Lonely movie seeks mate for night of incredible synergy

February 7, 2008 10:52 AM

Double Feature: Help me come up with pairs of movies that, viewed together, create ULTIMATE AWESOME.

I want to host movie nights at my apartment. I'd like to show pairs of movies such that, while initially not connected, together make an evening of total awesome. Movies can be from any genre and together should be under four or five hours (so a Dr. Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia double feature is RIGHT OUT.) One could be the source material for a subsequent takeoff, they could have similar themes or deal with similar situations in different ways. They do not need to be classics, but they both need to be good in an entertaining, thought-provoking, funny, sick, etc. sense (but they do not need to be all of these things simultaneously). They don't need to be "good" in a critic-approved sense; bad movies that turn into awesome in large groups with popcorn and alcohol is totally fine. They can be from any time period, any genre, any country (subtitles are fine), etc. Go nuts.

My only real restriction is nothing truly excessively gross (think the scab / dinner scene in Dead Alive; Burton's Sweeney Todd was also pretty over-the-top for me). Also no gorno - Hostel, Saw, etc. Basically - avoid luxurious cannibalism and gratuitous torture. Stuff that is trying to make me puke is not okay.

Some things I've come up with so far:
The Princess Bride and Stardust (sweet fairy tales)
Office Space and Resident Evil (evil corporation)
The Wicker Man (1973, tyvm) and Hot Fuzz (cop meets quaint town + referential)
The Great Escape and Chicken Run (takeoff / referential)
Dog Soldiers and Cursed or Ginger Snaps (werewolves)

Feel free to suggest alternate pairings for any of the movies I've listed above (especially Office Space; my bf thinks there will be insufficient people interested both in Office Space and a zombie flick). If anyone's seen The Happiness of the Katakuris and would like to suggest a mate for it, that would be great too.

Bonus question: Suggest movies+sequels that would be well-suited to a bunch of...well, Mefite-type-people sitting around and watching together. I've already done The Addams Family and Addams Family Values, and a full Saturday of the director's cut LOTRs is a distinct possibility, as is Kill Bill I+II

Remember: AWESOME.

posted by fuzzbean to media & arts (144 answers total)

You might want to pair The Princess Bride with Spaceballs....but that may just be because I think both those movies are totally awesome.
posted by Grither at 10:56 AM on February 7, 2008

Dawn of the Dead and Shaun of the Dead (takeoff / referential)
posted by EndsOfInvention at 10:57 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

Ravenous and Parents. This would be a good choice for a movie/dinner party imho.
posted by elendil71 at 10:59 AM on February 7, 2008

Godfather and Star Wars would be perfect, but too long (sons of evil fathers grow to be men).

Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Rushmore (king of the high school grows up).

I'll keep thinking for more.
posted by kingjoeshmoe at 11:00 AM on February 7, 2008

Okay I obviously didnt read the post thoroughly. Feel free to ignore my suggestion.

But they are good movies.
posted by elendil71 at 11:01 AM on February 7, 2008

Airplane! and Zero Hour

Alive and Silence of the Lambs (bonus if you serve some food with it)
posted by bondcliff at 11:02 AM on February 7, 2008

An American Werewolf in London and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the movie, which is fairly terrible, but - to me at least - in a good way). Both a little gory, but more cartoony than real.
posted by rtha at 11:03 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

Cape Fear & Cape Fear

2001 & Sunshine

The Rear Window & Proof

MASH & Full Metal Jacket

Real Life & Memento

His Girl Friday & Pride & Prejudice

Friday & The Corner

The Barbershop & Joe's BedSty Barbershop: We Cut Heads

She's Gotta Have It & Waiting for Guffman

Chameleon Street & Spartan

Philadelphia Story & Six Degrees of Separation

The Zero Effect & The Specials
posted by OmieWise at 11:06 AM on February 7, 2008

I watched A Clockwork Orange and 2001: A Space Odyssey back to back once, and it was an interesting time. Surprisingly, they meshed well.
posted by gyusan at 11:09 AM on February 7, 2008

Frankenstein (the Karloff version) and Young Frankenstein
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting
posted by cerebus19 at 11:10 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

when I taught English in grad school, I'd always show my students some version of Hamlet (I personally love the Kenneth Branagh version best, but i believe it's the longest, so you may want to opt for one of the others), followed by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, which is a very darkly amusing retelling of Hamlet from the point-of-view of two minor characters. In my pointy-headed world, this counts as AWESOME (and I will say that at least a good portion of my students seemed to agree).

Caveat: R&G are Dead is actually better as a play (the film was directed by its playwright, Tom Stoppard, who is frankly a much stronger writer than he is a director), but it's still quite amusing AND features both Tim Roth and Gary Oldman in leather trousers, which is in and of itself AWESOME. (And if you pair it with the Zeffirelli version of Hamlet, you get to see crazy Mel Gibson in tights, too.)
posted by scody at 11:11 AM on February 7, 2008 [5 favorites]

Goodfellas and My Blue Heaven (which picks up immediately where Goodfellas leaves off).

