Ladies and gentlemen, I have a bone chilling revelation to unveil. Or, well, repeat, assuming you follow me on Twitter. Clarifications that undermine the dramatic tension of what I am trying to say aside, my point is this:I have never seen The Princess Bride.
If you are anything like most people I know, that sentence rocked you to your very core and blew your mind. It's not that I specifically haven't seen it, but that anyone hasn't. It would be similar to saying I haven't seen Apocalypse Now, Tron, Labyrinth, Planet Of The Apes or Rocky.
By the way, I totally haven't seen Apocalypse Now, Tron, Labyrinth, Planet Of The Apes or Rocky.
As you may have guessed, I've missed a lot of movies. I don't see every movie that comes out, and I'm not big on renting them. I'm more likely to watch TV shows on DVD and play video games when with friends.
That said, however, there are certain movies I really should see. My geek cred is crumbling all around me, and it must be salvaged! Readers of this blog, I ask you: What nostalgic movies must I see to redeem myself, assuming I have not already? You know, beyond what I've listed.
Please let me know here, via e-mail or Twitter what you think I need to see. Based on these suggestions, I will gradually make it my mission to seek out and watch the most suggested movies, posting my thoughts about them here as I do.
Bill & Tedd's Excellent Adventure is an excellent example of the Novikov Self-Consistency Principle. Of course, if you've already seen it... excellent!
ReplyDeleteWell of the ones you already admit to not having seen I'd say Tron is pretty key. The Princess Bride is an okay movie but you could get by just as easily with the book. I mostly watched it to get the jokes people would tell. I'd also add 'The Last Starfighter' to the list.
ReplyDeleteHaven't seen any of 'em either. If I had ta choose which to see, though, I'd go with Tron and either Planet of the Apes (the original, not the crapulant remake) or Rocky.
ReplyDeleteLet's see. The movies you mentioned I'd definitely start picking up, but I have a few more I think you should definitely see.
ReplyDeleteFull Metal Jacket
Bullitt
Ben-Hur
The Fifth Element
Leon, the Professional
Brotherhood of the Wolf
Airplane!
The Naked Gun
National Lampoon's Animal House
These movies will not all necessarily improve your geek cred, but they are good movies and you should still watch them.
I still find that the ultimate Nerd movie is the 1986 Transformers film. It's cheesey, lame, stupid and is essentially a large toy commercial. Thing is, it doesn't look down on the material, but isn't pretentious, like the Michael Bay films (Which he described as Ben Hur Meets Apocalypse now). It's sci fi, it's fantasy, it's a big frickin' cartoon blast, with both Leonard Nimoy and Orson Wells.
ReplyDeleteI should also bring up the Dark Crystal. Me and Jeff pretty much watched it, and we decided that we liked it, but will never watch it again. It's all puppetry, decent but generic fantasy, and does drag at some points.
Of course, with the remake upon us, "Clash of the Titans" is considered to be the last great Harryhausen epic. Granted, there are better films based on Greek myths, grander fantasy epic, but this 80s film is the one people today remember so well because it's the one that introduced many people the the story of Perseus, to the Greek Gods, and to the Art of Harryhausen in general. On top of that, it's a pretty decent flick.
Do you need a copy of Princess Bride for viewing? I think my wife and I have two copies.
ReplyDeleteThis is what happens when two geeks with two geeky DVD collections get together.
Hmmm...
ReplyDeleteMemento, The Crow, Glenngary Glenn Ross, Shaolin Soccer + Kung Fu Hustle, probably a dozen others I am forgetting for now.
Princess Bride is no necessity in my book, although it is good- Labyrinth is definitely worth it tho.
Ultimate nerd movies? The three first Star Wars movies. Though I think you've seen them.
ReplyDeleteAnd you're not alone in not having seen Princess Bride. I'm the only one in quite a large group of nerd friends that HAS seen it, and I've only seen it once, not long ago.
I had a variety of these films placed in front of me by well meaning friends at university. It was decided I needed to be initiated, as I never really have the patience to just sit and watch movies.
ReplyDeleteThat said I second the original Transformers movie, Labyrinth & Dark Crystal. Kung-fu hustle & Shaolin Soccer are amusing. Tron is quite good. Airplane is mandatory.
I enjoyed Gremlins 2, but am yet to get round to watching 1. Can't think of anything else off the top of my head.
Dogma, Braveheart, Dragonheart, The Rock, Twelve Monkeys, Fight Club, Bridge to Terabithia... hell, there are too much xDDDD
ReplyDeleteActually, I haven't seen The bride princess too. Neither Labyrinth. You are not alone xDDDD
Elf (I hate you ¬¬) and Dan, go NOW to watch The Princess Bride and Labyrinth NOW!
ReplyDeleteBig Fish!
Moulin Rouge!
School of Rock!
Willow!
Mirrormask!
The Indian in the Cupboard! (Well, I prefer the book)
I think you now regret for this post xD
Yay for my bad english =D
Weird science, encino man, hackers, war games for some vintage 80's movies
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen "Rocky" either and never really considered it a part of "Geek cred." While I've seen it, I personally wouldn't recommend "Apocalypse Now." Maybe I just didn't get it but it was so frikkin' tedious. I haven't had such a hard time staying awake through a movie since "2001" which is probably one you do need to see to maintain geek cred, but bring a lot of coffee with you.
ReplyDeleteSaw Princess Bride, I own a copy of Labrynth, I saw most of Tron. The rest either just parts of or not at all.
ReplyDeleteDoubt I'll ever see Rocky either, not much of a Stallone fan myself. I can't listen to the guy talk without getting the giggles.
Inconceivable!
ReplyDeleteUm Dan, I haven't seen half of those ether, don't worry I think most us think you are a geek anyways, the writer of EGS has to be ether a geek or totally insane to write that awesome comic
ReplyDeleteMirrormask, Coraline, Willow (definitely), the Illusionist (the one with Edward Norton, not the Clive Barker one), Interview with the Vampire, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Jonny Mnemonic, Pan's Labyrinth, Donnie Darko, the Usual Suspects, V for Vendetta, Boondock Saints...
