Badmovies.org Forum

These are film that I have enjoyed over the years that I hear very little about when it comes to movie conversation. Made imdb.com links to them all so you can get an idea for yourselves. Just a list of films that that you might also enjoy.

Ten Little Indians (1965) (http://imdb.com/title/tt0061075/)
Mountains Of The Moon (1990) (http://imdb.com/title/tt0100196/)
Charge Of The Light Brigade (1968) (http://imdb.com/title/tt0062790/)
Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972) (http://imdb.com/title/tt0069824/)
Moon Over Parador (1988) (http://imdb.com/title/tt0095654/)
Walker (1987) (http://imdb.com/title/tt0096409/)
Dr. Detroit (1983) (http://imdb.com/title/tt0085450/)
Burn ! (1969) (http://imdb.com/title/tt0064866/)
The Story Of "O" (1975) (http://imdb.com/title/tt0073115/)
Temptation Of A Monk (1993) (http://imdb.com/title/tt0108630/)

I've seen "Ten Little Indians," "Mountains of the Moon," "Burn," and "Brother Sun, Sister Moon," and I've always wanted to see "Charge of the Light Brigade." As an added note,
 "Ten Little Indians" and "Charge of the Light Brigade" are remakes of earlier films

They are remakes and I've seen the original one with Erol Flynn and the original murder mystery AND THEN THERE WHERE NONE. Here's a case where both the originals and the remakes where good.  :smile:

Burn! and Mountains of the Moon are personal favorites of mine. MOTM was my real introduction to Richard Francis Burton, although the source book and film take liberties with the real events. Truly interesting man who I've since read two biographies of, and intend to read more. The film is better than the book IMO, it's an overwritten piece of bad historical fiction that I couldn't finish. Have you seen The Mission or Black Robe, all three films remind me of each other.

Moon over Parador and Dr. Detroit are 80s comedies that I have never cared for very much. Although I give MOP for trying to be more clever than a lot of comedies from the time.

Walker I've seen part of but not enough to make a judgement on, but the story of the the making of it is interesting, and I want to read more about the real William Walker as well.

I've seen part of Ten Little Indians but it was a long time ago and not enough to make the call on either. One of those "I'll catch next time" films that I never ran across again.

"Burn", for some reason, used to play a lot on local TV in Virginia -- maybe someone there had an "in" with the picture.  So I saw this a lot many years ago.  I think I own "Moon Over Parador" -- I was always a huge Sonia Braga fan, and my wife was in love with Raul Julia at one point, so we have all their movies behind a box somewhere --
Now, for the life of me, by what stretch do you call "Dr. Detroit" "good"?
I was a huge fan of all things SNL, so when this came out, I ran to the theatre to see it on the big screen, thinking to find some of the SNL wit and risk-taking.  What I saw was a lot of padding and scenes that went nowhere.   Plus a lot of gratuituous, pointless set-up for jokes that never paid off.  For me, this film was just an interminable wait for something to happen . . . and nothing did.  Aykroyd was physically funny as the Detroit character, but he really wasn't given anything to do.  Lines like "I'm going to rip your head off and (poo) down your neck" could have been funny if there were any sort of context for them.  Not for one minute did I accept that Nancy whats-her-name actress as a "Crime Boss".
Oh, well -- at least Aykroyd met his future wife on the production, so at least he got something out of it.  Me, I want my money back.
peter johnson/denny crane

Don't know why exactly Peter Johnson, but perhaps it was all the diverse group Dan Akroyd was helping.  :smile: Just thought someone here might enjoy it as I did in the 80's. It seems to be forgotten and better in my opinion for different reasons, but perhaps not as a comedy so much. Another one I liked was Dan Akroyd in NIEGHBORS with Jim Belushi. NIEGHBORS isn't as good as DR. DETROIT, but I liked it.

Here are a few of my own recommendations that are definitely worth tracking down:

SIX HOURS TO LIVE
IT HAPPENED TOMORROW
A WARNING TO THE CURIOUS
THE ASH TREE
WHISTLE AND I'LL COME TO YOU
THE SIGNALMAN
A NOUS LA LIBERTE (LIBERTY FOR US)
CALL OF CTHULHU

Gerry, you have a good eye for film. Some interesting films there. Looked them up on imdb.com. Will keep a look out for them. Thanks.

Time travel, ghost stories, Lovecraft.

