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Can anyone recommend me some good and intelligent thriller films that aren't filled with pointless action or stupidity (i.e. Bond, Bourne, Die Hard or any Bruce Willis film, etc.)? No horror or fantasy films please.
Some good & intelligent thrillers I like include:
* most anything from Hitchcock * Cache
* The Day of the Jackal
* Funny Games
* Infernal Affairs
* Leon the Professional
* Les Diaboliques
* The Lives of Others
* Memento
* No Country for Old Men
* The Prestige
* Se7en
* The Silence of the Lambs
* Tell No One
* Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
* Touch of Evil
* The Usual Suspects
* Zodiac
Can anyone list any other good thriller films which require intelligence (especially intelligent foreign thriller films)?
Thanks.
Last edited by Work Seeker; 12-13-2011 at 08:13 PM..
Not quite sure what you mean exactly by a thriller, but for some of the best most recent I've seen that I would consider thrillers, check out Carancho, El Secreto de sus Ojos (The Secret in Their Eyes), The Square, Red Road (which I thought was one of the best movies the year it came out), Winter's Bone (fantastic), Revanche, Animal Kingdom (haunting), A Prophet, and what could possibly be the slowest moving but most thought provoking "thriller" ever, Police, Adjective. Most other people in the theater really disliked that one, as the "climax" of the movie was men literally arguing over words out of a dictionary, but I really enjoyed it.
There's another French movie that came out around the same time as Tell No One about a suspected serial killer that I can't think of that was also pretty good. I'm having a hard time finding it right now but will post if I do.
Edited to add a couple I forgot: Gomorrah and the amazing City of God.
* most anything from Hitchcock * Cache
* The Day of the Jackal
* Funny Games
* Infernal Affairs
* Leon the Professional
* Les Diaboliques
* The Lives of Others
* Memento
* No Country for Old Men
* The Prestige
* Se7en
* The Silence of the Lambs
* Tell No One
* Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
* Touch of Evil
* The Usual Suspects
* Zodiac
.
Wow -- you've listed many of my favorites! Here's a few more --
Blood Simple - classic early Cohen brothers.
Fargo - More Cohen brothers -- fantastic!
Copycat - Surprisingly good. Great cast too -- Holly Hunter, Sigourney Weaver, and Harry Connick Jr.
Pan's Labyrinth - Mesmerizing
Inside - French - a bit disturbing.
Orphan - twisted.
American Psycho
Dressed to Kill - Brian DePalma, from way back.
Body Double - Also Brian DePalma. A rare *fun* thriller -- Melanie Griffith was in it, but don't let that put you off. One of the few films films she was any good in.
Diabolique - Very old french film, although I think it was remade in the early 1990s as well.
I'm not sure if all would consider it a "thriller" but I was "thrilled" by Vanilla Sky. I can't stand Tom Cruise, but loved this movie in spite of that. Even the original Spanish movie "Abre los Ojos" was good; though I enjoyed the hollywood version more. I love movies that make you think, and meditate on the nature of reality.
These first four probably fit your 'foreign' parameter: City of Lost Children (la Cite des Enfants Perdus) – in French with subtitles – creepy/dreamy/good
Un Chien Andalou (classic Bunuel short)
Dreams (Kurosawa)
Open Your Eyes (Vanilla Sky is a remake of this movie)
These are terrific also:
Brazil – if you like City of Lost Children or 1984 you should like this Identity – Reminiscent of Memento
Eraserhead - creepy Fight Club – IMO, if you liked Seven you’d like this – one of my all time fave movies
The Matrix The Machinist – with Christian Bale (also in Prestige & American Psycho listed on this thread)
Pulp Fiction - Tarentino
Reservoir Dogs – Tarentino - my favorite of his
Dog Day Afternoon – Al Pacino
The Departed – crime drama with intrigue
In Cold Blood – more of a crime drama than thriller
The Verdict – ok, it’s not a thriller – but it’s a really smart legal drama
Picnic at Hanging Rock Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
A Clockwork Orange
I highlighted four that I'd choose first for you based on your own list. And I'd heartily second Dressed to Kill for you. (and American Psycho & Pan's Labyrinth)
Interesting film - the plot isn't that new or different but the way the film is played out is really quite different
One of the coolest concepts for a movie ever.
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