Forgotten Films: Do You Remember?

[spaceytraci1208]

Watching Candyman for the first time in like 20 years on some random channel ...it's as not-scary as I remembered. I think the concept had great potential though

[Mrsjumbo]

Remember "trilogy of terror"? Was it supposed to be scary? because I remember laughing a lot through it.

This is an old one but "stairway to heaven" with David Niven. He is fighting death & there is a court case in heaven to decide if he should live or die. Favorite line by foppish French guy - "did I ever tell you about my operacion?" Making a slitting motion across his neck.

"Mad monster party"- a stop motion animation film with horror classic characters. One of our favorite movies as kids.

I'm from Indiana so "breaking away" was pretty popular.

On the 1st page "Night shift" was mentioned. Dh & I quote Michael Keaton when we have a stupid idea- "call Starkist".

My mom & I used to watch "the bad seed" together. Leroy- " I heard those shoes come tap-tap-tappin' down the incinerator".

[BigDfromLA]

"Swimming With Sharks"...great film with Kevin Spacey as horribly abusive boss.

 

"La Mission", with Benjamin Bratt set in the Mission District in San Francisco. Excellent film!

[Sharpie66]

Sid and Nancy was the only movie I have ever walked out of. It was a midnight film on my college campus, with drunks in the audience, I was tired, and I felt nothing but sheer contempt for every single person I saw on screen.

[harrie]

Watching Candyman for the first time in like 20 years on some random channel ...it's as not-scary as I remembered. I think the concept had great potential though

 

Candyman is a classic, love that film.  When it seems appropriate to a situation (or not), the hub or I will say "It was always you, Helen."   I hope it shows on a channel near me with Halloween approaching. 

 

I remember Stairway to Heaven, too.  It was a little like Here Comes Mr. Jordan, but I like them both.  ...Mr. Jordan has Claude Rains, though, so.... swoon.  Not that David Niven isn't swoonworthy.   Also in that sub-genre is You Never Can Tell, with Dick Powell as a German Shepherd who inherits a fortune, is poisoned, and comes back as a (human) private detective to nail his killer.  He's assisted by a race horse who is brought back as a human.  The premise is ridiculous, but the movie is semi-entertaining.  It's never ever shown anywhere though.  (I wonder why?) 

 

There's a movie that I feel like only my husband and I have seen, because nobody I know has ever heard of it -- Dinner Rush.   Directed by Bob Giraldi (a former adman famous for directing Miller Lite commercials and videos like "Beat It" and "Love is a Battlefield"), it's the story of a night in the life of a NY neighborhood restaurant and its owners and staff (with a little prologue to set up some plot points).  Billions of subplots, some funny lines, a couple good performances, but sometimes it feels like it's trying for too much.  My personal hunch is that Giraldi watched a bunch of Scorsese movies - maybe Goodfellas, Mean Streets or whatever -  thought "Hell, i can do that" and made Dinner Rush.   Much as i enjoy DR, it will never be mistaken for a Scorsese product, though.  

Edited October 5, 2014 by harrie

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I agree-she was! One of the best coming-of-age movies. Her screen parents were horrible to her; nominees for Worse Screen Parents for sure.

In the Movie his name is Steve, played by  Eric Mabius.

 

Another great coming-of-age movie was All Over Me with Allison Folland and Tara Subkoff as best friends who slowly grow apart when Cole Hauser's character becomes Subkoff's boyfriend. Like Dollhouse, it's a little painful, but the end offers the chance for happiness.

 

Sid and Nancy was the only movie I have ever walked out of. It was a midnight film on my college campus, with drunks in the audience, I was tired, and I felt nothing but sheer contempt for every single person I saw on screen.

 

FWIW, I think you were supposed to feel contempt for most of the characters, particularly Gary Oldman's Sid. So I guess it did it's job a little too well?

Edited October 5, 2014 by Cobalt Stargazer

[Mrsjumbo]

"Dinner with friends"- great movie & great cast (Toni Collette, Andi McDowell, Greg Kinnear, Dennis Quaid) about 2 couples that are long time friends & 1 couple breaks up. No one I know has heard of it.

[psychoticstate]

What about Sid and Nancy? Great movie with a haunting soundtrack.