Fail-Safe and Dr. Strangelove (the same story, straight up and with a twist).
posted by kirkaracha at 11:11 AM on February 7, 2008

Must see documentary/fiction combos:

Dogtown and Z-boys/Lords of Dogtown

When We Were Kings/Ali
posted by Gordion Knott at 11:12 AM on February 7, 2008

Casino Royale and Breach (Spies like us)

Dogtown and Z-Boys and Riding Giants (counter-culture documentaries) or Dogtown and Z-Boys and King of Kong (same)

Amelie and About a Boy (anti-socials become social and be cute)

Die Hard with a Vengeance and Rambo

Oceans 11 and Lock, Stock, and 2 Smoking Barrels

The Wallace and Gromit trilogy
posted by craven_morhead at 11:16 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

Network and Paralax View
A Better Tomorrow and The Matrix
El Topo and Mulhulland Drive
Last Temptation of Christ and Life of Brian (or, really, any zombie movie)
Night of the Living Dead and Day of the Dead
Chinatown and The Long Goodbye (both '70s noir updates)

And, of course, any of the random movies (or tv DVDs) that I've got kicking around (like the Cops two disc set interspersed with some Police Squad that you'd have to pick up).
posted by klangklangston at 11:17 AM on February 7, 2008 [2 favorites]

Oh, and Casino Royal and Casino Royal.
posted by klangklangston at 11:18 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

Coolie High and Fast Times at Ridgement High are both available at the library and would make an unbelievably awesome double feature.
posted by klangklangston at 11:19 AM on February 7, 2008

Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness, and They Live are great back-to-back-to-back features. Great one liners, cheesy violence, overacting, just general fun. They Live does start off slowly though.

12 Monkeys and Fight Club--both have trippy visual scenes and Brad Pitt as a revolutionary anarchist.

Six String Samurai and Hell Comes to Frogtown--cheeseball humore in both, post-Apocalyptic America in both, with swordfights and guitars in one and wrestlers attacking mutants with machine guns in the other. You can also sub Bubba Ho-Tep for Hell comes to Frogtown and have a musicians fighting monsters/the Red Army double feature.

Wayne's World and This Is Spinal Tap.

Linda Linda Linda and School of Rock--Japanese vs. American movies about student rock bands.

Children of Men and 28 days Later.

Punch Drunk Love and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind--semi-surreal, serious movies starring actors mostly known for their juvenile comedies.

Alien/Aliens and Blade Runner.

The Big Lebowski and Raising Arizona--contorted plots involving kidnappings.
posted by Benjy at 11:21 AM on February 7, 2008

Detour (1945) and The Trial (1962) are both great absurd films about feeling guilty about crimes you didn't actually mean to commit.

Something in my brain is saying Repentance would be a good double feature fit with Happiness of the Katakuris though I can't quite articulate why. There's a certain feel that both films have, though Repentance is a lot heavier.

Begotten and Eraserhead. Both are unique, intense, have birth as a theme and are in black and white.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 11:21 AM on February 7, 2008

I love a double feature!!! You can try

Casablanca and Barb Wire (same story, almost line-for-line)
Necessary Roughness and Rudy, or The Replacements
Desperately Seeking Susan and Hiding Out (Straight up 80s awesomeness)
(HA!) She's the Man and Just One of the Guys (chicks dressed as dudes!)
Red Dawn and Rambo: First Blood Part II (the ultimate awesomeness! WOLVERINES!)

I could do a million of these!
posted by indiebass at 11:27 AM on February 7, 2008

My only real restriction is nothing truly excessively gross

Begotten and Eraserhead. Both are unique, intense, have birth as a theme and are in black and white.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 11:21 AM on February 7 [+] [!]

Erasherhead would certainly violate this restriction.
posted by SBMike at 11:27 AM on February 7, 2008

When we were younger, you would never go wrong by pairing Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal.
posted by phredgreen at 11:28 AM on February 7, 2008 [2 favorites]

The Usual Suspects and Memento: hard-boiled crime movies in forward and reverse.

Singing in The Rain and Once: Both musicals, one classic and big; one modern and small
posted by lpsguy at 11:29 AM on February 7, 2008

Putting Dog Soldiers with Black Sheep will being more awesome to the table than you can possible imagine. The level of gore is about the same as Dog Soldiers and since it's all perpetrated by sheep, I don't many would find it that bothersome.

The Descent is actually Neil Marshall's best movie (and less gorey than Dog Soldiers), but all the other cave movies I've seen are just awful. You could put pair it with CHUD for a genuinely awesome/campy awesome contrast.
posted by Nelsormensch at 11:31 AM on February 7, 2008

Jackie Brown and Out of Sight (both based on Elmore Leonard books; Michael Keaton plays the same character in both movies).

Becket and The Lion in Winter: Peter O'Toole as Richard II at the beginning and end of his reign.

Mulholland Falls and L.A. Confidential: tough '40s/'50s L.A. cops.

The Long Goodbye [Robert Altman's] and The Big Lebowski.

Richard III, The Goodbye Girl, and Looking for Richard: three very different versions of Richard III.

Michael Mann's Heat and Collateral: Robert DeNiro and Tom Cruise are dressed the same; Heat begins on a subway platform and ends at the airport, Collateral begins at the airport and ends on a subway platform.

This previous question has more good suggestions.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:31 AM on February 7, 2008

Rhubarb (cat owns a baseball team) & Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch (dog plays baseball)
posted by mattbucher at 11:32 AM on February 7, 2008

Kurosawa-fest!
Yojimbo & Fistfull of Dollars
Seven Samurai & Magnificent Seven (+ Three Amigos if you feel so inclined)

Hitchcock:
Rope and Rear Window are interesting back to back (the camera barely moves, if at all, in either movie).
posted by LionIndex at 11:32 AM on February 7, 2008

I recently had a very successful movie night involving the less appreciated works of Sly Stallone:

Deathrace 2K, which does get gory but in a most hilarious way? None of the blood or guts are very convincing. This movie was offset with...
Staying Alive, the sequel to Saturday Night Fever directed/co-wrtten by Stallone. Stunning cover, eh? As you could imagine this movie is awful, and when I say awful I mean AMAZING.

