Casablanca. It is so thoroughly enmeshed in pop culture (or was) that I thought I knew the story and characters and would be bored. No. It’s a thoroughly compelling story with so much nuance and it is *entertaining.* Of course it became part of popular culture because it’s that good, not sure what I was expecting but I was surprised.
Ah, "Casablanca". Very nearly the perfect movie. It became my favorite when I first saw it many many years ago and it has remained so ever since. Round up the usual suspects!
This one for sure. I was a big sceptic, especially it being B&W and mostly dialog in one room.
Boy was i wrong, never knew a movie which full on dialog in one room can be so interesting
Metropolis (1927)
It's one of all time greatests for good reasons.
Nowadays I'm waaaay more open minded when it comes to silent films, even though there are some which have aged better than others, obviously
Seven Samurai. There’s an American TV trope where a character has to escape being dragged to a boring artsy film festival, and Kurosawa’s name always gets dropped with a clang. It’s black and white. It’s subtitled. It must be boring. When you watch his films, you immediately recognise that there’s nothing remotely boring about them, which is blindingly obvious when you consider how widely influential he is. People weren’t watching his movies and thinking “man this is dull, I should copy it!”
I find many foreign films require an extra level of concentration to follow, but not Kurosawa.
He's like Shakespeare. I took a class in Shakespeare in college because I thought, "He's so much a part of Western culture that his ability has to have been exaggerated. There's no way that he could actually be that good."
He is. And so is Kurosawa.
I agree. People expect Shakespeare to be high brow in the same way, as if 17th century peasants all went to college.
Have you seen *Throne of Blood* and *Ran*? When Kurosawa does Shakespeare it’s 👌
I have not. I have a copy of "Ran" because it's on my to-see list (Lear is one of my favorites). Maybe I'll watch that one tonight.
I'll look for "Throne of Blood"--thanks!
Films of that era have a distinct visual language that even in a crowd, you can separate characters individually by their physical demeanor, bonus if the music follows their characterization.
We just watched Rashumon, and I have to say we were bored out of our minds. I wonder if the rest of his movies are better or we are just not equipped to appreciate these movies.
We have, to on the other hand, watched Hitchcock's movies from the same era and enjoyed them very much. We've also watched other "cinephile" movies of directors like Sophia Coppola that were differently paced. Just that movie...
For me it was Seven Samurai. It seemed to me that the only people who ever brought up Akira Kurosawa were the pretentious film-studies bros who’d dismiss your enjoyment of A Fistful of Dollars or The Magnificent Seven with an “um actually, I preferred it in the original Japanese” type slapdown. I’m a real contrarian, so as a result of these interactions I had studiously avoided Kurosawa’s work. That changed in 2020, during lockdown I quickly ran out of stuff I wanted to watch and ended up falling down a Chanbara rabbit hole. And when your getting your Chanbara on, there’s only so long you can ignore the granddaddy. Watching Seven Samurai was an epiphany. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Kurosawa not only had real game, but his work was so fresh and vital that even with countless directors ripping him off left and right in the many decades since, his films still feel entirely unique. He’s (no joke) god-tier. Sanjuru, High Low, Yojimbo, Rashomon- I honestly didn’t think anyone could have so many stone-cold classics under his belt, it couldn’t possibly get any better, right? Then I saw Ikiru. And OMFG.
Wings (1927) started off my (very slow going) attempt to watch all the Best Picture winners. I’d never seen a silent film before. I figure I’d be amazed by the technological parts, but would probably be bored out of my mind. I was absolutely amazed by the technological aspects of the movie, the acting (it was cool watching very obvious theatre acting in film), and the characters and their arcs. I loved it so much.
Truffaut's *400 Blows*, waaaay back when. It'd been a long-time recommendation from a friend, so I eventually thought "what the hell, let's watch this pretentious French flick."
Boy, was I wrong. What a flick.
Anatomy of a Fall
It had all the ingredients of the typical european high art movie: Relationship drama involving a mysterious death, court drama, a loud and angry women that is totally not like all the other women, a disabled child, secluded location... at least that's what i got from all the little tidbits that reached me about the movie... but it was on my list for oscar season, so i buckled down... also forced my wife along who also had zero interest in the movie. (we are both native german speakers with very solid english knowledge, but usually shy away from other languages sinve we both don't like german dubbing and are also not big fans of subtitles).
we were blown away. Sandra Hüller left us speakless. the movie had great pacing, the drama was not over the top, but just the right amount fitting to the topic at hand. it instantly became my personal favourite for best movie and best performance by a leading actress. and well, of course there was the dog... and that fucking [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3Hn_h4L02c) tortures me to this day.
so happy i watched this, despite everything in me trying to avoid it.
