Obscure movie recommendations?

[Sinewav]

Hey guys. My manager at Blockbuster is allowing me to mail-order 1 movie this week that we don't carry in the store. I have no idea what to rent... suggestions?

[Skrypnyk]

City of God
Oldboy
Persona
M
Ran
The General
Un Chien Andalou (lol)
The Third Man
Ugestu
Seven Samurai
Aguirre, Wrath of God
Grave of the Fireflies
Let the Right one in

[Moseph]

Dark City (Matrix-y)
Re-Cycle (Horror meets Alice in Wonderland)
Twelve Monkeys (Time travel etc.)
Chocolate (Girl beats people up, then beats more people up)

[Brycepops]

Chocolate (Girl beats people up, then beats more people up)

This this this this this.

[Fishy]

I dunno how obscure it is over there but jap film Battle Royale is epic. Pretty obscure in uk anyway.

[Dhsu]

Nice pick.

The new(-ish) Zatoichi is pretty cool.

Chocolate (Girl beats people up, then beats more people up)
Not to mention she learns how to beat people up by watching Tony Jaa movies.

I think Blockbuster probably carries Dark City, Twelve Monkeys, and City of God. I second Oldboy, along with any of Chan-Wook Park's other movies (except maaaybe Thirst). Definitely not for people with weak stomachs though.

[Skrypnyk]

I dunno how obscure it is over there but jap film Battle Royale is epic. Pretty obscure in uk anyway.

I was gonna mention battle royale, buuuuuutttttttt...... well, you know.

[Rozovian]

Pitch Black.

Dunno if it counts as obscure, but I haven't found it in any of the stores I've been to. Gotta get it online then. But me be scared with handing out of credit card number. :(

[A-RoN]

Not sure if it's already there: Napolean Dynamite.

The humour is so dry, but if you can look past the awkwardness, it can be extremely funny at times. Stupid humour has the ability to break a smirk IMO.

Also, Kung POW.

Spoof of most 70s kung fu films with Steve Odekirk inserted in vintage 70s clips. There's a battle in there with a cow that yells EPIC WIN at the end. And the villian has some of the best one-liners.

Yeah, I'm the king of obscure when it comes to recommendations.

[FR]

the medicine show

[JadeAuto]

Six String Samurai.

Very hard to find, but oh... so worth it!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118736/

[Flare4War]

The Protector (The plot is cheesy as fuck, but the martial art choreography is awesome.)

[djpretzel]

Hal Hartley's Trust (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103130/).

Good luck finding it, and you probably won't like it, but to me it's a classic. Just showed it to Anna for the first time last night.

Major bonus points to anyone here who's seen it.

[1337 1]

Everything is illuminated. Its one of the few movies that actually seems to give more and more everytime you watch it. I love it for its habit of revealing something new you didn't pick up on last time each time you watch it. One of, if not the, best movie I have ever watched. It also portrays Elijah Wood (aka FRODO :P) as the main character, but that's the only real "mainstream" actor in the movie.

[djpretzel]

Everything is illuminated. Its one of the few movies that actually seems to give more and more everytime you watch it. I love it for its habit of revealing something new you didn't pick up on last time each time you watch it. One of, if not the, best movie I have ever watched. It also portrays Elijah Wood (aka FRODO :P) as the main character, but that's the only real "mainstream" actor in the movie.

I'll echo that one. Also, great music.

[Dhsu]

Never seen it, but I just thought I'd take this opportunity to gloat that that I saw Gogol Bordello.

[djpretzel]

Never seen it, but I'm inclined to now that I've actually seen Gogol Bordello (shameless brag).

Bastard. Anna and I were standing in the 9:30 club, MINUTES away from catching them, when some bad appetizers we had earlier at Gordon Biersch caught up with us, and we had to make a quick exit. :tomatoface:

[OverCoat]

Calamari Wrestler

[Poke'G]

UHF
Kung Pow: Enter the Fist
Deterrence
Gojira
Rock N Rule
Versus
Battle Royale
Hard Boiled

[ella guro]

Hal Hartley's Trust (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103130/).

Good luck finding it, and you probably won't like it, but to me it's a classic. Just showed it to Anna for the first time last night.

Major bonus points to anyone here who's seen it.

My brother loves that movie, but I've never seen it. The only Hal Hartley I've seen is The Book of Life, and that was because of PJ Harvey (I <3 her 800 times). I thought it was a good movie though - he has a really interesting style of very stiff acting and fourth-wall breaking but he's also extremely sincere at the same time, which I like a lot.