 

Gary Oldman was ridiculously incredible as Sid Vicious.  That movie was so sad and painful to watch. 

 

I remember watching a tv movie back in the late 70s called "Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker".  It starred Charlene Tilton (Lucy from Dallas) and it scared the bejeebus out of my pre-teen self.   

[Shannon L.]

Does anyone remember If You Could See What I Hear?  It's "a light comedy/love story based on the life of blind musician Tom Sullivan." 

 

There are a handful of scenes that I remember, but my favorite is when he went out with friends one night, all of whom ended up drunk.  They decide to let Tom drive and they were guiding him with instructions:  "Left!  Now right!  Too far!" etc.  When the cops pulled them over, he was talking to one of the drunk friends and says "You mean he's blind?!  Then why in the hell is he driving?!"  The friend responds "Because he's the only one who's sober!".

[Bruinsfan]

I remember nothing about it except that scene, but I do recall that. (Marc Singer played the blind musician, right?)

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Does anyone remember If You Could See What I Hear?  It's "a light comedy/love story based on the life of blind musician Tom Sullivan." 

 

There are a handful of scenes that I remember, but my favorite is when he went out with friends one night, all of whom ended up drunk.  They decide to let Tom drive and they were guiding him with instructions:  "Left!  Now right!  Too far!" etc.  When the cops pulled them over, he was talking to one of the drunk friends and says "You mean he's blind?!  Then why in the hell is he driving?!"  The friend responds "Because he's the only one who's sober!".

 

Wasn't that the movie where Singer's character picks up this woman in a bar and takes her back to his place, and then in the afterglow she says something like, "How did you know I was black?" I have the strangest recollection of that scene.

[Shannon L.]

 

I remember nothing about it except that scene, but I do recall that. (Marc Singer played the blind musician, right?)

Yes, he did.

 

 

Wasn't that the movie where Singer's character picks up this woman in a bar and takes her back to his place, and then in the afterglow she says something like, "How did you know I was black?" I have the strangest recollection of that scene.

I don't recall a scene like that, but Shari Bellafonte was in it, so it's possible. 

[Crs97]

Yes, I remember that movie and those scenes. She does ask him that, and they later break up because she can't handle their being a multi-racial couple as well as his being blind. She tries to get back with him later, but he has already met his wife by then.

[nicepebbles]

Gotcha! It's been forever since I've seen that movie. I remember Car Wash and DC Cab.

Does any one know this one? It's an 80s movie. I have no idea who starred in it. I remember the main character is a teen girl who lived with her mom and stepfather. Or mom's BF. The girl and the stepfather or BF do not get along. I think he wants to kill the girl or her mom. Somebody gets hit by a car. I think it was the mom. It was a big deal in the movie that the stepfather/BF walked in on the girl and her BF having sex.

The actress playing the teen always reminded me of Martha Byrne, who played Lily on As the World Turns forever.

[Laurie4H]

I remember that movie also (if we are thinking of the same movie). Doesn't the moms BF and some of his friends hold them hostage and try to kill them? I can't remember who stared in it either.

[Shades of Red]

Boo Bear talked about American Dreamer.  Has to rank up there in my all time favourites!  I got the VCR tape as a Christmas present and it was expensive at the time but I definitely got my money's worth watching it over and over again.  I now own it on DVD and it's one of the few I won't lend out as I'm afraid to lose it.  Who wouldn't want to be "Rebecca Ryan"?  This role for Tom Conti is in a tie for his role in Shirley Valentine.  Anyone remember that movie?  "I want to make f*ck with you" - makes me laugh every time. 

 

Ranking up there in my top movies to re-watch and little known, is a Canadian gem - at least to me starring Paul Gross and Wendy Crewson - Getting Married in Buffalo Jump.    Two favourite lines - "between you and I, he makes the back of my knees sweat" and "you dirty, dirty dog".  The first one happens when Sophie and Annie get together for a "couple" of drinks in a local watering hole.  The second one happens in the last few minutes of the movie with Sophie and Alex.  Sadly I have been unable to get the DVD of this movie without it costing an arm and leg :(

 

The Big Chill - corny but I love the soundtrack and watched the movie in the theatre too many times to count. 