ReplyDeleteFor starters. ;-)
I'm amazed no one has mentioned Young Frankenstein. Like The Princess Bride it's filled with quotable bits.
ReplyDeleteLabyrinth is also a must see for one overriding reason. Jennifer Connelly!!
Sorry, but of the movies you list, I've only seen The Princess Bride.
ReplyDeleteI can ruin my geek cred with one sentence, which blows even more minds: I have never seen Star Wars. At all. None of them. *dives for cover* In my defense, I don't have anyone to watch them with. ^^;
I can suggest some movies, ironically enough.
The original Transformers the Movie (I don't recall Leonard Nimoy in it, but it does have Eric Idle for the voice of Wreck Gar. Alas, good luck finding it; Best Buy and Target no longer carry it, so you need ebay. :( I still have my VHS copies, though (yes, I've two - the regular version and the uncut (with 1 swear word!) version that I picked up at Botcon).)
War Games
Real Genius
Short Circuit
Rock N'Rule
Wizards (a Ralph Bakshi film)
The Hogfather
Spaceballs
The Muppet Movie
The Muppets Take Manhattan
That's all I can think of at the moment, though I should add that if you have not seen them, the tv series for the Muppet Show (which is being released as they get permission from the actors/their estates) is good, along with Fraggle Rock. :)
K.J.E., Leonard Nimoy was Galvatron. And Orson Wells was appropriately, a planet (Unicron).
ReplyDeletei second for tron, spaceballs, all the Grimline movies, and all the bill & Tedd adventure movies ( im preety sure iv seeb more tgen just the exellent adventure one)
ReplyDeleteTron is a must.
ReplyDeleteThen you can watch the sequel, Tron Legacy.
Of those listed, I haven't seen most of them (including The Princess Bride), but the ones I've seen, and would recommend are:
ReplyDeleteThe Last Starfighter
Tron
Dogma
Fight Club
Bridge to Terabithia
Hackers
War Games
Interview with the Vampire
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Johnny Mnemonic
The Usual Suspects
Short Circuit
Spaceballs
Others, not yet mentioned are:
Clerks
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
The Italian Job
Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail
Ocean's Eleven
Pi
and probably others I can't think of right now...
I just cannot comprehend anyone having not seen The Princess Bride. It was one of the defining movies of my childhood. Go watch it now.
ReplyDeleteAlso watch Serenity, The Rocketeer, Muppet Treasure Island, Jumanji, and Life Is Beautiful. You know, in addition to all those listed above.
THE MATRIX. All of them.
ReplyDeleteWell, shpluh, Army of Darkness is an *absolute* must for any self-respecting nerd.
ReplyDeleteThe only one I've seen in your list is Tron, and I don't remember any of it since I was a kid. I do remember finding it boring.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any advice, but I just wanted to share that :P
Oh noes! Not the Geek Cred!
ReplyDeleteoh , and also definstly V for Vendetta its one of the most awsome movies ever.
ReplyDeleteRemedy Princess Bride, Labyrinth, Tron, and if it turns out Tron's sequel is good then watch that (if it isn't good then it never existed,) and additionally watch Gurren Lagann (either the TV series or the movies,) and we'll call it even.
ReplyDeleteWarning: Extreme nerdiness ahead!
ReplyDelete* Revenge of the Nerds (1 and 2).
* Bill & Ted's excellent adventure (and the sequels)
* Weird science
* Night at the Roxbury
* Spaceballs
* The Blues Brothers
Sci-fi:
* The last Starfighter
* Flash Gordon (1980)
* Back to the Future (just in case you haven't)
* Innerspace
Now, for cyberpunk goodies:
* War games
* Johny Mnemonic
* Hackers (well this one kinda sucks, but it's a cult classic now, and hey! Teen Angelina Jolie in latex!)
* Sneakers
Fantasy must-watch:
* Labyrinth
* Willow
* The neverending story
* Krull (yeah, the effects suck, but it was cool at the time)
* Ladyhawke (watch this! WATCH! THIS!!!!)
* Clash of the Titans
Animated:
* Heavy Metal (warning: NSFW)
* The Last Unicorn
* The Flight of Dragons
* Starchaser: The Legend of Orin
Horror:
* Alien (MANDATORY)
* Twilight Zone, the movie
* The Cube
* Evil dead series, including Army of Darkness
* The keep (cult classic, must watch)
Extra credit:
* AMV Hell 3 and 4
* Dead Fantasy 1 and 2, and Haloid shorts
Watch all of the above, and you win a Level III geek cred! 8-)
Lots of awsome here!
ReplyDeleteI'll add Tropic Thunder (Comedy)
Black Sheep (Horror Comedy)
The Final Countdown (Alternative History)
Gattaca (Lots of geek cred there)
The Mummy (Horror Comedy)
Coming to America (Comedy)
SGT Bilko (Comedy)
Stripes (Comedy)
National Lampoons European Vacation (Comedy)
Azumi (Japan - Ninjas & massive body counts)
To add my two cents on core geek-cred movies:
ReplyDeleteAbsolute musts, just to be talking the same language as other geeks:
The Blues Brothers
The Star Wars Trilogy (first three)
The Matrix (first film)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Princess Bride
Spaceballs
Fight Club
Extra credit choices for a cinema-educated geek:
Serenity
Real Genius
Memento
V for Vendetta
Young Frankenstein
The Fifth Element
Hope you find some movies you enjoy!
I really want to add to the "extra credit" list...
ReplyDeleteBrazil
The Secret of NiMH
...but those might be more personal bias.
^.^
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride.
ReplyDeleteI think you might enjoy it, geek cred or no.
