I loved “Chicken Run” and never saw “The Great Escape”. In general, though, I can’t stand movies that were made before I was born (1970). I don’t know why—something in the dialogue; I know Black and White puts me right to sleep, and I can’t concentrate on Silent films enough to sync the dialogue cards with the film, so it’s probably me.

“Chickens go in….PIES come out” is comedy gold, though.

Zatoichi.  The Beat Takeshi version was very much a “re-interpretation” of all the themes and ideas in the original series.

Oh, and it would help to see a bunch of Tsui Hark supernatural ghost/martial arts movies (like the original Zu: Warriors of Magic Mountain) before seeing Big Trouble in Little China—makes you realize just how much fun Carpenter was having.

You should see at least a half-dozen randomly chosen blaxploitation films before seeing any of Tarantino’s movies. He’s weirdly incapable of making a movie without making me uncomfortable.

Continuing on the Kurasawa theme, I’d really suggest seeing quite a few of his samurai films before seeing the westerns that were based on them (eg, see “Seven Samurai” before “The Magnificent Seven”).

One could also make an argument for seeing “The Hidden Fortress” before seeing “Star Wars,” although the connection is a lot looser.

Most importantly, however, I’d suggest reading/seeing “Macbeth” before seeing “Throne of Blood,” which is an absolutely marvelous adaptation. Looking to what Kurasawa changed in the story adds a tremendous layer of depth (in both narrative and cultural terms) to both works, imo.

See “Dukes of Hazard” the TV show before the movie version.

See videos of Willem Dafoe’s work with The Wooster Group before Spiderman (just so you can trace the career of a dramatic genius).

See Spalding Gray’s monologues before SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA.

See the old PRICE IS RIGHT before the new PRICE IS RIGHT (the sameness is almost uncanny, except that Bob Barker was a bigger asshole)

And see BLAIR WITCH PROJECT before CLOVERFIELD, so says my husband.

The Angel episode “Bachelor Party” was a hilarious p*ss-take on Inu-Yasha‘s recurring “tragic prejudice against flesh-eating demons” motif; most Angel fans are apparently unfamiliar with it though, so the episode is often regarded as a dud.

Just thinking of recent examples form my film club:

“Rules of the Game” before “Gosford Park”.
“Ikiru” before “Joe Versus the Volcano”
“Beauty and the Beast” (Cocteau) before “Beauty and the Beast” (Disney)
“Aguirre: The Wrath of God” before “Apocalypse Now”

A few more:

“Persona” before “Mulholland Drive”
“The Horror of Dracula” Before “Sleepy Hollow” (Burton)
“The Outlaw Josey Wales” Before “Unforgiven”
“Metropolis” Before “Dark City”

Jackie Brown was based on Elmore Leonard’s Rum Punch. I didn’t read it, but the shooting of Fonda’s character might have been in the book. Hard to say, though.

For me, the explicitly feminist revenge fantasy elements to “Death Proof” (as well as the film’s dead-on deconstruction of modern sexual politics and tensions, slanting favor of women) is a fairly clear statement that the Tarantino of 2008 is not a misogynist.  Whether Tarantino was a misogynist when he made “Jackie Brown” is more of an open question in my mind.  On the one hand, Jackie is the most sympathetic character in the film, and the way that Tarantino shoots it is almost worshipful towards her (and Grier).  On the other, there’s the brutal, almost flippant murder of Fonda’s character, as has been noted.

Was watching ‘Airplane’ with my 5 year old. 

During the “from here to eternity” beach parody scene. my wife asked her what other movies had a similar scene.  Kid thought for a long while and then said “Shrek, where she throws the mermaid!”

She’ll grow up movie-smart, if Child Welfare doesn’t get her first.

Not seeing Anne Rice vampire movies/novels before seeing Buffy is like not experienced your hand getting smashed with a hammer before holding hands with the love of your life.

Not to mention that the two franchises have very little in common—I was anti-Buffy for a long time because my first exposure to vaguely gothy popular retelling of the vampire myth was Anne Rice. 