I wanted to show Oscar but after Staying Alive my guests could take no more.

You also may want to try a dance movie theme: SNF and Staying Alive; Breakin' and Breakin 2'; Fame and Flashdance; Chorus Line and Dirty Dancing, and I'm sure there are plenty more contemporary ones that are just as bad.
posted by rokabiri at 11:33 AM on February 7, 2008

Dogma and Saved!: Movies poking fun at religion.
posted by jmd82 at 11:35 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

I've always wanted to try these together:
- Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back + Phantoms ("Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms")
- Seven Samurai + The Magnificent Seven
- Yojimbo + A Fistful of Dollars + Last Man Standing
- Death Wish + The Brave One
- Three Amigos! + Three Fugitives (if you're up for silly comedy)
- Blood and Wine + City of Industry (Stephen Dorff + diamond theft... On second thought, maybe avoid.)
- Drugstore Cowboy + Naked Lunch
- Wasabi + Taxi (Two good French action/comedy from writer Luc Besson)
- Ronin + Heist (David Mamet is the man)

I'll try to think of more throughout the day.

(On preview: beaten to some of the Kurosawa.
posted by ODiV at 11:35 AM on February 7, 2008

Chungking Express and Fallen Angels. (Wong Kar Wai films with similar themes, shooting style, etc.)
posted by chunking express at 11:35 AM on February 7, 2008

Seven Samurai & Magnificent Seven

band of heroes + referential

John Woo's A Better Tomorrow and Johnnie To's Exiled

as an example of early and late Hong Kong action cinema, the evolution of the genre, and different styles (Woo's kinetic bullet ballets vs. To's restrained, minimalist firefights) applied to constant themes (honor among thieves)

Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress and Star Wars: A New Hope

two peasants + princess + retired general + farmer's child vs. empire

Tampopo and Ratatouille

food movies that are not food porn
posted by bl1nk at 11:35 AM on February 7, 2008

Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat?

When I was seven, my ideal double feature was Short Circuit and Batteries Not Included. Haven't seen either in a while, though, so I'm not sure how well they'd play for grown-ups.
posted by Metroid Baby at 11:36 AM on February 7, 2008

Oh, and American History X/Higher Learning/The Believer/insert nazi movie here.
posted by jmd82 at 11:36 AM on February 7, 2008

How about a feature film, and then the documentary about the making of that film. "Apocalypse Now" and "Hearts of Darkness." "Fitzcarraldo" and "Burden of Dreams." I'm sure there are more!
posted by nancoix at 11:37 AM on February 7, 2008

Godfather then Shawshank Redemption

If you're going for ultimate, there it is.
posted by samsara at 11:37 AM on February 7, 2008

Poor Cow (1967) and The Limey (1999). Terence Stamp's flashbacks in The Limey are of him in Poor Cow.

Nikita and The Vanishing: great European movies that inspired crappy American remakes.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:46 AM on February 7, 2008

The multiple POV double feature: Go and Run Lola Run.

Hard core word geek TRIPLE play Word Wars, Wordplay, and Spellbound.
posted by DiscourseMarker at 11:50 AM on February 7, 2008

I'd match The Happiness of the Katakuris with Tampopo. They both have a general sweet, but utterly bizarre feeling to them.

kirkarach beat me to Long Goodbye/Lebowski.
posted by Eddie Mars at 11:57 AM on February 7, 2008

Baraka or any of the Qatsi movies with Planet Earth (ok fine, not a movie, but a silverscreen masterpiece nonetheless)
Seven and Silence of the Lambs
Taxi Driver and American Beauty
Terminator 2 and Bourne Ultimatum
Braveheart and the Shawshank Redemption
the Darjeeling Limited and the Royal Tenenbaums
Donnie Darko and Beetlejuice
Magnolia and Requiem for a Dream
Pan's Labyrinth and the Secret Garden
Juno and Amelie

man, this is too fun, i could go on...
posted by flaneuse at 11:57 AM on February 7, 2008

Oh, and I'd match Ratatoullie with Big Night.
posted by Eddie Mars at 11:58 AM on February 7, 2008 [2 favorites]

Death Wish and Falling Down. Two white collar guys lose it. One goes vigilante while the other goes crazy.
posted by Loto at 11:59 AM on February 7, 2008

Ack, no time to find the links, but Crank and Snatch would be a perfect double feature. Fast-paced, small-budget adventure films.
posted by misha at 12:00 PM on February 7, 2008

Gattaca + Æon Flux (Brutalist architecture, shared aesthetic, and similar plot points)
posted by cowbellemoo at 12:00 PM on February 7, 2008

oh and for an evening revelling in pre-Giuliani New York, when crack was king and the entire city was scary, I'd suggest: The Warriors and Escape From New York

if your friends are into football at all, it can also be interesting to pair Varsity Blues with Friday Night Lights as both are movies about West Texas high school football, but one is a glossy blockbuster and the other is a lot grittier, less sentimental and more complex.

Also, as far as Nazi double features go, I think Conspiracy + Schindler's List could be interesting, though more cerebral than awesome.
posted by bl1nk at 12:02 PM on February 7, 2008

I had a party once that was themed "Klein & Cleese; Chili and Cheese". In addition to a pot of chili, home made biscuits and cheese, we watched "Silverado" and "A Fish Called Wanda" (both movies had Kevin Klein and John Cleese). Silverado is a very fine Western, Wanda is a terrific farce.
posted by plinth at 12:02 PM on February 7, 2008

The Running Man and The Third Man (or Third Man and The Man Who Wasn't There)

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Where the Buffalo Roam

The Truman Show and The Matrix
posted by Curry at 12:02 PM on February 7, 2008

How about The Bicycle Thief and Pee Wee's Big Adventure?
posted by action man bow-tie at 12:05 PM on February 7, 2008 [2 favorites]

When I saw Bubba-Hotep I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was the second movie in a trilogy. Repo Man was the first.

