Films today seem to have style as their ultimate goal with substance left on the back burner. There are a rare number of films that possess both of these components, but the majority suffer from being all flash. However, despite how unsatisfying these films may be... They sure look good and are fun to watch!
Most of these films feature unique camera, sound, and editing effects which are there for no real artistic purpose (most of the time) other than to make the audience say, "That was cool!" Such examples are freeze frames, slow motion, speed ups, jump cuts, and a host of other tricks.
Though they may not be films you may want to analyze and get a richer experience out of, they are films that are good for those days when you just need something to wow you with it's cool style.
Some stylish films I can think of:
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels
Snatch
Revolver
Sexy Beast
Gangster No. 1
Time and Tide
Buffalo Soldiers
11:14
Formula 51
Rules of Attraction
Killing Zoe
Layer Cake
Ravenous
Who is Cletis Tout?
Stander
Trainspotting
Shallow Grave
Now many of these films I listed happened to possess smarts with their flashy exterior which leads to a most highly enjoyable experiece that can be repeated multiple times.
What are some of the films you find very stylish?
adamblast
01-19-06, 08:37 PM
The only good movie with JLo: Out of Sight is one that comes immediately to mind for being flashy, stylish fun more than storyline; I guess you could say the same thing for Ocean's 11, although the lack of substance may wear thin for the sequels...
TimeandTide
01-19-06, 08:45 PM
Baz Luhrman's William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet is a personal "stylish" fave.
Drexl
01-19-06, 08:47 PM
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Apone
01-19-06, 09:01 PM
City of God
Rumble Fish
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
American Splendor
... And I guess 'Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind'
TomOpus
01-19-06, 10:08 PM
Love it or hate it but first movie I thought of was The Cell.
I also thought of Requiem for a Dream
Giles
01-19-06, 10:09 PM
I'm not sure I understand the question/request here. Style over substance, or films that intergrate style well into the overall film, even if it's not a great movie?
Joe Molotov
01-19-06, 10:35 PM
Blade Runner :up:
StuddThunders
01-19-06, 10:59 PM
"Domino" Horrible. Entertainment Weekly said something along the lines of "The filmstock had more fun than the actors." My sentiments exactly.
"Poolhall Junkies" I don't think we've heard the last of Mars Callahan ... Oh, wait. We did.
"Moulin Rouge" Movie made me want to shoot the DVD player.
I liked "Snatch" the first time, but it makes me sick now. Same with "Lock, Stock ..."
These films are style over substance, for sure.
gryffinmaster
01-19-06, 11:50 PM
Got four directors (and and writers) here - and all of their pieces are very stylish and polished. VERY difficult to pick a favorite:
1. Luc Besson - Fifth Element, Leon the Professional
2. Quentin Tarantino - Kill Bill V. 1 & 2, Pulp Fiction, True Romance, et al.
3. Jean-Pierre Jeunet - Amelie, City of Lost Children
4. Akira Kurosawa - Rashomon, Throne of Blood, Ran, et al.
Love all four. Each of those movies are a feast for the eyes and imagination - and for the majority are as rich in story and dialogue as they are cinematographal wonders.
PopcornTreeCt
01-19-06, 11:55 PM
City of God --the greatest stylish film of all time.
Giles
01-20-06, 12:06 AM
I am quite impressed with Christopher Doyle's cinematography (Kar Wai Wong films)- he makes the ordinary look spectacular.
Maxflier
01-20-06, 02:14 AM
House of the Dead
orderandlaw
11-01-07, 09:46 PM
I thought that Pulp Fiction was very slick. The whole movie had such a pizazz to it. Not a pretty "fashionable" but it was very entertaining visually and mentally.
SPiRAL
11-01-07, 10:26 PM
Run Lola Run
Across The Universe
City of Lost Children
Jeffy Pop
11-01-07, 11:15 PM
I'm not sure I understand the question/request here. Style over substance, or films that intergrate style well into the overall film, even if it's not a great movie?
I don't understand either. I'm not arguing with anybody's picks, but I don't see how you can mention Christopher Doyle in the same thread as an Uwe Boll film.
eiker_ir
11-01-07, 11:15 PM
Sin City
Michael Corvin
11-01-07, 11:24 PM
no love for the Matrix?
chris_sc77
11-01-07, 11:24 PM
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Titus (just about as visually amazing as you can get IMO)
Across the Universe
Marie Antoinette
Oldboy, Lady Vengeance, ...Mr. Vengeance
Black Book
Alexander
Kwaidan
Life Aquatic, Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore
Apocalypse Now Redux
Cardiac161
11-01-07, 11:25 PM
I am quite impressed with Christopher Doyle's cinematography (Kar Wai Wong films)- he makes the ordinary look spectacular.
Chungking Express & Fallen Angels are both my favorite films of all time. Stylish and just absolutely hypnotic.
Brack
11-01-07, 11:57 PM
Hackers
Spun
Zoolander
The Crow
The Island
Swordfish
Groove
Mortal Kombat
The Lost Boys
Dirty Dancing
Demolition Man
The Saint
The Bone Collector
Gladiator
Bad Boys (1995)
Hannibal
Underworld
Van Helsing
Saw
Constantine
Snakes on a Plane
300
Grindhouse
The Replacement Killers
The list could go on and on
visitor Q
11-02-07, 12:54 AM
Actor or set driven style ....
