Favorite Film Directors

[Demian]

Here's hoping there are some fans out there of strange filmmakers and the visions they create. Anyone who'd like to talk about another director/writer is welcome.

Just to get the ball rolling...I decided to post this after seeing Lynch's latest. It was a two disc thing with over 4 hours of material on it. The first film was a kind of exploration of the whole simulacra/simulacrum conundrum. Laura Dern played an actress who could no longer distinguish the events unfolding in her life from the movie she was making. I thought it really hit home on the old "how do you determine which is the real fake" question. Being a Lynch film, this was a bit hard to follow in the beginning (and middle at times). But Lynch, as always, came through in the end. The title eludes me (someone else picked it up) but I'll add it to the list when I find it if anyone is interested (or someone out there who knows can volunteer the info).

[Mark F.]

Inland Empire's the film you're talking about. I just piicked it up on DVD, haven't watched it yet though. I've seen every Lynch film except that one and Twin Peaks. My favourite is Lost Highway and I love his other two film noir twists, Mulholland Drive and Blue Velvet. I also like his two more mainstream films, The Elephant Man and The Straight Story. A great director, his films may be puzzling in many ways but they always have an impact onthe audience.

I've seen a lot of Cronenberg's films as well, I'm more a fan of his earlier work, even though Spider and History of Violence are good flicks. Crash stands apart as it's really something special and disturbing. Very erotic. I mean that in a good way. Videodrome is his masterpiece though, and some of his early films like Rabid, Scanners and Dead Zone (starring Walken) are definitely worth seeing. If you're a Burroughs fan, what he did with Naked Lunch is very interesting, mixing the story with events from the author's life (like the William Tell episode). Good film about artistic creation.

I wonder what you mean by strange filmmakers though, I don't think they're strange, or that their films are strange. I guess one director who may be compared to them in the way I think you're getting at is Shinya Tsukamoto, a Japanese director. His first films, Tetsuo and Tetsuo 2 (in English, The Iron Man) tell the story of a man who's body is slowly covered by metallic parts like cogs and sheets of iron, his arms turn into guns, it's very weird. The editing of the first film is also experimental, making it something very special. I've seen some of his other films, Tokyo Fist and Bullet Ballet, I liked both but they're very violent. Bullet Ballet is filmed in a beautiful black and white, sort of a film noir taking place in Tokyo.

[Demian]

Thanks for the reccommendations-I'll definitely give them a shot. I'd have to say that these gentlemen are if not strange then at the very least offbeat and unconventional. Being strange is not necessarily something bad. I remember seeing an interview that Cronenberg gave in which he was quoted, "Imagine drilling a hole in someone's forehead and capturing the entire content of their dream on film and you will have a good idea of what I am trying to do." I could imagine Speilberg using the dream analogy when talking about his work, but I couldn't imagine him putting it quite this same way. This captures the strangeness of Cronenberg (and Lynch, too) to me.

[manolia]

Mark has pretty much said everything..I'll second "Lost highway" which is my favourite Lynch film too and "Twin Peaks" the series (the best thing i've seen on tv, ever). Do watch the series first and then watch the movie "Twin peaks, fire walk with me". If you try to watch the movie first, you'll be confused. This movie was destined for fans of the series ;)
Anyway, Lynch is one of my favourite directors (*points signature*) and i really like Cronenberg. But i don't think they are strange. They are simply great :D

[Mark F.]

How many seasons of Twin Peaks did he make? One or two? I'll pick them up one day, and the film as well.

Yeah, they're offbeat and I understand why you think they're strange. What I meant is that it's not really the same strange. Does that make sense? By the way, if you want more offbeat modern film makers, check out Kusturica, Jarmusch and Ferrara.

[manolia]

There are two seasons of Twin Peaks but not all episodes* are directed by Lynch. Somewhere in the second season he got really tired, lost interest and somewhat abandoned the whole project. That's why the second season isn't as good as the first and it has a quite abrupt ending ;) (an ending it is but it has the "to be continued sense" but alas! it was never continued :( ).
Have you seen "Wild at heart"?

*Don't remember exact number. I'll search for a link..wait..

[Demian]

I would add Linkletter to this list of 'distinctive' and distinguished filmmakers. He made a number of mainstream movies like Before Sunrise and The Newton Boys, but he also made smaller gems like Waking Life, Slacker and A Scanner Darkly for his hardcore followers. He worked with a team that invented a new type of animation for Waking Life (called rotoscope) which he used also in A Scanner Darkly as well. He's got his own unique vision going on. I also think Stuart Gordon deserves a nod here. He put out the only two descent Lovecraft pictures--Re-Animator and Dagon. I thought Dagon was brilliant; truly the first movie to really latch on to the philosophy of Lovecraft and not get all caught up in monsters and gore.
P.S.--I'd put Wild at Heart right after Lost Highway as being my favorite Lynch film.

