Most Thought Provoking Film / Movie You Have Seen?

Wind Chaser · « **Reply #20 on:** 22 May 2007, 01:32 pm »

Every Stan K film I've seen is thought provoking. Eye's Wide Shut had me wondering why he bothered with that one.

PhilNYC · « **Reply #21 on:** 22 May 2007, 01:46 pm »

Quote from: Wind Chaser on 22 May 2007, 01:32 pm

Eye's Wide Shut had me wondering why he bothered with that one.

That was definitely one of the worst movies I've ever seen...

BrunoB · « **Reply #22 on:** 22 May 2007, 02:24 pm »

Solaris
The Matrix
An Inconvenient Truth
Toto le heros http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103105/

Rob S. · « **Reply #23 on:** 22 May 2007, 02:44 pm »

Hotel Rwanda

Rob S.

Jon L · « **Reply #24 on:** 22 May 2007, 06:34 pm »

How'bout some Asian fare.

Oldboy--I had creepy thoughts for days afterwards.

In the Mood for Love--I kept thinking, "what the heck was that?"

Chungking Express--more like images and songs swirling in your head.

Ring (Japanese and Korean versions) --I still get flashbacks of long-haired-girl-popping-out-of-TV scene.

robert1325 · « **Reply #25 on:** 22 May 2007, 07:03 pm »

Quote from: PhilNYC on 22 May 2007, 01:26 pm

Any of the sci-fi movies based on Philip K. Dick books (eg. Blade Runner, Minority Report, Total Recall)...stories that play on real versus fake memories, "what-if" situations, etc.

2001: A Space Odessey...mankind's place in the universe...

I have to agree with the two above, also:

Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind
Fight club
Donnie darko
Fear and loathing in las vegas

byteme · « **Reply #26 on:** 22 May 2007, 07:09 pm »

Quote from: Wind Chaser on 22 May 2007, 11:36 am

Quote from: byteme on 21 May 2007, 09:34 pm
Thought provoking to me doesn't mean emotional, it means got inside my head and wouldn't leave for a while.

I'm not a shrink but aren't feelings derived from thoughts? Don't they take place inside your head? People generally tend to feel one way or another about what they observe and consequently think about.

What I was trying to get across was that just because something like Schindler's List, Band of Brothers or Saving Private Ryan (both fantastic movies) moved me from an emotional perspective with the human cruelty and horror of war they did so in much the same way that standing in Arlington National Cemetery did, that is, they didn't provoke the desire to discuss the event or changed the way I thought about things from then on. They still affected me but I was already aware of what happened during WWII. Just because it was the most graphic or realistic portrayal to date doesn't change that. Movies like Matrix, Dark City, Total Recall, Run Lola Run are different because they opened up totally new avenues of consideration, thought, etc.

To put it another way, after seeing Matrix, Dark City, Total Recall, Run Lola Run, you walk away saying "wow what a mind fuck that was" vs. wiping tears. There's nothing wrong with either, they're just different.

Another movie I considered putting on there by one of my favorite directors is The Big Blue - Luc Besson directed. If you get it, get the version with the Eric Serra score and the original Euro cut, not the hacked up crap version they released here.

JimJ · « **Reply #27 on:** 22 May 2007, 07:13 pm »

City of God...

acresm22 · « **Reply #28 on:** 22 May 2007, 07:19 pm »

I remember watching "Midnight Express" when I was just out of high school....haunted me for days, and I recall wanting to get on my hands and knees and kiss the earth upon which I freely walked after leaving that theater.

fajimr · « **Reply #29 on:** 22 May 2007, 07:24 pm »

anyone seen "Inland Empire" , the new 3hr David Lynch movie???

that's certainly of the 'what the f---' genre....

jim

arthur · « **Reply #30 on:** 22 May 2007, 07:27 pm »

a lot of great suggestions here.

i've posted a list of many of the greatest movies i've seen at
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=36323.0

but recently i've been thinking most about

BRAZIL: DIRECTOR'S CUT Terry Gilliam '85
DEEP COVER Bill Duke 1992
DIRTY PRETTY THINGS Stephan Frears 2002
DR. STRANGELOVE Stanley Kubrick 1964
EXPERIENT, THE Oliver Hirshbiegel 2001
FIGHT CLUB David Fincher 1999
PAN'S LABYRINTH Guillermo del Toro 2006
RABBIT-PROOF FENCE Phillip Noyce 2002

truly jems

Jim N. · « **Reply #31 on:** 22 May 2007, 08:32 pm »

"The Tin Drum" based upon the Gunter Grass novel.

"Johnny Got His Gun" PBS drama based upon Dalton Trumbo's great novel. Read the book as the film is almost impossible to find.

"Paths of Glory" Kubrick at his best

"The Phantom of Liberty" (also known as "The Specter of Liberty") Bunuel turns the real world on it's head

"An Andalusion Dog" (Un Chien Andalou) Bunuel and Salvatore Dali's surrealist short film from 1929

"The Wages of Fear"

"Ikiru" Kurosawa is best know for his Samurai epics but this film about an obscure government clerical worker finding life while facing his death is superb.

"Rashomon" The perfect film for audiophiles. It's not what happened, it's how it is perceived and remembered.

Night_Train · « **Reply #32 on:** 22 May 2007, 10:30 pm »

Okay....so, "The Manson Family" (2004) isn't disturbing enough for you......

try......."Ricky 6" (2000) http://www.ricky6.com/#

"Dead Ringers" (1988) by David Cronenberg

circinus · « **Reply #33 on:** 23 May 2007, 12:15 am »

I'm relatively new to the forum but I'll throw in a few. The first two have a common theme in that Jennifer Connelly is naked... definitely provoking some thoughts.

Requiem for a dream
Waking the dead
Mulholland Dr.

I'll also add to the Donnie Darko and Brazil votes.

GregC · « **Reply #34 on:** 23 May 2007, 12:52 am »

How about "Memento", "Good Will Hunting", and last but not least, "Pulp Fiction"

JimJ · « **Reply #35 on:** 25 May 2007, 07:35 pm »

Memento annoyed me...at the end of it, I was thinking..."That's it...?"

'

For the last 20 minutes or so the ending was pretty transparent.

ryder · « **Reply #36 on:** 29 May 2007, 03:40 pm »

Saving Private Ryan

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Violence is always disturbing, and these two films currently top the list of the most provoking I've ever come across.

Night_Train · « **Reply #37 on:** 29 May 2007, 09:36 pm »

Some hearty folks may like to try these two depraved foriegn films:

- Salo (if it can still be found)

- Visitor Q

GregC · « **Reply #38 on:** 29 May 2007, 10:04 pm »

Jim,

It has been awhile since I watched Momento, so I do not recall the ending being transparent. Unfortunately the details of the movie have moved into my grey matter. I just remember it being a very original concept and it causing me to think about it for a few days after I saw it.

Greg

PhilNYC · « **Reply #39 on:** 29 May 2007, 10:37 pm »

Memento and Pulp Fiction are two of my favorite films...but I don't know if I'd consider either of them to be particularly thought-provoking (Pulp Fiction may have gotten me thinking after the whole "Royale with Cheese" thing, but after that, it was pretty mindless fun...!).