I was talking to a friend the other day and we were having one of those time killing conversations about nothing, when the subject of the top dork movies of all times came up- movies that signify dork, if you will. Movies that not everyone has seen, but if people have seen them, you know they have an inner dork. Here are a few I came up with, excluding the obvious franchises (LOTR, Star Wars, Matrix, Star Trek,etc.):
Evil Dead/Army of Darkness
2001
Mad Max
The Holy Grail
Time Bandits
Bladerunner
The Goonies
Donnie Darko
Wargames
Aliens
A Clockwork Orange
Real Genius
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai
Consider this an open thread and feel free to add your own.
Catsy
I can’t believe you left out Bill and Ted. Or Howard the Duck.
Nylund
There are two on that list I haven’t seen. I guess that makes me a pretty big dork, but, then again, the fact that my only tattoo is of a math equation was probably evidence enough of my inner dork.
Jay C
Evil Dead/Army of Darkness
2001
Mad Max
The Holy Grail
Time Bandits
Bladerunner
The Goonies
Donnie Darko
Wargames
Aliens
A Clockwork Orange
Real Genius
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai
ZOMG!! I scored 10 out 13 on the “inner dork” scale?
Damn – now I’m going to to be depressed all day….
Wilfred
What’s with the dork – postmodernism connection? I sbeing a dork postmodern in and of itself?
Doug
Ahh Time Bandits. I had fond memories of it until I rented it again more recently and realized, oh my god, this film is telling me something about myself I did not want to know.
You left out Tron though. That one even comes with it own mascot dork who dresses up in the costume and was on the tv not too long ago.
slag
Can you have Goonies without Gremlins or Ghostbusters?
grumpy realist
Dark Star. Hilarious.
Zardoz always used to be shown at MIT SF filmfests–not so much dorky but people loved watching Sean Connery make an ass out of himself to the tune of Beethoven’s 7th.
Don’t forget Tron. Bring on the Logic Probe! Watched with the correct audience, you will get a complete rundown of every single bit of coding done for that film.
2010, which I think gets closer to Clarke’s vision of wonder about the universe than 2001 did. Loved the dolphins.
JackieBinAZ
I don’t know whether to laugh or be depressed at how much this fits my DVD collection. Let me add…
Mars Attack
Brazil
Napoleon Dynamite
Back to the Future
dopealope
I’d add Serenity to the list.
shirt
No descent into the depths of dorktitude would be complete without “Catwoman”
Tom in Texas
Dune is the uberdork movie, IMHO.
What does it say that not only have I seen all of these, with the exception of Buckaroo Bonzai, but that I own them, several in a double disc special edition?
smiley
A Clockwork Orange is a dork movie? Since when?
Velvet Elvis
Willow
Pi
Tron
Ghostbusters II
dr. bloor
I love Buckaroo Bonzai. I had no idea that heavy drug use could turn you into a dork.
sfpolarbear
Forbiden Planet
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Any Star Trek movie
Fruitbat
I think most fans of Donnie Darko would disagree with the “dork” tag. Seems to me that “dork” implies a kind of nedrly aesthetic which favors films that don’t rest on a major emotional theme. While DD is very much a twisty time-travel sci fi nightmare tale, there’s a deep emotionality to it that most of its cultish followers seem to embrace more than they do the time paradoxes in the plot. At least, that’s my impression of their devotion to the flick. (Especially the DD fans in Britain, which is where the movie’s cult following first evolved.)
guyermo
the MST3K movie
Andrew
I’m a little scared that I have seen, and know well, every single movie that has been mentioned in the post and comments.
Not only that, I have watched Army of Darkness, Bladerunner,
Aliens, and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai recently.
I would also add:
Logan’s Run
Deathrace 2000
Night/Dawn/Day of the Dead
Solaris
Darkon
Primer
Repo Man
Heavy Metal
Omega Man
Ghost in the Shell
Silent Running
Eural Joiner
Zardoz is no less than the greatest movie of all time. I know this from watching it at dozens of times at 3 AM on a local Houston channel when I was 13. If you don’t get its genius you just haven’t watched it enough!
I had the same experience I think. I rewatched it several years back and realized my entire adult philosophy and “deep thoughts” on life have been based entirely on this movie. That was freaky since I never considered the movie one of my favorites.
slag
Definitely.
Karl Steel
I’ve seen everything on here except Catwoman, Howard the Duck and Serenity. Props for Zardoz, which has a proud place in my collection, but I would say I’m not a dork because, uh, I hate most of these movies, Zardoz excepted, which has enormous kitsch value and belongs to one of my favorite 70s genres (dystopia).
