Retro 10 List: Bizarre Films
Published April 30, 2005
Originally posted on Draven99's Musings on 7/28/04:
Welcome to this weeks Top Ten, back on schedule after last week's minor disruptions. This weeks list is Ten Bizarre Films. The list is compiled from films that I own and I have limited myself to one film per director, as some directors make a lot of strange films. The list is in no order of weirdness.
Ten Bizarre Films
1. Mulholland Dr.: One of the most unexplainable films (except for the hard to find Lost Highway) I have ever seen, this film from David Lynch started it's life as a pilot for a television show that got rejected.
2. City of Lost Children: From the director of Amelie, comes this sci-fi film about a circus strongman searching for his little brother and getting ensnared in a child thievery ring. More strange than it sounds.
3. Happiness of the Katikuri's: A Japanese remake of a Korean film (The Quiet Family), and directed by Takashi Miike, this film is part musical, comedy, drama, and horror. It is about a family that runs a remote cabin, where the clientele keep dying.
4. A Clockwork Orange: I remember disliking this the first time I saw it, my opinion has clearly changed, but it still remains one strange film. Great use of the old Ludwig Van, plus an anti-violence message.
5. Vanilla Sky: Cameron Crowe and Tom Cruise team up to deliver one strange film of jealousy, sex, and science fiction. A thinking man's Total Recall.
6. Suicide Club: A film about a string of unexplainable suicides, including a group of 54 school girls, and the cop investigating them takes a surreal turn into the realm of the unexplainable at the end.
7. Naked Lunch: "Exterminate all rational thought." That would apply to most films on this list. Based on the work of William S. Burroughs this film incorporates drugs, bugs, and typewriters into surreal fantasy starring Peter Weller and directed by David Cronenberg.
8. Pi: Darren Arronofsky's debut is a tale of a mathematician working to unlock the secrets of the stock market while everything else falls around him and he is pursued by stock brokers and religious zealots. Very strange.
9. Six String Samurai: What if Elvis lived? what of there was another World War and Elvis ruled the last city, Las Vegas? What if he died and we need to find a new King? Sound interesting?
10. Songs from the Second Floor: I have no idea how to explain this film from Sweden, it is not to everyone's tastes but it does help to show the absurdity that is all around us.
I love strange films, as evidenced by the list above. The more bizarre, the better. These films push the boundaries of the film medium, and at times show that a linear narrative is not necessarily needed to tell an insightful story. Whoever believes a film must exist in a straightforward way has not experienced all that the film medium has to offer. Please let me know what you think of these films, and feel free to suggest others that you think may interest me.
Visit me at Draven99's Musings.
Christopher Beaumont spends much of his time writing about entertainment when he isn't sitting in a movie theater. He is known around the office as the "Movie Guy" and is always ready to talk about his favorite form of entertainment and offer up recommendations. Interests include science fiction, horror, and metal music. His writings can be found at Draven99's Musings and Draven99's Media Center. 
- Retro 10 List: Bizarre Films
- Published: April 30, 2005
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Video
- Writer: Chris Beaumont
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Comments on this articleComments
What about "Lost Highway"? What the heck was that film about!
Oh, and "Vanilla Sky" is the remake of "Abre los ojos" ("Open Your Eyes"). Just so you know.
FYI - amelie came out after city of lost children (1995)
that movie totally freaked me out...
Fark Was Here.
I would offer up the list as "The ten most bizarre films other than Brazil."
Brazil. Very odd movie and one I've never been able to like since my first viewing many years ago.
really. el topo didn't make this list? that is truly the weirdest film of all time. and usually the one people put at the top of lists such as these. but, your list does skew more towards major releases.
also, i agree with the brazil guy. but in fact, that guy (who also directed the adventures of baron munchaussen & 12 Monkeys) would probably need his own list.
Another "of all time" list with 80% of its entries containing films from the last 10 years. Do some research before you make such sweeping claims.
Un Chien Andalou trumps all of these with "bizarreness".
Or
Eraserhead
Pink Flamingoes
Confessions of An Opium Eater
Hi Draven, I found this page through FARK, but have seen you on the IVS forums. Rock on!
I dunno. Saying that David Lynch movies are wierd is like saying that ice cream is tasty... it's such a truism that nobody bother's saying it.
And I posit this: Troma films shouldn't count as wierd movies because they're trying too damn hard.
For more oddness/goodness (that have been sold as real movies):
Tetsuo the Iron Man
Turkish Star Wars
THX-1138
The Witches
Seconds
Holy Mountain
Anything by Jon Jost
Anything by Stan Brakage
Spider Baby
David Holzman's Diary
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn Pro."
You guys aint seen nothing yet.
Clouzot
Jodorowsky
Bunuel
Tartovsky
Ken Russell
The American Astronaut, without a doubt, needs to be on this list.
I love Vanilla Sky -- it's one of my favorite movies. Great cast, great writing... more than anything a triumph of storytelling by Crowe. Beautiful, surreal, funny, bizarre -- great, great stuff.
rahree - Abre los Ojos and Vanilla Sky are based on an experimental French film. Just so you know.
Without a doubt... Donnie Darko needs to make the list. Also Lost Highway but I understand that you cannot use the same director twice for this list.
You ain't seen bizarre until you've seen Takashi Mike's "Bizita Q" (Visitor Q).
hmm... seems they forgot
el topo, santa sangri and holy mountain by Jodorowsky (each one weirder than the last)
terror firmer, redneck zombies, toxic avenger... well, anything by troma actually.
salo - by pier paolo pasolini (though i think that would better categorized in sick movies as opposed to bizarre ones)
...i think most japanese art films fall into this category, i remember this one that was loosely based on pinnochio, but i forget the name right now.
Eating Raoul is far more strange than most of these films.
Donnie Darko is a bullshit knockoff of Harvey. Why do people like it other than the generational "speaks to me" crap and canned strangeness?
How about "The Saddest Music in the World"? The Baroness with glass legs filled with beer! Very strange indeed.
My favorite John Waters film has to be "Desperate Living". I believe it to be more outrageous than Pink Flamingos.
Dark City doesn't need to be on the list but it is a must see.
Jacob's Ladder
starring Tim Robbins
awesome movie - i finally understood it after seeing it three times
For another taste of strangeness with an allstar cast try Straight to Hell. Stars Courtney Love, Joe Strummer, Elvis Costello, Dennis Hopper and Grace Jones.
Wow. The absence of "Freaks" on your list is appalling, although perhaps you've not watched it. If you haven't, please do so post haste and update your list.
rahree - Abre los Ojos and Vanilla Sky are based on an experimental French film. Just so you know.
