What are some of your favorite Cult Movies

Auggie said:
One that had me thinking for days... Faces of Death
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Auggie,

I had completely forgotten about "Faces of Death". I definitely would have included it in my initial list
of cult films. As soon as I read your post mentioning "Faces of Death" I instantly had a word association
with an earlier film with a similar genre and that is "Mondo Cane".

I still have a pretty good memory of exactly where and when I first saw " Mondo Cane" even though it
was nearly 57 years ago ! It was 1963, my freshman year in college and after class I walked a few blocks
and saw it in a small theatre where I think there were maybe 10 other people in the entire theatre and I recall
two people got up and walked out about 2 or 3 minutes after the film started. It was very graphic and shocking
at the time, but in today's world I don't think this movie would raise too many eyebrows, tame by today's standards.

To me, the theme song of the film was the redeeming feature. The song called "More" actually reached number 8
on the Billboard Top 40 charts in July of 1963. The version that charted was an instrumental by a Danish jazz trombonist named Kai Winding. The song was also recorded by numerous artists with lyrics, but the song with lyrics never made pop charts.
I believe the instrumental version was even nominated for a Grammy in '63 but didn't win.
"Mondo Cane" also spawned some really terrible sequels. I remember there was a "Mondo Cane 2" ( didn't see it)
and then a genre of "Mondo" films nicknamed "Shockumentaries".

"Faces of Death" came out in the late 70's I believe, and it copied the format of "Mondo Cane" in that it was a documentary
showing bizarre customs from all over the world, scenes of an autopsy, accident victims with mutilations, and just general disgusting scenes, but the one highlight of "Faces of Death" if you can consider watching people kill a live monkey at their table
in a restaurant and then dining on the monkey's brain as a highlight, then this film is right for you.

This scene is what most people remember as the most shocking sequence and probably most talked about. It is set in a restaurant and a waiter brings out the monkey, looks like one of those monkeys one would see with an organ grinder in an old b/w movie
from the 30's or 40's. I think there were 2 couples at the table, the table had a hole in the center, the waiter put the monkey under the table with just his head visible on the table. Waiter gave everyone a small hammer/mallet and then they proceeded
to kill the monkey, spoon out the brains and dine upon them. I have only seen this movie once at that was over 40 years ago
but that is how I recall the scene. Now before someone calls PETA to report this thread, I will say that I read an article many years later that it was revealed this entire sequence was faked and there was never a monkey being killed tableside and many of the
parts of the documentary were also staged. I know that "Faces of Death" had numerous sequels parts 1,2,3,4 etc. I had no desire
to see any of them, one was enough.

I'll close with 4 other cult films I happened to think of this evening, that I should have listed previously on post #17

They are:
"Atomic Cafe"
"Quest For Fire"
"Waiting For Guffman"
"Lawn Dogs"

JB
 
El Indio said:
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Porky's
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I would say that Porky's is a cult film but not Fast Times at Ridgemont High. If anything Fast Times is a classic comedy that was well written by Cameron Crowe. Also the casting director gets a callout as many actors got their start in this film and went on to big careers: Sean Penn, Judge Reinhold, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nicholas Cage, Forest Whitaker, Eric Stoltz, and Anthony Edwards. Along with the before mentioned Phoebe Cates dream sequence here are a couple quick scenes that capture the early '80s vibe from this film:

I say this so many times when encountering idiots on the road that my kids now say it when they run into the same situation>

Nothing like the smell of freshly printed mimeograph test>

I had a teacher that said the same thing and knew nothing of this film>
 
Auggie said:
I would say that Porky's is a cult film but not Fast Times at Ridgemont High. If anything Fast Times is a classic comedy that was well written by Cameron Crowe. Also the casting director gets a callout as many actors got their start in this film and went on to big careers: Sean Penn, Judge Reinhold, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nicholas Cage, Forest Whitaker, Eric Stoltz, and Anthony Edwards. Along with the before mentioned Phoebe Cates dream sequence here are a couple quick scenes that capture the early '80s vibe from this film:

I say this so many times when encountering idiots on the road that my kids now say it when they run into the same situation>

Nothing like the smell of freshly printed mimeograph test>

I had a teacher that said the same thing and knew nothing of this film>
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Spicoli.png
 
El Indio said:
I remember Judge Nelson, not Nicolas Cage.
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El Indio,

Nicholas Cage played the buddy of Judge Reinhold aka Brad Hamilton in FTARH.