Has anyone mentioned reading Heart of Darkness before you see Apocalypse Now?  That movie actually kind of ruined Heart of Darkness for me (mainly because it’s one of my least favorite “important” movies of all time).

“The Searchers” before “Unforgiven”

A couple episodes of “The Avengers” before “Hot Fuzz.”  And if you manage to see a little of the British version of “The Office” and/or “I’m Alan Partridge” beforehand, it makes the opening scene even funnier.

Have you seen “Hot Fuzz”?  Loved it.  It’s like “Shaun of the Dead,” but for bad action movies.  “Point Break” is a touchstone for the movie’s characters, but I enjoyed the crap out of it even without having seen “Point Break.”

How about “You should watch every Oscar-nominated movie from the 40s, 50s, and 60s before watching any episode of “The Simpsons”?

You never know what great film is going to be referenced next. Bart doing “Rear Window” when he gets a broken leg at the beginning of summer vacation is just the first that comes to mind.

I’m not sure I buy the premise that one has to see “this film” before seeing “that film”—do you need to see Bergman’s Seventh Seal before seeing Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey? No; in fact, the former is far preferable to the latter. There are of course films which have become so influential they are nearly master narratives which permeate our culture.  Elements of the Great Escape and Stalag 17 were drawn from La Grande illusion, but, as I haven’t seen it mentioned, the lack of knowledge of Renior’s classic doesn’t seem to inhibit the enjoyment of those films. It’s a bit like saying that one cannot understand the television show House without having read the stories of Sherlock Holmes. 

Nonethless, films I see referenced frequently include, I am a fugitive from a chain gang, Battleship Potemkin, Seventh Seal, Un chien andalou, Key Largo, Rear Window, White Heat, Triumph of the Will, Last Judgment at Nuremberg, Jaws, pretty much any Chaplin or Keaton film. I’m sure there are a lot more, but my knowledge of contemporary film is pretty limited.

There’s a lot you need to understand about American popular culture before the SCARY MOVIE series makes any sense at all…

There’s actually quite a debate right now over which films are “essential” and which aren’t.  Salon had an interesting article about it a couple of years ago where film professors who’d grown up on the French New Wave were horrified that their students weren’t interested and were instead watching films from Asia.

The main reason I’m often in favor of seeing the inspiration/forerunner first is that often the original films lose their impact when you’ve been overexposed to films that use the same basic ideas.  I remember seeing Un Chien Andalou in a college class, following years of really intense slasher films, and I just didn’t get what the big deal was.  Whereas had I seen it at 14 or 15, before I was really exposed to intense gore and violence in film, it would have made a much bigger impact. 

Though sometimes it’s still possible to see the formative film later and get it—I remember coming across Soy Cuba a few years ago, long after I first saw Boogie Nights, which steals a lot of its camerawork.  Suddenly it all made so much sense…

Obviously, watch Star Wars (the original trilogy) before Spaceballs.

And if not watch, at least be familiar with the existance of HMS Pinafore before you see The Pirates of Penzance, because of that one line in “Modern Major-General.”

Personally, I recommend not watching the Dukes of Hazzard movie at all.  Having watched, loved, and purchased four seasons’ worth of DVDs of the TV show, I cannot get three minutes into the movie without shutting it off in disgust at how pathetic it is in comparison.

But then, I am someone who cannot bear to listen to live musical performances because the timing is sometimes slightly faster or slower than the CD versions I’m used to listening to and it just drives me up a wall—-to say nothing of the not-so-occasional improvisions on notes and carelessness of lyrics and so forth.  And the mess that they made of Dukes of Hazzard is about an order of magnitude higher on the scale of Just. Can’t. Stand.

I second the comments about Zatoichi. That’s an amazing series.

Read anything by Richard Matheson before seeing “A Stir of Echoes”, “The Legend of Hell House”, “Trilogy of Terror”, the “Twilight Zone” TV show, and the many versions of “I Am Legend”.

