Maybe the best film i have ever seen in my life, and just so happens to be foreign, is, La Haine. A french film about 24 hours in the life of 3 young men, an arab, a jew, and a black-man, all living in the notorious Parisian suburbs.
Does anyone know any other great foreign films?
Jim
Other legendary foreign films? I can talk you about great spanish movies:(They may not be legendary, but they are all great movies)
Every film by Amenabar: Tesis, Abre los Ojos, The others & Mar Adentro
By Julio Medem: Los Amantes del Círculo Polar & Lucía y el Sexo.
- Volverás, by Antonio Chavarrías
- Baílame el Agua, by Josetxo San Mateo
- Every film by Pedro Almodovar (Of course)
- El otro lado de la cama, by Emilio Martínez Lázaro. Only if you like the "musical comedy"
- Intacto, by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. (It's a thriller)
- Nadie conoce a Nadie, by Mateo Gil & Alejandro Amenabar (Anothet thriller)
I don't know what "foreign" means to you, because I don't know where you are from, but I love some british movies:
- Full Monty
- Sweet Sixteen
- Billy Eliot
- Trainspotting
An one German movie:
- Das experiment (It's terrific!)
Im from england. Thanks dude i'll try and check those out!
Jim
Chungking Express, Fallen Angels by Wong Kar-wai
(Happy Together, In the Mood for Love and 2046 are also great, by the same director)
I saw 2046 but was confused about it. Why did you like it so much?
Jim
I admit, it's not Wong's easiest film to understand. It's one of those films which needs more than one viewing...
maybe it might help to watch his earlier films like:
Chungking Express 1994
Fallen Angels 1995
Happy Together 1997
In The Mood For Love 2000 (this film is indirectly connected with 2046 as Days of Being Wild -1991- is indirectly connected to In the Mood For Love)
Same goes with directors like, let's say Fellini. You don't start watching Fellini's films with Satyricon (1969) or Casanova (1978)... but with earlier stuff like The White Sheik (1952) and Vitelloni (1953), both films loved by Welles and Kubrick!!
this is just my opinion, before I get a load of **** from other posters...!
"end of story" Tony Soprano
I am definitely developing a strong taste for foreign movies, here are my favourites:
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring
Life is Beautiful
Oldboy
Infernal Affairs
Twilight Samurai
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Hero
Trainspotting (I know, but being british counts as its outside hollywood I think)
Shaolin Soccer
Run Lola Run
Talk To Her
Triplettes De Belleville
Los Lunes al Sol
Foreign movies I felt were overrated:-
City of God
Amorres Perros
Battle Royale
Sympathy for Mr.Vengence
Carandiru
Facing Window
The Barbarian Invasion
Irreversible
Audition
Ring
Spirited Away
All About My Mother
Zaitoichi (Kitano version)
I know I disagree with a lot of people with my second list, its not that I didn't like the movies, its that they didn't live up to the hype that led me to viewing them.
----------------------
"A chicken is just an egg's way of making more eggs."
if you like shaolin soccer you should see kung fu hustlers, its similar, but much funnier, and generally a much better film.
Jim
I'm going to see that when its released in the UK, its on my list, I also have the God of Cookery which I havent watched yet. But I do enjoy Chow's goofy, silly comedy, so I'm definitely a fan.
----------------------
"A chicken is just an egg's way of making more eggs."
You know.. U can download the film. Thats what i did. www.torrentspy.com, and use a program called Azureus to download. Its quite easy.
The quality is great too, so no problems.
I hate waiting for releases in UK!
Jim
Shhhhhhhhhhh!!
I know Kung Fu Hustle has been doing the rounds for quite a while, as was Shaolin Soccer, Hero, Infernal Affairs, Oldboy and most other far eastern releases.
Kung Fu Hustle is the kind of movie I want to watch in a cinema, on the big screen, surround sound, just like the Matrix or something like that. So I will wait. Dramas and things like that I'm more likely to download.
All the movies in my previous post I saw through DVDrips, the one's I like I go out and buy on DVD properly, otherwise I feel a bit guilty.
I use www.dvdpricecheck.co.uk <<always use this when buying dvds in the UK
emule is also excellent because while BT is good for new releases, emule has a larger "catalogue" (better for rare films) and files are more permanent on emule. Unlike BT where you have a time frame to download otherwise you miss out on the download.
----------------------
"A chicken is just an egg's way of making more eggs."
how can anyone count out the French New Wave films? Or german expressionism? Or Polish New Wave? Or the angry young man films of the 1950's? c'mon people theres other filmmaking nations than the USA!
shareFritz Lang's Metropolis
Tarkovsky's Solaris
Fellini's 8 and a half
Le Quai des Brumes/Port of Shadows, classic French film noir
Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers
The Seventh Seal
Rashomon
Kapo
M
Perhaps not all legendary, but great in my book.
