Movies Like This

I just watched this film, and loved it. But I'm actually surprised that this film is as widely well-regarded as it is, that it is so much seen and in the IMDb top 250 and all that. It's to me such a rare and strange breed of film.

Here's my take on it. I thought it was great, until like the last 20 minutes, and then I thought it was amazing. The picture of these two old men, still there after all the other prisoners were free, now gone slightly mad, still intent on escape, to a comic level... it's so absurd and I love it. And after all that came before it – such a long film, of ludicrous ambition, filmed on location, by an evidently idiosyncratic director trying for nothing less than a masterpiece, and obviously with a large enough budget to support his lofty vision... it's baffling to me that such a film gets made, let alone that it's successful. Perhaps I just underestimate Steve McQueen's starpower at the time?

All the same, I'm positive nothing like this could possibly be made today. And I'm curious about other films of this era that fit this profile (commercially successful or not). The absurd epic. The big-budget idiosyncratic on-location masterpiece. One other such film sticks out to me. It's the most obscure of all the movies I love as much as I do it. It's a 1968 Japanese film called "Profound Desires of the Gods". It's 3 hours long and ranks among the most bizarre movies I've ever seen, as well among the most ambitious and among the most brilliant. Perhaps Herzog's "Fitzcarraldo" might also count for this (but for some reason I don't quite think of that one in exactly the same way).

Anyway. I dunno. Maybe it's an impossible task to ask people suggest other films, since my idea of this 'type' of film is so specific, so personal I can't totally convey it. And maybe most people don't see Papillon in the way I'm describing. Maybe it's just another classic adventure film, like The Great Escape or whatever. But to me, this is something far more rare and strange. And after all I am curious people's suggestions or thoughts on this.


--- grethiwha -------- My Favourite Films:
http://www.imdb.com/list/Bw65XZIpkH8/