Comment 15 posted by Krono on April 30, 2005 01:55 PM:
Krono - Abre los Ojos and Vanilla Sky and that experimental French film are all based on a book by some guy who writes books about stuff like that. Just so you know.
The Forbidden zone with Herve Villachez is another one. I don't know how to categorize it, except that it's weird, funny, and kind of disturbing.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a very bizarre and enjoyable film.
no one has mentioned Zardoz?
That was the mother, father, aunt and uncle of STRANGE films.
Phallacy galore and it starred none other than Sean Connery.
Enjoyable....no.
Laughable... maybe
Strange.... #1
I dunno, I thought "Gummo" was bizarre--unless you think eating cats and raping retarded girls is normal.
Brazil
Alice in Wonderland (Svankmeyer version)
Natural Born Killers
Pi
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Paperhouse
Saddest Music in the World
Secretary
Anything directed by Peter Greenaway
This is a very poor list. The compiler obviously has very little depth to his movie habits. Vanilla Sky and not Open Your Eyes? Does he even know of the original? Although to be fair, he doesn't say they are the best or most bizarre films of all time, just a list of 10 bizarre films. S
I'm surprised no one's mentioned fear and loathing and cube.
good list nonetheless. like all lists it's subjective.. so i'm not going to freak like some people have and suggest it's wrong.
A good start, but if you're going there you might as well go all the way. I reccommend Even Dwarfs Started Small,written and directed by acclaimed German filmaker Werner Herzog. For movie masochists only. A debacle of rampaging midgets oogling porn and monkeys nailed to crosses. Need I say more?
You need to add The Dark Backward. Truly, truly, bizarre (but entertaining!).
Also, A Clockwork Orange really doesn't have much to do with statements about violence (although it is admittedly violent). It was a counter-argument to B.F. Skinner's book Walden Two. Replace the violence with some other behavior (smoking, singing, whatever) and you have the same message.
For an unusual movie you would need to check out "The Day before the End of the World."
if those are the most bizarre films you can come up with you obviously havent seen that many films.
Good list, several of these are on my favorites list.
Abre los Ojos, to me, is interchangable with Vanilla Sky - I've seen both, but perfer Cameron's, partly because of the incredible soundtrack. I'm not sure about the comment above stating they're based on a French film - I'm pretty familiar with both, and had not heard that the movies' author, Alejandro Amenabar, based his story on another film. Do you have a reference for that?
I would have added Lost Highway, in additional M.D. FWWM is worth a mention also, for Lynchians.
Brazil belongs on the list as well.
Wow,
I can't believe y'all have missed the following cinematic gems.
BTW, this is going to be a thread to bookmark, I've already found films I've missed.
Pleas forgive the spelling errors, I'm pulling this list out of my arse.
In no particular order:
The films of Herschell Gordon Lewis, in particular, "The Wizard of Gore".
"Trip" with the Monkees and Jack Nicholson.
"A Chien Andalou", now that's fricking weird.
"Polyester", John Waters.
"Bukaroo Banzai"
Anything else by Cronenberg.
"After Hours", Martin Scorcesse.
No mention of "Eraserhead"? I don't think "Mullholland Drive" tops that film in the strange category.
I think anime is worth mentioning as well. I'm not a big follower yet I've seen "Urotskdiji, the Legend of the Overfiend".
Strange demons with multiple penises, flying gnomes beating off, like nothing I've ever seen.
Cheers,
-Surfdork
Uzumaki.
It's a movie about people turning into snails. I kid you not. Besides being weird, it's a really shitty film.
Vanilla Sky is "a thinking man's Total Recall"?
Vanilla Sky was a disorganized, pompous mess with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
Okay...maybe ONE redeeming quality. It was neat to hear Diaz talking about tasting come.
But that's about it...
I'd like to see "The Cube" by Jim Henson. Heard of it, but never seen it.
Surprised "X-Files" the movie isn't in here. THAT was just bizarre.
Running an hour and a half at least and touching on scenarios similar to real life, but not clear enough to have meaning. Take the movie as a whole without any knowledge of the X-Files series.
Makes Brazil downright explicable.
For more japano-weird-goodness check out "Electric Dragon 20,000V"
Alsio Visitor Q really sets new standards in being weird, but every Miike movie is pretty much psycho-hardcore - at least the ones i have seen till now.
Oh, and I firmly stand by my comment that "Vanilla Sky" is the remake of "Abre los ojos."
I think a more appropriate name to this list would be
"Top Ten Bizzare Films That You Have Heard Of". Of course there are going to be foreign and obscure movies out there that top these- but since so few people have seen then, what fun is it to read/discuss about on a blog? You can alwasy get the self-proclaimed film snobs showing up and flaunting ramdom film references.
Look at your comments, they really say alot about you.
Some people say, "Oh, yeah those are wierd, you know what else is super wierd [Insert obscure film here]"
While other people say, "You don't know anything about movies. I will share my movie knowledge is superior..." Like you Panda and Jakob.
Both approaches are doing the same thing, sharing other bizarre films not on the list. The first approach accomplishes this in a civilway, but the second approach has the added benefit of proving the commenter to be a self-absorbed dick with no people skills. Seriously. Look at yourself and wonder why the hell you write like that.
My approach to commenting? Rip on you anonymously. Sorry, all that tells you is that I have no interest in continuing the conversation with idiots.
WOW! I can't believe that this column from last year (granted I just put it up here now) is causing this much response!
Thank you for all the suggestions, some I have seen, some I will add to the ever growing list. Just so you know, this wasn't meant as an all encompassing list. I was limiting myself to films in my collection which discounts many bizarre movies, and they were generally films I had watched around the time of the writing. I haave watched and enjoyed films from all decades (I think....). ALso I limited to 1 film per director to save the list from being dominated by someone like Lynch or Miike, or whoever. My experience is admittedly weak in some areas. The one thing we should all agree on here is a love of film.
THis is a great way to discover new movies to see!
And for a few response:
I know that Amelie was after City... but it is still the same director regardless of order.
I know that Vanilla Sky was a remake of Abre los ojos, which I now own, but have not yet watched.
Never much cared for U Turn
Lost Highway is incredibly bizarre and my favorite Lynch, but I do not yet own it.
I liked Uzumaki, it seemed like a film that Tim Burton would make.
To Robert Berry:
I make no claims "of all time" This is merely a list of some of the bizarre films in my collection. I do refer to it as a Top Ten column, as that was what I called this when I did it regularly, but I do not call the list Top Ten Bizarre Films of All Time or any such closed minded nonsense.
Jakob:
Odd comment, thank you for the To Be Fair portion. I feel I do have good depth to my film habits, I watch and enjoy films from anywhere anytime, not to say I like everything, but there films from all sorts that i do like.
Again. Thanks everyone!
I am secure enough in my film tastes to take it.
