List by Stuart Barr
Obscure and forgotten films you should see
I shall add to this list periodically as stuff occurs to me. I'm going to put in both obscure cult movies, and mainstream stuff that seems to have been forgotten about.
Some of these films are great, some are curiosities, some are just odd
Remember seeing Static on (I think) Moviedrome. Would love to see it again, my memories are too vague
It was me who recommended you cover The Wayward Cloud on the podcast. I know nothing about it at all when I saw it at the LFF
Excellent choices here Stuart. You have inspired me to get a similar list together.
The Reisz picture in particular is an almost completley forgotten film - a tremendous, pessimistic 70s work that would make a very good double bill with CUTTER'S WAY.
Sticking with Reisz, his film immediately before this is one is very strong also; 1974s The Gambler - with James Caan. Sorvino.
Electra Glide is a wonderful film and was a Moviedrome discovery for me.
Amazingly, "State of Grace" is the only one of these I've seen. Time to check our some of the others, I think...
I should have mentioned that State of Grace also features cinema's best ever use of a St. Patrick's Day parade
thanks for the kind words guys, I've added a few more obscurities (including a Sam Peckinpah martial arts film the the whole world seems to have forgotten) and shall continue to add to the list as I remember stuff. James Caan seems to be in a lot of these films. Anyone seen Slither? That one is so obscure it isn't even in the database yet.
Goddamnit, I want to see a HD version of Wolfen RIGHT BLOODY NOW!
I love Leolo and Love and Human Remains. Two very over looked Canadian films. Have you seen The Reflecting Skin? That should be on your list.
I havent seen The Reflecting Skin, but I actually saw Darkly Noon in its one week of release in the West End on a MASSIVE screen. Definately going on the list
Yay! Billion Dollar Brain! I had a Harry Palmer triple-bill a few months back, and this came as a total shock - it's almost the antithesis of the 'thinking man's Bond' of the first two, brilliantly bonkers!
A lot here I haven't seen. Excellent.
Do you take suggestions? I would recommend Death Machine and Spider Baby for this list. And several of Ryuichi Hiroki's; like Vibrator, Tokyo Trash Baby, l'amant, I am an S+M Writer.
Suggestions welcome Jacob. I wasn't all that keen on Death Machine to be honest and I haven't seen the others you mention. Spider Baby is a film I've wanted to see for ages
Cracking list. One that springs to mind straight away is "The Baby" from 1973. A weird and warped little gem.
Miracle Mile is wonderful but when will it ever get better than an MGM pan and scan DVD release? THAT is a travesty.
Stone Cold was surprisingly good film for a jock cum action DTV star. Loved Lance as the baddie. I was disappointed with Love and Human Remains as I had already seen an amazing production of it on the stage in Brghton. The film seemed totally flat in comparison (no pun intended).
State of Grace was really good but I remember little of it now. Miami Blues was bonkers but not so wacky as to be annoying.
Trancers, I feel gets a lot more kudos than it deserves, in my mind, but did achieve a lot with so little. It's still a cruddy little low budget film though. Accion Mutante was totally mad, on the other hand, and wasn't for me but all my mates enjoyed seeing it at the Duke of Yorks cinema here in Brighton. I much preferred his Day of the Beast or whatever it was called. Intrigued by his latest one, hope it comes out soon.
Was White of the Eye that racist dog attack film or some such? If so, I thought it was bollocks. Maybe I am confusing it with a film of a similar title.
Internal Affairs was excellent and one of those rare times when Richard Gere is actually good in it, but then he was cast as the bad man...
Hmmm, getting out those old Moviedrome programmes might be a good idea now that most stuff is available over the Internet. Certainly opened my eyes to different films.
Thank's for the comments Mudshark. White of the Eye is actually an incredibly weird and pretentious slasher film by the late Donald Cammell of Performance fame
"Was White of the Eye that racist dog attack film or some such? If so, I thought it was bollocks. Maybe I am confusing it with a film of a similar title."
I think you're thinking of Sam Fuller's White Dog (which I'm yet to see) . . .