What are the most original films you've ever seen?

Kung fu hustle. Greatest accidental find I ever made.
The weirdest film I've ever seen is a tie between, Lost highway and Vistor Q.
Vistor Q is seriously the most ****** film I've ever seen, Lost highway just makes 0 sense.
 
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Joseph Clements said:
Surprised at no mention of Arrival here either.
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Arrival reminds me quite a bit of another communicating with an alien obelisk that lands on earth film but I really can't remember it's name now. I think it was in the last 10 years or so, anyone know the film I'm thinking of?
 
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I know it's a bit unfair to suggest a film isn't unique based on films that came after it, but I always thought The Butterfly Effect had similarities with Donnie Darko (i.e. the latter isn't unique any more)
 
Watched Predestination last night thanks to this thread and thoroughly enjoyed it, what a crazy brain scrambler of a movie that is!
My own addition to this list is Pulp Fiction the daddy of all non linear movies.
 
Would the Time Travelers Wife count. A few quirky films along those lines like Frequency spring to mind, but that one doesn't involve some tropey mystical phenomenon.
 
Shaolin Soccer
Kung-fu Hustle
The Usual Suspects - enough of a twist at the end to set it apart from most similar films
Memento - just a complete mind**** at the end
 
Lots of ones I would have said have already been listed Matrix, Momento, Predestination, Nosferatu etc... So I'll go more foreign language instead.

  • Kairo - Japanese Kurosawa mystery around ghosts and loneliness
  • Old Boy - Korean movie, part of the the 'Revenge Trilogy but with a twist' there's a US re-make, will probably never watch it.
  • Save the Green Planet - Korean movie about a guy that kidnaps his boss believing him to be an alien.
  • The Classic - A Korean 'Notebook' made before the Notebook and in my view a much better and more romantic movie - proper tear-jerker though.
  • The Raid - Indonesian movie about a police raid on a high rise tower block. Probably the best action movie around. Came out a the year before 'Dredd'
  • Battle Royale - Japanese dystopian movie, where kids are sent to an island for 'battle royal' only one can survive. Each is given a weapon. Look out if you only get the saucepan lid. Hmm wonder I where 'Hunger Games' got the idea from some 10 years later. The author said she'd never heard of 'Battle Royale'
 
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englishpremier said:
  • The Raid - Indonesian movie about a police raid on a high rise tower block. Probably the best action movie around. Came out a year before 'Dredd' used the same concept.
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The Raid went into production a full 4-6 months after the Dredd script leaked online and Dredd was already being filmed. The Raid was able to be filmed and released faster due to no need for a lot of post FX work.

Both end up as vastly differing action movies however despite the same basic premise, it's quite clear The Raid 'borrowed' a lot of story elements from Dredd.

FTR, I love The Raid and think it's excellent, I also think the same of Dredd, I enjoy them both without allowing the similarities to detract from either movie.
 
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englishpremier said:
  • Kairo - Japanese Kurosawa mystery around ghosts and loneliness
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Never seen anyone else like Kairo, so you get a thumbs up from me :D
I still get chills thinking about that film and the loneliness/spookiness/freakiness of it.
Especially the bit where
the ghost 'stumbles' towards the guy hiding behind the sofa and the SFX.
I've got goosebumps just thinking about it now.

The USA remake "Pulse" can go jump off a cliff.

I'll add my own unique film suggestion here too.

SURVIVE STYLE 5+
 
In recent times:
The Matrix

Older:
Star Wars - People forget how groundbreaking this was when it first came out.
Logan's Run - They all run in the end Logan!
Silent Running - Which is actually a sci fi film rather than a submarine film.
Rollerball - A kind of dystopian sports sci fi.
Twelve Good Men - A superb story of a jury deciding someone's guilt or innocence.
A Matter of Life and Death - Heaven misses a pilot when he crashes his WW2 aircraft and takes him to court to get him back. A very old classic.
 
SixTwoSix said:
The Raid went into production a full 4-6 months after the Dredd script leaked online and Dredd was already being filmed. The Raid was able to be filmed and released faster due to no need for a lot of post FX work.

Both end up as vastly differing action movies however despite the same basic premise, it's quite clear The Raid 'borrowed' a lot of story elements from Dredd.

FTR, I love The Raid and think it's excellent, I also think the same of Dredd, I enjoy them both without allowing the similarities to detract from either movie.
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I did read that, there is no evidence the Raid took anything from Dredd, though, they would have already had a premise and most likely a script by then. They spend 3 months before production just on the fight choreography.

This was from an Interview with Evans:
"Are you aware that the new Judge Dredd film has basically the same plot as The Raid? Gareth Evans: Yes. It was weird, because, while we were in post on The Raid, I was telling a friend what the story was about – a bunch of guys storming a building. And he said, that’s like the new Judge Dredd movie. And I said, “What?” He sent me a link that explained the story, and I said, “Oh God, we have to get this released very, very soon.” [Laughs] "

" Where did the idea of the assault on the building come from? It sort of reminded me a bit of Assault On Precinct 13, but in reverse. Gareth Evans: Again, I knew nothing about Judge Dredd until post-production, but yeah, all the influences came from stuff like Die Hard. Assault On Precinct 13 was amazing – a big influence. Escape From New York as well. But the thing that pushed me to make this as a SWAT team film, was the video for Born Free by MIA. I just fell in love with that video – the way it was shot and edited was very informative to how we approached the film. That was the video we showed to every cast and crewmember as soon as they came through the door. After about fifteen minutes, we said, have a look at this video. "
 
@englishpremier I agree, it's not definite either copied the other, it is just highly suspect that Dredd's script was leaked and then The Raid goes into production. While I can believe that the overall premise could have been a coincidence, the opening scenes of the gang member executions are just way too similar for me to believe Evans accidentally wrote the same setup.

The fight choreography Evans was working on prior to The Raid was originally for a sequel to 2009's Merantau, it was well received and the appetite was big for a follow up. This choreography was pivoted to The Raid once they started production. I was nerding hard :D after Merantau and following sequel news closely.

All that aside, they're both cracking films, similarities aside, they're different enough in the end result to be enjoyed in their own rights. It's a shame they forced a 3D release for Dredd in the cinema which killed it's box office performance and any chance of a sequel. Also a shame Garland never got the original directing credit after completing the movie when Pete Travis lost control.
 
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