I think Miike's Audition would make a great addition to the list. 90% slow paced guy-meets-girl drama and 10% insane gore-fest. In fact you could probably fill the whole list with Miike films.
Some others I could add ar:
Oldboy
Alphaville
Avalon
Bartleby
Bio Zombie
Belicatessan
Das Experiment
Evil Dead Trap
Ichii the Killer
Irreversible
Mr. Vampire
Onibaba
Pistol Opera
Requiem for a Dream
Running on Karma
Bizarre? Where's "two-lane blacktop"? Dennis Wilson (yes of The Beach Boys), James Taylor (the singer) and the '55 Chevy (it stars a car!?!) from "American Graffiti." None of the characters have names and it just ends after 100 minutes.
What, no "Shakes the Clown"?
I agree with some of the movies listed as bizzare but the one movie I actually stood up after it was over and said, "What the H___ was that"!! was "She's So Lovely" what a complete waste of 2 hours.
For the record:
The protagonist in Pi isn't trying to understand the stock market. He's trying to understand everything--i.e. the natural cycles of the world and what underlying pattern they follow. The stock market just happens to be a very big, complicated system that he can use to try and discern this.
This is why, in addition to businessmen, religious zealots are also pursuing him. They want him to find a code in the bible. The businessmen want him to predict the future of the stock market. Either way, its just one small application of his knowledge.
Ok, that's the end of my little rant :)
And I forgot to mention some other weird movies that I would consider adding to this list:
Buckaroo Banzai
Primer
I Heart Huckabees (sp?)
I like Blue Velvet. Guy finds human ear in a field and it's all downhill from there.
Eraserhead, period.
Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Eraserhead
Tetsuo The Iron Man
you are a very limmited person if this is your top 10.
Try Eracerhead, stranger than paradice, night on earth to start.
good luck.
Bob Dobbs
Slack is Good.
The end of the world was in 2000
Please read prior to posting, this is NOT a top ten, just a listing of 10 bizarre films that I enjoyed.
hrm. not a single person mentioned Liquid Sky. I'm not sure you can get much stranger than that.
mulholland is all about the way power influences reality. choices that are made create certain outcomes. many current plausible theories suggest that reality exists in multiple parallel universes where various outcomes are explore. now go watch the movie again.
Opps sory I was slacking.
Slack is good
don't I feal silly now
and I apoligze for the limmeted comment I just diden't finish the statment and it diden't come out right. and I was about to go fix it but decided to slack a few.
Bob Dobbs
Good Luck
Slack is good.
The one (David Lynch)movie I always recommend to people to freak their fragile little minds out is
Eraserhead
Man, Lynch at his wierdest. Unexplained siezures, unexplained pregnancy, unexplained freak baby who gets an unexplained illness, unexplained tremors and power surges, unexplained miniature chickens who inexplicably spout blood all over... in fact, the only thing I got out of the movie was the meaning of the title. But that's hard to explain
what about eraserhead?
Just have to chime in with
The cook, the thief, his wife and her lover..
can't get too much more bizarre than that..
and Dark City?
Just as a coincidence, I first heard of Mulholland Drive exactly 6 hours ago on a trailer on a used video I bought... I immediately thought... "weird... where did THIS come from? hmmm... might be interesting to rent someday... " Then I find this site.
Nice list, I wouldn't argue with any of those selections. You might try "Picnic at Hanging Rock," an early film by Peter Weir ("Dead Poet's Society"). Creepy atmosphere, good plot and a bizarre twist that will leave you guessing as to what happened during a school outing.
"Vanilla Sky" is the remake of "Abre los ojos."
This got mentioned several times with one person mentioning that they were both based on a story.
The life of the author of the story was as weird as his writing, even weirder since he had to live it and he never could figure out the strange things that happened to him. Many, including himself, think he was borderline insane. His stories also became Blade Runner and Minority Report.
Check out his life through a google search - Philip K. Dick
i agree on eraserhead and brazil. they out-weird any of the movies on that list.
the bergman film Persona should be there
Videodrome (much weirder cronenberg than naked lunch)
barton fink
party monster (i thought it sucked, but if the only criteria is weirdness it gets my vote)
un chien andalou (most disturbing opening sequence ever)
pink flamingos
the man who fell to earth
welcome to the dollhouse or happiness
solaris (tarkovsky, not the crappy clooney version)
Tetsuo the Iron Man (Holy crap, I have a drill for a penis, suddenly)
Delicatessen (Odd, but strangely pretty).
Eraserhead for sure, but basically anything David Lynch, except Dune. It wasn't bad, just not really all that bizarre.
Happiness by Todd Solondz was funny, but in the kind of way that makes your friends look at you in disbelief for laughing.
Un Chien Andalou (Dali+Bunuel = Weird)
PS, the story upon which Total Recall is based (along with many other Phillip K. Dick short stories and novels) was brilliant when it was on paper, Hollywood f'd it up. Same goes for Minority Report and Blade Runner.
No Peter Greenaway?
Especially The Cook the Thief
His Wife & Her Lover which may have been the strangest movie I have
ever seen.
Japanese film "In the Realm of the Senses." Banned in a lot of countries.
"GUMMO" Once you see it you'll know why it should be added to the list. But it's not for the easily offended. I guarantee it will make your jaw drop.
HA! good call dude. Half those flicks are on my "What the hell" list
Have any of you actually read all these posts? How many of you have put the same movie in your posts as others have? This kind of redundancy and idiocracy towards the original topic is the reason that I have abandoned forums and message boards alltogether. If you simply are too lazy to actually read what others have written, then God save you and your small brains. READ, then reply.
Wow, you are going in the right direction with a few of those films, but the list really should read something like this :)
(1 being most bizarre)
TOP 10 bizar movies:
10) Old Boy
9) Audition
8) Tetsuo - The Body Hammer
7) Being John Malkovich
6) Pistol Opera
5) Pi
4) Survive Style 5+
3) City of the Lost Children
2) Electric Dragon 80000V
1) Visitor Q
yes, I think it's fairly safe to say that Japanese directors are f#cking crazy. Visitor Q and Electric Dragon are by far the weirdest films I have ever seen. Visitor Q is likely to offend pretty much everybody, but well worth watching provided you have an open mind and a strong stomach.
Also REALLY weird, but more of an artpiece than a normal movie: THE CREMASTER CYCLE. The Order (small excerpt) is out on video and that is simply insane.
FYI, Total Recall was made from 'Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?' by Phillip K. Dick. His title should tell you it was weird already.
Or was it 'We Can Remember It For You Wholesale' ?
My comments courtesy of Fark
Nice List! have seen roughly half of titles mentioned. Got one to add:
I am Curious Yellow - One of the first XXX films to make it to neighborhood theaters. There was no decernable plot.
