Sam Mendes

[Duck Sauce]

The way I think about Mendes is that he is an average director who can pick better than average projects.

[Victor]

alan ball is a true talent. six feet under is the best show on tv and american beauty was a terrific script. american beauty is written kind of like a play though, its all about the characters, it didnt have that much scope to it, which is why mendes did it so well. it has the freedom to open up, to push the smaller moments into greatness.
road to perdition was an above average script, but it had a lot of scope to it, which is why i dont think it was very good. mendes bit off more than he could chew, the result is a dragging, unclimactic and ultimately unmoving story. it looks beautiful (though i liked the 'Beauty' photography a lot more), but thats mostly conrad. mendes should do something with less sweep. maybe direct an episode of six feet under.

[Dirk]

Something about it was sort of bland, like doing math problems.

Long live differential equations!  8)

[abbey road]

i totally think sam mendes is fantastic. theres was everything special witht he direction in american beauty IS something special, and we must remember that f it wasnt for sam american beauty, the script would be entirly different. i loved road to perdition, and true the cinematography was amazing, the late great conrad hall, but lets not go and pretend that sam just had conrad figure out how to shoot things and layed back and made money, sam should get credit just for inventing the shots in the first place.  i cant wait to c wut he does next.


-chad

[MacGuffin]

Sweeney Todd on Helmer Sam Mendes' List
Source: Variety

American Beauty director Sam Mendes wants to direct Sweeney Todd. Early talks are under way to set the Stephen Sondheim musical with Mendes at DreamWorks, where Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald will produce.

Variety says Mendes and DreamWorks' Parkes wooed Sondheim in Chicago when he was prepping his musical "Bounce." But Mendes has been working out a take with the composer as he was preparing to direct the Broadway revival of Sondheim's "Gypsy."

Though films have been made of such Sondheim musicals "West Side Story," "Gypsy" and "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," Sondheim has been protective about Sweeney Todd since the Tim Burton project fell apart at Warner Bros. several years ago.

[Ghostboy]

A shame the Burton version didn't go ahead (isn't that the case with all of his really cool potential projects?). I'm down with Mendes giving it a shot, though.

[rustinglass]

You know his ancesters (great grandparents or something) lived in the same island as I do (Madeira) before they emigrated to America.

There was a huge artitcle in a magazine when american beauty came out.
Mendes is a portuguese name.

[SmellyBoobFungus]

you people and your word 'average'. c'mon now! there's way better way to characterize mendes as a filmmaker than average! christ! i like mendes work because i think he works well the moods of the story. the music, the colors, the lights, the costumes... etc. (basically mise en scne) everything seems meticulously calculated to evoke a feeling from the story. thats a thing i really like about these theatre directors coming over to film because they really are less concerned with style and more concerned with the story. you people and your style. style is organic and comes out of the story. he definetly has a knack with portraying the subtleties of characters lives, which i like. go mendes, you rock!

[The Disco Kid]

I thought American Beauty was pretty interesting right up until that schlocky, cop-out of an ending. I didnt think the direction was very notable though.

Road To Perdition was just plain bad. Nice cinematography though.

[bonanzataz]

road to perdition is the kind of movie you watch on mute.

[cowboykurtis]

both of the films hes made are better than 90% films out there -- an accomplished theater force -- quite a brillaint guy -- to say he "sucks" are the words of a angst ridden teen -- hes far from sucking -- hes easily made one of the most auspicious debuts with american bueaty and road to perdition was a work of art -- a flawed script yes, but quite an impressive movie nonetheless -- tell me a film in the last year that has been of such quality from a filmmaking standpoint.

[modage]

i love american beauty but i LOVE road to perdition.

[SHAFTR]

both of the films hes made are better than 90% films out there -- an accomplished theater force -- quite a brillaint guy -- to say he "sucks" are the words of a angst ridden teen -- hes far from sucking -- hes easily made one of the most auspicious debuts with american bueaty and road to perdition was a work of art -- a flawed script yes, but quite an impressive movie nonetheless -- tell me a film in the last year that has been of such quality from a filmmaking standpoint.

I really like Mendes.  He knows directing and he also knows film.  He reminds me of Visconti.

[A Matter Of Chance]

I think Mendes is a great director, he really knows his stuff. I couldn't even begin to explain how much I loved Road To Perdition, and American Beauty, somewhat less, but great movie all the same. But lots of the credit has to go to Alan Ball, the man is a genious, and I am a big fan of Conrad L. Hall, I think he's a great DP.

[Pastor Parsley]

...hes easily made one of the most auspicious debuts with american bueaty...

I would definitely agree (even if it's a quote from spielberg and not your own words).

I think American Beauty was great because Mendes made some very wise decisions on how and what story to tell.  If you read the original script it was an entirely different film.  I thought the original story was ok but nothing more than that.  Sam definitely knows how to tell a story but is a mediocre director at best.

The actors were really responsible for the power that the film has as well as the late Conrad Hall who was simply one of the best cinematographers.

Road to Perdition was a weak film in many ways.  I'll take a second order differential equation any day over this film .  Like Victor said, Mendes and Alan Ball bit off a little more than they could chew.