Retro 10 List: Bizarre Films - Comments Page 2

Originally posted on Draven99's Musings on 7/28/04:…
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  • 26 - SupaStarr!

    Apr 30, 2005 at 2:19 pm

    The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a very bizarre and enjoyable film.

  • 27 - anthony

    Apr 30, 2005 at 2:25 pm

    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

  • 28 - Evan

    Apr 30, 2005 at 2:29 pm

    I dunno, I thought "Gummo" was bizarre--unless you think eating cats and raping retarded girls is normal.

  • 29 - T. Dunn

    Apr 30, 2005 at 2:30 pm

    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

  • 30 - Jakob

    Apr 30, 2005 at 2:36 pm

    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

  • 31 - yaas0n

    Apr 30, 2005 at 2:36 pm

    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.

  • 32 - Erin

    Apr 30, 2005 at 2:42 pm

    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?

  • 33 - yikes

    Apr 30, 2005 at 2:45 pm

    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.

  • 34 - Gilbert Nash

    Apr 30, 2005 at 2:46 pm

    For an unusual movie you would need to check out "The Day before the End of the World."

  • 35 - panda

    Apr 30, 2005 at 2:46 pm

    if those are the most bizarre films you can come up with you obviously havent seen that many films.

  • 36 - Scott

    Apr 30, 2005 at 2:50 pm

    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.


  • 37 - surfdork

    Apr 30, 2005 at 2:58 pm

    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

  • 38 - Sarah

    Apr 30, 2005 at 3:00 pm

    Uzumaki.

    It's a movie about people turning into snails. I kid you not. Besides being weird, it's a really shitty film.

  • 39 - Stan

    Apr 30, 2005 at 3:05 pm

    Vanilla Sky is "a thinking man's Total Recall"?

    Vanilla Sky was a disorganized, pompous mess with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

  • 40 - Stan

    Apr 30, 2005 at 3:06 pm

    Okay...maybe ONE redeeming quality. It was neat to hear Diaz talking about tasting come.

    But that's about it...

  • 41 - rahree

    Apr 30, 2005 at 3:06 pm

    I'd like to see "The Cube" by Jim Henson. Heard of it, but never seen it.

  • 42 - prjindigo

    Apr 30, 2005 at 3:07 pm

    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.

  • 43 - vibro

    Apr 30, 2005 at 3:10 pm

    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.

  • 44 - rahree

    Apr 30, 2005 at 3:13 pm

    Oh, and I firmly stand by my comment that "Vanilla Sky" is the remake of "Abre los ojos."

  • 45 - vibro

    Apr 30, 2005 at 3:15 pm

    oops ... my bad. its 80,000 not 20,000 ;)

  • 46 - DrPat

    Apr 30, 2005 at 3:16 pm

    The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires gets my vote. Hell, it gets all 10 of my votes.

  • 47 - natezee

    Apr 30, 2005 at 3:17 pm

    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.

  • 48 - Josh

    Apr 30, 2005 at 3:18 pm

    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.

  • 49 - Chris Beaumont

    Apr 30, 2005 at 3:32 pm

    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.

  • 50 - Chris Beaumont

    Apr 30, 2005 at 3:33 pm

    I loved Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires!

  • 51 - Joe Kowalski

    Apr 30, 2005 at 3:33 pm

    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.

  • 52 - Chris Beaumont

    Apr 30, 2005 at 3:36 pm

    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

  • 53 - Joe

    Apr 30, 2005 at 3:38 pm

    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.

  • 54 - himself

    Apr 30, 2005 at 3:39 pm

    That's evinced. Sheesh.

  • 55 - andrew e.

    Apr 30, 2005 at 3:54 pm

    What, no "Shakes the Clown"?

  • 56 - Rob

    Apr 30, 2005 at 3:54 pm

    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.

  • 57 - Bolo

    Apr 30, 2005 at 3:56 pm

    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 :)

  • 58 - Bolo

    Apr 30, 2005 at 3:58 pm

    And I forgot to mention some other weird movies that I would consider adding to this list:

    Buckaroo Banzai
    Primer
    I Heart Huckabees (sp?)

  • 59 - Michelangelo

    Apr 30, 2005 at 3:58 pm

    I like Blue Velvet. Guy finds human ear in a field and it's all downhill from there.

  • 60 - Ed

    Apr 30, 2005 at 4:05 pm

    Eraserhead, period.

  • 61 - Winston Smith

    Apr 30, 2005 at 4:06 pm

    Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things

    Eraserhead

    Tetsuo The Iron Man

  • 62 - Bob Dobbs

    Apr 30, 2005 at 4:12 pm

    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

  • 63 - Chris Beaumont

    Apr 30, 2005 at 4:14 pm

    Please read prior to posting, this is NOT a top ten, just a listing of 10 bizarre films that I enjoyed.

  • 64 - Stanley the Movie Guy

    Apr 30, 2005 at 4:18 pm

    hrm. not a single person mentioned Liquid Sky. I'm not sure you can get much stranger than that.

  • 65 - mike

    Apr 30, 2005 at 4:18 pm

    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.

  • 66 - Bob Dobbs

    Apr 30, 2005 at 4:22 pm

    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.

  • 67 - NinjAdaMX5

    Apr 30, 2005 at 4:32 pm

    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

  • 68 - zach

    Apr 30, 2005 at 4:40 pm

    what about eraserhead?

  • 69 - garrison

    Apr 30, 2005 at 4:44 pm

    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.

  • 70 - Brian

    Apr 30, 2005 at 4:46 pm

    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.

  • 71 - Eric Olsen

    Apr 30, 2005 at 4:49 pm

    great job Chris, fascinating topic. I've only seen Mulholland and Clockwork of those on your list and they are strange indeed. We have discussed Mulholland a number of times including here and here.

  • 72 - J

    Apr 30, 2005 at 4:51 pm

    "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

  • 73 - Jay Lewis

    Apr 30, 2005 at 4:59 pm

    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)

  • 74 - JT

    Apr 30, 2005 at 5:11 pm

    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)

  • 75 - JT

    Apr 30, 2005 at 5:13 pm

    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.

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