The obligatory Dhamma themed movie thread

[daverupa]

Here's the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSd2oqDzEPA

Princess Mononoke creature cameo @ :37

Try Revolver, a fairly decent movie talking directly about the elimination of the Self (in an Asura realm, if you like).

[effort]

samsara
why buddha dharma left for the east
among the clouds ( documentary )

[Jhana4]

The old "Kung Fu" series from the 1970s with David Carradine holds up very well.

Each episode is a morality play or a story with a positive, educational theme. The protagonist, the Shaolin Buddhist monk who is a fugitive conveys that there is nothing finer than meditation and being free from desire, but he also has tremendous strength within worldly terms but is restrained in its use. Good lessons and interesting stories.

[befriend]

hello, are there any good buddhist movies besides the hollywood buddhist movies like seven years in tibet. ive seen spring summer fall winter spring or whatever it is i forgot what its like. any recommedations? that are theravadan? metta, befriend

[Fede]

try this one.

Steven Segal isn't in it.....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsara-DVD-Sha ... 869&sr=1-1

[befriend]

cool are there any on youtube or hulu i dont have to buy?

[Jason]

A few I like are:

The Buddha Comes to Sussex (short documentary on YouTube)

My Friend the Monk (short documentary online)

Act Normal (full-length documentary)

Buddha's Lost Children (full-length documentary, can also be found on YouTube)

Amongst White Clouds (full-length documentary online)

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

[Zom]

The best movie is Kung-Fu-Panda 1.

Several very nice canonical episodes are found there -)

[mikenz66]

I haven't seen any movies that really address Theravada issues, though Nang Nak does include Leung Por Toh http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0217680/

As far as actually addressing Buddhist issues I think that
Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East?: A Zen Fable http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097195/ is truly excellent. Not so easy to watch as Samsara, or Spring ...since there's little action, no sex, no attempt at being entertaining, but it's well worth the effort.


Mike

[Ytrog]

Most of the movies mentioned here I've already seen. I also want to add Dharma Rising: http://www.idfa.nl/industry/tags/projec ... 7cf16dbe22
Alas, not viewable online, though I have found a link for dutch viewers:
Part 1: http://www.boeddhistischeomroep.nl/uitz ... tYear=2011
Part 2: http://www.boeddhistischeomroep.nl/uitz ... tYear=2011

I must admit that I haven't seen it myself yet, but I find the premise interesting.

EDIT

Just saw part one. Really recommended.

[danieLion]

Hi friends,

Watched a few flix over the "holidays," thought I'd share.

Horrible Bosses was funnier than I thought it would be and I'd recommend it for a good laugh.

Woody Allen's You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger was surprisingly good too (even has a "re-incarnation" sub-plot of sorts).

And the HBO series Bored To Death is almost as good as Curb Your Enthusiasm.

May you all grow fat with unbounded friendliness.
DanieLion

[Jason]

Hi friends,

Watched a few flix over the "holidays," thought I'd share.

Horrible Bosses was funnier than I thought it would be and I'd recommend it for a good laugh.

Woody Allen's You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger was surprisingly good too (even has a "re-incarnation" sub-plot of sorts).

And the HBO series Bored To Death is almost as good as Curb Your Enthusiasm.

May you all grow fat with unbounded friendliness.
DanieLion

I watched Pasolini's Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom at a friend's house on Christmas, of all things. Nothing I would've picked myself, but it wasn't my choice what we watched after dinner. And while the film itself is pretty difficult to watch, I found it surprisingly thought-provoking and well-made. (I wrote some of my thoughts about it here, if anyone's interested).

[Ytrog]

While not a movie I can recommend the anime "Stein's gate"

[danieLion]

Thanks for the recommendations Jason & Ytrog!
D

[Modus.Ponens]

Hi friends,

Watched a few flix over the "holidays," thought I'd share.

Horrible Bosses was funnier than I thought it would be and I'd recommend it for a good laugh.

Woody Allen's You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger was surprisingly good too (even has a "re-incarnation" sub-plot of sorts).

And the HBO series Bored To Death is almost as good as Curb Your Enthusiasm.

May you all grow fat with unbounded friendliness.
DanieLion

I watched Pasolini's Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom at a friend's house on Christmas, of all things. Nothing I would've picked myself, but it wasn't my choice what we watched after dinner. And while the film itself is pretty difficult to watch, I found it surprisingly thought-provoking and well-made. (I wrote some of my thoughts about it here, if anyone's interested).

Jason, what a nice family movie to watch on Christmas

DanieLion, something almost as good as Curb Your Enthusiasm must be very good indeed. I'll check that out. Thanks.

I saw "Borat" recently. The movie is pure genius. "Bruno" is also very good. I also recently finished an entire Seinfeld marathon.

[Fede]

I watched true Grit with Jeff Bridges, and The King's Speech with Colin Firth and Geoffrey rush.
The former is very faithful to the original with John Wayne, save for the last scene.

the latter - The king's Speech - is to my mind, matchless, and what true, british film-making is all about.
Quality without the shmalz.

If my good American friends will forgive me, there is - or certainly has been, up to the recent past - a tendency to try to go for the happy, righteous ending....
for example, I have heard - from those who have seen the original films in Swedish, and the more recent English version - that 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' is very tailored to American audiences in its presentation.
But having seen neither, I cannot vouch for this.
However, as this specific film was discussed on a Buddhist forum, I cannot imagine they were being dishonest in their appraisal and verdict.....

[danieLion]

You're welcome Modus.Ponens,
I liked Borat and Bruno was ok too.

Any Breaking Bad fans out there? It seemed a little too depressing for me when it first came out, but now I'm hooked--except I have to take in small doses.
D

[Jason]

Thanks for the recommendations Jason & Ytrog!
D

Oh, I definitely wouldn't 'recommend' this movie, as it's not something many people would probably enjoy or even be able to appreciate. I simply was surprised by how much I admired it considering the subject matter.

The underlying themes and the way Pasolini crafted this film are quite extraordinary, in my opinion. Unfortunately, many of these will not be obvious unless you have some familiarity with things like the historical context (i.e., de Sade's novel being placed in fascist Italy), Pasolini's views and criticisms as a leftist intellectual regarding fascism and bourgeois society (e.g., the shit-banquet was essentially a grotesque and vivid commentary on the processed food industry), and film theory (e.g., if you don't really pay attention to how the final scenes are constructed, you'd never probably notice how it places you, the viewer, into the position of the four libertines, and what this implies).

If you choose to watch it, do so at your own discretion. It's definitely not for the faint of heart.

[chris98e]

hello, are there any good buddhist movies besides the hollywood buddhist movies like seven years in tibet.

A buddhist movie that I enjoyed watching was Asoka which was released in 2001.