A Good Foreign Film On DVD

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wwginchww

New member
A lot of good suggestions already in this thread. Allow me to add a few more:

Soldier of Orange, the movie that made Hollywood take notice of Paul Verhoeven (NetherlanRAB)
Pauline & Paulette, tiny little movie about two elder sisters who just need to get along (Belgium)

Two miniseries wth Gerard Depardieu, directed by Jos
 
Hey guys, does anyone know of any really good "international cinema" films available on DVD? Im never sure about whether to get one or not, but i have seen some excellent ones on late night BBC2 etc.

Can anyone give me any recommendations, and a quick "blurb" about the film?

Cheers, Matty J :)
 
Surely anything from Hollywood could be considered as 'foreign'.

The original version of 'The Eye' is rather well done, the remake is unlikely to come close to the same atmosphere.

I would certainly sit down through The Last Samurai again, though it is over 2, 1/2 hours long.
 
I find it surprising nobody has mentioned Amelie, a wondeful film. Plus after finally having seen it, I'd recommend Il Postino too.

Someone has already mentioned my favourite 'world cinema' film, Cyrano De Bergerac. However, the last time I checked, as I do infrequently, the only DVD available of that is utterly unsatisfactory. A very early DVD, it features a woefully pooor transfer of an utterly gorgeous film and to add insult is only a 4:3 transfer, so the detail and vision is sometimes lost. Quite why some of the shockingly crap films have been reissued numerous times while such a masterpiece languishes is something I find completely unfathomable.

Jon
 
The choice of foreign films/world cinema is immense with a good selection of classic/quality films which do not have the overhype marketing machine of Hollywood. I personally find the genre of drama the best (maybe due to foreign films not having a massive special effect budget & the tendency to beleieve in a quality of life) But it seems the far east are starting to break through with cult horror films and suberb martial arts flicks. the french & italian excel at dramas
You probably heard of films such as Amelie, La Haine, Cinema Paradiso, Il Postino, City of God, and Battle Royale
but would recommend Delicatessan, In the Mood for Love, Dark Water, L'Appartment. Jeau de Florette, Manon de Source the list is endless.The more you search the better it gets
 
LOL, you're absolutely right

Maybe he should say 'Foreign Language' instead. But that would for me also include Sylvester Stallone and Vin Diesel movies, because I don't understand a word they're saying. ;)
 
Yes good point for anyone looking to buy. Don't get the Tartan UK effort which is a dire transfer. The R1 is the better option. Or, if you speak French and don't need subtitles, the French R2 is the best of the DVD releases currently available.
 
Far too many to recommend.

However...

Trop Belle Pour Toi (France) is fantastic - a tale of a guy married to a beautiful woman who has an affair with a "plain Jane". Says alot about the old saying that beauty is only skin deep.

Wings of Desire (Germany) - Wim Wenders' beautiful tale of angels keeping watch over the living. Remade in the US as City of Angels, only much, much better.

The Sacrifice (Russia) - Andrei Tarkovsky's stunning final film about a family gathering on the eve of nuclear armageddon. The father of the household believes he has the power to stop it by offering himself to God.

A Short Film About Love (Poland) - part of Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Dekalog" of ten films about the Ten Commandments. A guy spies on his beautiful neighbour but when he finally meets her, things don't turn out as he expects.

Ran (Japan) - Akira Kurosawa's magnificent epic adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear. Spectacular to watch

Just a few to be getting on with :D
 
Mu suggestion, and I don't think it has been mentioned is Les Diaboliques the 1955 French film by director Clouzot. Very much in the Hitchcock mould if you like that type of movie

Easily available on DVD in the UK

Ian
 
I can certainly recomment 'In the mood for love', along with two more Wong-Kar-Wai films: 'Chungking Express' and 'Fallen Angels'. The latter two mentioned aren't big budget films but they are both fantastic love storys, not so much drama. If you like these you will fall in love with the Wong Kar Wai style without a doubt. Looking forward to 2046.
 
Some of the most accessible "foreign" filums are
Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources (France)
Try any of the Herzog movies from mid-1970s-80s (Germany).
The Three Colours - Red, White and Blue (Poland / France)are all superb.

Check them out on www.imdb.com
 
Thanks,

I'll check it out I'm trying to broaden my DVD collectio to include more "Foreign Language" films.

By the way Wages of Fear also by Clouzot is also pretty good.
 
'together' is fantastic. It's Swedish and set in the 70s. A mother and two kiRAB go to live with her brother after her husband hits her. The brother lives in a comune where they're all vegetarian, don't have a tv etc. Anyway, as the film progresses each person enRAB up learning from eachother and a happy medium way of life if found... Oh its just great - really life affirming.
 
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