I have watched these two movies together and felt the absence of the third.
I cannot explain this.
posted by Seamus at 12:08 PM on February 7, 2008

OK, I will reluctantly share my plan for the most awesome movie night ever.

Sister Act 2, School of Rock, and Take the Lead. Movies about teachers taking an unlikely band of kids and transforming them into AWESOME PERFORMING ARTS PEOPLE.

Or for a silly/serious pairing, you could go with Sister Act 2 and Dangerous Minds. All the same stereotypes exploited, one for humor/music, one for tears, tears and more tears.
posted by lampoil at 12:09 PM on February 7, 2008

The Thin Blue Line and Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 12:14 PM on February 7, 2008

Little Giants & The Sandlot (if you're into kiddie sports movies)
Yellow Submarine & Across the Universe (especially if you're, um, high and really like the Beatles)
You could also match Shortcut with Spacecamp.
posted by po822000 at 12:15 PM on February 7, 2008

Ooh ooh, one more:

Run Lola Run and Groundhog Day. Repeating a day over and over as suspense and comedy.
posted by kingjoeshmoe at 12:15 PM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

Funny, when I do this exercise I usually do "what would make a cool 3 pack of DVD's to get in a bargain bin".

But I can never beat the Cold War triple pack: War Games, Red Dawn, and Spies Like Us.

I now realize that I have completely missed the point of the "double feature", and that one needs wine with their cheese; peanut butter with the chocolate. Thanks for this.
posted by butterstick at 12:15 PM on February 7, 2008

Requiem for a Dream followed by Dark City.

Two separate protagonists yearn to see Jennifer Connelly at the end of a long pier.
posted by eyeballkid at 12:17 PM on February 7, 2008

Casablanca and Play It Again, Sam
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 12:19 PM on February 7, 2008

My friend just suggested:

WarGames and Sneakers
Gremlins and Ghostbusters

He is smarter than he seems.
posted by butterstick at 12:21 PM on February 7, 2008

Some more:

The Clint Mansell connection: Requiem for a Dream and Pi
Enter the Dragon and Karate Kid -or-
Enter the Dragon and The Crow
posted by po822000 at 12:25 PM on February 7, 2008

Watching 12 Monkeys followed by Fight Club shows Brad Pitt evolving his slightly generic crazy role in the first film to the excellent performance in Fight Club as Tyler Durden.

You can see the same sort of evolution in Jean Reno's hitman character between the movies La Femme Nikita and Leon: The Professional where he goes from a bit part to a nuanced role. Those movies aren't linked, though they are thematically similar and by the same director.

Another fun one would be going from Ronin to Meet The Parents, where Robert De Niro plays basically the same CIA spook character only one is a straight role and the other is a comedy.

Ran and Old Boy seem like they'd make an excellent pairing since they are both Asian tragedies that have echoes of King Lear.

Two other movies by the director of Old Boy pair well together, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance are two looks at the horrors of revenge, though on second though these might be a little more violent than you are looking for.

Nosferatu followed by Shadow of the Vampire would be pretty sweet since the second film is a fictional take on the making of the first one.

The Da Vinci Code and The Ninth Gate. The first movie is a little meh, but it becomes much more interesting in comparison because The Ninth Gate is almost exactly the same plot only inverted into a quest to find the Devil instead of Christ's descendants.

Also pair Ginger Snaps with Blood Moon (also called Wolf Girl). They are both films that examine lycanthropy from a feminine perspective, and Blood Moon makes for an interesting counterpoint to most werewolf movies so bonus points if you watched the other pairing the week before.
posted by CheshireCat at 12:31 PM on February 7, 2008

Sliding Doors and Next and Frequency
(timeline/choice nexus) All are fun, though not good.

I gotta say, this is an awesome thread. It makes me want to start up movie nights...
posted by eralclare at 12:40 PM on February 7, 2008

Easy Rider and Electra Glide in Blue.
posted by zeraus at 12:53 PM on February 7, 2008

Grim Prairie Tales and Evil Dead 2.



And some pot.
posted by tdischino at 12:59 PM on February 7, 2008

Oh, and Casino Royal and Casino Royal. [sic] actually 'Royale'

Well, one of those is good, but the other is completely unwatchable. Which is which is left as an exercise for the reader.

My entry would be Slick, Low-Rent Sociopath Night: Miami Blues & Croupier
posted by Naberius at 1:02 PM on February 7, 2008

I'd put Some Kind of Wonderful with Heathers - Outsider kid gets the girl, then realizes he really wants other girl, and outsider kid tries to blow up the school - A little syrup, a little tart...
posted by pupdog at 1:04 PM on February 7, 2008

Or a Caulkin family night:

Home Alone & Igby Goes Down
posted by po822000 at 1:11 PM on February 7, 2008

If you're sorta film nerds, then:
Fitzcarraldo and Incident at Loch Ness (for Werner Herzog fans).
posted by Ziggurat at 1:14 PM on February 7, 2008

Okay here's mine, recommended by a friend: But I'm a Cheerleader followed by Beowulf (with Christopher Lambert). Apparently, one brings a certain je ne sais quois out of the other.
posted by malaprohibita at 1:14 PM on February 7, 2008

Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey film fest!