I hate forms that forget what you were doing when you mess up, making you start over...nice long list down the drain. Here we go again:
ReplyDeleteTrading Places
There's Something About Mary
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (not mandatory)
Rocky Horror Picture Show (ABSOLUTELY mandatory)
Dreamscape (VERY hard to find, but well worth it)
King Kong (the original)
Inherit the Wind
Enemy Mine
Equilibrium
Robocop
Tootsie
Some Like it Hot
The Odd Couple
The Day the Earth Stood Still (original)
This Island Earth
Psycho
Silence of the Lambs
Yellow Submarine
Network
All Star Trek
Batman (Both Burton/Keaton ones and the new Bale ones)
Superman 1 and 2 (3 and 4 for masachist cred)
Alien Nation
The Highlander (I need this one, too)
Leathal Weapon
Sphere
1776
M*A*S*H
The Godfather
Anti-Trust (WAY better than Hackers)
The Madwoman From Shilot (also VERY hard to find)
The Hudsucker Proxy
Ghostbusters
Duck Soup (and any other Marx Brothers flicks)
The Dream Team
Major League
Aliens (the sequel to Alien, while not quite as good, seems to have more geek cred in some ways)
The Devil's Advocate
Alice in Wonderland (the new one, if you haven't already)
Beatlejuice
Multiplicity
So I Married An Axe Murderer
Blazing Saddles
Vertigo
High Anxiety
Ants
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence
Plan 9 From Outer Space
Mars Attacks!
Fallout Trillogy (games, yes, but well worth it)
Idiocracy
I'm sure I missed some; I tried to avoid duplicating something that someone else already said.
I whodt sugest
ReplyDeletespace balls
Robin hood men in thigts
event horison
national lampoons lodted wepon
espesily event horison "I have shouth wondeful things to show you"
*shrug* Never seen any of those either. I get the same thing, the "Oh my god you haven't seen THAT movie? Your life is useless!"
ReplyDeletePersonally my favorite movie is, and probably always will be, Serenity. But that shows how huge a Firefly nerd I am. I'm more like you, I really only watch TV shows on DVD.
You should see Weird Al's UHF, because it is excellent, and not enough people have seen it.
ReplyDeleteHmm...
ReplyDeleteHave you seen Mystery Men? It sorta drifted past and vanished quickly, back in 1999, but I loved it. It's the only comedy about wannabe superheroes I've ever seen where the humor is (mostly) wistful rather than slapstick.
OK, one overhyped film I'm amazed noone mentioned: "Nightmare Before Christmas".
ReplyDeleteAnd while on the topic: "Edward Scissorhands".
And one other nerd-staple: "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"
Some other, more minor staples not mentioned:
"Flight of the Navigator"
"Terminator 1 & 2" (as well as any other pre-True-Lies Arnold movie such as "Total Recall" "Commando" and "Running Man")
"The Hobbit" (obscure internet references galore from this film)
"Jason and the Argonauts"
It would probably be easier to recommend movies if we knew what in this now sizeable thread you HAD watched.
ReplyDeletePrincess Bride FTW
ReplyDeleteI also like "Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel", although I only recently heard of it and I don't know anyone who's seen it... but I recommend it.
Oh dear sweet merciless Eris...
ReplyDeleteWell--I have not seen The Princess Bride (I have vaguely heard of it).
Anyways, my must watch list:
* The Secret of NIMH
* Hackers
* Wargames
* Ghostbusters 1 and 2
* Full Metal Jacket
* A Clockwork Orange (note that the final chapter of the book is not included in it)
* Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trilogy
* TMNT-2007
* Monty Python and the Holy Grail
* The Life of Brian
* Heavy Metal
* The Producers (1968)
* Napoleon Dynamite
* Kill Bill 1 and 2
* Wayne's World
* Beetleguise
* Bladerunner
* Spaceballs
* Dr. Strangelove
* UHF
* Total Recall
* Mars Attacks
* Equilibrium
* V for Vendetta
* The Blues Brothers
* Fear and Loathing in Lost Vegas
* Willow
* The Pick of Destiny
* Stripes
* When Harry Met Sally
* LadyHawke
* Neverending Story
* Johnny Mnemonic
* This is Spinal Tap
* Escape from LA
* Sweeney Todd
* Ella Enchanted
* Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory
* Zappa's Dub Room Special
* The Fifth Element
* Harry and Tonto
* Back to the Future Trilogy
* Matrix (I am sure glad they did not make any sequels, and left it in its true one shot glory)
* Pulp Fiction
Now then--I will note that most of these are available in the discount bin--for some odd reason.... >.>'
Well pretty much go on the reasoning for the "you haven't seen" is you haven't seen means you are lesser then me for liking something I love. Doesn't make much sense.
ReplyDeleteNow when it comes to it, the cooler and more obscure it is, the more geek cred it has. Since there is less likely to have seen it.
The Postman
It beats the hell out of Mad Max with how just an nothing can become something by simply trying.Funny as hell at times, will rip out your heart, is the perfect movie. Shows every face of emotion while kicking ass.
Tank Girl
Simply awesome from start to finish. It is one of the greatest comic book treatments in giving keeping to the source material while making it accessible for others. The one to pay attention if want to see a movie version of EGS.
Repli-Kate
If you could create a woman and make her think whatever you wanted her to think you get this movie. Shows the good, the bad, and the funny.
Dead Alive(Brain Dead)
The ultimate zombie movie that is gore fest of special effects. An intestine by itself comes alive, which is common place compared to the cooler stuff that comes forth.
Duck, You Sucker
The coolest, and oddest western ever seen because it is funny. The characters are enjoyable, even the main villain is a blast.
Once Upon A Time in the West
The most bad ass western of all time. Anything one can think of that is in west it has.
Equilibrium
Kicks ass and makes you think. Pretty much one of the coolest movies.
That is the short and sweet list that will get you back to your level of geek credit and maintain it for a good long while. Plus makes it easy to get to it when you feel like it since you don't watch much movies.
Hurm. Good question, Dan. Let's save your geek cred in 10 easy movies.
ReplyDeleteArmy of Darkness
The Princess Bride
Labyrinth
Mystery Men
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Kung Fu Hustle
Akira
Tron
The Great Muppet Caper
Spellbound (documentary)
Dirty Work
ReplyDeleteAny movie starring Fred Astaire
The General (starring Buster Keaton)
Watch it!
