Great Directors

[jacob Raver, sinTempter]

For discussions about top notch directors and their works.

I've recently discovered Sidney Lumet's work, watching Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon and Network in the last couple days. I've also seen 12 Angry Men, Find Me Guilty and The Verdict, not realizing these were all his works. His films have a stunning humanity to them, taking the time to get to know the characters, see them live a little, who they are, while also delivering a solid plot - love this guys work. I'm looking to see Before The Devil Knows Your Dead and Murder on the Orient Express soon.

As far as deserving A-listers, Coppola is one of my favs, having done great films like Godfather I and II, Apocalypse Now and very good films like Dracula and The Death of Michael Corleone (GF3). The Conversation I have yet to see, but am looking forward to it.

De Palma is a little overrated, IMO he's a top notch director, but not on the level of Coppola or even Lumet. He has one borderline great film in Scarface, a couple very good films with The Untouchables and Carlito's Way, and two decent films (I've read) I have yet to see in Carrie and Casualties of War.

[matrixman]

De Palma is all right, but I wouldn't call him a great director. Certainly agree he's not on the level of Coppola. I believe the most common criticism of De Palma is that he's a hack who shamelessly copies the likes of Hitchcock. Don't think I'd go that far, but I'm not going out of my way to defend De Palma either.

And speaking of Hitchcock...definitely one of the greats, even though I'm really only familiar with Psycho. But what a movie! A masterpiece - worth more than all the De Palma movies I've seen put together.

[Worm of Despite]

And speaking of Hitchcock...definitely one of the greats, even though I'm really only familiar with Psycho. But what a movie! A masterpiece - worth more than all the De Palma movies I've seen put together.

You haven't seen Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest...I...I'm going to KILL YOU! The massive black hole in your cultural experience is infuriating! ...Not really... Just watch them, damn it.

[The Dreaming]

Vertigo is his best movie IMO. It and Rear Window are absolute MUST WATCH movies.

I'm glad to see someone appreciate Lumet, I have always felt it kind of tragic how he has been eclipsed by the likes of Spielberg, Coppola, and Kubrick. He definitely belongs on any list that includes the 4 of them.

To me, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead was definitively the best thriller of 2007. It's a must see movie that passed under too many radars.

[matrixman]

Hey, guys, I'm on the same page as you concerning Hitchcock. I just happen to be very selective in my "cultural experiences." Yeeesh, you two are as prickly as jacob Raver himself...

Anyway, I still like your funny post, LF. Massive black hole...heheheh. Goodnight, gentlemen.

[I'm Murrin]

And speaking of Hitchcock...definitely one of the greats, even though I'm really only familiar with Psycho. But what a movie! A masterpiece - worth more than all the De Palma movies I've seen put together.

You haven't seen Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest...I...I'm going to KILL YOU! The massive black hole in your cultural experience is infuriating! ...Not really... Just watch them, damn it.

MM has it up on me - I think I've seen the original Psycho, but I can't remember much of it. I may have seen part of The Birds.

[Usivius]

And speaking of Hitchcock...definitely one of the greats, even though I'm really only familiar with Psycho. But what a movie! A masterpiece - worth more than all the De Palma movies I've seen put together.

You haven't seen Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest...I...I'm going to KILL YOU! The massive black hole in your cultural experience is infuriating! ...Not really... Just watch them, damn it.

Add my potential beats here... Hitchcock was a master. Even his bad movies were better than most.

Kurosawa is also a master, telling stories in a manner than many copies thereafter. Check out ojimbo, Sanjuro, Hidden Fortress, Seven Samurai, and of course the granddaddy: Roshamon.

I'll also add Kubrick to this list...

[jacob Raver, sinTempter]

Yeeesh, you two are as prickly as jacob Raver himself...

Me?

Les'se,

Fur Hitchcock I've seen Rear Window, Vertigo and Psycho, all great, though Vertigo has tons of issues. Looking forward to all the rest.

