Most surprising film ever?
#1
Banned
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Formerly known as "Solid Snake PAC"/Denton, Tx
Posts: 39,239
Likes: 0
Received 4 Likes
on
4 Posts
Most surprising film ever?
I guess I mean, What's the most surprising film you've ever seen? In the positive since. I saw District 9, and I've never been blown away like I was by that film. I like other films better but...no film has ever surprised me in it's quality, style, etc etc like D9 did for me.
#2
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Most surprising film ever?
I knew nothing about the film when I saw 'Brazil' opening day.
It was cinematically overwhelming.
It blew my mind out in a car.
It was cinematically overwhelming.
It blew my mind out in a car.
#3
DVD Talk Reviewer/Moderator
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Formerly known as L. Ron zyzzle - On a cloud of Judgement
Posts: 14,480
Received 1,833 Likes
on
1,229 Posts
Re: Most surprising film ever?
Children of Men
#4
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Most surprising film ever?
for me, Pirates of the Caribbean.
Friends watched to watch it (theatres). I didn't care for it, but went anyways. Was hugely entertained.
Friends watched to watch it (theatres). I didn't care for it, but went anyways. Was hugely entertained.
#5
Re: Most surprising film ever?
Honestly? Spider-Man. I had no expectations for it, and at the time it was my first Sam Raimi movie. So when I loved it naturally it came as a shock.
#9
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Most surprising film ever?
Nothing earth shattering, but for me it was 'Iron Man'. Thought it might be OK at best, ended up loving it, one of my favorites of 2008.
#10
DVD Talk Hero - 2023 TOTY Award Winner
Re: Most surprising film ever?
I have told this story here before, I think, but oh well.
I don't know how many of you are old enough to remember what a cultural phenomenon the movie Footloose was when it came out in 1984. Just about everybody who was in junior high school or high school at the time went to see that movie that summer, many seeing it multiple times. I was only 12 that summer and on a multiple month grounding due to...uh...well...let's just say that it was a little incident that got expunged from my record when I turned 18.
Being otherwise confined to the house, I jumped at the chance to go to the movies with my parents on a Saturday night. They were going to go see some R-rated movie the name of which I do not recall and I was going to go see Footloose, the holiest of holies. I can still hear the haunting opening guitar chords from the Kenny Loggins title song as I type this. Alas, we arrived, waited in an incredibly long line for the box office and discovered, to my personal horror, that all the showings of Footloose were sold out. Hundreds of other local kids had converged on the same theater (most, no doubt, without parental escort) with the same idea and they had left no empty seats for either of the two ~7:00 showings.
Well, my neither I nor my parents wanted me to go into whatever movie they were going to see and, under the circumstances, they were not about to let me wander around outside and get into trouble for two hours. The only other non-R movie starting about that time was a film I had never heard of called Never Cry Wolf, so that's what I got a ticket for. Dejected, I walked to the nearly empty theater and took my seat, depressed with the knowledge that I would not get to see Kevin Bacon and Lori Singer stick it to the man in their act of musical rebellion.
I loved Never Cry Wolf. Loved it.
I did eventually see Footloose and I enjoyed it. Considering my age and the times I was living in, how could I not? Do I own Footloose on DVD? Hell no, and I do not care to ever see it again. I do own Never Cry Wolf and still probably watch it once a year.
I don't know how many of you are old enough to remember what a cultural phenomenon the movie Footloose was when it came out in 1984. Just about everybody who was in junior high school or high school at the time went to see that movie that summer, many seeing it multiple times. I was only 12 that summer and on a multiple month grounding due to...uh...well...let's just say that it was a little incident that got expunged from my record when I turned 18.
Being otherwise confined to the house, I jumped at the chance to go to the movies with my parents on a Saturday night. They were going to go see some R-rated movie the name of which I do not recall and I was going to go see Footloose, the holiest of holies. I can still hear the haunting opening guitar chords from the Kenny Loggins title song as I type this. Alas, we arrived, waited in an incredibly long line for the box office and discovered, to my personal horror, that all the showings of Footloose were sold out. Hundreds of other local kids had converged on the same theater (most, no doubt, without parental escort) with the same idea and they had left no empty seats for either of the two ~7:00 showings.
Well, my neither I nor my parents wanted me to go into whatever movie they were going to see and, under the circumstances, they were not about to let me wander around outside and get into trouble for two hours. The only other non-R movie starting about that time was a film I had never heard of called Never Cry Wolf, so that's what I got a ticket for. Dejected, I walked to the nearly empty theater and took my seat, depressed with the knowledge that I would not get to see Kevin Bacon and Lori Singer stick it to the man in their act of musical rebellion.
I loved Never Cry Wolf. Loved it.
I did eventually see Footloose and I enjoyed it. Considering my age and the times I was living in, how could I not? Do I own Footloose on DVD? Hell no, and I do not care to ever see it again. I do own Never Cry Wolf and still probably watch it once a year.