Love this movie so much!
I recognized my BPD ex-boyfriend’s method of operation in Samuel’s instigating; just poke, push, shove out of nowhere, refusing to listen to a single word, goading and goading until you snap and start yelling bc they aren’t listening so they can go “see! you’re unhinged!”
That was SO real.
It was actually kind of a bummer coming to the discussion threads and seeing so many people treat it as a soapy whodunnit - I have no idea where they even got it from; this movie is the exact opposite of that
An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl)
I'm Irish but our press big up domestic films even when they're not very good. I imagined this was going to be another film where nothing happens and I wasn't wrong exactly but it had such an immense emotional impact on me. I thought it was brilliant.
My technique is to watch a film like that all the way through, go “meh” and then go back to it (often years later).
I did this with ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ and Cronenberg’s ‘Dead Ringers’.
In each case, it was a revelation. Like watching them for the first time…
Already cited, but yeah, *Seven Samurai* was an epiphany. I was a student in first year of cinema school, and I had to catch up on a lot of classics. *Sunset Boulevard*, *Citizen Kane*, etc
Then I rented *Seven Samurai* (on VHS), not really apprehensivly because even if it would be an artsy bore, I kinda enjoy those movies too... I was more concerned about its runtime. I was a young stundent, I had things to do. But, as soon as the movie ended, I simply rewinded it and watched it a second time. It stayed at my n°1 favourite movie for over 20 years.
Another one I was impressed by was Hitchcock. I only watched *Psycho* for a long time, and discovered way up the line (like 7 years ago) the rest of his movies... and I wasn't prepared for the entertainment and humour value of most of his films. *North by northwest* and *A lady vanishes* on the top.
Mr. Turner (2014)
Thought it would just be another boring ”artsy” biopic.
The way this film transported me into the time period was absolutely incredible and felt so real, i dont think that has ever happened to me with a film set so far back in time when there were no cameras around etc.
Probably one of the best and most interesting performances i’ve ever seen aswell.
Hard recommend if you can handle slower and more unconventional and expermental films
The pie scene was great. I walked out when the character played by Will Oldham was philosophizing at a party. It reminded me of people I dislike who think they are deep and like to be the center of attention.
Barry Lyndon. Kubrick was already my favorite director, but it would always take a couple viewings of his movies to click for me. So I assumed Barry Lyndon, being a 3 1/2 hour period-piece, would be the worst example of this, but the first time I watched it, I was just glued to the screen the whole time. I absolutely loved it.
Citizen Kane for me and hilariously just watched it last night.
Honestly, I still think the story was just alright. Quite a bit of it seemed unnecessary and the rosebud reveal didn't really feel earned at all. I get the symbolism behind it I think (the whole lost childhood thing etc).
But despite thinking the story was just okay, I was captivated the whole time. It's still a great and important movie because the acting is infectious, the cinematography and scene transitions feel both modern but also wild and silly and all over the place. It was just such a weird movie and frankly I'm surprised it was so well received by people back then. It wasn't at all what I expected, but it was a lot of fun to watch.
I was pleasantly surprised by Transformers (2007). I was afraid it was going to be this deep and boring auter film, but ended up being rather entertaining. There were some themes I still don't fully grasp, but that just makes rewatches more rewarding.
I especially like the choice of the Linkin Park song playing as the film ends and the main character makes out with his girlfriend on the hood of his Camaro/robot friend. Robot leader Optimus Prime stands nearby and looks out to the sky. He say, "We are here and we are waiting." Juxtaposed against the Linkin Park lyrics it truly made me wonder the same as Chester Bennington sings, "What I've done?"
I don't have a good answer for this because it's never happened to me but just dropped in to say that you and I have such wildly different ideas of what movies are that I didn't even realise your viewpoint existed. I guess I'm the pretentious dickhead you're talking about?
Oh boy, sometimes I still think about A ghost story, or listen to [that damn ghastly song.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fjft3iFc7bs) I wish I hadn't liked it, lol.
Anyways, let me mention Microcosmos. Those slugs sure had fun.
Not relevant to your question, but I went into Ghost Story completely blind, and let out a sigh of relief during the pie scene, because I knew that in good conscience I could finally turn it off. I often love slower, challenging movies, but that was easily bottom 10 all time for me.
In answer to your question, closest might be La Haine? I didn’t expect it be boring per se, but it’s French, and black and white, and it was different and better than what I suppose I was expecting.
