Independent film thread:

[kenratboy]

Well, what are some good ones? For god skaes, please spare the whole Greek Wedding thing. If I hear one more news report about the movie, I will hurl!

Other than that, what are good ones, what are they about, etc. One of those topics that is hard to explore.

[kenratboy]

HOLY ¢RAP!!! Not even one view in an hour.

A new record I wonder?

[boa12]

ken, just an indy at 1st & you've probably seen it, but Reservoir Dogs comes to mind. same w/ Sling Blade by billybob.

[Guest Webmaster]

Indie:

Donnie Darko - my favorite movie ever made

Mulholland Dr. - you can't go wrong with David Lynch

Being John Malkovich - one of the most unique ideas for a movie ever

¡Ç (pi)

Requiem for a Dream

Swingers

Made

Hard Eight - PT Anderson's first movie

Bottle Rocket - Wes Anderson's first movie

Memento

The Following - Christopher Nolan's first movie

Focus

Panic

One Hour Photo

Ghost World

Clerks - Kevin Smith's first movie

Dark City

Ghost Dog - cheesy name but a good movie

Foreign:

The Devil's Backbone

The City of Lost Children

Amelie

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Once Upon a Time In China

A Man Called Hero - one of the best Hong Kong films ever

I'm sure there are a ton more that I'm not thinking of.

[justin_tx_16]

I have heard SOO much about Res. Dogs. I was going to buy it at Wherehouse Music but it was $32.99 for the pink box. at Best buy I dound it for $18.99, so I may get it. My friends love it, they are like the king and queens of indi films. my uncle is an independent film maker, but all his stuff is in danish (well 80%), his name is Ward Scott, No.1 Director/Producer at the European Film College We are so proud hehe

[Soundthought]

Reservoir Dogs.

Great movie.

One of my alltime favorites.

As is Pulp Fiction.

But are they considered independants?

I really dig the way Quentin Tarantinos' mind works.

It makes for very compelling cinematography.

[boa12]

ar, that's the thing. many times they start out as indy but if they're good at say a festival like sundance or in limited theater distribution, a major studio may then pick them up. then you get the mass & dvd/video distribution.

so i guess an indy for these purposes means independently written & produced.

so most foreign flicks would also fall in that category. there i've heard that "the closet" from france is real good & funny, but don't know if its out on dvd yet.

[DLUngurait]

Madonna's hubby has made a few good ones:

"Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels"

"******" OK...probably not really an indy but..

These are both essentially the same (type) film but he had a much better budget w/ "******". I always think of these two films when someone brings up "Resevoir Dogs" & "Pulp Fiction"...since the earlier picture shows the potential and the later shows the full talent when given a real budget.

Dave

[Soundthought]

I like both those movies, too.

It's something about the raw realism and multiple storylines.

What's best is when all the ongoing storylines converge allowing the ending to unfold.

Boa,

I hear what your saying.

What might have once been independant, here in the states, is now being bought up by the "machine" before it has a chance to even go to print.

Crazy man.

But the latter side is that we reap the benefits of what good funding can accomplish in corporate cinema.

Unfortunately, we don't nessessarily (spelling?) get to see the writers' complete interpretation of their work. It's too bad.

Usually corporate films have target audiences.

That can put a damper on material content.

That content is what makes a story a story.

At least that's my impression of the situation.

[boa12]

ar, yeah like "vanilla sky" was done by cameron crowe (americanized) from the foreign/spanish "open your eyes". in this case i liked crowe's version w/ the soundtrack & all much better, but he did stick to the story pretty much.

that had to be the most complicated plot i've seen. in fact it relied just a bit much on subjective interpretation imho. i've watched both several times & its still subjective for me. though I have my theories.

[Soundthought]

Boa, I haven't saw "Vanilla Sky" yet.

I'm a few months behind on my movie watching.

I'll definately check it out, soon.

I don't watch too many movies during the summer.

I like to wait until the winter, then I usually kick back and do some serious power watching.

I do, however, take my kids to the theater during the summer to see their shows.

You know- "for the experience".

[boa12]

see it. it'll either intrigue you or make you mad or both. if anything its got a good soundtrack & penelope cruz cruise.

don't read the thread on it here before though. its got spoilers - sorry, thanks to me.

[Guest Webmaster]

Vanilla Sky was good until the ending. That ending completely ruined that movie for me. I would have rather have had to figure the movie out on my own instead of having someone explain it all to me. That killed the movie.

