Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted December 31, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted December 31, 2019 I know that such a thread like this is immediately open to different interpretations of what constitutes 'obscure' so unless some berk is nominating Catcher in the Rye or Citizen Kane let's be forgiving of such things. I think it would be helpful too, if you're nominating a film or TV show (let's have books, podcasts, plays and music as well) especially if you could point to somewhere where people might be able to stream or download it. Where possible, that is. My first suggestion, which is the film (well, it is me) Macon County Line, is available on Amazon Prime, I think. Even if not, it's worth tracking down. It's a 1974 thriller that starts off like a Cannonball Run-esque road movie comedy before taking a weird and serious turn about halfway through and becoming something far better and more enjoyable. Here's the sort of thing you could expect. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK50RjkSXWE Apparently the sequel's good too but I haven't seen it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsfromlee Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 K. Frimpong & His Cubano Fiestas' self titled record from 1977. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW5oOmBTqZk Some really soulful afrobeat tunes with a heavy cuban influence to them. Africa had a great music scene in the 70's which extended way beyond the 'world music' stuff that most people think about. The ghanaian soul & funk scene, the Zambian psych rock stuff and especially the Ethiopian jazz scene. Tons to search out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBacon Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 (edited) Rubicon This is a TV show about an intelligence analyst (James Badge Dale), who uncovers a large conspiracy within a secret society, and the unravelling of that world around him. Canned after one series, as Americans were too dumb to follow it, (shown on BBC4 over here, AMC in the States), this is one of the most well written shows I've ever seen and I've never met anyone else who has seen it, so it's an obscurity for me, and I push it on to anyone that will listen. Miranda Richardson is in it, as is the lovely Annie Parisse. If you like dense, taught, spy-thriller type shows/films you will love this, I promise. Whole series on Dailymotion Next is a YouTuber, GeoWizard who I have in the past posted a link to in the YouTube thread. I found out about him from his series of him trying to walk across Wales in a straight line https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7w986ni7_g That series is bloody great, full of humour and sadness, and he is a really likeable dude, and I've even watched his videos where he is doing the geogaching challenges (random places are shown on Google Maps and he has to identify where it is within a certain timeframe/without mistakes), and it takes something special for me to watch a YouTube video longer than 5 minutes, but they're well worth watching, and a bit addictive. Lastly is Braquo which is one of the best police shows I've ever watched. There were 4 series of it, shown on FX over here, and again I'll push it on absolutely anyone that will listen. The premise is that it follows a group of French corrupt cops, who will do anything to exact revenge/justice for their colleague and is utterly brutal and incredibly violent. One of the series ends on one of the greatest cliffhangers that TV has ever seen and if you like The Shield, Spiral, The Killing etc, then I guarantee you will love this. Stars absolute sexy beast Jean-Hugues Anglade If it had been shown on BBC4 it would've been massive. You can buy all the series on Amazon Prime streamng (sorry, can only find a stream of Series 4 for free) EDIT: FOUND IT https://www2.f2movies.to/watch-tv/braquo-36405.474348 Great idea for a thread @Devon Malcolm Edited December 31, 2019 by SuperBacon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members GlennCullen Posted December 31, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted December 31, 2019 Rubicon sounds right up my street, but I just can't bring myself to invest the time into stuff that I know was binned after a season. Bloody Americans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBacon Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 15 hours ago, KJHenley said: Rubicon sounds right up my street, but I just can't bring myself to invest the time into stuff that I know was binned after a season. Bloody Americans. Really good point, but to be honest, if you know this knowledge going in, it's not too bad and minor spoiler it wraps pretty much everything up anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRooster Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 I’d recommend a video game - specifically, Klaus, available on PS4 and Steam. It’s secretly one of the best indie games of the generation, a really creative puzzle platformer with a surprisingly gripping story. The gameplay is great fun too, it’s a real shame that it’s essentially been sentenced to obscurity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 I don't know if it's ever been discussed on here but the TV series Brotherhood flew very much under the radar, but was absolutely brilliant. It's kind of an almost Sopranos-esque drama about a rising politician whose older brother is a well-known gangster in the Irish mob, starring Jason Isaacs and Jason Clarke. It's absolutely top notch writing with plenty of the old ultra violence thrown in. They made three short seasons but the whole thing resolves well so you get a complete story. Definitely worth tracking down, it's about decade old now I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted January 2, 2020 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 2, 2020 I *might* be right in thinking that @PowerButchi was also a fan, but The Job was a show that I really enjoyed. An absolutely quality cast and finds a really good line between being funny and a good crime show. Probably Denis Leary's best acting work. This guy has uploaded all 19 episodes to YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLooNmiRvd_k82mmt0UQPy6ajNJf1eG2IT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCW Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 Stumbled across a mini series called 'Show Me a Hero' over the Christmas that I'd never heard of. I watched it all in a day and no friends or work folk I've talked to about it have ever heard of it. The lad who created The Wire and The Deuce (David Simon) is behind it. It tells the story of Yonkers, NY in the late 80's/early 90's and the trouble caused when they were ordered by a federal judge to desegregate the city's public housing complexes. It follows the new mayor, a former cop who ran on the ticket of opposing the federal order, but who turns in favour of desegregation when he actually sees the damage being done. I know I'm not selling it well, but it's really interesting, captures the era well and has a great soundtrack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCW Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 20 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said: I *might* be right in thinking that @PowerButchi was also a fan, but The Job was a show that I really enjoyed. An