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Looking for some essential book and movie recommendations

V

Venfayth

Member
I've never been very interested in movies. I went to movies incidentally with family and friends when they were interested. Outside of incredibly popular series' like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings it's pretty safe to assume I haven't seen a movie. I read a little while growing up. I read books that were assigned in school and a very small assortment of stuff I came across, notably Dune and ASOIAF.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about how I'd like to try to get more into both forms of media. Primarily for enjoyment and a way to spend time, but also because there are a lot of conversations where I just don't have a knowledge of source material that it seems like most people do.

Movies in particular I'm at a loss of where to start. What films do most people recommend as being particularly important, great, or enjoyable? I'm open to pretty much any genre, as I don't really know what I do or don't like. Same goes for books. I'd say in general I know I like fantasy, but I'm super open to anything, including non-fiction. I'm sure I could just google for top lists of book and movie recommendations, and I'm sure I will at some point, but I'd also like to get some input here.
 
S

Surfinn

Member
I know it's popular, but have you tried Game of Thrones or the books (A Song of Ice and Fire)?

If you like fantasy and you can handle some gore/brutality, I'd definitely give it a go if you have not. It's one of my favorite stories of all time.
 
V

Venfayth

Member
I appreciate the recommendation and I can endorse it! You just happened to choose one of the very few series of books I have already read :)
 
U

Ultima_5

Member
Books: catcher in the rye, slaughter house 5, catch 22

Movies: idk. Start at the imbd top 250 and work your way down
 
S

Surfinn

Member
Venfayth said:
I appreciate the recommendation and I can endorse it! You just happened to choose one of the very few series of books I have already read :)
Click to expand...

Dangit.

I'm assuming you've already tried out Harry Potter? Another one of my favorite stories.

As far as other movies..

I mean just some random things that might be up your alley. If you're into sci fi at all: Children of Men, Arrival, the new Blade Runner (and the old one), Alien is a classic, Looper (if you're into SW you will probably like this)..

If I come up with more, I'll let you know. Just off the top of my head. Does any of that interest you?
 
E

EVOL 100%

Member
My first forays into 'serious' literature and film were David Copperfield by Charles Dickens and Blade Runner (Final Cut). So I'll recommend those

They're both pretty digestible and will probably open the floodgates for other good shit.
 
M

Messofanego

Banned
Waltz with Bashir [trailer]
Waltz_with_Bashir_Poster.jpg
 
O

Ottaro

Member
I'll echo Ultima with Slaughterhouse-Five. Absolutely an essential modern work and very accessible with great pacing.
 
E

Extollere

Sucks at poetry
Watch some classic Spielberg films, such as Raiders of the Lost Arc, Back to the Future, and Jurassic Park. There's a reason why some of those movies are still talked about and referenced to this day - because they're just great films, they also helped set the standard for Hollywood movies when they came out. If you haven't seen any of these then you are in for a real treat. I still watch Back to the Future to this day and I'm always amazed at what a great movie it is.
 
S

Surfinn

Member
Extollere said:
Watch some classic Spielberg films, such as Raiders of the Lost Arc, Back to the Future, and Jurassic Park. There's a reason why some of those movies are still talked about and referenced to this day - because they're just great films, they also helped set the standard for Hollywood movies when they came out. If you haven't seen any of these then you are in for a real treat. I still watch Back to the Future to this day and I'm always amazed at what a great movie it is.
Click to expand...

Nice recommendation. I dunno why I didn't go here
 
H

HotHamBoy

Member
Surfinn said:
I know it's popular, but have you tried Game of Thrones or the books (A Song of Ice and Fire)?

If you like fantasy and you can handle some gore/brutality, I'd definitely give it a go if you have not. It's one of my favorite stories of all time.
Click to expand...

God damn, dude has a wealth of classic literature ahead of him and you recommend ASOIAF?

OP, do not start with that tripe.

Go here for movies:

www.FilmStruck.com

Sub to the $11.99/mo option. 1000s of hours of fantastic film.


