OT: Movie Suggestions

[sabotai]

In an effert to expand my horizons, I'm looking to watch movies/serials that are basically relevant to the history of Cinema.

I've gone through lists of Oscar winners and nominees, the various AFI lists, and other lists. But some things still seemed "left out".

Here as basically some of the types of movies I need help on.

Foreign Films

Most of the lists I went through were basically american films, with very little, if any, foreign movies. So I'm looking for suggestions on some foreign films (read: your films to those outside the US/Canada ) that sort of define the history and advancement of cinema for that country. A good example would be Akira Kurosawa's films in Japan and films like House Of Flying Daggers and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in China.

Generational Films

Movies that wouldn't exactly be put on a lot of "Best Film Ever" lists, but helped define a generation. Movies that would relevant to their year's or era's fears/humor/social issues/political issues, etc. I'm not really looking for here for movies that "look back" to a generation. For instance, the movie Malcolm X. That "looks back" to his time. I'm looking for movies that were made during the time period. A good example, I think, would be something like The Breakfast Club. A movie made in '85 that was about '85 and relevant to '85. I kind of feel like I'm not explaining this right, but I hope you understand what I mean.

Genre Films

More or less, movies that helped to define and/or advance a genre. Again, they might not be on a "Best Film Ever" type of list, but if someone wanted to understand the history of a genre, they would be suggested to watch this film. Those types of movies. (Pretty much looking for all genres)

B-Movies

What are some of the truely awful (I already have Plan 9 on my list ) B-Movies that have come out (If MST3K did it, I most likely saw it, fwiw). On the other hand, what are some of the best (but not quite good enough to really be remembered)

[Crapshoot]

Hmm - for category B, Reality Bites might be worth a shot, though it may well come across as self-indulgent crap.

[st.cronin]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069005/

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Hmm - for category B, Reality Bites might be worth a shot, though it may well come across as self-indulgent crap.

Indeed it does. Ethan Hawke comes across as a complete twat in that movie. I can't believe he's considered the "hero" of sorts. Bah.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by sabotai

B-Movies
What are some of the truely awful (I already have Plan 9 on my list ) B-Movies that have come out (If MST3K did it, I most likely saw it, fwiw). On the other hand, what are some of the best (but not quite good enough to really be remembered)

We'll stick with a Christopher Lambert theme here.

Awful: In fact, transcends the term Awful and should instead be considered Ungodly Bad Beyond All Mortal Measurement: Druids

Fun and Good: The Hunted

[MikeVic]

[quote=Coffee Warlord]
Awful: In fact, transcends the term Awful and should instead be considered Ungodly Bad Beyond All Mortal Measurement: Druids
[quote]

Ungh. I saw this movie and was so lost and bored about half-way through.

As for Genre Films, I think Unforgiven is a good one for Western... in the film class I took about half a year ago, it was said that this movie was seen as a fitting last movie and homage to the Western genre. That has to count for something.

[cthomer5000]

B movies: Evil Dead

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

As for Genre Films, I think Unforgiven is a good one for Western... in the film class I took about half a year ago, it was said that this movie was seen as a fitting last movie and homage to the Western genre. That has to count for something.

I would also toss in The Wild Bunch as a pretty big step-forward in Westerns. If you want to go real old school, Gary Cooper in High Noon. For less old school, Johy Wayne in The Searchers or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

[Abe Sargent]

Foreign Films - Bleu, Blanc et Rouge, a trio of French films commishioned for some celebration or other are really conisdered landmark French films. See also, Decalogue, a movie in ten parts (each about an hour long) featuring a featurette based somehow around one of the Ten Commandments. It's one of the best pieces of cinema from the French (it's actually done by a director who's not French, but that's the way it goes sometimes.)

I love French cinema, and although there are movies I like better, these are considered classics.

Genre Films - Blade Runner, but you've probably seen that, set the tone for dark sci-fi and cyberpunk. Film Noir was largely set by The Maltese Falcon with Bogart.

There's a genre and foreign film but you already mentioned it - Yojimbo, by Kurasawa. Not only does it create the "man against the world" action movie mentality, but it also was remade as A Fistful of Dollars, which spawned the spagetti Western genre. Yojimbo, then, is probably the only movie ever to spawn two genres.


Others -

Return of the Secaucus 7 is an independant film for 1980 that really set the tone and idea for other "moment" films, making it a genre film. It's also a very relevant generational piece that examines the lives of 60's and early 70s era protestors after several years.

I love The Americanization of Emily starring Julie Andrews and James Gardner from 1964. It really shows the different attitude that the 60s had towards World War II than people in the 40s and 50s had towards the war, which fits your generational film. It also has Julie Andrews say that she really likes sleeping with black men. That's almost worth the price of admission right there.

Blackboard Jungle is a genre film in that it sets the "teacher in an nasty school figures out how to reach out the kids" genre.

Those are some from my personal collection that I think fit your criteria.

-Anxiety

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by Anxiety

Genre Films - Blade Runner

One of my absolute favorites. Its one of many reasons Harrison Ford kicks ass.

[Subby]

La Femme Nikita is a fun foreign film.

Slacker is a solid generational movie.

A History of Violence is a good example of a piece of shit B movie.

[yabanci]

I rarely watch anything other than foreign films. Here are a few you might like:

First, my highest recommendation would go to "City of God" (Ciudad de Deus), a Brazilian film in the vein of "Goodfellas" about drug gang wars in the slums of Rio de Janerio. It was Fernando Mirella's first film and really a masterpiece of the genre. Make sure to watch the documentary that comes as a special feature on the DVD.

"Run Lola Run," a cutting edge german film that can't be missed.