absolutely quality cast and finds a really good line between being funny and a good crime show. Probably Denis Leary's best acting work. This guy has uploaded all 19 episodes to YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLooNmiRvd_k82mmt0UQPy6ajNJf1eG2IT He rehired most of the cast for Rescue Me at one stage or another. I think the timing of the show was off, as it premiered around the time of 9/11 when people weren't keen on the idea of cops being portrayed on TV not as 100% American heroes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator HarmonicGenerator Posted January 2, 2020 Awards Moderator Share Posted January 2, 2020 6 hours ago, DCW said: Stumbled across a mini series called 'Show Me a Hero' over the Christmas that I'd never heard of. I watched it all in a day and no friends or work folk I've talked to about it have ever heard of it. The lad who created The Wire and The Deuce (David Simon) is behind it. It tells the story of Yonkers, NY in the late 80's/early 90's and the trouble caused when they were ordered by a federal judge to desegregate the city's public housing complexes. It follows the new mayor, a former cop who ran on the ticket of opposing the federal order, but who turns in favour of desegregation when he actually sees the damage being done. I know I'm not selling it well, but it's really interesting, captures the era well and has a great soundtrack. And it stars Oscar Isaac! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Accident Prone Posted January 2, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted January 2, 2020 On 12/31/2019 at 7:30 PM, SuperBacon said: Next is a YouTuber, GeoWizard who I have in the past posted a link to in the YouTube thread. I found out about him from his series of him trying to walk across Wales in a straight line https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7w986ni7_g That series is bloody great, full of humour and sadness, and he is a really likeable dude, and I've even watched his videos where he is doing the geogaching challenges (random places are shown on Google Maps and he has to identify where it is within a certain timeframe/without mistakes), and it takes something special for me to watch a YouTube video longer than 5 minutes, but they're well worth watching, and a bit addictive. +1 for this. The Wales mission is fantastic, and the Mission Across Europe looks really promising after only a single episode. The series where he plays Geoguessr is real good too, and that's from someone who typically can't stand unedited Let's Plays. The way he is just given a single Streetview location of some random country road and he goes, "The sun is in the East...that road sign looks like it could be in Italian...and that parked truck has a German logo...it's South Tirol, it has to be". I've even started playing Geoguessr myself, albeit very, very, very badly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted January 2, 2020 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 2, 2020 Again, I think it's available on Amazon Prime, but The Hit is a film that more people should see. It does the whole black comedy crime with an edge thing that the McDonagh brothers have become synonymous with way back in the 80s, it really is excellent. Terence Stamp, a young Tim Roth and John Hurt is some triple bill of leads too. Highly recommended. I would imagine it will end up on Talking Pictures TV at some point as well. And funnily enough, I just noticed that Stephen Frears' (who directed this) first film, Gumshoe, is on TPTV tonight and that would definitely qualify for this thread too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ElCece Posted January 2, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted January 2, 2020 On 12/31/2019 at 7:30 PM, SuperBacon said: Rubicon This is a TV show about an intelligence analyst (James Badge Dale), who uncovers a large conspiracy within a secret society, and the unravelling of that world around him. Canned after one series, as Americans were too dumb to follow it, (shown on BBC4 over here, AMC in the States), this is one of the most well written shows I've ever seen and I've never met anyone else who has seen it, so it's an obscurity for me, and I push it on to anyone that will listen. Miranda Richardson is in it, as is the lovely Annie Parisse. If you like dense, taught, spy-thriller type shows/films you will love this, I promise. Whole series on Dailymotion Next is a YouTuber, GeoWizard who I have in the past posted a link to in the YouTube thread. I found out about him from his series of him trying to walk across Wales in a straight line https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7w986ni7_g That series is bloody great, full of humour and sadness, and he is a really likeable dude, and I've even watched his videos where he is doing the geogaching challenges (random places are shown on Google Maps and he has to identify where it is within a certain timeframe/without mistakes), and it takes something special for me to watch a YouTube video longer than 5 minutes, but they're well worth watching, and a bit addictive. Lastly is Braquo which is one of the best police shows I've ever watched. There were 4 series of it, shown on FX over here, and again I'll push it on absolutely anyone that will listen. The premise is that it follows a group of French corrupt cops, who will do anything to exact revenge/justice for their colleague and is utterly brutal and incredibly violent. One of the series ends on one of the greatest cliffhangers that TV has ever seen and if you like The Shield, Spiral, The Killing etc, then I guarantee you will love this. Stars absolute sexy beast Jean-Hugues Anglade If it had been shown on BBC4 it would've been massive. You can buy all the series on Amazon Prime streamng (sorry, can only find a stream of Series 4 for free) EDIT: FOUND IT https://www2.f2movies.to/watch-tv/braquo-36405.474348 Great idea for a thread @Devon Malcolm I've just blasted a whole bunch if Geowizard upon you recommendation. Strangely compelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Bellenda Carlisle Posted January 3, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted January 3, 2020 (edited) I hope you like Ray Liotta I prefer more imaginative outlandish stuff to real life dramas but when I was a young teen I saw Dominick and Eugene on TV late one night and I thought it was really moving. It's about brothers played by Tom Hulce and Ray Liotta, Tom has a learning disability and works as a bin man to put Ray through medical school. They get caught up in some shit and it goes very melodramatic in a really 80s way. Tom Hulce was wonderful, I always wished he'd made more films. There's another Ray Liotta film I remember liking, it came out in 2004 when I worked in a video shop and I've never really heard anyone talk about it. It boasts the incredibly generic title Control but it's a cool, very of the time straight to video thriller about a death row inmate given experimental drugs to fix his mind. I knew a girl who worked in a coffee shop and she said once Ray Liotta came in and he was the sexiest most charismatic man she'd ever seen and she was weak at the knees and dripping wet as soon as he looked at her. Edited January 11, 2020 by Bellenda Carlisle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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