ReplyDelete9da8bbf503a9af842a449ed4558f79dda0cf0688
if rare is what you`r looking for
ReplyDeletei whout have to say.
Bugsy Malone by Alan Parker
(Incidentally, I'm Proginokses at 910CMX)
ReplyDeleteFrom the makers of Jumanji: Zathura. (Basically "Jumanji IN SPACE!". And it is awesome.)
I am very surprised Galaxy Quest isn't listed yet.
Similarly, I need to watch this as much as everyone else here, but I have only heard very good (and geeky) things about Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension.
I SECOND the following recommendations:
Willow ("you idiot!")
Jumanji
Beetlejuice
Hackers
Any given Muppet film
The Last Unicorn
This list is getting awfully long, but I just have to add Kurosawas Seven Samurai.
ReplyDeleteHow about "They Live"?
ReplyDeleteThe glasses bit is classic...
Also, I second the following:
Labyrinth
The Princess Bride
Robin Hood: Men in Tights
Kung Fu Hustle
Fight Club
Army of Darkness
Beetlejuice
Ghostbusters
Alien Nation
Enemy Mine
The Fifth Element
And I note that several of the others
are on my to-watch list...
Goonies anyone?
ReplyDeleteWouldn't "mandate" it for proper geek cred like some of the other films, but if you're into the more "camp" or "kinky" horror films...
ReplyDeleteBasket Case
Brain Damage
Two classic horror films by Frank Henenlotter that have a nice little mix of dark humor in them.
All right, 13013, finally, someone agrees with me that all three of the Matrix movies are awesome. It's an epic story, and delves into so many allegories and themes that you could spend months analyzing them and only scratch the surface, and is quite literally PhD level stuff. http://wylfing.net/essays/ The reason so many people don't like the sequels is simply because it's completely over their heads.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to anime, there is no bigger geek cred movie than Akira, which revolutionized anime, and is pretty epic.
Let's see.. Fight Club, Airplane, the first Turtles movie, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit come to mind.
I appreciate the sentiment, but please do NOT link to torrents and such from my site. hulu's okay.
ReplyDeleteTHX 1138
ReplyDeleteThe Star Wars Christmas special (George must know his shame has been see by all for giving us a Gredo shooting first)
Just to flaunt my geek cred, at one point I owned six different versions of the original Star Wars trilogy. They had their own shelf in our movie collection. My wife eventually made me chose only one and sell the rest.
Yes, I took a hit on the geek cred, but I salvaged my husband cred just barely.
All of the ones I would have said have already been said, so not much use repeating them.
ReplyDeleteStargate
ReplyDeleteThe Matrix Movies
Treasure Planet
I think the MST3K Movie would be a good one. Granted, it's not as geeky as the show, but it's still a great time to watch, especially with friends.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I recommend:
- UHF
- Short Circuit 1 and 2
- Anything with Rodney Dangerfield
- Tron
- Plan 9 From Outer Space (Try the RiffTrax version)
- The Nutty Professor (original, but remake is good too)
- Anything by Monty Python
- Brain Dead/Dead Alive
- Maximum Overdrive
- My Name is Bruce
- Spies Like Us
- Weird Science
- Naked Gun (or sequels)
- Airplane!
Actually... the only movies you listed that I have seen is The Princess Bride and Planet of the Apes. I haven't even heard of the rest except for Tron and Rocky (Apocalypse... well, how many movies are out there about the apocalypse, anyway?!)
ReplyDeletePrincess bride is a nice movie. That space between good and bad just abouve "meh"
ReplyDeleteLabyrinth, planet of the Apes, and Rocky are all fairly good. I satisfied myself with the re-make for PotE
TRON is supposed to be glorious. It's on my netflix que.
A,N.... I saw it..... I didn't really care all that much. There are plenty of other, and better war movies.
For me, i like to keep my essentials updated.
Watchmen (read the comic first, the movie is better that way.)
V for Vendetta (see the movie first, or you'll want to stab yourself.)
Fight Club (Movie first, or you'll want to do horrible things to babies.)
Beowulf and Grendel/Beowulf. B&g is really good no matter how you cut it. But If you have any inkling of what Beowulf (the original) is about.... dont watch "Beowulf" (the one with Angelina Jolie as Grendels mum)
Star wars. Need I say more?
the First Conan (or read the comics)
Iron Man
and the newest on my list is "How to Train your Dragon." i normally wait until a DVD is released to call it "Must see", but this movie was impressive, and Im expecting it to stay as one of my favorite movies.
Lord of The Rings, If you are versed in thick prosse, the book is great. Otherwise stick to the movies.
Princess Mononoke, tooo many Animes are cookie cutter or stereotypical. This one, and other movies by the same guy, are fantastic. Miyazaki does great origianl work.
Other then that, I'd reccomend Doctor Who (the reccent stuff) anything by Chuck Palahniuk, IDW's Transformers Comics, D&D, Battlestar Galactica, and Lost.
but truth be told, watch whatever the hell you want. You decide what is important to see and what isn't Those are the movies/stories I like, they aren't the be all end all. There are hundreds of good stories that aren't on my list.
Labyrinth = 2 hours of my life I'd like to have back. But I did watch it with friends, so that makes it ok even though they wouldn't let me mock it (David Bowie codpiece!).
ReplyDeletePrincess Bride is a fun movie. Enjoy it.
To go way back, I have to suggest "The Absent Minded Professor." It's the one that was remade as "Flubber." As usual, original = better.
On a more current note, tell me you've seen "Stardust." Good fantasy movie, though I'm told it deviated from the book quite a bit.
God bless and happy geeking out!
Four words:
ReplyDeleteStar Wars Holiday Special
I think it may make up for any 'lost points' from missing the other ones.
War Games, Red Dawn, 6-string Samurai and (if you can find it) Druids are all on my "making up for lost nerd-points" list. Extra points if you sit through the War Games sequel, War Games: The Dead Code
Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail (of course.)