Red Dawn and Dirty Dancing!

It's all kinds of 80s silliness.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 1:16 PM on February 7, 2008

Wings of Desire and City of Angels
Babel and Crash
The Machinist and Pi
posted by hilby at 1:17 PM on February 7, 2008

Strange Brew and Hamlet.
posted by sexymofo at 1:18 PM on February 7, 2008

Three Kings and Syriana or Jarhead
posted by hilby at 1:18 PM on February 7, 2008

Awesome thread!

Dazed and Confused and American Graffiti
Dazed and Confused and Superbad
Sunshine and Alien
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 1:25 PM on February 7, 2008

Requiem for a Dream and Human Traffic
posted by dismitree at 1:25 PM on February 7, 2008

actually, in the realm of Marines-Going-Psychotic I would totally pair Jarhead and Full Metal Jacket.

A few weeks ago, during the height of Girl Scout Cookie season, I was listening to a co-worker bemoan the competitive pressure that his daughter was facing with selling cookies, and I facetiously suggested that her troop leader should be doing a double bill of Glengarry Glen Ross and Boiler Room to get themselves psyched up for the season. He was both amused and horrified as we started trading girl scout modified hardboiled sales talk.

"These are the new cookies. They're the Glengarry cookies. And you don't get them. Why? Because to give them to you would be throwing them away. They're for closers."
posted by bl1nk at 1:31 PM on February 7, 2008 [2 favorites]

My last one, I swear:

John Cusack/Tim Robbins films:

High Fidelity and Tapeheads.

Man, I love this thread.
posted by po822000 at 1:31 PM on February 7, 2008

Babe and Animal Farm (as done by the Olympia Film Society several years ago)
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:43 PM on February 7, 2008

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid and any of the movies it has bits from.
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:46 PM on February 7, 2008

Or you could watch three films made in the '90s that have more to say about America after 9/11 than most films made this decade:

Three Kings, The Siege, and Starship Troopers.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 1:52 PM on February 7, 2008

Grease and Hairspray.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 2:19 PM on February 7, 2008

Body of Evidence and Basic Instinct
***Munich and Walk on Water
Undercover Brother and Pootie Tang

and one terrible, terrible idea: 16 Candles and 2001
posted by kittyprecious at 2:32 PM on February 7, 2008

Dirty Dancing and Strictly Ballroom (wallflowers turn into dancers)
Juno and Saved! (unplanned teen pregnancy)
School of Rock and Les Choristes (kids transformed by music)
Baz Luhrman's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge (tragic forbidden love... and same director!)
Ocean's 11 and The Italian Job (heists)
posted by kitkatcathy at 2:36 PM on February 7, 2008

Before Sunrise, and Before Sunset, what ever will happen with that slacker pair Hawke and Delpy?
posted by sweetkid at 2:52 PM on February 7, 2008

These are fantastic! It's too hard to pick best answers since they all are.

A couple of things have made me reconsider the kind of pairings I'm going for: I really like the idea of a comedy/shiny happy movie and a horror/dark brooding movie that have the same theme OR two movies from different cultures/time periods about the same thing. So, Pan's Labyrinth+The Secret Garden and The Truman Show+The Matrix are spot on, as is Linda Linda Linda+School of Rock and Seven Samurai+The Magnificent Seven. So Dogma+Constantine would be more what I'm looking for than Dogma+Saved! (maybe Saved! could go with Juno? I haven't seen Juno. Or does Saved! belong with The Virgin Suicides?)

And Tampopo sounds like a PERFECT match for The Happiness of the Katakuris.

But all of your suggestions are wonderful and going on the list. Please keep them coming...I'm still reading!
posted by fuzzbean at 2:57 PM on February 7, 2008

(I realize this is not the usual use of best answer; I'm just trying to highlight the clarification amidst all the AWESOME. I'll take it off once this has moved out of being an active question.)
posted by fuzzbean at 3:01 PM on February 7, 2008

Oceans 11 and Oceans 11?
Thomas Crown Affair and Thomas Crown Affair?
The Longest Yard and The Longest Yard?

Ok, more seriously:

Toy Soldiers & TAPS?
ET & Gremlins
posted by legotech at 3:17 PM on February 7, 2008

Harold and Maude + The Graduate (older women, younger men, dark comedies)
posted by bjork24 at 3:22 PM on February 7, 2008

I'm totally gonna play this game with my friends!

Ferris Bueller's Day Off & Election --- I just saw the latter, and was thinking of Matthew Broderick as the same character (Ferris Bueller) in Election, which is kind of fun to pretend is a sequel - or at least, epilogue. Like, sure he was a star in high school, so he became a high school teacher because that's the only place he ever really shone, and his frustration with Reese Witherspoon's character stems from the fact that she plays FB's total opposite.

The Truman Show and Pleasantville - I once gave a talk about how they're both reinterpretations of the Genesis story.

Dawn of the Dead and Shaun of the Dead, obvi.

28 Days and 28 Days Later - nothing in common other than their names.
posted by prophetsearcher at 3:26 PM on February 7, 2008

A trio, but they're relatively shorter films: Rubber's Lover, Tetsuo the Iron Man, and Electric Dragon 80000v.

Monochrome, Japanese, playful with notions of becoming something else, and fun as a large bag of monkeys in a taco bell. All three use your brain's testicles for a speed bag.