Watch the movie M*A*S*H before watching the TV show. Also listen to the lyrics to the theme. The name of the theme is “Suicide is Painless”. That says it all.

Watch any of the Asian horror/ghost stories and forget the American remakes. The American versions blow chunks.

Watch “La Jetee” before seeing Terry Gilliam’s “12 Monkeys”.

See any Bogart and/or Mitchum crime noir before seeing Sin City.  It doesn’t hold a candle to most of the former.

See the original Boris Karloff The Mummy before seeing any of the Brandon Fraser incarnations.

I’m sure there are tons more…

“Beauty and the Beast” (Cocteau) before “Beauty and the Beast” (Disney)

While working on the Disney version, some of us referred to it as “Cocteau with crockery—Crockteau,” or at least I did. I still have one of the shirts we printed up with a Cocteau sketch and one of his epigrams in his handwriting.

Seven Samurai before Magnificent Seven before A Bug’s Life, of course.

Karloff’s The Mummy is a very sexy gothic romance, quite a bit more sophisticated than I expected it to be, watching it as an adult. It’d be a hoot to see it screened at San Jose’s Rosicrucian Museum.

If you have any human feelings, you will be left understanding that war is so bad, it might not even make a worthy last resort.

It’s not so much any political angle, I just think it’s an incredibly poorly made film, in a technical sense.  I don’t think every movie about Vietnam has to be appreciated just because its heart is in the right place.  A shitty movie is a shitty movie (I feel the same about films about the Holocaust, btw, and yes you can feel free to crucify me now if that bothers you).

Besides which, didn’t it come out in, like 1980?  I think by that point most people could agree that Vietnam Sucked.

Bride of Frankenstein (for the character Cloris Leachman parodies) and Son of Frankenstein (for the one by Kenneth Mars) before Young Frankenstein; the latter especially for the art direction and lighting that the Mel Brooks’ team nailed.

I see very little crossover.
They are really two completely different experiences.

Sorry, didn’t really see this for some reason.

I just finally read Heart of Darkness a few months ago, after being forced through Apocalypse Now 3 or 4 different times over the years, and I was able to anticipate exact plot developments, thematic points Conrad would make, etc.  No, it’s not an exact retelling, but it’s a much bigger influence than just Kurtz’s name. (though it’s interesting, I’ve commented on this to friends since reading the book, and EVERYONE says “i didn’t really see the similarities” - what’s that about?)

Sorry, didn’t really see this for some reason.

Just to clarify, that refers to the above-quoted part of your comment, MikeEss, and not that “I just didn’t see that, sorry, you are WRONG!”

Bleh.

Bedtime.

MikeEss,

Great post. 

My two fave “war movies” are ApocNow and 7Samurai - both went way over budget, were repeatedly shut down during filming, and opened to mixed, at best, reviews. 

I saw Apoc when it opened, and went back repeatly (only other movie for that was PulpFic.) Screw the precedents. it stands alone - painful and beautiful.  It’s one of the few movies I watch repeatedly without reaching for the FF button.

How about Chinatown before Who Framed Roger Rabbit?  And one or both before L.A. Confidential.

“McCain and Mrs. Miller” before “Deadwood.”
“Seven Samurai” before “Magnificent Seven.”

I remember very distinctly reading “Emma” on a beach near Casablanca about ten years ago and putting it down halfway through, thinking “This really is just like ‘Clueless,’ only about twenty times too long.”

I’m a professor of literature, and they’re going to revoke my card any day now.

Umm…  Kill Bill Vol 1 before Kill Bill Vol 2.  And, umm…  Spawn the Movie before any of the Star Wars prequels.  It’s like…  getting punched in the stomach isn’t so bad after getting your nose broken first.

(Murnau’s) Nosferatu before Shadow of the Vampire, which makes a fine double feature, especially if preceded by any, or all three, of the Betty Boop cartoons featuring Cab Calloway.

Buster Keaton’s The General before The Marx Bros. Go West.