 

Haven't seen it in many years but I really like Heaven Can Wait.  Can't say I've watched Warren Beatty in many movies, but I do like him in this one.

 

Someone mentioned Eddie and the Cruisers and Sooner or Later - have seen both of those.  Had the biggest crush on Rex Smith in my teen years.

[Bruinsfan]

 This role for Tom Conti is in a tie for his role in Shirley Valentine.  Anyone remember that movie?  "I want to make f*ck with you" - makes me laugh every time. 

"It is, have you never heard of it? It's called the "F" plan!"

 

The one thing about Shirley Valentine is, it's a movie you have to think carefully about before giving it as a gift to a friend or relative unless they're single.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Bruinsfan

[nicepebbles]

Laurie4H, that sounds familiar. I remember my mom taped it on either a Beta or VH1 tape. Somehow I watched even though I'm pretty sure I shouldn't have been at that age.

[Rick Kitchen]

Truly Madly Deeply, starring Juliet Stephenson and Alan Rickman.  Not exactly your idea of a true romantic couple, especially since

Rickman's character dies early on but sticks around to comment on her love life.

.  But it's sweet and it's funny and Rickman is magnificent.

[xls]

Does anyone remember If You Could See What I Hear?  It's "a light comedy/love story based on the life of blind musician Tom Sullivan." 

 

There are a handful of scenes that I remember, but my favorite is when he went out with friends one night, all of whom ended up drunk.  They decide to let Tom drive and they were guiding him with instructions:  "Left!  Now right!  Too far!" etc.  When the cops pulled them over, he was talking to one of the drunk friends and says "You mean he's blind?!  Then why in the hell is he driving?!"  The friend responds "Because he's the only one who's sober!".

I remember that scene!

[BooBear]

Candyman is a classic, love that film.  When it seems appropriate to a situation (or not), the hub or I will say "It was always you, Helen."   I hope it shows on a channel near me with Halloween approaching.

 

Yes I just saw it again recently. I think it had some really strong elements. First the score is kind of amazing. Gothic.  Then it has a black terror villian who actually happens to be a hella sexy too.  Then the entire Cabrini Green housing development as a horror element. I love the idea of poverty as a horror element -- there is a real social commentary underlying this story.  I was reading an article by this guy talking about how long before the movie he had written about a Ruthie who had been murdered via her bathroom mirror in Cabrini (though to our knowledge not by Candyman <g>) and wondering if the movie used his article as the basis for the movie. (apparently the original story was set in England not Chicago)

[blixie]

 

there is a real social commentary underlying this story.

Yeah, I have always loved Candyman for precisely that reason, race/gender/class it's all there in ways very few movies were willing to address. I do find it legitimately haunting as well, and there is a real emotional bond between Helen/Candyman. Sidebar I once had a very Tony Todd-esque dude emerge from the shadows in Chelsea (NYC) and offer me drugs, from "The Candyman". I was like boo, the last person in the world I'm gonna get my street drugs from is some guy calling himself THAT. 

 

 

Truly Madly Deeply, starring Juliet Stephenson and Alan Rickman.  Not exactly your idea of a true romantic couple, especially since

 

That is a wonderful movie, as is Kiss Me Goodbye an early 80's movie with a similar plot, which itself was a remake of a Brazilian film. KMG is more mainstream comedy than Truly Madly Deeply, but it is really really funny, there is a great sequence with Jeff Bridges that made fall in the aisle laughing.

[proserpina65]

Truly Madly Deeply, starring Juliet Stephenson and Alan Rickman.  Not exactly your idea of a true romantic couple, especially since

Rickman's character dies early on but sticks around to comment on her love life.

.  But it's sweet and it's funny and Rickman is magnificent.

I love this movie!  A friend and I drove both to Philadelphia and to Baltimore to see it in small art theaters because it didn't play any of the googleplexes near us.  Some critics at the time referred to it as the thinking woman's Ghost, but that doesn't even begin to do justice to how good it is.  Juliet Stevenson's crying in the beginning is a work of art all by itself, and AR is indeed magnificent.