Augment with absinthe, skinny puppy music in background, and head injuries for best effect. A damn fine evening.
posted by dong_resin at 3:26 PM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

Hmm, for film noir, how about The Maltese Falcon (or really any Spillane or Hammett adaptations) and Brick. Very cool juxtaposition of language and style.
posted by elendil71 at 3:28 PM on February 7, 2008

I missed the "excessively gross" bit of your question. avoid my suggestions.
posted by dong_resin at 3:28 PM on February 7, 2008

I saw a double-bill in a rep cinema many years ago that had me feeling like I'd dropped acid by the end. This was Legend of the Overfiend, followed by El Topo.
posted by stinkycheese at 3:30 PM on February 7, 2008

Requiem for a Dream and Gia. Both wildly depressing movies chronicling a decent caused by drug use.
posted by Mitheral at 3:35 PM on February 7, 2008

Roadhouse & Convoy.
posted by nola at 3:41 PM on February 7, 2008

My Fair Lady and Gigi.
posted by misha at 3:43 PM on February 7, 2008

Altered States + Akira
posted by zengargoyle at 3:57 PM on February 7, 2008

Rear Window and The Conversation. I've wanted to sit down and watch this double feature for a while. Both are voyeuristic, where one gives you visuals and the other gives you audio.

Also, this one doesn't really fit the light-hearted/serious mold, but Dark City and The Matrix fit pretty well, and its interesting to see what one takes from the other.
posted by malapropist at 3:58 PM on February 7, 2008 [2 favorites]

Buckaroo Banzai and Big Trouble in Little China.

One Day in September and Munich, about the 1972 massacre and the response.

In Cold Blood and Capote.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:04 PM on February 7, 2008

The Lost Boys and License to Drive

Where did they go so wrong...

Once watched Stand By Me and Little Shop of Horrors in the same night. Not sure why they went together well, but they did.
posted by pupdog at 4:05 PM on February 7, 2008

I had a very successful movie night with Ed Wood followed by Plan 9 From Outer Space.

I can't explain why I think they'd fit together, but for off-beat Gothic films, The Others and Vertigo seem like a good pairing.
posted by Paragon at 4:08 PM on February 7, 2008

"Meet Me in St. Louis" and "Halloween" (Halloween!)
"Before Sunrise" and "The Third Man" (Vienna!)
"All the President's Men" and "His Girl Friday" (Newspapers!)
"The Bad and the Beautiful" and "Hollywood Boulevard" (Hollywood!)
"The Faculty" and "The History Boys" (School!)
"The Emerald Forest" and "City of God" (South America)
"Y Tu Mama Tambien" and "Superbad" (Teens deflowered!)
"Eraserhead" and "Raising Arizona" (Family Life)
"Black Narcissus" and "Nasty Habits" (Nuns!)
"Juno" and "4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days" (Teen Pregnancy!)
"The Secret Agent" and "Apocolypse Now!" (Joseph Conrad onscreen!)
"Absolute Beginners" and "Rebel Without a Cause" ('50s Delinquents)
"Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "Smithereens" (Young Woman in NYC)
"Fire on the Plain" and "Babette's Feast" (Food!)
"Vertigo" and "Modern Romance" (Modern Romance!)
"Requiem for a Dream" and "Drugstore Cowboy" (Drugs!)
"Convoy" and "Freeway" (On the Road!)
posted by doncoyote at 4:10 PM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

The Good the Bad and the Ugly and Blazing Saddles?
posted by Deathalicious at 4:12 PM on February 7, 2008

"two movies from different cultures/time periods about the same thing"

How about Gangs of New York and Manhattan? Those two are about as different as you can get about New York.
posted by malapropist at 4:19 PM on February 7, 2008

Eat Drink Man Woman and Delicatessen. Both off-beat foreign comedies about food from popular directors (Ang Lee of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Jeunet of Amelie) but also very very different.
posted by Paragon at 4:34 PM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

Hud and The Last Picture Show.
posted by concrete at 4:47 PM on February 7, 2008

Capturing the Friedmans and 51 Birch Street

Not shiny happy, but both are thought-provoking documentaries about family secrets. Lots of food for discussion.
posted by pammo at 4:48 PM on February 7, 2008

I like the pre-Giuliani NY idea, but the perfect pre-Rudy double bill is The Warriors and The Wiz. Oooh, or Fame.

Also: Death Proof and Vanishing Point? The former is kind of an "homage" to the latter.

Maybe too old-Western-y, but High Noon and Rio Bravo. (First: serious, earnest allegory; second: fun times with John Wayne and Dean Martin. The plots are kind of opposed, Howard Hawks made Rio Bravo as a response to High Noon.)
posted by SoftRain at 6:20 PM on February 7, 2008

A Conneticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and Army of Darkness
posted by clh at 6:22 PM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

Pick-up on South Street & The Pick-up Artist

Symbiopsychotaxiplasm & Waiting for Guffman or Adaptation

Mosquito Coast & Keep the River on your Right

Little Deiter Needs to Fly & Rescue Dawn

Rescue Dawn & Behind Enemy Lines

You Can't Take it With You & Wallstreet

Sullivan's Travels & My Own Private Idaho

Network & Soapdish

Home for the Holidays & The Accused

The Wonderboys & Barton Fink
posted by OmieWise at 6:42 PM on February 7, 2008

Hedwig and the Angry Inch + The Commitments = the redemptive power of rock and roll.

