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jobycom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 03:08 PM
Original message
The often-discussed best films no one has seen
I'll start with two:

A Dream of Passion, with Ellyn Burstyn and Milana Mercouri (sp?). About a Greek expatriate actress who returns home to do a stage play of "Media" and meets an American real-life Media.

The Station Agent-- can't summarize, you just have to see it.
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terrya Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 03:10 PM
Response to Original message
1. I very much liked "The Station Agent"
It was just a nice, character driven story.
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fizzgig Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-14-04 06:02 PM
Response to Reply #1
45. that it was
and it wasn't bogged down by too much dialogue. one of my favorites is zus & zo...it's a dutch film and i've never met anyone who has seen it. the synopsis sounds kind of stupid, but it's about three sisters who try to keep their gay brother from getting married so they can inherit the family hotel in portugal...like i said it sounds stupid, but it's a beatiful movie imho.
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Richardo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 03:11 PM
Response to Original message
2. Dirty Pretty Things
Edited on Fri Nov-12-04 03:14 PM by Richardo
with Audrey Tautou. :loveya:




Also (from the 80's):

Brother From Another Planet (John Sayles)
Choose Me (Alan Rudolph)
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jobycom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 04:45 PM
Response to Reply #2
14. You could put most of John Sayles work on this list. Lone Star.
Lone Star is one of my all timers. Best ending line ever in a movie, especially if your from Texas. Proof that Matthew McConnehy (or however he spells his name) once had promise.

The Secret of Roan Innish was adorable, too.

I can't wait to see Silver City. They screwed him over on that film.
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Kat45 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 05:40 PM
Response to Reply #14
18. Silver City was good; I think you'll like it, especially if you're a fan
Edited on Fri Nov-12-04 05:40 PM by notmyprez
of Sayles. I also love his movies, going all the way back to "The Return of the Secaucus Seven." Absoutely loved "Lone Star." I consider that his best.
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jackelope72 Donating Member (726 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 06:40 PM
Response to Reply #14
20. Yay! Lone Star!
Of all the people I know personally who have seen it, I am the only one who actually liked it! It's good to know that I'm not TOTALLY alone in that.
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ProfessorPlum Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-15-04 06:00 PM
Response to Reply #14
51. I really really liked "Passion Fish"
but not many have seen it.
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bunkerbuster1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-16-04 10:22 AM
Response to Reply #14
56. Is John Sayles capable of directing a bad film?
I say "no."
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tjdee Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 10:16 PM
Response to Reply #2
24. ITA--great film.
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chimpymustgo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-14-04 09:10 PM
Response to Reply #2
47. I LOVED Brother from another Planet and Choose Me.
Ah, simpler times. Best movies lately - In America, Something's Gotta Give, Veronica Geurin.

Looking forward to seeing Ray, and Sideways.
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fertilizeonarbusto Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 03:11 PM
Response to Original message
3. "Weekend" by Godard
One of the few real horror movies (as opposed to slasher crap) I've ever seen. Will scare the daylights out of you.
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CBGLuthier Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 05:22 PM
Response to Reply #3
17. I have seen Weekend
Would love to see it again. It was one weird movie.
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InhaleToTheChief Donating Member (189 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 03:13 PM
Response to Original message
4. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
Tom Stoppard's play based on two of the least memorable characters in Hamlet. Richard Dreyfuss, Tim Roth, Gary Oldman give some of their best performances. Some of the best dialogue in any movie ever. Funnier than hell and smart.

And if you know Hamlet, the way the two characters weave in and out of the Hamlet story is just brilliant. One of my all-time faves...
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sadinred Donating Member (529 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 03:45 PM
Response to Reply #4
9. One of my favorites too!
Very very DRY. Very funny. I love Gary Oldman discovering all of the laws of physics. And the word tennis they play. Clever! I've loved this movie for years. I never liked the end though. What happened. Like the deadline came and the Tom Stoppard just stopped! Or was the original ending different?
I never met anyone else who liked the movie. Hi, nice to meet you!
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Metatron Donating Member (877 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 10:38 PM
Response to Reply #4
25. Wonderful film.
I love Stoppard's plays, too.
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pamela Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-13-04 04:02 PM
Response to Reply #4
33. Just a heads up...
It's on right now on the Sundance Channel.
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Xipe Totec Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 03:13 PM
Response to Original message
5. Macario - Mexican 1960


Poor, hungry peasant Macario longs for just one good meal on the Day of the Dead. After his wife cooks a turkey for him, he meets three apparitions, the Devil, God, and Death. Each asks him to share his turkey, but he refuses all except Death. In return, Death gives him a bottle of water which will heal any illness. Soon, Macario is more wealthy than the village doctor, which draws the attention of the feared Inquisition.



