The Jury Room

by **Boba Fett** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 12:45 am

Looking through your collection, which DVD do you think is the most odd?

I'd have to go with Electric Dragon 80,000V for me.

by **MicroBear** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 4:19 am

Deep Throat: nestled on the shelf between the titles "The Day The Earth Caught Fire" and "Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist," it stands out in my collection like a sore... uh... thumb.

by **Andrew Forbes** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 4:25 am

Karate Bear Fighter? Maybe.

by **BrettCullum** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 7:13 am

And thanks to being a Cronenberg/Lynch kind of movie fan I have plenty of strange and offbeat film experiments which hardly qualify for entertainment in some circles. I'd be hard pressed to pick just one, but a certain title stands out...

I own The Italian Stallion or The Party at Kitty and Stud's which features a very young Sly Stallone from 1970 playing "Ring Around the Rosie" naked. It's only a curiosity title with absolutely no redeeming qualities either as a movie or soft porn.

by **molly1216** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 7:38 am

i had a LOT more weirdness in my VHS collection...
after thinking about it, the oddest thing i have now is
Cameraman's Revenge And Other Fantastic Tales: Ladislaw Starewicz
a russian stop motion animator who used bugs for subjects.

by **BenShultz** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 7:51 am

BrettCullum wrote:And thanks to being a Cronenberg/Lynch kind of movie fan I have plenty of strange and offbeat film experiments which hardly qualify for entertainment in some circles.

Word. I've got two copies of Videodrome, a film that I believe Roger Ebert called "the least entertaining film ever made."

by **ccb** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 7:56 am

Fellini Satyricon

by **BrettCullum** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 8:11 am

Lebowski wrote:
BrettCullum wrote:And thanks to being a Cronenberg/Lynch kind of movie fan I have plenty of strange and offbeat film experiments which hardly qualify for entertainment in some circles.

Word. I've got two copies of Videodrome, a film that I believe Roger Ebert called "the least entertaining film ever made."

I am in the same boat with that title my friend - both the original bare bones release as well as the Criterion set of Videodrome. But I am proud of that particular offbeat title, and it has the mark of cool.

Ebert has gone off on many of my favorite movies. I recall him naming John Carpenter's The Thing "the barfbag movie of the summer" when it came out. Yet he was responsible for another offbeat title I own Beyond the Valley of the Dolls which would give both Videodrome and any Carpenter flick a run for the money in both strangeness and exploitation.

by **Andrew Forbes** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 8:15 am

Lebowski wrote:
BrettCullum wrote:And thanks to being a Cronenberg/Lynch kind of movie fan I have plenty of strange and offbeat film experiments which hardly qualify for entertainment in some circles.

Word. I've got two copies of Videodrome, a film that I believe Roger Ebert called "the least entertaining film ever made."

And yet I love the guy.

by **Steve T Power** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 8:35 am

Most definitely Candy. Bought back in the early days of our collection because Sarah thought the tin (shaped like really old Birth Control pill packaging) was neat. One hell of a messed up movie.

by **Dan Mancini** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 8:52 am

I'll have to go with Frank Zappa: Baby Snakes, followed closely by The Fearless Freaks: The Wondrously Improbably Story of the Flaming Lips and Butthole Surfers: Blind Eye Sees All.

by **hoytereden** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 11:06 am

Probably Pink Flamingos although another odd one I enjoy is Robotrix.

by **BenShultz** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 11:30 am

Dan Mancini wrote:I'll have to go with Frank Zappa: Baby Snakes, followed closely by The Fearless Freaks: The Wondrously Improbably Story of the Flaming Lips and Butthole Surfers: Blind Eye Sees All.

I think we have a winner.

by **Gabriel Girard** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 11:41 am

Mmm probably El Topo. ohhh and that weird movie that came with Marilyn Manson's ``The Golden Age Of The Grotesque''

by **The Omen** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 2:21 pm

probably Eraserhead. I don't know what's more offbeat than Eraserhead. Can anything beat Eraserhead?

