# Movies you thought were great, but that no one ever heard of...



## Kevin (Mar 2, 2012)

Just what it says....movies that you really liked, but that were little known or heard of.

"Zardoz"- Ya, I know. It was pretty cheesy at times, but I really liked it. Seems like it was the first really bleak look at a possible future. I liked the ideas behind it. A new dark age, genetic engineering, human potential to it's fullest, the sorcerer's stone(tabernacle) and, the 'gift' of death.

"Igby goes down"- awful title, good actors. Susan Serandon. Jeff Goldblum as a complete prick. Insanity, drug abuse, sex, love, beauty, family, and of course, death. Oh, and great music.

"Thx1138"- hardcore sci-fi. LAPD robot motorcycle cops, race cars, cannibal dwarves, all in a brave new world. Too 'out there' for most. Good clean fun.


----------



## IanMGSmith (Mar 2, 2012)

Phew, you right, I never heard of those titles Kevin.

For me, well...

Fat City - Fat City (1972) - IMDb - first time I heard - Help me make it trought the night - Kris Kristofferson - YouTube

Beetlejuice - beetlejuice can you be scary - YouTube - why I like this stupid movie I cannot explain, maybe 'cause it's so bad LOL


----------



## Sunny (Mar 3, 2012)

IanMGSmith said:


> Beetlejuice - beetlejuice can you be scary - YouTube - why I like this stupid movie I cannot explain, maybe 'cause it's so bad LOL



BEETLEJUICE!, BEETLEJUICE!, BEETLEJUICE! I love that movie too. : )


I thought these movies were great. These are old, and were made when I was very young, so to be honest I'm not sure if they were really heard of or not. : )
1. Earth Girls Are Easy Earth Girls Are Easy (Trailer) - YouTube
2. The Last American Virgin The Last American Virgin (1982) - YouTube
3. Somewhere Tomorrow Somewhere Tomorrow 1983 - Trailer - YouTube
4. Pump Up The Volume  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuhHPQxS2nQ


----------



## Rustgold (Mar 3, 2012)

My selection is a touch odd for me.

The Rag Nymph:  Ok, ok, I know there's pretty of faults with it, starting with the creepy ending; and the persistent male character had a 'I don't care about casting' to it.

I'm supposed to be saying why I'd choose this, aren't it?  Ok, it's billed as a pukeworthy -------- originally from a pukeworthy author, but for the majority of the movie I didn't see it as such.   I loved the general setting, which made viewers feel like they were actually from that era.  The characters generally weren't glamed up.  And not knowing anything about the pukeworthy author and her pukeworthy material helped to keep the suspense.  I think in general, the producers of the movie did an excellent job with what they had.  I'm glad I had never heard of the originating author or seen any of the movie animations before this.


Ok, this is meant to be an offshoot from the slapstick spaghettis from the same actors, but I could have chosen any number of Terence Hill/Bud Spencer movies.  Heck, why not just include anything from these two actors.  Ok, the occasional movie gets a touch dull, but most are potential rewatchables (for those who actually rewatch a movie).  Ok, so they aren't perfect movies, but perfection isn't what you're looking for.


----------



## felix (Mar 3, 2012)

Sunshine, directed by Danny Boyle. Scientifically innaccurate, but far too great a film to be so unknown.


----------



## philistine (Mar 3, 2012)

felix said:


> Sunshine, directed by Danny Boyle. Scientifically innaccurate, but far too great a film to be so unknown.



Sunshine is unknown? 

For me:

_- Who Sings Over There__
- Castaway on the Moon
- Shinjuku Incident _(Jackie Chan plays a straight role, and absolutely nails it)
- _La règle du jeu
- Withnail and I_


----------



## felix (Mar 3, 2012)

philistine said:


> Sunshine is unknown?



Relatively speaking, yeah, in my experience. Not completely, but some frown when I mention it.


----------



## philistine (Mar 3, 2012)

felix said:


> Relatively speaking, yeah, in my experience. Not completely, but some frown when I mention it.