For Kurasawa I've seen Ran, Seven Samurai and Roshoman, all great for their time, SS being the only one I found great at the time, Ran really good, Roshoman good. Looking forward to all the rest of his stuff too.

For Kurbrick I've seen The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, Eyes Wide Shut, Lolita, Paths of Glory, A Clockwork Orange, all good in their own right, but I haven't seen Barry Lydon - 2001 and Dr. Strangeloveare the greatest of their genres, IMHO. Have yet to see The Killers.

Those three would probably be in the top five for me. Their body of work has greatness and they don't make bad films. Coppola makes great films, but also mediocre ones, Lumet makes near great films and many very good ones, but he has a list a mile long of mediocrity also. De Palma has some good ones and some duds.

[danlo]

Hitchcock's Rope is great, and I think one of the best Kurosawa's is Kagemusha (The Shadow Warrior).

[Montresor]

Hitchcock was certainly great.

Spielberg called Kurosawa the "Shakespeare of film" for good reason. No other film maker has so consistently brought greatness to film, interweaving plot, theme, character, and cinematography to achieve raw beauty and human truth. For me, Kurosawa is at least twice as good as the next best film maker. I'd go so far as to pick Kurosawa as the greatest artist of the twentieth century.

As for the others, I could go on all day, but my top-three favourite directors would be Kurosawa, Kubrick, and Wong Kar Wai. Others who just miss this list would be Polanski, Tarkovsky, Herzog, Park, and Yimou. Some I suspect are almost as great, though I wouldn't list them here on account of having seen only a couple of their films (like Luis Bunuel).

[jacob Raver, sinTempter]

Just saw Before the Devil Knows Your Dead last night. It was different, very very well done, the acting is absolutely phenomenal, one of the best jobs I've ever seen from an entire cast: easily Hawke's best performance, Hoffman does his usual awesome job, Finney is really good, though a little over the top (considering the ending, I think he had to play it this way), Shannon does another riveting side character (Revolutionary Road), Palladino and Ryan were both great, and Tomei wasn't even in this film. At times I thought Lumet was the wrong person for this script, but by the third act - well, who else could have done it?

The film was at times really good, but also felt 'flat.' And that last scene felt a little unreal for the character, and didn't really wrap anything up or say anything deeper. Overall, BtDKYD is maybe just beneath Serpico as my least fav of his good ones, but again what happens at the end just doesn't work for me. The film is a little...'off' at first, actually for the first 45 minutes it felt...err, 'different'...but it's sooo worth watching all the way through, you get used to the style mix of drama and 'cool'...though the 'cool flashback' element tended to jarr the emotional to get to the next character's piece, feeling almost forced at times. And that score - I thought it would annoy me after hearing every tense scene, but it just became more...important, meaningful...it still goes through my mind even now.

I don't think it's a thriller, more a character drama with a thriller element as it's primary plot center. It is not a compelling or gripping film, it is an emotional punch in the groin, and that is why I recommend it. With great acting and Lumet's always distinct and wonderful camera work, BtDKYD is worth the watch.

[Vader]

I like everything David Cronenberg, Coen Brothers, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones.

[Kaydene]

I really love Wes Anderson. I know some don't like him, but I feel as if he takes his characters and their journeys and creates this depth with them but allows the watcher to feel so disconnected with the wide-angle shots. We all turn into psychiatrists when watching Wes movies because all of the characters take themselves so seriously, and then we realize it's a commentary on us. So beautiful.

[jacob Raver, sinTempter]

I really love Wes Anderson. I know some don't like him, but I feel as if he takes his characters and their journeys and creates this depth with them but allows the watcher to feel so disconnected with the wide-angle shots. We all turn into psychiatrists when watching Wes movies because all of the characters take themselves so seriously, and then we realize it's a commentary on us. So beautiful.

I really liked Tenanbaums and Life Aquatic...haven't seen his other ones.

