Interesting Obscure/Forgotten Films

Didn't see this thread already...

Name a little-known/unknown movie you like. Try not to be too obvious! Don't pick the 90s cult hit everybody quotes now, or that underrated indie movie from 2005 we've all heard about.

Let's hear about a movie that interests you but never gets mentioned or discussed. It doesn't have to be an unsung masterpiece. Briefly (or longwindedly) explain why you think it's worth watching.

I'll start with The Corndog Man. I watched this on NF, knowing nothing of it, not even having seen a trailer, and found myself gripped by a menacing and increasingly nasty little revenge tale. Pros: Good acting and darkly humorous. Cons: Slow pace and a bit "stagey".

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#31 on SC's Top 100 Mofos list!!

Really, WT? You rep but don't have ONE film to suggest? I thought you were a bigshot cinema geek? Was that a pity rep? Does my thread suck?

Well, several anime films from the 1980's that I love aren't discussed very much (like Night of the Galactic Railroad and Wings of Honneamise), but I don't think they qualify as genuinely obscure.

I watched a German direct to video horror movie about a guy whose deepest desire is to be eaten alive and through the internet he finds another guy whose deep desire is actually to eat another human being, the two find each other and they cut the penis of the first guy and eat it for diner together. It's based on a true story. It wasn't a masterpiece but I found it interesting enough to remember it.

My Best Friend - a surprisingly heartwarming French film.
The Silence - seldom gets mentioned when discussing the best of Bergman.
The Plumber - a made-for-TV Australian film directed by Peter Weir.
Australian Rules - great film that deals with rural Australia and the underlying racial tension therein.

One of my favorite movies is Wonderland(2003). It's just the type of film I love in regards to the subject matter and it has a great classic rock soundtrack. It's based on a true story; a lot of movies say that but I've looked into the actual case quite a bit, and it's very accurate. It has mediocre to average reviews and I've never heard anyone else mention it. My wife liked it a lot as well.

It's not earth-shattering, but a funny and heartfelt coming-of-age '50s flick, sort of a no-budget, no-star, earlier version of Mischief, which also deserves a mention here but is probably too well-known. I haven't seen it in forever, and it's not exactly hot stuff (especially compared to Mischief), but it was clever, colorful and almost sweetly-innocent.

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

I've actually heard of that movie and case. I'd like to see that.

Yeah, it's a pretty famous case. I don't particularly want to see the film, though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armin_Meiwes

Guap probably saw Cannibal (2006) or Grimm Love (2006).

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Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2019

What is this movie called? I read about it once and have been dying to see it since but I couldn't remember the name.

How could you forget it?

You may not have heard of The Tracey Fragments. It's a Canadian indie by Bruce McDonald starring a pre-Juno Ellen Page. Its gimmick (depending on how you see it) is that it experiments heavily with split-screen. Very dreary film, very dark and a little surreal, and has some interesting things to say.

That does intrigue me. Gonna check it out, thanks.

I've never heard The Future (2011 Miranda July) discussed. It's an experimental film created by Miranda July who is better known as a performance artist. There's parts of it that are silly and some that are just down right annoying, but there is also moments of brilliance there too.

I agree with that. It's wildly uneven and very "indie", meaning a mixed bag of silly, annoying, brilliant. I liked Me and You and Everyone We Know a lot more, but she'll stay on my radar for future projects because I feel she's a gifted and unique voice.

Miranda July is a good example of what indie should be. When The Future is on, particularly, in those painfully awkward dance scenes where she can't let go of her restraint, it's really good. When it's not on, like the whole bit with her lover's daughter, it's really bad. Either way, July's two films are very singular in voice. We know who's talking to us, and it shows us July as a flawed human being, and a flawed director. I think she's shown us a lot of personal things about herself, and she's not self deprecating in the Tina Fey way where she tries to make you love her for how tragic her life is, but in the Louis C.K. way that makes us feel that they're actually human and have parts of their personalities that they don't like.

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Mubi

I only thought of one of the top of my head at the time but here's a better list than I would have had:

La Sorcière

French/Swedish(!) production about a dude who falls in love with a Swedish forest nymph, but she is persecuted as a witch in the town. Pretty damn tragic ending but nonetheless whimsical throughout and full of great music.


Cabiria

Almost like Italy's Faust. Amazing sets, an epic silent, and occultish tendencies.


Crime and Punishment

Von Sternberg's -essentially- b-film adaptation from '35. Yeah.


L'Auberge Rouge

Jean Epstein is severely underrated for his suspenseful direction. This and La Chute de la Maison d'Usher are both fantastic.


Celui qui Doit Mourir

French/Italian film about a Greek village, occupied by Turks, putting on a Passion play, possibly as good as Scorcese's rendition.


Les Sorcières de Salem

Jean Paul Sartre's adaptation of The Crucible. Bam.

Also, I know lines likes him a lot but most of Peter Greenaway's work seems to be completely overlooked. Plus, Edward Yang pre-Yi Yi.

I think it is Cannibal. It's worth watching.

Agreed. One thing I liked about the film is that I feel represented in a way I haven't felt in any other movie. Jason and Sophie are people I know and hang out with. Thier silly conversations are similar to ones I've had. July's voice is one I understand well.

I didn't like the daughter part either and the cat part irritated me. I liked the idea of it, just not the execution.

One scene I felt was especially poignant is when Jason is at the beach and stops time. I love that scene.

One last thing I like about The Future is that it's intelligent, but there isn't a trace of snobbery. It's not full of references make you feel stupid if you don't get them. Some movies make me feel like the director doesn't want me to get the movie therefore proving thier superior intellect. July isn't like that. She's real.

This is one I adore that I hardly hear mentioned, first saw it on a plane when I saw it in the listing not knowing anything about it and decided to check it out:



Dear Wendy


Directed by Thomas Vinterberg(The Hunt, Festen) who had a big part in the Dogme 95 movement and a script from Lars von Trier.

Jamie Bell, The Zombies, Dandies, Pacifists with guns...

You know when you watch an old dvd and there are trailers for old films before you get to the DVD menu, there are often films starring quite big actors that seem to have disappeared completely (obv because they suck).