Also Sergio Martino's TORSO or Argento's Inferno.

by **Dunnyman** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 2:59 pm

I dunno, Ilssa-She Wolf Of the SS always raises an eyebrow or two when epople look over my stuff...

by **arciooh** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 4:14 pm

Dunnyman wrote:I dunno, Ilssa-She Wolf Of the SS always raises an eyebrow or two when epople look over my stuff...

Same here. But I do keep Rozz Williams' Pig hidden...

by **mavrach** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 4:16 pm

Mulholland Drive
The Last Dragon

Never thought I'd ever list those together.

by **zircona1** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 5:13 pm

The Phantom of Liberty
Naked Lunch

And I, as well, have Videodrome.

by **molly1216** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 5:26 pm

Dunnyman wrote:I dunno, Ilssa-She Wolf Of the SS always raises an eyebrow or two when epople look over my stuff...

doesn't that come as a bonus disc with Hogan's Heroes?

by **The Butcher** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 6:43 pm

Oh man, where do I begin:

the weirdest one is probably Dementia. An almost silent noir-ish beat horror flick (2 versions of it, one with an Ed McMahon voice over!). then we've got

Uzumaki
Sore Losers
Cradle of Fear
Vice Guide to Travel
Bloodsucking Freaks
Fishing with John
the Blind Dead collection
the Maiku Hama trilogy
Wajda's 3 war films
T. Rex Born to Boogie (fun thing with this is during the Elton John bits, search for places they'd have tried to hide the coke mirrors)
Wild Zero
Once Upon a Girl
Call of Cthulu (the fake silent film, really good actually)
and...Zombie Lake (yes Nazi zombies, and no it's not the only one I own)

I left out the Jess Franco and Takashi Miike stuff (of which I own too much), 'cause it's like cheating to start talking about their stuff.

by **HGervais** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 7:11 pm

The Butcher wrote:I left out the Jess Franco and Takashi Miike stuff (of which I own too much), 'cause it's like cheating to start talking about their stuff.

Two guys whose films I've tried to wrap my head around but just can't. Miike I can kinda sort of get but the fasination people have with Jess Franco confuses me to no end.

As for me, I've got the Ilsa movies as well....in fact I got a nice letter from the director of She-Wolf of SS following my review of it for the Verdict.....maybe The Forbidden Zone?

by **The Butcher** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 7:38 pm

HGervais wrote:
The Butcher wrote:I left out the Jess Franco and Takashi Miike stuff (of which I own too much), 'cause it's like cheating to start talking about their stuff.

Two guys whose films I've tried to wrap my head around but just can't. Miike I can kinda sort of get but the fasination people have with Jess Franco confuses me to no end.

Yeah, well with Miike, it's the sadistic love of violence that comes across in his movies, makes me think "hey, maybe I'm not so f--- up" (of course, that would be a lie, I am, but we can all dream can't we).

Franco's another story, now not all of his movies are like this (he's almost as prolific as Miike, and not as consistant...and that's saying something), but a good chunk of them are so personal you feel a little ashamed after watching them (and not for the obvious reasons). Very few directors just don't give a damn about anything other then what they feel like putting on the screen (things like linear plots, decent scripts, acting, y'know the crap that get's in the way of a movie :wink:

). Seriously read up on him and watch a recommended selection and it's like crawling in a really sick mind.

by **tucco** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 8:25 pm

Maybe ONIBABA.

by **jcankerhuxley** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 10:51 pm

I guess it is to each his or her own

My favorite bedtime story is the 1970's version of Helter Skelter

I think Miike's Visitor Q is a wonderful family movie with redeaming social values.

Any movie with a torture donkey is good fun, such as Chinese Torture Chamber Story

Or sexy ghosts such as Erotic Ghost Story I or III

Or any film with Dyanne Thorne (Ilsa Box set)

Or any film where people are flying through the air having sex (Chinese Torture Chamber Story or Eternal Evil of Asia)

Or Elvis Tsui's head turns into a giant penis (Eternal Evil of Asia)

How about Bollywood singing, dancing and martial arts action? I have the R-3 special edition of Krrush.

