#5 – Human Traffic
If you’re English, chances are you’ve seen this movie. If you’re not then you probably think it’s about trafficking humans. Actually, it’s about pubs, clubs, drugs and love. Some people will say that the movie glorifies drug use, but you need to accept this film for what it is. A group of friends who live for the weekend. When Friday night arrives they spend the entire weekend drinking, clubbing and socialising. Just watching this movie makes me want to go out and live it up till the wee hours of the morning. Does it make me want to take drugs? No it doesn’t. Don’t take it too seriously and you might actually enjoy this film.
“The weekend has landed. All that exists now is clubs, drugs, pubs and parties. I’ve got 48 hours off from the world, man. I’m gonna blow steam out my head like a screaming kettle, I’m gonna talk cod shit to strangers all night, I’m gonna lose the plot on the dancefloor. The free radicals inside me are freakin’, man! Tonight I’m Jip Travolta, I’m Peter Popper, I’m going to never-never land with my chosen family, man. We’re gonna get more spaced out than Neil Armstrong ever did, anything could happen tonight, you know? This could be the best night of my life.”
Click here to buy Human Traffic
#4 – 101 Reykjav?k
If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like if you were a 30 year-old guy living in Iceland, then wonder no more. Following the life of unemployed Hlynur, this isn’t your typical guy movie. It’s almost a coming-of-age drama comedy with some really brilliant dialog. Hlynur still lives with his mother and spends his days drinking, smoking and watching porn on the net – there’s at least one thing in that list we can all relate to. He won’t get a job and he isn’t exactly successful with the ladies. There is plenty of nudity for you too, although on more than one occasion, the nudity won’t be to your liking (if you’re a guy). Fantastic film that won a great deal of awards.
“Why don’t they show any porn in the morning? It’s easy to get the rest up once your dicks up and about.”
Click here to buy 101 Reykjav?k
#3 – Seven Samurai
How we missed off Kurosawa’s triumphant epic from the last list, we’ll never know. We have shamed ourselves. Anyway, this movie is a masterpiece and it follows the story of seven masterless samurai hired by a village of farmers to combat bandits who will return after the harvest to steal the crops. One of the greatest and most influential films of all time, Seven Samurai is one of a select handful of Japanese films that became widely known in the west. Of course, then Hollywood saw the potential and the story was adapted for the western film The Magnificent Seven starring Steve McQueen. Many of the scenes in The Magnificent Seven mirror those of Seven Samurai, albeit in a different setting and the last line of dialog in the movies are almost exactly the same.
“The old man was right. Only the farmers won. We lost. We always lose.”
Click here to buy Seven Samurai
#2 – The Rules Of The Game
After reading the plot for this movie, we really didn’t expect to like it but much to our surprise, this movie was fantastic. Set in France at the onset of World War II, The Rules Of The Game is actually a provocative study of class distinction and human folly. This movie is quite complex and with such great dialog, you’d probably need to watch it a few times to catch everything. The movie is like a murder mystery at a big French chateau. Was it one of the rich guests with the knife in the kitchen? Was it a servant with the lead pipe in the bedroom? Watch the movie to find out.
“I have no choice but to dismiss you. It breaks my heart, but I can’t expose my guests to your firearms. It may be wrong of them, but they value their lives.”
Click here to buy The Rules Of The Game
#1 – The Limey
This is not your typical revenge type movie. It’s a slow burner, focusing much more on the character Wilson, played by Terence Stamp. Wilson is an English criminal who, fresh out prison, heads to LA to avenge the death of his daughter. A simple but effective story line I’m sure you’ll agree. The look Stamp has on his face in this movie is enough to strike fear into the heart of anyone and his vocabulary is wonderfully English.
“Can’t be too careful nowadays, y’know? Lot of “tea leaves” about, know what I mean?”
-”Excuse me?”
“Tea leaves… thieves.”
If you’ve scoured the planet for obscure guy movies, or you’re just a major movie buff, feel free to drop a few movie titles in the comments to enlighten us all. Here at Just A Guy Thing we’re particularly interested in foreign movies at the moment so please, share with us.