[manolia]

Here's a guide to the episodes of both seasons

http://www.lynchnet.com/tp/episodes.html

You'll see that even in the first season there were a few directors involved, but under Lynch's guidance.

There is another site with FAQ

http://www.twinpeaks.org/faqtop.htm

Mark, if you don't like Twin Peaks, please be gentle :lol:

Edit

In "Wild at heart" most of the characters Nicholas Cage meets down the road (from the persons involved in the car accident to the "angel like" blond girl towards the end) are the actors from Twin peaks, it was kinda Lynch's inside joke in the movie

[Mark F.]

I've seen Wild at Heart but it's not my favourite Lynch film. I'll have to watch it again some day though as I've only seen it once. Thanks for the Twin Peaks links.

I saw A Scanner Darkly but thought the film was confusing and not as good as Dick's novel, one of his very best with Ubik and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Re-Animator is good fun, but I wouldn't put Gordon on the same level as all the other directors who've been mentioned in this thread. Still, a film where the bad guy is a severed head on a tray carried around by his own headless corpse is a great concept, heh.

Since you mentioned a horror director, what about Romero? Of course his living dead films have a pretty big cult following, but his best film IMO is called Martin. A vampire film with a very interesting and modern take on the theme. Actually it's one of my favourite horror films, and the best vampire film I've seen. Another good Romero film is called The Crazies which has some haunting imagery.

[Demian]

I don't know if they'll ever be able to translate a PKD or Lovecraft novel with a large degree of success. A Scanner Darkly did leave out quite a bit from the novel version, but I felt that he captured the spirit of the novel. There was a scene in Waking Life in which a filmmaker was commenting on the fact that good literature rarely translated into good films. I don't agree with this idea in every case. But using PKD as an example, his novels are loaded with a number of abstract concepts, bits of religion and philosophy and when you add in his own vision the whole thing would probably look daunting to tackle. Of course, there's always the filmmaker's vision, and you could argue that this is what turned Bladerunner into a cult movie. When PKD saw it, he was floored by the entire look of the film but disappointed with their handling of the plot. He chalked all this up to working with Hollywood, though, and thought they did the best they could.

[Demian]

The trinity of America's greatest directors in our time. Would anyone care to submit a favorite film, character or cinematic moment from these artists?

[Mark F.]

I'm not a huge Woody fan, Annie Hall is brilliant and I've seen a few others. I didn't enjoy Match Point, but loved Scoop, and I've seen some others I have mixed feelings for.

Scorsese has finally woken up after a few years of doing nothing much, No Direction Home, his documentary on Dylan, and The Departed are so much better than his previous efforts (Aviator, Gangs of New York). His best film though, is Taxi Driver. Travis Bickle is the perfect antihero and the atmosphere of the film is so bleak.

Coppola, he's something special. He directed four films in the 70's and they're all masterpieces. Most people have seen Godfather parts 1 and 2 and Apocalypse Now. The fourth film is called The Conversation, a smaller film, starring a paranoid Gene Hackman. If you haven't seen it, you must check it out. I couldn't pick one of those four films as being his best. I also like Rumble Fish with Mickey Rourke and the constant Tom Waits cameos in his films.

However, there are a couple of directors I need to mention here cause they were involved in the New Hollywood era of the 70's which saw the birth of the Allen/Scorsese/Coppola trio. Sidney Lumet is still making films, Dog Day Afternoon and 12 Angry Men are classic. Jerry Schatzberg brought the best out of Al Pacino in The Panic in Needle Park and Scarecrow.

Peckinpah is my favourite modern American director though, between 1969 and 1974 he made The Wild Bunch, The Ballad of Cable Hogue, Straw Dogs, The Getaway, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. All those films were highly influential on the following generations of film makers.

[Mark F.]

Following Demian's example I thought I'd get a thread going about my favourite European directors. I know there are other fans on the forum, so what are youre favourite films and who are your favourite European film makers?

I'll start with Tarkovski as I've only seen a couple of his films which makes it easier to talk about him. I know that's not much to judge him on but I was blown away. The cinematography in Stalker is beautiful and the way The Mirror is writtenis very puzzling. I'm craving for more of his films but the dvds are very expensive so I have to be patient.

Bergman's films are unique, they're all very different but they're also immediately recognisable as Bergman films. The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries and Persona are my personal favourites, but his catalogue is so huge that it's hard to pick a few. Some of his less famous films, like Hour of the Wolf and Shame are worth checking out.

One thing I like about Pasolini is the fact that the catholics hated him cause he was gay, the neofascists hated him because he was a communist, the communists hated him because he was catholic and intellectuals hated him because he constantly disagreed with them. He is also the only director I know of who was murdered for reasons pertaining to his work. Accatone and Salo show how much his style evolved between his first and last films.