ReplyDeleteThe Princess Bride
Spaceballs
The animated version of The Hobbit
Also, The Flight of Dragons by the same studio, although this one is really obscure, but it's really geeky (A guy essentially falls into the fantasy world of his board game, and somehow gets merged with a dragon...)
Any Mel Brooks movie, really.
Weird Al's UHF.
Also second Short Circuit.
ReplyDeleteFirefly/Serenity.
ReplyDeleteWatch them both.
At the risk of repetition, V for Vendetta.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to The Princess Bride and Labyrinth...
ReplyDeleteRob Roy, Lethal Weapon (You only need to see the first one), Men In Black, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Escape from New York, October Sky, and The Pagemaster are the only ones I can think of.
I don't know what you've seen and what you haven't, so this is just a list of those movies I suggest for geek cred.
To be honest, the only "must sees" I can think of are Labrynth, Princess Bride, the original Transformers movie, and Rocky Horror Picture Show.
ReplyDeleteJust have to add my own movie list: things you must see if you haven't yet:
ReplyDeleteGhostbusters
Back to the Future
Revenge of the Nerds
The Blues Brothers
Sneakers
Pick a Miyazaki film, any Miyazaki film. They're all awesome. Given your work, I suspect you'll enjoy Howl's Moving Castle at least as much as I did.
Bill and Tedd's Excellent Adventure
Read the book of "Howl's Moving Castle" - it makes a lot more sense than the film.
ReplyDeleteThe 1948 "Beauty and the Beast".
Haven't read all the suggestions, so:
"The 13th Floor" - similar concept to "Matrix", based on a 1960s SF novel - better film.
The first two "Terminator" films.
"Mad Max" and "Road Warrior".
"Stairway to Heaven" (original Brit title "A Matter of Life and Death"): if nothing else, you need to see it to get one of the funnier jokes in "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey".
"The 5000 Fingers of Dr T" - a musical written by and designed by Dr Seuss, with Hans Conried as an evil piano teacher.
Disney's "Return to Oz" with creatures by the Henson people, and claymation special effects by Will Vinton. It is *not* a sequel to that ghod-awful musical with Judy Wossname; it *is* the most accurate (and in my opinion) the *best* Oz film ever made - it was intentionally strangled by Disney management in its first release:
"According to Harlan Ellison in his book Harlan Ellison's Watching, the studio deliberately sabotaged the film's success. Since they consider the film "underrated" or "underappreciated", they discouraged positive reviews, minimised advertising and limited its theatrical release to less than a week. At the time of its release, Ellison published a review in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, urging readers to "go see it, before it disappears". He describes the reasons for dumping this film as having to do with the 1984 shakeup in Disney management, in which the new man, (Michael Eisner), may have wished to justify his presence by making his predecessor's efforts appear inept. He believed the film would have succeeded had viewers been allowed to see it."
Eisner was a jerk. He couldn't let something greenlighted by his predecessors look good before anything greenlighted under his regime cam out, since he had been brought in because they were (supposedly) doing so badly.
Lilo and Stitch.
Outside the sort of things mentioned mostly here, the first two of Leone's "Once Upon a TIme" trilogy, "Once Upon a Time in the West" and "Duck You Sucker". "OUaTitW" is my choice for Greatest Western Ever Made - you cannot imagine what a shock it was in 1968 when we first saw the face of the meanest sadistic cold-blooded killer-for-hire that ever was in a Western...
Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" (the source of "A Fistful of Dollars" and of a couple of bits in the first "Star Wars" film) and its sequel, "Sanjuro". Also Kurosawa's "The Hidden Fortress", the source of almost everything *else* in "Star Wars", including all of the main characters.
john Carpenter's *original* "Assault on Precinct 13", and "Dark Star", which began as a student film that he and Dan O'Bannon (who did spoecial effects and stars) expanded to feature length; it came out *before* "Star Wars", and O'Bannon worked on SW and "stole" some of his own effects from DS for an important sequence.
"Battle Beyond the Stars" - the film that began James Cameron's career - a space-opera version of "Seven Samurai". It's been soundly mocked, but i really like it.
Oh - a lot of these films are reviewed on my website, at electronictiger.net/index
ReplyDeleteYou really need to see "Highlander" (only the first one, all the sequels sucked so badly that they almost made the first one less cool)
ReplyDeleteAlso: "The Last Unicorn", "Serenity", "The Last Starfighter", (the original) "Transformers the Movie", "Leon (The Professional)", "Princess Mononoke", "La City des Enfants", "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", "Better Off Dead", "The Princess Bride", "Finding Neverland", "Dangerous Liaisons", "The Incredibles", "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", "Snatch", "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", "Batman Begins", "Amelie", and "Back to the Future"
dan, anything by mel brooks will help. there are a lot of quotables in his movies. Lady Hawke was a good movie if you ignore the terrible 80's music. many of the python movies. life of brian included. ROMANS GO HOME!
ReplyDeletewhat other terrible movies do i have in store for you... mmmm maybe next time?
One thing you may or may not have watched at any point (and if you haven't, I pity you) is the series Mystery Science Theater 3000. If there is any level of Geeky, sci-fi, or incredibly funny award to be had, this one takes the cake.
ReplyDeleteAlso generally abbreviated as MST3K.
WIZARDS by Ralph Bakshi is a must.
ReplyDeleteThe whole thing is pretty original in it's approach and the humor and convention should fit you.
The main character of this 1977 movie is a crossover between Gandalf and master Roshi, and the bad guys are pictured as evil in the beginning, but later on... you'll see
Kudos to you Dan!
Jan
Pretty much anything I'd add to this list is already on this list except for one that I
ReplyDelete-can't believe- no one has mentioned yet...Big Trouble in Little China.
I also second the following from the Animated list:
The Secret Of Nimh
The Last Unicorn
Rock & Rule!!! (No Canadian bias here, really.)
I am not gonna repeat earlier suggestions, because there is a ton I agree with. I have three to point out.
ReplyDeleteThe Crow (1994)
Screamers (1995)
Starship troopers (1997)
also If you like TV shows.