Greaser's Palace and/or Putney Swope by Robert Downey Sr.
Check out another Peter Weir film "The Last Wave." (with Richard Chamberlain). Way out there, but a very good flick.
Hey, what about the Andalusian Dog!?
I think there has to be a dividing line between weird, sick, and stupid. weird I consider intresting. sick and and stupid are movies you finish watching and go " that was a f@#^$&* waste of time.
Mulholland Drive, which I re-watched just last week, hardly deserves to be on this list. It is noteworth, however, as a vehicle for Jennifer Connelly's magnificent knockers.
In addition, any weird movie list that doesn include "Greaser's Palace" isn't worth it's salt.
maybe it should be renamed "My Top Ten Bizarre Film List" -
#1 Bizzare Movie
Hell Comes Frog Town
Starring Rowdy Roddy Piper
circa 1980
Piper is on death row, but as one of the only surviving fertile men on the planet after the apocolypse, he is spared. In return for his life, his reproductive organs are now property of he government.
He is fitted with an exploding chastity belt. If he strays too far from his guards, it will explode. Also, if he gets out of line, his guards will trigger a shock to the belt by touching the controls on their earings (did I mention that the future government is run by stern, buff women).
The govenment sends Piper and his guards on a mission to Frog town to save and impregnate a group of the last fertile women from the mutant frog people.
Trust me, this is not a porn movie, it's just insanely bizzare.
Like someone said... Alice by Jon Svankmeyer (or Svankmajer) is a truly bizarre remake of Alice. Definitely worth mentioning. Definitely not for small children.
For example... the white rabbit is an animated stuffed rabbit corpse that leaks sawdust, Wonderland is a decaying land with worn-down and dirty antiques, and most creatures are animated skeletons. Oh yeah, and jars of preserved eyeballs. That's only the beginning...
What about "Crash", 1996 by David Cronenberg? or "Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS"?
Here's an interesting book alone these lines: Profoundly disturbing shocking movies that changed history / by Joe Bob Briggs.
or indeed SS Experiment Camp. or Japanese Hell.
Quote -"FYI, Total Recall was made from 'Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?' by Phillip K. Dick. His title should tell you it was weird already"
Ummm....I think you mean Blade Runner.
Abre los ojos was 20 times better then that crap-fest vanilla sky.
Some good, interesting (weird?) movies:
Brazil (1984 based)
Dark City
Memento
Delicatessan
Try Wenzel Storch's "Reise ins Bliss"
or Journey into Bliss.
Crazy German film - completely not politically correct and lots of piss. Enjoy.
My list would include:
Being John Malkovich,
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Adaptation
All screenplays by Charlie Kaufman
Interesting J, I didn't realize Philip K. Dick was the writer who's work Vanilla Sky was based on. I knew about Minority Report and previous to that, only knew Dick as a sci-fi author who was a mentor of sorts to at least 2 current fantasy/magic realism authors - Tim Powers and James Blaylock.
I saw this Russian film channel surfing one time, and it sucked me in big time. I wish I could remember the title - I'll look it up as soon as I can and repost. The film was basically about 3 guys trying to cross a field. Truly weird, but the cinematography was pretty cool.
This is an absolutely ridiculous list. You don't know from weird, man.
I loved "The Ninth Configuration", aka
"Twinklt, Twinkle, Killer Kane."
At times incomprehensible but wonderful.
Another film you all might want to look at:
Hombre mirando al sudeste
(Man facing southeast)
IMDB link
It's Argentinian, and really good. Unfortunately, it was remade into the incredibly lame "Pax"
The Big Blue might not be strange enough for this list (Jean Reno as a deep diver), but the scene where they kidnap/liberate the dolphin was memorable.
I'm glad somebody mentioned Old Boy. That was just strange.
BAD by Andy Warhol
... ends with the old hand in the spaghetti trick.
I saw the second half a weird film in the early 1990s, from Denmark I believe. The protagonist was a little guy reminiscent of Woody Allen, apparently trapped in an asylum of some sort. Cannonballs fell randomly from the sky. He lost his glasses, and was chased by a stuffed animal tied to his leg, wrestling it on the ground. Finally I think he hung himself. There was barely any dialogue. Does anyone know what film this was? It was truly bizarre!
I don't know, I think it's a pretty decent list. Any top 10 generally inspired a lot of people getting whiny. I htink it's pretty well established that Vanilla Sky is a remake. Just like a lot of American movies. Maybe just one rule though, the movie can't be a candidate for Mystery Science Theater 3000. The original choices all had a fairly wide release. One other thing, I always seem to like Philip K. Dick's titles better than the title they chose for the movie versions.
infotropic
Psst, don't tell anyone, but I'm a Moderate. [gasp]
That wasn't Jennifer Connely, that was Laura Harring. Bigger "knockers" but not as nice in the face.
And yes, the original list is pretty mild. There are many many movies out there that will make pretty much anyone go WTF!?!?
did anyone see the Bowie tour in the late-'70s where he opened with a dada Dali short with the infamous sliced eyeball scene?
About half of those movies are quite clear, unless you are retarded. By the way, it is "its" and not "it's". That was a clue right there. Too bad, could've been a good list.
Mr. Obvious = Grammar Nazi
Yes, I want to kill a race of people. Exactly.
Mullholland Drive isn't even Lynch's strangest film. Clockwork Orange and Vanilla Sky? C'mon, you might as well put every serious SF film ever made on this list -> 2001? The Matrix? Soylent Green? Silent Running? The Man Who Fell To Earth?
No mention yet of Liquid Sky or Careful?
The Entity (1981)?
Carnival of Souls
Dementia 13
The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed Up Zombies
Putney Swope
The Happening
There are so many more which have been missed here...
Dave
You people suck. You claim to be film critics and offer "the best of all time," but practically all of those are recent films. What about the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, one of the first and probably the best horror film out there? I bet you've never heard of it. You people sicken me.
Takes a suck to know a suck, "you suck." Dr. Caligari is a weenie.
Some others:
Happiness
Rubin & Ed
Eversmile, New Jersey
Candy (1969)
Tampopo
Paranoia 1.0
Caligari is a fine film - I have it on DVD, but if you check the title of this article it's 'bizarre films' not horror films, and Caligari isn't nearly as bizarre as most of those mentioned here.
Dave
The film may be fine, Dave; the doc's a weenie nonetheless.
What's about "Manos" Hands of Fate, and the crazy inn-keeper, Torgo?!
How about Altered States??
What? No Slaughterhouse 5? Granted, it's not as effed up as some of these movies mentioned here...I'd describe it at a flashback-within-a-flashback- within-a-flashback-within-a-flashback-within-a-flashback -within-a-flashback-within-a-dude on an alien planet kind of movie. Or something. I dunno. It had a dog and a porn star and World War II, also.
