The Official Movie Thread
- Thread starter Manic Ferocity
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Oblivious Maximus
I am the worm
What exactly are you looking for? "Art house" is such a blanket term, it could really mean anything.
Jimmy... Dead.
contemplative curmudgeon
Yea I guess. Um, I'm looking for something experimental, weird, symbolic = like Antichrist or Under the skin
Oblivious Maximus
I am the worm
Are you familiar with Andrzej Zulawski? His film Possession (1981) was clearly an influence on Antichrist. Other films of his that fit the "experimental, weird and symbolic" criteria:
The Third Part of the Night (1971)
Diabel (1972)
On The Silver Globe (1977/88)
La femme publique (1984)
Szamanka (1996)
Alain Robbe-Grillet is also another filmmaker who's world is worth exploring if your looking for abstract films.
*Probably NSFW:
The Third Part of the Night (1971)
Diabel (1972)
On The Silver Globe (1977/88)
La femme publique (1984)
Szamanka (1996)
Alain Robbe-Grillet is also another filmmaker who's world is worth exploring if your looking for abstract films.
*Probably NSFW:
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Jimmy... Dead.
contemplative curmudgeon
No I'm not familiar. I'll definitely be checking those out soon. Thank you
Does your blog cover the genre as well?
Does your blog cover the genre as well?
Oblivious Maximus
I am the worm
I suppose. That's kind why I put the (Mostly) in the description because a good portion of the films I cover have a tendency to cross genres and blend elements of art/horror/exploitation and things of the like.
no country for old wainds
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Jimmy... Dead.
contemplative curmudgeon
EDIT: oh another vote for Zulawski huh, I have to check this guy out huh
@ObliMax Oh cool. I'm looking over your blog right now. Good stuff man.
A couple of months ago Ein recommended a movie called Pontypool that I really enjoyed. Happen to see it? If so, know anything like it?
Also, did you see Under the skin? what did ya think?
@ObliMax Oh cool. I'm looking over your blog right now. Good stuff man.
A couple of months ago Ein recommended a movie called Pontypool that I really enjoyed. Happen to see it? If so, know anything like it?
Also, did you see Under the skin? what did ya think?
no country for old wainds
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i tend to think stuff like AGUIRRE THE WRATH OF GOD (herzog), STALKER (tarkovsky), THE SEVENTH SEAL (bergman) and WOMAN IN THE DUNES (teshigahara) would appeal to metalheads, all of them total classics. and then there's LAST YEAR IN MARIENBAD (resnais) which is kind of the ultimate for weird experimental symbolic movies. you might be aware of these already though, they're gateways into the arthouse for a lot of people. some more obscure stuff i've seen recently that fits the mould is ANGEL'S EGG (oshii), MORNING PATROL (nikolaidis) and VINYAN (du welz) which is very ANTICHRISTish. DON'T LOOK NOW (roeg) is also a major influence on ANTICHRIST.
from the past few years i'd suggest stuff like MISTER JOHN (molloy, lawlor), HOLY MOTORS (carax), COSMOPOLIS (cronenberg), THE TURIN HORSE (tarr), A FIELD IN ENGLAND (wheatley). be warned though, some of these are love/hate type deals.
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POSSESSION is widely beloved by film buffs, total classic.
PONTYPOOL is probably overambitious and trying too hard but it's fun, basically a treatise on roland barthes and language being a virus 'n shit wrapped up in a zombie movie lol, can't go wrong with that. i can't think of anything similar offhand but i'll have a think.
and oohhhh i just thought, BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW (cosmatos) is another recent one i'd recommend.
Jimmy... Dead.
contemplative curmudgeon
EDIT: man you're killing me lol. This is good though, you guys are awesome. ok first I'm checking out Possession then idk heh
I agree Pontypool was fun and the language stuff was definitely cool. I think that's why Ein rec'd it.
I've seen 3 of te movies you mentioned. Damn I need to get on this. I watched Stalker and didnt get it at first. The second time around I was in a really good calm mood (Vicodin) and I was blown away by it.
I seem to need to be high on thc or opiates to get into these movies and stay focused and when I do I enjoy them with such a great intensity I end up watching it sober again and again. I know that sounds silly and amateurish but it works for me
I agree Pontypool was fun and the language stuff was definitely cool. I think that's why Ein rec'd it.
