Amazing Movies - What Do You Think?

dholt wrote on 8/8/2004, 4:14 PM
I watch a lot of documentaries, foreign and indie films. This years crop of FX Hollywood films has been dismal. Sorry about the ADD moment.

Last night I watched City of God and WOW, what a movie. I really enjoyed the way it was filmed and how the story was told. I like these edgy type of movies. Momento also comes to mind as another great. I learn a lot from these types of movies by trying to imitate what is great about them and hopefully add my own style as well to my own short little movies.

What movies have you scene that left you inspired and why?
The Res Fest DVD's are also right up there, especially vol 2.

Comments

bStro wrote on 8/8/2004, 5:37 PM
El Mariachi.

Not the movie, so much, as the audio commentary provided by Robert Rodriguez on the DVD. It gives hope to potential flmmakers with little or no budgets. And it's just great to hear what he was able to accomplish...and funny as hell to hear how he accomplished it. ;)

Rob
mgrackin wrote on 8/8/2004, 6:43 PM
I second Rob's comment. I read Rebel Without a Crew which is written by Robert Rodriguez documenting how he ended up making El Mariachi and how it rocketed him into the industry. I then rented El Mariachi and also got a big kick and an education out of the commentary and the 10-minute film school extra on the DVD. Robert R. is truly an inspiration because he loves making movies. He had a plan to learn from making three movies about the Mariachi character before breaking into the industry. He just happened to hit it big with the first one. Read the book. It's not so much a teaching book but rather his story about making El MAriachi and how it got him into the industry. It's definitely worth reading.
Orcatek wrote on 8/8/2004, 7:24 PM
It was fun to watch the DVD with the book, and follow along with the script and notes. Great story.

ReneH wrote on 8/8/2004, 8:35 PM
I almost got a chance in attending the premier of Dusk till Dawn some years back. A fellow Resp. Therapist I came across happened to be his brother and he was very excited for Robert. He told me how Robert had put El Mariachi together on a shoe string budget and how he manged to shoot the movie almost entirely in one location. Just awesome!
mbelli wrote on 8/8/2004, 9:34 PM

Here's my list of the very best indie films and docs.

Great Indie movies:

The Celebration, Thomas Vinterberg *** this started the DV revolution, little wee DV8 camera, great story, great filmmaker -- equals Internationa success. Who would have ever though!

Diner, Barry Levinson

Leaving Las Vegas, Mike Figgis

Do the Right Thing, Spike Lee

Y Tu Mamá También, Alfonso Cuarón

Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola

Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Alejandro González Iñárritu

City of God, Kátia Lund, Fernando Meirelles

Station Agent, Thomas McCarthy

Metropolitan, Whit Stillman

Sex, lies and videotape, Steven Soderbergh

Blood Simple, Coen Brothers

Sling Blade, Billy Bob Thorton

Down By Law, Stranger the Paradise, Jim Jarmush

Return of the Secaucus 7, John Sayles

Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino

You Can Count on Me, You Can Count on Me

Paris, Texas, American Friend, Wings of Desire, Wim Wenders

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, Peter Greenaway

Strictly Ballroom, Baz Luhrmann

Heavenly Creatures, Peter Jackson

Local Hero, Bill Forsyth

The Crying Game, Neil Jordan

Drugstore Cowboy, Gus Van Sant

Secret & Lies, Mike Leigh

My Left Foot, Jim Sheridan

My Beautiful Laundrette, Stephen Frears

Dance with a Stranger, Mike Newell

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Guy Ritchie

Easy Rider, Dennis Hopper

Swingers, Doug Liman

My Dinner WIth Andre

Chasing Amy, Kevin Smith

Breaking the Waves, Lars von Trier

Boys Don't Cry, Kimberly Peirce

Paris Texas, Win Wenders

Before Sunrise & Suburbia, Richard Linklater

Ruby in Paradise, Victor Nunez

Tender Mercies, Bruce Beresford

Badlands, Days of Heaven, Terrence Malick


Docs:

Lets Get Lost, **** this is my favorite doc of all time on, Bruce Weber's heart breaking profile of Chet Baker, the first doc to really use still photographs creatively, wonderful film.

The Kid Stays In The Picture, I saw this at Robert Evans house, which was weird cause I was seated on his couch watching the screen in the Evans screening room (a legendary place in Hollywood apparently), and of course I see the film projected which features the house and the screening room, and see pics of Rachel Welch, Ali McCraw, etc sitting exactly where I'm sitting watching the movie, bizarre. Anyway, a really well crafted , entertaining documentary with unique/influential still photography work which is now being copied in films like Tupac: Resurrection (which is also very good by the way)

Kids, Larry Clark

Burdens of Dreams **** Les Blank, what more can you say

Gimme Shelterr, the Maysles brothers at their best

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse

Bowling for Columbine

Capturing The Friedmans

Hoop Dreams, Stevie

Civil War, Jazz, Ken Burns is the man!

