movie recommendations?

[Kier]

hey guys

i am on summer break and i want to watch more films now that i have a lot more free time -- thot smogon would be a good a place as any to ask for recs. i've been into a lot of seminal noir stuff and i really want to get into some more french new wave films outside of godard so anything similar would be great. i'm also really into anime, at least films -- miyazaki, satoshi kOn, and studio 4ºC stuff are my favorites, so anything similar to that would rule. of course, i am willing to try most anything.

i also want to get into really weird stuff. i know this is really broad, but if you like any films that are just FUCKED (no human centipede, that was a mistake) or just plan absurd, that would rule! or basically just foreign i guess. right now i have my eyes on 'the drifting classroom', 'la cabina', 'peacock king', anything by almodovar... also i've been trying to get a hold of 'buy it now' by anthony campos (though not very hard)

but, long story short, ANY movie recommendations would be appreciated! thanks, smogon.

 

[gene]

you would probably be interested in alain resnais' last year at marienbad. it is a surreal, atmospheric french new wave classic composed mostly of tracking shots down the deserted corridors of a luxurious hotel.

regarding your appreciation of satoshi kon -- perfect blue was a huge influence for david lynch's latest few films. i'm gonna guess you've probably seen some of his films if you're interested in "weird" cinema, but in case you haven't, he's definitely worth checking out. david cronenberg is in a way pretty similar. his body horror period is comparable with eraserhead. utter kitsch aside, videodrome and dead ringers are good.

some other things to check out:

8 1/2 - surreal, dreamlike film about a tired director's struggle with completing a film

persona - very abstract film. a lot of bergman's catalog is worth looking at; the seventh seal is also worth checking out

un homme qui dort - unconventional french film. new wave to some extent... i guess, but it doesn't fit the time period so much. it's about a college student's gradual separation from society.

stalker - my favorite of tarkovsky's films. surreal, psychological science fiction masterpiece detached from the cheesy nature that usually accompanies scifi. solaris and zerkalo are also great films; the latter is not science fiction, but rather a down-to-earth, disjointed film about memories.

el angel exterminador - an absurdist black comedy/satire film from luis bunuel, highly recommended. stark b&w photography present.

 

[magickzzl]

ok, so the ENTIRE AFI (American Film Institute) List of greatest films.. but specificly:

Lawrence of Arabia
Gone with the Wind
Bladerunner
Citizen Kane
Killer Clowns from Outerspace
Santa Claus Vs the Martians
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters 2
5th Element
Plan 9 from Outer Space
**Sunshine- I think is actually what your looking for :)

Yes those are all real movies.

 

[spies]

Anime: Akira if you haven't already, it's awesome of course. I assume you've seen Mind Game and Tekkonkinkreet since you mentioned Studio 4C, but I recommend a little anime series by them called Detroit Metal City which is just absurd and hilarious. Also check out Cat Soup, top notch anime surrealism. A Ghibli movie you might have overlooked because it's not directed by Miyazaki is Grave of the Fireflies, one of the great anti-war works the Japanese have made. If you're in a romantic mood check out 5 centimeters per second, one of the prettiest animes for sure.

I'm also into a lot of asian (non-anime) cinema, some of it is a bit weird I guess. Kitano is the best of course so get Violent Cop, Hana-bi and Sonatine. His later stuff is absurdist humor and not so emotional. Also I should watch the other Park Chan-Wook works, but Oldboy surely stands out. Kim Ki Duk is another director worth checking out, 3-Iron was a great film. Miike is really bizarre and Ichi the Killer is an excellent gore movie. I should really watch The Happiness of the Katakuris.

I haven't seen Hausu yet but it's probably the campiest horror film Japan has produced.

Backing up the recommendations of Cronenberg and Tarkovsky. Videodrome and Dead Ringers are both excellent films, to which I would add Crash (about a fetish for car crashes of all things). I haven't seen Solaris by Tarkovsky (yet) but Stalker is pretty much the greatest thing ever so watch that now.

For fucked up Euro stuff... http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Euroshlock though I haven't seen most of those, I strongly recommend Seul contre tous. You probably have heard of Haneke by now but by all means watch Caché and Benny's Video.

Well that's all for now but I'm always on the lookout for new cinema to watch so yeah

 

[Shinxe]

The Fall.

So fucking excellent. Surreal, fucked up, beautiful, epic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1YwOybwTrc

 

[Optimusje]

Seconding the Fall for being one of the best things i've seen in a really long time. Also, Pan's Labyrinth is truly beautifull

 

[Bhaird]

Before I can give any suggestions, what movies have you seen already? Or are you willing to re-watch things that you have already seen?