Other essential dork films: Excalibur, The Hidden Fortress, Logan’s Run, The Planet of the Apes (all films), Starship Troopers, THX 1138, Forbidden Planet (the original), Stalker (for the intellectual dorks), Tetsuo (for the perverted dorks), Susperia (horror dorks), El Topo (for the mystical dorks), Metropolis (for robot dorks; cf. Forbidden Planet), the Bashi LOTR (for animation/fantasy geeks), the Rankin/Bass Hobbit and ROTK (for D&D geeks)….
dnA
Dark City
Lost Boys
The Crow City of Angels
Shaun of The Dead
Legend
Brotherhood of the Wolf
apikoros
Last Starfighter!!!
I think the CGI, especially the early, crude CGI is what thrills me about it. Even as I saw it the first time I was thinking, “WOW! Think what this will become!”
Also having Robt. Preston replaying the Music Man didn’t hurt :-)
bud
The Last Star Fighter
Weird Science (obviously)
Revenge of the Nerds (obviously)
Seems most “dork” movies are Sci-Fi. Plus a couple of fantasy. Hmm, any “dork” movies that aren’t those genre?
Dork Romcoms:
Can’t Buy Me Love
Better off Dead
Unlike sci-fi, I imagine other “dork” genres are actually about dorks.
Imac
No one put Highlander down? If there can be only one movie that makes you a dork than that would be it.
also…
Spaceballs
and
Flight of the Navigator
DrDave
Real Genius
RoboCop
Escape from New York
The Last Starfighter
Stargate
The Terminator
For the record, I thought Aliens was the first sequel that blew away the original film. And “Get away from her, you bitch!” one of the best tough broad lines ever spoken.
toastandham
Revenge of the Nerds
pharniel
i’d say that from the female demographic of dork/specticlednerd/god’s little gift to geeks:
Legend
Labrynth (david bowie is the win button in many conversations)
Princess Bride
I’d add:
any mel brooks film, but amost always Blazing Saddles || Young Frakenstien || Spaceballs. Not so heavy on the Producers or HIsotry of the world, but it’s there. (I work tech support. I start quoting young frankenstien or blazing saddles and everyone starts doing the rest of the scene editing it for work safeness depending on the proximity of the HR goons)
Drunken Master/Super Cop/ WHo am I? / any jackie chan film
RoboCop II
Highlander (love it or hate it)
down periscope (same)
pharniel
oh, and John’s list is perfect. I’ve seen every movie in that list all the way through except mad max, which I can quote but have never actually seen all the way through.
UnkyT
The Forbidden Zone
bago
Eastman! He comes from the east to do battle with the Amazing Rando!
Walker
Two of my favs:
Big Trouble in Little China
Flash Gordon
lightening_fast_draw
Swamp Thing and The Fog
Being There
Singing In The Rain
Pee Wee Herman’s Big Adventure
speaker
the man who fell to earth.
“Leave my brains alone!”
rawshark
Liking Aliens doesn’t make you a dork, it makes you a normal human being.
There are some Obama events in Phoenix today. Anyone we know hosting? I notice one is in the Encanto area.
J Paul
Wow…33 responses and no one said “Videodrome”.
Zuzu's Petals
Well, if LOTR is a dork franchise, does that mean the Chronicles of Narnia series also qualifies? Harry Potter movies?
Although I’m wondering if just being a middle-aged woman makes you an honorary dork anyway.
Leisureguy
Repo Man (especially if you quote from it—beyond “Driving makes you stupid.”)
Joe Max
All Marvel comic adaptations (Iron Man, Spider Man, X-Men etc. including the fanboy fave, Electra.)
All Hayao Miyazaki films (Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle, Nausicaä, Spirited Away, etc.)
Dark City
Spawn
Mystery Men
Re-Animator
Dreggas
House Of The Flying Guillotine
Rawhead Rex
The Craft
Kung Pao Enter the Fist
As far as Aliens, if you don’t own the directors edition with the whole “how the hell did the colonists go to the ship in the first place, and why the hell is Ripley so protective of Newt” then you aren’t dorky enough.
as for the ten John listed I’ve seen all but the buckaroo bonzai one and wargames.
KevinD
Good list John, I own seven of those. The only one I can add that’s not in the comments already is Short Circuit.
Svensker
Only for blind or dead mystical dorks, cuz you have to tear out either your eyes or your brain after seeing it.
Forbidden Zone and Zardoz, yes.
Netflix delivered Buckaroo Bonzai a few weeks ago, but haven’t got up the nerve to see it yet. (Saw it when it came out, never since.)
nathaniel
While I clearly have an inner dork, Goonies does not belong on that list. Most people who were under the age of 10 at some point between when the movie came out and 1992 have seen it. Now if you have watched that movie when you are older then 15, yes that signifies inner dork. The same goes for a movie like wargames.
Clockwork Orange and Aliens don’t belong on the list either.
