Top 20 'Must Own' Films
by rivethead808 | created - 27 Dec 2010 | updated - 7 months ago | PublicMy list of wants is comprised of 100s of films, but these are the absolute MUST HAVEs that haunt my dreams!! About half of these are incredibly hard to find. The other half not so much, but I just havent had the spare cash to pick them up.
Update: 03/12/11: I just received Thursday on DVD and it was only $10! So, for now there are only 19 films until I add another.
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1. The American Astronaut (2001)
Not Rated | 91 min | Musical, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Samuel Curtis, an interplanetary trader, sets forth through a rustic and remote solar system, unaware that his old friend Professor Hess is trying to kill him.
Director: Cory McAbee | Stars: Cory McAbee, Rocco Sisto, Gregory Russell Cook, Annie Golden
Votes: 3,235 | Gross: $0.04M
Absolutely absurd and amazing SF/musical/western. The bathroom dance scene is worth the price of admission alone!
2. Radio Free Albemuth (2010)
R | 111 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
Sci-fi thriller from Philip K. Dick (Blade Runner, Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly); Nick Brady receives messages from space and joins conspiracy to overthrow authoritarian U. S. regime.
Director: John Alan Simon | Stars: Shea Whigham, Jonathan Scarfe, Michael Rothhaar, Katheryn Winnick
Votes: 1,898 | Gross: $0.01M
Its rare that my favorite author's works get adapted well (going off what the critics/"Dickheads" have said about it). So far only 73 votes on here (and at only a 6.0), but its supposed to be a completely faithful rendering of the story. Its waiting for a distribution deal as we speak (12/2010). Got my fingers crossed
3. Ever Since the World Ended (2001)
78 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Twelve years after a plague, an intimate mockumentary shows how the 186 San Francisco survivors live now.
Directors: Calum Grant, Joshua Atesh Litle | Stars: James Curry, Linda Noveroske, Dan Plumlee, Aubrey Ankrum
Votes: 752
Lots of criticism of this film from just about everywhere. I can see the flaws too, but the film is just so meaningful to me and pretty damn realistic.
4. The Fall of the House of Usher (1928)
Not Rated | 72 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Allan visits the sinister Usher family mansion, where his friend Roderick is painting a portrait of his sickly wife Madeline. The portrait seems to be draining the life out of Madeline, slowly leading to her death.
Director: Jean Epstein | Stars: Jean Debucourt, Marguerite Gance, Charles Lamy, Fournez-Goffard
Votes: 4,501
Le Chute De La Mason Usher
Haunting, gothic wonderfulness. Ive never been able to nail down *exactly* what Luis Bunuel was responsible for on this film, but whatever it is, it shows. Exquisite! NOTE: The version pictured is the best and correct one. Don't make the same mistake I did and buy a different version on ebay.
5. Enduring Love (2004)
R | 100 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
Two strangers become connected by a tragedy, yet one dangerously feels that the connection goes much deeper than the other is willing to admit.
Director: Roger Michell | Stars: Rhys Ifans, Daniel Craig, Samantha Morton, Bill Weston
Votes: 11,009 | Gross: $0.36M
Wonderfully written, filmed, and acted full serving of psychosis.
6. A Quiet Place in the Country (1968)
R | 106 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
After moving into a dilapidated rural villa to reinvigorate his creative energies, a neurotic artist becomes obsessed with a beautiful countess who died there many years prior.
Director: Elio Petri | Stars: Franco Nero, Vanessa Redgrave, Georges Géret, Gabriella Boccardo
Votes: 2,040
A Quiet Place In The Country
Another one I have yet to see, but every time I read the plot description, I get all tingly. Man slowly going insane...cant separate reality from fantasy...my favorite theme. Its also by Elio Petri whose 10th Victim was amazing so Im about 97% sure this will be a winner...now if I can only find it!
7. The Man Who Laughs (1928)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
When a proud noble refuses to kiss the hand of the despotic King James in 1690, he is cruelly executed and his son surgically disfigured.
Director: Paul Leni | Stars: Mary Philbin, Conrad Veidt, Julius Molnar, Olga Baclanova
Votes: 8,077
8. Black Cat, White Cat (1998)
R | 127 min | Comedy, Crime, Romance
Matko and his son Zare live on the banks of the Danube river and get by through hustling and basically doing anything to make a living. In order to pay off a business debt Matko agrees to marry off Zare to the sister of a local gangster.
Director: Emir Kusturica | Stars: Bajram Severdzan, Srdjan 'Zika' Todorovic, Branka Katic, Florijan Ajdini
Votes: 56,400 | Gross: $0.35M
Crna Macka Beli Macor
Romany/Serbian weirdness at its best brought to you by Emir Kusturica. If you havent seen it, just watch it. Too many wonderfully bizarre scenes for someone *not* to like it. Too bad its only available on DeeViD outside the US.
9. Fay Grim (2006)
R | 118 min | Action, Comedy, Thriller
A ten-years-later continuation of Hal Hartley's "Henry Fool", where Fay Grim (Posey) is coerced by a CIA agent (Goldblum) to try and locate notebooks that belonged to her fugitive ex-husband (Ryan). Published in them is information that could compromises the security of the U.S., causing Fay to first head to Paris to fetch them ...