I was a film major at school so I'm all over this movie recommendations stuff. I wish you guys were a little more specific with what type of movie you wanna see, but here are some of my favorites anyway with the directors noted (these aren't necessarily obscure, just some of my favorite movies):

1. Inland Empire (Lynch)
2. Mulholland Dr. (Lynch)
3. Mirror (Tarkovsky)
4. Stalker (Tarkovsky)
5. Cries and Whispers (Bergman)
6. Pierrot Le Fou (Godard)
7. Vivre Sa Vie (Godard)
8. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeousie (Bunuel)
9. Celine and Julie Go Boating (Rivette)
10. Paris, Texas (Wenders)
11. Night of the Hunter (Laughton)
12. 8 1/2 (Fellini)
13. Nights of Cabiria (Fellini)
14. The Long Goodbye (Altman)
15. Videodrome (Cronenberg)
16. Blade Runner (Scott)
17. Network (Lumet)
18. Last Year at Marienbad (Resnais)
19. Au Hasard Balthazar (Bresson)
20. Brazil (Gilliam)
21. Faces (Cassavetes)
22. Andrei Rublev (Tarkovsky)
23. Persona (Bergman)
24. Wild Strawberries (Bergman)
25. The Third Man (Reed)
26. Aguirre, The Wrath of God (Herzog)
27. High and Low (Kurosawa)

[nrich]

wtf @ the guy recommending napolean dynamite. obscure my fuzzy ass

i'll echo oldboy primarily because it's the best damn foreign film i've seen next to the non-dubbed police story. sweet and lowdown is a great and lesser known flick with sean penn; he does a pretty great job with the egotistical, misunderstood rockstar role. primer is a time travel mindfuck that boasts an insane replay value (to me anyway). nic cage's acting in adaptation rivals his older classic movies, and who can forget david lynch's blue velvet and lost highway? most of these i realize are pseudo-obscure since a lot of film outlets regard them as timeless gems, but they're put plainly some of my personal favorites that i think any movie buff should watch

if you want a decent cheatsheet to refer to, check out empire's top 500 (http://www.empireonline.com/500/1.asp). goes great with a netflix subscription

[Brycepops]

Black Dynamite.

[Tinaddar]

A movie I haven't seen in any store or rental place in years... Double Dragon. Don't know how it stacks up against most of the movies in this thread (eg you probably won't like it as much), but it's definitely obscure. I've honestly only seen it once when I was a little kid... But I remember it in the same way I remember the Turtles movies, so... it might be funny to watch.

[Sinewav]

I was a film major at school so I'm all over this movie recommendations stuff. I wish you guys were a little more specific with what type of movie you wanna see, but here are some of my favorites anyway with the directors noted (these aren't necessarily obscure, just some of my favorite movies)

I'm in school for video production, so I'm a bit of a film geek too. I'm actually kind of surprised to see that I've watched quite a few of these (nonetheless, lots of great recommendations).

As far as my preferences go, I left it open ended on purpose because I'll generally watch anything if it's engaging... but if you must know, my favorites tend to be movies that are highly emotionally engaging and/or full of action. Or funny. Normally, I'd enjoy the slower paced and the mind screwy stuff, but my ADHD has been flaring up real bad lately. When I'm in moods like this, my top list consists of stuff like Leon the Professional, UHF, Hard Boiled, Shoot 'Em Up, The Breakfast Club, Man on Fire, Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz, Kill Bill, Total Recall, anything by Pixar... (for the life of me I can't think of any more well-known emotional ones, even though there are tons of them, but I love those too). Everything from the mindless to the heartbreaking. It's a pretty broad range, so if you're debating not suggesting it, go ahead and throw it out there.

[Evilhead]

The Holy Mountain. Guaranteed to be the weirdest yet most stunning movie you've ever seen.

[Sinewav]

Wow. Lots of good suggestions. I don't think I've ever had this many IMDB tabs open at once. Thanks guys.

After taking out what I've already seen, what I know Blockbuster has in stock localyl, and what I'm simply not in the mood for at the moment (though I'll probably try to check out most of these at some point), I have narrowed the list down to...

The General
Grave of the Fireflies
Zatoichi (2003 version)
Chocolate
Six-String Samurai
Trust
The Calamari Wrestler
Rock & Rule
Black Dynamite

Which one do you guys think I should watch? (Well, watch first. Like I said before, I'll probably try to check out most of the stuff recommended in this thread)

[Tables]

Du leveande
(You, The Living)

Pretty bizzare little forigein movie, I heard about it from John "Pictures For Sad Children" Campbell's Hourly Comic a year or two ago. Took me a while to find it...

[Skrypnyk]

The General is a mind blowing silent comedy (minds will be blown), Grave of the Fireflies is probably the polar opposite (although minds may very well still be blown).

zee other movies I haven't seen so no comment.