Tim H.
Serenity is maybe too new to have achieved dork status. If the movie is too new regular non-dorks have probably seen it.
Fantastic Voyage (Raquel Welch)
Hackers (early Angelina Jolie)
Tron
Dark City
Labyrinth
Tim H.
Oh, and Bakshi’s Wizards. Guaranteed dorkitude.
BP in MN
The thing about Army of Darkness is that I’ve never seen a film that tastes break down so heavily on gender lines. Most guys I know who’ve seen it loved it; I don’t know if any of the females are even willing to admit that it didn’t suck.
JGabriel
Well, I’ve seen 11 of the 13 films (missed the The Goonies, and A Clockwork Orange) John listed, but not nearly as high a ratio for the commenters picks.
First, let me add, since no one else has yet: Rushmore.
Also seconding the commenter picks for Brazil and Dark Star.
And perhaps Repo Man, though I never thought of it as a ‘dork’ film. I saw it when it came out in 1984, and those of us who went to see it were the ‘cool’, ‘hipster’, ‘alternative’ college radio dj’s and other assorted people in the party and music scenes.
Finally, in terms of universality, I suspect The Goonies does not belong on the list, if only because it’s unlikely that many people born after, say 1978, ever saw it – unless they watched it with their own kids or nieces and nephews.
JGabriel
By the way, John, do you mean ‘Aliens’ and ‘Evil Dead’, or ‘Alien’ and ‘Evil Dead II’?
The latter seem to be the more well-regarded and most seen among dorks – at least going by my own taste.
.
Walker
Loved it when I was young, but not sure it has aged well.
JGabriel
BP in MN:
My 61 year old mother loves it. Another beautiful theory killed by an inconvenient fact.
Sorry, BP.
.
ThymeZone
Godzilla vs the Sea Monster is as good as it gets. So, I think I am not one of the kewl kids here.
However, this editorial is one of the coolest geeky things I have read lately. Via DKos.
Tsulagi
Shit, now not only am I supposed to be a liberal, short-haired DFH, apparently also a dork. I’ve seen most of these movies.
Offhand can think of a few not already mentioned. An oldie I thought way underrated is Rollerball. Probably James Caan’s best movie. Also, who doesn’t like Kill Bill?
A movie saw not long ago cracked me up: In Bruges. About two English hitmen in Belgium. A little like a softer European version of Pulp Fiction; less killing and blood. Don’t want to give any spoilers, but when the hitmen’s boss took his principles to the extreme, it was funny. So was the racist dwarf. Might already be on rental DVD.
Oh, and nobody has mentioned Idiocracy? A movie for our times.
Dreggas
Altered States
Scanners
Subspecies (any or all of them)
The Puppetmaster series
also Dark City Rocked
JGabriel
Tim H.:
Agreed with Walker, above. It probably hasn’t aged too well.
Also, like The Goonies, it’s probably familiar to a narrower age demographic than most of the films Cole listed.
.
Mohjho
‘Circle of Iron’ anyone?
BettyPageisaBlonde
The Goonies is on TNT as I write this.
And does Aliens really count as a dork movie? I dunno.
MarkusB
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it, so my impression of it may be a bit off, but would Ice Pirates count?
TheFountainHead
Yes, absolutely, and in light of that mention, also add Short Circuit and Short Circuit 2 to the list.
KRK
Greetings, programs!!
I think ZP has identified the flaw in your “if you’ve seen this movie, you’re a dork” theory. The youngsters among us may find this hard to believe, but it wasn’t so long ago that people just went to whatever movie came to town, particularly if it was remotely aimed at one’s audience niche and particularly if one was a teenager. Because in the pre-Netflix, pre-Tivo, cable-not-available world, you assumed that you were only ever going to have the once chance to see a movie. It had to be a blockbuster to make it onto TV, and then only years later and hacked to death.
So, movies from the ’80s and certainly from the ’70s that were seen in the theater when they came out, don’t really say much about the relative dorkiness of the people who saw them. Maybe people who own these movies, or have seen them more than once, etc.
Punchy
Fixed and ashamed.
JHinAZ
How about John Carpenter’s The Thing and Colossus, the Forbin Project?
myiq2xu
Saturday Night Fever
myiq2xu
Breaking 2 – Electric Boogaloo
Punchy
The Day of the Triffids desperately needs to be added.
The Dude Abides
I didn’t see if anyone mentioned “The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” Of course, that one is for dorks who appreciate the satirizing of their favorite dork literature/movies, a la “Bored of the Rings.” Anyway, here is an event that took place a couple weeks ago that had to be the “perfect storm” of dorkdom:
a lecture, in Esperanto, on “The Sources of The Lord of the Rings” by Anna Lowenstein, which took place on June 15th in the virtual world of Second Life. Esperanto, LOTR, and Second Life made this a trifecta of geekiness.
myiq2xu
NO FUCKING WAY
That is a cult classic. How can you diss a movie with lines like this:
“Gee, I’m really sorry your mom blew up, Ricky”
“This is pure snow! Do you have any idea what the street value of this mountain is?”
