MovieChat Forums > Picnic at Hanging Rock (1979) Discussion > Other eerie, haunting, patient, atmosphe...

Other eerie, haunting, patient, atmospheric films like this one?

posted 18 years ago by StrawDogBreeder
183 replies | jump to latest

The music, landscapes, and pacing of this film all contribute to its itching mystery at least as much as the plot itself. There's also something about the film (stock) itself that acts as a better medium for this kind of meditative piece. It's a work of art made on a higher quality canvas. Knowhattamean? In descibing its qualities and effects, though, I have to fight a tendency of drifting into abstract, snobbish descriptions. What are some other films that have some of these haunting, patient(?) qualities?

A few I have seen:

1. Solaris (Tarkovsky, not Soderbergh)
2. Stalker (also Tarkovsky)
3. (At least the first half of) The Black Stallion
4. Ring of Bright Water
5. Dead Man (sort of)

[–] vveksuvarna 14 years ago

Meek's Cutoff in recent releases or soon to be released,as I'm typing this.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] mountainjam819 14 years ago

The White Ribbon (2009)

[–] marioncrane 14 years ago

Vinyan (2008) also has some gorgeous cinematography. It is very slow at times, but is worth staying with. It definitely fits into the "haunting, patient" category, with some incredible imagery at the end.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1029241/

"Three years...I promise."

[–] bradjanet 14 years ago

The ideal companion piece to "Picnic At Hanging Rock" would be Peter Weir's other great film of mystery and inexplicable menace, "The Last Wave".

But you ARE Blanche ... and I AM.

[–] Darthette 14 years ago

Has anyone mentioned the french film Innocence?

http://youtu.be/J3hsiC3aNH0

Time rushes by
Love rushes by
Life rushes by
But the Red Shoes stay on

[–] Slime-3 13 years ago

Badlands (sorry if it's mentioned before) similarly exceptional dreamy direction ,decidedly eerie, well acted, great soundtrack, beautiful imagery and sublime casting.The house-burning scene is really very disturbing, perhaps because it's so frighteningly beautiful!

Black Narcissus. Another exceptional piece of direction. Visually stunning and progressively more and more eerie. The bell-tolling scene is just amazing. Acting a bit wooden at times but Powell was a genius to achieve so much with a story about nuns!

Vigil. Wonderfully atmospheric but what was it all about? GREAT use of landscape (like Picnic and Badlands)

[–] rozklad 13 years ago

Great thread and good suggestions for lovers of eeriness and atmosphere in films, thanks to all contributors.

I'd particularly endorse Spoorloos, Don't Look Now, Innocence and The Wicker Man (1973) from the preceding posts, all films that really make you wonder. Not sure Aguirre and Valerie quite fit the bill, but they are special movies for other reasons imho.

How about Hud, with Paul Newman? Desolate, haunting, majestic.
From the UK, Peter Greenaway's Drowning by Numbers is very bizarre and atmospheric. Much older, Dead of Night is supremely spooky without a trace of cheap horror.

And has nobody mentioned Wim Wenders? A master of rambling, atmospheric movies. Paris, Texas is about as laconic as you can get.

[–] Save_Bandit 13 years ago

Martha Marcy May Marlene is an excellent one - about a damaged young woman who escapes from a cult and may or may not be being followed.

[–] hereandelsewhere 13 years ago

In terms of tone these have been mentioned before, or at least most of them have, but I think they need reiterating:

Don't Look Now
The Return (Russian film)
The Banishment (Russian film by the same director)
Aguirre, the Wrath of God
Whistle and I'll come to you (60's BBC adaptation - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyMAqI5qyi0 )

[–] 13 years ago

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