"did anyone see the Bowie tour in the late-'70s where he opened with a dada Dali short with the infamous sliced eyeball scene?"
Well not me anyway, but I mentioned the title above: "The Andalusian Dog," or "Un Chien Andalou," which was a collaboration between Dali and Luis Bunuel. Eraserhead always struck me as a longer, and better crafted version of it, but it's still cool and belongs on the list.
Bloodsucking Freaks. Definitely not a film to see with your girlfriend.
People, note that it is stated that the list is from his personal collection.
BTW, what about:
1. The Vampire Lesbians Of Sodom
2. They Saved Hitlers Brain
3. Highway To Hell (with the demonic cop, I state that because they were several movies by that name)
4. American Flatulators
5. Hick Trek
Of course, Kevin Smith is not spared.
Check out "Vulgar". The cast of "Clerks" in a movie that is ignored by many. The rape of Vulgar the Clown is worth it.
And Kevin's other "opus", "Drawing Flies". The cast of "Vulgar" in diapers is a hoot.
Last Year at Marienbad
Belle du Jour
Satyricon
Juliet of the Spirits
Some Warhol films
should at least be mentioned.
Got me a movie
I want you to know
Slicing up eyeballs
I want you to know
Girlie so groovy
I want you to know
Don't know about you
But I am un chien Andalusia
I have to agree with Eraserhead as a definite for "The List". Videodrome and Brazil were possibles. Great responses from all.....
One I've not seen anyone mention that some of you might enjoy is "Dancer in the Dark," featuring Bjork. I really, really, thought I would hate it, was practically forced to watch it (gf) and was pleasantly surprised. It's worth a go.
City of the Lost Children isn't even close it's bizarre predecessor, Delicatessen (1991). Strange people living over (and under) a delicatessen in a post-apocolytic world. Let's just say they all have an incentive to pay the rent on time. Also stars Dominique Pinon.
Aurora .......
The "squeaky-bed sex" scene is a scream.
here
I want to thank all for the continued response. And I also wanted to restate that these films were from my collection, this was back in July of '04, it has expanded greatly since. I was also not out to make any type of Top ten list, it was just a listing of ten films I thought were bizarre, I have seen and own more bizarre films. The main thing I was hoping for when I wrote it was for some more suggestions for bizarre films and maybe let other people see some titles they may or may not have been familiar with. Also bizarre does not necessarily equate wih gore/violence/sex, sometimes bizarre is just that, Six String Samurai for instance is just bizarre, but not terribly violent or anything like that.
Thanks again all, keep'em coming!
Not the weirdest film out there, and relatively tame to most of the other films mentioned in the responses, but
"Pink Floyd: The Wall" is still a weird film and that's what the list is about.
Nekromantik
huh? what about attic expeditions?
Altered States, the last great film Ken Russell made.
Casino Royale. Round robin filmmmaking; five directors, almost three times as many (mostly uncredited) writers, cast ranging from David Niven and John Huston to Ursula Andress and Woody Allen, with cameos by George Raft and Jean-Paul Belmondo. Great score by Burt Bacharach. ?The first post-modern film?
As far as I know, Vanilla Sky / Abre Los Ojos is NOT based on any Philip K. Dick story.
For those who mention it: the experimental French film is mentioned as a basis for the "original" feature film (Abre) in the Vanilla Sky DVD by Mr. Crowe himself. It's a black-and-white film from the '60s I believe... possibly silent even? Or without dialogue perhaps.
I'll stand by my statement that Vanilla Sky is brilliant: incredible story telling, a perfect blending of ideas and narrative and the surreal.
One of the best lines in film that no one has ever talked about (to my knowledge), when Cruise responds to a person who asks how he's doing:
"Living the dream, man," he says. "Living the dream."
Sets up the entire film magically.
peanut butter and jelly solution????
- The Acid House
- Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
- Lost Highway
Let's see here:
Cronenberg's "Rabid" - The armpit scene
gets me every time.
"I Spit On Your Grave"- Taking a bath w/
your girlfriend was NEVER the same after
this film. Know what I mean gentlemen?
"Los Olvidados" - Nothing like a happy
ending. And this is NOTHING like a happy
ending. Bunuel at his best IMO.
"Perfect" - John Travolta in that Unisex
leotard is just plain disturbing.
"L'Age D'or" - This is such great piece
of experimentation I had to mention it.
Lot of folks find it hopelessly& utterly
pretentious. And bizarre. I don't.
"Last House On The Left" - This film is
just so damn VIOLENT I can't believe it
ever got released. Bizarre, I dunno know
but,I guess that's a matter of taste.
"Straitjacket" - William Castle outdoes
Hitchcock on this "Psycho" knock-off.
I saw this as a kid when I was home with
a high fever once.It gave me a freaking
nightmare. Re-watched it recently and it
still gets under my skin. Joan Crawford
as a crazy lady. Who'd a thunk it?
That's a lucky seven anyway. Great post
by the way there, CB.
Jacob's Ladder.
Bizarre, with elements of both a horror and a psychological thriller, but not fitting neatly into either category. If you like strange, grim movies, this is an absolute must see. If it weren't for the sappy, tacked-on disneyesque ending, this would be one of the top five films of all time.
Wickerman.
Christopher Lee's best film (according to him) and a truly astounding bit of horror, religious commentary and period peculiarity.
Yeah, Jacob's Ladder is just about the best surreal, psychological horror film I've ever seen. Really hard to pull of that level of story telling, but they managed to do it. Everyone I know who has seen this film has gone through their own process of discovery to figure out what really happened.
There's some of the most disturbing use of imagery I've ever seen lurking in this movie as well. That party scene still creeps me out, matter of fact. And that hospital? No better hospital for the damned has ever been shown on screen.
If you want bizarre, just pick up some Japanese movies At least half of any random sample will be more bizare tahn the wierdest AMerican Made film .Plus thei wierd ones will also be most excellent.
Try "Battle Royale" on for size with one of the commentators from MXC as a sadistic murdering government teacher
I have to concur with at least one other poster: Liquid Sky is probably the strangest film ever made, at least that has been seen by more than five people.
Of course, it is strange, confusing and boring. Of the films I've seen on the proffered list in the original entry (four of them), all are strange confusing and at least nominally interesting.
Tom Knapp
Good points, all of you. What about:
Crash
My dinner with Andre
Time Code
in soviet russia, the films watch a strange you. also, im goin with bubba-hotep because you just cant explain a geriatric elvis with an erectile dysfunction.
"Breakfast With Blassie"-Andy Kaufman is
just plain bizarre here.And it's all an
improv piece!