Edited December 2, 2014 by proserpina65

[DkNNy79]

Sayonara - Marlon Brando, Red Buttons

 

Shag the Movie - I haven't been able to find this on DVD anywhere.  You can buy it from individuals, but its really expensive and they say the DVD is not as good as the VHS tape.  I had the VHS, but I threw it out. :(

 

Better Off Dead - John Cusack.  Such a cheesy 80s flick, but I enjoy it.

[Princess Sparkle]

I don't know that this film is "forgotten" so much as "probably no one else saw it but me and the friends I dragged with me", but I have a real affection for the movie Lords of Dogtown.  Is it the greatest movie?  No, but I really enjoy it, and Heath Ledger does a phenomenal job in the movie.

[xls]

Since I'm such a sucker for old monster movies; anyone remember Gorgo? The British take-off of Godzilla? I fondly remember it.

[Snowprince]

Fellow old monster movie sucker here (see avatar), especially the bad cheesy 50s and 60s ones. Gorgo is still one of my "rainy saturday afternoon" standbys. (Mom's on the way, and she's PISSED!)

 

Speaking of old monster movies, remember The Giant Behemoth? It was Britain's answer to The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.....BAAAAAAAAAD movie. I loved it.

Edited December 4, 2014 by Snowprince

[xls]

Yep. Godzilla and I go waaaaay back! 

[Mulva]

Truly Madly Deeply, starring Juliet Stephenson and Alan Rickman.  Not exactly your idea of a true romantic couple, especially since

Rickman's character dies early on but sticks around to comment on her love life.

.  But it's sweet and it's funny and Rickman is magnificent.

I cracked up when Rickman's ghost friends showed up at her place to watch movies and rearranged all her furniture every day.

[Sharpie66]

One of my favorite "forgotten" films (I don't know if it was ever "remembered"!) is Dogfight, starring River Phoenix and Lili Taylor. River plays a young man being shipped to Vietnam, and he and his buddies go out boozing the night before they leave. They end up having a "dogfight," where each one is supposed to pick up an ugly girl and bring her to a bar, where they judge who brought the ugliest one. River meets Lili Taylor, a waitress, who dresses him down when she realizes what's going on. By that time, though, he has grown to like her, and he hangs out with her the rest of the night.

 

Both of them are just fantastic, and the entire movie is terrific.

[Amello]

There is one film that I used to own as a kid (on VHS) that I rewatched more than any other. Unforunately, more than a decade ago it got lost or eaten or thrown away and the worst part is I can't even remotely remember the name of it.

 

All I remember is that it was an educational children's movie. There was no plot, just a very nice older lady playing a teacher in her classroom. I think she mostly taught the viewer about letters and words and I remember it being quite colourful throughout. The identity of this movie has plagued me for years and if anyone has any idea what it could possibly be, I would owe you my first born. (Does that hold the same weight if I never plan on having children, anyway?)

Edited December 5, 2014 by Amello

[Cobalt Stargazer]

One of my favorite "forgotten" films (I don't know if it was ever "remembered"!) is Dogfight, starring River Phoenix and Lili Taylor. River plays a young man being shipped to Vietnam, and he and his buddies go out boozing the night before they leave. They end up having a "dogfight," where each one is supposed to pick up an ugly girl and bring her to a bar, where they judge who brought the ugliest one. River meets Lili Taylor, a waitress, who dresses him down when she realizes what's going on. By that time, though, he has grown to like her, and he hangs out with her the rest of the night.

 

Both of them are just fantastic, and the entire movie is terrific.

 

I love Dogfight. River's character starts out as a callow kid, but it isn't just the war that changes him, it's meeting the woman Lili plays. When he returns from Vietnam and goes to see her, its clear that he isn't the same person, and when they hug, it always lifts my heart because it's the first sign that he can recover from his experiences and become whole again.

 

Also, trivia: Rose's mother was played by folk musician Holly Near.

