. The ones I hadn’t seen were:
- Amazon Women on the Moon
- Swimming With Sharks
- The Wild Blue Yonder
- May
- Secretary
- Hard Eight
- Bob Le Flambeur
Have you seen these films? If so, opinions please! What other lost gems should I be watching?
Published in General
Regarding the original list, I’ve seen a couple: “Secretary” and “Bob Le Flambeur.” “Secretary” was okay, maybe too much like the more serious “Crash” based on the Ballard novel of same name. “Secretary” is more “light-hearted” about S&M; “Crash” is more dark and brooding.
I was disappointed by “Bob Le Flambeur,” for me it wasn’t as sharp as “Rififi.”
As for adding a title, today I offer “Who Wants to Kill Jessie?” A Czech film from the ’60s that is a lot of fun.
[Hasn’t there been a topic like this before??] In any event: Yes to Charley Varrick and the original The Taking of Pelham 123 (Matthau is great in both; also The Fortune Cookie); Local Hero; and Das Boot. To add to the list: My Favorite Year. I can’t claim it’s a great film, but I’ve always enjoyed Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland in The Great Train Robbery (from an early Michael Crichton book – and directed by Crichton). And, while I like Buckaroo Banzai, it always seemed to me that an editor went after that movie with a hatchet. Could it be that the studio was desperately trying to cut it down to what it deemed a marketable length??
Another just occurred to me: Comfort and Joy, a 1984 movie about warring mafia-style families operating icecream trucks in Scotland. A popular radio host accidentally gets involved.
All This and Heaven, Too – with Charles Boyer and a very young Bette Davis, and based on the 1930’s best-selling novel – provides a rare view of noble self-sacrifice for one’s family. (One wishes after seeing it that a novel on the same subject today would have even a whiff of a chance of becoming a best-seller.)
May sounded like something I’d seen so I looked it up on NF and turns out I rated it two stars.
Did I mention Enemy of the State? Will Smith, Gene Hackman, the surveillance state? I guess that’s not very topical these days.
I had avoided this one on principle. I mean, I expected it would be difficult for me to suspend disbelief watching a story about an omniscient NSA. But since the bar on plausible conspiracy theories has come down considerably in the age of Obama, maybe I’ll give it a look.
It is a fun romp with some amusing incremental one-upmanship. And Target is another brilliant Hackman film that seemed to fly under the radar.
My vote goes to “Brassed Off“, about a colliery band (coal miners) in 1980’s Britain. A real tear-jerker, with some great brass band music thrown in.
&p>Since these are tough as heck to find anywhere, I consider them obscure:
Start the Revolution Without Me
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Brigadoon
I’ll Second earlier mentions of A Matter of Life and Death and Local Hero.
I certainly second Misthiocracy’s suggested The Wrong Man (top talent in a mystery actioner), Bubba Ho-Tep (the Mummy is after Elvis, who’s retired to a nursing home) and Moon (Sam Rockwell as a very lonely fellow manning a moon base).
Here are some that haven’t been mentioned.
Exodus (1960) – A massive blockbuster back in the day, but way too politically incorrect these days. Paul Newman’s blue eyes are a little off-putting. Best movie theme music ever, ever, ever!
This Land is Mine (1943) – Too often dismissed as a wartime propaganda flick, this Jean Renoir (grandson of that Renoir) movie has Charles Laughton relucantly finding the heroism within himself. Brilliant.
TT3D: Closer to the Edge (2011) – Yes, a documentary! What motivates people to participate in the annual ‘Tourist Trophy’ motorcycle race on a road track on the Isle of Man? It has been going over a century during which time there have been 237 deaths. In 2011 there were six deaths. Yet still they go. Thrilling and scary.
Continuing …
The Interview (1998) – I don’t like most Australian movies. But this one is perfect. A man (Hugo Weaving – Mr Smith from The Matrix) is accused of murder. The police detective is interviewing him, trying to get his to confess. You change your mind a dozen times as the interview progresses. Incredible piece.
The Mist (2007) – Frank Darabont’s adaptation of a Stephen King short story. It’s entertaining enough throughout (except for the obligatory nutty Christian woman), but this is a true horror story, with the real horror right at the very end.
The Fall (2006) – Astonishing film about two people in a 1920s hospital. Lee Pace, a crippled stuntman spinning a story of fantasy trying to manipulate a little girl with a broken arm into getting something for him. Every scene is breathtaking, and the story incredibly moving. It is a travesty that this movie isn’t one of the most famous ever. Beware: there’s some brutality as well. Oh, and the opening scene, over the top of Beethoven’s 7th … engrossing!
Continuing …
God of Love (2010) and Signs (2008) — these show that the short film can be great as well. If you’re a sentimentalist like me, anyway.
The Harder They Fall (1956) – Bogart’s last film.
Enduring Love (2004) – Sort of a love story, but most a reflection on failure in a crisis, while a very creeper stalker is capitalising on the situation. British. Stars Daniel Craig.
Of Gods and Men ( 2010) – A group of monks in North Africa are under threat from murderous rebels. Be prepared to be engrossed and moved.
Two Hands (1999) – an early role for Heath Ledger (and Rose Byrne). On the streets of Sydney Ledger loses some of a crime boss’ cash and has to get it back. Extraordinary plotting.
Felon (2008) – what if you’re a good man protecting your home and family, and end up having to survive in jail?
To Die For – (1996) for those who like their comedy’s very dark indeed. Standout performance by Nicole Kidman, with Joaquin Phoenix in support.
