movie picks

pescado

Padawan Learner
ok. inspired by the 'top 10' movie picks i thought i'd share a few of my own that i think still fit the "to be able to better understand humanity and the state that we are in" context.

i wont bother going into detailed explanation.. just check em out, if you like, and if you do watch em.. please respond!! that is if you havent seen em already.

ok here goes...

Persona
Baraka
Koyaanisqatsi
The Passion of Joan of Arc
Siddhartha
Jesus of Montreal
The Fisher King
The Holy Mountain
Man Bites Dog
City of God
The Game
The Straight Story
Last Night
The Exterminating Angel
Dreams - by Kurosawa
2001
The Seventh Seal
Wild Strawberries
Hour of the Wolf

so theres a few off the top of my head.

if anyone else has any good suggestions please post them!! thanks
 
A few months ago I watched Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring

I'd definitely recommened it. Here's the link to the IMDB entry:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0374546/
 
That's a rather good list, I've seen a few of them. I've always wanted to get Bergman's Seventh Seal but have never been able to find it.

Dr Strangelove is another I'd like to get hold of, judging by a snippet of the script below.

General "Buck" Turgidson: General Ripper called Strategic Air Command headquarters shortly after he issued the go code. I have a phone transcript of that conversation if you'd like me to to read it.

President Merkin Muffley: Read it!

General "Buck" Turgidson: Ahem... The Duty Officer asked General Ripper to confirm the fact that he *had* issued the go code, and he said, uh, "Yes gentlemen, they are on their way in, and nobody can bring them back. For the sake of our country, and our way of life, I suggest you get the rest of SAC in after them. Otherwise, we will be totally destroyed by Red retaliation. Uh, my boys will give you the best kind of start, 1400 megatons worth, and you sure as hell won't stop them now, uhuh. Uh, so let's get going, there's no other choice. God willing, we will prevail, in peace and freedom from fear, and in true health, through the purity and essence of our natural... fluids. God bless you all" and he hung up.

[beat]

General "Buck" Turgidson: Uh, we're, still trying to figure out the meaning of that last phrase, sir.

President Merkin Muffley: There's nothing to figure out, General Turgidson. This man is obviously a psychotic.

General "Buck" Turgidson: We-he-ell, uh, I'd like to hold off judgement on a thing like that, sir, until all the facts are in.

President Merkin Muffley: General Turgidson! When you instituted the human reliability tests, you *assured* me there was *no* possibility of such a thing *ever* occurring!

General "Buck" Turgidson: Well, I, uh, don't think it's quite fair to condemn a whole program because of a single slip-up, sir.
 
Oh my gosh, Johnno - you have to see Dr. Strangelove. Is it not available in the land of OZ? Hmmm -it's even worth sending you a copy, if you can't get a hold of it.
 
That would be cool, only problem are the region encoding secret police who have deemed me to live in a "4" and you in a "1"! Although I think I'd be able to rig up something on the computer to work through this little hurdle.
 
Johnno.. i'd recommend getting a bitorrent program and maybe emule or something.. there is a wealth of archived movie classics available up on the net.

and yes to dr strangelove!! great flick.

i had intended to see Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... at one point, but never got around to it. i will now!! thanks
 
also.. in terms of psychopathy, another classic would be - strangers on a train by hitchcock. in fact, a great number of his movies deal with characters like that. frenzy is another good one.
 
How about "Dark City" - Imagine the matrix mixed with aliens ... though the aliens are a bit like vampires and it isn't obvious that they are some form of alien intelligence until the very end. They are like vampires in that they have taken to animating the corpses of the humans who have died - and since they have animated corpses of all ages, and though they do look rather ghoulish they also look a bit reminescent of the greys ...

[ edit ]
What about the movie "Brazil"? Oh and in the name of good fun - "Big Trouble in Little China" ;)
 
Good to see an appreciation of the work of Geoffrey Reggio in the initial post. :)

Fellini, Lynch, Kubrick, Almodovar, Greenaway, Bela Tarr make up some more of a good Top Ten list.

Surely the best Kubrick film was his adaptation of Clockwork Orange?

Oldie but goodie: "My Life As A Dog".

Recent exceptional work: "Ten Canoes". An aboriginal tale in the vein of the Inuit "Atanarjuat". So good this genre of soap opera from millennia past, that Mel Gibson took it up with Disney on his recent Mayan tale.

;)
 
Dark City!! great flick for sure. very relevant.

as for Geoffrey Reggio.. the first in the trilogy is by far the best.. did u see the 3rd?? a little bit of a waste i'd say. i'm looking forward to seeing ron fricke's new one when it comes out.

speaking of mel gibson.. apocalypto? is that it.. its coming out soon. i might be interested in seeing that.

brazil!!!!!!!!!!!! amazing flick! i really love the work of terry gilliam.
 
How about the "Butterfly Effect" where Ashton Kutcher goes back in time to change things in a manner he least expected? Just goes to show that things do not turn out the way we wish for.
 
Yes pescado, you are right about the acting, but I was more looking at the concept of time travel and it's consequences and in that sense, I think, it may have a point. So although, 4D STS have time travel capabilities and they can alter the past to affect the present or future, things don't always work out as planned or as they wished it to be. OSIT.
 
its too bad an interesting premise was wasted on Ashton Kutcher. even worse was the woman that played his mother... yikes!
 
i have to agree, Dark City is an amazing flick!


here are some others that might be interesting for people who haven't seen them yet:

Wall Street - a great example on psychopathy and also an eye opener on how the financial system works.

Network - a classic look into the machinations of the television industry

Bob Roberts - i found this to be way ahead of it's time - it might have seemed like a satire back when it came out, but today it's a chilling look at the reality of the political process

The Manchurian Candidate - the exellent original as well as the remake are definitely worth a look


these are also good, for people who like movies that play with the perception of reality, but they are only partly relevant to our field of interest:

eXistenZ, The Butterfly Effect (Director's Cut!), Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spottless Mind
 
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