With the lines being blurred between what is original and what is based on something else i truly have no idea what movie is actually an original concept these days. Something not based on a book or god forbid a remake of another movie.
I would have said "Cloverfield" as maybe the last one i saw, but it looked a lot like "The Host" and i think that one did it much better. As well as "The Host", i would probably say Neil Marshall's "The Descent" as being an original and well done concept (at least to the best of my knowledge).
So what movie of late was truly original?
PopcornTreeCt
03-01-08, 12:30 AM
Children of Men
Lastyear
03-01-08, 01:18 AM
Children of Men
Children of Men was based on a novel by P.D. James.
Eastern Promises,Pan's Labyrinth were original scripts.
leacha
03-01-08, 01:19 AM
Being John Malkovich was the first to come to mind.
chase3001
03-01-08, 01:28 AM
Children of Men
I clicked this thread thinking Chldren of Men. :up:
tanman
03-01-08, 02:56 AM
Ratatouille
TallGuyMe
03-01-08, 05:34 AM
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
hardercore
03-01-08, 06:27 AM
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
There Will Be Blood
Oddly enough, both are technically adaptations.
Jay G.
03-01-08, 09:02 AM
Originality is overrated. I like movies that are good.
Dr Mabuse
03-01-08, 10:34 AM
Children of Men
second that... what a great movie...
i thought of...
'Adaptation'...
i really liked it... quite original stuff...
amplified
03-01-08, 11:43 AM
There Will Be Blood, even though it was loosely adapted from Oil.
KillerCannibal
03-01-08, 11:52 AM
I'd have to say Cloverfield as well. Though the actual concept itself isn't original, the fact that they shot a giant moster flick like they did certainly was.
Maxflier
03-01-08, 12:45 PM
Cloverfield.
RichC2
03-01-08, 01:07 PM
I love the Descent but felt it was one of the more derivative movies out there. Still the best horror flick of the past few years.
For me, There Will Be Blood. Cloverfield had fantatic execution but I'm not sure I'd call it original, and I liked it better than The Host.
FinkPish
03-01-08, 01:11 PM
How was Cloverfield's concept truly original? The Blair Witch Project did the same thing 8 years ago.
Calculon
03-01-08, 01:20 PM
The Birth of a Nation
Jay G.
03-01-08, 01:46 PM
How was Cloverfield's concept truly original? The Blair Witch Project did the same thing 8 years ago.
I must've missed the giant monster rampaging through the forest in that film.
FinkPish
03-01-08, 01:50 PM
I must've missed the giant monster rampaging through the forest in that film.
The basic concept of shooting the whole movie on video cameras is the same though. That's what I was talking about. If you are going to get that specific about a movie's concept, then every movie would be considered wholly original. And if you want to go with the concept of a monster rampaging through a large city, then Cloverfield has been beat by decades by Godzilla et al. It took two non-original concepts and made something original from it, but I wouldn't call that truly original at all, just derivative.
SterlingBen
03-01-08, 01:53 PM
Lexx
Mondo Kane
03-01-08, 02:00 PM
Tiramisu (Hong Kong)
Jay G.
03-01-08, 02:28 PM
The basic concept of shooting the whole movie on video cameras is the same though. That's what I was talking about. If you are going to get that specific about a movie's concept, then every movie would be considered wholly original. And if you want to go with the concept of a monster rampaging through a large city, then Cloverfield has been beat by decades by Godzilla et al. It took two non-original concepts and made something original from it, but I wouldn't call that truly original at all, just derivative.
See, that's my problem with overrating originality. What does "truly" original mean anyway? Blair Witch's premise had been used by other films before it, such as The Last Broadcast and Cannibal Holocaust. The mockumentary format has existed for even longer, it was just a matter of time before someone applied it to the horror genre. Godzilla was beat to the punch by films like King Kong and The Lost World, and even the stories of giant monsters attacking humans goes further back to Greek myths and the like.
If you deconstruct a film far enough, you'd probably find that no film can really be considered "truly" original, since every film borrows from those that have come before. While it's nice to celebrate films that aren't completely derivative, and take the path less traveled, I think originality sometimes gets too much emphasis, over other aspects of a film, like general quality.
JPRaup
03-01-08, 02:28 PM
Cloverfield
Children of Men
The Fountain
Jay G.
03-01-08, 02:31 PM
I would have said "Cloverfield" as maybe the last one i saw, but it looked a lot like "The Host" and i think that one did it much better. [/SIZE]
I just have to say that I've seen both films and they don't look anything alike. The filming styles are completely different. Besides the look, the creatures are of vastly different sizes and strengths. The only real story similarity is that the main characters are more-or-less normal people, but other than that the differences are too numerous to count.
scott1598
03-01-08, 02:47 PM
Children of Men was based on a novel by P.D. James.
