Very Unique Movies (theaters, adventure, disturbing, actress)

[oeccscclhjhn]

Originally Posted by ciceropolo

OK I'm going to try and give a list across genres and eras to provide movies some of which are different - unique or were one of earliest or just the best of their 'kind'. Some are cinematic masterpieces others which are 'different' and stand out as memorable in some way, whether the character portrayals, evocative atmosphere or something that sticks in the memory.

An assorted odd lot mix FWIW:
Grand Hotel 1932 - 1st ensemble all star cast
Old Dark House 1932 - archetype of horror
Freaks 1932 - bizarre horror
Duck Soup - 1933 marx bros comedy lampoon of war politics et al classic
Ecstasy 1933- young woman marries older man for money (infamous for nude scene - Hedy Lamarr)
Lost Horizon 1937 - If you found a place where you could live forever...
The Great Dictator - 1940 Charlie Chaplin
None But The Lonely Heart 1944 drama (Clifford Odets)
Dead Of Night 1945 - horror vignettes - sort of precursor to Twilight Zone
Snake Pit - 1946 (drama psychotic realism
Odd Man Out - 1947 - (film noir - James Mason as man on run)
The Long Night - 1947 (desperate man cornered, Henry Fonda, and how he arrived at that place)
Treasure of The Sierra Madre - 1948 (what greed does to people)
The Third Man - 1949
In A Lonely Place - 1950
Singin In The Rain - 1952 best musical
The Bad and The Beautiful - 1952 (Hollywood life)
Diabolique - 1955
Marty- 1955 realistic romance
Night of the Hunter - 1955 (surreal creepy)
Baby Doll - 1956 (unpleasant people at their worst behaviors)
The Searchers - 1956 (idealized Western archetypes)
The Seventh Seal - 1957 (Ingmar Bergman)
Peeping Tom - 1960 (psychodrama)
Something Wild - 1961 (psychodrama)
Bunny Lake Is Missing - 1965
Incubus - 1966 (good - evil)
Planet of the Apes - 1968 sci fi
2001 A Space Odyssey - 1968
A Clockwork Orange - 1971 (scifi drama dark)
Silent Running - 1972 (scifi serious)
A Boy And His Dog - 1975 (scifi drama lite)
Network - 1976 (insight into mass media)
Life of Brian - 1979 (Monty Python at their best; comedy sketches)
Blue Velvet - 1986 David Lynch
Unbearable Lightness of Being - 1988 (romance drama)
The Last Seduction - 1994 (drama female specie at her most conniving)
Gattacca - 1997 scifi future w genetic designer children)
Wag The Dog - 1997 (How pseudo events are staged and marketed)
What Dreams May Come - 1998 scifi
Herod's Law - 1999 (what happens when people get power)
The Girl On The Bridge - 1999 (captivating romance)
Mulholland Drive - 2001 David Lynch
Russian Ark - 2002
The Singing Detective - 2003 Robt Downey hallucinating
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - 2004

Phew.... that will keep someone busy during the cold winter months

all i have to say is - Great list!

[Felix C]

Interesting what folks consider unique. I think demographics have much to do with it. The older we are the more different types of films we are exposed to and the definition of unique evolves.

[oeccscclhjhn]

From the perspective of the viewer; first time or rewatching a film, maybe after a long interval, uniqueness will be subjective - e.g. hey rick, check this out.

[Michael Way]

I think the 1948 film, 'Portrait of Jennie' qualifies as a unique movie. Here is a better description of it than I could give.

Portrait of Jennie - Rotten Tomatoes


And I don't think that anyone would deny that the 1939 movie 'The Wizard of Oz' is quite unique.

[Michael Way]

Originally Posted by Mike555

Bagdad Cafe (1987) qualifies as unique, different, and odd (in a good way). It's been described as bizarre, eccentric, beautiful, mesmerizing, exotic, and joyful. And I agree.

Read the reviews here.
Bagdad Cafe - Rotten Tomatoes

bagdad cafe movie - Bing Images

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

GREAT movie! I love it and I even bought the soundtrack.

That song, 'Calling You' sung by Jevetta Steele is hauntingly beautiful.


BAGDAD CAFE - SOUNDTRACK - I'M CALLING YOU - YouTube

[chessgeek]

The Rapture (1991) starring Mimi Rogers, David Duchovny, Patrick Bauchau, and Will Patton. Directed by Michael Tolkien. It is definitely an unforgettable movie.

[chessgeek]

Originally Posted by ciceropolo

OK I'm going to try and give a list across genres and eras to provide movies some of which are different - unique or were one of earliest or just the best of their 'kind'. Some are cinematic masterpieces others which are 'different' and stand out as memorable in some way, whether the character portrayals, evocative atmosphere or something that sticks in the memory.