[manolia]

The trinity of America's greatest directors in our time. Would anyone care to submit a favorite film, character or cinematic moment from these artists?

I love Allen. I don't have a favourite film. He always makes me laugh, despite the fact that his movies are so alike and he always seems to be playing the same character. He is brilliant.
Scorcese is very nice. "Taxi driver" is my favourite (no surprise there) and i like lots of his other films. I didn't much enjoy watching "The departed" though.
Coppola. What can i say? I like every film i've seen. "Conversation" is indeed brilliant and kind of disturbing. I also loved "Dracula". I am a big fan of the book and although this wasn't exactly an adaptation, i loved the film nevertheless. I have seen it 15 times :blush:


Following Demian's example I thought I'd get a thread going about my favourite European directors. I know there are other fans on the forum, so what are youre favourite films and who are your favourite European film makers?


I agree with what you say about Pasolini and Bergman. As for Tarkovsky, having seen only "Solyaris" i don't have much of an opinion. But "Solyaris" was a beautiful film.

I'll add to the list Michelangelo Antonnioni and Luccino Visconti. Favourite films "L'eclisse" and "Rocco and his brothers" respectively.
I'll also add Reiner Werner Fassbinder which is my favourite european director (but the first place changes from time to time :lol: ). Favourite film "In a year with 13 moons".

[Demian]

I really enjoyed The Age of Innocence and was a little bewildered by the notion of a Scorcese film without any violence. It was like Match Point for Allen, a real departure from his usual fare. I can't recall Coppola coming out with anything since Dracula, besides producing movies for his daughter and others. As for the European directors I have only seen one of Bergman's films (shame on me) and know nothing of the other two. I'll dig on in as soon as I can so we'll have more to discuss.

[manolia]

Demian, i am sure you won't regret it. There are some extraordinary european films out there.

Hehe Mark, let's add a few french directors to the list shall we?

First, Jean-Luc Godard. For me, Godard is the most complex director i've come across so far. Films like "Breathless", "Masculin-Feminin", "Pierrot le fou" and so on deserve extra merit.

Costa Gavra (he is greek so you might say that i am a bit partial but he lives, works in France and does french cinema, that makes him a french director) with "Z" one of my all time favourite films (the only film i can think of that brings tears to my eyes, of course it is a 100% true story) " Etat de siege" and so on.

Jean Renoir..i really don't know which film to pick ;) and Francois Truffaut with his "400 coups", "The woman next door" i love both films.

[Mark F.]

Godard is a self-overblown director in my opinion, he only achieved his reputation thanks to being in the "cahiers" circle. Breathless and Pierrot le Fou are decent films, but Belmondo is the main attraction, not the directing or the writing.

I like Renoir, The Rule of the Game is definitely one of the best French films. You should also check out Tavernier, another French director. Coup de Torchon stars Noiret and is based on a Jim Thompson novel. My favourite french film. The Woman Next Door is good, I like Truffaut's films, but not to the extent I'd consider him a great director.

[manolia]

Godard is a self-overblown director in my opinion, he only achieved his reputation thanks to being in the "cahiers" circle.

In the "cahiers" circle? He had good connections?
What i don't like about Godard is that some of his movies are so very complex, like he is doing it on purpose (to prove that he is different or something) and at least i can't follow them (of course one might say that i am stupid ;) :p) . But i really liked the three films i've mentioned ;)

[Demian]

Have either one of you seen Berolucci's The Dreamers? It wasn't one of his very best, but is worth seeing for its homage to cinephiles. I'm busting out with whatever I can due to my ignorance of European films. :-)

[Gadget Girl]

Favorite film directors? I have two -- Alfonso Cuaron and Steven Spielberg. ;)

[Mortis Anarchy]

Alfonso Cuaron, Mihalis Kakogiannis, Zack Snyder,Guillermo del Toro, uhhh...oh, Tony Scott...thats all I can think of, but they are probably my top favorite.

[Sir Bartholomew]

Paul Thomas Anderson, Martin Scorsese, Jean-luc Godard, Quentin Tarantino, Wong Kar-wai, Sofia Coppola, David Lynch, Sergio Leone, Bernardo Bertolucci, Robert Altman


Have either one of you seen Berolucci's The Dreamers? It wasn't one of his very best, but is worth seeing for its homage to cinephiles. I'm busting out with whatever I can due to my ignorance of European films. :-)

yes, i love it when they reenacted those Godard scenes. I like the movie though I'd choose Last Tango in Paris

[Niamh]

Any fans of Roberto Rosselini? I think is film Roma Cita Aperta (rome open city) was amazing!