Buffy the vampire slayer
Dark Angel
Stargate (SG-1, Atlantis, and Universe)
BBC's Robin hood
That is probably enough movies to keep you going for a year
Gattaca! See Gattaca! It makes you think, and it's satisfyingly science-fiction oriented, if that makes sense.
ReplyDeleteGATTACA is good, I'd also recommend the David Lynch 4-hour version of Dune (even though it's a complete butchery of the novel, which is also excellent) Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension is also worth another mention and three that have not as of yet been mentioned here (For SHAME!) are Blade Runner (for the serious) and the first two Killer Tomato movies (Attack of and Return of. For the decidedly less than serious.) There is supposedly a third Killer Tomato movie (Killer Tomatoes Eat France) but thus far I've been unable to find it.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone recommends Zardoz to you, for the sake of your own mental health politely decline. If they try to lure you into watching it by declaring the fact that Sean Connery is in it: decline less politely. If they insist: adamantly refuse. If they start showing it to you anyway: threaten legal action.
Seriously: ZARDOZ IS THAT BAD!
A, N. I've not seen, but from what I've been able to gather it's less relevant today than it was when it was released. The rest of what I've seen mentioned has had some merit, some not quite so much and two blatantly placed in the wrong time period (Encino Man was 1992 and Hackers was 1995, thank you. Neither of them were "'80s." The Back to the Future series was set in 1985 and the first was released that year, but that series didn't finish until the 1990s either and may be partially to blame for people jumbling the two decades entertainment-wise.)
Whoah... I'm stopping now.
Oh yeah, almost forgot. Watch Zardoz. The beggining is scaryshitty, the action climax is epic and its hard to figure out at which point the movie turns from an acid trip to a fascinating adventure but it kinda does that. For realz. Kinda:)
ReplyDeleteP.S. Don't watch movies by Lynch.
ReplyDeleteIt's simply happy tree friends in black and white
I second "Mystery Men": good geek cred and a blast to watch, especially if you're remotely into superhero roleplay. I also second "Donnie Darko" (preferably the Director's Cut) as significant for geek cred.
ReplyDeleteYou should see "Casablanca" if you haven't. It's not especially geeky in and of itself: it's just an excellent story with strong characters, sharp scriptwriting, and tremendous pacing. It's becoming a geek-only thing simply because it's an old black and white movie, and it takes a slightly geeky streak to think that a good thing could come in such an old package. See this movie, and you will want to write comic scenes which pay homage to it.
There's also geek cred in obscure, low budget sci-fi. For that, I suggest "Them" -- a movie (black and white, of course) about giant ants. I'm fairly sure that it is the main influence behind the 1989 Amiga game, "It Came from the Desert".
* Conan 1 (as already mentioned :) forget about the sequels)
ReplyDelete* The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire
* Pathfinder
Those three although quite different from each other are (probably "the") core fantasy-films. Along with some of the others mentioned by others here.
People are suggesting all sorts of stupid crap here. And to be totally honest, most of it doesn't even qualify as sufficiently geeky.
ReplyDeleteNaturally, as pre-noted, The Princess Bride must be seen... as must Labyrinth, Tron and Apocalypse Now.
But for sufficient rebuilding of geek-cred, the following should be checked:
As many Star Trek films as possible,
Original Star Wars trilogy,
All Monty Python films,
All Kevin Smith films (Clerks most important),
Highlander (ONLY the original; not the sequels),
The Neverending Story,
The Blues Brothers,
Beetlejuice,
Pulp Fiction,
Full Metal Jacket,
Robin Hood : Men in Tights,
Short Circuit (original and sequel),
Enough old Arnie / Steven Seagal films to build an arsenal of cheesy one-liners,
Alien & Aliens (Aliens 3 optional),
Battle Royale (for sake of pure, undiluted awesomesauce),
300 (duh).
By the end of it, you should be able to shout KHAAAAAAN, speak like Yoda for extended periods, request shrubberies, know how to defeat a Golgothan Shit-Demon, name bald girls, never fail because you're on a mission from god, know how to summon the dead, know what a royale with cheese is, know what you can get for ten dorra, realise that a metal gauntlet is the best way to start a duel, avoid being disassembled, tell Bennett to let off some steam, take off and nuke things from orbit, never underestimate a guy with a harisen... and be familiar with hell's menu.
Oh... and throw in Lawnmower Man, Flight of the Navigator, Tremors and Akira for good measure.
Never seen Rocky or Apocalypse Now and never want to and only saw Princess Bride once all the way through but I would also second:
ReplyDeleteTRON
Labrynth
Neverending Story is a must (The first one)
Fith Element
Spaceballs for a fun time
Bill and Ted definitly
Transformers the Movie is a must and if possible the origional cartoon series both before the move and after
At least the first Star trek movie
Willow
The first Short Circuit
The original Muppet Movie
The Last Starfighter
The original Italian Job not the remake
Willy Wonka the original
The Blue Brothers
Conan not Krull
Ladyhawk definitely
Flight of the Dragon though it could be hard to find but maybe not in america
Golden Child
Rocky Horror Picture Show
The original M*A*S*H movie
Definitely Ghostbusters
Beetlegeuse
Blazing Saddles
Heavy Metal and Heavy Metal 2000 but be warned it is highly NSFW
Tank Girl
Army of Darkness although there are two versions both essentially the same movie but with different endings.
Akira is alright and a good introduction into japanimation but also Ghost in the Shell
Goonies is a great watch even today
Also for Anime Armitage III
Doctor Who if possible Start with the Fourth Doctor Tom Baker
and if there are any that haven't been mentioned it is only for the fact that I cant remember them.
Well, I don't have a film for you to watch, but I know of a decent website to use (Adblock is advised though the lot of them run on the damn things) www.letmewatchthis.com =L If you havent seen the nutty professor movies then I'd reccomend them for ya. They're brilliant
ReplyDeleteYou can't have geek cred without watching When Harry Met Sally. And to those who say this is a chick flick, not a geek flick, look at Billy Crystal, then look at Meg Ryan. You'll figure it out.