Some Latin American suggestions:
"9 reinas" (Nine Queens) Argentina
"El hijo de la novia" (The son of the bride) Argentina
"Pantaleon y las visitadoras" Peru
"Hombre mirando al sudeste" Argentina
PS: All of them are available on Netflix
I know someone already mentioned Taegukgi A.K.K Brotherhood of War, but It's probably the best war film I've seen and a perfectly acted rounded out film.
John 3:16-The Gospel in a Nutshell
The best action movie ever, not just in the foreign category, is definately Ong-Bak, also, it's all real, so no wires or fancy digital effects.
Stephen Chow's movies are also really funny, He's my favorite actor.
25. About a Boy (UK)
24. Echte Kerle (Germany)
23. Beautiful Thing (UK)
22. Shaun of the Dead (UK)
21. La Guagua Aerea (Puerto Rico)
20. Mar Adentro (Spain)
19. Yossi & Jagger (Israel)
18. In the Name of the Father (UK)
17. Cinema Paradiso (Italy)
16. À cause d'un garçon (France)
15. 28 Days Later... (UK)
14. Maléna (Italy)
13. Briget Jones's Diary (UK)
12. La Vita e Bella (Italy)
11. Hable con Ella (Spain)
10. Nueve Reinas (Argentina)
9. The Full Monty (UK)
8. The Others (Spain)
7. Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (France)
6. Abre los Ojos (Spain)
5. Central do Brasil (Brazil)
4. Love Actually (UK)
3. Tésis (Spain)
2. Todo sobre Mi Madre (Spain)
1. La Historia Oficial (Argentina)
All About My Mother (Spain)
A La Folie... Pas Du Tout (He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not)(France)
Audition(Japan)
Battle Royale(Japan)
Irreversible(France)
Amelie(France)
Women On The Verge of a Nervous Breakdown(Spain)
8 Women(France)
Red(France)
White(France)
Blue(France)
Run Lola Run (Germany)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon(China)
Kung-Fu Hustle(China)
Scenes From A Marriage(Sweden)
Spirited Away(Japan)
Diabolique(France)
Bad Education(Spain)
La Comunidad (Common Wealth)(Spain)
And I don't really consider stuff that's in English as foreign film, but some great ones are...
Trainspotting(UK)
Human Traffic(UK)
A Fish Called Wanda(UK)
The Cook, The Thief His Wife and her Lover(UK)
Shallow Grave(UK)
Swimming Pool(France)
The Big Blue (France)
Naked (UK)
Vera Drake(UK)
Secrets & Lies(UK)
Chicken Run(UK)
A Clockwork Orange(UK)
...more crap im forgetting
http://groups.myspace.com/paris68
I will throw in some foreign films that like this one have been made into hollywood films, but the originals are much better. (yeah yeah bad grammar, but you get what i meant)
Les Comperes, far better than Father's Day
Ringu, soooo scary (made into The Ring)
Les Visiteurs, forget Just Visiting with Christina Applegate, this is much better
Steve
[deleted]
[deleted]
[deleted]
I can't believe no one mentioned "Delicatessen", a truly great surreal french film. And also swedish *beep* Åmål" or "Show me Love" as it is called in USA is not to be missed.
shareAmazingly, nobody has mentioned "Queen Margot", with Isabelle Adjani...great French film!
shareWhoa!! Whats this... Nobody has mentioned Gaspar Noe's (Irreversible) debut, Seul contre tous (I Stand Alone). A truly shocking, and philosofical film!! Probably the best movie i have seen by now!! Check it out!!
let me mention a belgian movie: man bites dog.
shareFirstly nobody should list Irreversible here without warning that it frequently crops up in the top ten most disturbing films of all time. The silent tone inserted to cause nausea for the first half hour didn't leave me feeling too great either!!!
Here's mine
cinema paradiso (directors cut)
amelie
withnail and I
il postino
italian for beginners
elling
etre et avoir
hidden (cache)
5x2
the consequences of love
three colours red
me you and everyone we know
run lola run
oh and i forgot to mention Irreversible, just watch it, it's pretty normal.
sharewhat does that mean? "just watch it. It's pretty normal?"
shareMy sassy girl (korean) is one of my favorite romantic comedies
sharek this is my pick from all the hispanic cinema:
literally anything by almodovar - but in particular bad education and all about my mother - can't wait until volver comes out!
anything with gael garcia bernal in (he is one incredibly talented actor - not to mention fit!) in particular - y tu mama tamnien, amores perros, diarios de motocicleta, and again bad education (is it bad that i still find him v fit even when he's playing a transvestite?)
and then anything by amenabar who is proving himself to be an incredible director - in particular - abre los ojos and mar adentro
some of my foreign favorites:
Alfie(original 1966)
City of God
Amorres Perros
A Clockwork Orange
Le circle rouge(France)
Le samourai(France)
The Killer
Hard Boiled
Bob Le Flambeur(France)
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Hero
Rififi(1955 France)
Romper Stomper(australian)
Initial D Orginal Series(Anime for the car guys)
Ill keep this updated as I continue to watch films.
La Meglio Gioventu (Best of Youth)
My favourite movie ever