Just thought of one:
Head, starring The Monkees and made with the help of Jack Nicholson and Dennis Hopper... weird man!
There's something to figure out about Jacob's Ladder? I thought it was as straight-forward as they come. Try acid and then tell me there was anything remotely surreal about the movie. I mean, that's what the entire movie is about...(A government-altered version of LSD) Mmmm, flashbacks
/one of my favs
As for the Philip K Dick movies...
Bladerunner is "Do Androids..."
Total Recall is "We Can Remember..."
Also:
Minority Report is, I believe, from a short story of the same name.
I have no idea what the orininal stories that Imposter and Paycheck were based on are called, but those were both PKD.
I don't think Vanilla Sky and its predecessors were PKD, but they were definitely PKD-ish...but so was the Matrix, The Truman Show...anything where reality is questionable, or your place in it, at any rate.
I agree with the lists' top two and many of those suggested by users. "godoggo" has it-- "Un chien andalou" is THE strangest film ever made-- why isn't it #1?? Consider these titles as well...
"One Armed Boxer vs. the Flying Guillotine"
Wire fu, decapitation by blind people, exploding coffins, and a chick whose "fighting style" consists of disrobing men with her fingernails. Did I mention the guy walking across the ceiling??
"Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story"
It's illegal, directed by Todd Haynes, and acted entirely with Barbies.
"Bad Taste"
Aliens open a new fast food chain and guess who's the main ingredient? Peter Jackson is a sick mutha...
"How to Get Ahead in Advertising"
Richard E. Grant's neck pimple turns into a second head, which starts talking and eventually takes over his whole life. (Grant is one of my fav actors and joins Willam Defoe and Christopher Walken for a future list entitled "Strangest Filmographies".)
Cube and it's sequel. Those Canadians are an odd bunch.
Also, Mommie Dearest is exceedingly bizarre, right down to the eyebrows.
Almost forgot! "200 Motels" starring Frank Zappa's band and Keith Moon as "the Naughty Nun".
Did anyone mention "Magic Christian" yet? Yul Brynner in drag, vampires, a musical tribute to interracial gay love, and a surprisingly sweet Ringo Starr. 'Almost makes up for "Cave Man", yeech.
--------------------------------
Monk:
"I have no idea what the orininal stories that Imposter and Paycheck were based on are called, but those were both PKD."
Hey, "Monk", there's this amazing tool called the "Internet" where you can search for info before you post. There's even a nifty site *just* for movie info, called "IMDb". You should check it out sometime. It lists *all* of Dick's credits and which movie was based on which story. Wow!
After you get all the info at IMDb, you can actually *buy* these books online, at a place called "Amazon.com". Try searching for the titles "Paycheck: And Other Classic Stories" and "Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick"--nifty, huh? ;)
The Tin Drum
Hedwig & the Angry Inch
Just saw a French film called SKIN which come to think of it is as bizarre as they come. The plot? self mutiliation in exacting detail.
Did you consider "The House of Yes" Of course I told my sister who really appreciates a weird film and she watched it with my mother. "Greg told me I had to watch it."
"Kiss of the Spider Woman" might also be considered.
Man Bites Dog is a very strange movie, with fantastic acting. Here is a summary from imdb - "A camera crew follows a serial killer/thief around as he exercises his craft. He expounds on art, music, nature, society, and life as he offs mailmen, pensioners, and random people. Slowly he begins involving the camera crew in his activities, and they begin wondering if what they're doing is such a good idea"
If you watch it, make sure it is the uncensored version...
Thanks for your list
Shows me some things to look for
And the list is not definitive, so all you naysayers and name droppers who are trying so hard not to poo-poo other peoples opinions, can do well to take a few notes and see what else is out there outside of your petty little lives
This dirties me, typing this note, because participating in one of these online debate forums is like running a race in the special olympics - no matter who wins you're still a retard.
So, for the original post, thank you. For those of you who said 'Think that's weird, try this one' thank you, too because I'll take notes and learn a little bit more.
Everyone else - Jesus Christ - go and take the garbage out like your mother asked you too.
Well maybe not top 10, but what about "A boy and his dog"? And my all time favorite, "Hell comes to Frog town"
I didn't read all the comments but I have to mention a very strange Hong Kong film whose title is, in English, "They Call Me Mr Vampire." It features a magacian who can control people by eating some of their hair, hopping vampires who can be put on pause by taping a piece of paper to their heads, and a pitiable succubus. Good stuff and howlingly funny at times.
Someone mentioned The Wicker Man earlier - there's a remake of this great film in the works, starring Nicholas Cage in the Edward Woodward role. I can't imagine who they'd cast as Lord Summerisle who could hold a candle to Christopher Lee, though.
Dave
Nobody mentioned Incubus.
A horror film entirely in Esperanto.
Stars pre-Trek William Shattner.
Can''t believe no one has mentioned Peeping Tom (1960) dir by Michael Powell
Already mentioned, but worth repeating: Everything by Peter Greenaway, but especially "A Zed and Two Naughts"
(Saxton, thanks for mentioning "Los Olvidados"! Love that happy ending!)
Oh, almost forgot:
"Wings of Desire" by Wim Wenders
I'm surprised noone has mentioned Koyaanisqatsi or Powaqqatsi- both very bizarre and very powerful.
A few years back, I was dragged down to the musical version of "Hedwig & the Angry Inch," in San Francisco of all places. It was quite an experience, to say the least...
Couple of truly kick-ass glam rock tunes in there though.
What about Videodrome. That is a pretty bizarre Movie.
Anything by Cronenberg could easily make a Top 10 of this variety. My favorite of his is eXistenZ.
Eric O.,David Bowie used the short film
"Un Chien Andalou" to open up shows on
the "Station To Station" tour back in
1975.
Didn't he go into his "Berlin" phase not
long after that? "Heroes & Low" et al.?
The film was,of course the colloborative
effort of Luis Bunuel & Salvador Dali.
un chien andalou....isn't that what Black Francis was yakkin' about in, uhm...Debaser?
un chien andalou is amazing. any of Luis Bunuel's flicks can fit on this list. Phantom Of Liberty or L'Age D'or, i'd wager.
Also, Herzog's Aguire - Wrath Of God could snugly fit.
and chris, im gonna be checkin out six string samurai thanks to you. i totally missed that number. cheers!
an Katakuri's is weird, certainly, but i'd wager Miike's Visitor Q is much weirder. But then most of Miike's filmography could go on here. Dead Or Alive would make it purely for the ending.
And then there's that brilliant moment in Ichi The Killer when the fella cuts his tongue off, then answers the phone immedately after. hah, that Miike, man. what a crazy sonnabitch.
Mark,I'm not sure.I've heard The Pixies,
but never willingly listened to them.
