Tele's List of 100 Lesser-Known or Under-Appreciated Films Everyone Should See (THE LIST IS COMPLETE! p26)

[Dementeleus]

2 minutes ago, RascarCapat said:

Well actually I just read the wikipedia article about "La piel que habito" and Almodovar clearly cites "Les yeux sans visage" as one of his main inspiration for his movie :

 

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_piel_que_habito

 

The Wikipedia article lists a bunch of filmmakers potentially influenced by it, like John Woo. But I rushed through my research so I wasn't really exploring all the people. That's pretty cool (and makes sense), though!

[RascarCapat]

Also Tele on another subject I love your Irulan Signature.

 

This scene is actually my favourite part of Lynch's Movie. I always gets chills when she says the "Also known as Dune" with the music rolling and the title coming up.

 

I hope the rest would hold up to the book... Although I know it's kinda stupid to wish that.

Well actually... the first seasons of GOT actually proved that it is possible to have an awesome and faithful adaptation of a book. I am not sure it possible to do that with Dune though.

 

[Dementeleus]

11 minutes ago, RascarCapat said:

Also Tele on another subject I love your Irulan Signature.

 

This scene is actually my favourite part of Lynch's Movie. I always gets chills when she says the "Also known as Dune" with the music rolling and the title coming up.

 

I hope the rest would hold up to the book... Although I know it's kinda stupid to wish that.

Well actually... the first seasons of GOT actually proved that it is possible to have an awesome and faithful adaptation of a book. I am not sure it possible to do that with Dune though.

 

 

For all its problems, I really love the Lynch version. It's remarkably faithful in some moments, though of course it takes wild liberties too, and just ends up stuffing too much story into one movie.

 

With today's franchising efforts, I think it's possible to do justice to it. You need to take a LOTR-style approach -- find worthwhile points to wrap up smaller beats within the saga, use those points as breaks between movies, shoot multiple movies concurrently, that sort of thing. 

 

(Maybe, off the top of my head, the end of the first movie would be Jessica and Paul escaping and being adopted by the Fremen, the end of the second would be Paul taking his place among them as Muad'Dib, and the last movie would cover the campaign to wrest control of Arrakis from the Harkonnens. Potentially you could also incorporate aspects of DUNE MESSIAH, though I'm not sure there'd be a satisfying conclusion there.)

[baumer]

5 hours ago, Free State of Tele said:

7. The Steel Helmet (1951)

written and directed by: Samuel Fuller

starring: Gene Evans, William Chun, James Edwards, Richard Loo

 

Synopsis:

A ragtag group of American stragglers battles against superior Communist troops in an abandoned Buddhist temple during the Korean War.

 

This movie is pretty incredible on several levels. Like Oliver Stone, Samuel Fuller was a screenwriter who served in the infantry and used his experience as a grunt to fuel his films. Fuller is actually an interesting guy just taken on his own: he was writing for a New York paper when he was only 17, working the beat as a crime reporter. He eventually wrote some pulp novels in the 40s and 50s, but he also started writing screenplays in the 1930s. When he wasn’t particularly happy at how they were directed, he told independent producer Robert Lippert that he’d direct his own scripts for no additional fee. He spent most of his career working in low-budget genre films, tackling subjects that were usually too graphic or risqué for mainstream movies at the time: the situations at mental hospitals, a prostitute trying to integrate back into the “normal society” of a small town, and so forth.

 

THE STEEL HELMET falls into these categories, but for war movies. It was made while the Korean War was still happening, and it’s a scathing indictment of US Military brass, while simultaneously being a tribute to the grunt, the infantryman who fights and dies according to orders, no matter how stupid. But what’s even more remarkable about STEEL HELMET is its frank depiction of racial integration in the Army (and the problematic situation of minorities living in America). The ragtag platoon in the movie features an African-American medic and a Japanese-American sergeant. Not only are both men presented matter-of-factly, there are several scenes where captured Communists directly try to subvert both men based on how segregation and racial hostility was still prevalent in the US. When you consider that the movie was made in 1951 (!) and look at how other movies refused to even acknowledge these aspects of America society, it’s pretty amazing that Fuller had the balls to face this head on (and provide real dimensionality to these supporting characters).

 

The movie is really low budget. Fuller made it for 100k and shot it in Griffith Park. His producer wanted to cast John Wayne in the main role of Sergeant Zack, but Fuller refused and threatened to walk off the picture if that happened. And while it’s understandable that the producer would want a big-name star to help sell tickets, the movie is so directly opposite everything Wayne supported (both on- and off-screen) it’s pretty hilarious he was even considered.