#12
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: NJ, the place where smiles go to die
Posts: 7,393
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
Re: Most surprising film ever?
I have no clue, but off the top of my head Love Actually or maybe Beautiful Girls. If a movie is in a genre you like, like Sci-Fi for example, is it really all that surprising that you may like the film upon initial viewing. I mean, if you dig sci-fi, how can you be shocked that you liked D9 so much? For me, a movie like Love Actually, where I'm not a big fan of those type of films, had no interest in seeing it, & then loved it. Now that is a surprise.
#13
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Most surprising film ever?
Back in '94 when my grandmother would go to the movies every weekend, she asked me if I wanted to go with her to see Speed. I don't recall if I had any interest in seeing it before then but I went with her and I walked out of that theater so totally in love with that movie. I went back to see it 5 more times after that and to this day it holds the #2 spot on my all-time favorite movies list.
#14
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 544
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Re: Most surprising film ever?
Silence of the Lambs - I knew very little about it going into the theatre, blown away
Army of Darkness - first of the Evil Dead movies I saw
Mean Girls
Star Trek (09)
Army of Darkness - first of the Evil Dead movies I saw
Mean Girls
Star Trek (09)
#15
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Most surprising film ever?
Two that I can think of off the top of my head. The first was Star Wars. My dad literally dragged me to go see that in the theater. I had absolutely no desire to see it. I hated Sci-Fi at the time and could not imagine it being even slightly good. Christ, I dreamed about that movie for months afterwards.
The second would be RoboCop. Everything else was sold out and I ended up going to see some stupid kids movie...
The second would be RoboCop. Everything else was sold out and I ended up going to see some stupid kids movie...
#16
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Pomona, CA
Posts: 801
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Re: Most surprising film ever?
I went in to Drag Me To Hell thinking I was going to hate it, and it is now one of the best I've seen this year, I had a lot of fun watching that movie, laughing, jumping, just a fun time.
#17
Senior Member
Re: Most surprising film ever?
Know1ng really had a stunning effect on me.
as did some of independent cinema's best-kept secrets like "Twentynine Palms", "The Reflecting Skin", and "Hunger", just to name a few.
as did some of independent cinema's best-kept secrets like "Twentynine Palms", "The Reflecting Skin", and "Hunger", just to name a few.
#18
DVD Talk Legend
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Behind the Orange Curtain
Posts: 20,085
Likes: 0
Received 7 Likes
on
7 Posts
Re: Most surprising film ever?
Once Upon A Time in the West
I was never a big Western fan, but my friend kept pushing this film on me. Once the 2-disc set from Paramount came out, I bought it and watched it for the first time.
It's now in my top 3 of all-time. Absolutely astounding achievement in filmmaking.
I was never a big Western fan, but my friend kept pushing this film on me. Once the 2-disc set from Paramount came out, I bought it and watched it for the first time.
It's now in my top 3 of all-time. Absolutely astounding achievement in filmmaking.
#19
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: NJ, the place where smiles go to die
Posts: 7,393
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
Re: Most surprising film ever?
Once Upon A Time in the West
I was never a big Western fan, but my friend kept pushing this film on me. Once the 2-disc set from Paramount came out, I bought it and watched it for the first time.
It's now in my top 3 of all-time. Absolutely astounding achievement in filmmaking.
I was never a big Western fan, but my friend kept pushing this film on me. Once the 2-disc set from Paramount came out, I bought it and watched it for the first time.
It's now in my top 3 of all-time. Absolutely astounding achievement in filmmaking.
#20
DVD Talk Legend
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Behind the Orange Curtain
Posts: 20,085
Likes: 0
Received 7 Likes
on
7 Posts
Re: Most surprising film ever?
That's weird, b/c while since I was a kid this has been in my top 5 movies of all-time, however if you don't like Westerns, it's just about the last movie I would ever give to someone to get them into Westerns. With it's extremely drawn out scenes & camera shots, 99.9% of people I've talked to that aren't into Westerns or are casual movie fans think this is one of the most boring films ever made.
#22
DVD Talk Legend
#23
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Most surprising film ever?
I still remember the first time I watched 25th Hour, and The Prestige. The latter blew my mind so much that as soon as the movie was over I restarted it and watched it again.
As for 25th Hour, I really didn't know much going into it other then it being a Spike Lee film...I mean joint. Both are now some of my favorite movies ever.
As for 25th Hour, I really didn't know much going into it other then it being a Spike Lee film...I mean joint. Both are now some of my favorite movies ever.
#24
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Most surprising film ever?
Same here. I didn't think I was going to hate it, just indifferent. What a great ride with an ending that crushed me.
#25
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Most surprising film ever?
Witness with Harrison Ford. For some reason I never new about this film, I rented it on DVD, and damn its a great movie! Great story, great acting, great score, very underrated Ford flick, highly recommended to anyone who hasn't seen it.