All well worth the effort.  CALL OF CTHULHU is available here (http://www.cthulhulives.org/cocmovie/).  You can view the trailer here (http://www.cthulhulives.org/cocmovie/trailer.html).

Try A Soldiers Story. Great movie.

I would like to recommend a few unheraled classicks,in my own humble opinion.
MANSON(197?) This is a documentary, and NO, I am not a Manson freak,but if you watch it,you too will understand why it was nominated for an Acadamy Award.A  time capsule  into a f*cked up page of American history.Unbelievebly, by the same guy who gave us the BLACK ANGELS(197?) and WHATEVER HAPPENED to COUNT DRACULA?(1970),which had an r and x rated version. Incidently,he was also the voice of the SHADOW radio program in the 1940's. He was eventually murdered by a student of one of his acting classes,in Chicago.

1. The Swimmer. Dir. Frank Perry. Starring Burt Lancaster.
2. The Magic Christian. Dir. Joseph McGrath. Starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr.
3. Mahler. Dir. Ken Russell, starring Robert Powell (the vastly underrated Russell's most personal film).
4. Comanche Station. Dir. Budd Boetticher, starring Randolph Scott. The most sublime of Boetticher's chamber westerns.
5. West of Zanzibar. Dir. Todd Browning. Starring Lon Chaney. Right up there with 'The Unknown'. The fact that it's never  been released in any format borders on criminal negligence.
6. Oedipus Rex. Dir. Julie Taymor. Stravinsky's avant garde opera made even more stylish and bizarre. If people saw more contemporary, highly original, cutting edge productions like this, then the idea of opera being solely for overweight, pretentious conservatives  who only like 300 year old music would become extinct (as opposed to the art form becoming extinct, which it surely is).
7. The Charlie Bowers collection. Andre Breton and Bunuel loved this highly original, sadly forgotten surrealist. Unfortunately, Bowers did not have the personality of Chaplin or Keaton but was more innovative than all of the silent clowns. He mixed animation and live action. He usually played an inventor  and his inventions range from an unbreakable egg (which eventually hatches Model T Fords) to the no slip banana skin (and don't forget the metal eating bird).
8. Maya Deren: Experimental Films.  "Meshes of the afternoon" and "At Land" are two of the most intoxicating, almost impossible to describe films I've ever seen. The short lived Deren once bragged that she made films for what Hollywood spent on a box of tissues.
9.The films of Daina Krumins. Only available from Canyon Cinema, Krumins has only made three films. Both "The Divine Miracle" and 'Babobilicons' have rightly become legendary in surrealist appreciation circles.
10. Georges Melies; First Wizard of Cinema.  Cinema before the rules were  set of what does and what does not constitute 'film'.

The Story of O was a great movie indeed, however it really didn't do the book justice, I still enjoyed it greatly though. As for hidden gems, ones I have came across lately have been:

Spiral
Out of Mind (hp lovecraft)
Henry Poole is Here
Tales of the Zatoichi (this one is probably well-discussed with alot of people, but I had never heard much about them)
They Came Back (french movie)
The Wishing Stairs

Your tastes match with mine, Mr. Surrealism.  Several of those are on my list to track down.  The only one I've seen is THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN, which I found disappointing but worthwhile.  (I prefer the novel).  And the Melies films, though I've never seen that particular collection.

* STREAMERS - Adapted from David Rabe's stage play.  It takes place in a military barracks and has some really great, tense dialogue.  It was directed by Robert Altman, so you may find it to be too slow moving.  But I've seen it about 3 times and I enjoyed it each time.  Starring Matthew Modine and George Dzundza.

* SOLDIER OF ORANGE - Directed by Paul Verhoeven (before Robocop) and starring Rutger Hauer (before he became a B-movie hero).

* THE TIN DRUM - A surreal, disturbing film about a boy who "refuses" to grow up during the rise of the Nazi party in Germany.

* FUNNY GAMES - The original 1997 German-language version.  Has a few very disturbing moments.

* THE WAGES OF FEAR - Intense story about a group of down-and-out guys in South America who accept a job transporting trucks full of nitroglycerin across dangerous terrain to blow out an oil well fire.  Starts off a bit slow, but the riveting suspense and great ending make this is a true classic.  William Friedkin remade it as SORCERER.

