The best psychedelic/surreal films ever made

I would like to have a chance to introduce films to people in this thread. On a far more selfish note, I'm even more interested in being introduced to films I would like to see but have not yet.

So, I'll start a running list of intensely psychedelic or otherwise absurd or surreal films I think you owe it to yourself to view at least once. Some you may love, some you may not. I would like others to continue the list.

I've searched google and Amazon many times looking for good recommendations, and they are hard to come by. Lists always seem to have the same few mainstream or otherwise well known movies in them.

So in making contributions, try not to repeat what has already been mentioned, and try not to list painfully obvious movies most of us have already seen a few times over. Examples of such films would be Yellow Submarine or Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Similarly, think about what makes the film psychedelic. Surrealism or abstract art are key factors. Drug references may at times make a movie entertaining, but this does not make a movie particularly psychedelic (think Half Baked or Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle)

Further, a single scene dealing with and portraying drug effects does not a psychedelic film make. This would exclude things like Easy Rider, which is more or less a straightforward film.

Instead, try to focus on movies that really fuck with your head, have bizarre, surreal or abstract imagery and themes, or are just impeccably beautiful and artistic in a manner not normally found in your average hollywood film.

Finally, when possible try and link to a clip or a trailer of the film, to give people an idea of what to expect.

Ok, with all that bullshit out of the way, lets get started!

The Holy Mountain - an arguably feral main character teams up with several powerful people under the tutelage of an alchemist who has designed a fastrack program to enlightenment. The team seeks enlightenment in order to help them rob a group of immortals of their secret to eternal life. The film is among the very most surreal and unusual I have ever seen, packed with absurd, religious, profane and profound imagery and themes, with a wonderful score for which Don Cherry may be credited.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZQ5CJR1Lh4

Fantastic Planet - an animated sci-fi/fantasy film set in an age where humans have long since destroyed their own civilization on earth. They are taken to another planet where some are kept as pets by a giant blue race of aliens called Traags. Other humans, called Oms by the Traags, live as virtually wild animals. Referenced in popular media such as The Cell and Quasimoto's album The Unseen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgCxCZNkQ9E

The Dark Crystal - A masterpeice of puppetry, in my opinion the greatest of all of Jim Henson's work. His only work featuring no human characters at all. It is a bizarre story of good versus evil in a world totally alien to our own. Dark and gloomy, not inappropriate for children but perhaps a bit frightening for really young kids. This is an unusual film to say the least, and the imagery is magnificent. A little less known than his film Labyrinth, starring David Bowie, the Dark Crystal is far superior.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzgVPB5dpgg

Tideland - This film is pretty fucked up. Most of it is pretty straightforward in style and imagery, but the circumstances of the movie make it really otherworldly. The story focuses on the welfare of a little girl whisked away to a remote house in the country by a heroin addicted father. She befriends a mentally handicapped (labotomized) man and his crazed manic-depressive sister and caretaker. The circumstances become so extreme she retreats to a world ruled by her imagination, and at times it is difficult to discern when her imagination has taken over the camera. A nightmarish alice-in-wonderland kind of feel to it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pySXc-6GoU

2001: A Space Odyssey - okay, okay, so most people have seen this and I'm ignoring my own suggestion in what to recommend, but I feel this film is definitely worth mentioning just in case somebody hasn't seen it. Slower paced than most current movies, you can expect it to be a mesmerizing, meditative work of art like a slowly blossoming psychedelic flower. From mankind's humble beginnings to it's ultimately unrecognizable future, 2001: A Space Odyssey is absolutely breathtaking. Be prepared to spend a long time watching it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU4TQ1NTo50

City of Lost Children - In post-apocalyptic France, a mad scientist, incapable of dreaming, enlists the aid of a cult whose members voluntarily gouge out their eyes to steal children for him. The children are hooked up to a machine which has the capability of stealing their dreams so the villain may experience them himself, only he frightens the children so badly they only ever have nightmares. The story is that of a young orphan girl and a sideshow strongman of limited intellectual capacity who try to take down the villain in an effort to get back the small child who is taken care of by the strongman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNYG9cXTSds

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen - in a different tone than the other movies thus listed, this is a comedy, but a rather absurd and surreal one. Directed by Terry Gilliam (who did Tideland more recently, as well as Brazil, and did animation for Monty Python) this movie is a take on the old tales regarding Baron Munchausen, a figure of tall tales known for spinning extremely improbable yarns. Robin Williams stars as the head of the king of the moon, Uma Thurman stars in two roles - including the provocative goddess Venus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuqBKiKycbA

Eraserhead - to be fair, I haven't seen this in total all the way through yet - I'm waiting until I get my bag of weed to watch the whole thing. But I have watched much of it, and it is as freaky and bizarre as they come. Definitely worth mentioning based solely on what I've already seen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBpd5xy-vCY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU7OqGCIcak

My Neighbor Totoro - Miyazaki did this animated children's movie. It's definitely a kid's movie but it is both heartwarming and bizarre. One word: catbus. Thats right, catbus. One word...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc17T9XMoVk

I have several movies ready to be watched, including Koyaanisqatsi, El Topo, Dune, Fando y Lis, Coraline, Southland Tales, Castle in the Sky and Paprika, so maybe soon I'll have some more to add

 

Thanks for this! I know have several movies on my to do list

My favorite tripping movie of all time is Baraka. It will make you quiet.

 

omg yes! that movie is amazing sober, haha that must have just blown you away while tripping:cheers2:

 

hey i'd never heard of it, but it looks pretty good, thanks for the suggestion! i'll need to see if i can download it or find it at the library.

koyaanisqatsi looks pretty awesome, too. it's already downloaded.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PirH8PADDgQ

so i only looked at a short clip from baraka, the beginning of it. does it ever have dialogue, or is it just images coupled with music, like koyaanisqatsi?

 

Just a few that come to mind.

"Cat Soup" is good maybe more on the surreal side- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCah6AEHs8E

"Kernadam" is completely psychedelic both in style and content, more so then just about any other film I've seen, though it is underground short film (26 minutes) and low-budget. The whole film can be watched here - http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=6813034

"The Trip" - basically the whole movie is about an lsd trip, its intercut sequences showing his internal journey along with the objective view of what going on. It was written by Jack Nicholson in his early trippin days.

"Head" - If you don't think well of the Monkees, this film is trippy and
the best thing they ever did and may change your mind. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvmwjY42Yaw

"Tamala 2010" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfZ6VCZI6fY

 

This, and it's by the same camerman

 

baraka is so much better than koyanniskatsi imo.

one of the best parts in baracka, the monkey chant!!! or whatever, so funny

 

City of Lost Children was the trippiest fucking movie I've ever seen, I think.

 

i thought it was one of the less psychedelic films mentioned thus far, personally. only my neighbor totoro is less so, but still i think qualifies for the list (but barely)

i would suggest seeing the holy mountain for sure.

 

those of you who know me know:
ERASERHEAD + KETAMINE

 

yes yes, but how bout something not already mentioned. any new suggestions?

 

i just watched eraserhead all the way through. it definitely deserves to be on the list. truly nightmarish, but very surreal, otherworldly and psychedelic

 

Apocalypse now is still king daddy for me, especially the full length four hour version.

 

eraserhead was crazy...

 

Tetsuo
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096251/

Gandahar (Light Years)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095525/

American Pop
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082009/

Fritz the Cat
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068612/

Tron
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084827/


Legend of the Overfiend
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108461/

And then, of course, the classics of Disney, like Fantasia and Alice in Wonderland and Mary Poppins...

I get into cartoons a lot when out of my mind...Big Ren and Stimpy fan, too...

And I'm glad you mentioned Fantastic Planet. It is the best of them, I think.

 

Haha... yes! Ren and Stimpy is absolutely twisted!

 

Ren and Stimpy is incredible satire on the human race. You need to watch it if you are even remotely a fan of humor, wit, or the psychedelic state. I own the seasons Grew up on that shit, ah how much more I laugh now when watching it!

 

im kind of a nerd about films like star wars and lord of the rings, the heroes journey you know, i guess these would be considered more mystic than psychedelic. (the terms are closely related in my mind)

the golden compass has recently made my list, for its mystic tones.

 

Hm. I can dig it. Krull? The Beastmaster? Time Bandits? Brazil?

For some reason, I really like the 80s fantasy films.

Any Terry Gilliam film is great.

 

oh yeah! i didn't mention tron, but thats a good movie, and very surreal indeed. man i haven't seen that in a while...i should get it on dvd or download it, i already have it on VHS but no longer have a vcr