Thin Blue Line

Brothers Keeper, Paradise Lost I & 2 - Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky

Woodstock

28 Up





MB
Stonefield wrote on 8/8/2004, 10:53 PM
Coming from a photography background, I'm inspired by movies that have very lush, cinematic visuals. Just a couple that come to mind...
( And I know I'll wake up at 3 am with 10 more )...

Bladerunner ( one of the best looking movies I've seen )

Saving Private Ryan ( The opening photography really kicks butt )

Amelie ( just a beautiful looking movie )

Moulin Rouge ( a wonderful collage of imagery )

Legend ( Ridley Scott knows how to paint a movie )

Casablanca & Citizen Kane ( I know, cheap choices but they visually still hold up. )

King Kong 1933 ( I loved the smokey depths they created for both the jungle and the city. )

Many many more I might add later. These are all movies that have influenced me in regards to how a movie can achieve a certain look. For anyone interested in movies and cinematography, I recommend a fantastic documentary called Visions of Light - The Art of Cinematography....

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105764/

Take it easy...

Stan
Nathan_Shane wrote on 8/8/2004, 11:21 PM
I agree with others here in the films already listed, but a recent one I would now add to my list would be "Last Man Standing" with Bruce Willis.

I was impressed with how it looks to be done completely in a "brownish-yellow" color tone.

Amelie wins for being a great movie for "color variety & richness" but more importantly for the camera directing and movements. The behind the scenes documentary explains the camera work.
busterkeaton wrote on 8/8/2004, 11:53 PM
Um, Kids is not a documentary.
filmy wrote on 8/9/2004, 1:13 AM
>>>What movies have you scene that left you inspired and why? <<<

So many - but lets see here are a few less obvious ones maybe -

Coming Home - just an amazing war film that never takes you into actual combat. The scene where Jon Voight looses it in the VA hospital and screams and breaks his cane made me cry. And that is because it reminded me, and still does, of seeing my father do almost the same thing at home, out in the yard. While the reasons were different the reality of that scene was 100% on the money...someone coming to grips with the loss of being able to walk, among other things.

A Painful Reminder - one of the most powerful documentaries I have ever seen. My personal insperation on the power and need for documentaries.

Bombies - another amazing documentary. One of those things that history sorts of tosses under the rug, at least American history. I don't think most people know the pain and suffering caused by our attacks in Laos and the bombs that still are going off.

Almost any film directed by Preston Sturges. If you look at where we are today and what he was doing in the 30's and the 40's - the guy was pure genius and way ahead of his time. And the fact he got away with some of the subject matter he did is even more amazing. He was a director who truely got that film was called "moving pictures" for a reason.

The Dark Backwards - twisted film that has amazing set design.

Eraserhead - twisted film that has amazing sound design. (And still a damn cool effect with the baby - pre-cgi and debates about how it was done.)

The Blue Bird - A really strange Shirley Temple film that someone felt would be the studios 'answer' to MGM's Wizard of Oz. I have never been sure if I find the film depressing, disturbing or uplifting. Dead children (or their souls maybe) crying out for their mommies and daddies while searching for the Blue Bird of happiness is just plain weird. I supose with Hollywood being remake and sequel crazy they can try to get the Olsen twins to update it and redo it as some post Columbine musical with a message...but it would still be a twisted, disturbing film.

The Stuntman - first words after I first saw it - "Now *there's* a film!". And it feels somewhat dated viewing it today due to things like motion control rigs and the like I still am amazed, even more so, at the pre-planning that went into shooting this and edtiing it. It just flows.

Ok these next ones may seem off the wall but -
Last American Virgin - Boaz Davidson remade his own film for American viewers. (Called "Lemon Popsicle", made in the late 70's in Israel ) It was tasteless in parts but underneath it all was a powerful teen film that had a very un-hollywood ending. Some of the best things about the film was the fact the actors were either teens or early 20's - they weren't 25 - 35 year olds tying to act like high schoolers. Teen sex, pregnacy and abortion - all pretty straight forward and not for laughs. Maybe if the Porky's vibe was cut out the film would have been looked at in a much different light.

Plan 9 From Outer Space - ok, so follow me here - overlook how bad the film is. One scene has always stood out to me. It was like someone had this little important point to make and had one semi-billant scene and had to come up with an entire film and the only way to get that scene out was to put in into a no-budget sci-fi film. The film just goes along and this one scene comes out of nowhere and than goes back to the film we know and love - the scene is in the "space ship" and it is something to do with we stupid humans just not getting it, how we just want to destroy everything.

Carnival of Souls - who needs dialog? And how does someone sell a script like this? It would be 5 pages long - sopme dialog and a car crash. Fade down and fade up to someone walking around for the rest of the film. Thankfully someone did make the film because it is a great example of how to be creepy and set a mood with not a lot of explination really needed. Music and camera work set the mood.

And there are so many more - I could blab for hours.