They are are fairly available via amazon and the likes, except for "West of Zanzibar'. Russell's "Mahler" is rather expensive as it is oop on dvd, but can be found rather cheaply on vhs.
'Comanche Station' was just released on a Boetticher box set, along with the equally worthwhile 'Ride Lonesome', and  "The Tall T" and the lesser "Westbound" and "Buchanan Rides Alone". 'Seven Men from Now" is available separately and some say , the best of the Boetticher/ Scott films (I would leave that for Station, which I would rank with the best of the Ford westerns. Seven is not far behind it).
Bowers has to be seen to be believed.

peace

Okay, here's some little known (some hard to find) gems I thought were worth watching...

Nick of Time (with Johnny Depp)
The Children of Heaven
Millions (the Danny Boyle film, not the one with Billy Zane)
Who Would Kill A Child?
Death Sentence
Brick
Dorm
Ran (considered a classic, but many probably haven't seen it)
Twelve and Holding
The Orphanage

3 Not lesser known, but certainly underrated, as far as the general populace and some critics go...

1. A.I.: Possibly the most visionary, sublime film of the last ten years. There's a lot of hoopla about the 'flawed' ending being Spielberg's, rather than Kubrick's. Nonsense.  Or, that the ending is Spielberg's lame attempt to put his own smiley face on it. Again, nonsense. It's a downer ending, with the unwanted stepchild child totally oblivious to impending death and there's something a bit Oedipal going on.  Jude Law deserved all the accolades he received and should have received far more. This film was Spielberg's road back to being a great artist and Kubrick's soul fills ever second. Trust the opinion of no one who disses on this film.

2. Kurbrick's "Eyes Wide Shut". His last, glorious obsession with Ludwig,and this time it's Fidelio. Like all of Kubrick, it's stature will only grow in time. Repeated viewing are essential.

3. Bill Condon's Gods and Monsters. Tim Burton's Ed Wood eventually found a well deserved cult audience. The 'gayness' here still freaks enough people out to keep it languishing in half obscurity.  Too bad too, because all involved give their best, including Frasier who proves he really can act. Redgrave is lovably delightful as well. A perfect homage to the father of Frankenstein.

I've seen Meshes of the Afternoon and it was an abomination (except for the slo-mo running-up-the-stairs shot)!  I can't voice an opinion on any other work of hers, though.

1. Dark Waters (plural, not the japanese film or its lousy remake). This, along with Cemetary man, is one of the last great italian horror films. Look for the Mariano Baino approved re-release, avoid the "Dead Waters" release like the plague. The picture and sound are a million times better in the case of the former. Recommended to fans of italian horror and/or fans of Lovecraft's work (knowing Lovecraft may give you a better understanding of whats going on).

2. Inferno. Not one of Argento's best, but highly underrated, in my opinion. Just understand that its a nighmare, it operates on dream logic, and isnt intended to make any normal sense.

3. Neo Ned. An indie film I caught a few weeks back. Granted, the premise sounds like something from Troma - a skinhead in a mental ward falls in love with a black woman who channels adolf hitler - but its actually a really decent film, and didnt really go in the direction I was expecting it to (incidentally, speaking of Troma, I shook hands with Lloyd Kaufman earlier today at monstermania).

4. Happiness of the Katakuris. A Zombie Horror Family Musical directed by Takashi Miike. Nuff said.

1) THE WATCHER
keanu reeves plays a serial killer and james spader plays the detective on his trail

2) THE LAST SENTINEL
don wilson plays an electronically enhanced soldier trying to take back the post apocalyptic world from evil robots

3) DAREDEVIL
ben affleck plays a superhero.....enough said

4) ANACONDA 3 : The Offspring
david hasselhoff + evil corporation + giant genetically altered snake = good time

5) MARY REILLY
julia roberts meets mr. hyde

6) STRANGELAND
dee snider plays a psychopath who kidnaps and tortures people and kevin gage plays the detective trying to catch him and save his daughter who is his latest victim

7) DRIVE THRU
the ghost of a clown kills the children of the people who accidently killed him

8) EATEN ALIVE
a drug addicted hillbilly kills people to feed to his pet crocodile

9) TOWER OF TERROR
kirsten dunst and steve guttenberg visit a haunted hotel

10) WARLOCK III : The End Of Innocence
Ashley Laurence fights against an evil warlock that she unknowingly releases from his prison after 300 years