The Movie Recommendations Thread

For the discussion of movies and TV shows not distributed by Toho.
mikelcho
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Re: The Movie Recommendations Thread

Post by mikelcho »

mikelcho wrote: Wed May 04, 2022 7:24 pm
Jetty_Jags wrote: Wed May 04, 2022 6:49 pm
mikelcho wrote: Wed May 04, 2022 5:46 pm I believe an explanation is long since overdue here.

On the last day that my family lived in PA in 1977 before we took the Autotrain to move to FL, we spent the night at my grandparents on my dad's side's house. I was sleeping on a sofa bed it Grandpa's den, and before I went to bed, I watched The Birds on TV (I'd already read a condensed version of Daphne DuMaurier's short story the film was based on in a school magazine when I was in junoir high school (the magazine had a very impressive cover picture for it, btw)). Scared the pants off of me back then; still does now (like they say, you never forget your first time). I cannot watch the part where Melanie Daniels goes into the upstairs room in the Brenner's house without thinking "No, Melanie, don't do it!", knowing full well she's going to do it anyway (they never listen to me). And that ending. Oh, that ending - where, as the Brenners and Melenie drive off into the distance, all the birds at the house start raising a ruckus which, to this day, still sounds to me like they're all laughing in triumph, as if they're saying "We've won...it's just a matter of time!"
I want to apologize, my intent was not to devaluate your opinion/suggestion, and if it did I am sorry for that. I just wanted to share that going into this film with a certain mindset kind of soured my own initial experience with it, so others might be a little more receptive of it. I didn't mean to put you on the defensive, hope this clarifies things.
Oh no, no trouble at all! I always like to tell this story; it gets better every time I tell it! One day, I'm going to have to tell the one about The Stepford Wives (1974).
Another movie I saw at my Grandma and Grandpa's house one night was Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971). Boy, did I have fun watching that one, a 1970s pastiche of the Universal "monster rally" films of the 1940s.

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eabaker
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Re: The Movie Recommendations Thread

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mikelcho wrote: Fri May 06, 2022 5:52 am Another movie I saw at my Grandma and Grandpa's house one night was Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971). Boy, did I have fun watching that one, a 1970s pastiche of the Universal "monster rally" films of the 1940s.
I haven't seen that one in over 25 years!

To be fair, I also can't exactly say I've missed it... ;)
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mikelcho
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Re: The Movie Recommendations Thread

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eabaker wrote: Fri May 06, 2022 8:35 am
mikelcho wrote: Fri May 06, 2022 5:52 am Another movie I saw at my Grandma and Grandpa's house one night was Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971). Boy, did I have fun watching that one, a 1970s pastiche of the Universal "monster rally" films of the 1940s.
I haven't seen that one in over 25 years!

To be fair, I also can't exactly say I've missed it... ;)
Yeah, I know, it's definitely an acquired taste. It's one of those "so-bad-it's-good" monster films and the one that director Al Adamson is most remembered for.

It's also the first of three 1970s Frankenstein films to use the original lab equipment from Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). The other two were Blackenstein (1973) and, of course, Young Frankenstein (1974).

According to the Sinister Cinema catalog, one more film in the 1980s used the equipment, and that was Frankenstein Island (1981). But this is the only source I have for this information, and I haven't even seen this film, so I don't know if it's valid or not.

After that, the equipment was retired and is now displayed in a museum (I don't remember which one, however; can anyone help me out here?).
Last edited by mikelcho on Sat May 07, 2022 1:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Angilasman
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Re: The Movie Recommendations Thread

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shadowgigan wrote: Fri May 06, 2022 10:33 am Samurai/jidaigeki films?
Well, the ones most westerners seem familiar with are the big Kurosawa ones (Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Ran) plus Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy (also starting Toshiro Mifune). Samurai Trilogy actually left me cold - should probably rewatch it one of these days - but I adore the Kurosawa films.

Going beyond those, two filmmakers did some iconic '60s films that offered a more cynical take on the samurai and these are also hugely influential:

Hideo Gosha - Three Outlaw Samurai and Sword of Doom.

Masaki Kobayashi - Harakiri and Samurai Rebellion.

Once you watch these I think you've got your fundamentals.