“What’s a little boy like you doing with big boy smut like this?”
“Now that’s a real shame when folks be throwin’ away a perfectly good white boy like that.”
Breschau
Memento
The Fifth Element
Final Fantasy: The Spirit Within
Hellboy
The Animatrix
Any Kevin Smith movie, except Jersey Girl
Dazed and Confused
Groundhog Day
Grosse Point Blank
Any Python movie
joel hanes
The Dark Crystal
Steelyard Blues
The Thing (w/ Kurt Russell)
The Brood
Der Lauf Der Dinge
Fantasia
Quest For Fire
Videodrome
les
Another vote for Silent Running; and how can you leave out “Earth Girls Are Easy?” I mean, alien pool boys?
myiq2xu
No, no, no to Videodrome.
“All hail the new flesh!”
shera
The animated versions of Transformers and GI Joe. I’m almost ashamed to admit this, but The Last Unicorn. Not technically a movie, but Macross (aka Robotech in the U.S. and Canada).
Ted
Saw that movie as a fairly young kid and it did more to forge my love of science and physics than just about any other. But 2001 got their first and started it.
But it *was* pretty funny when my mom took me to Disneyworld on one particular occasion, and one of the train rides through the park passed through a Disney movie prop junkyard. And lying by the side of the track at one point was the full size prop from “Navigator”, looking a little weathered.
Anyway, though it isn’t nerdy in any way, I instantly know just a bit more about anyone who has seen and liked “Happiness“. It’s awesome.
nightjar
Cherry 2000
For the Melanie Griffith drool factor.
chiggins
Heavy Metal? Akira?
Dorks huh? I dunno, throw in some 2 or 3 Lynch movies (or perhaps just the complete Twin Peaks collection and Fire Walk With Me), and I think this is a couple months of “catching up on classics”.
chiggins
Also, re: Logan’s Run, to this day I still occasionally say to myself, “There is no sanctuary.”
Okay so yeah, the line between the inner and the outer dork is fuzzy.
chiggins
Aw shit, almost forgot Night Shift. Billy Blaze!
mcd
Hell, how can you have A Clockwork Orange and 2001 but leave out Dr. Strangelove, The Shining and Full Metal Jacket! Here’s to the Kubrick quint!
mellowjohn
terry gilliam’s “adventures of baron munchausen.”
bago
My velvet Elvis, he’s so fine!
My velvet Elvis, he’s so great.
And seriously, anyone who watched all of Advent Children is totally Dork.
Also: RAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!
bago
Eleventy one!!!111!!!
RSA
I think a better question is whether there are any sci-fi movies that aren’t dork movies, by some measure of dorkiness. None come immediately to mind. (And I pretty much like all the ones that have been mentioned so far.)
But I agree with the sentiment that simply having seen these movies doesn’t qualify you as a dork. To be a dork, you have to say about one of these movies, “That’s one of the best movies ever made.” Not “It’s one of my favorites,” or “It has some good special effects,” or “It’s a good genre flick,” but “Forget about ‘Citizen Kane’ and ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ and ‘The Godfather’–you haven’t lived until you’ve seen this.”
bago
OK, so apparently WordPress is even more pedantic about exclamation points than SA. I see how it is.
Pixie
I’m pretty sure Total Recall should be on this list somewhere…I have it playing right now in an endless loop on my TV because I can’t afford cable. Oh yeah, don’t forget Dune.
brians
“Repo Man” has been mentioned. It’s a classic. Emilio brings “Freejack” to mind. I can’t believe theres been no mention of “The Party Animal”. Pondo Sinatra Lives!
Sleeper
Now, the real dork would be insisting you refer to this as “The Silent Flute.”
Sleeper
Any big fans of “Scarface” here? Anyone? Anyone?
Because I hate that movie.
andy n.
The Warriors
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Beastmaster
The Black Hole
Close Encounters with the Third Kind
Dork
Rocky Horror Picture Show, beeyotches.
andy n.
Watership Down
Willow
UHF
sparky
a voter (not i) wants to know why no one here has suggested Fight Club? too cool for dorkdom?
gil mann
Alternate title for this list: “movies you’ve definitely seen if you’re over thirty, and if you’re not, chances are you’ve seen ’em anyway, except maybe Goonies, which sucks, and Buckaroo Banzai, which was trying so hard to be a cult movie it shouldn’t even count as one.”