Aye. Great film. I enjoyed both the performances of Hiroyuki Sanada and Cillian Murphy.


----------



## felix (Mar 3, 2012)

I thought it was some of Murphy's best work, and the soundtrack was excellent. 

Trivia: The scientific advisor for the film was Professor Brian Cox, who Kappa's character was modelled on. Some of Cox's research papers can be seen tacked above Kappa's bunk.


----------



## philistine (Mar 3, 2012)

felix said:


> *I thought it was some of Murphy's best work, and the soundtrack was excellent. *
> 
> Trivia: The scientific advisor for the film was Professor Brian Cox, who Kappa's character was modelled on. Some of Cox's research papers can be seen tacked above Kappa's bunk.



Perhaps, though I personally think that title goes to _Breakfast on Pluto_. 

It may have been the acid, mind.


----------



## Kyle R (Mar 4, 2012)

*The Great Happiness Space - Tales of an Osaka Love Thief
*
A documentary following the lives of employees and customers of a male host bar in Japan, where women pay to spend time with the male hosts, and the male hosts are trained to charm and seduce the women in order to encourage them to spend all their money.

The saddest part is many of the women are female prostitutes, just looking for a man who will like them for _who _they are, not how they look, but the irony is the male hosts the women pursue are just prostitutes, like them, only the males sell companionship instead of sex.

"I sell dreams," one male host explained, casually. It seems glamorous at first (a guy having multiple women paying money just to talk to him), but by the end you see the sadness that comes with it.

Men buy the women for sex. The women take the money and buy male hosts for companionship. The host club takes most of the money.

Everyone's trying to find happiness but in all the wrong places.

I found it fascinating. Like dipping into a whole new world, one that seems glamorous and beautiful at first, but the more you explore it, the darker and sadder the reality of the world becomes.

If you're into that kind of stuff, or like documentaries, or social dynamics, give it a watch. It's a multiple-award-winning film.


----------



## Potty (Mar 4, 2012)

Willow
Dark Crystal
Tron (original)


----------



## Kyle R (Mar 4, 2012)

I remember Willow! I loved that movie. What a blast from the past.

Dark Crystal was also a favorite of mine. The vulture-looking guys always creeped me out.


----------



## philistine (Mar 4, 2012)

KyleColorado said:


> *The Great Happiness Space - Tales of an Osaka Love Thief
> *
> A documentary following the lives of employees and customers of a male host bar in Japan, where women pay to spend time with the male hosts, and the male hosts are trained to charm and seduce the women in order to encourage them to spend all their money.
> 
> ...



I saw this two years ago or so. It's a good watch.


----------



## Kevin (Mar 4, 2012)

Now I wanna see, but where...? Netflix often says 'not available'.


----------



## Kyle R (Mar 5, 2012)

The Great Happiness Space -

If there's an add in the beginning, just let it run, it's only about 10 seconds long. The film (_The Great Happiness Space_) starts after that.


----------



## Kevin (Mar 5, 2012)

Saw another one last night, "the Illustrated Man." One of my favorite authors. They changed it a little bit, but not for the worse. Rod Steiger, he's good.


----------



## Terry D (Mar 5, 2012)

The Gods Must Be Crazy

The Groove Tube

Flesh Gordon   Flesh Gordon (1974) - IMDb  (It started out life as a porno, but was so funny they re-edited it for general release)


----------



## Sol2062 (Mar 5, 2012)

Haha yes! I love The Gods Must Be Crazy, goofy humor at its finest.

For me, 50 Pills. I saw it on Comedy Central one day and it was very charming. A generally groovy romantic comedy type.


----------



## DuKane (Mar 5, 2012)

*Layer Cake (2004) - *Layer Cake (2004) - IMDb
Daniel Craig, Colm Meaney, Michael Gambon.