[The Dreaming]

I kinda get disliking Wes Anderson. He's got an extremely distinctive but quirky style that you kind have to attune yourself to. I think he's a genius. His movies are comedies of detail, so wry someone could watch one and almost not realize it was supposed to be funny.

[jacob Raver, sinTempter]

I like everything David Cronenberg, Coen Brothers, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones.

The Coens have some good films - O Brother, No Country, Fargo, Lebowski (haven't seen the others) - I know a lot of people think they're great.

I think Cronenberg's stuff is pretty good - Eastern Promises and History of Violence are the only two I've seen.

Holy Grail is, or was, the king of slapshtick. Haven't seen the others of Gilliam and Jones'.

While not quite a great director, I think Robert Zemeckis is on the level with De Palma, or even better, as far as quality of output goes. His best films are Forest Gump, Roger Rabbit and Back to the Future, the B2tF sequels were pretty good, as well as Beowulf, Contact, Polar Express, and Cast Away. Also, while not the greatest, I did enjoy Romancing the Stone and What Lies Beneath.

[Montresor]

I think Cronenberg's stuff is pretty good - Eastern Promises and History of Violence are the only two I've seen.

I actually think they are his two worst films (with possible competition from Existenz). Not that I am saying they are bad, I was just completely underwhelmed by them. Cronenberg himself jokingly admitted that History of Violence was his first main-stream feauture. For me, it seems to be a film reaching for something unique to say, while instead just saying something we've all heard before.

Videodrome, The Fly, Shivers, and Crash are all leagues ahead of those films.

[jacob Raver, sinTempter]

I agree about Violence...it...didn't feel right. There are parts of the film that are really good, Hurt's character is mesmerizing, overall I thought it was pretty good...but I almost wished he would have went all the way mainstream with it, probably woulda rocked. And Eastern Promises also had the same issues.

I've been thinking about watching Videodrome and the Fly...Crash is...erm, well, what does the film really have to say?

[Usivius]

I think Cronenberg's stuff is pretty good - Eastern Promises and History of Violence are the only two I've seen.

I actually think they are his two worst films (with possible competition from Existenz). Not that I am saying they are bad, I was just completely underwhelmed by them. Cronenberg himself jokingly admitted that History of Violence was his first main-stream feauture. For me, it seems to be a film reaching for something unique to say, while instead just saying something we've all heard before.

Videodrome, The Fly, Shivers, and Crash are all leagues ahead of those films.

Actually "Dead Zone" is referred to as his frist commercial film, but stilll pretty good, but not "his" ... Although i must say, I liked "History", better than "Eastern" ... but both are pretty darn good.

For 'disturbing', personally Videocrome is way up there....

[Montresor]

Actually "Dead Zone" is referred to as his frist commercial film, but stilll pretty good, but not "his" ... Although i must say, I liked "History", better than "Eastern" ... but both are pretty darn good.

For 'disturbing', personally Videocrome is way up there....

Yeah, I'd consider it mainstream too (though I think it's very good). The same goes for Existenz. I think he dropped the comment re: History because it was quite different then some of the more controversial stuff he had released through the '90s.

Videodrome is certainly disturbing, but that one shot in Shivers of the little girl kissing the man on the ground is probably the single-most disturbing shot he's filmed, I think. Dead Ringer (possibly my favourite of his films) has an altogether different kind of disturbing that I think is nearly as effective.

I agree about Violence...it...didn't feel right. There are parts of the film that are really good, Hurt's character is mesmerizing, overall I thought it was pretty good...but I almost wished he would have went all the way mainstream with it, probably woulda rocked. And Eastern Promises also had the same issues.

I've been thinking about watching Videodrome and the Fly...Crash is...erm, well, what does the film really have to say?

That's pretty much exatcly how I felt about History too. There are a lot of great performances in that film but, somehow, something is crucially missing.

As for Crash...Ballard described it as the first film of the 21st century, and I can see some merit to that claim. It's a really good film, I think.