The Top 10 Fan-Made "Sweded" Films (Inspired by "Be Kind Rewind")

In Michel Gondry's newest film, Be Kind Rewind, Jack Black and Mos Def invent the process of "sweding," in which they take classic films and remake them into short films using videotape, a  virtually nonexistent budget, amateur actors, and insane amounts of creativity. Since the film's release, fans have started making their own sweded films, putting them on video sites all over the internet. Here are the current Top 10 sweded films (in no particular order):

Update (11:03 AM on 3/24/08): I have added the sweded version of Terminator 2 and moved it to the top because I believe it to be the best Sweded film out of all of the ones I've found. Please visit lightningbulb's Youtube channel for out-takes and more great films, and check out their site by clicking here.

Terminator 2

Predator

Some great use of card-board cut-outs, improvised blood, and hilarious narration make this sweded Predator a must-see for fans.

Star Wars

This version of Star Wars is awesome not just for its a cappella soundtrack, but also for the stop motion animation light sabers. Excellent.

Blade Runner

Honestly, I'm including this one for its pure "WTF???" factor. Taped masks with eerie a cappella music and subtitles makes this one of the most bizarre, mind-bending sweded films out there. Enjoy, and try not to let it haunt your dreams.

Die Hard

A superb "falling down stairs" sequence, an awesome recreation of the nakatomi plaza explosion, and a dead-on impression of Bruce Willis in an air duct make this a great swede of the classic action flick.

Back to the Future

The re-imagining of "Doc" as a big black guy in a white wig is enough to put this one on the list. Also, some pretty creative editing given the moments that they chose from the film.

Goldfinger

Excellent use of tux shirt and the most apparently-drunk and coked out performance of the James Bond theme song I've ever heard in my life.

Total Recall

This video features an amazing recreation of the Rekall commercial and a completely baffling impersonation of Arnold Schwarzenegger. I also love the unpolished, "home-movie" feel that it has, even over the others.

Jurassic Park

Some great use of music from the Bourne Ultimatum, a hilarious appearance from godzilla, and a fairly good approximation of Ian Malcolm make this one of the best sweded films on the internet.

Armageddon:

Now we're getting into the more professional-looking swedes. A bit too much usage of the "Five words" gag here, but I like their use of the LCD TV screen during the last scene with Gracie; that's fidelity to the source material right there, folks.

Lord of the Rings:

If this were the SATs, then the analogy would go, "Lord of the Rings is to film as Lord of the Rings Sweded is to sweded film." Clearly a labor of love, this film contains some pretty great special effects and is a worthy swede to the epic movie it's based off of.

Did I miss some? Feel free to e-mail me at contact@alwayswatching.org with comments/suggestions/complaints. If you liked this article, you'll probably like these:

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You can also hear Dave, Adam, and Devindra on The Watchers Podcast.

Update: This post has been linked to by Neatorama, Doubleviking, NintendoWiiFanBoy, IMDB, and Metafilter. A big thanks to W. Lynn Garrett for posting it! Thanks for visiting, guys! Feel free to check out the rest of our site for other film news, commentary, and features.