The Best Offer (2013) – Geoffrey Rush is an auctioneer of antiques in Europe. And a scammer. He’s falling for a mysterious heiress.
Continuing …
Hard Candy (2005) – a revenge mystery movie with an innocuous seeming Patrick Wilson falling into Ellen Page’s trap. Caution: extremely disturbing.
The Browning Version (1951) – an English public school drama that’s gripping end to end.
Cashback (2006) – A British fantasy/romance/drama in which an art student has a unique method of capturing the moment in his sketches. Caution: some nudity.
Super (2010) – Ellen Page pops up here too. Dwight from ‘The Office’ is a depressed loser who’s wife goes back onto drugs and leaves him for Kevin Bacon, a drug dealer. He dons a comic hero’s outfit, grabs a pipe wrench, and goes out to save the world. Bloody and surprising, this one.
The Thirteenth Floor (1999) – one of the three human-consciousness-living-in-a-computer-world movies that came out that year.
The Cameraman’s Revenge (1912) – amazing stop-motion short from Russia.
The Land Beyond the Sunset (1912) – another ancient short, American this time. Silent, black and white, sentimental, yet somehow it’s as though it was made last year.
Continuing …
I’m All Right Jack (1959) – a UK ‘comedy’ about a young, stupid but honest man who runs afoul of a Union. You can see why Britain faltered until Margaret Thatcher came to the rescue.
The Rage in Placid Lake (2003) – An Australian growing-up comedy, wickedly nasty to new age parents. Should have been a hit, but happened to come out at the same time as the horror picture Lake Placid. Talk about bad timing!
10 Rillington Place (1971) – John Hurt, an intellectually challenged man, is arrested for the murder of his wife while Richard Attenborough looks like he’s getting away with it.
and, finally:
Went the Day Well? (1942) – One of those lovely little English villages, with all its pastoral charm and quiet, quirky characters. A squad of British soldiers enter to conduct some exercises. But they are actually Nazis, taking over to prepare for an impending invasion. Suddenly, this movie is extremely intense, and surprisingly brutal. It’s not just me that thinks so. IMDB rating is 7.7/10.
My all-time favorite comedy: You Can’t Take It With You
My all-time favorite western: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
I guess I must love James Stewart.
Plus, it really seems like an unofficial sequel to The Conversation, which is also a pretty great movie.
I have to disagree with Hard Candy. I really liked it while I was watching it, because they kept it ambiguous whether or not the guy was actually guilty or if she was simply delusional. Then, they ruined it at the end by answering that question definitively. I lost all respect for the movie at that point.
&blockquote>Stephen Dawson: I certainly second Misthiocracy’s suggested The Wrong Man (top talent in a mystery actioner)
Actually, I was suggesting The Wrong Guy, a little-seen comedy starring a young Dave Foley.
Would suggest:
1. Murder at the Vanities
2. Tarzan and His Mate
4. Modesty Blaise
5. Sardonicus
My list would include – among many others – Wise Blood, John Huston’s 1979 interpretation of the Flannery O’Connor novel, The Straight Story and The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio.
To Brassed Off and the Ciaran Hinds’ Persuasion I say: YES.
I’d add a couple of my favorites: The Secret of Roan Inish and Jodha Akbar (obscure to most Americans).
This is one of my all-time favorites, along with Local Hero.
It never would have occurred to me to view it through that lens. Perhaps you can explain more, Mollie. I thought it was a great exploration of the importance of community, as the involvement of pretty much the whole town helped Lars deal with his issues.
In Bruges has one of my favorite lines of dialog. Farrell’s character responds to a Gleeson remark about history with “history’s just a bunch of stuff that already happened.” And yes, it is dark and gruesome, but very good, and has a moral core that a Tarantino film doesn’t. The Lives Of Others is great, but probably not that obscure in this crowd.
A British film TRULY,MADLY,DEEPLY–Alan Rickman and Juliet Stevenson. It’s a comedy, a love story and a ghost story all rolled into one. I love it but it’s very hard to find.
Local Hero – one of my top 5 best movies ever.
Written and directed by Bill Forsyth, who also did:
Comfort and Joy
Gregory’s Girl
That Sinking Feeling
Housekeeping
Breaking In (with Burt Reynolds)
and the obscure but very interesting Being Human, with Robin Williams (in a role (several) where he isn’t playing “Robin Williams”, and is quite good.)
Other favorite obscures:
Buckaroo Banzai – awesome; read the novel if you can find it. (Best line: “Why is there a watermelon there?”)
The Razor’s Edge (with Bill Murray)
From Beyond – great horror from H.P. Lovecraft story
Time Crimes – one of the best time travel movies.
Primer – just see it, ok?
Dark Star – early John Carpenter/Dan O’Bannon production; hip and funny before anything else like it.
Crumb
Withnail and I
In Bruges (freakin LOVED it)
A Shock to the System – with Michael Caine (written by Andrew Klavan!)
Excalibur
A Boy and His Dog – Harlan Ellison story with a very young Don Johnson.
Phantom of the Paradise – delicious, with good music to boot.
American Dreamer – with Jobeth Williams and Tom Conti; very funny and sweet thriller.
That’s a list off the top of my head. All good, but if you haven’t seen Local Hero, c’mon. Best final shot in movie history*. Go get it and watch it.
*well, I guess there WAS rosebud….
Last Year at Marienbad
The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes
2046
These are visually oriented which is code for not much plot.
I haven’t seen the movie, but I did read the book. While I did enjoy it, I’m kinda surprised to see it recommended on Ricochet.