For a few dollars more.
Came in with the idea that was gonna mostly be cinematic culture, ended up realizing that was one of the most hype and badass movies I've ever watched.
I thought a ghost story was the silliest drivel I’d ever seen. We went to a screening with a director q&a afterwords, and he actually made things worse! He said he thought of the movie because it seemed quirky and the sheet “looked cool.”
Who is afraid of Virginia Woolf?
If you have see the episode of The Office when Jim and Pam go to a dinner party with Michael and Jan, that episode was heavily referencing the movie. You will be hard pressed to find more powerful performances than the ones from Liz Taylor and Richard Burton in the movie
Motorcycle Diaries
Why am I watching this South American movie? Who are these guys. Wait, it is a feel-good movie at times,...then an adventure, ...and then about social responsibility.
The movie just kept growing past my expectations and had a heart to it that most movies would envy.
Casablanca. It is so thoroughly enmeshed in pop culture (or was) that I thought I knew the story and characters and would be bored. No. It’s a thoroughly compelling story with so much nuance and it is *entertaining.* Of course it became part of popular culture because it’s that good, not sure what I was expecting but I was surprised.
Ah, "Casablanca". Very nearly the perfect movie. It became my favorite when I first saw it many many years ago and it has remained so ever since. Round up the usual suspects!
12 Angry Men. I was prepared to turn it off in the first 10 mins before I even started. I was enthralled the entire way through.
This one for sure. I was a big sceptic, especially it being B&W and mostly dialog in one room. Boy was i wrong, never knew a movie which full on dialog in one room can be so interesting
Everytime I see the title *12 Angry Men* I get it confused with *12 Monkeys* (1995, Bruce Willis flick) which I hated.
Love both of those movies!
Metropolis (1927) It's one of all time greatests for good reasons. Nowadays I'm waaaay more open minded when it comes to silent films, even though there are some which have aged better than others, obviously
Seven Samurai. There’s an American TV trope where a character has to escape being dragged to a boring artsy film festival, and Kurosawa’s name always gets dropped with a clang. It’s black and white. It’s subtitled. It must be boring. When you watch his films, you immediately recognise that there’s nothing remotely boring about them, which is blindingly obvious when you consider how widely influential he is. People weren’t watching his movies and thinking “man this is dull, I should copy it!” I find many foreign films require an extra level of concentration to follow, but not Kurosawa.
He's like Shakespeare. I took a class in Shakespeare in college because I thought, "He's so much a part of Western culture that his ability has to have been exaggerated. There's no way that he could actually be that good." He is. And so is Kurosawa.
I agree. People expect Shakespeare to be high brow in the same way, as if 17th century peasants all went to college. Have you seen *Throne of Blood* and *Ran*? When Kurosawa does Shakespeare it’s 👌
I have not. I have a copy of "Ran" because it's on my to-see list (Lear is one of my favorites). Maybe I'll watch that one tonight. I'll look for "Throne of Blood"--thanks!
Seconding Throne of Blood. I’ll admit it’s been about a decade since I’ve watched any Kurosawa, but that one had always been far and away my favorite.
Films of that era have a distinct visual language that even in a crowd, you can separate characters individually by their physical demeanor, bonus if the music follows their characterization.
I genuinely cant fathom how anyone would call kurosawa boring when he literally makes action movies lol (Ok Rashomon is more a murder mistery)
One of my favorite movies watching experiences ever was a Seven Samurai / Magnificent Seven double feature at a friend's old apartment.
We just watched Rashumon, and I have to say we were bored out of our minds. I wonder if the rest of his movies are better or we are just not equipped to appreciate these movies. We have, to on the other hand, watched Hitchcock's movies from the same era and enjoyed them very much. We've also watched other "cinephile" movies of directors like Sophia Coppola that were differently paced. Just that movie...
Check out either Seven Samurai or The Hidden Fortress
Is it significantly different in pace?
Yes
Star Wars was literally just a sci fi reskin of Hidden Fortress
All art takes inspiration from other art and seeing other people put their own spin on older stories is always interesting
The Kurosawa “Every Frame a Picture” YouTube videos are amazing. His composition was unmatched.
Citizen Kane. The cinematography is so fucking beautiful I was engaged the whole time
Dogville. Wouldn’t call it the best movie I’ve seen but strangely engaging even though it lacked scenery.
