Solid Snake

Pretty much this thread is to see what films you appreciate for their technical achievement over their narrative. Maybe the film is a bad/alright film but goddamn does some of that technical stuff really rock.

I've always thought about this on some of the films I own. Mostly it goes toward Bram Stroker's Dracula.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE everything about it in the visual, except on some of the sets though I get why he did it like that, but the story isn't all that hot. The effects are amazing. Likewise for the camera techniques used.

Most recent film for me in this view is well....Prometheus. It's got a lot of flaws, mainly...the script. I think it's a good film with many a flaw but I think it's an amazing visual of a movie. Aside from that weak CGI C section bit, the effects are top notch.

Anubis2005X

The Fountain. Amazing cinematography, hauntingly beautiful music, and I still don't fully understand what's going on even after seeing it multiple times.

JumpCutz

Fight Club comes to mind, it's absolutely stellar in it's technical achievements but the narrative collapses upon itself late in the game, despite some great dialogue. Still it has so many great moments and Fincher's direction of the material is so endlessly fascinating and top notch that I can't turn away no matter the short comings of the final act (which I still love).

The cinematography, casting, production design, sound, editing and score are all superlative.
Hell, even the opening credit sequence is fantastic.

davidh777

Titan AE and Sky Captain

whotony

Sky Captain is a good one.
Te story is mildly interesting but the backstory about the movie, how it was filmed and the director are probably more interesting. not to mention the use of L. Olivier.

More recently I wold add Cloud Atlas.
The story was probably too convoluted to fully comprehend but it was amazing to see
All the actors play so many different roles and the fx were amazing.

Also I would add 2001. First time I saw that movie I had no idea what happened at the last part of the movie and I don't believe anyone who says they did without having read the book or short story first.
I read the book afterwards and was able to understand and basically said, " oh that's what that was."


I hope posters add why and don't just make it into a list of movies.

DynamicKnight

I'll add Eraserhead. It has some really amazing cinematography and effects going on, and I love it because of that, but even after watching it multiple times, fuck if I know what's going on. But that's David Lynch for ya.

brainee

Just watched a movie last night that fits the topic to a T - Beyond the Black Rainbow. I loved the look and aesthetic of the movie, bringing to mind science fiction like 2001, THX-1138, Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man, Silent Running. With a dash of early Cronenberg (Videodrome, Scanners). And a side-order of late 70s/early 80s slashers like Halloween and Phantasm. The style is particularly impressive given that this is a micro-budget film by a first-time filmmaker.

But with all of that, I'd have trouble confidently recommending the movie because the plot and characters are so poorly developed. And the pace is excruciatingly slow (I nodded off and had to rewind on a couple of occasions).

adamblast

Since we're throwing kid's movies into the mix I think Legends of the Guardians of the Owls of Whatever was friggin' gorgeous, a real tech/art triumph. Not a great story by any means, and the visuals can't quite save it, but soooo pretty.

Why So Blu?

Sucker Punch (Director's Cut).

Nick Danger

Cribbed from Roger Ebert's list:

City of Lost Children
2001
Blade Runner
Brazil
El Topo
Santa Sangre
Akira

I like visual extravaganzas. I've enjoyed every one of those movies. (I still haven't seen Days of Heaven or Delicatessen.)

There are also the animated collection movies where the images completely trump the narrative:
Fantasia
Allegro non Tropo
Heavy Metal
Robot Carnival

JumpCutz

William Friedkin's The Hunted, a film almost devoid of narrative complexity or finesse, still contains some of the best hand to hand martial art combat (with knives) ever committed to film. Caleb Deschnanel's cinematography is stunning. Well directed, but slight, it's still worth checking out for the well shot action sequences and the Del Toro/Tommy Lee Jones scenes.

Not a great movie, but it is a taught action film that is both primitive and very well made.

Ash Ketchum

What struck me about BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA is that there's a powerful emotional subtext in the visuals, as if we've entered the characters' dream worlds, and there really wasn't much need for a story beyond that, yet Coppola felt compelled to keep a lot of Stoker's narrative and characters and they tend to clutter up the film and slow it down, particularly the scenes with Keanu Reeves' and Cary Elwes' characters. The narrative should have been streamlined to synchronize with the stream-of-consciousness of Dracula and Mina.

TimeandTide

Opened the thread to post this very title.

fitprod

Avatar... All about technical advancement, nothing about story.

fitprod

Solid Snake

Forgot about that one. I LOVE the SE BD of it cuz it so interesting for it's creation.

cleaver

Kingdom of Heaven is a great movie except for the plot. I feel like Drive had more going on technically/stylistically than narrative wise.

Michael Corvin

The Village is a brilliantly shot film. Narratively it's not very strong though.

Chet Desmond

John Carpenter's "The Fog".

Fist of Doom

Legend. Beautiful production, undercooked story.

Mr. Flix

So many things are done right in that movie. I love the music, cinematography, costumes/sets, and most of the performances.

But it's overwhelmed by some cringe-inducing "period" dialogue (which I guess is appropriate, from a certain point of view) and that awful twist.

And I'll second all the votes for Avatar. I was in awe of the visuals in the theater. Story-wise, it had zero originality.

inri222

I understand that to each their own but to say that some of the films mentioned in this thread are all about technique is just downright insulting.
Some of these films have more substance than they are being given credit for. I guess it is all about individual interpretation.

islandclaws

CQ

Great production design, perfectly replicates the intended '60s aesthetic, but the film itself is mediocre at best.

Troy Stiffler

Richard Kelly's Southland Tales. Unique, standoffish and surreal. The way it was shot. The effects. The synthesized Lynch-ian sound design. The apocalyptic narrative was subdued and muted. So close to being epic. But the narrative never made enough sense. And a lot of the political stuff and some scenes should have been trimmed and/or rewritten.

Solid Snake

I think the narrative works mostly due to the actors and then the direction. It's a lot of internal stuff there.

BambooLounge

Speed Racer has such a generic narrative, but the visuals are beautiful. A candy store in motion, really enjoy the film because of this and would likely enjoy it just as much muted.