I'd venture to guess YES though. It's a
staple watch for many hipster/scenester
types and a great watch at that.
A lot of people find it pretentious and
over the top. But,that's what makes it
so fun to watch IMO.
Pixies are one of the greatest bands to ever be produced by Human-kind... definitely suggest you get on a listen right about now.
Eric, They're not my thing.I have heard
enough to know I don't like them though.
To each his own,live & let live,que sera
and all that.On the same hand I'm tired
of 99% of all Rock Music anyway.I've got
friends who went totally ape shit mad at
the chance to see them at Coachella,but
personally speaking, I'd rather listen
to obscure old Blues 45's by groups like
Shorty Bacon & The Rhythm Masters LOL.
Nice list, but pretty pedestrian in its 'bizzareness'.
"Eraserhead" is clearly Lynch at his most bizzarre. It took me several years of therapy to watch it again.
Nice call by Roscoe on "Tetsuo the Iron Man", but you might want to limit the scope here to US released or English-speaking films. If not, Japan would fill the list up in a second.
Skyloaf
A very strange film no one has mentioned
here yet is "The Dark Backward".
It starred Judd Nelson who was looking
to break out of his brat pack image. It
is a really creepy movie that will leave
you feeling uncomfortable as all hell.
It uses only "natural" sounds(electric
lights buzzing & popping and the likes)
as opposed to soundtrack music.It came
out in 1991 and didn't make much of a
splash.
It's a very hard movie to explain w/o a
lengthy review but you can find many
reviews of it online as it does have a
small cult following.
Kudos on the addition of Vanilla Sky. Most online folks are too pretentious to admit that (1) it is a great film; and (2) it is better than the original.
Duke,I don't know that I'd put "Aquirre-
Wrath Of God" on a bizarre films list.
It's a fucking beautiful film though and
is on my personal Top Ten Of All Fucking
Time Motherfucking Movies That I Could
Watch Over & Fucking Over Again Fucking
Forever list though.
Ditto for "Fitzcarraldo" and "Woycjek"
(spelling probably wrong)& the ski lift/
suicide scene in the latter flick is a
mindfuck for definite.Been a while since
I've seen any of this German stuff.
Have you ever been brave enough to watch
the version of "A.W.O.G" that was dubbed
into English? Aaaaaarrrrgh! Klaus Kinski
FUCKING hated it and any Herzog fan will
as well.
Actually now, come to think of it at the
end of "Aquirre...", when Herr Kinski is
surrounded by those monkeys as the raft
drifts away...
Just maybe it would qualify at that.
Reedster -- I'm not too pretentious, it's an amazing film. But you hit on a good point: Vanilla Sky rarely gets its due. Hard to say whether it's because of the Cruise factor, it was a commercial release, or it was too odd (for whatever reason) to strike a chord.
No "bizarre film" list worth it's weight would miss these:
Even Dwarves Start Small : Herzog
A Zed and Two Naughts : Greenaway
And if you're going to mention Lynch, then why wouldn't Eraserhead make the list. No plot, barely any dialogue and certainly stranger than Mulholland Drive. In my opinion, Cronenberg was off the mark on the Naked Lunch...but I give him lots of credit for trying.
Film Guy,I agree that "Naked Lunch" was
off the mark.There is TOO MUCH going on
in the book to adapt it properly to film
and keep it cohesive.
Many good books make lousy films. On the
other hand, many average books can make
great films.When a good writer gets his
himself an average story that can be
embellished upon he can turn it into a
film that'll shine."Angel Heart",IMO was
a great movie, but the book (which I now
forget the title of)was mediocre at best
to me.Interesting premise though, so the
writers had a good jumping off point. As
I was saying though it's often just the
opposite with good books. Every once in
a while the twain meets and you'll get a
great film that was also a great book,in
the case of "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's
Nest" for example.
Salon.com has a good explanation of what Mulholland Drive means here
You guys seem to know your stuff
Looking to put together a collection of sick,disgusting films. mostly 1970s italian cannibal flicks.Bless me with your knowledge and suggest a few films that are out right nasty and a place to purchse them. Much thanks
truehead, Go to the "Mondo Irlando" blog
site and talk to the Duke. He's wild on
Eye-Talian Zombie flicks. Lucio Fulci &
the like. For sleazeball Italian flicks
you can't go wrong with "Gates Of Hell".
An early 80's gore fest that twist your
stomach a bit. Seriously though,ask The
Duke De Mondo he's mighty scholarly on
the genre and could likely answer you as
good or better than anyone else around
here on the subject.Thats Duke De Mondo
at www.mondoirlando.com.
HW! What a kind fellow you truly are. thanks man.
Italian cannibal flicks don't get one iota better than Cannibal Holocaust, although i have something of a soft spot for Mountain Of The Cannibal God.
Cannibal Ferox is wretched, but in its uncut form does certainly have some inventive head and willy-lopping madness.
As for zombie numbers, Lucio Fulci is THE man. Zombie Flesh Eaters (also known as Zombie 2, or Zombie, on account of its an unnoficial sequel to Dawn Of The Dead, released in Italy as Zombie) is just wonderful. Zombies Versus Sharks!! What more do you want? How about plenty biting of necks and eyeball puncturing.
City Of The Living Dead is his masterpiece.
Although plenty folks (myself included) love The Beyond. Gotta dig that total disregard for "conventional" plot and just stringing together a series of amazing set-pieces.
Duke,
Did you happen to see the homage to Fulci on Malcolm in the Middle a few weeks back? The last place I'd expect to see something like that....
#171, thanks HW, you are a fount! I'm somewhat surprised you don't like the Pixies, but not shocked
Thanks,Duke.As they say "You the man"...
Speaking of Zombies: DDM, You're aware
of Romero's return to the screen around
Halloween of this year with his "Land Of
The Dead" right?
and thanks Farkers, very happy to see you - been a nice couple of days!
i am indeed aware of this HW. i just hope it rocks as i imagine it will, and not how i fear it won't.
Chris - a fulci reference on Malcolm! holy god. an just last night i learned that Bright Eyes made an appearance on The O.C, meaning i have to hunt the fucker down.
These Network cats. they know just how to grab the duke's attention. Like the time Kirsten showed up on The Waltons. "I'll only go out with you, John Boy, if you amend your writings to include more talk of zombies and motherfuck"
And regarding Aguire, it was indeed the madness with the monkeys on the raft i was thinking of.
Thanks,Eric. Coming from you it's quite
a compliment.Truly.
Duke,The Romero flick is set for release
in the US the third week of October.I've
heard from well informed friends that it
will be the equal of if not superior to
"Dawn Of " ".. The zombies are supposed
to be in a state of evolution from the
shambling, slow moving zombies of "Dawn"
to fast moving, killing machines within
this flick. Speaking of Romero, you ever
seen "Martin"?
Well...I think we can all agree that this list if flawed, but still...
Anything Gaspar Noe has touched should be considered. I Stand Alone, irreversible, or Carne are all weird ass films. Really disturbed but amazing ina Kubrick kinda way.
Agreed that a Jodrowoski film (Sante Sangre probably) should be included. Did you know that he was hired to do Dune with a Dali set design? That would have been the best film ever!
Of course, the Brazil people have that right.
Vanilla Sky was a crappy version of the original. Where the hell is 2001???
A lot of the films people are mentioning (Bunuel, and others) aren't all that bizarre to me. Just because they are differnt (Man Bites Dog, U-Turn, etc) doesnt mean that they are a really that bizarre. Blue Velvet is hyper realism...not at all bizarre in it's look or feel. Cept for that whole Dennis hopper thing. Lynch deserves mention, but not Mullolland...definitely Eraserhead.
All right...no more drunken/high rants. I could go for hours.
Out!
PS- Everyone should listen to more robbie williams. It would make the world a bettr place.
Dr. Pat,I can't believe that you've seen
"Legend Of The Seven Golden Vampires".
It is likely the best Kung Fu & Vampire
exploitation movie of it's kind ever to
be made. Also, the only one & rightfully
so.LOL!
After reading through this long list I am surprised that no mentioned an early Johnny Depp offering "Cry Baby". That is one wierd movie. It is so wierd that it is campy.
OK, great list. Just wanted to throw in my two-cents:
Time Bandits (1981)...great cast and a definitive 'WTF?' factor
The Piano (1993)....I think it's a remake, and is listed by more than one woman I know as a great romatic story, HOWEVER it has an uber 'WTF?' factor for just about any guys that sees it.
Any others I may mention have already been beaten to death.......
HW, i saw Martin many moons ago. I recall it being something close to wonderful. I quite like his Season Of The Witch, too.
And i must offer a musing with regards all this Gasper Noe banter. I think maybe there is confusion between disturbing and weird. Irreversible is a fucking masterpiece, no mistake, but it's not espeically "weird" unless you take the sick-enducing camera work and backwards narrative into account.
he has moments of weird, like the warning in I Stand Alone advising you to get the hell out if you don't wanna see something utterly degrading, but i think he's more distressing than weird.
Not TOO weird, but for those who think an "old classic film" is the original Star Wars -- I gotta throw in two of my all time favorite semi-weirdos:
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T
and
The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao
Must see!
Would you like to see what happens when a "BIG CHILL" type reunion of empty-headed, egotistical 30-somethings gets invaded by bugs that eat humans from the inside out?
I can't miss an opportunity to plug "INFESTED" -- a film written and directed by my best friend, Josh Olson, who also wrote the script for Cronenberg's next film, *"A History of Violence"
*loose adaptation of graphic novel of the same name
I love "The 5,000 Fingers Of Dr.T". But
I'm a sucker for most anything Dr. Seuss
had a hand in. The whole dream/nightmare
sequence is genius!!!
the #1 bizarre movie of all time is 1953's , "The 5,000 fingers of Dr. T" staring the kid from Lassie and cowritten by Dr. Suess.
Much love to Duke De Mondo for the heads up. Is Battle Royale banned in the US? A friend told me it was a must see and no one has ever heard of it.
You guys have hit all the nails on the head but I feel that I must put this one down, "The Brood", showed my friends on fungus and killed the mood pretty quick. Also to who ever that was at the top that put down "the 9th Configuration", thatta boy!!
FARK RULES!!!!!!!
Shark, very nice call with Seven Faces of Dr. Lao: Tony Randall as inscrutable Chinese carnival owner with truly frightening (for a kid) assortment of wonders for the unwary to behold - sort of Willy Wonka taken to another level of retributional sadism. Bugged the hell out of me when I saw it in the elementary school auditorium
An unmentioned and tasty little film is Sweetie. Fat naked girls falling from collapsing tree houses get me every time. Umm, oddly mainstream, but not right, Slingblade.
Slaughterhouse five
Killer Clowns from outer space
Freaks
Eraserhead
Need to categorize. and create several lists. Best Bizzar foreign, best bizzaro comedy...etc.
Wickerman....#1 for me...not sure which category. Horror, Musical..
Good 1st attempt
i think one of the weirdest films i've ever seen was something called "La Luna", with jill clayburgh.
the movie taken in its entirety wasn't so strange...but it had this bizarre incest thing going on between clayburgh and her drug-addled son.
Has anyone mentioned Blood Sucking Freaks? Snuff film, or art house classic?
Some unnamed friends of mine revered that film for a time back in the day.
It's certainly one bizarro film.
How about Boxing Helena?
I couldn't sleep for 2 weeks!
Pink Flamingo's is far and away the strangest, most bizarre movie I have ever seen. Divine is too much!!!
I'd put "Freaked" by Alex Winter (blonde guy in Bill & Ted) up for wierdness any day of the week!
Wasn't that called Freaks?
Whatever it's called, it's a great great and often overlooked comedy, but no where near the bizarro level of some of these other films.
Eric, the alex winter one was freakED. freakS is the Tod Browning masterpiece from the thirties.
I just picked it up the other day on DVD. (the browning one). I'd forgotten how incredible it was.
And the Winter number is indeed sorely underrated.
And i'm watching Birth at the minute, which A- is amazing, and B- is fit to be ranked alongside the most bizarre mainstream flicks of the last five years, for certain.
fucking great film, man.
AARGH! I couldn't stand Birth, worst film of '04 and one of the worst of recent memory.
Freaks on the other hand was freaking fantastic!
worst film of 04??? Chris! I can't get behind that for a second.
I can, though, see how it'd be a love it or hate it kinda thing. I'd imagine there ain't many "ah, it was alright" lines of thought regarding it.
But god almighty, that beautiful, beautiful cinematography, that hypnotic pacing, that score, how the whole thing feels like if Felini had made Ghost straight after La Strada, my god. Those performances! And the tragedy of it all! and the ambiguity!
Sweet mother of mercy, there's just too much for to adore.
Well, every film will have fans and haters. I found nothing in Birth to get behind. I thought the pace was coma inducing (I have nothing against slower paced films), the story ludicrous, characters without any brains in their head, lingering shots for no purpose. It was a pretentious mess.
But I won't hold that against you, we will just have to agree to disagree. I am sure there are many films that I love that you hate. :)
To be honest, I am truly surprised at the attention this column has gotten!
I would venture to add U-Turn to the list, though there is some distance between my last viewing and today. Maybe not as Bizarre as Mulholland Dr.