For more musical man-love, replace The Commitments with Velvet Goldmine.
posted by moonlet at 6:53 PM on February 7, 2008

Nosferatu/Dracula and Jesus Christ, Vampire Hunter
posted by landedjentry at 7:44 PM on February 7, 2008

You mentioned the Kill Bills. How about Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs? Although everyone has seen those right?
posted by JaredSeth at 7:45 PM on February 7, 2008

Hm. In terms of alternate takeoffs on Westerns, how about two episodes of "Firefly" (I'm thinking "Jaynestown" and "Our Mrs. Reynolds") combined with, oh, say "Unforgiven"?
posted by WCityMike at 8:37 PM on February 7, 2008

Several people have offered up pairings with Juno, but i think that
Ghost World and Juno
would be an excellent combination to show the difference between 90s quirky indie movies with precocious main characters and 2000s quirky indie movies with precocious main characters.


Aliens/Predator/AVP
In the Mood for Love and 2046 (These movies feature the same characters and, IIRC, 2046 is essentially a story written by the main characters in In the Mood for Love. Plus they're both fantastically directed by Wong Kar Wai and gorgeously shot by Chris Doyle.)

Zeitgeist movies (that is: made around the same time, with similar concepts, in different countries):
Casshern and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow were both shot entirely on green screen.
Banlieue 13 and Ong Bak both feature amazing live (that is, not faked, but real) stunts in relatively unknown martial arts styles.

Tron and Avalon

Also, a LOTR Extended Edition marathon was mentioned. Please, don't do this. If you do, at least extend it over a week or two. My roommates and I did the 12-hours-in-a-row thing, and none of us even considered watching those movies for the next 2 or 3 years. That much Ringage in one sitting will sour you on hobbits, goblin-men, and the dark lord for a good while.

ps - What about movies with similar plots that came out at the same time? like Antz/A Bug's Life, Dante's Peak/Volcano, Deep Impact/Armageddon, The Prestige/The Illusionist? (There used to be a wikipedia article listing these, but I can't find it now.)
posted by sleeping bear at 9:12 PM on February 7, 2008

Better Off Dead / Martian Child. John Cusack the perpetually miserable, unsuccessful, dorky kid versus John Cusack the sometimes sanguine, successful, dorky adoptive parent. The palimpsest effect makes Martian Child that much more poignant.

2001 / Solyaris. I mean the Tarnovsky, I haven't seen the Soderbergh. And do not invite anyone who requires that movies develop quickly or state a concise thesis, because they will kill you. Twice.

Hitch / Roxanne. Preferably in that order. Closer match, Roxanne / The Truth About Cats and Dogs. Last but not least, Wikipedia tells me Cyrano de Bergerac has also been filmed with rather a different tradition of swordsmanship as Aru Kengo no Shogai (1959, dir. Hideyo Amamoto, also titled Samurai Saga), and I'd love a chance to see that alongside Roxanne or Cats and Dogs.

Bringing Up Baby / What's Up, Doc? Wacky woman guns for for square, engaged man, who falls for her in the course of ensuing trouble.

Dr. Strangelove / The Mouse That Roared. Nuclear war comedy with Peter Sellers playing multiple roles.

And, straight from the Winter 2008 season poster from BYU's International Cinema, the "Hollywood Rips Off" series:

Shall We Dansu? (dir. Masayuki Suyo) / Shall We Dance (dir. Peter Chelsom)
(previously mentioned) Seven Samurai / The Magnificent Seven
Pinocchio (dir. Roberto Benigni) / Pinocchio (Disney, dir. Hamilton Luske, Ben Sharpsteen)
Rash333;mon / The Outrage (with Paul Newman as a bandito and William Shatner as a preacher)
3 Hommes en un Couffin / Three Men and a Baby
Il Mare / The Lake House
Солярис (dir. Tarkovsky) / Solaris (dir. Soderbergh)
Gojira (1954, dir. Ishir333; Honda) / Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956, recut, dir. Ishir333; Honda and Terry O. Morse) / Godzilla (1998, dir. Roland Emmerich). Total back-to-back running time is 5:17.
(previously mentioned) Wings of Desire / City of Angels
William Shakespeare's Hamlet (dir. Branagh) / Hamlet (dir. Michael Almereyda). Great contrast of approaches, but total running time is a whopping 5:54, thanks mostly to Branagh.
Mostly Martha / No Reservations (identical plots for once!)
Autumn Sonata (dir. Bergman) / Tehzeeb (dir. Khalid Mohamed). Well, it's "Bollywood Rips Off" anyway.

It requires some thought, but I'm pretty certain that between West Side Story and the various Romeo and Juliets you've got a few good candidate pairings. I'd almost like to see West Side Story with the 1996 Luhrmann one, but you could put it against the Zefirelli one too.
posted by eritain at 12:13 AM on February 8, 2008

Blast. Substitute o with macron for that 333; business. Shoulda cheated and used ô.
posted by eritain at 12:38 AM on February 8, 2008

Idiocracy/Children of Men.
posted by Curry at 1:13 AM on February 8, 2008

My brother reports that his roommate showed Altered States / Requiem for a Dream. This is what we call balanced coverage.
posted by eritain at 1:45 AM on February 8, 2008

Finally, if you're going to show Wings of Desire, you should show its second half, Faraway, So Close. Recommended pairing: A Tale of Two Cities (1935, dir. Jack Conway seems to be generally preferred to 1958, dir. Ralph Thomas). Not only because Sydney Carton and Cassiel have interesting arcs in common, but because Berlin really was two cities for a while.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way— in short, the period was so far like the [Post-War, Cold War, and Post-Cold War eras], that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

posted by eritain at 2:21 AM on February 8, 2008

Lost In Translation AND Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
posted by ChrisNoXmas at 4:44 AM on February 8, 2008

Hero and Braveheart (not sure if this is beyond the gory scope)- two epic movies with a central protagonist taking on what was considered the world. I also say these because of the ending. You could also throw in Gladiator, but I think those two would be more interesting because of the distinct stylistic differences.
posted by jmd82 at 6:28 AM on February 8, 2008