Sorry, but it really bothers me how everyone who enjoys the occasional Cronenberg film thinks they get to be a dork. You’ve gotta do the work, man–spend a few months being socially awkward, take the Star Wars prequels as a personal affront, and pull an all-nighter trying to figure out how “Land of the Dead” could’ve reconciled its conflicting halves, and then we’ll talk.
Crusty Dem
“KKKHHHHHAAAAAAHHHHHNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!”
Crusty Dem
Also, “They Live” FTW. Dork heaven.
Demdude
Morons from outer space
Dr. Strangelove
All the Pink Panther movies (Peter Sellers, the ultimate dork)
PaulW
Someone else mentioned the Bill & Ted duology, and that would fit the Dork list (they made some lucre but weren’t huge hits). They Live fits as well. I don’t know if 2001 should be included, yes Dorks love that film but casual filmgoers watch it too.
Any of the works of Savage Steve Holland should be worshiped by Dorks across the globe.
I’d also include TRON to the list, as well as The Last Starfighter. I’m still waiting for an MMO Star League sequel…
DMcK
Second “Excalibur”, which I watched again the other night…never quite realized how desperately cheesy it gets from time to time until now. It’s still great though!
Anybody mention “Ladyhawk” yet?
Krull
The Land that Time Forgot
King Kong Lives
Strange Invaders
Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (GREAT movie)
The 90’s Gamera trilogy
Gerry Anderson’s (anything)
…well, now I may as well just start transcribing my video collection. Christ, but I’m a dork.
Randall
Two movies that my son(18) and brother-in-law(16) absolutely
love and I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed even though I had never heard of them before are:
Equilibrium – Christian Bale, Taye Diggs
The Hole – Thora Birch, Keira Knightley
MarkusB
Add yet another vote for Silent Running, pls. And may I have a paper receipt of my vote? Kthxbai.
JoyceH
Bulletproof Monk
Blind Fury
cz4ever
Wow, lots of good suggestions. I’m surprised nobody has mentioned that recent geek-cult classic:
Office Space.
gsp
what does it mean if you haven’t seen any of them?
The Other Steve
The mouse?
The mouse has left our house.
No mouse today, he’s run away.
To ease the pain, he’s down the drain.
Or my favorite line…
Sir, the truth is, I talk to God all the time and no offense but he never mentioned you.
I am a major league grade-A certified Ladyhawke fan. Have seen the movie at least 75 times, have the soundtrack on 12″ vinyl and CD and can recite the entire script.
I cannot explain why, but it is by far my favorite movie ever.
Still, Holy Grail is by far the biggest geek movie ever.
The Other Steve
Definately Heavy Metal. you die, she dies, everybody dies
Now when I think Akira, I think Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa.
Another one to the list is The Seventh Seal by Ingmar Bergman.
The Other Steve
Oh yeah, and to toss another one out there…
Russian Ark by Aleksandr Sokurov. This one is quite impressive, as it’s a 100 minute movie filmed in a single take. The film is narrated by a russian walking through the Hermitage and witnessing Russian history over 300 years. His companion is a 19th century French aristocrat. It’s really quite impressive how they did it, and an intriguing movie as well.
Sorry, I hang out with a lot of film geeks.
LennyB
Ninety-something posts and I’m the first one to think of “Office Space”?
I’m shocked. Shocked!
YellowJournalism
Coming off Better Off Dead…for John Cusack dorks:
One Endless Summer
Say Anything
For crappy movie dorks:
Mannequin
The Other Steve
Oh, one more comment.
We’re going to go see Wanted tonight. The movie is directed by Timur Bekmambetov.
Bekmambetov created Night Watch and Day Watch. These also should be on your list of geek movies. They’re basically Russian vampire movies, but so unlike what you might see form Hollywood. Although they’re pretty big budget by Russian standards.
Anyway, the reviews on Wanted have been four thumbs up. It stars Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and James McAvoy. McAvoy was one of the lead’s in Last King of Scotland which is also a terrific film just to see Whitaker’s acting.
Oh and speaking of Whitaker, one more geeky film. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. It’s kind of a bizarre action movie.
The Other Steve
On last comment, I promise. No geek movie list would be complete without Leon(The Professional) and La Femme Nikita.
RSA
I wonder how much of a bump in rentals this movie got after Batman Begins? I liked it quite a bit. Gun fu. And some nicely choreographed stunt work throughout.
YellowJournalism
Funny Howard the Duck story to add here. My grandparents were what you would call the fussy type; high society, proper manners people. They agreed to take my sister and I to a movie (I was maybe 8 at the time). My grandmother picked Howard the Duck without looking at the rating. We got there late, stayed five minutes until Howard started yelling the F-word at Lea Thompson. The look on my grandparents’ faces was a wonderful sight to behold.