Little known fact is that Nicholas Cage was still using his real name of Nicholas Coppola.
Shortly after FTARH was released he changed his name from "Coppola" to "Cage". His
screen credit in the film lists him as Nicholas Coppola.

He changed his last name so people wouldn't think he was trying to use the name of his famous
uncle, director, Francis Ford Coppola to open doors for him in his acting career.

JB
 
A few of these movies might have already been mentioned in the 'Underappreciated' thread:

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
The Blob
Big Fish
The Big Lebowski
Raising Arizona
My Own Private Idaho
Labyrinth
The Hunger
Highlander
Repo Man
Donnie Darko
Fear
River’s Edge
Kalifornia
The Room
Pink Floyd – The Wall
Super Troopers
Spaceballs
 
Johnstown Benny said:
Nicholas Cage ... He changed his last name so people wouldn't think he was trying to use the name of his famous
uncle, director, Francis Ford Coppola to open doors for him in his acting career.
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Similar to Emilio Estevez, son of actor, Martin Sheen, and brother of actor, Charlie Sheen.
 
JB got me thinking about a time I saw a lot of folks walking out of the theater during a film that is probably consider a cult movie, Caligula. It was basically a porn film that was passed off as "serious" cinema because of the big name cast: Malcom McDowell, Hellen Mirren, Peter O'Toole, and John Gielgud were in the cast. Some seriously bizarre scenes that made no sense to the plot, probably one of the worst made films I have ever seen.
 
FootballFan1795 said:
A few of these movies might have already been mentioned in the 'Underappreciated' thread:

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
The Blob
Big Fish
The Big Lebowski
Raising Arizona
My Own Private Idaho
Labyrinth
The Hunger
Highlander
Repo Man
Donnie Darko
Fear
River’s Edge
Kalifornia
The Room
Pink Floyd – The Wall
Super Troopers
Spaceballs
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See what I mean. Take JB's list and couple it with footballfan's and you have some dynamite watching.

Forgot all about Raising Arizona.
 
Was Dark Star the movie used an egg beater for a space ship? I remember something like that, a movie they used a kitchen appliance or some mundane object for a spaceship.
 
I'm starting to recall these movies from Friday nights at the Engineering Bldg or for us, sheet on the wall Thursday since the projectionist lived in our suite.

Fritz the Cat, lol. Pink Flamingoes. yech. Eraser Head, Tomatoes, Holy Grail of course. Saw Rocky Horror in its full participation glory in Georgetown's Key theatre.

Cult movies are just better watched crowded like puppies in a dark room, sitting on the floor with a blanket around you and whom, drinking orange crush (or beer) and eating from a big plastic bowl, popcorn that came out of a pan and projected on a sheet hanging from the ceiling.

I miss that now. Before I check out, I think I want to do that again.
 
Fritz the Cat! I remember when that came out in the early '70s, I was a kid at the time and told my folks I wanted to see this film based on the poster at the theater. Needless to say it was not approved cartoon viewing for a 2nd grader. Saw it 10 years later at a midnight showing and was shocked not at the graphic cartoon sex scenes but that the hippies doing this thing showed so much overt misogyny, racism and religious bigotry.
 
FootballFan1795 said:
A few of these movies might have already been mentioned in the 'Underappreciated' thread:

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
The Blob
Big Fish
The Big Lebowski
Raising Arizona
My Own Private Idaho
Labyrinth
The Hunger
Highlander
Repo Man
Donnie Darko
Fear
River’s Edge
Kalifornia
The Room
Pink Floyd – The Wall
Super Troopers
Spaceballs
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FootballFan1795,

Nice list of additions to the lists that have been compiled so far on this topic. I have
seen all but three of this new batch of films. Haven't seen "Labyrinth", "The Room"
or "Super Troopers". Many classics on your latest list for sure.