I've seen 3 of te movies you mentioned. Damn I need to get on this. I watched Stalker and didnt get it at first. The second time around I was in a really good calm mood (Vicodin) and I was blown away by it.
I seem to need to be high on thc or opiates to get into these movies and stay focused and when I do I enjoy them with such a great intensity I end up watching it sober again and again. I know that sounds silly and amateurish but it works for me
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cool man, i think everyone has that initial bewilderment when faced with tarkovsky haha. i actually think MIRROR is his best, but that one's even more stream-of-consciousnessy. which are the other ones you've seen from my list, out of interest?
Jimmy... Dead.
contemplative curmudgeon
The Seventh Seal and Aguirre, the Wrath of God. Oh and some of Cosmopolis. I never finished watching it.
Also, random, but I thought Valhalla Rising was excellent. The ambience just completely took me over. Bronson is another from that director I really like too
I always wanted to ask, who's the character in your avatar?
Also, random, but I thought Valhalla Rising was excellent. The ambience just completely took me over. Bronson is another from that director I really like too
I always wanted to ask, who's the character in your avatar?
no country for old wainds
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it's elliott gould in THE LONG GOODBYE. one of the great noirs of the '70s, full of jazzy melancholy - i suspect it was an influence on INHERENT VICE, for those of you who've seen it. altman is a great director in general, i'm a big fan.
i didn't really get into VALHALLA RISING in my one viewing, it was TOO stylised for me at the time i think, but i reckon i would've dug it more on drugs, haha. i think that one fits pretty well with some of my other recommendations anyway.
just to elaborate on a few of my picks to help you choose... WOMAN IN THE DUNES is an absolute must-see, it could IMO be the greatest of all the existential allegories in all artistic mediums. once seen it's never forgotten, it's completely otherworldly and transporting. i wrote about it in much more depth here but it's probably better to watch it before you read that. the less you know going in the better.
capsule i wrote on ANGEL'S EGG:
MORNING PATROL is kind of similar except it's not animated, and it's actually russian rather than just russian-styled. but yeah, another tonally masterful dystopian sci-fi with awe-inspiring imagery.
DON'T LOOK NOW and VINYAN are both comparable to ANTICHRIST mainly because they're anxious psychological horror stories about parents dealing with the loss of a child. again, both full of atmosphere and striking images.
MISTER JOHN i reviewed here, it's a wonderful and criminally underseen movie about a guy who, upon hearing that his brother has drowned, travels to his home and gradually starts to... become him. maybe it's not as abstract as what you're looking for, but it's a very understated film heavy with symbolism and this real sad, dreamy vibe. aiden gillen stars, dude from THE WIRE and GAME OF THRONES.
HOLY MOTORS is kind of indescribable, it follows an actor who acts out various roles and the lines between performance and reality blur, has a very bleak and elegiac vibe to it. comparable to COSMOPOLIS in that the main character is cruising around in a limo. you might feel something and you might not (i personally think it gradually builds up an emotional throughline but i get why some people find it incoherent), but i guarantee you won't be bored by this movie, it absolutely bursts with creativity and weirdness.
THE TURIN HORSE is the last, shortest, easiest film by probably the most respected arthouse director of the past 25 years, bela tarr. his masterpiece is supposedly SATANTANGO (i haven't seen it because 9 fucking hours i mean come on), but this one is enough to show what an incredible sculptor of images and moods he is. it's elemental stuff, very black metal actually.
A FIELD IN ENGLAND is like WITCHFINDER GENERAL on shrooms. a lot of people seem to hate it but it was one of my favourites of the past couple years; it's disturbing on some kind of primal level, full of hilarious gallows humour, and is just generally a total headfuck. wheatley's upcoming adaptation of ballard's HIGH RISE is possibly my most anticipated movie of the coming year.
i didn't really get into VALHALLA RISING in my one viewing, it was TOO stylised for me at the time i think, but i reckon i would've dug it more on drugs, haha. i think that one fits pretty well with some of my other recommendations anyway.
just to elaborate on a few of my picks to help you choose... WOMAN IN THE DUNES is an absolute must-see, it could IMO be the greatest of all the existential allegories in all artistic mediums. once seen it's never forgotten, it's completely otherworldly and transporting. i wrote about it in much more depth here but it's probably better to watch it before you read that. the less you know going in the better.
capsule i wrote on ANGEL'S EGG:
MORNING PATROL is kind of similar except it's not animated, and it's actually russian rather than just russian-styled. but yeah, another tonally masterful dystopian sci-fi with awe-inspiring imagery.