An outraged grandmother demanded a refund and got us into Flight of the Navigator instead. She lectured us about the evils of curse words in movies on the way home until I sweetly pointed out that there was one utterance of the word “shit” in Navigator. Silence the rest of the way.
Flight of the Navigator is a good dork movie, too. There’s a young Sarah Jessica Parker in there, which reminds me…
Eighties dork movies:
Footloose
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Valley Girl
And for kicks:
The Last Unicorn
wasabi gasp
Eraserhead
tom.a
You just made my day listing Time Bandits! My all time favorite movie, I even have signed photos of the entire cast!
I’d add a few fantasy/sci-fi to the list (a few which I see have some other mentions) already:
Princess Bride
Highlander
Merlin
and the computer geek in my always loved Hackers
WereBear
You can’t exclude The Matrix. Sure, the sequels suck, but I consider it an uber-dork movie.
To be a dork is to love a movie, not for any peak of craft, clever dialogue, or wicked neat shots, but for the sheer storm of ideas it creates in one’s head.
Anything else is a bonus.
JGabriel
The Other Steve:
I love that film. Not quite sure how it fits into the dork pantheon, though.
Except for film dorks, that is.
.
DMcK
I never saw the Matirx sequels, but one thing always bugged me: is there a resistance to the Resistance? You know, folks who are aware of the Matrix, but prefer living there anyway…I mean, it can’t be just that one guy, right? Is that ever addressed?
Other Steve: haven’t seen Ladyhawke in a long time, but I was really surprised how much I enjoyed it…and equally surprised that this opinion seems to be shared by nobody I know.
And oh yeah: Dragonslayer! Gimme a DRAGONSLAYER, dorks!
maxbaer (not the original)
That’s what I get for coming in late, the classics Big Trouble in Little China and They Live have already made the comments.
Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, anyone?
Dennis - SGMM
Things to Come
Metropolis (Fritz Lang)
Street of the Crocodiles (Quay Brothers)
Frank
Flight of the Navigator was at least as good as Goonies.
Fantastic Planet
FLILF_Hunter
Jeezus ‘effin Christ on a jogging trampoline. I can’t believe all of my cult-classic go-tos have already been mentioned. I guess now I know why this blog appeals to me so much.
With that, I add Robot Jox.
BongCrosby
Memento.
FLILF_Hunter
I guess I’m not geek enough to link properly the first time.
rob!
Firefly
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
either X-Files movie
shera
Ghostbusters II, definitely: “And he didn’t die of old age either. He was poisoned, stabbed, shot, hung, stretched, disemboweled, drawn and quartered.”
Emma Anne
Got one! Edward Scissorhands.
But I agree – having seen movies doesn’t make you a dork. If you can quote them you are a dork
Emma Anne
Andno, Office Space and Princess Bride son’t count, because everyone quotes those.
Can we expand to TV? Babylon V.
Evilbeard
Walker you are instantly my new best friend.
Dungheap
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins.
DFD
The Running Man
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
Life of Brian (Biggus….Dickus?!!?)
chaosdrew
Highlander
Forbidden Planet
The Hitcher (original)
PCU
any Planet of the Apes movie
eXistenZ
AkaDad
I guess it all depends on your definition of dork. I never considered myself a dork, because I don’t like RPG’s, Star Trek, or Anime, but I have seen all the movies on the list and 95% of the movies mentioned in the comments.
My first thought when I read the post was that this could be a good thread. That right there probably makes me a dork.
I’ll add a cartoon, Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles
One of my favorite movie exchanges:
Pixie
OK and of course you can’t forget
The Dark Crystal
Labyrinth
LOTR – animated (Bakshi)
The LAST unicorn (omg I don’t remember the film, only that it made me weep uncontrollably as a 5 year old)
Susan Kitchens
Loved it. “Glad you changed your name, you son of a bitch.”
John S.
Good lord.
Not only have I (and my wife) seen almost every movie on this thread, but I think I own a good deal of them, too.
I feel like a leg on uberdork Voltron.
Even more so now for making that reference.
jenniebee
UHF
Conan the Barbarian
and only the hardest core geeks seem to have ever heard of it, but
The Wizard of Speed and Time
Wildthumb
Let’s see: Big Trouble in Little China. 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Galaxy Quest (chock full of full-on geekitude).
WereBear
The Wizard of Speed and Time
Seen it, loved it, (remember his bicycle security device!)
and I will wear my button proudly.
I also think liking the Big Bug movies from the fifties has to be some kind of qualifier. Them! is my favorite.
Incertus
If we’re expanding to TV, then there’s got to be a Doctor Who–and not the new series (which I adore). For true dorkdom, it has to be Jon Pertwee/Tom Baker/Peter Davison era Doctor Who.