[Sharpie66]

I think someone upthread mentioned Searching for Bobby Fischer, which is a great movie, but the better one that I always pair up with it in my head, mostly because they both feature chess and because I saw both on the same night, is Fresh, which is a completely gutwrenching movie. It's about a preteen boy nicknamed Fresh (played by Sean Nelson in a fantastic performance) who is getting by by being a lookout for the local drug dealer. He's a super-smart kid whose father (played by Samuel L. Jackson) is teaching him chess whenever they get to see each other. Fresh's sister is being sucked into a very unhealthy relationship with the drug dealer (played by Giancarlo Esposito), and the boy ends up plotting out a plan to rescue her using his chess strategies. The final image of the film is a close-up of Fresh's face that just breaks your heart.

[romantic idiot]

Noises Off starring Michael Caine, Carol Burnett, Christopher Reeve and John Ritter. Hands doen dtill the funniest movie I have ever seen.

Edited December 8, 2014 by romantic idiot

[Rick Kitchen]

Noises Off is one of the funniest plays I have ever seen.  And the timing has to be exact.

[Ankai]

I think someone upthread mentioned Searching for Bobby Fischer, which is a great movie, but the better one that I always pair up with it in my head, mostly because they both feature chess and because I saw both on the same night, is Fresh, which is a completely gutwrenching movie. It's about a preteen boy nicknamed Fresh (played by Sean Nelson in a fantastic performance) who is getting by by being a lookout for the local drug dealer. He's a super-smart kid whose father (played by Samuel L. Jackson) is teaching him chess whenever they get to see each other. Fresh's sister is being sucked into a very unhealthy relationship with the drug dealer (played by Giancarlo Esposito), and the boy ends up plotting out a plan to rescue her using his chess strategies. The final image of the film is a close-up of Fresh's face that just breaks your heart.

I love that movie. It was the first time that I really took notice of Giancarlo Esposito. And, of course, I would notice him in things afterwards, even rewatching movies that I had seen before this one.

[Betweenyouandme]

There's a short that was available on iTunes around 2009. It may have been called Purgatory. Anyway, it was a deeply disturbing short film about a man who winds up between Heaven and Hell. He wanders all around and sees various other people in their personal Hells (I think). I can only remember one scene where there is a ballet dancer who can't stop. The whole thing is very dark and extremely bleak even though the ballet part doesn't sound that bad. I think at the end, he has no place. He's completely alone and useless.

Can anyone help me with more information?

[blixie]

Fresh is outstanding, the last image is heartbreaking, but I appreciated that Fresh was allowed to be *triumphant*, to save his sister via pure strategy and intelligence. I absolutely adore Sean Nelson, between Fresh and his AMAZING appearance in Homicide: Life on the Streets and The Corner he should have had an A list career. I was so glad to see him a few years ago in the little seen, but elegiac and wonderful zombie/vamp film Stake Land and he was just as wonderful an actor as ever. 

 

Speaking of Michael Caine and Christopher Reeves, I loved the 80's suspense/comedy Deathtrap (which was also based on a play). It's very funny and full of twists.

[BooBear]

This one popped into my head today "the boy who could fly". It starts out really sad, this family is dealing with the suicide of their father (who had cancer) and the mother going back to work. The youngest daughter is very taken with a boy next door who has some sort of mental disability / perhaps autism. She keeps seeing hints this boy can fly and everyone thinks she is crazy. I won't say how it ends but it was oddly up lifting.

[midge]

I don't know that this film is "forgotten" so much as "probably no one else saw it but me and the friends I dragged with me", but I have a real affection for the movie Lords of Dogtown.  Is it the greatest movie?  No, but I really enjoy it, and Heath Ledger does a phenomenal job in the movie.

Watch the documentary Dogtown and Z-boys.   It's what the movie was based on and it's WAY better. 

[VCRTracking]

Yeah, I loved watching the old footage of the Zephyr skate team.

[Archery]

One if my favorites was a Goldie Hawn/Burt Reynolds film called "Best Friends.'" The two are indeed friends, but then they fall in love and break up. Goldie Hawn has this line she says to Burt Reynolds while they're breaking up and she's crying: "You know, the worst thing is that I want to run and tell my best friend, but you ARE my best friend and I'm losing you." Gah.

Ice Castles. I will watch this whenever it is on. I am in love with the gorgeous Melissa Manchester theme, Robby Benson's blue eyes, Jennifer Warren' s hair, the final flourish move of Lexie' s routine, and the line, "We forgot about the flowers." So good.

