Of All The Strange Movies I've Seen, "Wild At Heart" Is The Strangest...

[arwalden]

... of them all.

As many of you already know, I'm a little behind when it comes to keeping up with the latest movies... I mostly wait until they come out on DVD... or end up in the bargain bin. Or, in this case, I happened to catch it on the Sundance Channel (a mere 14 years after it was originally released.)

I imagine that if I HAD seen it in 1990, I might not have liked it as much as I do now. Weird, huh?

This movie has a little of everything. Sex. Violence. Rock n Roll. Murder. Robbery. Danger. More Sex. More Violence. Mystery. Intrigue. Even more sex. Fantasy. A bad witch, a good witch... and Love.

Have you seen it? --- I think I'll have to watch it again. I'm certain that I missed some of the more subtle points of the film... at times I was so visually caught up in the artistry of the scenes that I stopped paying attention to the story line.

-- Allen

[melv]

1. Jacob's Ladder

hands down

[arwalden]

5. Well... Okay... Jacob's Ladder is right up there too...

... it's in my collection, but I had forgotten about it. It's strange, but in a different way from Wild At Heart.

DEFINITELY strange and creepy. (I get gooseflesh just thinking about some of the scenes.)

Good call.

-- Allen

[Carni]

10. That was one freaky movie

It still scares me.

I watched it when it was released and watched it again recently and it's still damned creepy!

[sundog]

35. I did a paper on that movie for a college film class...

--

[Fovea]

2. You might like

raindeer games as well.

[lazarus]

3. You want weird?

Eraserhead is coming out on DVD soon.

[Fenris]

4. Wait, you have seen "Blue Velvet" right?

[arwalden]

6. No. Ought I?

[democracyindanger]

12. For Lynch, Wild at Heart is mainstream

Blue Velvet is 10 times as messed up as Wild at Heart, and Eraserhead is 100 times as bizarre as Blue Velvet.

[arwalden]

15. I Just Looked It Up On IMDB.com... Another Great Cast

and the plot sounds like something I might enjoy too.

Damn that Sundance Channel... introducing me to directors and movies that have escaped my attention and making me spend more hard earned money on more DVD's that I "can't live without".

-- Allen

[Carni]

13. I concur Blue Velvet was another bizarre one

I cannot recall what it was about as I sit here typing...but I recall thinking it was very weird.

[Fenris]

17. You ought. It's probably his most messed up film.

Which also makes it his greatest.

[arwalden]

21. You've Convinced Me...

I don't even know why I bother to rent movies anymore. Usually when someone recommends a movie to me, it's as good (or better) than the recommendation ... so I end up buying it anyway.

-- Allen

[lazarus]

24. go Netflix

best $20/month I've ever spent. Unlimited rentals, and lots of good reviews.

Also, for film reviews, I highly recommned www.filmfreakcentral.net. Great reviewers, especially Walter Chaw. I agree with him about 95% of the time.

Oh, while watching Blue Velvet, keep in mind that Lynch originally wanted Molly Ringwald to play the Laura Dern role. Dern was apparently directed to act like Molly, to the point that she even does this thing where she bites the side of her lower lip. It's kinda cool if you're a Molly fan, which I am. :D

[arwalden]

28. Interesting! I'll Keep That In Mind While I'm Watching It...

I am a Molly Ringwald fan too.

Thanks for the recommendation of Netflix and for the URL too. That's a new one for me and I'll look forward to checking it out.

-- Allen

[burythehatchet]

9. that film was bizarre

gave me the creeps

[burythehatchet]

7. Very interesting film

It always brings back two vivid memories. A torrid affair, and the perfect song for same, Chris Isaac's Wicked Game.

[TroubleMan]

8. Fantasy Mission Force is the weirdest movie ever...trust me

nt

[Mojambo]

25. I suggest you give this film a viewing

Conspirators of Pleasure.
http://www.illumin.co.uk/svank/films/pleasure/pleasure.html

Weirdest movie I've ever seen.

[arwalden]

31. Wow... That Review/Description Reminded Me Of "Mondo Cane"

... another STRANGE movie that I haven't thought about in 20 years.