Any Republic Serial before Indiana Jones or Star Wars. Then watch J-Men Forever. You could bust out Commando Cody in Radar Men from the Moon (watch for a young Leonard Nimoy), and Teaserama (for Betty Page) before Rocketman. Commando Cody was played by George Wallace (no, not that one) who later portayed Xander Harris as an old man, gone back in time to warn Xander Harris not to marry Anya.

There are quite a few (Disney’s) Pinocchio refs in Close Encounters, but it’s probably better to be unfamiliar with Pinocchio before seeing AI, a film best observed in the “not” mode.

Andrew Wyatt:

“Metropolis” Before “Dark City”

Ooo, good one. Dark City is one of my favorite movies that doesn’t seem to be on a lot of other peoples’ film radar, but I’ve never actually gotten around to watching Metropolis. There’s also a relatively recent anime movie of the same name that seems to take a lot of key thematic points from the Lang movie, but I haven’t seen that, either.

Also, see anything Star Trek and/or Trekkies before seeing Galaxy Quest.

If you’re familiar with The Seventh Seal and enjoyed the opening credits for Monty Python and the Holy Grail, since you obviously love Madeline Kahn you should probably just watch De Duva (The Dove) right now.

http://crookedtimber.org/2008/06/01/not-necessarily-all-in-the-right-order/

Don’t be a slave to chronology. I’d recommend watching the 1974 blaxploitation classic “Three The Hard Way” only after watching the Wayans brothers’ parody, “I’m Gonna Get You Sucka.” If you try to watch the older movie first, you’ll never get through it.

Of course, this recommendation depends on the assumption that 1) you have a Netflix account and 2) have been handcuffed to the radiator in the same room as your TV.

On the other, there’s the brutal, almost flippant murder of Fonda’s character, as has been noted.

Why can’t a woman be brutally, almost flippantly murdered in a film?  Either everyone, male, female and other can be, or they can’t.

Also, see anything Star Trek and/or Trekkies before seeing Galaxy Quest.

It’s almost more than that.  In order to truly appreciate Galaxy Quest, you not only have to have seen some Star Trek, you have to know the real-life background; how some of the actors felt trapped by the roles, the convention circuit, how fans know more about the show than the actors and most of the creators, subtle bits like the fate of the Redshirts, the Bridge Bunny who didn’t have a real job and only served as eye-candy on the show and, of course, the captain losing his shirt.

The film, while being an affectionate parody, is really one of the best Star Trek films ever made.

I Think We’re All Bozos on This Bus before Tron. Oh wait, that first one hasn’t screened outside of my eyelids.

Oh, comic books!  Then “Elektra Assassin” and “The Matrix.”

KeithM:

The film, while being an affectionate parody, is really one of the best Star Trek films ever made.

I agree with that. I certainly enjoy Galaxy Quest way more than any of the actual ST movies. Not that I don’t like Star Trek, it’s just that some of them have a tendency to be a bit cheesy.

Ooo, good one. Dark City is one of my favorite movies that doesn’t seem to be on a lot of other peoples’ film radar, but I’ve never actually gotten around to watching Metropolis. There’s also a relatively recent anime movie of the same name that seems to take a lot of key thematic points from the Lang movie, but I haven’t seen that, either.

Dark City is really a visual quote of Metropolis more than anything, but there are some thematic similarities.  I highly recommend Roger Ebert’s commentary on the DVD of Dark City (he’s long been one of its boosters).  He really puts it into the larger context of film history and explains why it’s such an achievement.

For Metropolis, I recommend the new Kino edition, which includes more footage than any of the many other versions.  It’s also a great transfer (considering the age) and a superior edit.  (Many of the Metropolis cuts that have proliferated on DVD are completely incoherent.)  I just saw it for the first time last year and the most unexpected thing in the film is Brigitte Helm’s performance as Maria.  For a silent film performance, it’s creepy and mesmerizing, especially when you consider that Helm was essentially creating from whole cloth the movements and mannerisms of an android for the first time on film.

“The Spirit of the Beehive” before “Pan’s Labyrinth”.  (And “The Devil’s Backbone”, too, while you’re at it.)

