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Cult Films / After Dark

Cult Films generally have limited but very special appeal. They are usually strange, quirky, offbeat, eccentric, oddball, or surreal. They may have outrageous, weird, cartoony characters or plots, and garish sets. They are often considered controversial because they step outside standard narrative and technical conventions. Cult films cut across many film genres (science fiction, horror, melodrama, etc.), and though they can be very stylized, they are often flawed or unusual in some striking way. To make a little sense of this unique genre, scroll the motherlode below, or take a side road by clicking a blue sub-heading to yer left... Visiting "Television Shows" and the "Cult Television" sub-feature may be worth checking out, also the "Animation" feature and the "Cult Animation" or "JapAnime" sub-feature will help with the bigger picture.. Right: Henry (Jack Nance) is "Eraserhead".

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

8.6/10
Director: George Lucas
Starring: Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness, Voice O...

The story of a boy, a girl and a universe. Now a classic, this blend of pulp magazine sci-fi, comic book action, old fashioned cliff-hanger story and... Read more

The Seventh Seal (1957)

8.2/10
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Gunnar Bjornstrand, Bengt Ekerot, Max von Sydow, Bibi Andersson

Disillusioned and exhausted after a decade of battling in the Crusades, a knight (Max von Sydow) encounters Death on a desolate beach and challenges h... Read more

Singin' in the Rain (1952)

8.3/10
Director: Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen
Starring: Millard Mitchell, Jean Hagen, Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Cyd...

Silent movies are giving way to Talking Pictures and a hoofer-turned-matinee idol (Gene Kelly) is caught in that bumpy transition, as well as his budd... Read more

Caligula (1979)

5.3/10
Director: Tinto Brass
Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren, Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud

'Penthouse' publisher Bob Guccione's entry into film-making was a disaster, but nevertheless, 'Caligula' has achieved cult status of sorts. This epic... Read more

Annie Hall (1977)

8/10
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Paul Simon, Carol Kane, Shelley Duvall,...

One of Woody Allen's most well-loved and funniest films, with Diane Keaton as the ditsy sometime object of Woody's neurotic affections. Originally co... Read more

Citizen Kane (1941)

8.4/10
Director: Orson Welles
Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane

Generally regarded as the greatest and most influential films of all time; Orson Welles directorial debut (he was only 25!) is the story of newspaper... Read more

Eraserhead (1977)

7.4/10
Director: David Lynch
Starring: Allen Joseph, Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Laurel Near

Inspired by his time spent living in Philadelphia, David Lynch's nightmarish cult odyssey follows a high-haired young man living in a run-down apartme... Read more

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

8.6/10
Director: Frank Capra
Starring: Lionel Barrymore, James Stewart, Donna Reed

Classic bittersweet comedy/drama that is the quintessential Frank Capra film. James Stewart is a banker living in the typical American small town of B... Read more

Touch of Evil (1958)

8.1/10
Director: Orson Welles
Starring: Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles, Akim Tamiroff, Joseph Calleia, Marle...

This twisting cinematic masterpiece of style and suspense, based on the Whit Masterson novel, features Orson Welles as a corrupt cane-wielding officia... Read more

Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1963)

8.4/10
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: George C Scott, James Earl Jones, Keenan Wynn, Peter Bull, Peter Sellers, Slim P...

A commie-hating, paranoid American general launches a flight of B-52 bombers at the Soviet Union with nuclear annihilation in mind. Since he is the on... Read more