Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utcsrgv.UUCP Path: utzoo!utcsrgv!oscar From: oscar@utcsrgv.UUCP (Oscar M. Nierstrasz) Newsgroups: net.movies Subject: Buried treasures Message-ID: <2489@utcsrgv.UUCP> Date: Fri, 14-Oct-83 23:55:50 EDT Article-I.D.: utcsrgv.2489 Posted: Fri Oct 14 23:55:50 1983 Date-Received: Sat, 15-Oct-83 00:57:25 EDT Organization: CSRG, University of Toronto Lines: 102 Everybody seems to be in "list" mode these days, so I thought I'd throw a little twist into the punch bowl. It's really nice to know how much people out there like to see The Wizard of Oz over and over again, but I've already seen it, thank you, and knowing that you've seen it doesn't really tell me that much. What I'd like to know is: what have you seen and liked that I *haven't* seen, and probably haven't even heard of. That is, what *buried treasures* are there out there? A tentative definition: Buried: ignored, forgotten or unjustly maligned. Treasure: unusual, remarkable, valuable in *some* way. A buried treasure doesn't have to be great, or even your favourite film, but it should have something special to recommend it. It should also be a film that people are either not likely to have heard of, or not likely to have seen (because of a short run, or unjustifiably negative reviews). NOTE: "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" is *not* a "buried treasure". It is a *cult* film. The same is true about "Harold and Maude". Everybody has, by now, heard of these films and has either seen them or has heard enough to make an intelligent decision about whether or not to see them. "Don't Look Know" *used* to be a buried treasure. It is becoming, or has become a cult film. Try to stick to hidden gems as opposed to underground classics. DISCLAIMER: Of course, *true* buried treasures are few and far between. What I think is a "buried" treasure twenty people out there will probably have seen already. The idea is the important thing, however, namely to get off the Citizen Kane and 2001 track (yes, they're two of my favourite movies too, but so what?). A few modest samples: --- Cul-De-Sac (Polanski, Roman; GB; 1966; 110m) This early Polanski film starred Donald Pleasance and Lionel Stander. It's a black comedy about two wounded gangsters on the run who hide out in an old house in the middle of nowhere and hold the family who lives there hostage. Very bizarre. I saw it a couple of times about ten years ago, but Polanski has become a bad word since then. --- The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (Miller, Robert Ellis; USA; 1968; 125m) Alan Arkin as a deaf-mute in a rented room. He tries and fails to help a retarded man with an alcohol problem. I saw this years ago and remember very little except that the movie really touched me. I don't know if it would stand up well, but I'd like to see it again very much anyway. --- Le Magnifique (De Broca, Philippe; France; 1974; 95m) By the director of the (underground?) anti-war classic, King of Hearts. It stars (I believe) Jean-Paul Belmondo as a writer of spy thrillers. The movie flips back and forth between reality and fantasy, with Belmondo as the super-spy in his own story. Suave and debonair in his dreams, our hero is a bit of a klutz in this world. No great statements about humanity but a lot of fun. --- Rancho Deluxe (Perry, Frank; USA; 1974; 93m) Slim Pickens and Beau Bridges (or Jeff, if my mind has rotted), in a very entertaining modern-day piece set (guess where!) on a ranch. I saw it in '74 or '75 and liked it quite a bit, but I'll be damned if I can remember what it was all about. Somebody mentioned it a few articles ago and can probably fill in some details. --- Saint Jack (Bogdanovich, Peter; USA; 1979; 115m) Bogdanivich alternately goes overboard with sensational flops and redeems himself with exceptionally good "little" pictures. This is a low-budget film that he made after recovering from one of his disasters, I think. Ben Gazzara was in this one as "the pimp with a heart of gold". It was set somewhere exotic (my brain does not do well with places) and Gazzara was not making himself too popular with the local representatives of organized crime. Kind of a neat film that seems to have been screened only once in its lifetime. --- And that's it for now. Apologies if any of these are on TV a lot. I'm a bit out of touch with the glass teat ... Cheers, Oscar Nierstrasz @ utzoo!utcsrgv!oscar