March 13th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Did anyone mention “Nine Queens”. Right up there with “The Sting”. Great list; keep it growing.
March 13th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
good list, I’m a big fan of Takashi Miike, and a lot of the Japanese Tokyo Shock scene, try out some of these:
Ichi The Killer
Visitor Q (pretty disgusting, have a strong stomach)
Fudoh
Volcano High
Battle Royale
Dead Leaves (best anime ever)
March 13th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
damn wasabi should be up there too, great jean reno film
March 13th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
District 13 is terrible beyond the jumping around.
March 13th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
One of my favs is The Tao of Steve. Great movie!
March 13th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
This is a great post! I remember watching The Limey in college!
chris
http://www.yoursash.com
March 13th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
I was wandering around a family video back in 03 and on a whim and inspired by its nifty cover promising some sort of kinetic british drug movie (my favorite genre), i picked it up and it is one of my favorite movies of all time, behind Magnolia and Trainspotting….
March 13th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
SPARTAN (2004). Val Kilmer is a Delta Force operative (and basically one-man army) tasked with rescuing the President’s kidnapped daughter (played by Kristen Bell). The movie kicks unholy ass (as does Kilmer) and it was written and directed by David Mamet, so the dialogue is just as good as the action.
March 13th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Including the Seven Samurai killed the whole list for me. I was force-fed this mediocre movie in university and 20-years later I’m still trying to forget it.
Replace it with: Without a Paddle.
March 13th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Easy four guy movies..
Le Cercle Rogue
Le Samourai
The French Connection
Bullitt
March 13th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
BOONDOCK SAINTS
STANDER
THURSDAY
LOCK STOCK AND 2 SMOKING BARRELS
TRUE ROMANCE
(NOT A ROMANTIC MOVIE BY ANY MEANS)
LOOK THEM UP, GOOD LUCK TRYING TO FIND A COPY OF THURSDAY
March 13th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Sexy Beast
Ripley’s Game
March 13th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Trust Me – Watch These:
Hard Times (Charlie Bronson’s best)
The Big Blue (Brotherhood formed by the Sea)
Two Mules for Sister Sarah (Clint keeps his hat and boots on…Need I say more?)
Lone Wolf & Cub series (Rogue Samurai and son choose an alternative lifestyle)
March 13th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
Okay, see if you can find this film:
Expose’ aka Le Grande Arte
Photography and knife fighting in Brazil!
March 13th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Pretty good list few more suggestions..
Boondock Saints
Nikita, another french movie from Luc Besson with a female assasin. The american remake was awful.
Leon, Luc Besson’s finest
Haute tension (Switchblade Romance), french horror
Nochnoy dozor (Nightwatch) , Dnevnoy dozor (Daywatch), part of a russian trilogy, the third is in the making
Ritana (Returner) good Japanese scifi
March 13th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
/Damn you guys
My netflix list has 275 dvds now.
March 14th, 2008 at 12:21 am
Great list! I’ve only seen 3 of those and only heard of 6. Adding to my Netflix…
after reading the list I was pumped about the comments to see what was missed
but guys, seriously, we can do better than Payback and Snatch and the sort
fun and great movies, but do they go on this list?
I read this and think Ronin, Leon (the professional here in US of A) and maybe something older like Bridge over River Kwai or a Bridge too Far or The Best Years of our Lives
that’s my two cents
March 14th, 2008 at 1:27 am
I can’t believe Snatch isn’t up there that is a great movie as well as Revolver <—not Available in the states though.
March 14th, 2008 at 2:04 am
La Femme Nikita, the movie not the series. Mmmmm, explody! French.
March 14th, 2008 at 11:02 am
The 101 Reykjavik movie is also better than the book.
March 14th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Good list. But Sexy Beast is perhaps one of the best movies of all time…the dialogue is amazing.
March 14th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Great list, I definitely want to see at least half of them. Thanks.
My suggestion: Themroc.
