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'Obscure' Motion Picture Favorites

Speaking of John Waters... Desperate Living is my favorite.


The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared - 2013 Sweden - Billed as the best Swedish movie ever made. Do not watch the trailer; it's full of spoilers. Charming, fun but, R rated due to a few scenes with comedic violence.

Wings of Desire - 1987 Germany - Peter Falk has a small part. Guardian Angel becomes mortal to experience life for the first time.

The President's Analyst - 1967 USA - Dr. Sidney Schaefer (James Coburn) gets a job as... you guessed it... an analyst to the POTUS. Campy fun with a slow start. Gets interesting once Coburn's character becomes paranoid.... or is he?

Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy - THE 1979 BRITISH MADE FOR TV MOVIE SERIES WITH ALEC GUINNESS - 1000x better than the Gary Oldham movie. Fantastic, Cold War stuff. The sequel, also with Alec Guinness titled, Smiley's People is even better however, you MUST watch Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy first.

Zatoichi - Japan - Any of the movies starring Shintaro Katusu made between 1962 to 1989 - If you like Samurai movies you will really dig this series. They were so popular (in Japan) that, 26 full length movies were made along with over 100 TV episodes. In real life, when Shintaro Katusu died in 1997, over 200,000 people attended. The movies follow the travels of a blind swordsman (sic) who earns a living as a masseuse. Yes, suspension of disbelieve is required but, who cares! The 2003 remake starring Takeshi "Beat" Kitano is also good.

Talvisota - (The Winter War) 1989 Finland - Watch the Finns kick Russian butt after the commies attack the peaceful country in 1939.

Only Lovers Left Alive - 2013 USA - The only vampire movie, aside from the original Dracula, that I like. World weary vampires survive by purchasing blood to avoid detection. With John Hurt, Tilda Swinton and Thomas Hiddleston.
 
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I don't know if this is obscure, but I don't see it discussed very often and I absolutely love it. Just recently re-watched The Stunt Man (1980). I read the book, saw the movie on original release, bought the soundtrack and bought the dvd. Definitely an 80's movie in its excesses, but its excesses are wonderful.
 
I was always partial to Terry Gilliams' film Brazil.

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But another thought provoking but funny one is 'looks who's back's. German book .Made into a film. It should be shown to every school kid as a warning about the media.

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Win Win with Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavale, Jeffry Tambor, Burt Young and newcomer Alex Shaffer.
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This is one of those fly under the radar kind of movies. I loved the performance of all the main charaters, especially newcomer Alex Shaffer. Bobby Cannivale is hilarious and I think this movie hits all the right notes. This might be among the better movies a lot of people have never heard of.
 
I don't know if this is obscure, but I don't see it discussed very often and I absolutely love it. Just recently re-watched The Stunt Man (1980). I read the book, saw the movie on original release, bought the soundtrack and bought the dvd. Definitely an 80's movie in its excesses, but its excesses are wonderful.

Is this the one where Dar Robinson does the high dive off of the CN Tower? Because I remember that being a week long event when they filmed that scene. Highest and longest wire fall in the World.
 
Is this the one where Dar Robinson does the high dive off of the CN Tower? Because I remember that being a week long event when they filmed that scene. Highest and longest wire fall in the World.
no, this is starring Peter O'Toole, Barbara Hershey and Steve Railsback.
 
Frau im Mond ("Woman in the moon") by Fritz Lang, 1921
It was fairly well thought out, for the time. They have the rocket being rolled out upright from the vehicle assembly building to the launch site, and he introduces the notion of counting down to zero before a rocket launch.
Also, a woman astronaut.

A few more...
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
The Fisher King (maybe not so obscure, since it won Oscars and Golden Globe awards)
Brazil
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
The Time Bandits
... all with the involvement (screenplay and/or directing) of Terry Gilliam.
All of them rather surreal.
 
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Frau im Mond ("Woman in the moon") by Fritz Lang, 1921
It was fairly well thought out, for the time. They have the rocket being rolled out upright from the vehicle assembly building to the launch site, and he introduces the notion of counting down to zero before a rocket launch.
Also, a woman astronaut.

A few more...
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
The Fisher King (maybe not so obscure, since it won Oscars and Golden Globe awards)
Brazil
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
The Time Bandits
... all with the involvement (screenplay and/or directing) of Terry Gilliam.
All of them rather surreal.
Just watched The Man Who Killed Don Quixote this past weekend. IMO, one of Gilliams better efforts of late. I was a big fan of Time Bandits, Fisher King and Brazil, but thought some of the more recent work, particularly Parnassus and Tideland, felt like he was grasping for an audience connection.
 
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