[Sweets America]

One of my favorite directors is Takashi Miike. This guy can make the most obscene and outrageous movies and in the meantime the most poetic ones! He also makes cartoonesque movies where the horror does not shock you that much because there is humor in it.
He has made an episode in the American series 'Masters of Horror', and his episode was called 'Imprint', it can be difficult to watch for some people because the horror in it is very graphic. (imagine a close-up with a needle being pushed under a nail:eek2: :cold: ).

I also love The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) by Tobe Hooper, and I LOVE Park Chan-Wook's movie called 'Old Boy', this movie is absolutely wonderful: wonderful actors, wonderful story and wonderful music which makes me cry especially in the end.:bawling:

[Weisinheimer]

I like M. Night Shyamalan.

[byquist]

Sydney Pollack is a long-time great director. True, he did attempt to balance, or arrive at a negotiation between, artistry and the commercial issues surrounding film making. I really like "Three Days of a Condor" w/Redford. Very subtle film. Pollack visited my grad school and spoke to a class. He said that Redford would be perfect to play Hamlet, but I guess Redford either wouldn't risk that attempt, wasn't interested, or had other better-paying gigs. Later, I saw Redford do some scene work, and every "take" was different; Redford was very, very spontaneous.

[LadyW]

Quentin Tarantino
Speilburg
Peter Jackson
Tim Burton

[Koa]

KUBRICK
ALMODOVAR

the rest could cease to exist as far as i'm concerned :D

[Il Penseroso]

hey, I like your taste koa. Talk to Her was great, and Kubrick just has so many damn good movies.

[*Classic*Charm*]

I worship Hitchcock!!

[aeroport]

I've only recently begun to get into serious film, but I've been carrying on a love affair with the later works of Krzystoff Kieslowski for the past year or so (The "Three Colors" trilogy, The Double Life of Veronique), and Bergman as well.

[Koa]

I've only recently begun to get into serious film, but I've been carrying on a love affair with the later works of Krzystoff Kieslowski for the past year or so (The "Three Colors" trilogy, The Double Life of Veronique), and Bergman as well.

:sick: I tried to watch The Double Life of Veronique just yesterday and gave up halfway through because I found it so incredibly boring :eek: This really puts me off the famous trilogy...

[manolia]

Hehe Koa "The double life of Veronika" is one of my favourite films :lol: ;) But i can surely understand someone who couldn't watch it (my bf spend the whole length of the film snoring next to me :lol: ). I love this film (especially the music..it was magic!)

[aeroport]

Hehe Koa "The double life of Veronika" is one of my favourite films :lol: ;) But i can surely understand someone who couldn't watch it (my bf spend the whole length of the film snoring next to me :lol: ). I love this film (especially the music..it was magic!)

Very much so.

Koa: To each their own, I suppose. However, you might give "Red" a shot, especially if you aren't interested in the trilogy as a whole (one would otherwise go "Blue", then "White", then "Red"). It was his last (and some would probably say his best) film, and, I would say, really quite engaging. "White" is too, and slyly humorous in addition, but "Red" is just... :thumbs_up :thumbs_up

[Sir Bartholomew]

I forgot to mention Almodovar

[kratsayra]

I'm sorry I missed out on that David Lynch conversation from earlier. He's so great, I love Twin Peaks (mostly the series, the film was a bit too weird for me). And I never knew he actually didn't direct some of those later episodes.

I'm not the biggest film intellectual. I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to films and I haven't seen enough films from significant directors to really comment - only seen one or two from most the directors that have already been mentioned (aside from Lynch).

But I'm an Africanist by profession (or wannabe) so I'll throw in recently deceased Senegalese filmmaker (and novelist!) Sembene Ousmane. I guess there are some problems with the way that some of his movies are done (poor choices for lighting, things like that), but I do consistently like his films. I think Le Noir de . . . is the most striking and Xala is my favorite cause it's hilarious.

I also really like Mira Nair. I guess she isn't so fancy or intellectual. I partially like her cause I heard her speak once, and she just seemed like an amazing person.

[Sir Bartholomew]

i'm waiting for the day where i can watch Inland Empire

[ex ponto]

From Kieslovsky I like Trilogy and Dekalogue - he's one of the greatest!
Tarkovsky Rublov, Ivan's Childhood , The Steamroller And The Violin. His later movies I don't quite understand and don't like them so much.
Bergman The Seventh Seal and his early movies.
From Hollywood - R.Donner, S.Lumet, P.Weir, S.Soderbergh

[1n50mn14]

Peter Jackson
I didn't fall into the cult classic trap of LOTR- I've always loved Peter Jackson, and the books.

He did an amazing adaption of the books, considering the astounding amount of content in the books, he cast it well, in my opinion, and he's a hillarious, crazy SOB.