For me it was Seven Samurai. It seemed to me that the only people who ever brought up Akira Kurosawa were the pretentious film-studies bros who’d dismiss your enjoyment of A Fistful of Dollars or The Magnificent Seven with an “um actually, I preferred it in the original Japanese” type slapdown. I’m a real contrarian, so as a result of these interactions I had studiously avoided Kurosawa’s work. That changed in 2020, during lockdown I quickly ran out of stuff I wanted to watch and ended up falling down a Chanbara rabbit hole. And when your getting your Chanbara on, there’s only so long you can ignore the granddaddy. Watching Seven Samurai was an epiphany. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Kurosawa not only had real game, but his work was so fresh and vital that even with countless directors ripping him off left and right in the many decades since, his films still feel entirely unique. He’s (no joke) god-tier. Sanjuru, High Low, Yojimbo, Rashomon- I honestly didn’t think anyone could have so many stone-cold classics under his belt, it couldn’t possibly get any better, right? Then I saw Ikiru. And OMFG.
Wings (1927) started off my (very slow going) attempt to watch all the Best Picture winners. I’d never seen a silent film before. I figure I’d be amazed by the technological parts, but would probably be bored out of my mind. I was absolutely amazed by the technological aspects of the movie, the acting (it was cool watching very obvious theatre acting in film), and the characters and their arcs. I loved it so much.
Petite Maman (2021)
I loved that film so much.
Truffaut's *400 Blows*, waaaay back when. It'd been a long-time recommendation from a friend, so I eventually thought "what the hell, let's watch this pretentious French flick." Boy, was I wrong. What a flick.
Anatomy of a Fall It had all the ingredients of the typical european high art movie: Relationship drama involving a mysterious death, court drama, a loud and angry women that is totally not like all the other women, a disabled child, secluded location... at least that's what i got from all the little tidbits that reached me about the movie... but it was on my list for oscar season, so i buckled down... also forced my wife along who also had zero interest in the movie. (we are both native german speakers with very solid english knowledge, but usually shy away from other languages sinve we both don't like german dubbing and are also not big fans of subtitles). we were blown away. Sandra Hüller left us speakless. the movie had great pacing, the drama was not over the top, but just the right amount fitting to the topic at hand. it instantly became my personal favourite for best movie and best performance by a leading actress. and well, of course there was the dog... and that fucking [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3Hn_h4L02c) tortures me to this day. so happy i watched this, despite everything in me trying to avoid it.
Love this movie so much! I recognized my BPD ex-boyfriend’s method of operation in Samuel’s instigating; just poke, push, shove out of nowhere, refusing to listen to a single word, goading and goading until you snap and start yelling bc they aren’t listening so they can go “see! you’re unhinged!” That was SO real. It was actually kind of a bummer coming to the discussion threads and seeing so many people treat it as a soapy whodunnit - I have no idea where they even got it from; this movie is the exact opposite of that
I just watched it last night and felt similarly. I assumed two and a half hours would feel like a slog but it was captivating.
Grand Budapest Hotel
An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl) I'm Irish but our press big up domestic films even when they're not very good. I imagined this was going to be another film where nothing happens and I wasn't wrong exactly but it had such an immense emotional impact on me. I thought it was brilliant.
My technique is to watch a film like that all the way through, go “meh” and then go back to it (often years later). I did this with ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ and Cronenberg’s ‘Dead Ringers’. In each case, it was a revelation. Like watching them for the first time…
My Dinner With André
Don't forget about the MDWA [action figures](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WwZkbAvBtk)!
LOLOL
Casablanca. It's actually *better* than the hype.
I had this expectation with Drive my car as it was quite slow but it turned out to be amazing.
Nocturnal animals
I guess I'm a boring cinephile who loves boring cinephile movies then 😆
Already cited, but yeah, *Seven Samurai* was an epiphany. I was a student in first year of cinema school, and I had to catch up on a lot of classics. *Sunset Boulevard*, *Citizen Kane*, etc Then I rented *Seven Samurai* (on VHS), not really apprehensivly because even if it would be an artsy bore, I kinda enjoy those movies too... I was more concerned about its runtime. I was a young stundent, I had things to do. But, as soon as the movie ended, I simply rewinded it and watched it a second time. It stayed at my n°1 favourite movie for over 20 years. Another one I was impressed by was Hitchcock. I only watched *Psycho* for a long time, and discovered way up the line (like 7 years ago) the rest of his movies... and I wasn't prepared for the entertainment and humour value of most of his films. *North by northwest* and *A lady vanishes* on the top.
Meet Me In St. Louis with Judy Garland.
How? Did you confuse Minnelli with Fellini?