[djpretzel]

My brother loves that movie, but I've never seen it. The only Hal Hartley I've seen is The Book of Life, and that was because of PJ Harvey (I <3 her 800 times). I thought it was a good movie though - he has a really interesting style of very stiff acting and fourth-wall breaking but he's also extremely sincere at the same time, which I like a lot.

I remember The Amateur being amusing; I like Hartley in general BUT I love Trust. Definitely recommend it, sort of his hallmark film. Really sad about Adrienne Shelly and the whole fake-suicide murder thing...


1. Inland Empire (Lynch)
2. Mulholland Dr. (Lynch)
3. Mirror (Tarkovsky)
4. Stalker (Tarkovsky)
...
10. Paris, Texas (Wenders)


I'm with you on the Lynch, not so much the Tarkovsky. Regarding Paris, Texas - I agree, really an amazing experience, BUT, a warning: you need to watch it uninterrupted, with zero distractions, and your full focus. Otherwise it's completely ruined, in my opinion.

Actually, these are all a little artsy-fartsy, but the requirement was obscure, not necessarily non-mainstream. Allow me to recommend then one of my very favorite films and Albert Brooks' magnum opus, the highly underrated Defending Your Life. I do so love it.

[Sinewav]

The whole full-attention, zero distractions thing is what worries me. For some reason, my attention span has been insanely short lately, and I don't want that ruining what would be an otherwise enjoyable film. Those movies sound pretty cool though. I'll definitely put them on my list of things to watch in the near future.

[ambient]

Ok, so, this is kind of my cup of tea, even though I see this as a favorites thread in disguise. In any case, here are my recommendations:

- Audition
- Returner (not bad)
- Brother (with Beat Takeshi)
- A Trip to Karabakh
- Oldboy (as mentioned by Skypo)
- Ichi the Killer (not really obscure)
There are many others, but none are coming to mind. I will add more when I remember.

Also, looks like Man from Earth might be good (as recommended by Stan Burdman).

[ella guro]

I remember The Amateur being amusing; I like Hartley in general BUT I love Trust. Definitely recommend it, sort of his hallmark film. Really sad about Adrienne Shelly and the whole fake-suicide murder thing...

Thanks! I'll check it out.

I'm with you on the Lynch, not so much the Tarkovsky. Regarding Paris, Texas - I agree, really an amazing experience, BUT, a warning: you need to watch it uninterrupted, with zero distractions, and your full focus. Otherwise it's completely ruined, in my opinion.

Yeah, the first time I saw that I did that. I'm really glad I had that experience, because I don't think I'd like the movie nearly as much if not for that. It's definitely better for me to watch films alone, because if I watch it with someone else I get really worried about whether they'll like it or not and keep explaining obvious things to them.

Any Tarkovsky films are worth subsequent viewings at least for the visuals. He's a director that might come off as overly obscure or pretentious and didactic at first, but the way he captures the world and nature especially is amazing and unlike any other director.

Actually, these are all a little artsy-fartsy, but the requirement was obscure, not necessarily non-mainstream. Allow me to recommend then one of my very favorite films and Albert Brooks' magnum opus, the highly underrated Defending Your Life. I do so love it.

I don't really know what constitutes obscure and doesn't, so I was just listing my favorites in general.

[NNY]

Most of the films listed in this thread aren't obscure.

The obvious answer here is The American Astronaut.
Trailer:
http://www.americanastronaut.com/soundtrack/
Best way to describe it is as a space cowboy musical.

[FR]

^ Good movie, bros

seriously

[The Damned]

True Fact: Grave of The Fireflies is the only movie to ever make me cry.

[JadeAuto]

Also, looks like Man from Earth might be good (as recommended by Stan Burdman).

I have to second this. And not to spoil anything, while I don't believe in the idea presented, it's really well done, nonetheless.

[K.B.]

Obscure?

That's a subjective nut to crack, you know.

At any rate, Waking Life hasn't been mentioned yet, so get that. Think: rotoscoping and philosophy.


Edit, post thread-reading.
Grave of the Fireflies
That's the only one I've seen on that list, so I obviously can't compare. However, I cried harder during one scene in that movie than I have ever cried in my entire life. It won't affect everyone the same way, though, so your mileage may vary. Regardless, it's definitely one to watch.

[Sinewav]

Obscure?

That's a subjective nut to crack, you know.

Really, I'm thinking just anything that might not be in stock at Blockbuster. You guys are apparently doing a really good job, as I printed off a list, and not even the mail order service was carrying a good number of these movies. I wound up getting Chocolate (just about everything else was unavailable for some reason).

Feel free to keep the suggestions coming though. The discussion here is great, and it's really putting me in the mood to track some more of these down. I actually downloaded and am watching "The General" right now per Skrypnyk's recommendation... so far it's absolutely fantastic.