ReplyDeleteWow, this entry is a real stroll down Amnesia Lane. Lots of movies I'd almost forgotten, but loved in their day.
ReplyDeleteReal Genius - Mythbusters recently did an episode about the popcorn scene.
Ladyhawke (one word please) - Believe it or not, I loved the soundtrack. Michelle Pfieffer's second major role. Speaking of which,
Grease 2 - Her first major role. Goofier than the original, but surprisingly likeable.
The Pirate Movie - "My name is Frederic, without a K" "I'm Mabel, also without a K."
Enemy Mine - I loved this movie as a kid. I wonder if it would hold up today?
Teen Wolf - Only worth seeing because of Michael J. Fox.
Goonies - already covered by others, and they're all true.
The Black Hole - Worth seeing JUST as an example of how NOT to do Star Wars. I mention it because it scared the shit out of me when I was ten. Today it just bores the shit out of me.
The Flight Of Dragons - Hey, someone else mentioned it! It's sort of a mashup of two books, The Flight Of Dragons, and The Dragon And The George. See The Last Unicorn while you're at it.
Let's see, what else? NIMH, check...Last Starfighter, check...Dark Crystal, check...
Stripes! See Bill Murray's best comic role. Also has an early appearance by Dan Larroquette as a perverted captain. "Oh god, I wish I was a loofah!" Didn't he grow up to be Bill O'Reilly?
Time Bandits is a good one, if you haven't seen it. Robin Hood: Men in Tights is another. Both of those are along a similar vein as The Princess Bride.
ReplyDeleteIf you see B&T's Excellent Adventure, you'll also want to check out #2: B&T's Bogus Journey.
ReplyDeletemovie quote (from Ex Ad): 69 duuuuuudes!!!!!!!!
movie quote (from Bo Jo): Hell general dude: "Do 1 INFINITE push-ups!" whispers: "do u think he'll let us do girly push-ups?" Hell general dude: "NO!!!" Both: "Bogus!!!"
Best. Keanu Reeves(name right?). movie. EVER.
(...okay, maybe matrix 1 was less self righteous, but he was still a kid during these 2 movies...)
well dan anything that the gratest producer ever has produced mell brooks
ReplyDeleteHail scroob (from SpaceBalls)
Yeah, spaceballs, Bill and Ted(excellent adventure and bogus journey)
ReplyDeleteRocky horror is a good one
g1 transformers
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Enemy Mine
The Fifth Element
The Neverending Story,
The Blues Brothers,
Beetlejuice,
Pulp Fiction,
Full Metal Jacket
I don't know how you've read all of the above posts... that just seems like a years worth of literature but hopefully you'll read this.
ReplyDeleteIn seventh grade my father sent me through a "you're going to know what good geeky movies are" cycle so I've seen most of these movies but we had a friend "join" our geeky group this past year and he obviously hasn't been exposed to much of anything. So we've kind of figured out what is necessary to watch in order to know what's going on in most geeky conversations (through his being very confused).
These are necessary but everything else is just a fun watch
2001 Space Odyssey
StarWars
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Fifth Element
Some(/a lot of) StarTrek
Serenity and or Firefly
You don't need to watch much more than the above to have good geeky credibility. For example the geekiest person I know (dubbed the "Science Encyclopedia" by our group) did not get the amazing Silent Bob rendition that you drew in the beginning of EGS. I had to show our group Princess Bride because no one had seen it and I (however geeky) am nothing compared to them. So it's an amazing movie but not necessary to know what is going on. They also haven't seen planet of the apes so when every I say "Damn them all to hell!!!!" they get very confused.
If you want to watch some good movies however I second the following suggestions for they are very good and help with geeky references such as ROUS's
Princess Bride
Time Bandits
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Planet of the Apes
Twelfth Monkey
Jurassic Park
I'm not going to overload you so I'll skip mentioning all of the other amazing movies out there. SO this is the short list for getting geeky conversations.
I know someone already said The Producers but you should also check out the newer one it's really good and I'm ashamed I just only saw it recently.
ReplyDeleteNobody mentions Robocop or Terminator? How dare they!
ReplyDeleteYou really need to see all the Mad Max films. They are awesome.
ReplyDeleteI didn't see anyone suggest Evil Dead 2.
ReplyDeleteI know... but it's so bad it's really kind of excellent. It certainly is uber-geeky.
Noticed someone listed Ella Enchanted up there, and all I gotta say is, how could you have liked that movie, seriously? I consider it an abomination, personally. Just read the book, SO much better.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, other movies to see:
Any and all Hayao Miyazaki films (or other Studio Ghibli films)
Back to the Future trilogy
Any Mel Brooks films (especially Robin Hood: Men in Tights and History of the World: Part 1)
Kill Bill (both)
Fight Club (because everybody is always so shocked when you say you haven't seen it, I know from experience -- also it's pretty good)
Muppets take Manhattan (whoever listed that earlier kudos to you!)
Clue
Blues Brothers
Dragnet
You also might like Splash
...just to name a few.
I haven't really seen any of those either. How to Train Your Dragon was awesome'st of awesomeness however, and so was Rear Window, thank God. :) :D So was Avatar. ^,^ I guess I'm similar to you, na? :O Thank God. X3 Etc. etc. <,<; All that jazz. :)
ReplyDeleteHow could everyone have overlooked the classic Peter Sellers film (in three roles, no less!) that featured the ultimate "stereotypical German scientist"? Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Also if you want to see a real good comedy that featured just about every old school comedian from the golden age of Hollywood, check out It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. (It even featured as the Angry Video Game Nerd's #1 favorite film of all time!)
ReplyDeleteYou've got to see "Legend", and figure out who plays the main antagonist. Just to be perfectly clear, I mean Legend with a very young Tom Cruise, not I Am Legend with Will Smith (though that's also a very good movie).
ReplyDeleteIt really depends on what kind of nerd, or geek you view yourself as.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I think there are tv shows you should watch.