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Re: The Movie Recommendations Thread

Post by Kaltes-Herzeleid »

If anyone likes old black and white classic monster/horror films I'd highly recommend 1931's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Blows Universal's Frankenstein and Dracula out of the water, far as I'm concerned.
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Re: The Movie Recommendations Thread

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Kaltes-Herzeleid wrote: Sat May 07, 2022 11:41 am If anyone likes old black and white classic monster/horror films I'd highly recommend 1931's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Blows Universal's Frankenstein and Dracula out of the water, far as I'm concerned.
While I wouldn't go so far as to say it blows Frankenstein out of the water (both films are dramatically strong and extremely innovative in their style/technique), it definitely has a stronger narrative structure than either, some magnificent performances, and was extremely influential in both its visual presentation and its psychological underpinnings. Easily among the very best of its era.
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Angilasman
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Re: The Movie Recommendations Thread

Post by Angilasman »

As a huge fan of '30s horror I'm somewhat embarrassed to say I've never seen that version of Jekyll! I've been waiting for a blu-ray release and I hear tell the Warner Archive will put it out this fall.

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Re: The Movie Recommendations Thread

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Angilasman wrote: Sat May 07, 2022 11:13 am
shadowgigan wrote: Fri May 06, 2022 10:33 am Samurai/jidaigeki films?
Well, the ones most westerners seem familiar with are the big Kurosawa ones (Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Ran) plus Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy (also starting Toshiro Mifune). Samurai Trilogy actually left me cold - should probably rewatch it one of these days - but I adore the Kurosawa films.

Going beyond those, two filmmakers did some iconic '60s films that offered a more cynical take on the samurai and these are also hugely influential:

Hideo Gosha - Three Outlaw Samurai and Sword of Doom.

Masaki Kobayashi - Harakiri and Samurai Rebellion.

Once you watch these I think you've got your fundamentals.
I’ve seen harakiri. Was pretty good. Will check out the other films. Thanks!

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Re: The Movie Recommendations Thread

Post by Spuro »

Kaltes-Herzeleid wrote: Sat May 07, 2022 11:41 am If anyone likes old black and white classic monster/horror films I'd highly recommend 1931's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Blows Universal's Frankenstein and Dracula out of the water, far as I'm concerned.
Yes. YEEEES. I second this one. Some pretty flipping great cinematography, acting (I think), and special effects in this one.

(I do have to defend Frankenstein though; that one’s pretty great too. James Whale’s my favorite Universal Horror director by a pretty significant margin.)

Added in 17 minutes 28 seconds:
shadowgigan wrote: Sat May 07, 2022 7:14 pm
Angilasman wrote: Sat May 07, 2022 11:13 am
shadowgigan wrote: Fri May 06, 2022 10:33 am Samurai/jidaigeki films?
Well, the ones most westerners seem familiar with are the big Kurosawa ones (Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Ran) plus Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy (also starting Toshiro Mifune). Samurai Trilogy actually left me cold - should probably rewatch it one of these days - but I adore the Kurosawa films.

Going beyond those, two filmmakers did some iconic '60s films that offered a more cynical take on the samurai and these are also hugely influential:

Hideo Gosha - Three Outlaw Samurai and Sword of Doom.

Masaki Kobayashi - Harakiri and Samurai Rebellion.

Once you watch these I think you've got your fundamentals.
I’ve seen harakiri. Was pretty good. Will check out the other films. Thanks!
If I may make some recommendations from the Kurosawa list provided…

Yojimbo, and to a lesser extent it’s sequel, Sanjuro, is a very easy starting point. Kurosawa’s films have a reputation for being pretty long, and that length can sometimes be intimidating to a newcomer. Yojimbo and Sanjuro are much shorter experiences (I think they clock in at around the 80-90 minute mark but don’t quote me on this), and they function somewhat as crowd-pleasers, with plenty of action, comedy, and tension backed by a wonderful Masaru Sato score (same composer behind a number of our Godzilla films.)