Eastern Promises,Pan's Labyrinth were original scripts.
wow! "Pan's Labyrinth" fits the bill perfectly!! good call!
Dr Mabuse
03-01-08, 02:49 PM
'Izo'... very original stuff there...
'Memento'...
scott1598
03-01-08, 02:50 PM
I just have to say that I've seen both films and they don't look anything alike. The filming styles are completely different. Besides the look, the creatures are of vastly different sizes and strengths. The only real story similarity is that the main characters are more-or-less normal people, but other than that the differences are too numerous to count.
i didn't mean the "look" of the films. just the feel and the one (different looking) monster than we've seen before terrorizing a specific area. it really is very similar stories when you think about it more than 2 secs. but, no, looks wise TH is much more cinematic and C is very much guerilla filming.
scott1598
03-01-08, 02:56 PM
by "truly original" , my thinking was a movie not based on source material like a re-make or a novel/short story, tv show, etc.. and then by bringing the original material to screen it can be something we've seen before, but done in a different way that makes it stand by itself.
Sessa17
03-01-08, 03:47 PM
Just came out on DVD this week.
Fantastic film, probably the best pure-horror movie I've seen in years. . .
Pedro Costa's Colossal Youth (aka The March of Youth) (2006)
I saw it late last year, and am still at a loss for words in describing it.
inri222
03-01-08, 04:11 PM
Inland Empire
FinkPish
03-01-08, 08:13 PM
Since I just watched it this afternoon, I'd have to say Save the Green Planet is one of the more original movies I've ever seen.
mikelowry
03-01-08, 09:20 PM
I'd have to say Reservoir Dogs.
visitor Q
03-01-08, 11:19 PM
Versus
Pan's Labyrinth
The Taste of Tea
Renaissance
The Host
Innocence (Ghost in the Shell 2)
Vital
Atomik Circus
Save the Green Planet
Twilight Samurai
2LDK
Any number of films, really.
Patman
03-02-08, 12:25 AM
Besides some of the ones already listed, how about "City of God" or "Irreversible" (perhaps neither are "original" but left an indelible mark on me)?
orderandlaw
03-02-08, 02:48 AM
Dog Day Afternoon
Another possibility: Falling Down
dhmac
03-02-08, 09:58 AM
What was so original about Children of Men?
scott1598
03-02-08, 11:17 AM
What was so original about Children of Men?
how many "humankind faces the likelihood of its own extinction and a disillusioned government agent agrees to help transport and protect a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea where her child's birth may help scientists to save the future of mankind" movies have you seen?
Groucho
03-02-08, 11:25 AM
I'd have to say Reservoir Dogs.That truly was an original film. It truly set the city (of Hollywood) on fire!
The Bus
03-02-08, 11:41 AM
how many "humankind faces the likelihood of its own extinction and a disillusioned government agent agrees to help transport and protect a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea where her child's birth may help scientists to save the future of mankind" movies have you seen?
Wasn't that the plot of half of the Police Academy and Death Wish movies?
kms_md
03-02-08, 12:08 PM
another vote for eternal sunshine of the spotless mind.
Shannon Nutt
03-02-08, 05:12 PM
MEMENTO comes to mind...
Shannon Nutt
03-02-08, 05:15 PM
how many "humankind faces the likelihood of its own extinction and a disillusioned government agent agrees to help transport and protect a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea where her child's birth may help scientists to save the future of mankind" movies have you seen?
Quick answer: One too many.
I don't get the "love" for that film.
mike2
03-02-08, 05:44 PM
I may get bashed but Hostel...Just the originality that Roth put into it. When I first saw it, I was in awe.
Sessa17
03-02-08, 05:59 PM
I may get bashed but Hostel...Just the originality that Roth put into it. When I first saw it, I was in awe.
This IMO would be the very definition of the exact, 180 degree polar-opposite of a "truly original" movie. The entire movie is a hodge-podge of films that came before it & I can't think of a single thing it brought new to the genre. And I liked the movie, but calling the movie "truly original" is about as apt as calling it a romantic comedy.
Brack
03-02-08, 06:03 PM
The Movie Hero
dhmac
03-02-08, 06:09 PM
how many "humankind faces the likelihood of its own extinction and a disillusioned government agent agrees to help transport and protect a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea where her child's birth may help scientists to save the future of mankind" movies have you seen?
A summary of the plot does not equal originality. You could do that for practically any movie and they all will be different.
The basic plot-point of women being infertile has been done before. The whole basic conspiracy stuff has been done before. The one man attempting to redeem himself by transporting someone to safety has been done before. Even doing something to save mankind has been done before.
So repeating my question again: what was so original about Children of Men?
Brack
03-02-08, 06:21 PM
^^^ Michael Caine wore long hair.