http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054042/
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edbermac Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 03:19 PM
Response to Original message
6. It might not be the best, but I'd like to see The Day The Clown Cried
This was made by Jerry Lewis many years ago...he played a clown in a concentration camp who cheers up the kids on their way to the gas chambers; as far as I know, it has never been seen publicly...probably not in the same league with Life Is Beautiful, but I'm sure this has to be seen to be believed!
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Emboldened Chimp Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 03:28 PM
Response to Reply #6
8. I've never seen it, but it was the worst script i ever read...
Couldn't get past page 10. AWFUL.
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edbermac Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 04:17 PM
Response to Reply #8
12. Where did you get the script?
Inquiring minds would like to know...
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Emboldened Chimp Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 04:59 PM
Response to Reply #12
16. Someone in my office directed me to it, so I forget...
I'll try to remember...
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benito Donating Member (772 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 03:25 PM
Response to Original message
7. tao of steve?
I think the part I really like is when the band is playing 'You're so 1988'. I start jumping around when I hear that.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/clipserve/B00004U38Z001017/0/102-2757166-7087355
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Cybergata Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-13-04 08:57 PM
Response to Reply #7
40. I loved this movie,,,
especially all the beautiful scenes of my home town and state.

:hippie:
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asthmaticeog Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 04:02 PM
Response to Original message
10. The Bicycle Thief
n/t
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GumboYaYa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 04:34 PM
Response to Reply #10
13. Hey, you stole my answer.
Edited on Fri Nov-12-04 04:35 PM by GumboYaYa
That is such an amazing movie, yet I rarely hear people list it when they talk about great movies. The scene where Ricci has to decide whether to steal the bike is the most powerful scene in the history of cinema IMO.
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BleedingHeartPatriot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-13-04 10:43 AM
Response to Reply #13
30. "The Bicycle Thief"..I get teary eyed just hearing the title..Beautiful
The power of film. MKJ
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smiley_glad_hands Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 04:05 PM
Response to Original message
11. Donnie Darko eom
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jobycom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 04:46 PM
Response to Original message
15. Should add Strictly Ballroom. Not exactly unknown anymore
but still underviewed.
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Malikshah Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 09:23 PM
Response to Reply #15
21. So very true--
Saw it when it came out at the Mich Theater in Ann Arbor years ago-- a great place to see films-- this one was GREAT
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Cybergata Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-13-04 09:06 PM
Response to Reply #15
41. I own Strictly Ballroom
Edited on Sat Nov-13-04 09:07 PM by Cybergata
...and watch it every time I want some magic in my life. Of course, I grew up watching, listening to and loving flamenco, and watching a classical dancer dancing along side the world's greatest male flamenco dancer is just heavenly. :hippie:
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jobycom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-13-04 11:36 PM
Response to Reply #41
43. I spin it quite frequently, too. You ever
find yourself looking for friends who haven't seen it just to show it off to them?
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Cybergata Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-13-04 11:48 PM
Response to Reply #43
44. No....
I just consider it my own personal indulgence. I've recommended it to people, but they seem hesitant because of the title. I just love those quirky Aussie flix. :hippie:
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yardwork Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-14-04 10:33 PM
Response to Reply #15
49. Great movie. And for lovers of tango, see "Assassination Tango"
Robert Duvall movie. Doesn't quite work but very enjoyable I thought.
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flygal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-16-04 03:56 PM
Response to Reply #15
61. I love it - had the soundtrack too!
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Kat45 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 05:44 PM
Response to Original message
19. The Search for One-Eyed Jimmy.
I don't even know anyone who has heard of it, nevermind seen it. It was really funny, and quirky. The cast includes Nick Turturro, John Turturro, Samuel L. Jackson, Anne Meara, the guy in "The Practice" with an Italian last name starting with 'B.' (Sorry, I can never remember his name; he'll always be 'Joe Head' to me, because this movie was the first time I saw him and he played a character called 'Joe Head' because he had such a big head.)
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TangledThorns Donating Member (21 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 09:38 PM
Response to Original message
22. Ronin
Go see it!
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AP Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-13-04 05:59 PM
Response to Reply #22
34. Ronin is probably one of the best chase movies ever made
People should definitely see this movie.
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Wickerman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 09:51 PM
Response to Original message
23. The Station Agent
beautiful film. Thought about it for days afterwards.

Fitzcarraldo - still thinking about that one, a decade later. the Amazon, thousands of natives, opera and a river boat. What's not to love?
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pamela Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-12-04 10:53 PM
Response to Original message
26. Harold and Maude
I just watched this again the other night. It has a bit of a cult following so I don't know if it fits the "best films no one has seen" category.
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jobycom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-13-04 12:10 AM
Response to Reply #26
28. Everyone has seen it.
Except me, but it never looked good to me. I should watch it one day. I will. But not tonight.
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pamela Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-13-04 12:31 AM
Response to Reply #28
29. Everyone?
I hardly no anyone who has seen it except for the people I've badgered into watching it. You should watch it. It seems a little weird at first but it's really a beautiful and funny movie.
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tjdee Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-13-04 11:11 AM
Response to Reply #28
31. Same here.
I look at the picture on the box, and I go...uh...I could stand to see anything else but this tonight!