If you had to ask me, Seven Samurai and ESPECIALLY Ran are his best ones. Ran in particular is flipping gorgeous. But they’re also very long films, and Ran in particular emphasizes a much darker Kurosawa than I’ve seen in his other films. They still come highly recommended by me, but they maybe won’t work as the best starting point.
Last edited by Spuro on Sun May 08, 2022 5:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Movie Recommendations Thread

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Just rewatched John Carpenter’s, Christine, and damn is it a joy ride. Out of the three carpenter films I’ve watched in the past year, this has been my favorite. Even though I don’t expect many to come away with that same opinion, it’s an all around great time, and manages to hold together quite well in spite of its rather silly premise, I highly recommend.
Last edited by Jetty_Jags on Sun May 08, 2022 6:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Movie Recommendations Thread

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Jetty_Jags wrote: Sun May 08, 2022 6:14 am Just rewatched John Carpenter’s, Christine, and damn is it a joy ride. Out of the three carpenter films I’ve watched in the past year, this has been my favorite. Even though I don’t expect many to come away with that same opinion, it’s an all around great time, and manages to hold together quite well in spite of its rather silly premise, I highly recommend.
The special effects during the
Spoiler:
self-repairing car
scenes made my jaw drop.
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Re: The Movie Recommendations Thread

Post by Jetty_Jags »

A common complaint I’ve heard with Pixar’s film Up, is that the beginning is so brilliantly done, and yet that the rest of the movie losses itself in the more fantastical elements. While not an opinion I actually subscribe to, if this is how you feel, check out the Swedish film “A man called Ove”. It’s still has the grumpy old man who learns to enjoy life again but forgoes any mention of balloons floating houses away and exotic birds. I should preface though, that it’s also somewhat of a dark comedy with a reoccurring gag about one continually being interrupted in their suicide attempts, but I think it plays with it in a more than tasteful way (and it’s not nearly as awful as I make it sound).
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Major sssspielberg!
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Re: The Movie Recommendations Thread

Post by Major sssspielberg! »

I don't think people talk about Kurosawa's Dreams enough. It's such a whimsical and beautiful collection of stories, almost like a moving painting gallery. It's like Kurosawa managed to condense his love for creating art into one piece.
plus I get the biggest kick out of Marty as Van Gogh
Kaltes-Herzeleid wrote: Thu Jan 06, 2022 9:44 am I love Final Wars. I praise Final Wars. Simple as.

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Re: The Movie Recommendations Thread

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Major sssspielberg! wrote: Sat Jul 09, 2022 7:33 am I don't think people talk about Kurosawa's Dreams enough. It's such a whimsical and beautiful collection of stories, almost like a moving painting gallery. It's like Kurosawa managed to condense his love for creating art into one piece.
plus I get the biggest kick out of Marty as Van Gogh
And it should be of particular interest to people on this board, since of the five Kurosawa/Honda "co-directed" films, this is the one on which Honda's influence is most immediately apparent.
Last edited by eabaker on Sat Jul 09, 2022 9:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Movie Recommendations Thread

Post by Terasawa »

A TCM recommendation: at 12 a.m. overnight on July 19 (actually July 20) is arguably the best horror film of the 1950s, the Lewtonesque Curse of the Demon.

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Re: The Movie Recommendations Thread

Post by Tyrant_Lizard_King »

Fun movie. Always been partial to it.
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Re: The Movie Recommendations Thread

Post by mikelcho »

I've got this film on a DVD release titled Curse of the Demon/Night of the Demon.

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Re: The Movie Recommendations Thread

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Spuro wrote: Sun May 08, 2022 6:16 am
Jetty_Jags wrote: Sun May 08, 2022 6:14 am Just rewatched John Carpenter’s, Christine, and damn is it a joy ride. Out of the three carpenter films I’ve watched in the past year, this has been my favorite. Even though I don’t expect many to come away with that same opinion, it’s an all around great time, and manages to hold together quite well in spite of its rather silly premise, I highly recommend.
The special effects during the
Spoiler:
self-repairing car
scenes made my jaw drop.
Yeah, that's one of the two good scenes in the film,
Spoiler:
the one when the bullied kid stands in front of the wreck of Christine and simply says "Show me". Then the car puts itself back together and he doesn't even flinch or nothin'! He just looks at it as if it's all perfectly normal.
Then there's this one
Spoiler:
at the end of the film, where the three teens are standing in a junkyard in front of the crushed metal cube that was Christine, and the girl, whose leg is in a cast and is on crutches, says "God, how I hate rock and roll". Then, a long, twisted piece of metal sticking out of the cube moves just an itty-bitty bit and makes a small, slight, barely-heard creaking noise.

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Re: The Movie Recommendations Thread

Post by Anguirus »

Did somebody say Curse of the Demon?
Great film. The ending is creepy.
Other classic British horror films are Village of the Damned and The Innocents.

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