Thread: Favorite "B" Movies

Originally Posted by TomCrac

Attack of the killer clowns...... Anyone?

That actually might be a C movie.

You mean Killer Klowns from Outer Space? Because if you're not, I have a new movie to see!

Originally Posted by dookey67

I find this to be sorely misguided.

Tarantino is definitely influenced by obscure B-movies from across the globe (blaxploitation, Japan, Europe, etc), but he's always been able to see the ingenious elements of certain B-movies and then expands, exploits, and basically turns those elements into an A-movie, via better scripts, better dialogue, better actors. Pulp Fiction may have been inspired by B-movies, but it was anything but (the production value, the script, the acting were all way above B-movie status). Furthermore, Tarantino's films have all been art-house films (i.e. indie films a la Soderbergh and Smith, etc). Art-house films are rarely/almost never B-movies.

Here's a pretty good historical breakdown of the term, which was coined back in the early days of Hollywood: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_movie

I would almost put Sam Raimi's Evil Dead movies up there with Tarantino's work in that they were a lot smarter, edgier, and well-crafted than most B-Movies, but they are defintely closer to the definition than anything Tarantino has done (with the exception of Death Proof, which is easily the most B-movie specific flick Tarantino has crafted in terms of really trying to mimic the genre to a tee).

Honestly, the undisputed KING of B-Movies is Roger Corman...
http://www.rogercorman.com/

Also many B-Movies transcend the moniker: Halloween is a classic B-Movie, which has gone on to not only be a cult classic, but a highly revered independent film amongst cinephiles. Ditto for Nightmare on Elm Street (the first one). Speaking on these latter two, John Carpenter spent his career making B-Movies, but as with Tarantino, he often elevated his films above/beyond the genre (again, Halloween, The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China), but they are still B-Movies at heart (I interviewed Carpenter once, and dude has a college degree, both his parents were college professors, but he grew up in the South and on a steady diet of drive-in movies, hence his love for the horror and western genres; he rigorously mixed the two in most of his films).

In terms of a more modern definition of a B-Movie, we could set a price tag on it, say 50 million or less (sure, a film like Battleship is probably more akin to a B-Movie, but the fact that they spent in excess of 200 million on it means that those making it did not consider it to be a B-Movie; B-Movies are often low-budget, featuring no-name (or lesser known) stars and usually done by a director you haven't heard of).

One can also argue that films like Mad Max are essentially B-Movies, but since it was "foreign" to American audiences it eventually transcended to an art-house film. Speaking of Oz films, this is a great documentary on the B-Movie/Exploitation era of Australian filmmaking: http://magnetreleasing.com/notquitehollywood/

It's worth watching as many of the films inspired Tarantino (he's actually in the film talking about how he "borrowed" from many of these unseen-outside-of-Australia classics).

That said, some of my favorite "B-Movies" include:

Hell Comes To Frogtown
Death Race 2000
Gone In 60 Seconds (the original, NOT the Cage remake)
Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry
Mr. Billion
Nightmare on Elm Street
The Arrival
Perfect Getaway

Your long winded explanation was like listening to a first time Bagpiper .... just awful and painful !

Originally Posted by Big Snowballs

Your long winded explanation was like listening to a first time Bagpiper .... just awful and painful !

From his history here the Dude knows what he speaks a person could learn something.

Originally Posted by Big Snowballs

Your long winded explanation was like listening to a first time Bagpiper .... just awful and painful !

Just like a baboon would find a Mozart piano concerto just awful and painful.

Originally Posted by OSECS

From his history here the Dude knows what he speaks a person could learn something.

No doubt he's clued in but that does't mean I have to agree with it or like it !

Originally Posted by PB

Just like a baboon would find a Mozart piano concerto just awful and painful.

Of course a Baboon but a Gorilla would love it !

...although it's hard to call of work of such true genius a B movie.

My favorite movie of all time: 'Eraserhead'. It was considered B when I saw it and I'm sticking with that.

Would 'Fast Times At Ridgemont High' count?

Surprised that nobody has mentioned Brain Dead (aka Dead Alive), Peter Jackson's epic low-budget splatter zombie flick.

Kentucky Fried Movie

Student Bodies

Thats what I was looking for System ... lol....

Dead Alive is another one that is so bad its good.

Don't know if "Breaking Away" is considered a B movie (i think of it that way, one of my fav's)
Also "Fandango" had lots of stars but I think of it as a B movie.
Big Wednesday too.

Super Fuzz (But it was an Italian 80's film so who knows)
Piranha
Leprechaun

Originally Posted by systemoverblow'd

Super Fuzz (But it was an Italian 80's film so who knows)

Fucking love that movie!!! Saw it when I was a kid.

Originally Posted by iscariot

Fucking love that movie!!! Saw it when I was a kid.

Just watched the whole thing on YouTube the other week. The death of Ernest Borgnine reminded me of it. It was on HBO so often when I was a kid!!

^Starring Terence Hill, lord god actor of many a B-Movie classic and second tier Spaghetti Western:

Mr. Billion



My Name Is Trinity (AKA They Call Me Trinity)



and a host of others.

Originally Posted by dookey67

^Starring Terence Hill, lord god actor of many a B-Movie classic and second tier Spaghetti Western:

Mr. Billion





My Name Is Trinity (AKA They Call Me Trinity)




and a host of others.

After Sergio aren't all spaghetti westerns B movies ???

The Valley of the Gwangi

Gumball Rally
The Limey
It's Alive
Mr Baseball
and as already mentioned, the greatest of all B flicks....
Hot Dog the Movie

^Gumball Rally! Love that film. True B-Movie and easily the best of the cross-country car race/chase sub-genre of films.

Sadly, however, I wouldn't consider The Limey a B-Movie. Steven Soderbergh was a full-blown art-house director and indie film darling (sex lies & videotape) who moved slowly into mainstream blockbusters (Ocean's Eleven). Soderbergh is very similar to Tarantino in that his early post-sl&v movies (The Underneath, The Limey) were highly influenced by low-budget noir and British gangster films, but again his keen eye, solid direction, excellent production values, and above all scripts and casting elevated any/all of them way above B-Move status (to wit, they mostly played in small art-houses in major cities and college towns, not drive-ins).

I'm also quite surprised that nobody has brought up such seminal B-Movies as:

Plan 9 From Outer Space
Two Thousand Maniacs

As for another personal favorite of mine:

Re-Animator

Fuckin' good call on Superfuzz. A buddy and I still quote that movie.

Can't believe that no one has mentioned Super Troopers.

Originally Posted by dookey67

I'm also quite surprised that nobody has brought up such seminal B-Movies as:

Plan 9 From Outer Space
Two Thousand Maniacs

As for another personal favorite of mine:

Re-Animator

Dude, you have a bad taste (pun intended)!

I had a shitload of b-flicks when I was younger... dozens of really obscure flicks on vhs..

What else..

Tetsuo
Barbarella
Suspiria
Ilsa Shewolf of SS
Texas chainsaw massacre
The Fly
Mad Max
Zardoz


Hmm...wheres the tapes..

Attack of the killer shrews.

Better off Dead?
Big Trouble in Little China?

Originally Posted by meatdrink9

Better off Dead?
Big Trouble in Little China?

Or Showdown in Little Tokyo. Dolf Lundgren and Tia Carrera. Good shit there.

Originally Posted by meatdrink9

Big Trouble in Little China?

Certainly not a B-movie.