Bittersweet Life (and substance - phenomenal film)
Bloody Ties
Public Enemy I or II
Versus
Full Contact
Sharkskin Man and Peach Hip Girl
Hanzo the Razor films ..
Most Guy Ritchie films ..
Most Sonny Chiba films ..
Most Fukasaku Yakuza films ..
sundog
11-02-07, 06:20 AM
Let us not forget the past:
Josef Von Sternberg
Ernst Lubitsch
Here are two filmmakers who expertly used style to build substance.
Giggles
11-02-07, 08:40 AM
Actor or set driven style ....
Visitor, I'm glad you mentioned some Asian films here as many of them are truly stylish. 3-Iron and Tale of Two Sisters come to mind first.
animatedude
11-02-07, 09:57 AM
is Who is Cletis Tout? worth a blind buy? what's like?
sundog
11-02-07, 10:14 AM
is Who is Cletis Tout? worth a blind buy? what's like?
Man, I didn't even see that in the OP's list.
That movie was duller than watching paint dry. One of the worst I've seen this decade. I couldn't even give it points for effort, much less style.
I would go into detail, but it's been 5 years (actually saw it in the theater). For me, the only memorable aspect is its dullness. And I went to see it without any preconceptions or expectations, just on a whim.
----
To get back on topic, Jean-Pierre Melville infused his movies with a stoic and sharp style that reflected his characters perfectly. Even his gritty French Resistance film Army of Shadows contained that mannered and cool approach in the face of horrific events (again reflecting on the characters and, in this case, their desperation and determination).
Michael Corvin
11-02-07, 11:01 AM
Queens Boulevard
:D
KillerCannibal
11-02-07, 12:39 PM
Blue Velvet
Sexy Beast
Fifth Element
300
Lucky # Slevin
anything by Tarantino
I know there are plenty of others, but it hurts my brain to think right now.
baracine
11-02-07, 12:55 PM
My jaw dropped the last time while watching Jeepers Creepers when the camera goes, in one continuous sequence, from the car of the brother and sister to the police car following them and back to the first car again. I don't know if it had been done before. It probably was (maybe in Sugarland Express). But it's the last time I remember thinking: "Style!"
Blade Runner
Children of Men
Science of Sleep
Harry Potter 3
28 Days Later
GoldenJCJ
11-02-07, 10:09 PM
Bad Boys 2 is perhaps the most "stylish" movie I've ever seen.
Brack
11-02-07, 11:18 PM
I didn't list it because it showed no style with its "killer ecstasy" nonsense.
hanshotfirst113
11-02-07, 11:40 PM
300, Sin City, anything by Tarantino or Rodriguez, anything from Hong Kong, Fight Club to name a few.
I am quite impressed with Christopher Doyle's cinematography (Kar Wai Wong films)- he makes the ordinary look spectacular.
As Tor Thorsen once said, if the world was half as pretty as his cinematography, there would be no wars. We would all just look at our carpeting.
is Who is Cletis Tout? worth a blind buy? what's like?
It has Tim Allen in it. That should pretty much tell you whether or not you'll like it right there.
PopcornTreeCt
11-04-07, 01:57 AM
La Haine has some style. There are some shots in the movie that are downright amazing.
Nick Danger
11-04-07, 09:45 AM
Diva was the first film that came to my mind. It's one of my favorites. No one else has listed it.
Roger Ebert lists a bunch of "inspired films for the eye" in the last paragraph of his review of City of Lost Children. (http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19951215/REVIEWS/512150301/1023)
The Bus
11-04-07, 11:29 AM
I'm not sure how I can answer the question but I can say without a doubt that Snatch. is my favorite movie of all time.
I wouldn't call it the most "stylish" movie I've ever seen though.
I'll mention another one: Bad Boys 2. Love it or hate it, Michael Bay's movies are the best of the "Bruckheimer" style that began in the late 80's.
Defiant1
11-04-07, 01:46 PM
Stylish movies that I like:
Alexander - the scenes in Babylon and India in particular are so lush and colourful.
Black Hawk Down - amazing use of colours, film stocks, and cinematography.
Brotherhood of the Wolf - all sorts of camera tricks and LOUD sound effects.
Elizabeth & Elizabeth: The Golden Age - shows that costume dramas need not be stodgy, dull movies. Unique camera movement and placements throughout, especially in the sequel.
Enemy of the State - the "techno" scenes where we see NSA doing their thing are so cool.
Face/Off - John Woo, doves, slow-mo, double guns, etc. The intro of Castor Troy at the airport with his trenchcoat flaring out is just the coolest thing.
Hero & House of Flying Daggers - Zhang Yimou's 1-2 wuxia assault. Both are extraordinarily beautiful. Hero in particular is jaw-dropping thanks in no small part to Christopher Doyle's cinematography.
Moulin Rouge! - Style overdose!
Stealth - Yeah, it's an incredibly stupid movie but the shots of the fighter jets and their technological capabilities blow away anything seen in Top Gun.
Finally, pretty much anything made by either Michael Bay or Tony/Ridley Scott is really stylish.
Buy: