General Discussion : Library DVD Collection Advice?

[TheDenizen]

Lots of Akira Kurosawa and Sergio Corbucci.

[CMonster]

If you are looking for a few things out of the ordinary throw in Evil Dead 2. Great way to get into B horror.

I know nothing of this genre, but why not The Evil Dead instead?

You don't need to see The Evil Dead to understand Evil Dead II and most would say Evil Dead II is a little bit more entertaining. But either would work.

[Spunkie]

If you are looking for a few things out of the ordinary throw in Evil Dead 2. Great way to get into B horror.

I know nothing of this genre, but why not The Evil Dead instead?

You don't need to see The Evil Dead to understand Evil Dead II and most would say Evil Dead II is a little bit more entertaining. But either would work.

Hugely more entertaining. It's also one of the staples for guerilla filmmaking of 90ies.

[Hopscotch]

Thanks for the helpful overview KGB. Doing it like that was my original plan, and would probably be an easier way to attack this than film by film. In the end the best way to go though I think is to do a little of both as we are doing right now. I'll look into all of those directors you mentioned as well as the major movements will probably post some ideas to sift through later on.

Lots of Akira Kurosawa and Sergio Corbucci.

I'm definitely planning to order a few Kurosawa films, but I'm not sure which ones at the moment. We actually have Ikiru and Dersu Uzala, but I'm pretty sure those aren't his most representative. Actually this is a good place to start towards the completion of the list.

Which two Kurosawa films would you guys say are the most essential to a collection like this?

As far as Corbucci, I'd never heard of him before now, but he would fit into the Spaghetti Western genre wouldn't he? I have heard of his film The Great Silence and that would be a good option for that category wouldn't it.

Also, anymore say on this Evil Dead film or B-Horror in general. Can we come up with 5 essentials in the genre? It's mostly an 80's thing right?

[Spunkie]

For the first question Rashomon and Seven Samurai. Rashomon for different perceptions template that many followed, SS for obvious reasons. May go for his later epics like Ran for unparalleled scale, but these 2 are most representative imo.

[td888]

Also, anymore say on this Evil Dead film or B-Horror in general. Can we come up with 5 essentials in the genre? It's mostly an 80's thing right?

I think The Thing (1982) is a classic (and still surprisingly watchable) and also Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978).

Others:
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
The Fly (1986)
Pet Sematary (1989)

I would change The Goonies (1985) with the Lost Boys (1987). The Goonies is terrible to watch now, the Lost Boys still got some charm.

[edkrak]

Also, anymore say on this Evil Dead film or B-Horror in general. Can we come up with 5 essentials in the genre? It's mostly an 80's thing right?

Not just 80s. I'd say that late 60s/early 70s were the most important with the big rise of independent filmmakers and when most of the horror subgenres became defined to this day. According to Stephen Thrower it started with "Blood Feast" when it became a huge hit in grindhouses, so that's one title to consider. Other very important horrors/exploitation:
Night of the Living Dead
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Last House on the Left
In the late 70s/80s studios began to take over and number of important low budget horror hugely declined. I'd say that the most important studio horror from that era was "Alien".
We also can't forget about Italy and most importantly Bava. He pretty much single-handedly defined formula for both giallos (with "Blood and Black Lace") and slashers ("A Bay of Blood"). If you have room for more you can also think about adding "Suspiria" or "Deep Red" or "Cannibal Holocaust".

[CMonster]

If I were to make a list of B-horror I'd want to watch and share I'd go with Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness(the sequel to Evil Dead II), a really influential one from the 70's like a Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Halloween, a zombie flick like Dawn of the Dead or Redneck Zombies, and From Dusk Till Dawn(it's really more like an homage to the genre from Robert Rodriguez and Tarintino).

[iceblox]

Get the Criterion Collection.

[Luna6ix]

while i applaud the idea and wish you the best of luck, i'm not sure if i'm understanding where you're coming from. the majority of americans these days avoid subtitles like they're the plague, and those are the same people who are completely oblivious to the fact that at one point there was no color in films, much less intentionally watching something in black and white. i'd completely understand the concept if you were trying to do this in a liberal community where you have a large audience, but a small town in wisconsin? once again, i really like the idea and think more libraries should do this, but the criticker forums regulars are hardly the average film goers. i guess my question is: who would watch them, and why bother?