Forget Lock Stock, this is a proper London gangster story, well written, acted and directed.
Craig is a successful cocaine dealer, looking to retire. That gets complicated by his boss asking him to find the missing daughter of his bosses friend, Gambon. Add into the mix a couple of million in grade A ecstasy stolen from Holland, with a crazy serbian hit-man sent to retrieve it, and you have one of the best British films of recent years. Lots of twists and double crosses, with a superb ending!

*Quest For Fire (1981) -* Quest for Fire (1981) - IMDb
Everett McGill, Ron Pearlman, Rae Dawn Chong

Think One Million years BC without the furry bikini's! No spoken dialogue, Anthony Burgess created the primitive language. The well known British anthropologist Desmond Morris choreographed the gestures and body language.
Most tribes of this prehistoric period have fire by stealing it from others. When their fire is stolen, three of the tribe set out on a quest for fire. Stunning visual locations, some funny scenes and a wonderful ending which I wont spoil. Not everyones cup of tea, mainly due to the lack of dialogue, but a wonderful film. Canadian made I believe?

*Went the Day Well (1942)* - IMDb - Went the Day Well? (1942)
Leslie Banks, C.V. Taylor, Valerie France

Well I had to include a great British black and white wartime drama. You will all recognize the story, a platoon of soldiers are billeted in an English village. The residents slowly find out that these soldiers are in fact an advance party of the German planned invasion, a very real possibility at its time of showing. The shock is how the villagers fight back and yes it is an outright piece of propaganda, but damn good propaganda at that. It debuted in the UK cinema on December 7th 1942, one year to the day after Pearl Harbour.
The reason it sounds so familiar is it was ripped off, plagurised or whatever else you wish to call it, by the later Eagle has Landed film with Michael Caine.


----------



## SamanthaMarie (Mar 5, 2012)

Ah, Willow...I was just thinking about that movie the other day. My sister and I always liked odd movies during our childhood...but by far some of my unknown favorites are:

*Le Pacte de Loups *(Brotherhood of the wolf..a french film...I definitely get blank stares for this one)
*Amelie* (another french film although I don't know how unknown it is)


----------



## philistine (Mar 6, 2012)

SamanthaMarie said:


> *Amelie* (another french film although I don't know how unknown it is)



That's actually quite well known, though it certainly deserves a mention. Spectacular film.

And Audrey Tautou, wow!


----------



## Kevin (Mar 6, 2012)

"le pacte de loups" -you might like "the company of wolves"


----------



## SamanthaMarie (Mar 6, 2012)

I'll have to check that out, thanks Kevin!


----------



## beanlord56 (Mar 6, 2012)

Blade Runner and The Jerk


----------



## jasonmb (Mar 6, 2012)

Trainspotting
A Clockwork Orange
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
uhm.. Those are somewhat known, but I can't think of any others for some reason right now.


----------



## Bri (Mar 13, 2012)

Harold and Maude (1971)

I even stumped my film professor in college with this one, he said he had heard mention of it a few times, but never actually watched it. The plot follows the romantic misadventures of 17(?) year old Harold and his 80-something year old lover, Maude. They are brought together by their unusual interest in the funerals of strangers. Soundtrack is 100% Cat Stevens. It's a hipster's dream movie.


----------



## Olly Buckle (Mar 13, 2012)

Two lane black top.


----------



## Circle (Mar 13, 2012)

*Abre Los Ojos* by Alejandro Amenábar
It was remade as Vanilla Sky. I saw this first and much prefer it. The remake I didn't like at all. I really like the breathtaking and poetic soundtrack on this original.

I liked "*Wendy and Lucy*", and while it is not exactly unheard of, a lot of my contemporaries have not have heard of it (and probably wouldn't like it).


----------



## Tiamat (Mar 14, 2012)

What Dreams May Come:
Robin Williams plays a man who dies in a car accident.  His wife kills herself shortly thereafter, and he goes through hell (literally) to get her back.  Very abstract, but features a pretty good cast.