 

btw, @Baumer, this movie comes after the 1950 cut-off point we’ve talked about for American acting, but Gene Evans’ performance here is A-grade amazing and feels really contemporary. He’s basically an anti-hero, and the frank bluntness of his character and how he speaks and acts feels like a movie made in the 80s (or even today), rather than the acting styles most prevalent in the first half of the 1900s. (Some of the other performances are much more mannered and feel very “40s” or “50s” in that regard, but Evans stands head and shoulders above them.)

 

Two fun bits of trivia: Zack gives the little Korean kid who rescues him in the beginning the nickname “Short Round” — a name Spielberg used in clear homage and tribute to Fuller when he gave the same name to Indy’s kid sidekick in TEMPLE OF DOOM. And secondly, there’s a Star Wars connection with Fuller as well. One of his best-known movies is a semi-autobiographical WWII epic called THE BIG RED ONE, starring Lee Marvin… and Mark Hamill.

 

I can't find a trailer for it, so here's the movie's opening, a fantastic example of visual exposition:

 

 

 

I'm yea this sounds like my kinda movie for sure

[Dementeleus]

Another movie @Baumer might've seen coming up!

[baumer]

Gotta say, so many of these look good.  I really need to expand my repertoire of films I watch.

[Dementeleus]

5. Never Cry Wolf (1983)

written by: Curtis Hanson, Sam Hamm, Richard Letter (based on the book by Farley Mowat)

directed by: Carroll Ballard

starring: Charles Martin Smith, Brian Dennehy

 

Synopsis:

A government researcher, sent to research the "menace" of wolves in the north, learns about the true beneficial and positive nature of the species.

 

For his follow-up to his surprise debut hit THE BLACK STALLION, Carroll Ballard chose a book by the Canadian author and environmental Farley Mowat. Mowat was a WWII vet who was hired to help naturalists study the northern Canadian lands after the war. He also began writing about his experiences, both in a semi-fictionalized form and as non-fiction. His work brought rapid national (and international) attention to how the Canadian government was treating the Inuit tribes and wildlife, and he quickly became a controversial figure who struggled — off and on — with governmental agencies for most of the rest of his life.

 

NEVER CRY WOLF is loosely based on his own experience with Arctic wolves; it tells the story of a naive young researcher, woefully unprepared for living in the wilderness, who learns not only to live and thrive in that environment but also comes to a greater understanding of wolves and all the species living in the Arctic ecosystem. It’s really a perfect fit for a filmmaker like Ballard, who’s at his best when he’s taking a documentary style to his images and filmmaking. Charles Martin Smith, best known at the time for his role in AMERICAN GRAFFITI — though moviegoers today probably know him as part of THE UNTOUCHABLES — stars as the researcher, and the movie is pretty much a one-man show (although other characters show up in minor roles here and there).

 

As is so often the case with these older, lesser-appreciated movies, the people involved went on to bigger things. Curtis Hanson, one of the screenwriters, went on to become a well-known and well-respected writer/director (among others, he wrote and directed WONDER BOYS and L.A. CONFIDENTIAL), and Sam Hamm, another of the writers, most famously wrote BATMAN and BATMAN RETURNS for Tim Burton.

 

It’s really a wonderful tribute to nature, and a beautiful little movie. @Baumer, if for some reason you haven’t seen it, it checks a lot of your boxes: treating animals with decency, Canadian, and, er, Brian Dennehy.  Hat tip to @DAJK and our other Canadian posters as well.

 

I can't find a decent trailer, so here's a clip:

 

 

 

[baumer]

Farley Mowat is a Canadian national treasure....seriously, he's up there with Don Cherry and Gordon Downey.

 

I have seen Never Cry Wolf, and read the book.  Saw it in elementary school first.  It is a really emotional film and probably something I should see again as an adult.

[Dementeleus]

4. Soldier of Orange (1977)

written by: Kees Holierhoek, Gerard Soeteman, Paul Verhoeven (based on the book by Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema)

directed by: Paul Verhoeven

starring: Rutger Hauer, Jeroen Krabbé, Edward Fox

 

Synopsis:

World War II as seen through the eyes of several Dutch students. It follows them through the beginning of the war, the Nazi occupation and the liberation.