I look forward to better releases of Salo and Caligula (Hong Kong knock offs)

Oh yes, and Freaks is still a freakin classic.

These are all normal films for me. The strangest I think for my collection are all the Pixar films - Toy Story, Monster's Inc. the Incredibles. Yeah, I am a sucker for those.

by **maintcoder** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 11:28 am

I would say a recent addition is the most offbeat movie I have - The Erotic Adventures of Zorro

by **tucco** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 11:36 am

I forgot to mention THE MAN WHO LAUGHS

by **BrettCullum** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 12:14 pm

The Butcher wrote:
HGervais wrote:
The Butcher wrote:I left out the Jess Franco stuff (of which I own too much), 'cause it's like cheating to start talking about their stuff.
the fasination people have with Jess Franco confuses me to no end.

Franco's another story, now not all of his movies are like this (he's almost as prolific as Miike, and not as consistant...a good chunk of them are so personal you feel a little ashamed after watching them (and not for the obvious reasons). Very few directors just don't give a damn about anything other then what they feel like putting on the screen (things like linear plots, decent scripts, acting, y'know the crap that get's in the way of a movie ). Seriously read up on him and watch a recommended selection and it's like crawling in a really sick mind.

I own a lot of Franco stuff, and it doesn't seem all that strange to me. His version of Venus of Furs is one of my favorites, even though it has nothing to do with the novel whatsoever. I'm a fan, because I love the music and the imagery. I've never really found him all that out there when compared with some of the more audacious softcore European horror softcore you can find.

But then I also don't see Lynch or Cronenberg as offbeat either. And John Waters was mentioned up the thread too, and his stuff is now mainstream. I guess "offbeat" means different things to each person.

by **Adam Arseneau** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 12:49 pm

Ooh, great category. Very open to interpretation.

Off the top of my head:

Getting Any?
Last Year at Marienbad

by **Dark Knight** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 1:38 pm

"candy von dewd" A film by Jacques Boyreau (2002).
The weirdest flick I almost ever saw. After I started watching it, I just kind of rooted through it.
It was cheap and the cover intrigued me. I should have known better since I never heard anyone here mention it.

by **HGervais** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 2:12 pm

BrettCullum wrote:I own a lot of Franco stuff, and it doesn't seem all that strange to me. His version of Venus of Furs is one of my favorites, even though it has nothing to do with the novel whatsoever. I'm a fan, because I love the music and the imagery. I've never really found him all that out there when compared with some of the more audacious softcore European horror softcore you can find.

I don't find him that strange either....just not very good. I get the personal aspect that runs through most of his films, I just don't get the rabid following of some his more hardcore supporters. Most of it, at least to me, is poorly made soft-core pornography.

But then I also don't see Lynch or Cronenberg as offbeat either.

Neither do I. Again very personal films but made by people who know how to make movies.

by **The Omen** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 2:21 pm

But then I also don't see Lynch or Cronenberg as offbeat either. And John Waters was mentioned up the thread too, and his stuff is now mainstream. I guess "offbeat" means different things to each person.

I have no offbeat detector

I have to admit, I don 't think any film in my collection is offbeat. I said Eraserhead but...I really have no clue what is or isn't offbeat, because to me, it's all good or bad.

When answering something like this I tend to think "what might others find offbeat?" and I respond accordingly.

by **Future Man** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 2:29 pm

Probably Creation of the Humanoids. Weird vibe to it.

by **BrettCullum** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 2:32 pm

HGervais wrote:I don't find (Franco) that strange either....just not very good. I get the personal aspect that runs through most of his films, I just don't get the rabid following of some his more hardcore supporters. Most of it, at least to me, is poorly made soft-core pornography.

Franco is super prolific, and he doesn't have the craftmanship a Lynch or Cronenberg has. I tend to like softcore stuff, and maybe that is where we differ. To me it's like junkfood versus gourmet meal - Franco is a Big Mac and Cronenberg is more like a great steak aged to perfection. I like trashy disposable movies sometimes, and Franco's are interesting for that.