For books I can only recommend what I have read but these are favorites, in no particular order:


Stranger in a Strange Land
Rabbit, Run
The Road
The Vorrh
Dune series
Snow Crash
V.
A Fire Upon the Deep
The work of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Childhood's End
I Am Legend
The Haunting of Hill House
The Time Machine

Honestly, I've read so many good books in my life but I'm having a huge brainfart. I'm sure other posters will carry the torch.

Hey, how about some graphic novels?

The work of Daniel Clowes is amazing. Ghost World, Ice Haven, Wilson, etc.

Chris Ware is genius

Habibi by Craig Thompson is one of the greatest books I've ever read and one of the longest graphic novels, too.

Maus by Art Spiegalman

Saga is serialized and still going but that's great, too
 
S

sans_pants

avec_pénis
Ultima_5 said:
Books: catcher in the rye, slaughter house 5, catch 22

Movies: idk. Start at the imbd top 250 and work your way down
Click to expand...

do NOT do this

watch some spielberg, scorsese, kubrick,

if you like them check out your pt andersons and coen bros

watch network. dig into some french new wave, etc
 
F

Fugu

Member
sans_pants said:
the guy has all of the best literature ever written to read and you suggested a recent fantasy series that isn't even completed
Click to expand...
I'm echoing this. I'll try to hit you up with some recommendations and meta-recommendations, OP, but in the meantime the main thing I'd say is that don't get caught up in what's contemporaneous. There's a hell of a world out there.
 
S

Surfinn

Member
HotHamBoy said:
God damn, dude has a wealth of classic literature ahead of him and you recommend ASOIAF?

OP, do not start with that tripe.
Click to expand...

sans_pants said:
the guy has all of the best literature ever written to read and you suggested a recent fantasy series that isn't even completed
Click to expand...

Fugu said:
I'm echoing this. I'll try to hit you up with some recommendations and meta-recommendations, OP, but in the meantime the main thing I'd say is that don't get caught up in what's contemporaneous. There's a hell of a world out there.
Click to expand...

It's a good fantasy world to be a part of. I never said to read this and nothing else.

OP has already read the books and enjoyed them anyways (and endorsed them). Clearly it's not a waste of time or "tripe" to them.

You're all acting like the OP can either choose GoT or the rest of the world of entertainment. Like.. what

I've already provided other examples for the OP anyways.
 
B

Bamboo

Member
A good start might be those lists that recommend great films/books. I'm honestly not a fan of this type of lists, but they can be useful as a gateway to a medium. Just don't feel obliged to stick to it or work it through like it's a task for life. It also helps to look for editions of publishing houses, DVD labels or the like. "[number] films/books to see/read before you die"-type of lists

Speaking of film, Criterion offers exclusively interesting films with a bunch of additional material (like essays, interviews, etc) to check out if you want to. But it's just one of many, and they're sometimes pricey.
https://www.criterion.com/

Also: libraries! Sign up for your local library and ask them for help. Many libraries also offer a selection of films to check out.

sans_pants said:
do NOT do this
Click to expand...
Ya, I agree.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Damn, that's one tall order

Movies, I'd recommend:

- Seven Samurai
- The Man With No Name trilogy
- Night of the Living Dead
- Psycho
- 12 Angry Men
- Jaws
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Sorcerer
- Alien and Aliens
- Hard Boiled
- Indiana Jones series
- Blade Runner
- Come and See
- The Thing
- Brazil
- Die Hard
- The Godfather trilogy
- Goodfellas
- The Silence of The Lambs
- Terminator and Terminator 2
- Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Basterds
- Jurassic Park
- Seven
- Saving Private Ryan
- Schindler's List
- The Matrix
- Gladiator
- Memento
- 28 Days Later
- Downfall
- The Proposition (western)
- Batman Begins and The Dark Knight
- Pan's Labyrinth
- Children of Men
- No Country For Old Men
- There Will Be Blood
- Drive
- I Saw The Devil
- The Raid and The Raid 2
- Dredd
- Prisoners
- Whiplash
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- Edge of Tomorrow
- Sicario
- Nightcrawler
- John Wick 1 and 2
- Mad Max Fury Road
- Son of Saul
- Green Room
- Gomorrah
- Train To Busan
- Arrival
- Ex Machina
 
S

sans_pants

avec_pénis
Surfinn said:
It's a good fantasy world to be a part of. I never said to read this and nothing else.