A guy is fed up with his life, and decides to live like a caveman in the city. For food, he roasts a policeman. (Sorry about the spoiler, but this fact is also on the front cover, and I wanted to get your attention.)
It’s a French movie, but don’t worry about subtitles: there’s not a word spoken the whole time, except ‘Themroc’. And grunts.
March 14th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Good lists, seen nearly thm all except the district 13, though think i’ll give it a watch, seems rather popular.
One totally essential guy movie is missing. The Boondock Saints. One of the best comedy action films of the last 10 years.
March 14th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Boondock Saints, anyone? Nothing like two Irish blokes out to right the wrongs of Boston’s Russian mafia.
March 15th, 2008 at 7:29 am
Great Escape-Steve McQueen and gang.
Papillion-Steve and dustin Hoffman
March 15th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Mea Culpa – Gave an incorrect title for a film:
It should be -
Exposure aka A Grande Arte
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101834/
Here are two more that should be on our list:
I, The Jury http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084112/
The Challenge http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083726/
March 16th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
great list ya’ll. I am going to try all these movies out!
March 16th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
I suggest Boondock Saints. Not that wellknown but it’s a movie
all guys love .
cheers
March 17th, 2008 at 1:11 am
i like just wanted to look at this list and i am in high school and my friends think i have really werid movie taste but actually its them watching all those chic flicks while i watch district 13 and every other movie on the list besides “the sting”. I was sooo suprised and i love all these movies so good job. Also,i defentaly recommend distric 13 to everyone….plus he doesn’t have a flabby tummy so its okay to look out….also the story plot is amazing!
March 18th, 2008 at 7:23 am
Nice list! The only movie I know I have seen right off is District 13, guess I have some catching up to do.
March 19th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Dude! Do you guys watch movies? All those are popular flicks. everyone’s heard of them. Chicks too!
March 20th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Romper Stomper
Once Upon a Time in the West
Straw Dogs
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
The Smashing Machine (documentary)
Blood Simple
Insomnia (original version)
May 4th, 2008 at 3:41 am
Fort Apache the Bronx on of the best movies ever
May 16th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
the list is awesome and so are the other posters’ suggestions – we’ve seen most of them, too. but how about, “Man Bites Dog”? that’s another awesome film.
i’m a girl who hate chick flicks, by the way. so hubby enjoys watching movies with me.
June 25th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
The Killing. A very early Kubrick film.
June 27th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
This list and the users posts/suggestions is a goldmine for discovering movies!! it’s got the utorrent queue flying
I suggest OldBoy as an ultimate guy flick, it has a great story, extreme violence/action, dark comedy and a twisted love story that might keep the missus watching too
I can also vouch for Ong Bak, extremely brutal martial arts and no boring bits.
and I agree with the others pointing out that half the movies listed here are very popular and can hardly be called “Movies You?ve Probably Never Seen”
June 27th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
P.S. I watched district 13 and I gotta ask, How the HELL do you keep up with the subtitles? unless you’re speeding of your head I think it’s ridiculous how fast those Frenchmen speak. other than that the action was good and not much more but I don’t regret watching it
August 14th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Stickmen.
September 11th, 2008 at 3:39 am
y’know who “probably” never saw these movies!?…………………….yanks
the rest of the english speaking world has
we READ reviews, we are AWARE of culture
these movies are on tv all the fucking time in europe…
“how do you keep up with the subtitles”!!!!!!!!!
you make me fucking sick
October 20th, 2008 at 4:51 am
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November 11th, 2008 at 8:39 am
OldBoy… definitely. Thursday is an awesome flick, too. I happen to have a copy on VHS, but other than that… it really is hard to find. I also suggest Ghost Dog: The Way of The Samurai with Forrest Whitaker. So good.
April 4th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Did you guys know that the quote for Croupier was from Hemmingway? I just thought I’d be the fiftieth person to mention it.
May 15th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Great list. The Nest is a hugely entertaining action flick. Definitely one folks should check out.
October 3rd, 2009 at 6:19 pm
Seven Samurai does not belong on this list. It is not a “guy movie”, it is one of the greatest movies in the history of cinema.