Some good ones that have already been mentioned that I agree on or have seen myself are Pan's Labyrinth, Fifth Element, Grave of the Fireflies and Akira.

Amelie is a French film everyone mention's and is a good watch.

All of Miyazaki's works should be looked at.

As for absurd or fucked up, there's always A Clockwork Orange & Fear and Loathing.

 

[gene]

the fall is gorgeous. also worth noting are baraka and koyaanisqatsi, two experimental documentaries that the fall heavily drew from.

 

[CaptKirby]

Posting to say that Akira is the fucking greatest anime film of all time (I place it after Evangelion/Bebop/Trigun as the fourth best anime WORK of all time). Mind Game is atrocious. Not going to spam my negative opinions on the rest you can do what you want!

Hausu / House is one of the best "fucked up" movies ever. I made two short videos, one of them kind of spoils more because it is by late in the movie when everything has completely gone to hell, but the other one only spoils it in that you see the most awesome scene ahead of time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbirVFHDbxw not as spoilery
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQjUvj8tgb8 completely spoilery, still awesome as fuck

Hausu is basically this weird amalgam of awesomely imitated, peppy not uh hard rock but just like '60s/'70s US/UK rock stylings, like it starts off with Cat Stevens like sounds all over the place, but done a little misaimed and in Japanese, and it names its main girl characters shit like Fantasy, the girls are portrayed as the most incredibly perfect little fucking great girls ever, and then their lives all go to hell for no good reason other than possibly that one girl was a little selfish for like ten seconds in her thought processes, even though she still did even that in an overall sweet manner. Hard to explain more without being even more spoilery so I will just stop!

All of Miyazaki's works should be looked at.

No. No one should ever waste her or his time with The Cat Returns or Kiki's Delivery Service.

 

[Bhaird]

No. No one should ever waste her or his time with The Cat Returns or Kiki's Delivery Service.

Alright, maybe not all... probably exclude 1-3 of his films, but Kiki's Delivery Service isn't that bad. Nothing really fantastical about it, I admit, but I figure most people have seen it in there child hood.

And yeah, I love Cowboy Bebop and own Trigun. I would have listed a few anime's but the OP asked for movies so I wasn't too sure.

 

[Kier]

thank you guys! these posts were exactly what i was hoping for.

@g80: i had no idea lynch was influenced by perfect blue, that is very cool. i've been working backwards chronologically through kon's filmography so i haven't seen perfect blue yet, though it's in my queue. my appreciation for lynch's stuff was i guess implicit -- i watched and rewatched a ton of his stuff in the past year. i do my best to check out everything you recommended.

@magickzzl: solid list of films -- blade runner and ghostbusters (and you know what, 5th element as well) are among my favorite movies. i like going through lists like AFI's but what i'm more interested in (at least currently) is the stuff NOT found on those lists.

@spies: watched tekkonkinkreet just this past month -- amazing; arresting. so many good recs in this post, i'm excited to start diving in.

@shinxe, et al.: i've been meaning to watch the fall for a while now, i keep hearing good things about it.

@bhaird: i won't list EVERYTHING i've seen (that would be painstaking and difficult), but i will say i am not averse at all to rewatching films. that being said, i've seen every film you listed -- it's a good list!

@ck, et al.: fuckin' WORD re: akira. i will definitely check out hausu since it has been recommended several times already. agreed also re: kiki and the cat returns... easily the 'worst' miyazaki films i would say.

you guys rule! there is so much potentially great cinema that i cannot wait to get my hands (eyes) on.

 

[spies]

Perfect Blue is Satoshi Kon's best and obviously most influential, in my opinion.

Have you seen Paranoia Agent? I didn't like it personally but it's an important piece of Kon's filmography.

 

[icepick]

The only French New Wave film I've seen is The 400 Blows. I assume you've already seen it, but if not, it's definitely something to check out.

 

[CaptKirby]

Alright, maybe not all... probably exclude 1-3 of his films, but Kiki's Delivery Service isn't that bad. Nothing really fantastical about it, I admit, but I figure most people have seen it in there child hood.

And yeah, I love Cowboy Bebop and own Trigun. I would have listed a few anime's but the OP asked for movies so I wasn't too sure.

I was not listing anime, he asked for movies so I listed a movie. I was just making a more emphatic assertion of how good I think Akira is in relation to all anime. Although apparently it did not matter since he has seen it!