DON'T LOOK NOW and VINYAN are both comparable to ANTICHRIST mainly because they're anxious psychological horror stories about parents dealing with the loss of a child. again, both full of atmosphere and striking images.
MISTER JOHN i reviewed here, it's a wonderful and criminally underseen movie about a guy who, upon hearing that his brother has drowned, travels to his home and gradually starts to... become him. maybe it's not as abstract as what you're looking for, but it's a very understated film heavy with symbolism and this real sad, dreamy vibe. aiden gillen stars, dude from THE WIRE and GAME OF THRONES.
HOLY MOTORS is kind of indescribable, it follows an actor who acts out various roles and the lines between performance and reality blur, has a very bleak and elegiac vibe to it. comparable to COSMOPOLIS in that the main character is cruising around in a limo. you might feel something and you might not (i personally think it gradually builds up an emotional throughline but i get why some people find it incoherent), but i guarantee you won't be bored by this movie, it absolutely bursts with creativity and weirdness.
THE TURIN HORSE is the last, shortest, easiest film by probably the most respected arthouse director of the past 25 years, bela tarr. his masterpiece is supposedly SATANTANGO (i haven't seen it because 9 fucking hours i mean come on), but this one is enough to show what an incredible sculptor of images and moods he is. it's elemental stuff, very black metal actually.
A FIELD IN ENGLAND is like WITCHFINDER GENERAL on shrooms. a lot of people seem to hate it but it was one of my favourites of the past couple years; it's disturbing on some kind of primal level, full of hilarious gallows humour, and is just generally a total headfuck. wheatley's upcoming adaptation of ballard's HIGH RISE is possibly my most anticipated movie of the coming year.
Oblivious Maximus
I am the worm
Fuck yeah Cosmos! I nearly shit myself when I read the news. Seemed to come out of nowhere. The material is tailor made for Zulawski. Its been far too long, his voice is one contemporary cinema needs to hear.
You also mentioned Last Year at Marienbad which was actually written by Robbe-Grillet whom I mentioned a few posts above. Have you seen any of the films he directed?
Thanks Jimmy for the compliments about the blog. I try
no country for old wainds
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Fuck yeah Cosmos! I nearly shit myself when I read the news. Seemed to come out of nowhere. The material is tailor made for Zulawski. Its been far too long, his voice is one contemporary cinema needs to hear.
You also mentioned Last Year at Marienbad which was actually written by Robbe-Grillet whom I mentioned a few posts above. Have you seen any of the films he directed?
Thanks Jimmy for the compliments about the blog. I try
this year fucking owns for movies, dude. zulawski, apichatpong, hou (finally), malick, gomes, t. davies, to, panahi, j. trier (finally), costa, kiarostami maybe, jia maybe, m. mann, mad motherfucking max, hertzfeldt feature length, r. andersson, haynes, mctiernan!, skolimowski, tarantino, lanthimos, sokurov, verhoeven, and shitloads of others by directors who aren't as canonised but have been making great stuff recently.
i know of R-G, but no. where should i start? EDEN AND AFTER has been on my watchlist a while.
Oblivious Maximus
I am the worm
Eden and After is probably my favorite of his but it can switch places with Successive Slidings of Pleasure (1974) from time to time. His debut film L'Immortelle (1963) could basically be seen as a cousin film to Marienbad with both featuring his "nouvelle roman" style of fragmented narrative translated to film. Its a beautiful film that's hard not to get completely lost in. He only directed 9 films but the following I'd say are essential:
L'Immortelle (1963)
Trans-Europ-Express (1967)
Eden and After (1970)
Successive Slidings of Pleasure (1974)
La belle captive (1983)
Gradiva (2006)
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Jimmy... Dead.
contemplative curmudgeon
Just finished Possession. Well holy shit. It made me want to watch it in a theatre maaaaaan. The scene in the hallway/tunnel was fucking intense, when she sits down, whoa. Quite disturbing, bizarre, emotional, the symbolism/meaning; shit it had everything. Genuine horror. I need to digest it again. thanks ObliMax and nocountry.
Also that actress was brilliant and not to mention gorgeous.
Also that actress was brilliant and not to mention gorgeous.
