Freaks

[Turtle]

I caught this on cable the other night, and I have seen it once before. This is a must see and/or a must see again if you haven't. If you haven't seen it, don't read all the Wicky article as it spoils the plot. Everyone welcome to vote the poll or post.

 

33 thumbs-up for this cult classic film!:ebomb: :) :eek:

 

Freaks is a Pre-Code 1932 horror film about sideshow performers, directed by Tod Browning.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freaks

[Pyrotex]

I saw it in 1971, at Mississippi State University, shortly after I entered graduate school. Extremely bizarre. Gaave me goose bumps for weeks.

[Turtle]

I saw it in 1971, at Mississippi State University, shortly after I entered graduate school. Extremely bizarre. Gaave me goose bumps for weeks.

 

I'm still bumply! I had captive dinner guests and they did their best to be polite and pretend to listen to my synopsis. B) B) One particular scene I enjoyed, while not particularly chilling, was when the 'worm man' lit and smoked that cigarette while listening to the legless man. B)

Another appeal in Freaks for me was the wagons and other mundane props. The interiors were all carved and ornate and I ogled the woodwork as much as the freaks who lived with it. B)

[Jay-qu]

our local video store sold it just recently... :confused:

[C1ay]

It's available online from Google Video at Freaks http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6355110065089064433&q=public+domain

[Buffy]

As a former Film Minor, I've seen all these wierdos. If you liked this you'll like Eraserhead, which is one of my favorites of all time and not a pure "shock value" like Freaks. Or try un chien andalou which is actual art, although in its day (a few years before Freaks) was similarly shocking.

 

Montage,

Buffy

[Mercedes Benzene]

I do not believe I have seen anything older than Arsenic and Old Lace which, if I may add, is one of my personal favorites. :eek: From what wiki has to say however, Freaks may not be such a bad movie. :)

[Buffy]

I do not believe I have seen anything older than Arsenic and Old Lace

Oh my! You've missed so much!

 

If you won't go past the mid-40's, you need to at least see Maya Deren's Meshes in the Afternoon, one of the strangest short films ever made.

 

Too many people think of silent film as purely Charlie Chaplin/Frank Lloyd comedies, but there's great art back there like DW Griffith's Intolerance (which I think is way better than Birth of a Nation although that's good too), Eisenstein's October and Battleship Potemkin, and Pudovkin's Mother. All these films *defined* film technique for the next 70 years, and they're really good to boot.

 

For odd scifi of course (and I know all you guys are into it), you also have to see Metropolis, Things to Come, and--getting a little closer to Freaks--The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and the original Nosferatu.

 

Just filled up your list of things to see....

 

Old is classic,

Buffy

[Mercedes Benzene]

Actually I lied. I saw Frankenstein from 1931.

It was okay, although I'm just soo spoiled that I expect great special effects in everything that I see. :eek:

[C1ay]

Too many people think of silent film as purely Charlie Chaplin/Frank Lloyd comedies, but there's great art back there...

My first silent was the 1925 version of the Pahntom Of The Opera.....

[Turtle]

Oh my! You've missed so much!

Ack! :) I know, I know. ;)

 

 

 

For odd scifi of course (and I know all you guys are into it), you also have to see Metropolis, ...

Just filled up your list of things to see....

 

Old is classic,

Buffy

 

I keep looking for Metropolis to show up on cable as I have seen clips and many references to it.

 

I like how this thread is expanding to include a larger selection of 'Freak' movies; thanks Buff. :naughty:

 

One needn't go far back in time either for 'cult' classics, and I heartily suggest the 2004 film Turtles Can Fly

 

More Freaks of the film world:

If you can stand gore and sex, Andy Warhol's Flesh for Frankenstein from 1973 will dish you up full score. Similarly, Pink Flamingos by John Waters from 1972. Then top it all off with some Gummo

 

Am I freakin' you out yet‽ :eek:

[Jay-qu]

I watched about 25mins of it on that google video link Clay gave.. no horror in sight, I might get round to seeing the other 35 later, but really its a very odd movie.