 

[Luduan]

Five recommendations:

Hiroshima Mon Amour (seminal Nouvelle Vague)
La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc
Grave of the Fireflies
Un Chien Andalou
Woman in the Dunes

 

[Glen]

hi foreys! you liked my last movies post right????????? not too much has changed since then although the best film i've seen this year has to be

my effortless brilliance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFTXQUgHPCM

wonderful film. done by lynn shelton, director of humpday (which is pretty excellent itself!). 'mumblecore' is the genre used to describe films like this apparently. low budget, unknown actors, semi-mumbly/semi-improvised dialogue, etc. it has an amazing feel, and you really get the feeling that these two guys are close friends. asshole writer alienates his best friend. best friend moves into the wilderness and becomes a man's man. writer goes to visit him as a surprise. they kinda rekindle their friendship? it's sorta powerful and it's cute, and it's got great dialogue like

"what would dracula do in this situation?"
"nothing, probably. turn into a bat maybe."
"yeah, turn into a bat at best."

all in all really worth watching if you can handle how 'indie' it is. i'll post more when i can better remember what the fuck i've seen in the last year, i know i saw some other standout ones but my brain is fuk ?_?

oh another one off the top of my head (because i rewatched it) is primer. phenomenal sci-fi-kinda brainfuck movie, very tricky and very exciting and very well-acted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CC60HJvZRE

trailer doesnt do it justice (as they rarely do for truly good movies). engineers build a time machine of sorts? though it just kinda reverses time so if you want to go back 6 hours you have to sit in it for 6 hours. it sounds kinda gimmicky but everything about it is perfect, no idea why i didn't include it in my earlier top 5.

ALSO here is my earlier post for anyone else who wants recommendations from me

WARNING I AM AN ARTFAG

top 5 in no particular order

the rules of attraction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7POJjKRzTh8

brilliant film, and this scene is just astounding. one of my favourite books of all time too! takes place at a liberal arts college and some weird, post-narrative shit goes down. acting is great, curiously enjoyable blend of comedy and heartbreaking romantic tragedy, and a pervading sense of 'what the fuck is going on' make this film just excellent.

i know, i know, 'smart, sexy, funny and provocative' are not exactly adjectives used to describe groundbreaking movies, but seriously, trust me on this. (the old pic i had described it in those adjectives ok)

tekkonkinkreet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gWxUVcXyPA

truly remarkable anime. i don't watch anime regularly but this film is just wondrous. the animation is splendid and the story is very interesting. read the manga too!!

mysterious skin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjHgTn9tTxktrailer

trailer doesn't do it justice, but seriously, watch this movie. it's one of the most emotional and heartbreaking pieces i've ever seen. it's about two teenagers, played by brady corbet and joseph gordon-levitt (who is, as always [except maybe in GI joe lol], an astounding actor) who, at a young age, were molested by their baseball coach. one becomes a reclusive asexual who believes he was abducted by aliens, one becomes a male prostitute.

it's really powerful, and a lot of scenes will make you really uncomfortable, but it has, in my opinion, the best ending of any film. watch it for joseph gordon-levitt in probably his best role.

the dreamers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU1brBVMBkMZmichael

pitt is just delightful in this artsy one about an american dude who moves to france in the 60s and falls in love with a brother and sister who are as much into cinema as he is. 1968 student riots, etc. really interesting love story, but it's got some creepy incestuous shit in it that isn't exactly anyone's cup of tea. acting is great, cinematography is definite some of the best i've seen. possibly my favourite shot of all time is this one of eva green wearing long black gloves, looking like the venus de milo

just amazing

funny games

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec-70W_K77Uthis

this one stars brady corbet from mysterious skin and michael pitt from the dreamers! fucking excellent movie, sort of about the aestheticization of violence, sort of just ridiculous. it is actually a shot by shot remake of the director's earlier work, also titled funny games, released in austria (i think austria) in '97. shot by shot remakes are really interesting!

anyway, this movie is just crazy and honestly quite terrifying. it's got some very stressful moments!! ending is just perfect. definitely a contender for my favourite movie out of these five. ahhhhh i really want to rewatch this, just thinking about how well-done so many scenes are is making me crave. the scene with the eggs, the scene where naomi watts takes several minutes to get up, it's all so brilliant.

ALSO i know most of these were books first but i really hate comparing movies to their book counterparts cause it really detracts from the art form!

ALSO if i could do top 7 then kids and explicit ills would be in there!!

 

[moot]

caché (2005) dir michael haneke (french-canadian you'll need subs)
fantastic little mystery movie about a man who continually finds videotapes containing video of the outside of his house for fifteen minutes solid. it only gets weirder from there. fantastic fucking movie.

les invasions barbares (2003) dir denys arcand (french again you'll need subs)
really fucking good movie about a terminal cancer patient who has his family reunited with him for a few weeks, amazing thematic elements, it's not creepy but it's still worth a watch (then again gone with the wind DID get recommended) definitely worth it.

oh and if you haven't seen being john malkovich yet !!!