OP has already read the books and enjoyed them anyways (and endorsed them). Clearly it's not a waste of time or "tripe" to them.

You're all acting like the OP can either choose GoT or the rest of the world of entertainment. Like.. what

I've already provided other examples for the OP anyways.
Click to expand...

only so much time in a day
 
V

Venfayth

Member
Hey guys, it's no big deal. I appreciate contemporary and casual recommendations just as much. You're right there's only so much time in a day but this is also something I plan on engaging with for a long time, so no worries :)

More_Badass said:
Damn, that's one tall order
Click to expand...

You are correct, and I am aware of it!

I just feel like I haven't paid enough attention to cultural media as I've grown up and I want to engage with it a bit more, so I appreciate the effort you and everyone have put in to these recommendations.

HotHamBoy said:
Go here for movies:

www.FilmStruck.com

Sub to the $11.99/mo option. 1000s of hours of fantastic film.


For books I can only recommend what I have read but these are favorites, in no particular order:
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for the site recommendation and your books as well. I imagine I'll get a lot of use out of this site.
 
S

Surfinn

Member
Venfayth said:
Hey guys, it's no big deal. I appreciate contemporary and casual recommendations just as much. You're right there's only so much time in a day but this is also something I plan on engaging with for a long time, so no worries :)



You are correct, and I am aware of it!

I just feel like I haven't paid enough attention to cultural media as I've grown up and I want to engage with it a bit more, so I appreciate the effort you and everyone have put in to these recommendations.
Click to expand...

Now you have a plethora of things to choose from! What are you gunna start with?
 
X

xyzzy

Neo Member
If you want to see the best and most significant films as chosen by some of the people who make them, there's a magazine called Sight and Sound that polls directors all over the world once a decade and they vote on their favorites. I think the resulting list is fairly good for this sort of thing and gives some good options that's not entirely focused on Hollywood stuff, if it's still a little Eurocentric. No list is perfect and this wouldn't be my exact list, but you won't find much better either.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/directors
 
B

Bamboo

Member
Can I party-poop just a little? In the whole thread, I found only a single woman director in these lists (Claire Denis - Beau Travail in the BFI list - fantastic film, and maybe Matrix). With the current discussion about misogyny in the entertainment industry I think you have to start thinking about how to approach film history, too. To get away from the "genius male director and their muses" cliché that adds oil to the fire. Plenty of Miramax recommendations in here too (of amazing films). There's plenty great stuff of women directors/producers in festivals and at the cinema that is well reviewed. Always has been. Some of these people made my most favorite films.

Like films by Germaine Dulac, Alice Guy, Maya Deren, Dorothy Arzner, Agnès Varda, Jane Campion, Kawase Naomi, Asli Özge, Sofia Coppola, Vera Chytilovà, Catherine Breillat, Coralie Trinh Thi, Virginie Despentes, Maren Ade, Ulrike Ottinger, Lizzie Borden, Cheryl Dunye, Miwa Nishikawa, Ann Hui, Gurinder Chadha, Farah Khan, Ula Stöckl, Kelly Reichardt, Sally Potter, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Patty Jenkins, Valeska Grisebach, Claire Denis, Chantal Akerman, Samira Makhmalbaf, Lucrecia Martel, Mira Nair, Marjane Satrapi, Niki Caro, Nora Ephron, Jennifer Kent, Kathryn Bigelow, Lynne Ramsay, Lina Wertmüller, Mary Ellen Bute, Lotte Reiniger.
 
D

Dr.Social

Banned
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