I did that with Lost in Translation too. Didn't think that was as great as everyone says.
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yardwork Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-14-04 10:34 PM
Response to Reply #31
50. What? "Lost in Translation" is wonderful!
Maybe it was overhyped for you. That happens to me sometimes.
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Paul Hood Donating Member (717 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-13-04 12:05 AM
Response to Original message
27. The Ice Storm n/t
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bigwillq Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-13-04 09:10 PM
Response to Reply #27
42. One of my faves (nt)
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fidgeting wildly Donating Member (335 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-14-04 07:58 PM
Response to Reply #42
46. Mine too. I love that one. (nt)
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CBGLuthier Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-13-04 12:19 PM
Response to Original message
32. The President's Analyst
One of the best satires ever made. Finally available on DVD. Godfrey Cambidge's monologue about the day he learned the meaning of the word n***** is as brilliant as it gets.
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AP Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-13-04 06:00 PM
Response to Original message
35. Llumumba: Death of a Prophet (the documentary, not the feature film
by the same director).

It's one of the most compelling documentaries ever made, but it's impossible to find.
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AP Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-13-04 06:02 PM
Response to Original message
36. Any Ousmane Sembene film, but especially Black Girl
His movies will blow your mind, but they're very hard to find.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0783733/
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AP Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-13-04 06:03 PM
Response to Original message
37. Killer of Sheep, Charles Burnett
I don't know how someone could say they know American cinema without seeing this movie. But it's hard to find.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076263/
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AP Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-13-04 06:04 PM
Response to Original message
38. Battle of Algiers -- possibly the best movie ever made. Have you seen it?
Didn't think so.
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mr.jack Donating Member (23 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-13-04 08:38 PM
Response to Reply #38
39. The first polical...
film I ever saw, long time ago. It really got alot of the radicals motivated in the 60's Very powerful and highly recomended. Would love to find a copy on DVD to see again.
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chimpymustgo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-14-04 09:15 PM
Response to Reply #39
48. have it on VHS. Is it on DVD?
nt
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tishaLA Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-15-04 11:14 PM
Response to Reply #48
54. I think it just came out on DVD
it's quite expensive--about $35--and worth every penny.

I taught the film this summer to my students and they just loved it.
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ProfessorPlum Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-15-04 06:03 PM
Response to Original message
52. Big Eden
I don't know if it was the "best", but it was a sweet film with a lot of character development. Pretty optimistic/unrealistic about a small town in backwoods Montana being very accepting of homosexual couples . . . but a treat nonetheless.
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ProfessorPlum Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-15-04 06:04 PM
Response to Original message
53. Enchanted April
Excellent movie that really created a mood . . .
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DrZeeLit Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-16-04 02:57 PM
Response to Reply #53
59. I love Enchanted April!
Have a copy!
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AusTexDem Donating Member (151 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-16-04 09:41 AM
Response to Original message
55.  "Once Were Warriors "


Set in urban Auckland (New Zealand) this movie tells the story of the Heke family. Jake Heke is a violent man who beats his wife frequently when drunk, and yet obviously loves both her and his family. The movie follows a period of several weeks in the family's life showing Jake's frequent outburst of violence and the effect that this has on his family. The youngest son is in trouble with the police and may be put into a foster home while the elder son is about to join a street gang. Jake's daughter has her own serious problems which are a key element in the plot.
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ProfessorPlum Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-16-04 11:51 AM
Response to Original message
57. Breaker Morant
depressing, but excellent
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DrZeeLit Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-16-04 02:58 PM
Response to Reply #57
60. Same with... Gallipoli (sad and frustrating but.. wow)
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Dukakis88 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-16-04 01:55 PM
Response to Original message
58. Miracle Mile, starring Anthony Edwards and Mare Winningham
A real-time movie about a guy who meets the love of his life a few hours before the Russians may or may not hit the US with nukes. He gets a call at a pay phone telling him the strike will happen in 45 minutes. He doesn't find out until the end of the movie if the fluke wrong-number call he got from the US nuke defense bunker was a prank call or real. Extremely tense and moving film, with a fantastic Tangerine Dream soundtrack.
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HEIL PRESIDENT GOD Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-16-04 05:58 PM
Response to Reply #58
63. Excellent film, femullet and all
I was just staying on the MM, passed Johnnie's several times, thought of the movie often.
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flygal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-16-04 03:57 PM
Response to Original message
62. An Angel at My Table - story of author Janet Frame
it's heartwrenching
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HEIL PRESIDENT GOD Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-16-04 06:01 PM
Response to Original message
64. Runaway Train
Jon Voight and Eric Roberts as prison escapees, story by Kurosawa.

There are a lot of great unknown indie comedies--Larceny and Sol Goode come to mind.
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Khephra Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-16-04 07:26 PM
Response to Original message
65. Alejandro Jodorowsky's major works
"HOLY MOUNTAIN", "SANTA SANGRE", & "EL TOPO". Jodorowsky'd films have been tied up in lawsuits for years and are next to impossible to get. (Actually, they're not too hard to get. It's just that you won't find quality prints easily.)

"ERASERHEAD" is another one that people talk about a lot in film circles that's not exactly filling up the racks at the local video store. AFAIK, the only way to get copies of the film legally is through Lynch's website. That's where I got my copy. Man, is it great to have a clear, crisp copy of "ERASERHEAD" on DVD!
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