I don’t smoke weed, but if I did, I’d spend today getting high and watching a marathon of movies that are (supposedly) better when you’re stoned. Why? Because it’s 4/20, the high holy day for marijuana fans. You’ve probably seen a billion of these lists, which recommend the same bunch of psychedelic classics beloved by stoners everywhere. So, instead of including such obvious choices as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, and other familiar titles, I’ve picked some alternatives to the usual 4/20 favorites, because after awhile, the same old visuals just don’t do it for me — I mean, those sick, degenerate reefer addicts — anymore.

Barton Fink (Joel Coen, 1991)
Instead of: The Big Lebowski

Excluding Blood Simple, this Cannes winner is apparently the least seen of the Coen brothers’ features (going by number of IMDb votes), probably because its pace is a little slower than some of their more popular movies. Yet like most of the Coens’ films, Barton Fink is hilarious and deep and has plenty of weird imagery, all of which are wonderfully heightened for the stoned viewer.

Dreams (Akira Kurosawa, 1990)
Instead of: Waking Life

If I were indeed going to get high today, I’d probably start with this underrated later work by Akira Kurosawa, because I prefer something mellow with beautiful images when I’m in an altered state. While many dream-influenced films fall more on the side of busy, surreal works, such as Waking Life and Un Chien Andalou, this collection of vignettes, each based on an actual dream Kurosawa had at some point in his life, are for the most part simpler and calmer. There are a few nightmare-inspired segments, which can be skipped over if you’re worried about killing your buzz with apocalyptic visions.

The Elm Chanted Forest (Milan Blazekovic and Doro Vlado Hreljanovic, 1986)
Instead of: Alice in Wonderland

While Disney’s animated version of Alice in Wonderland may be more appropriately watched under the influence of mushrooms, The Elm Chanted Forest may be better suited to mescaline users, due to its having a villain called The Cactus King. Still, either film is perfectly enjoyable to stoners, too, and though this U.S.-Yugoslavian co-production isn’t technically as good as anything Disney-made, oftentimes the lesser quality movies are the more entertaining when you’re high. Plus, if you can believe it, this movie’s fantastic story is even weirder than Lewis Carroll’s classic. You may have a tough time finding this thing on DVD, but it is viewable, in segments, on YouTube.

Even Dwarfs Started Small (Werner Herzog, 1970)
Instead of: Freaks

Speaking of movies available on YouTube, as Karina pointed out last week, this early Herzog effort is currently legally featured on that streaming-video site (watch it above). Most true potheads should already be into the filmmaker, who continues to make both narrative and documentary features that are excellent selections for stoners. And while it may not be politically correct, many potheads will admit to loving films involving dwarves (Aside from Freaks, there’s also The Wizard of Oz, of course, and Time Bandits). Combine the two loves, and you’ve got this insane black and white film in which a bunch of anarchic little people run amok at an institution. If you’re high enough, you’re likely to laugh yourself into a coughing fit, just like the most memorable actor in the film.

Footlight Parade (Lloyd Bacon, 1933)
Instead of: The Wizard of Oz

If you’re tired of getting high and watching The Wizard of Oz, with or without Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” album synched up, and you want to substitute it with another ‘30s musical, you must pick something featuring choreography by Busby Berkeley (who did some uncredited work on Oz). The best, and weirdest, to watch while high is definitely Footlight Parade, which features some of the most famous of Berkeley’s iconic kaleidoscopic dances. Even if you’ve never seen this film, you’re probably at least familiar with parts of the synchronized-swimming segment “By a Waterfall.” But when you’re stoned, the silly cat-costumed number “Sitting on a Backyard Fence” (above) is the real attraction.

The Holy Mountain (Alejandro Jodorowski, 1973)
Instead of: A Clockwork Orange

If you’re one of the fortunate people who doesn’t get nauseas from watching movies with lots of blood and/or sexual perversion while high, and you’re tired of A Clockwork Orange, you should familiarize yourself with the films of Jodorowski, one of the finest cinematic surrealists of all time. El Topo has long been his must-see feature, but this psychedelic follow-up is certainly the more appropriate introduction for drug-assisted viewing. Of course, you’re best off buying the Jodorowski box set, which includes The Holy Mountain, El Topo, Fando y Lis and the separately unavailable La Cravate. If you like watching weird movies while stoned, you’ll definitely enjoy them all.

The Peanut Butter Solution (Michael Rubbo, 1985)
Instead of: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

As far as weird kids movies go, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is the favorite choice among drug fans, but if you’re tired of getting bummed out that those amazing treats from the films don’t exist to fully satisfy your munchies cravings, revisit this old movie, which features a food item that you won’t likely be hungering for. The plot of this ridiculous kids film is so meandering that I continually forget how much happens in it. Strangely enough, the trailer (above) isn’t much help, as it doesn’t even begin to show the parts that I remember most clearly.

The Rules of Attraction (Roger Avary, 2002)
Instead of: Dazed and Confused

Some stoners prefer movies about drugging characters, such as Dazed and Confused, Up in Smoke and Half Baked. Some stoners prefer movies with really cool visuals, like those titles mentioned elsewhere on this list. For the stoner who can’t make up his mind which he likes better, and/or the stoner who doesn’t care, Roger Avary’s adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel about a slew of unlikable college students falls into both categories of movies to watch while high.

Sherlock Jr. (Buster Keaton, 1924)
Instead of: Being John Malkovich

For a real mind-fuck, you’ll probably prefer to substitute Being John Malkovich with another Charlie Kaufman-scripted film. Maybe even his latest, and most spiraling, Synecdoche, New York. But if you’re looking for something a little less confusing, but just as reflexive, check out this Buster Keaton favorite, in which the stone-faced comedian dreams that he can climb up into the movie screen and star in the film he’s been projecting. The experience will be a lot better if you can see this one in a movie theater rather than on a TV or computer. Unlike some of the other films on this list, this is a title that might be less transferable to other drugs, since anything more psychedelic than pot might make you think you too can enter the film.

Silent Running (Douglas Trumbull, 1972)
Instead of: 2001: A Space Odyssey

Every stoner needs to see 2001 high at least once, if not a hundred times, but there are plenty of other outer-space-set films that are also good for watching while smoking weed. Silent Running isn’t that obscure an alternative, but with its save-the-forests storyline, and its Joan Baez songs, it’s certainly the most perfect for the environmentalist hippies out there.