Movies: Sleepers, Limited Release, Even Commercial Bombs that are Good....

wings&wheels

wings&wheels

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So we have had threads on classics, bad movies that we like, etc., how about one for good movies that were limited release, not mainstream, maybe a bit 'artsy' for lack of a better word, less than stellar box office performers, etc. but are good and interesting movies. Some self-interest here; looking for movies to watch.

Here are a few:
1) Year of Living Dangerously Not a smash when released, staple on early HBO, requires some appreciation for history in the region to fully appreciate, but young Mel Gibson is great, young Sigourney Weaver is better:cool: and it lit a fire for travel in me at a young age.
2) The Apostle A personal project for Robert Duvall, powerful is a good word for his performance as a flawed preacher.
3) The Station Agent Stumbled across this one night; quirky story but excellent performances by all, especially Peter Dinklage.
 
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1) The Thing (1982). Up against cute Extra-Terrestrial (ET) by Spielberg, The Thing bombed, reviews were horrible, nearly ended director John Carpenter's career, and it had a very short commercial run. It didn't gain large popularity until the early 2000s, when a (not very good prequel) was done. It is now widely considered the best horror science fiction and is the model for paranoid isolation story telling, benchmark for practical effects, and considered top film for the careers of Kurt Russel, Keith David, and others. It's on my short list of best film of this genre, of all time and best films of all time. Again it's now widely considered best or highly acclaimed for the genre.

2) Mad Max 1 & 2. Both were successful, with MM1 being the highest return on a film ever for decades, but these did not gain wild success until released to video and of course got much more mainstream. These are considered the pioneers of the post-apocolypse films, and often referenced in pop culture. MM1 was so unknown in the US that the sequel was released as "The Road Warrior" for audiences who never hear of Mad Max. MM3 gets honorable mention as being a good entry but not great, but it would take decades until MM4 (which was terrible).

3) Ronin. This is a film that almost nobody I know has seen but is on par with some of the greatest action films made. It's one of Deniro's best films and features great story, action, shootouts, car chases, twists, side plots, etc.

4) Blade Runner is another that received very little attention until recently, but it pioneered the Tech Noir genre and was one of my favorites growing up. It's one of Ford's best films IMO. It was so unpopular however it would take 30+ years before a sequel was made. The original is a masterpiece.

5) The Mist. Another heavily overlooked excellent suspense/horror film. One of King's best adaptations to screen in my view.

6) The Shining. No list is complete without this masterclass in horror and directing. Steven King (upon which this film is based on his novel) lambasted the film and it did not do well, in fact it did very poorly and most professional reviewers did not like it. Possibly among the scariest films ever made, I think it has not gotten the credit it deserved until the last 10 or so years as people go back to study it. It's an absolute terrifying masterpiece of a film, and one of Kubrick's best.
 
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My entire family liked Blackberry. Its an indy release, I think maybe still in theaters but will be streaming soon I would guess.

Are we counting cult classics - ie movies that weren't that popular when released but became huge over the years - like clockwork Orange or Resevoir dogs, etc? I think those maybe are not what were looking for here -more movies people likely haven't seen?
 
SC Maintenance said:
Are we counting cult classics - ie movies that weren't that popular when released but became huge over the years - like clockwork Orange or Resevoir dogs, etc? I think those maybe are not what were looking for here -more movies people likely haven't seen?
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Yes, cult classics are fine, in fact ideal along w/ limited release, movies made by stars because they wanted to, not for the money. Basically looking for the complete opposite side of the cinematic spectrum, the total antithesis of films like the 2001 Pearl Harbor remake, that awful, over CGI'd, badly acted by all pretty people flick that was one of the highest grossing films ever 😄 OK, as an aviation buff maybe I'm over sensitive...but I hate that movie, and I rarely use the word 'hate'.
 
The Dead Don’t Die

2019 Zombie Flick. The local sheriff is non other than Bill Murray. The maiden in distress is Salena Gomez. Danny Glover is the hard working common man. Gotta love it. It has a surprise ending like Butch Cassidy the Sundance Kid.
 
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Smokey and the Bandit, Part 3. It's a mess of a movie, originally shot with Jackie Gleason playing both Buford T. Justice and the Bandit. Test audiences were confused so they reshot the Bandit scenes with Jerry Reed's character now pretending to be the Bandit. It's one of those so dumb it's funny movie to me and I can watch it anytime and be entertained.
 
97prizm said:
UHF, Death to Smoochie, not sure if blues brothers was a box office hit or not.
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Good choice ... I'd forgotten about Death to Smoochy. In a somewhat similar vein is Shakes the Clown, directed and written by Bobcat Goldthwait, who also performs the title role. Robin Williams was in that as well.
 
Shel_B said:
Good choice ... I'd forgotten about Death to Smoochy. In a somewhat similar vein is Shakes the Clown, directed and written by Bobcat Goldthwait, who also performs the title role. Robin Williams was in that as well.
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Speaking of Bobcat Goldwait. He mentioned on an interview recently that a few years back at the LAX Airport a lady came up to him and said "You look like someone I know. " Bobcat replied "Like Bobcat Goldwait?" The lady replied "No you're too ugly to be him."
 
97prizm said:
Speaking of Bobcat Goldwait. He mentioned on an interview recently that a few years back at the LAX Airport a lady came up to him and said "You look like someone I know. " Bobcat replied "Like Bobcat Goldwait?" The lady replied "No you're too ugly to be him."
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