Galaxy Quest and The Wrath of Khan
posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 9:45 AM on February 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

Deskset & War Games
posted by OmieWise at 9:47 AM on February 8, 2008

Ooh! I forgot: Arlington Road and Reefer Madness, two films that take ludicrously extreme but deadly serious views of their political/social opposites.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 9:49 AM on February 8, 2008

Kalifornia + True Romance
Badlands + Natural Born Killers
Paris, Texas + Smoke Signals
The Mexican + From Dusk Till Dawn
O Brother, Where Art Thou? + Monty Python & The Holy Grail
Manhunter + Silence of the Lambs
About Schmidt + Secondhand Lions
The Apostle + Elmer Gantry
Dangerous Liaisons + Cruel Intentions
Being There + High Fidelity
posted by maggieb at 9:54 AM on February 8, 2008

stinkycheese: I saw a double-bill in a rep cinema many years ago that had me feeling like I'd dropped acid by the end. This was Legend of the Overfiend, followed by El Topo.

That's just evil (and I'm the guy who suggested a Begotten/Eraserhead double).
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 10:01 AM on February 8, 2008

Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal is a classic combination.

Akira and Ghost In The Shell two classic anime films.
Or perhaps
Akira with Spirited Away if you want some strong anime with much more contrasting feels to them.

Nosferatu and Shadow of the Vampire The latter been a fictional account of the making of the former.
posted by paulfreeman at 10:18 AM on February 8, 2008

Shakespeare in Love and House of a Thousand Daggers.
posted by misha at 11:53 AM on February 8, 2008

2001 & Dark Star
posted by Rumple at 1:19 PM on February 8, 2008

I saw a Clerks and Office Space double feature and it was awesome.
posted by bertrandom at 2:16 PM on February 8, 2008

Ghost World + Harold and Maude (May/December Romances)
The Sting + The Spanish Prisoner (Trustworthiness)
A Boy and His Dog + Tank Girl (Post-Apocalytpic Weirdness)
Westworld + Terminator 2 (Killer Robots)
Galaxy Quest + Scream (Self-Referential Quasiparody)
Truman Show + Series 7 (Reality TV)
Warriors + Wizard of Oz (Trying to Get Home)
The Shining + Adaptation (Writer's Block)
Say Anything + Grosse Point Blank (What did Lloyd Dobbler do after high school)
posted by 23skidoo at 7:06 PM on February 8, 2008

A triple feature I thought of today: You Kill Me, then Grosse Point Blank, then The Matador. (Likeable hitmen)
posted by hjo3 at 4:24 PM on February 11, 2008

Happy - Room With a View and Dark - Last of the Mohicans. Why are they paired? Because you can't believe that hunky Daniel Day Lewis in Mohicans is actually the same guy who played the repulsively prissy Cecil in Room.
posted by marsha56 at 8:10 PM on February 11, 2008

Scanner Darkly and Waking Life
posted by matkline at 9:38 AM on February 13, 2008

The Song Remains the Same(dramatic and serious) and Spinal Tap(parody)
posted by |n$eCur3 at 11:05 AM on February 13, 2008

Dancer in the Dark, followed by Cool as Ice
posted by mrzarquon at 4:01 PM on February 14, 2008

Virtuosity and American Gangster (role reversal and one with some serious camp)

the new Hairspray and Cry Baby (to appreciate John Waters)

Red Dawn and The Russians Are Coming

Sorry, Wrong Number and Dial M for Murder

Clue and 8 Women and Murder By Death and And Then There Were None

(I could do this for daaaays. I went on a jag once of watching every ____Man movie: Running Man, Omega Man, etc.)
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:04 PM on February 14, 2008

(or try pairing one of those phone thrillers with one of these newfangled internet-based-killer ones.)
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:08 PM on February 14, 2008

I was immediately drawn to the retelling of classics as teen movies.

Taming of the Shrew and 10 Things I hate About You
Emma and Clueless

Another thought...

Monsoon Wedding and Father of the Bride
posted by terrapin at 5:41 PM on February 14, 2008

Harvey and Donnie Darko (imaginary rabbits)
Sullivan's Travels and O Brother, Where Art Thou? (The latter is titled after the movie that Sullivan wanted to make in the prior. They're also both about epic journey.)
posted by tihleigh at 9:07 AM on February 21, 2008

Donnie Darko + Harvey = giant bunnies only the protagonist can see.
posted by mamomo at 10:32 AM on February 21, 2008

Got messaged off-site by a non-MeFite who is a projectionist, thus: "I think The Hours + The Stepford Wives (the recent one) would be hilarious [Nicole Kidman, strong female casts, existential woes of the 20th century woman, RIDICULOUSLY different tones] or The Hours + Wit [established women actors like Meryl Streep and Emma Thompson, literature affecting real life, crazy surreal segueing between time and place]."
posted by eritain at 3:24 PM on March 1, 2008

Tucker and Who Killed the Electric Car?
posted by jrishel at 12:10 PM on March 3, 2008

I Could Never Be Your Woman + Music and Lyrics (May-December romances, funny men chasing quirky girls)
posted by hjo3 at 2:35 AM on March 5, 2008

Persepolis + Ghost World (punk girls expatriating)
Juno + Knocked Up (accidental pregnancies with happy endings)
Dan in Real Life + The Weather Man (fathers making huge mistakes, learning from their daughters, and figuring out what matters)
posted by hjo3 at 6:59 AM on March 9, 2008