An assorted odd lot mix FWIW:
Grand Hotel 1932 - 1st ensemble all star cast
Old Dark House 1932 - archetype of horror
Freaks 1932 - bizarre horror
Duck Soup - 1933 marx bros comedy lampoon of war politics et al classic
Ecstasy 1933- young woman marries older man for money (infamous for nude scene - Hedy Lamarr)
Lost Horizon 1937 - If you found a place where you could live forever...
The Great Dictator - 1940 Charlie Chaplin
None But The Lonely Heart 1944 drama (Clifford Odets)
Dead Of Night 1945 - horror vignettes - sort of precursor to Twilight Zone
Snake Pit - 1946 (drama psychotic realism
Odd Man Out - 1947 - (film noir - James Mason as man on run)
The Long Night - 1947 (desperate man cornered, Henry Fonda, and how he arrived at that place)
Treasure of The Sierra Madre - 1948 (what greed does to people)
The Third Man - 1949
In A Lonely Place - 1950
Singin In The Rain - 1952 best musical
The Bad and The Beautiful - 1952 (Hollywood life)
Diabolique - 1955
Marty- 1955 realistic romance
Night of the Hunter - 1955 (surreal creepy)
Baby Doll - 1956 (unpleasant people at their worst behaviors)
The Searchers - 1956 (idealized Western archetypes)
The Seventh Seal - 1957 (Ingmar Bergman)
Peeping Tom - 1960 (psychodrama)
Something Wild - 1961 (psychodrama)
Bunny Lake Is Missing - 1965
Incubus - 1966 (good - evil)
Planet of the Apes - 1968 sci fi
2001 A Space Odyssey - 1968
A Clockwork Orange - 1971 (scifi drama dark)
Silent Running - 1972 (scifi serious)
A Boy And His Dog - 1975 (scifi drama lite)
Network - 1976 (insight into mass media)
Life of Brian - 1979 (Monty Python at their best; comedy sketches)
Blue Velvet - 1986 David Lynch
Unbearable Lightness of Being - 1988 (romance drama)
The Last Seduction - 1994 (drama female specie at her most conniving)
Gattacca - 1997 scifi future w genetic designer children)
Wag The Dog - 1997 (How pseudo events are staged and marketed)
What Dreams May Come - 1998 scifi
Herod's Law - 1999 (what happens when people get power)
The Girl On The Bridge - 1999 (captivating romance)
Mulholland Drive - 2001 David Lynch
Russian Ark - 2002
The Singing Detective - 2003 Robt Downey hallucinating
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - 2004

Phew.... that will keep someone busy during the cold winter months

Very good list! I also remember the Something Wild movie from 1986 starring Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith as unusual and very good. Maybe that was a remake of the 1961 film you listed?

The original Phantasm (1979) was definitely unusual at the time it was made...maybe not so much now and especially after its sequels.

Medium Cool (1969)...it was a counterculture movie filmed during the Democratic Convention of 1968 in Chicago that also included actual footage of the dissent/protest in the streets along with the fictional storyline. It does not get much more unique than that.

Secret Honor (1984)...it stars Philip Baker Hall in a monologue performance as President Nixon after his resignation from office. Fascinating and unusual!

[travric]

I think the 1948 film, 'Portrait of Jennie' qualifies as a unique movie.

I've always thought of that film as a bona fide 'sleeper'. I'm not so sure many know about it. Operates on a definitely a few levels for a careful viewer!! Lots of stuff going on there about human relationships, romantic love, life, death, time, art and artists. A great movie. And an argument to see more movies with Joseph Cotten, a real fine actor back then.

[Miss Hepburn]

Ah, Bag Cafe music...

Buffalo 66
U Turn
Freeway
Cat Run
What To Do In Denver When You're Dead

To name a few...all very good.

Drugstore Cowboys
All John Waters older movies with Divine

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by travric

I've always thought of that film as a bona fide 'sleeper'. I'm not so sure many know about it. Operates on a definitely a few levels for a careful viewer!! Lots of stuff going on there about human relationships, romantic love, life, death, time, art and artists. A great movie. And an argument to see more movies with Joseph Cotten, a real fine actor back then.

Really? I knew about the movie *and* the book, but then--I'm old. Portrait of Jennie was the kind of film that would show up on Million Dollar Movie so I was able to see it over and over again, reveling in it all week long, and you are right, as I got older I was able to understand it on a deeper level. There is a bit of a sentimental feel in parts of the script which may be off-putting to some, but it is a good movie, and it is on Netflix.