My first list I quickly came up with 36 cult films and then in a later post thought of another
4 films worthy of adding. Over the weekend, which was spent primarily consisted of working
outside on Mrs. JB's "honey-do" list I came up with another 10 candidates for inclusion. Here
are my latest additions to "Favorite Cult Films" :

"High School Confidential"
"Lord Love A Duck"
"Cutters Way"
"Ed Wood"
"Glen or Glenda"
"Faster Pussycat, Kill Kill"
"Morgan"
"Altered States"
"Eddie & The Cruisers"
"Streets Of Fire" ( My all-time favorite, can't believe I nearly forgot to list it )

I'm considering this entire topic as a work in progress so stay tuned.


JB
 
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Auggie said:
JB got me thinking about a time I saw a lot of folks walking out of the theater during a film that is probably consider a cult movie, Caligula. It was basically a porn film that was passed off as "serious" cinema because of the big name cast: Malcom McDowell, Hellen Mirren, Peter O'Toole, and John Gielgud were in the cast. Some seriously bizarre scenes that made no sense to the plot, probably one of the worst made films I have ever seen.
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Auggie,

Good call on "Caligula" ! Although I have never seen the film, I somehow feel that I have,
in the sense that I have, reading much about it over the years from different reviewers and critics.
I remember when "Caligula" was in production in the late 70's that it was the brainchild of
Bob Guccione, the editor of "Penthouse" magazine and the arch rival of Hugh Hefner, the
much more successful creator and editor of "Playboy" magazine.

You are absolutely correct when you say "Caligula" was basically a porn film trying to pass
off as serious cinema because of the big name cast of actors appearing in it. Guccione dropped
a ton of money in producing "Caligula" but the reviews were worse than terrible for the most part.
I think I remember reading that the late Roger Ebert may even called it the worst movie he had ever
reviewed . I'm sure the cast regretted even being a part of it and yet as Liberace once said when the critics
trashed his performance, cried (all the way to the bank )!


JB
 
said_aouita said:
Not sure if a cult movie, but definitely dark.

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said-aouita,

I agree with you that "Wild At Heart" deserves to be included in the list
of "Favorite cult films". I know that FootballFan1795 first listed this movie
on the topic of "Underappreciated Movies" started a couple of weeks ago.

I know that you and I also listed "Wild At Heart" on the "Underappreciated Movies"
as one of our choices. I think it also deserves to be included on both threads.
Good call by you. It's both unappreciated and a cult film in my opinion.



JB
 
Not in any order

A Clockwork Orange
The Shining
Dr. Strangelove
Twelve Angry Men
The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Magnificent Seven (original)
Westworld
Blazing Saddles
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Animal House
Diner
War of the Worlds (original)
All Quiet on the Western Front (original)
Easy Rider
Blowup
Tarantula
The Tingler
American Graffiti
Taxi Driver
One Flew over the Coo Coo's Next
Night of the Living Dead
The Gods Must Be Crazy
Fahrenheit 451
Torn Curtain
Thunder Road (this 1958 film with Robert Mitchum is my favorite "B" film),

oh, I forgot

The Hustler
Failsafe
 
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^^^^

The Gods Must Be Crazy

A movie that helped inspire my out of the way travel. This movie made a lot of money though.
 
Johnstown Benny said:
Haven't seen "Labyrinth", "The Room" or "Super Troopers".
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Johnstown Benny said:
Guccione dropped a ton of money in producing "Caligula" but the reviews were worse than terrible for the most part. I think I remember reading that the late Roger Ebert may even called it the worst movie he had ever reviewed.
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Caligula may have competition ... from The Room: ;)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Room

A number of publications have labeled The Room as one of the worst films ever made. An assistant professor of film studies was the first to describe The Room as "the Citizen Kane of bad movies." Originally shown only in a limited number of California theaters, The Room quickly became a cult film due to its bizarre and unconventional storytelling, technical and narrative flaws, and Wiseau's off-kilter performance. Although Wiseau has retrospectively described the film as a black comedy, audiences have generally viewed it as a poorly made drama, an opinion shared by some of the cast.

The Disaster Artist, Sestero's memoir of the making of The Room, was co-written with Tom Bissell and published in 2013. A film of the same title based on the book, directed by and starring James Franco, was released on December 1, 2017; the book and film received widespread acclaim and numerous award nominations.
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