I Am Dina:
A Scandinavian film about a woman's struggle with parents, marriages, and all the issues and accidents that make up her life.  She eventually becomes fascinated with death as a way of coping with life.  Definitely one of those movies that you only need to see once.


----------



## Dave Karnes (Mar 18, 2012)

Memento, by Chris Nolan, based on his brother's short story. It's absolutely one of my favorite movies, was done on a small budget too. I love the way they took a story that's basically been told a hundred times, and totally changed _how_ its told.


----------



## Kevin (Mar 19, 2012)

Bri said:


> Harold and Maude (1971)
> 
> I even stumped my film professor in college with this one, he said he had heard mention of it a few times, but never actually watched it. The plot follows the romantic misadventures of 17(?) year old Harold and his 80-something year old lover, Maude. They are brought together by their unusual interest in the funerals of strangers. Soundtrack is 100% Cat Stevens. It's a hipster's dream movie.



...then you might like *Withnail & I* - At first I needed subtitles, but I caught on after a while ('cept for that longhaired "drug-guy".(Haha). By the time I got to the scene involving fishing with a shotgun, I was laughing out loud. Very good. 

Thanks P.
and thanks K. for the other one- wow! What a strange...


----------



## CFFTB (Apr 2, 2012)

Poolhall Junkies (2003) 

This is a great movie and will entertain anyone, not only Pool (Billiards) lovers. The lead actor is Mars Callahan, who also directed it and was one of the writers. He has an exceptional backup cast, with Christopher Walken, Chaz Palminteri, Rick Schroder, Rod Steiger (in his last role), and Allison Eastwood (Clint's Daughter). Mars stars as Johnny, a small-time pool hustler who's better than many champions who've ever had the privelege to grace tournament floors, but his "mentor" Joe (Chaz) underhandedly denied him that privelge when he was a teenager to make as much money off him as possible. So Johnny's stuck in the usual win-lose hustle. On top of that he's got a wild crazy brother he has to continually bail out, which eventually culminates in Johnny having to play the match of his life. 

Fantastic pool playing here, including an AWESOME (yeah I used that word) bank shot expertly made by both Walken and Callahan, and Callahan uses only one hand! No CGI or trick cinematography needed. According to the commentary, Callahan advised Walken to practice first, but Walken said to film the first try because he was confident. Just wow. There is a hilarious "Freudian Slip" that was completely intentional. You'll see. Funny, entertaining, and will make you wanna buy a cue and hit the road. Here's the trailer/preview:

Poolhall Junkies - Movie Trailer - YouTube


----------



## felix (Apr 3, 2012)

I saw a film called Jump Tomorrow, which I'm fairly sure was an independent film, but I think it was great. You might want to take a peek.


----------



## Amber Leaf (Apr 3, 2012)

Kevin - I think that Zardoz is possibly the best film ever made. It is brilliant on so many levels.

Another rare one worth watching is Fear of the Black Hats, a spoof documentary about a rap group called Niggaz with Hatz. It's very funny.


----------



## Amber Leaf (Apr 3, 2012)

Oh, and of course I can't miss out *Rita, Sue and Bob too*. It's a very English film about two scally girls on an estate and it's very entertaining.

And the original Bedazzled with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.


----------



## Name the Sky (Apr 3, 2012)

Barton Fink, which was written by the Coen brothers while they had writing block during the writing of the script for Miller's Crossing.  Apparently they were able to write the whole thing in a matter of weeks and it remains one of the strangest movies I've ever seen.  I've watched it probably four or five times and most of it still makes no sense to me haha but I think that's what makes it so effective, leaving itself open to multiple interpretations.


----------



## Name the Sky (Apr 3, 2012)

Memento was pretty popular at the time it came out, wasn't it?  I remember a lot of people telling me to see it before I ever actually sat down and watched the whole thing..


----------



## torosuperfly16 (Apr 3, 2012)

To Rob A Thief

Awesome movie in my opinion, though I doubt very many people know of it.


----------

