Overlooked T.V. shows or movies you recommend?

[mack]

Had read about this HBO series but had never seen it until last year. They're all out now on DVD, seasons 1-5. It's called 'The Wire', a police drama set in Baltimore. I'm enjoying it a lot. Here's a summary of it from Wikipedia and a short Youtube clip from season one when the drug dealers get a chess lesson.

I'm only finishing up season 2 so am looking forward to some more good viewing ahead.
The Wire = :thumbsup: from me.

Do you have any recommendations of movies or television shows that are now available on DVD, ones that didn't play to big audiences but are worth a look? :cheers:


The Wire is an American television drama series set and produced in Baltimore, Maryland. Created, produced, and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon, the series was broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States. The Wire premiered on June 2, 2002 and ended on March 9, 2008, with 60 episodes airing over the course of its five seasons.

Each season of The Wire focuses on a different facet of the city of Baltimore. They are, in order: the drug trade, the port, the city bureaucracy, the school system, and the print news media. The large cast consists mainly of character actors who are little known for their other roles. Simon has said that despite its presentation as a crime drama, the show is "really about the American city, and about how we live together. It's about how institutions have an effect on individuals, and how…whether you're a cop, a longshoreman, a drug dealer, a politician, a judge [or] lawyer, you are ultimately compromised and must contend with whatever institution you've committed to."

Despite never seeing great commercial success or winning any major television awards, The Wire has frequently been cited by critics as one of the greatest television series of all time. The show is recognized for its realistic portrayal of urban life, artistic ambitions, and uncommonly deep exploration of sociological themes.

From season 1, Playing chess... 'The king stay the king.' D'Angelo (3 min. 38 sec. clip)

S1HUlTKvDUI

[Bilbobaggins]

that one has had really good write-ups here too Mack, personally I haven't managed to get into it, not even seen a single episode.
Same for 24 with Kiefer Sutherland, got first 5 series here on dvd but not seen any yet!

[mack]

Bilbo it took me a long time to get around to watching The Wire too. I took a former poster on this board's suggestion (nosehair) and am getting them free from the local library. I'm way into them now. You're working and so it's probably tough to fit lots of T.V. in, but just file it away and someday if you have the time check it out... I think you'll be hooked (if you like the realistic urban/ghetto/cops stuff). :cheers:

P.S. there's even some t & a in it! :sweat:

[tommiecoughlin]

mack....I really dug the limited episodes of "The Wire" I viewed....think I'll stop by the library and see if they have any copies of past episodes....thanks for the tip:cheers:....

I am about to view Val Kilmer in "The Salton Sea".......a rather violent movie about the Meth subculture in California....Re40xx_3unY....

an obscure movie...but IMHO.... one of Kilmer'z best works....includes an incredible performance by Vincent D'Onofrio as well.

[mack]

mack....I really dug the limited episodes of "The Wire" I viewed....think I'll stop by the library and see if they have any copies of past episodes....thanks for the tip:cheers:....

I am about to view Val Kilmer in "The Salton Sea".......a rather violent movie about the Meth subculture in California....


Thanks for the movie tip. Just went online and what do you know? The library has a copy! I'm second in line to get The Salton Sea...it sounds good tommie.

Suggestion: I don't know which episodes of The Wire you've seen or how long ago you watched them, but if it's been a while if I was you I'd start over from the beginning. Get season one and go from there, because the stories continue and the characters develop over time. It was kind of confusing at first but after several episodes the story line and characters made sense. :cheers:

Here's a movie many haven't seen that's worth a renting imo, 'One False Move'. Bill Paxson is a rural sheriff, Billy Bob Thornton plays a great bad guy, it's from 1992. Siskel and Ebert recommended it on one of their 'hidden gems' movie review shows way back. There's a very brutal early scene that will make you squirm but after that there's violence but nothing quite as graphic as the early scene.

One False Move = a big fookin' :thumbsup:

[tommiecoughlin]

mack.....Billy Bob wrote the screenplay to "One False Move" and credits the movie with "opening the Hollywood door" for him....agree wholeheartedly "One Flase Move" is an excellent film.

Obscure Nicolas Cage-Dennis Hopper movie...."Red Rock West"...edge of yer seat thriller with a liddle dark comedy thrown in:cheers:

[mack]

mack.....Billy Bob wrote the screenplay to "One False Move" and credits the movie with "opening the Hollywood door" for him....agree wholeheartedly "One Flase Move" is an excellent film.

Obscure Nicolas Cage-Dennis Hopper movie...."Red Rock West"...edge of yer seat thriller with a liddle dark comedy thrown in:cheers:


Didn't know that Billy Bob wrote 'One False Move' or that it played a big part in jump-starting his career tommie. :cheers:

Saw Red Rock West a long time ago and remember it was excellent but I should rent it again. That's the great part about aging... the mind goes so you can see movies two and three more times because you can't remember how they go. :angryold:

Here's several Cohn brothers films I liked. One was very popular when it came out (1996) but maybe some of the younger board members missed it, that's 'Fargo'. An earlier Cohn brothers film than 'Fargo' that gets the :thumbsup: would be 'Blood Simple.'