Cataphract
“The Beast,” starring Jason Patrick & the ubiquitous (sic?) George Dzundza
Cataphract +3
For military-minded dorks
OriGuy
Is Pan’s Labyrinth too highbrow to be a dorky movie? It’s got fantasy and a sadistic villain.
Kentucky Fried Movie, early Zucker brothers. That brings in their whole oeuvre, Amazon Women on the Moon, Airplane, Naked Gun(s) and Police Squad. The later ones are probably too well known to qualify, though.
Porky’s
TJ
I suppose you should throw The Groove Tube in too, if only for Safety Sam and Brown-25.
Aqualad08
Crap…I’ve seen and love all of them…
I am such a dork…
daryljhusseinfontaine
Top Secret! FTW — along with Real Genius, Val Kilmer before he became a complete jerkwad.
Time Bandits, Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen — reminders of a time when Terry Gilliam was at his brilliant best. (The recent The Brothers Grimm is best forgotten.)
A lot of these movies qualify as modern cult classics, which carry their own dorkitude baggage, but I agree with the assessment that watching a movie doesn’t make you a dork. Owning it, watching it over and over, quoting it extensively… those are dork qualities.
Horror dorks will appreciate pre-LOTR Peter Jackson’s Dead Alive (originally Braindead), an insanely gory and hilarious zombie movie. (Geeked by Jackson himself in King Kong with the “Sumatran Rat Monkey” crate in the ship’s hold.)
My dork favorite is Night of the Comet, which is so thoroughly grounded in the 80s, but is still a fun movie. “Let’s play a game… it’s called Scary Noises.”
Kevin
Good. Bad. I’m the guy with the gun.
daryljhusseinfontaine
Oh, and as for dork romcoms, Making Mr. Right and Love Potion #9 — early John Malkovich (with yummy Glenne Headly) and Sandra Bullock, respectively.
Being John Malkovich. Hell, any of the Charlie Kaufman films, though they are too modern to be true dork films.
Red
Dork-romance genre: Making Mr. Right
Dennis - SGMM
Total coincidence; my dear wife went shopping and she picked up some DVD’s. Totally unprompted, one of her selections was The Day the Earth Stood Still. Yeah, I’m watching it now – while sipping a very nice 2005 California Chardonnay that she also brought home for us.
bago
Anything involving Patrick Warburton?
Eric
instant Recall
300
Jurassic Park
Incertus
Even The Emperor’s New Groove?
Big E
2001, Blade Runner, Aliens ,,, dork movies ?
no way..
now…. Zardoz, Transformers, Barbarella (Jane Fonda looked good tho), Battlefield Earth and assorted computer games turned into movies..yeah now yer gettin’ into some true Dorkdom
Sleeper
I almost forgot about that one. Starring our friends the noble mujahideen. (cough cough) Actually they’re pretty evenly portrayed in this, RAMBO III was the one that basically showed Afghan freedom fighters struggle to overcome their ethnic and cultural deficiencies to be as American as they could be.
THE BEAST is a favorite because it’s one the rare movies to have foreign characters speaking unaccented English (to us Americans, anyway). I always hate when actors adopt that quasi-British “generic foreign” accent when playing Romans, Greeks, etc. Or even worse, the German general who speaks English with a German accent. Wouldn’t that imply that, within the universe of the movie, he’s speaking German with an American accent? Am I the only one to see that??
These things bother me.
Studly Pantload
I’ve let Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow have its CGI-up-the-wazoo way with me three times, now, and each time a feel like the biggest dork.
Also, I recently re-watched Star Trek: TMP for the first time in 20 years, and now am uber-dorkily convinced that it, and not TWoK, is the best, most genius of the franchise.
I also offer as the dorkiest romcom: The Wedding Singer.
Studly Pantload
Also, howz about watching the original Godzilla (sans Raymond Burr) and geekin’ out on the atomic weaponry commentary?
Also, I submit as the geekiest of war movies: Tora! Tora! Tora!
bago
Brock will kick DeLeon’s ass!
Joe Momma
Can’t believe no one’s mentioned Billy Jack.
Taylor
How can a political blog miss the film on which Colin Powell’s epithet for the neocons is based?
George A Romero’s The Crazies.
For a great end-of-the-world movie, very much in tune with our modern times:
The Day The Earth Caught Fire.
For fans of cult movies, check out TCM Underground, 2am Saturday morning on Turner Classic Movies.
The only TV channel worth watching, period.
BTW what’s a non-dork movie? Porkies 17?
Tim F.
One hundred fifty comments and nobody mentions Weird Science? Weak.
michael
for dorks of a certain age – the complete works of Molly Ringwald.
lilly Von Schtupp
Spinal Tap?
SLKRR
Ultimate dork TV movie has to be V. Überdork if you watched V: The Series.