Groucho
03-02-08, 07:25 PM
MEMENTO comes to mind...Betrayal
Clean Slate
Patman
03-02-08, 07:49 PM
So repeating my question again: what was so original about Children of Men?
"Pull my finger."
GenPion
03-02-08, 08:23 PM
The Invasion.
On a serious note: Once.
whoopdido
03-02-08, 09:24 PM
I'd say Scream.
It was sort of the return of the slasher movie, but at the same time it was the first "serious" horror movie to kind of make fun of the whole genre. It was original in that it was intentionally unoriginal if that makes any sense.
Flynn
03-02-08, 10:09 PM
Memento
Adaptation
Children of Men
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Fountain
PopcornTreeCt
03-03-08, 01:46 PM
A summary of the plot does not equal originality. You could do that for practically any movie and they all will be different.
The basic plot-point of women being infertile has been done before. The whole basic conspiracy stuff has been done before. The one man attempting to redeem himself by transporting someone to safety has been done before. Even doing something to save mankind has been done before.
So repeating my question again: what was so original about Children of Men?
I think you're missing the point. Put all of your sentences into one movie and that's what makes it original.
Let's play the game with Memento: Man loses short term memory has been done before. Man trying to find wife's killer has been done before. Movie showing sequences out of order has been done before.
So, what is so original about any movie?
majorjoe23
03-03-08, 02:17 PM
3 Iron.
scott1598
03-03-08, 03:40 PM
The basic plot-point of women being infertile has been done before. The whole basic conspiracy stuff has been done before. The one man attempting to redeem himself by transporting someone to safety has been done before. Even doing something to save mankind has been done before.
ok...name them? (movies where all these elements are seen in the same movie).
Bugg
03-03-08, 04:32 PM
I'm sure no matter what I name somebody can find a film that may be similar, but the ones that felt fresh and original to me at the time...
Blair Witch Project
Princess and the Warrior
tanman
03-06-08, 03:57 AM
Ratatouille
Haha I picked one of the only ones that hasn't been challenged.
Seriously though I think cartoons oftentimes have the most originality. Sure there are adaptations and such but I think it is easier to craft an original story when in this medium. One of the reasons why I love it so much.
All of the pixar films are very original. Except for Finding Nemo that was "based" on some french book that a certain french poster and I got into an argument about. Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 are pretty original as well.
Jay G.
03-06-08, 08:13 AM
All of the pixar films are very original. Except for Finding Nemo that was "based" on some french book that a certain french poster and I got into an argument about. Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 are pretty original as well.
That French author lost his lawsuit against Pixar; he couldn't prove that Finding Nemo was based on his book instead of just similar to it.
Peep
03-06-08, 05:12 PM
Original movies are hard to come by. I settle for originality within a genre. "Cloverfield" has been mentioned a bunch. I also really liked what they did with "Fido".
Dr Mabuse
03-06-08, 08:04 PM
'Strongman Sandow'...
truly original...
MartinBlank
03-06-08, 08:58 PM
That truly was an original film. It truly set the city (of Hollywood) on fire!
:lol:
I'd have to say Memento and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
So repeating my question again: what was so original about Children of Men?
I think Children of Men is given so much credit given the politics of the USA today, IMO. I'm kinda surprised V for Vendetta hasn't been mentioned seeing as they have similar tones politically :shrug:
Brack
03-06-08, 09:25 PM
I know it's not the last truly original movie I've seen, but I'd say "Tron" is one of the most original films ever made, the first of it's kind, and paved the way for "The Matrix."
PopcornTreeCt
03-06-08, 10:50 PM
I think Children of Men is given so much credit given the politics of the USA today, IMO. I'm kinda surprised V for Vendetta hasn't been mentioned seeing as they have similar tones politically :shrug:
The only similarities between Children of Men and V for Vendetta are the "Government is bad...mmmkay" theme. The same could be said for 1984, Equilibrium and countless others. The only thing original about V for Vendetta was Natalie Portman's shaved head.
missingtoof
03-07-08, 03:27 AM
I'd go with Spike Jonze's "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation."
"The Truman Show" also fits the bill.
DonnachaOne
03-07-08, 04:50 AM
Sean Ellis's Cashback. I was very impressed.
I know someone will poin out that the whole stopping-time thing has been done before, even in "DuckTales", but the way the film is presented and the way the story unfolds is very original and engaging.
MrE
03-07-08, 01:03 PM
How was Cloverfield's concept truly original? The Blair Witch Project did the same thing 8 years ago.
CLOVERFIELD arguably succeeded while BWP use of "in camera" eventually felt more like a gimmick. Neither film is the first to use the concept, however.
SOUTHLAND TALES - Certainly not a complete success, but more original than many of the movies cited.
Buy: