Extremely obscure film suggestions?

February 27, 2006 10:32 AM

Can you suggest some good, artful, compelling but extremely obscure films? By extremely obscure I mean less than 30 votes (approximately) on imdb.com (or not listed at all). Availability on DVD is not necessary.

A similar question has come up before but I found most of those films too well known. I'm asking this because I was very impressed the film Sennen Tabito and was wondering about other films that deserved more attention. I'm particularly intrested in Canadian and Asian films, and filmmakers (I would consider David Secter or Claude Gagnon as obscure but not Guy Maddin, for example).

posted by bobo123 to media & arts (43 comments total)

Decasia has 125 votes, please don't hit me.
posted by cloeburner at 10:34 AM on February 27, 2006

Good, artful, compelling films, even if obscure, will eventually develop a cult following. I don't think going by the number of votes on imdb.com is the best bet.
posted by jenovus at 10:35 AM on February 27, 2006

Your question brought back something I hadn't thought of in years: A late 80's Canadian movie (I remember the Canadian Film Board in the credits) that was entirely driven by the color and music. Strangely, awesomely, compelling for a movie that was just color and music. But you'll hate me, that I can't come up with the name. I don't think it even had an IMDB entry, and might have had 30 hits in Google. It definitely fits the criteria though - if you think it'd be of interest I'll ask around about the title? Or, if you've already seen it, I'm now dying to know what it was called! (Chromo... something?)
posted by whatzit at 10:41 AM on February 27, 2006

There is also Vinyl, while I wouldn't necessarily call it artful, it is good and compelling.

Ilha das Flores is good, artful and compelling, but it seems to be taking off in popularity. Watch it quick before it fails to enhance your credibility!
posted by cloeburner at 10:45 AM on February 27, 2006

Craig Baldwin's Tribulation 99?
Harun Farocki's Images of the World and the Inscription of War?
Chris Marker's Sans Soleil?
Trinh Minh-Ha's Surname Viet Given Name Nam?

These are all coming from a sort of critical theory/film studies-type vantage, so I'm not sure if they're what you're looking for, but I enjoyed them all quite a bit. Baldwin is a fun nutcase; I'd recommend all his films. And that Farocki movie really stuck with me -- I'd love to find a copy of that on DVD.

Browsing this site may be fruitful.
posted by TonyRobots at 10:46 AM on February 27, 2006

Try some independent, non-narrative films. Most anything by Kenny Anger or Stan Brakhage will stay with you. It's been what, 15 years since I've seen any of them, and I still think of window Water Baby Moving and Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome. Oops, both have > 30 votes on imdb. Nevermind.
posted by orthogonality at 10:46 AM on February 27, 2006

Ok, Brakhage's Sirius Remembered has only 14 votes, so I guess it qualifies. It's Brakhage filming his dead dog's decomposition.
posted by orthogonality at 10:50 AM on February 27, 2006

whatzit - I think you may be thinking of Norman McLaren. Check the web site of Canada's National Film Board for a list of his available works
posted by seawallrunner at 10:53 AM on February 27, 2006

seawallrunner - oh my god you're good. It was synchromie that I was thinking of in particular, but several of his other color-based movies were equally wonderful, including Lignes Horizontales and Lignes Verticales.

Besides the color-music theme, he also has several shorts that dealt with creating characters and a whole story through simple shapes on-screen accompanied by music. One in particular I've seen and can recommend is Le Merle. But I would never have come up with any of these names without McLaren's name!
posted by whatzit at 11:03 AM on February 27, 2006

It's got 68 votes, but I bet those 68 are the only 68 to see it:

Magic Hunter.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:09 AM on February 27, 2006

Akai Megane has 77 votes, but it seems to be obscure enough. The whole Jigoku no banken series is very bizarre film noir.
posted by Alison at 11:11 AM on February 27, 2006

Not extremely obscure, but Ousmane Sembene's most recent film Moolaadé got some good reviews. I recommend another film of his, 30+ years old now, called Xala (The Curse).

I'm no film expert, though, so these might be really well-known and I'm just underinformed.
posted by anjamu at 11:12 AM on February 27, 2006

Guide Season is an amazing little film.
Way too many votes, but if you're interested in the process of film making, Living in Oblivion is interesting.
posted by 445supermag at 11:16 AM on February 27, 2006

A lot of Jan Svankmajer's films have few votes on IMDB. I've seen a few of his things and they're pretty good and artful. Even one of his more popular ones, Faust only has 500 some votes.

Also, Wittgenstein Tractatus is a good short. It doesn't even have 5 votes!!!

However, I suspect if you're not too picky about votes you'll still find plenty of obscure good stuff.
posted by mto at 11:23 AM on February 27, 2006

Try the Video Data Bank. Can't get much more obscure than the stuff there, unless you want me to send you some never-before-seen experimental student videos. Because let me tell you, I have plenty.
posted by ruby.aftermath at 11:32 AM on February 27, 2006

I'd really like to see The Beaver Trilogy, which was discussed in an This American Life episode (act 1). From what I remember, it played at Sundance years ago and hasn't been available since... If anyone knows how to actually get a copy of it, lemme know.
posted by pwb503 at 11:34 AM on February 27, 2006

420 votes, but the Werckmeister Harmonies was really cool. Apparently it's coming out on DVD soon. You might also want to check out Satantango, a 7-hour long movie by the same director.
posted by driveler at 11:36 AM on February 27, 2006

Yuri Mamin's Sideburns (aka Sidebords, aka Bakenbardy): great little film about a Russian gang that worships and emulates Pushkin. And only 26 votes! From the director of Window to Paris.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 11:41 AM on February 27, 2006

These are Japanese:
Don't Look Back
Wild Life
Not quite as obscure: Sasayaki
posted by shoepal at 11:52 AM on February 27, 2006

I quite liked Raoul Ruiz' Une place parmi les vivants aka A Taste for Murder when I saw it at the Chicago International Film Festival a couple of years ago. It's a fairly fun noir/mind-twister period piece. Not quite as amazing as Le Temps retrouvé aka Time Regained but a good deal more obscure (24 votes), even for a relatively non-obscure filmmaker. It's not available on DVD, and for a surprisingly long time was not even available on the IMDB.
posted by hoboynow at 11:57 AM on February 27, 2006

Un©ut by John Greyson (best know for the horrendously overrated--yeah, I said it--Lilies) was a delightful riff on circumcision, copyright, opera, and Pierre Trudeau, among other things. I doubt it'll ever be released on DVD (a shame, since I'd really like to see it again), but it still sticks in my mind.
posted by kittyprecious at 11:58 AM on February 27, 2006

(the PFA Neo-eiga festival of Japanese indie film at berkeley shows lots of obscure Japanese films.) Here are some links:
2000
2004
Actually, a lot of what the PFA shows probably fits within your constraints.
posted by shoepal at 11:59 AM on February 27, 2006

Any of Sembene's films are worth watching.

Mabrosi has a lot of votes but is such a good movie, and was so poorly released in the US, that you should consider it anyway.
posted by OmieWise at 12:02 PM on February 27, 2006

Anything by Kenneth Anger, especially, Fireworks, Kustom Kar Kommandoes or some of his more paganistic ones such as Lucifer Rising. This is pretty classic, but is not even in imdb: Le Jette.
posted by _zed_ at 12:27 PM on February 27, 2006

Johanna d'Arc of Mongolia has 35 votes, sorry. But it is a wonderful and quite bizarre tale of a german backpacker taking a trip on the Trans-Mongolian Express.
posted by matildaben at 12:39 PM on February 27, 2006

This is pretty classic, but is not even in imdb: Le Jette.

Yes, it is.
posted by hoboynow at 12:43 PM on February 27, 2006

The Cremaster cycle? Way too many votes, but I'd still say it's pretty obscure.
posted by wilberforce at 12:47 PM on February 27, 2006

Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One

Director William Greaves makes a terrible movie, in the hopes of tricking the crew into surreptitiously making a movie about his idiocy and ineptitude. They do.
posted by Paddle to Sea at 2:12 PM on February 27, 2006

I haven't looked these up on imdb, but here are some films I love that I rarely hear talked about:

"Sebastian" very fun, very silly James-bondish movie with Dirk Bogart and Susanah York. Best opening credits I've ever seen.

"Stairway to Heaven" (a.k.a "A Matter of Life and Death") -- lovely Michael Powel fantasy set partly in heaven.

"Peeping Tom" freaky, scary movie that was considered so perverse that it killed Powel's career.

"Green for Danger" (brilliant Sherlock Holmes-like mystery with best onscreen detective character I've ever seen)

"Dead of Night" sever horror shorts, bound together by a clever frame story (one of the shorts is the inspiration for the film "Magic")

"One A.M." absolutely astounding Chaplin short. He's the only actor in the whole film. He plays a drunk (not his usual tramp character) rich guy who grapples with various machines and household appliances.

"Three Caballeros" Trippy Disney feature, made as a propaganda piece to enhance US/Latin-American relations.

"Ace in the Hole" (a.k.a "The Big Carnival") Little-known Billy Wilder great about a man trapped in a cave. (If you like this film, check out the soundtrack album for the musical "Floyd Collins." Both are based on the same story, both are great, but both go in wildly different directions.)

"The Killing" -- one of Kubrick's first films. Plays with time in some interesting ways, a bit like "Rashomon."

"The Country Life" -- lovely retelling of Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya," set in Australia.

"September" -- lovely retelling of Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya," (with a bit of "The Seagull" thrown in). A non-comedy by Woody Allen, with Diane Weist, Mia Farrow and Sam Waterston -- all playing against type.

"The War Game" (not the Matthew Broderick film). Strong mockumentary about a nuclear attack.

"The Hospital" cynical version of "ER with great performances by George C. Scott and Diana Rigg
posted by grumblebee at 2:22 PM on February 27, 2006

Mother, Juggs & Speed only has twelve votes for some reason. Maybe votes aren't the best way to measure obscurity.
posted by Alison at 2:31 PM on February 27, 2006

New Ask MetaFilter trope: “Lovely retelling of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya.” Also applicable to Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya.

Who would have thought The Film Snob’s Dictionary could come to life in this way?
posted by joeclark at 2:41 PM on February 27, 2006

Mother Juggs & Speed
posted by hoboynow at 2:42 PM on February 27, 2006

While reading Whazits description earlier I thought the movie might be either Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi, or Naqoyqatsi. Which are certainly compelling and artful, but way too mainstream for your criteria.
posted by jefeweiss at 2:45 PM on February 27, 2006

Heck with it.

Love and Human Remains is wonderful, with 949 votes, as is Jesus of Montreal with 2,558. Obscurity be damned; they're Canadian, by a French Canadian director, and if that doesn't qualify as obscure, I quit.
posted by ZakDaddy at 4:54 PM on February 27, 2006

at 46 votes, L'Hypothèse du tableau volé
posted by juv3nal at 5:55 PM on February 27, 2006

Ah, there are two versions of Mother, Juggs & Speed. I thought it was odd for a movie I've seen on showtime twice to get so few votes.
posted by Alison at 6:20 PM on February 27, 2006

I'd really like to see The Beaver Trilogy, which was discussed in an This American Life episode (act 1). From what I remember, it played at Sundance years ago and hasn't been available since... If anyone knows how to actually get a copy of it, lemme know.

They have a copy at Scarecrow Video in Seattle, or at least they did about a year and a half ago.

In my opinion, it's not worth the drive.
posted by mr_roboto at 7:34 PM on February 27, 2006

However, Scarecrow itself is definitely worth a stop if you ever find yourself in Seattle. Amazing place.
posted by mr_roboto at 7:37 PM on February 27, 2006

ZakDaddy, you forgot the Barbarian Invasions! Though, I'd argue that Denys Arcand is not very obscure, not very obscure at all.
posted by shoepal at 7:57 PM on February 27, 2006

Deep Breath by Parviz Shahbazi - Iranian film released a few years ago. Very good. Has the texture of Kiarostami and co., but much less well known.
posted by anonymous78 at 8:41 PM on February 27, 2006

Thanks for all the suggestions (too many to mark "best answer"). If any more come to mind please post as I'll check this thread a few times before it closes. I think I might try Johanna d'Arc of Mongolia first.

And I'm somewhat saddened that "obscure Canadian films" is taken to mean "acclaimed Genie winning films", then every almost every Canadian film but Porky's is obscure.

I mentioned Sennen Tabito, which is such a beautiful, lonely film, especially the character of the crippled girl going out every day on the desolate cloudy beach to flag signal passing oil tankers, hoping for a reply.

As for Gagnon (particularly Keiko), I caught this on tv once, and it struck me as very strange, a French Canadian doing his first film in Japanese, and one of the earliest Japanese films dealing with lesbianism (and done in a sorta European French cinema style). It struck me strange that Gagnon seemed to have such a body of work but isn't that well known (just now I was relieved to find apple.com has recently put up an article /advert about him). I hope his "obscurity" is more a factor of imdb being an English website and that he is better known among French and Japanese speakers.

David Secter is someone I mentioned because I saw a documentary on tv about him where they are talking to these famous people like Cronenberg about what an important filmmaker he is, and I looked him up on imdb and thought, jeesh this guy is obscure.

Anyway, I just wanted to find some of those films that might have been unjustly forgotten. The kinda films that make you think "Wow, this must be some major film I hadn't heard of", and when you look it up on google you find, well, not a lot.

A few notes, I saw Crispin Glover present his section of the Beaver Trilogy, while he's one of those gifted actors I'll watch in anything, I'd agree with the "not worth the trip" sentiment (unless Glover is there doing a whole slideshow and presentation). And while "Living in Oblivion" was not the sort of thing I was asking for, it's really a hilarious, underappreciated film. It still makes me chuckle.
posted by bobo123 at 10:07 PM on February 27, 2006

Jon Jost is an American filmmaker most famous for All the Vermeers in New York (149 votes). I saw Sure Fire (39 votes) in a theatre about 15 years ago and have been unable to forget it. I haven't seen Frameup (29 votes) or The Bed You Sleep In (31 votes) but the reviews are positive.
posted by soiled cowboy at 10:20 PM on February 27, 2006

A friend of mine showed me Very Nice, Very Nice (1961) a while ago. It has 23 votes on IMDB and carries a rating of 7.2. It was nominated for an Academy Award (Live Action Short).
posted by phoebus at 9:57 PM on February 28, 2006