Director: Hal Hartley | Stars: Parker Posey, Jeff Goldblum, Liam Aiken, D.J. Mendel
Votes: 4,904 | Gross: $0.13M
Sequel to Henry Fool, and, believe it or not, almost better than its predecessor! Parker Posey really shines in this one as does every other member of the cast in true Hal Hartley style.
10. Right at Your Door (2006)
R | 96 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A dirty bomb goes off in Los Angeles, jamming freeways and spreading a toxic cloud.
Director: Chris Gorak | Stars: Mary McCormack, Rory Cochrane, Tony Perez, Scotty Noyd Jr.
Votes: 14,384 | Gross: $0.06M
How many films touted as "edge-of-your-seat thrillers" have actually lived up to that much over-used description? I was literally on the edge of my seat and gripping the sides of the bed from about 10 minutes in until well after the credits rolled
11. Bleeder (1999)
98 min | Crime, Drama
Two stories for the price of one: Lenny works in a video shop and tries to get aquainted with the waitress Lea. Leo beats his pregnant wife, Louise, which is a VERY bad idea, as her brother, Louis, is a violent racist.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn | Stars: Kim Bodnia, Mads Mikkelsen, Rikke Louise Andersson, Liv Corfixen
Votes: 9,182
Say what you want about Nicolas Winding Refn, but I think he is amazing. I have yet to see this film, but its the only Refn film left on the list to see and Ive only been disappointed once by him so far (Valhalla Rising)
12. Fear X (2003)
PG-13 | 91 min | Thriller
When his wife is killed in a seemingly random incident Harry (Turturro), prompted by mysterious visions, journeys to discover the true circumstances surrounding her murder.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn | Stars: John Turturro, Deborah Kara Unger, Stephen Eric McIntyre, William Allen Young
Votes: 8,327
Oh, I can already hear the boos. Everyone I know *hated* this movie with a passion. And after knowing the director's "secret" I must admit I lost a little bit of respect for his "genius", BUT I still loved this film and would love to give it a home next to my Pusher saga.
13. The Man from Earth (2007)
Not Rated | 87 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
An impromptu goodbye party for Professor John Oldman becomes a mysterious interrogation after the retiring scholar reveals to his colleagues he has a longer and stranger past than they can imagine.
Director: Richard Schenkman | Stars: David Lee Smith, Tony Todd, John Billingsley, Ellen Crawford
Votes: 200,218
More like a play than a film, but intensely engrossing. I cant wait to own this little gem.
14. Kamikaze Girls (2004)
102 min | Comedy
Momoko, a strange and seemingly emotionless girl obsessed with 18th century France, befriends a Yanki biker and the two experience the ups and downs of their unusual lives in a rural Japanese town.
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima | Stars: Kyôko Fukada, Anna Tsuchiya, Hiroyuki Miyasako, Sadao Abe
Votes: 8,091
Shimotsuma monogatari
Stylish, over-the-top, poignant, and quirky. Loves it!
15. Go, Go Second Time Virgin (1969)
65 min | Drama, Horror
After being raped in an unknown rooftop, seventeen year-old girl Poppo meets a mysterious boy, and both share their sexual traumas and fears, with fatal consequences.
Director: Kôji Wakamatsu | Stars: Mimi Kozakura, Michio Akiyama, Yôko Yamamoto, Seshio Zenbei
Votes: 2,697
Yuke yuke nidome no shojo
60s shocking "new wave" horror/drama from Japan.
16. Woman in the Dunes (1964)
Not Rated | 147 min | Drama, Thriller
An entomologist on vacation is trapped by local villagers into living with a woman whose life task is shoveling sand for them.
Director: Hiroshi Teshigahara | Stars: Eiji Okada, Kyôko Kishida, Kôji Mitsui, Hiroko Itô
Votes: 22,709
Suna No Onna
This is one film that will never leave my memory. The imagery alone is fascinating and surreal.
17. The Darien Gap (1996)
Not Rated | 92 min | Comedy
A young man hitchhikes through Central America until he is faced with crossing an 80-mile gigantic swamp called the Darien Gap. This comedy adventure from Brad Anderson was a Grand Jury Prize nominee at Sundance.
Director: Brad Anderson | Stars: Sandi Carroll, Bob Druwing, D.W. Ferranti, Leech
Votes: 113
Being that Brad is my favorite director, I would really like to see (and own) everything he has done, including this one.
18. The Conversation (1974)
PG | 113 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Frederic Forrest
Votes: 121,902 | Gross: $4.42M
19. Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)
115 min | Crime, Drama
A medium and her husband stage a kidnapping in order for her to pretend to solve the crime and achieve fame.
Director: Bryan Forbes | Stars: Kim Stanley, Richard Attenborough, Margaret Lacey, Marie Burke
Votes: 7,461
Pure horror goodness. Served up creepy and psychological just the way I like 'em.
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