[cpcathy]

Oh my God, Ice Castles. Many movies shaped my childhood, and this was one of them. It is odd, though, that Lexie was like, sixteen and started going out with the much older sportscaster. Icky, in retrospect, but I never gave it a second thought back then.

[magicdog]

You Never Can Tell

 

'I'd heard of the film but never saw it.  Sounds like, "Oh Heavenly Dog" in reverse.  In that one, Chevy Chase plays a murdered P.I. who comes back to earth to sove his own murder.  He is reincarnated as a dog, played by Benji.

[Bastet]

I love Oh Heavenly Dog.  That came up in conversation last year, and my friend promptly ordered the DVD so we could watch it again for the first time in decades.  We enjoyed it every bit as much.

 

Another Chevy Chase film I love that I don't hear mentioned much is Funny Farm.  I'm a sucker for moving and housing misadventures (it must go back to watching Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House umpteen times as a kid), and things can't really get too outlandish for me on that front.   

[DeLurker]

Into the Night from 1985 with Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeiffer.

[Shannon L.]

 

Another Chevy Chase film I love that I don't hear mentioned much is Funny Farm.  I'm a sucker for moving and housing misadventures (it must go back to watching Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House umpteen times as a kid), and things can't really get too outlandish for me on that front.

I didn't care for Funny Farm, but the running gag that I never forget and thought was the funniest thing in the movie were his dogs.  The one that took off*and never came back, only to be seen occasionally throughout the movie, running in the background and the big lazy one he got after that one. If I recall correctly, that second dog was a bloodhound.  We are now bloodhound owners and, as puppies, they are a lot of work and big balls of energy, but when they crash, they crash hard. And, when they don't want to move, they don't move.   I've had to pick him up (at 85lbs!) to get him going, I have had to lift his butt to propel him into the car.  He makes us laugh on a regular basis and I always think of Funny Farm.

 

I think I mentioned Protocol early on in this thread.  I actually saw it on tv the other night!  I recorded it and it was the first time in about 30 years that I've seen it and I still love it. 

 

*The running dog, I believe, was an Irish Setter.  That one made me laugh because my uncle had one once and we were always finding it at my grandparent's house about a mile or so from his :) 

[jenh526]

I've always had a thing for Steve Martin. I loved his movies All of Me and LA Story. There are many good scenes in All of Me, but I particularly love the physical comedy of Steve Martin when he is learning to control his body with Lily Tomlin inhabiting half of it. The Prakha Lasa character is hilarious, and the end scene with Tomlin and Martin dancing is a joy to behold. LA Story is great too - there is one particularly lovely scene where the two main characters are walking through a beautiful garden and when the camera pans back to them they are two small children.

 

There's another movie I've seen many times called Fandango starring a young and handsome Kevin Costner. It's about a college graduation trip in West Texas. The wedding scene at the end is one of my favorite scenes in any movie, with Costner taking one final dance with the Suzy Amis character. And I love the real Texan at the Sonic saying "gimme two chili dawgs and a malt".

 

I love that several people have mentioned Sooner or Later. I was about fourteen when that aired on tv and it was a great fantasy at the time for me - oh, so you just put on some makeup to look a few years older and then catch a great looking older man. I found it on YouTube awhile back but haven't watched the whole thing. And Truly, Madly, Deeply - one of my favorites, although painful to watch.

 

To the person who mentioned Them! - my mom took my brothers and me to see that at the one movie theater in our tiny town. My brother was about three years old at the time and I remember him crawling under the seats to hide when the giant ants appeared on the screen.

 

I always wanted to see Foxes because I was too young to see it when it came out. I'll have to look for that one. I do remember The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane. Creepy but good.

 

Anyone remember After Hours? The Land that Time Forgot? (1975) American Werewolf in London? There was another one I saw called It Must Be Love Cause I Feel So Dumb, about this nerdy little kid with glasses who was in love with a cheerleader and then his dog got run over and I felt so bad for him. I think it was an after-school special.

[Bastet]

If All of Me is a forgotten film, I will weep.  Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin at the top of their game, with a terrific supporting cast.  Friends and I quote from it often.

[cpcathy]

Back in bowl! Back in bowl!