"Nine Queens" an intricate argentinian film about about a couple of con artists, so good it was remade into a fairly bad hollywood version a few years later.

"Maria Full of Grace," columbian film about a young girl hired to transport drugs to the US.

"Good Bye, Lenin!" german comedy about a dedicated communist woman who wakes from a coma after the fall of the Berlin wall at which point her son tries to hide the fact from her because it will break her heart.

"Downfall," german film about Hitler's last days,very heavy and conflicting.

"Motorcycle Diaries," about the early years of Che Guevara.

"Girl on the Bridge," a great french love story/comedy by Patrice Leconte about knife thrower who looks for suicidal young girls to be his assistants/targets.

"Amelie," famous french comedy.

"The Thief," russian oscar nominee about a woman and her son in the post-WWII years.

Krzysztof Kieslowski's remarkable Tres Couleurs trilogy - French/Polish, already recommended above by Anxiety. The Decalogue is another great Kieslowski series.

"Il Postino," an oscar winning Italian film about an Chilean poet exiled in a small Italian village.

""Paradise Now," Palestinian film about two youths drafted as suicide bombers.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Subby

A History of Violence is a good example of a piece of shit movie.

Agreed. I kept hearing about how this was Cronenberg's masterpiece and all that. It was really awful. Ed Harris was good. William Hurt was great for the 10 minutes he was in the movie, but everything having to do with the family was attrocious. I was very disappointed with this movie. "Existenz" is a far better Cronenberg film. As is "Scanners", "The Fly", or "Deadzone".

[John Galt]

Originally Posted by Subby

La Femme Nikita is a fun foreign film.

Slacker is a solid generational movie.

A History of Violence is a good example of a piece of shit B movie.

I agree wholeheartedly with all 3 of Subby's statements (after having just recently renting A History of Violence). I wish I had ideas of my own to help you. I guess as the companion piece to Slacker, you should see Dazed and Confused, but you probably have already seen that.

edit: If you haven't seen it, one movie I highly recommend (although I'm not sure where it fits in your categories) is Lone Star. John Sayles is a director that is truly independent in every sense of the word and has done some great work. Lone Star explores lots of the same themes as A History of Violence, but actually does so well. It is Sayles best movie. As a more obscure Sayles film (which fits in your foreign film category), I recommend Men with Guns. Its a really interesting unique movie that seems to me what Gabriel Garcia Marquez would have made if he directed films.

[Bubba Wheels]

The 60's is a treasure-trove of films that are thinly disguised commentaries on Vietnam. Watched one the other night on AMC, The Sand Pebbles with Steve McQueen. Though set in 1920s China with gunboat diplomacy its aimed directly at U.S. involvement in Nam and U.S. interventionalism in general. Made in 1966.

[Honolulu_Blue]

To add to the other excellent suggestions thus far.

Foreign films:
Das Boot (German). This is the best war movie I've ever seen. Period. I saw the director's cut/extended version in the theater and felt like I could hardly breathe during some scenes. Jurgen Prochnow is as good an "on screen captain" as there ever has been in film.

City of Lost Children (French). A bizarre film about a scientist in a surrealist society kidnaps children to steal their dreams, hoping that they slow his aging process. Has a ton of great visuals.

All About My Mother (Spanish). Directed by Pedro Almodovar (considered one of the best directors out there right now). A really moving film about a single mother whose son dies and then she goes to Barcelona to meet her son's father who is now a transvestite. It sounds odd, but it's really good.

Hardboiled. I think it's a toss-up between "Hardboiled" and "The Killer" as to which is the quintessential John Woo Hong Kong action flick. Both are great movies full of wonderful two-gun shoot-out madness. A lot of Woo's stuff has become cliche and over-used (especially at his own hand) and almost all of his work in the U.S. (save "Hard Target" of all things) has felt lame, bloated, and tired. His original Hong Kong action movies, however, are genre masterpieces.

"Give a man a gun and he thinks he's Superman. Give him two and he thinks he's God!"

B-Movies:

Battle Beyond The Stars. I saw this in the theater when I was a kid. It's sort of "Star Wars" rip-off staring "John Boy" from the Waltons and a bunch of "B-Movie" icons (Robert Vaugh, George Peppard, Cybil Danning). It's cheesey as hell, but I loved it.

[John Galt]

Originally Posted by yabanci

I rarely watch anything other than foreign films. Here are a few you might like:

First, my highest recommendation would go to "City of God" (Ciudad de Deus), a Brazilian film in the vein of "Goodfellas" about drug gang wars in the slums of Rio de Janerio. It was Fernando Mirella's first film and really a masterpiece of the genre. Make sure to watch the documentary that comes as a special feature on the DVD.

"Run Lola Run," a cutting edge german film that can't be missed.

"Maria Full of Grace," columbian film about a young girl hired to transport drugs to the US.

"Motorcycle Diaries," about the early years of Che Guevara.

"Amelie," famous french comedy.

""Paradise Now," Palestinian film about two youths drafted as suicide bombers.

I would support all of these foreign movies and I also echo the highest recommendation for City of God. I wouldn't necessarily relate it to Goodfellas, though. There is a modern, sardonic sort of distance to the whole thing. It makes some of the horrors of the movie more interesting because the main character (and the filming) give an "odd" insider/outsider take on the events as they unfold. It almost makes it very humorous in parts. Either way, it is a great movie and an incredible first full-feature effort.

[I. J. Reilly]

For the foreign film category I would suggest “Wings of Desire.” Don’t hold the fact that “City of Angels” was based on it against it. The images of Berlin before the wall came down are much more powerful now that it has been gone for a while, and it’s used very well as a metaphor in the movie.