 

Everyone knows Verhoeven for his crazy sci-fi/action epics — STARSHIP TROOPERS, TOTAL RECALL, ROBOCOP. But he was a well-regarded filmmaker in Holland before he came to the US, and in fact his Dutch movies tend to be more nuanced and more complex than his blockbusters (where he’s said he introduced satire just to keep from being bored making them). Verhoeven grew up in Nazi-occupied Holland, and these experiences reflect in SOLDIER OF ORANGE. By the late 70s, Verhoeven had already made three movies, including TURKISH DELIGHT, which was an international art-house hit. That film (and its follow-up, KATIE TIPPEL) featured a young Dutch actor who was rapidly rising to prominence. SOLDIER OF ORANGE would make him known to a wide audience, and a few years later, even American audiences came to know him in BLADE RUNNER.

 

His name was Rutger Hauer.

 

Hauer plays the lead character Erik in SOLDIER OF ORANGE, a college student who joins the Dutch resistance when the Nazis invade. The film traces the adventures and exploits of Erik, as he and his college friends struggle with resistance, betrayal, death, murder, and torture.

 

At the time, the movie was the most expensive Dutch production ever. And as it turned out, it was a big hit — the most popular Dutch film of 1977, actually. 

 

After the success of SOLDIER OF ORANGE, Hauer went to Hollywood, making his debut as the evil terrorist Wulfgar in Stallone’s NIGHTHAWKS. He followed that up with BLADE RUNNER, and then continued working steadily, happy to be in either small independent or big-budget movies. After slowly declining into roles with smaller genre pictures, he rose back to some prominence when Christopher Nolan gave him a supporting role in BATMAN BEGINS.

 

Verhoeven made a few more Dutch movies, delving further into more explicit violence and sex, and then came to Hollywood. His first movie was a medieval fantasy epic called FLESH & BLOOD, starring Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Then he made ROBOCOP, and y’all know what happened after that.

 

 

 

[Dementeleus]

3. Beat the Devil (1953)

written by: Truman Capote, John Huston (based on the novel by Claud Cockburn)

directed by: John Huston

starring: Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones, Gina Lollobrigida, Peter Lorre

 

Synopsis:

Eight people are stranded in Italy while their steamer is being repaired. There is the innocent English couple — the Chelms. There’s Humphrey Bogart and his Italian wife — the Dannreuthers. And there is a quartet of international crooks, headed to Africa, ostensibly to sell vacuum cleaners but actually to buy land supposedly loaded with uranium. Various shenanigans and complications escalate as all eight people become involved in seeking the supposed treasure.

 

That synopsis is a bit dry, but the movie certainly isn’t. In fact, it’s absurd, and knows it. It’s basically a parody — a mockery of stories like THE MALTESE FALCON — but it plays everything dead straight. Jennifer Jones (Mrs. Chelms) falls for Bogart (Mr. Dannreuther). Gina Lollobrigida (Mrs. Dannreuther) falls for Mr. Chelms (the British upper-crust accent is what gets her). The criminals are an assortment of physical oddities: Lorre’s bulging-eyed short fat man paired with a tall, gaunt man. The fast-talking and too-polite Robert Morley played with a sniveling weasel who’d just as soon stab everyone in the back.

 

Audiences didn’t how know to take this at the time, and it wasn’t well received. Bogart himself hated it (maybe because he put up some of his own money to finance it, and lost his investment), and claimed “only phonies like it”. According to Ebert, well after its release, it came to be known as the first camp movie, and its reputation has only grown over time.

 

 

 

[RascarCapat]

I didn't expect so many WW2 movies but I guess it makes sense coming from someone who actually lived at the time of the war.

[RascarCapat]

Also I'll be sure to check "Beat the Devil" I love Bogart and I see Peter Lorre is in it too.

After The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca I wonder if these two made anymore movies together.

 

[narniadis]

Wow I have seen one of your top 5 (never cry wolf).... 

[BourneFan #1]

20 hours ago, Free State of Tele said:

5. Never Cry Wolf (1983)

 

 

 

 

I've finally seen a film on this list! 

[JohnnyGossamer]

On 6/22/2016 at 3:43 PM, Free State of Tele said:

6. Eyes Without a Face (1962)

written by: Pierre Boileau & Thomas Narcajac & Jean Redon & Claude Sautet (from the novel by Redon)

directed by: Georges Franju

starring: Pierre Brasseur, Alida Valli, Edith Scob, Juliet Mayniel

 

Synopsis:

A surgeon causes an accident which leaves his daughter disfigured, and goes to extremes to give her a new face.

 

A tale of “quiet anguish”, as described by director Georges Franju. In the late 50s, British horror movies were popular with French audiences, and producer Jules Borkon wanted to capitalize on this market (previously untapped by French filmmakers). He got the rights to this story, but actually producing it required a delicate balance of elements: there couldn’t be too much blood (which would offend French censors), they couldn’t show animal torture (which would offend English censors), and they couldn’t do mad-scientist characters (which would offend German censors). All of these elements were very present in the novel, so Franju and his screenwriters had to carefully hint about things (for the most part) while giving the scientist villain a more nuanced role.