Yet only something like Vampyros Lesbos or Venus in Furs would make a case for a good movie by him. And even his good movies have major flaws. I'm not willing to put him up there as great, but at least he's always interesting. And in my book that counts for a helluva lot.

by **fred kite** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 11:33 pm

I've got one called The Way Things Go, which is a video of ...well, it's kind of hard to describe. It's everyday objects set up by two artists in ways that make the objects move and set off a reaction in the next set of objects, kind of like if Rube Goldberg actually built some of the things he drew, back in the 30's. Only using common, unglamorous stuff to produce really bizarre motion sequences. This is really a disc that has to be seen to be believed. Anyone else seen it?

My DVDs · by **Parklife** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 8:24 am

Seeing as offbeat is subjective and could mean themantically, sructurally or any number of things inbetween I offer two films...

one, solely based on its film making style, Von Trier's Dogville. I mean, it's certainly offbeat in the way it tells the story.

two, Derrida, which, if you've seen it, probably needs no explanation of why I think it's offbeat. It's a documentary on him and his philosophy. Neither of which are easy to digest to understanding completely.

by **BigEyedBeansfromVenus** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 11:36 am

HGervais wrote:
The Butcher wrote:I left out the Jess Franco and Takashi Miike stuff (of which I own too much), 'cause it's like cheating to start talking about their stuff.

Two guys whose films I've tried to wrap my head around but just can't. Miike I can kinda sort of get but the fasination people have with Jess Franco confuses me to no end.

She Killed in Ecstasy is pretty solid. Not nearly as sleazy as it sounds, but still fun.

by **The Butcher** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 3:05 pm

I didn't mean to imply that I regard these films/directors as off-beat (most of my collection is a little odd in some way), but like Omen, when I see the question I think "what would other people think was an off-beat title" and I sorry, but most people would put Franco and Miike in the "a little odd" cataogory (even some folks who dig Cronenburg and Lynch).

Although Franco's not THE weirdest director out there, he is one of the few euro softcore directors that can be taken seriously as a filmmaker. Most are just making nudie-gore for the sake of it and although Franco certainly has a few of those, alot of his films are elevated a bit from that level, but that's just me.

My DVDs · by **Parklife** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 3:33 pm

Well then...

one of the best mixes of politics and sex before Clinton took office, I also own the I Am Curious boxset from Criterion. I can't tell you how many times I've had people say, "Hmmm, I am curious about I Am Curious". When I say it was a controversial film from the '60s that was banned in places of the US but also was the highest grossing foreign film for decades, they want to watch it. When I follow that up by explaining it also kind of a political documentary and the sex is anything but erotic, they typically pass.

But, as a DVD sitting next to all the others, it's the title that makes most people take pause.

by **SmokestackJones** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 4:33 pm

Hey there,

Well, it's hard to say, since my tastes in DVDs run very eclectic. Here's some highlights, I'll let you, the viewer, decide:

Nestled between copies of Apollo 13 and the Back to The Future sets, a copy of The Aristocrats...

Between Citizen Kane and The Complete Mr. Arkadin box set what do I see? The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection...

The Emperor's New Groove: The Ultimate Groove cozying up next to Eraserhead...

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas next to Finding Nemo...

How about The Love Bug beside M?

The Bela Lugosi Collection next to Bob Clampett's Beany and Cecil...

Probably the closest thing I can come up with is Criterion's The Tales of Hoffmann (which is next to Stop Making Sense)...

See? Nothing offbeat here...

-SJ

by **Ash22** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 6:12 pm

The Aristocrats
Ghost Dog:Way of the Samurai

by **Rabbit Fighter** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 7:15 pm

In addition to a lot of the other movies already mentioned:

Liquid Sky
I Stand Alone
Tokyo Fist
Tales from the Gimli Hospital
Rubbers Lover
964 Pinocchio
The Seventh Curse
Kichiku- Banquet of the Beasts
Caligula 2- The Untold Story
Emanuelles Revenge
Ice From the Sun
Baise Moi

... I could go on and on...my collection is heavy on the "eclectic", to say the least.

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