The Completest Cult Film List Ever

[Marky Lazer]

I've got a rather good list of cult films, but which movies do you think can't be left out from "The Completest Cult Film List Ever" ?

 

[j d worthington]

Yeesh! That's a tall order.... There are A LOT!!! of "cult" films.... Just reading an even moderately comprehensive list would take years!!! Do you have this in a form where someone could read it? PM me and let me know....

 

[Marky Lazer]

No, I'm just having one in my head. But I could just name the first ten jumping in mind, and let's continue from there...

* The Beastmaster
* Pulp Fiction
* Fight Club
* The Rocky Horror Picture Show
* Donnie Darko
* Night of the Living Dead
* The Hills Have Eyes
* Blade Runner
* Taxi Driver
* From Dusk Till Dawn

 

[j d worthington]

Ummm. Therein lies the difficulty, I think, Marky. While all of these films do indeed have a "cult" following, they're all well-known far beyond such a limited audience; I'm not sure they'd fall into the normal usage of the term "cult", because of that... and the fact that they all had a rather large budget (save for Night of the Living Dead, The Hills Have Eyes, and From Dusk Till Dawn ... and even the last of these, comparatively speaking, had a rather good budget) and had -- again, save for those three -- considerable advertising and promotion. And, with the exception of Beastmaster, they've all had quite a lot of critical acclaim, as well.

Hmmmm.... I'm not quite sure what to call these, but I think -- at least over here -- use of the term "cult film" would have considerably different connotations... think Atomic Submarine; Santos vs. [fill in the blank]; Scorpio Rising (Kenneth Anger); the films of Mario Bava, Lucio Fulci and (though he's always had a fair amount of acclaim) Dario Argento -- and, again, the critical acceptance of these, now that the original director's version is available, makes it problematic to call them "cult" films at times....

 

[Marky Lazer]

Hmm... you're quite right there, I guess. The term "cult film" isn't easily defined. Well, it was a bold experiment...

 

[j d worthington]

Don't mean to shoot down the idea, Marky, which is quite a good one... it's just best to define the term before setting about making such a list; make your definition known first, and then the reader(s) know what sort of films are being considered at the outset; it avoids them looking for something that doesn't stand a chance of being there....

 

[Marky Lazer]

What if I just let people name movies, and ridicule them for doing so if I don't like the movie they name?

 

[j d worthington]

LOL That might work.....

 

[Dave]

I also find it difficult to add without a definition of a 'cult film'. This wikipedia link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_film offers a definition and gives some suggestions - some of them quite unusual - 'It's a Wonderful life' in the USSR, Norman Wisdom films in Albania.

The 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' must have the ultimate fanatical fan following with the dressing up etc. But if that is the definition, then you would need to include 'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars' and personally, I don't see them as cult films.

These would be some of my suggestions:

The Italian Job
Get Carter
Withnail and I
Plan 9 From Outer Space
This is Spinal Tap
Blade Runner
Akira
Dawn of the Dead
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
Barbarella
Donnie Darko

My own view would be that for a film to be considered a 'Cult Movie' it needs to have one or more of the following:

a cult director - independent or low budget
a cult actor
a cult soundtrack - cult music genre or cult band
a distinctive or unusual location for filming
a science fiction, horror or criminal theme

 

[Nesacat]

Apocalypse Now
The Hunger
Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas
Naked Lunch
Angel Heart
Omen

 

[Thadlerian]

I really want to identify this one as a cult movie, but it's hard for me to say if it fulfills the criteriae: Kontroll.

 

[Joel007]

wow, good lists. I loved donnie darko, fight club, pulp fiction, and apocalypse now... and i can't think of anything that hasn't been listed already Although I'm sure there are many more out there.

Did anyone say Serenity?

 

[Silent Speaker]

Evil Dead, Clue...Young Frankenstein? P)

 

[Paige Turner]

I'm not seeing Eraserhead, Liquid Sky, or Repo Man on anybody's list. Don't they belong on somebody's list?

Edit: Pi and Taxi Driver

 

[YOSSARIAN]

True Romance
Kentucky Fried Movie
Cannibal: The Musical
Amazon Women on the Moon

 

[Memnoch]

LEON
Mean Streets
The Bad Leuitenant
All of Kubrick's virtually.

 

[Memnoch]

the Original Wicker Man
Straw Dogs
Clerks
Does Young Sherlock holmes qualify lol . . .

 

[Memnoch]

Lord of the Rings Cartoon, Jackson Borrowed from certain parts heavily,
talking of Cartoons "Watership down" ahhhhhhhh.
Anyone rem "Flight of Dragons?"
South Park the movie, "Uncle F**cker class!!

 

[Jason_Taverner]

Donnie Darko
Angel Heart
Clerks
Repo Man
Red Rock West
Night of the living dead/Dawn of the Dead
Evil Dead
La Heane (not sure if thats spelt right)
Hard Boiled
Big Laboski (bad spelling but I can't be bothered)

 

[jackokent]

man bites dog
Texas chainsaw masacre
Rumble fish
Withnail and I
Harold and Maud
Holy Grail
Life of Brian
The birds
Lost in space