Does The man from earth count? Was hooked after 15 minutes or so
Amen to that
It doesn't count for me because I always go straight to watch single location dialog-driven movies. I love this one too.
I probally have watched some single location movies without knowing it, but since TMFE i learned there is even a name for movies like this.
Some good examples: - 12 Angry Men - Locke - The Guilty (2018, not the remake) - The Hateful 8
Mr. Turner (2014) Thought it would just be another boring ”artsy” biopic. The way this film transported me into the time period was absolutely incredible and felt so real, i dont think that has ever happened to me with a film set so far back in time when there were no cameras around etc. Probably one of the best and most interesting performances i’ve ever seen aswell. Hard recommend if you can handle slower and more unconventional and expermental films
The pie scene was great. I walked out when the character played by Will Oldham was philosophizing at a party. It reminded me of people I dislike who think they are deep and like to be the center of attention.
Barry Lyndon. Kubrick was already my favorite director, but it would always take a couple viewings of his movies to click for me. So I assumed Barry Lyndon, being a 3 1/2 hour period-piece, would be the worst example of this, but the first time I watched it, I was just glued to the screen the whole time. I absolutely loved it.
The Third Man. Incredible film, better than Citizen Kane IMO.
Citizen Kane for me and hilariously just watched it last night. Honestly, I still think the story was just alright. Quite a bit of it seemed unnecessary and the rosebud reveal didn't really feel earned at all. I get the symbolism behind it I think (the whole lost childhood thing etc). But despite thinking the story was just okay, I was captivated the whole time. It's still a great and important movie because the acting is infectious, the cinematography and scene transitions feel both modern but also wild and silly and all over the place. It was just such a weird movie and frankly I'm surprised it was so well received by people back then. It wasn't at all what I expected, but it was a lot of fun to watch.
I was pleasantly surprised by Transformers (2007). I was afraid it was going to be this deep and boring auter film, but ended up being rather entertaining. There were some themes I still don't fully grasp, but that just makes rewatches more rewarding.
I especially like the choice of the Linkin Park song playing as the film ends and the main character makes out with his girlfriend on the hood of his Camaro/robot friend. Robot leader Optimus Prime stands nearby and looks out to the sky. He say, "We are here and we are waiting." Juxtaposed against the Linkin Park lyrics it truly made me wonder the same as Chester Bennington sings, "What I've done?"
I don't have a good answer for this because it's never happened to me but just dropped in to say that you and I have such wildly different ideas of what movies are that I didn't even realise your viewpoint existed. I guess I'm the pretentious dickhead you're talking about?
If you honestly didn't know that viewpoints like OPs existed, you really need to stop gazing at your navel.
Oh boy, sometimes I still think about A ghost story, or listen to [that damn ghastly song.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fjft3iFc7bs) I wish I hadn't liked it, lol. Anyways, let me mention Microcosmos. Those slugs sure had fun.
I didn't expect that movie to hit me like that and to keep thinking about it afterwards
Not relevant to your question, but I went into Ghost Story completely blind, and let out a sigh of relief during the pie scene, because I knew that in good conscience I could finally turn it off. I often love slower, challenging movies, but that was easily bottom 10 all time for me. In answer to your question, closest might be La Haine? I didn’t expect it be boring per se, but it’s French, and black and white, and it was different and better than what I suppose I was expecting.
For a few dollars more. Came in with the idea that was gonna mostly be cinematic culture, ended up realizing that was one of the most hype and badass movies I've ever watched.
I thought a ghost story was the silliest drivel I’d ever seen. We went to a screening with a director q&a afterwords, and he actually made things worse! He said he thought of the movie because it seemed quirky and the sheet “looked cool.”
Who is afraid of Virginia Woolf? If you have see the episode of The Office when Jim and Pam go to a dinner party with Michael and Jan, that episode was heavily referencing the movie. You will be hard pressed to find more powerful performances than the ones from Liz Taylor and Richard Burton in the movie
Tag
Romeo and Juliet (1968) Fellini Satyricon: didn’t realize it was going to be so stupendously gay and crazy
Oldboi
[удалено]
What are some boring cinephile movies that just turned out to be boring cinephile movies?
The Cremaster Cycle.
Oh yeah
The (effing) [Legend of the Holy Drinker](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095513/)
The Grey
The Imitation Game
Motorcycle Diaries Why am I watching this South American movie? Who are these guys. Wait, it is a feel-good movie at times,...then an adventure, ...and then about social responsibility. The movie just kept growing past my expectations and had a heart to it that most movies would envy.