[RETROMAN]

Sleuth (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069281/) [1972] is a great mystery movie featuring stellar performances by Michael Caine and Sir Laurence Olivier. It's one of my favorite movies, but I don't think many people have seen this masterpiece.

And if you like mystery/detective movies with all kinds of plot twists and turns, I also recommend Palmetto (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120782/) [1998]. Sure, the IMDb ratings are quite low, but I thought this movie was really entertaining.

The Host/Gwoemul (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468492/) [2006] is an impressive Korean monster movie. What I like about this movie is that while there certainly are quite a few special effects-heavy scenes, there is also room for character development and quirky humorous situations.

I have to go now, but I'll try to post a few more later.

[RETROMAN]

Alright, here's a few more:

The Monster Squad (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093560/) [1987]. A fun horror comedy featuring classic monsters like Count Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster and The Wolfman. If I had seen this when I was a kid, I'm sure this would've been one of my favorite movies! It has a nice 80's vibe and is highly recommended if you like movies like Gremlins and The Goonies.

The same director (Fred Dekker) also created Night of the Creeps (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091630/) [1986], a fine tongue-in-cheek scifi/horror movie that deserved more credit than it received.

I don't know if this qualifies as obscure, but The Man Who Would Be King (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073341/) [1975] is also highly recommended. This film is a well-made blend of action, adventure, drama and (quite dark) comedy.

Do you like zombie movies? Do you like nazi movies? Well, how about a movie that features zombie nazis? Dead Snow/Død snø (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1278340/) [2009] delivers just that. This movie takes a while to get going, but when the slaughter commences it really goes over the top and it's all the better because of that.

Speaking of zombie movies, this may sound strange but I've always felt that Assault on Precinct 13 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074156/) [1976] resembled a zombie movie, but with gang members instead of zombies. It's an atmospheric, suspenseful early John Carpenter film.

[Sinewav]

Alright, here's a few more:

The Monster Squad (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093560/) [1987]. A fun horror comedy featuring classic monsters like Count Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster and The Wolfman. If I had seen this when I was a kid, I'm sure this would've been one of my favorite movies! It has a nice 80's vibe and is highly recommended if you like movies like Gremlins and The Goonies.

The same director (Fred Dekker) also created Night of the Creeps (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091630/) [1986], a fine tongue-in-cheek scifi/horror movie that deserved more credit than it received.

I don't know if this qualifies as obscure, but The Man Who Would Be King (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073341/) [1975] is also highly recommended. This film is a well-made blend of action, adventure, drama and (quite dark) comedy.

Do you like zombie movies? Do you like nazi movies? Well, how about a movie that features zombie nazis? Dead Snow/Død snø (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1278340/) [2009] delivers just that. This movie takes a while to get going, but when the slaughter commences it really goes over the top and it's all the better because of that.

Speaking of zombie movies, this may sound strange but I've always felt that Assault on Precinct 13 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074156/) [1976] resembled a zombie movie, but with gang members instead of zombies. It's an atmospheric, suspenseful early John Carpenter film.

Dead Snow was awesome... saw it with a friend and we both nearly asphyxiated from laughter (the crazed, let's-kill-stuff, testosterone fueled kind of laughter). So much fun.

I definitely agree with you on Assault on Precinct 13 feeling like a zombie movie. It was a good movie as well.

Haven't seen any of the other you recommended, by they all sparked my interest. I love movies with a strong 80s vibe, and just about anything well made that's tongue in cheek. I'll see if I can find them.

[RETROMAN]

Here's some more over-the-top gory fun:

Riki-Oh: The Story Of Ricky/Lik Wong (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102293/) [1991] is a very violent Hong Kong action movie, and some scenes are ridiculously over-the-top! Like this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dW-3qmBAVM) one. And this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vMKN1tYknE) one.

Black Sheep (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0779982/) [2006] is a Shaun of the Dead-style horror comedy featuring, well, zombie sheep of course! The special effects are pretty good, too!

[Destillat]

Two words: Machine Girl. It is one of the most hysterical over the top action gore films I've ever seen. The basic idea is that a girl has her arm cut off, and is taken in by friendly mechanics who give her a machine gun for an arm. Hilarity ensues.

The same team is also making a movie called Robo Geisha that I am excitedly waiting for. It's called Robo Geisha, I don't think I need to say much more.

[Hemophiliac]

Sukiyaki Western Django

Japanese-made American Western, live action.

Imagine if someone took a western and threw it into the rediculous nature of anime.

Quentin Tarantino plays an important character in the movie too :)

[A-RoN]

Oh yeah!

The Great Race! - excellent vintage comedy with Jack Lemmon involving a car race from New York to Paris. Push the button, Max!