 

The result is a haunting and unsettling movie, all the more so for what it implies than what it literally depicts — though there’s a surgery scene that’s legit freaky even for a modern audience. Legendary composer Maurice Jarre (LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, DR. ZHIVAGO, among others) wrote the score, which has two main melodies: a funky carnival tune (alternately annoying and creepy), and a more melancholy piece for Christiane, the poor daughter who was horribly injured by her father.

 

The 1962 date for EYES WITHOUT A FACE refers only to the American release, it actually was released in Europe almost two years earlier. It didn’t get very good reviews initially, but its reputation has really grown over the years. Many critics have noted the influence of French filmmaker Jean Cocteau in it, especially in its overall tone of “poetic horror and tactful, tactile brutality” (as J. Hoberman wrote). Of special interest to people like @Baumer and @The Stingray and @somebody85 is that John Carpenter cites it as a major design influence on HALLOWEEN — he was inspired to create the look of Michael Myers after seeing the blank, featureless white mask worn by Christiane.

 

 

 

I thought everyone knew about this one, no? Pretty famous movie.

[LateReg]

On 6/21/2016 at 10:42 AM, Free State of Tele said:

17. Until the End of the World (1991)

written by: Peter Carey, Wim Wenders, Michael Almereyda (original idea by Wenders and Solveig Dommartin)

directed by: Wim Wenders

starring: William Hurt, Sam Neill, Solveig Dommartin, Max von Sydow, Jeanne Moreau

 

Synopsis:

In the “near future”, Claire's life is forever changed after she survives a car crash. She rescues Sam, a fugitive on the run, who claims his father invented a device which records dreams. Claire and Sam continue to elude the law, traveling around the world. Writer Eugene follows them and writes their story.

 

A science-fiction story that’s more about people and their relationships than concepts. Like many famous older SF movies, it’s set in the “near future” that’s now our past: in this case, the story unfolds in 1999, as world civilization is potentially threatened by an Indian nuclear satellite that might crash. But that’s mainly just a backdrop against the adventures of Claire and Sam. This movie falls into the classic road trip genre, but what’s interesting is the gentle quirkiness and humanity that Wenders manages to find in every scene. As Claire and Sam wander from Europe into Russia and Asia and ultimately Australia, their trip becomes more and more about the concept of memories, and dreams, and how technology can help (or hinder) what makes us fundamentally human.

 

There’s a legendary 5-hour cut — not an assembly cut, not an early draft, a completed cut that’s the full version of Wenders’ vision. Up until now, the only version is the theatrical edition, which runs about 2.5 hours. You can feel the trims occasionally, there are subplots introduced that don’t contribute a great deal to the story, and occasionally the pace and tone seems like they change abruptly. The good news is that the long cut actually has a chance of a release (on video or streaming, at least) — it played at a few select museum venues last year. So, watch this version now, and get ready to (hopefully) watch the full version at some future date.

 

Technically, the production was complicated and financing took a long time to come together. Wenders originally wanted to shoot it on 70mm, but that wasn't feasible. They ended up shooting in 15 cities, in 7 countries, across 4 continents. The movie's also notable for being the first film to shoot some clips with digital video. (They weren't able to get approval to shoot in China, so Wenders sent his actress Solveig Dommartin into the country with just a prosumer video camera).

 

The soundtrack, btw, is absolutely fantastic: a collection of great songs by alt-rock bands from the early 90s: Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads, Lou Reed, REM, Depeche Mode, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, U2, etc etc etc.

 

 

 

 

Hi! I signed up just to comment on this wonderful list. I can't wait to print it out and add everything I haven't seen to my watch list. (I've seen roughly 50%!)

 

Specifically, I wanted to respond to Until the End of the World. I have seen the longer cut of this film a couple times...it has been available on Region 2 DVD for quite a while, though it may now be out of print. The only drawback is that it doesn't have subtitles for the few instances of foreign dialogue. It is divided into three parts and spread across three discs. If I remember correctly it is divided into three parts because that is how it was shown on television at some point....or perhaps I'm making that up since each part functions as a self-contained episode with its own credits. But, yes, this longer five-hour version has existed on DVD for over ten years now, and it is quite a film.

[baumer]

Welcome to the forums @LateReg

[Dementeleus]

Welcome, @LateReg! Great first post. 

[Daxtreme]

Me in this thread so far

 

 

 

[Dementeleus]

I'll have the last two up later. I just survived IDR and I need to recover.