1.You should watch some old “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” before “X-Files.” It also adds to your appreciation of “Buffy”. 

2.You should watch “Homicide” and “The Corner” before “The Wire.”

3. You should watch The Godfather I & II, and Goodfellas before “The Sopranos.” (Surprised that hasn’t been mentioned yet, or is it just too obvious?)

You should watch “Citizen Kane” before watching almost any movie made since that takes place over a span of years, or involves multiple people reminiscing about some person or incident.

“Stagecoach” before any Western made afterward, or else you’ll be like the guy who complained that Shakespeare’s plays contain too many trite quotations.

I’d also recommend seeing a dozen or so Boris Karloff movies, ending with “Targets”.  Not so much because “Targets” itself is so good (though it is), but because Karloff was better than people usually notice, and “Targets” makes for a nice coda to his career.

I saw The Big Deal on Madonna Street in my teens. I thought it was funny, but not nearly as much as the reviewers did. In my twenties, I saw Jules Dassin’s Rififi, and burst out laughing in the middle of what was supposed to be a very suspenseful movie.

Definitely the wrong order.

“Shakes the Clown” before “Dr Zhivago”

No reason, just to screw with your mind and make Dr Zhivago even more depressing!

You should read Phillip K Dick’s The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch before seeing “Being John Malkovich”. Almost goes without saying, but you also need to see some of John Malkovich’s earlier work before watching that film, a good place to start might be the movie where Malkovich plays a jewel thief…

Start with Seven Samurai (original Japanese samurai flick).  Then watch Magnificent Seven (American Western).  Then Seven Magnificent Gladiators (sword-and-sandal movie, with Lou Ferrigno!).  Then Battle Beyond the Stars (cheesy sci-fi movie ... go, John-Boy!).  Then A Bug’s Life (Pixar’s CGI movie).  Then Samurai 7 (back to Japan and anime!).

You could have your own little film fest with just this basic story! 

I love Kurosawa movies.  (swoon)

I’m still not quite sure about Marlon Brando’s performance…

I really couldn’t stand his performance.  Once he arrived on the scene, it felt like Apocalypse Now devolved into absurdity.

Read or watch Pride and Prejudice (the Colin Firth version, please!) before watching Bride and Prejudice.

The Sorrow and the Pity before Annie Hall.

On the same track of “Yojimbo” to “Fistful of Dollars”:

You should see “The Seven Samurai” before “The Magnificent Seven”

And “Hidden Fortress” before “Star Wars”

And “Citizen Kane” before freakin’ anything else.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DeconstructorFleet

Any Republic Serial before Indiana Jones or Star Wars.

Speaking of Jones, I want to make an exact opposite kind of movie suggestion from the one you ask for. You should see the new Indiana Jones in the theater as quickly as possible, because it’s very good and very spoiler-sensitive on many levels.

Dark City is one of my favorite movies that doesn’t seem to be on a lot of other peoples’ film radar, but I’ve never actually gotten around to watching Metropolis. There’s also a relatively recent anime movie of the same name that seems to take a lot of key thematic points from the Lang movie, but I haven’t seen that, either.

The anime is based very loosely on a manga by Osamu Tezuka.  What makes it sort of tangentially related to this discussion is that was part of a trilogy of early Tezuka manga (Lost World, Metropolis and Nextworld—the Japanese title of The Shape of Things to Come) inspired by sci-fi movies Tezuka hadn’t actually watched, just seen the posters for.  Which I think is a brilliant way to do a remake.  Why let your creative vision be muddled by the original work?

Oo, I remember one: watch Airplane! before any of the 1970s disaster films.  I guarantee, you won’t be able to take them seriously at all.  The film single-handedly obliterated an entire genre for over a decade.

Gotta disagree about Mad Men and The Apartment; The Apartment adds an interesting angle, but they’re very different animals.

You really should watch Bride of Frankenstein before Young Frankenstein, because YF kind of ruins it.

Have you seen this!