RSA
They were also James Bond’s friends in The Living Daylights. Back in the days when Reagan praised them as freedom fighters. How times change. . .
TenguPhule
Dark Crystal
Flight of Dragons
Short Circuit
CHUD
kuvasz
Enemy Mine
A Boy and his Dog.
Sleeper
Hell, Joe Don Baker tries to kill Bond in that one, and yet two movies later they’re thick as thieves. Go figure.
YellowJournalism
Did anyone say Krull yet? Or did I miss that…
GrayGaffer
I have most of the movies mentioned here. Took a long time for Babarella to show up tho.. yes, Jane was epic, but I think she has some regrets for some of the scenes. I don’t.
Some others still not yet mentioned:
The Bed Sitting Room
Farscape
Babylon 5
Deathrace 2000 (gave us points for hitting pedestrians)
Bedazzled (the original with Pete and Dud)
The Man Who Fell To Earth
Cold Equations
Enemy Mine
Harold and Maude
Soylent Green
Slaughterhouse 5
The Bed Sitting Room (1969) is one that may not be very well known, even here. Post apocalyptic London, cast is a who’s who of Brit comedians, an altogether very strange movie. See imdb.com/title/tt0064074/ for cast list etc. Still not available on VHS or DVD. Showtime show it at 3am occasionally.
Dream On
“Rocky Horror Picture Show”
“Excalibur”
“Never-Ending Story”
Priest
Since Repo Man has been mentioned, anyone else seen “Straight To Hell”, Alex Cox’s follow-up? I’d never heard of Courtney Love at the time, but somehow thought I should have, just because the name sounded cool; of course, this was 20 years ago. The Pogues, Dennis Hopper, Elvis Costello, Jim Jarmusch, Grace Jones – and by all reports, many kilos of coke consumed during the production of this “classic.”
A story of blood, money, guns, coffee, and sexual tension.
demer
I’d add Terry Gilliam’s movie – Brazil.
In fact, I’d put that in way over Baron Buttmunch.
KevinD
In the Army back in the 80’s, that was one of our favorite war flicks.
Love Real Genius
germ78
Has nobody mentioned the classic “Plan 9 From Outer Space” yet? Really? No proud nerd, dork, dweeb, or geek can say that they don’t know of the Grave Robbers From Outer Space.
/late to thread
bartkid
>Bladerunner
Especially if you have both the five disc, “ultimate” DVD box and the three disc Vangelis soundtrack.
I do.
>Seems most “dork” movies are Sci-Fi. Plus a couple of fantasy. Hmm, any “dork” movies that aren’t those genre?
Meatballs:
It just doesn’t matter if we win or we lose. IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER!
IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER! IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER…
Egilsson
Excalibur is clearly the coolest “dork” movie of all time.
But, I can beat that:
I own Dr. Mordrid on VHS tape.
That’s a dork supreme right there. I should be like Dork Emporer for owning that.
pylon
Omega Man
Tank Girl
Lost In Space
5th Element
Chronicles of Riddick
CWD
Velevet! I can’t stop spelling the word!
Glyph2112
Great Topic. I would have to add any Bruce Lee movie made. Classic before Jackie Chan. Also 1941, The Final Countdown, and Don Johnson’s famous A Boy and his Dog.
For those of you arguing about whether a movie should be on the list. Guess what, you just confirmed your a nerd.
A great follow up to this would be favorite quotes from these type of movies. I love “Let’s get sushi and not pay” from Repo
SpaceCat
You need to get the entire Alien franchise up there, not just Aliens.
SpaceCat
You need to get the entire Alien franchise up there, not just Aliens.
I’ve got the 9(?) disk box set. That shit is the bomb!
And Bladerunner rulez too.
Glyph2112
oooh, forgot the Beastmaster, Conan, Red Sonja, and of course Dragonslayer.
Sasha
Heavy Metal.
I literally cheered when they had the shot of the B-17 in the recent South Park episode “Major Boobage”.
Extra points for Rock N Rule.
grumpy realist
Now that we’ve managed to relist all the MIT LSC movies of the last 20 years….
Yeah, The Wizard of Speed and Time. Great short, even better film. I found it in a Japanese video store (yeah, in Tokyo) and watched it a few times when I couldn’t find sufficient entertainment on late-night Japanese TV. (There is nothing more amusing that seeing a Grade Z film sandwiched in with Japanese perky commentator film analysis.)
Got to see The Black Hole back-to-back with The Marriage of Maria Braun. The juxtaposition was….amazing. One was an obvious work of art, the other was a piece of Disney crap that had me counting up the number of laws of physics they blithely trashed, never mind about the gaping errors in the theology.
Faux
I’m very late, but I saved this listing, as a guide to remember what to add to my netflix queue.
After looking through, no Killer Klownz from Outer Space? For shame.