Fun Factz: The Cohn's were behind the recent 'No Country For Old Men'. The rifle-like contraption in that movie (designed to kill cattle at slaughterhouses) was loaned to the Cohns by none other than our own ... bouncer! :shock: _ :sweat: _ :thumbsup:

[tommiecoughlin]

Fun Factz: The Cohn's were behind the recent 'No Country For Old Men'. The rifle-like contraption in that movie (designed to kill cattle at slaughterhouses) was loaned to the Cohns by none other than our own ... bouncer! :shock: _ :sweat: _ :thumbsup:

LOL:cheers:

[Fork Handles]

I picked up O Brother Where Art Thou from a bargain bin a few weeks ago.

The title of the film comes from a 1940's (I think) flick called Sullivans Travels....sort of a Steinback-inspired view of the US at the time. Saw it on TV 35 years ago, one of the first times I realised that movies were about more than entertainment.

Speaking of weird, I bought on Amazon a set of the English series The Prisoner from the sixties (may have been Prisoner Number 6 in the States?)...some brilliant moments with some cheesy effects, but the final scenes were top-notch, what-ho.

[tom]

Probably not obscure but when I was back in the UK a couple of months back I treated myself to the complete series of Prime Suspect, Cracker and Harry's Game. Just finished watching the Prime Suspect series which was worth the cash just to watch Helen Mirren applying her craft over the 16 years or so that the series spawned.

tH1lb8U0mLk

[Fork Handles]

Got Harrys Game on video years ago.....somehow never got into Prime Suspect.

I'd rate McCallum as one of the great series...even the one that McCallum wasn't in.

That and Callan, of course.

[Slacker]

Deadwood. I never thought I'd see Ian McShane in anything worthwhile (remember Lovejoy ?), but this is great. Some ace swearing, gratuitous violence and nudity...oh, and the stories are good too.

[woodman2]

Got Harrys Game on video years ago.....somehow never got into Prime Suspect.

I'd rate McCallum as one of the great series...even the one that McCallum wasn't in.

That and Callan, of course.

The chase scenes in Harrys Game were filmed in Leeds. I was an extra in the riot scenes. They were filmed in a derelict area close by where I lived then called the Greenhoughs.

The Greenhoughs were due for demolition, the only thing left open was a pub called the Cardigan Arms (it is still open and one of the best pubs in Leeds). I played for the rugby team that was based there. They built a cordon round the streets to keep it private, but of course we nipped in for nosey.

We 1st noticed something was going on when they started painting murals and anti-British slogans on the gable ends just like you see in Belfast. Then they moved in a load of Saladins and Land Rovers and burnt out cars, they filmed them over about 3 weeks.

Our club and lots of others in the area were approached by the production company to supply some bodies over one Saturday and Sunday. We were all told to turn up in leather bomber jackets, jeans and docs. Seeing as how that was what we all wore anyway it was easy.

Stunt men and actors did all the technical stuff, they kept us well away from any petrol bombs, but we did get to rampage up and down and chuck a few rubber bricks at things. We did the same thing about 20 times. I recall I even got paid, a fiver or a tenner each day sticks in my mind. They fed us as well.

The thing is, in the 25 or so years since they knocked the Greenhoughs down and built a spanking new estate the place is now more like Baghdad than Belfast. They should have left it as it was.

[Fork Handles]

The thing is, in the 25 or so years since they knocked the Greenhoughs down and built a spanking new estate the place is now more like Baghdad than Belfast. They should have left it as it was.

I remember them....Brian and Jimmy wannit?:badminton:

[penetrator]

Dont know if you Aussies or Sepo's can get it but I'd deffo recommend The Long Firm. Mark Strong is a great actor imo and would of made a better choice for 007 than his colleague from Our Friends in the North Daniel Craig.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/content/images/2006/10/27/harry_396x222.jpg
The dark underbelly of 1960s London is brought into sharp focus in Joe Penhall's adaptation of Jake Arnott's critically acclaimed novel, The Long Firm.

The four-part series tells the story of Harry Starks (Mark Strong), as seen through the eyes of four characters that come into his life - a Tory Lord, an actress, a low-life speed dealer and an academic.
"Starks is a charismatic nightclub owner, racketeer, porn king and avid Judy Garland fan who makes and loses his fortune in 1960s Soho," says producer Liza Marshall.

"He is no regular gangster - Starks is a complex man; intelligent, vulnerable, violent when he needs to be, but all the while yearning for something more than the rough and tumble of criminal life. Everyone that he encounters is changed forever by the experience."

Harry Starks is in the gutter but reaching for the stars.

Mark StrongAward-winning writer, Joe Penhall, is full of praise for Mark Strong's portrayal of Starks: "Pound for pound, I think Mark is one of the best actors in Britain at the moment, and this piece will bear that out.

"He has done a very complex, cinematic performance which is very endearing and intelligent, yet also immediate, inclusive and easy to grasp."

The other characters are Lord Teddy Thursby (Sir Derek Jacobi), a cash-strapped politician; fading movie star Ruby Ryder (Lena Headey); Starks' toyboy Tommy (Joe Absolom); Jimmy (Phil Daniels), a petty criminal and general lowlife who gets caught up in Harry's world; Lenny (Shaun Dingwall), a young lecturer and radical criminologist who becomes enthralled by Starks when he teaches him in prison; and bent copper Detective Sergeant Mooney (George Costigan).

The Long Firm was directed by Billie Eltringham (Kid In The Corner, This Is Not A Love Song) and written by accomplished playwright Penhall, winner of Evening Standard and Olivier Awards. The producer was Liza Marshall (The Sins, Eroica) and the executive producers were Hilary Salmon, Laura Mackie and David Bernath for BBC America.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/longfirm/