If you want to see a movie with a complicated plot, then you MUST see Mulholland Dr. It took me longer to figure out that movie than it did for me to figure out Memento and even then with David Lynch, some things aren't meant to be figured out. It's a brilliant film though. By the third or fourth time I watched it, I pretty much understood the whole thing.

[Soundthought]

Boa, Ha ha

You spoiler.

I won't read that thread tonight.

I'll check out the movie tommorrow.

Thanks for the heads up.

I really try to avoid the movie related threads, because of that very reason.

It's extremely hard, now-a-days, to not know the details of a movie before you see it.

I used to love to read the book before seeing the show.

Damn near impossible to do, anymore.

Given the amount of media coverage that any one major film gets, it's no wonder.

[Soundthought]

Thanks Webmaster.

I'll pick that one up too.

I totally enjoy a complicated plot.

The kind of "Dune" meets "The Usual Suspects" sort of thing.

[boa12]

wm, yeah crowe did some embellishments on the original no doubt. but please post over on the Vanilla Sky thread cause what really happened seems still up for debate.

& yeah on tv leno ruined "the crying game" & that nathan lane "the 6th sense" for me. never have forgiven them. that's a risk waiting for a dvd or pay-per-view.

[justin_tx_16]

Check out Atomfilms.com they have some neat stuff from time to time.

[j-malotky]

Webmaster

I too love David Lynch movies. I have only seen Mul Dr once and need to see it again to figure it out. The ending was enjoyable, but confusing...

I plan to get it it soon, but am busy watching the entire first season of Twin Peaks. My friend is lending me his disks, including the PILOT EPISODE!!!

He got the pilot from Hong Kong since it was not released in the US yet.

To me the first season they are selling is totally useless without the Pilot.

JM

[Guest Webmaster]

David Lynch does rule!

I have the first season DVD's for Twin Peaks and that Pilot episode. That version doesn't look any where near a good as the rest of the episodes so I hope they eventually release an "official" US version of the Pilot. I hope that they will release the second season DVD's soon too. The last thing I heard was that the second season may be released in two parts.

Mulholland Drive is such a great movie. I remember walking out of the theater the first time I saw it and thinking to myself "What the hell just happened?!?" It took me a couple of weeks of thinking about it and reading online what other people thought of it before it started making sense to me. It would have been cool if ABC had green lit Mulholland Drive as a TV series, but as usual they dropped the ball on that and Lynch was able to make it into an amazing movie.

I'm really curious as to what movie Lynch is going to make next.

[Vladi]

My favorite indipendent directors are Wim Wenders and Jim Jarmush. Here are some of their works:

Stranger Than Paradise - Offbeat, languid drama/comedy about mismatched Manhattan trio fleeing Ohio for Florida to avoid cold winter. Remains a cult hit among independent film fans for its deadpan humor, gritty black-and-white cinematography

Down by Law - Offbeat, slow-moving, atmosphere-rich, noirish black comedy about three misfits escaping from a Louisiana jail. Critics praised its evocative atmosphere, colorful characters. This low-key farce is a hit with art-house devotees.

The Million Dollar Hotel - Offbeat thriller about a philosophically minded worker at a grimy L.A. flop house caught up in the bizarre events surrounding a guest's death.

Buena Vista Social Club - Long-forgotten legends of Cuban music perform with Ry Cooder in this lively documentary. Combining fabulous performance footage with intimate profiles, this rollicking, music-filled film is essential for world beat fans.

Wings of Desire - Dreamy, stunningly photographed German tale of two angels debating pros and cons of being human. Mixes fantasy, meditation, romance, character study. Art-house smash thrills fans of offbeat, ethereal, thought-provoking fare.

Faraway, So Close - Sequel to cult German art-house philosophical fantasy focuses on travails of angel-turned-mortal. Though not as well-received as "Wings of Desire," this still satisfies foreign film buffs seeking stunning cinematography, philosophical musings. Music by U2.

Until the End of the World - Epic-length, ploddingly paced, sweeping sci-fi/road movie involves a contraption that bestows sight to the blind. Critics were mixed. May appeal to fans of foreign films who enjoy high-tech plot/philosophical fantasy.

*****************************

Behind the Sun - A Brazilian movie by Walter Salles Jr. Semi-historical, impressively photographed drama profiles two Brazilian families locked in a generations-old cycle of bloody vendettas that comes to a head in the spring of 1910.