-- Allen

[TroubleMan]

32. That's sounds real weird, too - but let me "explain" Fantasy Mission Force

It's the ultimate WTF!?! movie


well...you can't explain it...here are some reviews of it:

http://www.opuszine.com/movies/review.html?reviewID=199

http://www.badmovieplanet.com/unknownmovies/reviews/rev157.html

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079509/usercomments

Here are some excerpts from the last one:

Summary: There's a fine line between Genius and Madness

There's really no middle ground when it comes to this movie. People either 'get it' and they love it or they don't and they hate it. Personally I think it's one of the greatest films ever made but it takes an open mind to appreciate Fantasy Mission Force. Not everyone is cut out for the experience.

Remember that from the beginning to the end the movie will never once make sense. Don't worry about not following the plot and don't look down on the film for 'errors' like having WWII Japanese troops in Luxembourg. It's called *Fantasy* Mission Force for a reason. Really, the only one that looks foolish is the fool that isn't in on the joke.

Don't be shocked when scenes are cut off abruptly by the arrival of a new scene. I don't know if the smash cut editing is intentional or if the foriegn distributors cut up the film when it was released on video but it adds to the cinematic insanity. The movie literally moves faster than the speed of thought and you will never know what comes next. Don't panic, just let it happen and be amazed by whatever it is the film is throwing in your face.

If you're brave, clever and capable of handling the overload you'll find the film is loaded with references to other movies. This is intentional. Producer/Director Jimmy Wang Yu was a notorious lover of Cinema and he 'borrows' all kinds of themes and elements of other films. Much like 'Star Wars' Fantasy Mission Force is a celebration of the motion picture medium. You'll find the film opens with a war movie theme, then jumps to a song-and-dance number (more on that later) and after many misadventures (it's also a road trip movie) climaxes with a cheerfully nihilistic gunfight a la Peckinpah's 'The Wild Bunch' (with a sad 'Camptown Races' soundtrack to boot) then a Kung Fu scene. Then the film stops. It never really ends.

Words haven't been invented yet that can accurately describe the opening song and dance number. It is quite possibly the greatest scene ever made for a motion picture. It's like a wierd dream you understand through subconscious instinct yet you can never quite explain it to your friends. And what makes Jimmy Wang Yu a great Director is that he makes it all look so easy.

Call Fantasy Mission Force whatever you want: inane, pointless, silly, incomprehensible, ridiculous, trite or even cheesy. But you can't call it boring and you can't call it stupid. It takes some bright people to make a film so unbelievably weird.


----------

Summary: Oh. My. God.

What the hell? This movie has everything! Hopping undead corpses. Crazed Amazons. Ghosts who cheat at cards. Japanese Nazis who attack riding atop 1970s clunker cars. Stupid musical numbers. Abraham Lincoln as a World War II general. Throw in loads of gratuitous violence, Chinese guys dressed in kilts and Elvis jumpsuits, and, er, Jacky Chan (and his chicken) and you have quite possibly the stupidest movie ever made. You won't know what to make of it either, but if you have the proper amount of beer on hand, and a few fellow appreciators of c**p, it won't matter in the slightest.

____

Summary: Best/Worst Movie I've Ever Seen!

I bought this yesterday and have watched it three times already. The editing is truly laughable. The dialog is bad too, but it seems that the film makers knew it and were just having a lot of fun. It is supposed to be WWII, and there are '70s muscle cars in it? Sick and wrong you say? Naah! They just wanted to play! Somebody gave the producers a bunch of money and explosives and they just took off with it and had a great old time! First they played at doing westerns, then did a Benny Hill skit, a bit of Sheena of the jungle, cut abruptly into a goofy horror movie, then ended with Mad Max. All during WWII? Hahahaha! I laugh, haha. Don't you naysayers get the joke? I mean really, Chinese guys playing Scotsmen with kilts? Asians in German Nazi SS uniforms? British general Robert Foster is Hispanic? They could have gotten caucasians for those parts if they'd wanted to. They chose not to on purpose, and that's excellent. It's what I like most about this movie; logical boundries aren't important. Time, place, and culture just get alllll messed up. If this movie had tried to be a serious action flick, then yes, it would be a failure. I think that when they made this film they achieved most everything that they had set out to do. It's successful, and not a flop. It's just very great in a very bad way.

