I should leave the list-blog to Alex, TVO's Saturday Night at the Movies researcher and blogger. Not only is he really good at putting lists together, but he's also really good a getting people to respond. But after hearing a young woman talking about a late, late, late SNAM movie that drew her in so much that she couldn't possibly go to bed until it was over got me thinking: What films would keep me watching until the wee hours of the next day?
After the first two feature films and The Interviews aired every Saturday night on TVO's Saturday Night at the Movies are two more films that will keep you going until the sun rises. These late night features don't get the same press and on air promotions that SNAM does, but they do meet TVO's criteria and standards of being solid, strong and unique films.
1/ The Machinist: (2004) Seems like I'm just jumping on the band-wagon with this one but The Machinist, by director Brad Anderson is really the kind of movie that can survive a late night screening. It can't be over-looked that the film is about someone suffering from insomnia, so it's likely that at least some of the viewers can relate given the time the film is one. (We started The Machinist at 3:00 a.m.). Then there is the remarkable performance by Christian Bale who, like all great actors seem to do at least once in their career, loss an unhealthy amount of weight to do the role. If you couldn't believe how buffed Bale was in American Psycho, you'll never believe how frail he is in The Machinist. The film is psychological horror film that sneaks up on you and creeps right under your skin. Add to all that - it's a mystery and you're not likely to be able to walk away from the film until you have all the answers.
2/ Boogie Nights: It's long (155 mins), but you're already up, so what does it matter? This is director Paul Thomas Anderson's multi-character, multi-layered, multi-themed story of 70s porn stars who act like movie-stars and work like a family. The film features enough incredible scenes that you can come in at any point in the film and still get into the story. Mark Wahlberg stars as an adult star climbing up the ladder of success and tumbling back down. Teamed with John C. Riley, Burt Reynolds, Heather Graham, Don Cheadle, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, Luis Guzman and Julianne Moore. The film runs through a gambit of the disturbing, the hilarious and the touching. Wahlberg has never been better, Reynolds shows why he was once a box-office star, Grahman displays her diversity and Hoffman steals most every scene he's in. This movie was made to watch after everyone else has gone to bed.
3/ Stranger Than Paradise (1985): Jim Jarmusch was just a young 'un when he directed and wrote this sleepy inter-cultural comedy about Willie, a young New Yorker (John Lurie) playing host to an unexpected and unwelcome guest - his sixteen year old Hungarian cousin, Eva. Lurie plays the droll hipster who conforms to family obligations and gives Eva a place to stay, but he's blatantly disagreeable at every turn. More hospitable is his sweet and genuine friend, Eddie who doesn't quite understand Willie's sudden negative temperament. The comedy is subtle, the mood is gentle and the film is in black and white. It's a perfect film to settle into before settling down.
4/ Repulsion (1965): Director Roman Polanski repeatedly provides great late night fare. His reputation is tarnished, his history is tragic and his films are timeless. I could very well put in Rosemary's Baby, The Fearless Vampire Killers, Knife in the Water, even Cul de Sac. Repulsion wins out based on it's black and white cinematography, it's creepy theme, that it stars Catherine Denaeuve and because it will eventually show up on TVO as a late night Saturday Night at the Movies feature. You might want to find someone to cuddle up with to watch this one.
5/ Brother From Another Planet: (1984): Around about the same time Jim Jarmusch was shaking up cinema with thoughtful, independent story-telling, another young auteur was making noise: John Sayles. Sayles did what nobody else was able to do at the time which was tell a tale of what it's like to be an outsider and yet find sanctuary and belonging in the counter-culture climate of New York City. Joe Morton plays a fugitive from another planet who lands in New York. He's a gentle soul who keeps encountering other gentle souls in the alleys, bars and flop houses of New York City. Part science fiction, part fantasy, part love story and part comedy. Not bad for the guy who penned the original Piranha (1978) and Alligator (1980) Brother From Another Planet makes for the perfect bed-time story.
6/ Q (1982) If you've ever seen Q (sometimes called Q: The Winged Serpent) you already know why it's on this list. Not many people I know have heard let alone seen this film from director Larry Cohen whose previous films It's Alive (1974) and It Lives Again (1978) would make anyone suspicious seeing Cohen's name on a top ten list. But Q is a darn superb mixture of 70s crime drama and Japanese science fiction. The film is about a Weasley neurotic small-time crook played with insane energy by Michael Moriarty. He discovers a prehistoric bird nesting atop a New York skyscraper. Instead of becoming prey to the whims of gangsters and crooked cops, Moriarty lures his tormentors into the beaks and claws of his new pet. Much better than it sounds. And even if you like the way it sounds...it's still better than that.
7/ The Straight Story: (1999) Of course David Lynch is going to show up on someone's great late night movie list - but did you think it would be this gentle story of an old man driving his lawn tractor across the state to see his brother? Of course you didn't. This is the last film of great character actor Richard Farnsworth who, unbeknownst to anyone else, was dying of cancer. It's a fitting story to end his career and consequently his life. A gentle, touching movie from the Wizard of Weird. From the simple straight forward story-telling, to the various, surprisingly normal cast of characters aside from one woman distraught at not being able to drive down the road without hitting a deer. Watching The Straight Story is like being tucked into bed and having someone sing to you a soft lullaby.
8/ Starstruck: (1982) This Australian punk musical has a slow burning charm that takes a while to catch fire, but when it does you'll find it to be the ideal late night companion. From director Gillian Armstrong who would then go onto more serious fares like Little Women (1994) and Oscar and Lucinda (1997) but with this film she is playful, irreverent and a bit kooky. Think of it as The Rocky Horror Picture Show from down under.
9/ Where the Buffalo Roam (1980): Johnny Depp has played renegade writer Hunter S. Thompson twice. You either buy into his take on this infamous drug infused, anarchistic writer or you don't. I never did. But in 1980 Bill Murray took on the role of gonzo reporter Hunter S. and was equally ignored, if not even more so than Depp, for his efforts. Except by me. I've always found this version to capture, if not the essence of Thompson, than at least the spirit of insane disregard and recklessness. Murray is a slacker Thompson and Peter Boyle is his out-of-control lawyer, Lazlo (a character that scares me no matter who plays him) It's easy to assume that Where the Buffalo Roam just wasn't funny enough for audiences who came to see Bill Murray in another Meatballs (1979). Given it's psychedelic pace Where the Buffalo Roam is the perfect film to help wind down from a night of adventure.
10/ The Thing or The Thing From Another World (1951) Take either John Carpenter's version, or the original Howard Hawks' (sharing credit with Christian Nyby) version and you got a guaranteed sleepless night, not because the film will terrify but because it will have you completely involved. Nothing says "stay with us" than a film where a group of survivors are picked off one by one. Who will survive, if anyone? Hawk's film has a film noir charisma to it while Carpenter's has highly inventive special effects and some remarkable feats of comic-book gore. Afterwards there's nothing left to do but put your head on your pillow and pray your dog doesn't sprout spider legs and scurry across your floor.
