Heavy movies
 

Lookin to make a list of what i think of as "heavy" flicks, the kind that are very well done, artistic, and philosophic but disturbingly difficult to watch because they reveal that which we'd rather keep bottled up. So far all i have really come up with are:

I Stand Alone
Irreversible
Requiem for a Dream
Strange Circus

Others that might approach this genre might include:

Calvaire
Clockwork Orange
Noriko's Dinner Table
Kairo
American History X
The Silence (Tystnaden)

i have yet to see Leaving Las Vegas, but i am guessing it may be a contender as well. Any examples that are glaringly absent??? Thanks.
derek

All the movies of Alejandro Jodorowsky - Santa Sangre, El Topo, The Holy Mountain, Fando y Lis, etc.

Plenty of Lynchian works, Eraserhead leading the pack.

The Elephant Man is another.

Will think of some obscure ones later.

Tetsuo - the iron man
Uzumaki

Driller Killer
Ms.45
Ichi the Killer

Natural Born Killers is one that comes immediately to mind. Bad Lieutenant is another. Thriller: A Cruel Picture also.

Plenty of movies in this list qualify - http://www.horror.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30312

...specially if you list the most realistic ones.

EDIT - Forgot to mention Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer & Maniac. Two of the finest.

Marat/Sade
Edmund

Salo

Maybe Antichrist and Martyrs, but they're both somewhat of a stretch.

Jacob's Ladder (1990) and Ebola Syndrome (1996 aka: Yi boh lai beng duk) qualify...

Not seen it in years but i can't remember it being 'artistic or philosophic ' - I remember Anthony Wong being a complete sicko though :-)

...oh, it applies all right. ;)

Ah yeah, some of these sound great. i forgot about Edmund, Henry, and Natural Born Killers, they all deserve some thought, especially Edmund. Tetsuo was just a little too weird but a good call. Personally, i did not enjoy Salo and was all too happy to be done with it. It was well done and all, it just did not affect me one bit. Not a dig, just is. i guess just about all Miike flicks could be on this list, but i keep his stuff on a totally different mantle. Some of the others, like Maniac and Santa Sangre and Ebola Syndrome, are hard to track down (can't get'm on Netflix). Any chances that they might show up in a bargain bin somewhere? i am a broke ascetic and i'd rather get them on the cheap if possible. Thanks again for the recs. Ashe.
derek

Kinda tough to get Santa Sangre. You just might get lucky and it might pop up in a bargain bin somewhere. The box set of Jodorowsky is your best bet.

Maniac and Henry, I think you can get em easily.

Does Ebola Syndrome have a US release (I'm assuming you;re American)

Nice to see someone else has checked that one out. I thought that flick was amazing.

The Pusher series is worth a look especially the first and third film.

Romper Stomper oozes grit and has some unsettling scenes.

Bad Boy Bubby and Ex-Drummer deserve a mention although they perhaps fit into the black humour category...

Taxidermia was fucking cool also.

Yeah, that one deserves to be on the list for sure. Nick Cage's finest moment.

Taxi Driver. Was that mentioned?

Heavens, thank you for mentioning this one.
It definitely is challenging and bold.

The box set actually doesn't include Santa Sangre sadly, i found it online once however.

The Wrestler is a super heavy flick.

Brazil


I can pull something new from it on almost every viewing.

I've only seen that one once but I need to give it another viewing soon.

Good catch. i meant to include it but glaringly left it off the list. Thanks for the new recs too, all good and cued up. i'll keep an eye out for Santa Sangre and Ebola, maybe i'll get lucky.
d

Yeah, that movie hasn't seen a proper R1 release. I'm pretty sure even the Anchor Bay R2 release is out of print, too.

Visitor Q
Blue Velvet

These are two movies that I find absolutely brilliant and even at times achingly beautiful... But not something that I can really do repeat viewings of.

Requiem, that's a good one. Not only that but after see those holes in their arms where they were shooting up it assured that I would never heroine ever ever in my life (not that I ever considered it as a good idea to begin with).

Watch Trainspotting it'll sell you on the whole "heroin" lifestyle...

http://www.toledoonthemove.com/uploa...n%20addict.jpg

http://www.drugalcohol-rehab.com/ima...oin-addict.jpg

http://www.american-pictures.com/gal.../book175-a.jpg

...it's alot more fun than modern cinema makes it out to be. :rolleyes:

How about Ginger Snaps? that ones pretty deep.

I'm not sure every movie I'd consider heavy would count as a horror movie. Taxi Driver or Edmond for example. On the subject of rough lifestyle -- Alix Lambert's The Mark Of Cain and Dark Days is pretty intense.