[Rowdyboy]

11. If you haven't seen "King of Hearts" try to locate it in the classics

section. Its very quirky but quite strange and memorable. Its Genevieve Bujold's screen debut.

[arwalden]

30. Thanks... I'll Look For It

Only... I hate subtitles! LOL. --- How lame is that? But I'm sure I'll manage.

-- Allen

[Connie_Corleone]

14. Mulholland Drive

Another David Lynch movie.

The homeless person and the old couple in the movie were the strangest things I've seen.

Basically, all of David Lynch's movies are strange.

[MikeG]

16. Welcome to the world of David Lynch - more weirdness awaits you.

Blue Velvet - his best
Twin Peaks - TV series
Wild at Heart - which you just saw.
Lost Highway - you understand why Robert Blake did it.

the link lists his movies.
http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0000186/

[arwalden]

20. I Was Hooked On Twin Peaks For About 15 Episodes...

but then lost interest (or found a new boyfriend)... so I never saw it through to the final episode.

Wild At Heart is the first David Lynch movie I've ever seen... and I want MORE.

Hmmm. What does that reveal about me? What does that reveal about ANYONE who likes David Lynch movies?

-- Allen

[Connie_Corleone]

22. I couldn't stand his movies for a long time.

When I got to the end of the movie, I would be like, "WTF??"

Now, I just watch them and not even try to figure out what the hell is going on. I just enjoy what's on the TV screen.

[MikeG]

23. A word of caution - Dune sucked.

[arwalden]

27. Whoops! -- I Lied. (Accidentally.)

I just checked the IMDB listing and indeed I *have* seen 1 and one-tenths other David Lynch movies.

The Elephant Man... it was okay... it had the desired effect, but nothing I feel compelled to own and watch again.

Dune... I watched for about 20 minutes, then decided "THIS-SUCKS!" and I walked out. Yuk! Maybe some like it, but it wasn't for me. (Even the Sci-Fi channel's remake didn't hold my attention.)

-- Allen

P.S. I'm still hoping that "Kiss Of The Spider Woman" is released on DVD. The VHS is out of print... and I can't even find it on cable ANYWHERE to record and copy off onto DVD. (Maybe I'll buy a used copy on Ebay.)

[lazarus]

39. Kiss of the SpiderWoman rocked

Raul Julia was one of the hottest guys ever, eh?

[lazarus]

26. I'd kill to watch Twin Peaks

yeah, it's avaliable on DVD, as is the film Firewalk With Me.

But the DVDs don't include the 2 hour pilot! How lame is that?

[arwalden]

29. Very.

Lame, I mean.

[RoadRunner]

18. So, you haven't seen "Pi" then?

'Cause I mean, damn. "Pi" looked like it was shot with a convenience store surveillance camera, and the plot was totally wierd too, and the ending was totally warped.

Btw, the comments about "Blue Velvet" above are very accurate. That movie ruined me.

[Connie_Corleone]

19. Yeah, Pi.

That was a very strange movie too.

[kodi]

33. Liquid Sky.

that was one fucked up movie there.

[sundog]

34. That's a pretty trippy movie, but it's actually the most coherent ...

of Lynch's movies...

[texas1928]

36. I only made through the first 30 minutes of Punch Drunk Love

I am still trying to figure out what the hell I had just watched.

[sundog]

37. I hated that movie...

I thought I was the only one... it just didn't work for me...

[texas1928]

38. It was wierd and stupid

I am still trying to figure out what I was watching. I watched about two weeks ago. Adam Sandler missed on this one.

[Ivan Sputnik]

40. Believe it or not

'Wild at Heart' is one of Lynch's most conventional movies (along with 'The Elephant Man' and 'The Straight Story'). If you really want weird, try 'Eraserhead,' 'Blue Velvet' and 'Mulholland Drive.' Each one is an amazing experience (or at least they were for me) and one that is not soon forgotten.