Big Bang Theory
IT Crowd
Doctor Who
Firefly
as for movies, the ones that come to mind for me are:
Equilibrium
Star Wars
Star Trek
Kung-Fu Hustle (which was better than Shaolin Soccer)
Clue
The Girl who Leapt through Time
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
Evil Dead Trilogy (including Army of Darkness) if anything for completion
The Matrix
Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey
Weird Science
and yes, the Princess Bride
There are also some books you should read (and everyone else), such as:
Patricia C. Wrede's The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (about 4 books total)
Margret Weis and Tracy Hickman's:
Deathgate Cycle (7 books total)
Rose of the Prophet Trilogy
Darksword Trilogy
*ahem* Two movies spring to mind...
ReplyDeleteDark Crystal
Labyrinth
Also: Look here. http://www.fast-rewind.com/
ReplyDelete*Little Shop of Horrors
*Breakfast Club
All Kevin Smith movies
All Mel Brooks movies
Annie
Beetlejuice
*Troop Beverly Hills
*Ticks
*Coming To America
*Dead Poets Society
*Flight of the Navigator
Ferris Beuler's Day Off
*The Goonies
*Gremlins
Karate Kid (Original)
Neverending Story
Oliver and Company
*Overboard
**Police Academy
Princess Bride
All Indiana Jones movies
The Re-animator
Scrooged
The Shining
Space Camp
Space Balls
Splash
Teen Wolf
Twins
Uncle Buck
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
And, finally, the one I will NEVER Forget...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IsgprKVJ3I
watch tron love el goonish shive!
ReplyDeleteI counted approximately 364 MOVIE titles mentioned disregarding repeats and ALL OF THEM BY THIS GUY category. I've seen 212 barring errors in counting for 58% of the list. I honestly expected it to be higher but there was some truly random stuff thrown in there.
ReplyDeleteDavid Lynch's Dune isn't in black and white and while its not, strictly speaking, very good... It has some value especially for a ...geek. I dislike that word by the way, due to its origins as a circus act of biting the necks off of live chickens.
Nerd Cred then... Dune has it, an attempt at a sci-fi epic about complex political intrigue, a super drug that enhances human potential and increases the human lifespan, ecology, an extremely long term genetic breeding program, and GIANT FREAKING SANDWORMS. It also has Sir Patrick Stewart and Sting.
Someone mentioned Hogfather, based on a discworld book by Terry Pratchet. Brilliant... read his books. The entire discworld series comprises of approximately 37 books with a new one every year.
All 3 of Terry Gilliam's 1980's 'trilogy' were mentioned, but while I've never seen Time Bandits I can't recommend it from what I know and Baron Von Munchausen inspires a deep venomous hatred from when I saw it as a child. I cannot possibly communicate how much I loathe that film. Its not the worst film ever made by far, (and some of you have recommended films that qualify) but I loate it like almost no other.
Brazil on the other hand was good. Its tagline was 1984 for 1984. Its production title was 1984 1/2.
People are recommending Johnny Mnemonic? Theres a pretty low probability that you'd find it appealing, but it is a sci-fi movie... If you must see everyone ever made... see this one too.
A lot of people seem to be recommending movies that they like rather than geek-cred movies.
ReplyDeleteIf you are looking for the context behind many quotes passed around the geek community, you need to see:
Princess Bride ("My name is ...")
Monty Python and the Holy Grail ("Ni!")
Airplane! ("... and don't call me Shirley.")
They Live ("I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And, I'm all out of bubblegum.")
Young Frankenstein ("Abby Normal.")
Spaceballs ("That's the stupidest combination I've ever heard in my life. The kind of thing an idiot would have on his luggage.")
History of the World Part One ("It's good to be the king.")
Those are the ones that I would consider "Must See."
Some that are good, and well loved by geeks all around, but that you certainly wouldn't be the only one who hasn't seen it include:
Rocky Horror Picture Show ("If only we were amongst friends. Or, sane persons.")
Dark Crystal ("Of course not. You're a boy.")
Labyrinth ("The labyrinth is a piece of cake, is it? Let's see how you deal with this slice.")
Clue ("Flames, flames, on the side of my face ...")
The Golden Child ("Only a man whose heart is pure can hold the knife. And, only a man whose ass is narrow can get down these stairs.")
Movies that are both good and obscure enough that you can quote them and show off your uber-geekiness include:
Galaxina ("The Blue Star?" "Dun-dahhh")
Ice Pirates ("Space herpe!")
Spaceship ("I want to eat ... your face.")
Wizards ("They've killed Fritz!" the precursor to "Oh my god, they killed Kenny!")
The Pirate Movie ("Is that a dagger in your pocket, or are you glad to see me?")
Those last ones are hard to find (or, at least, I've had trouble finding them.) And, obscure = good in the geek community.
Theno
if you would like geek cred i suggest robot jox and equilibrium. Robot Jox is a really great old movie (well the plots still good the effects have been left in the dust) that almost no one has seen. Equilibrium is a rather epic action movie that while some have seen it doesnt have the following it truely deserves
ReplyDeleteRashomon by Akira Kurosawa
ReplyDeleteDreams ibid
Throne of Blood ibid
Until the End of the World by Wim Wenders
Wings of Desire & Faraway So Close ibid
Name of the Rose (or read the book)
Fifth Element
I saw Rocky Horror up there, but honestly - I don't think just watching it would do it justice. You really kind of have to watch it every week at midnight on Saturday with a good crowd, at least five times, to get even a gist of what the phenomenon (as opposed to the movie, which was eminently forgettable) was all about.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, I have to say, this is an excellent thread. Everything I thought of is already listed, and I think there's a bunch of stuff I should put on my Netflix queue.
Also: arrrrrgh, Dune was the absolute worst I mean worst adaptation of a book ever made. It remains one of the great disappointments of my life; I'd waited for it so damn long.
ReplyDeleteTwo words; Thumb Wars!
ReplyDeletep.s. If you haven't seen Princess Bride by now than you are simply fail for lack of R.O.U.S.s =^.^=
Haven't seen anyone say Repo: The Genetic Opera yet, not so much geeky as a necessity to validate one's own lack of sanity.
ReplyDelete