Top 40 Directors, as named by Guardian:
http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/page/0,11456,1082823,00.html
I love looking at that list. Thanks for posting it. It makes me grin for some reason. But there are some glaring omissions and some questionable additions. Of course, no one's going to agree about everything. It's so funny that Lynch is #1 and he doesn't even consider himself a filmmaker by trade; at least not nowadays, it seems, as he's more interested in painting, apparently.
What bugs me, though, is that controversy and sleaze can earn a place on the list, such as in the case of Gaspar Noe. But at least, our man PTA got on the list, and rightfully so. Still, though, it's a shame more critics don't give credence to Punch-Drunk Love. That film is more and more beautiful the more I think about it.
This list also highlights some glaring omissions on my own list of must-see directors; some people whose work I really need to get to checking out soon. I just checked out Badlands, so that's a start. :)
Oh, and I find it highly ironic that Tarantino gets mucho points for originality, when I'm learning more and more day to day about his tendency to "borrow" from other lesser known films. He ripped off films for Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill, and drew from source material for Jackie Brown. And while it's apparent that he improved on these older works, our man PTA does this, too, yet he gets a lot of flack for emulating directors, but Tarantino swipes entire plotlines.
I really wanna see Noe's two films. I Stand Alone sounds like my kinda movie.
Anyway, I got this from the Criterion board. Those babies were bitching because they thought Scorsese was way too high. Fuck off. I was choked that he wasn't numero uno.
Oh well.
alexander payne is #24? i like his movies 'n all, but it seems like an unusually high ranking for him, especially when fincher is #39!
bah, whatever. lists don't mean anything.
Quote from: ©bassalexander payne is #24? i like his movies 'n all, but it seems like an unusually high ranking for him, especially when fincher is #39!
bah, whatever. lists don't mean anything.
Well, if "don't mean anything" is synonymous with "subjective," I guess that's true.
Me, I think Fincher shouldn't be on the list at all. Payne is ten times more valuable than he is, in my very humble and honest opinion.
I wish Cronenberg and Linklater weren't on the list, but I'm happy Finch was. Fight Club is a major moment in film history, like it or not.
And I most certainly would NOT put Lynch in the number one spot...
though I'm gonna get lynched for saying that, aren't I?
Very, very nice to see Todd Haynes finally ranked with the greatest. FINALLY!
I was also extremely happy to see: Ramsay, Davies, Kiarostami, and Sokurov, all absolutely stunning filmmakers who have to live in the shadow of those who somehow get more of the spotlight. Do I think any one of those directors is as good as Wes Anderson or PTA? Yes, I do. Not BETTER, mind you, just equally deserving. It's nice to see it finally happening. I wouldn't expect much less of The Guardian, which may be the best newspaper in the world.
No Altman?
Quote from: Slick ShoesNo Altman?
spike lee? coppola? stone? eastwood? woody?
they don't know nuttin.
Ratner?
Quote from: ©bassQuote from: Slick ShoesNo Altman?
spike lee? coppola? stone? eastwood? woody?
they don't know nuttin.
There are only two of those I would consider putting on that list for even a moment, and in recent years those two have fallen far short of their best work...
Quote from: ©basscoppola?
they don't know nuttin.
Because he's done such good movies in the last 10 years?
It's most important directors NOW.
You could argue Lee or Stone, but c'mon...
Quote from: ©bassalexander payne is #24? i like his movies 'n all, but it seems like an unusually high ranking for him, especially when fincher is #39!
bah, whatever. lists don't mean anything.
Payne's great. What he did with About Schmidt...grand...a great great movie...so fuckin' great...can't believe I don't own the DVD yet.
I don't agree with a shitload of this list, but it's a good thing to parooos...ewww.
seeing paul at 21 was a surprise. honestly higher than I think would be found on most similar lists.
he's young, give him time.
fincher and the wachowski bros could EASILY be replaced...otherwise, the list is pretty okay, I think. But why the fuck isn't scorsese number one??!
I'm glad I took a look to see if there was already a post about this, since I was going to post it myself. Whether or not you agree with the placement or take issue with exclusions, this is a fantastic list. Everyone on it deserves to be on it...if anything, it could be ten directors longer and it would probably be the list of most important filmmakers ever, rather than those currently working. It just makes my head feel good, somehow, to see such a great group of creative geniuses grouped together.
One thing I appreciated, beyond the obvious ones: the blurb about the Wachowskis. Sequels be damned, their intial vision changed blockbuster filmmaking about 50 percent much as Lucas did in 77, for better or worse, and that's quite an accomplishment.
If they do another one of these lists in ten years, I hope at least four members of this messageboard are on it. Including myself.
Quote from: GhostboyIf they do another one of these lists in ten years, I hope at least four members of this messageboard are on it. Including myself.
other 3?...fess up....you on the spot!!!
No one in particular. On a site full of budding and determined talent, natural selection dictates that at least a handful of us should make it (I just totally made that up, of course). Sheer optimism (and a pinch of egotism -- but not egoism) mandates that I include myself amongst the future success stories.
Quote from: Ghostboymandates that I include myself amongst the future success stories.
lemme buy you a drink at the oscar after party...sonowthen and pedro can come too.
hehehehe.
Xixax mike will be nominated for 4 "best actor" awards that night...let's indulge. and check out some hot hollywood ass in the corner, wit our drinks...laughing in
our egotismistic melodies...
Quote from: GhostboyIf they do another one of these lists in ten years, I hope at least four members of this messageboard are on it. Including myself.
I like that. It makes me smile.
If only because I include myself in that group of four.
Quote from: GhostboyIf they do another one of these lists in ten years, I hope at least four members of this messageboard are on it. Including myself.
one of us is already on it.
My Thoughts on the list.
No way should the Wachowski Bros be on that list. Lynch shouldn't be #1 and Scorsese is ranked a little high for current directors. Nice to see Myazaki & Kiarostami on the list. I think Wong Kar-Wai should have been higher than 14, probably top 10 atleast. I still think Tarantino should be higher, on influence alone. Nice to see Wes and PTA on the list as well. Coen Bros seemed a little high...
Quote from: The Silver BulletQuote from: GhostboyIf they do another one of these lists in ten years, I hope at least four members of this messageboard are on it. Including myself.
I like that. It makes me smile.
If only because I include myself in that group of four.
Dibs on the third spot. :-P
Quote from: SHAFTRNo way should the Wachowski Bros be on that list.
Why?
Quote from: MacGuffinQuote from: SHAFTRNo way should the Wachowski Bros be on that list.
Why?
They made Bound, didn't receive much attention when it came out, but after the matrix people decided it was some kind of hidden gem. Bound is good, but nothing spectacular. The Matrix blew the world away, but one film shouldn't be enough to be on a top 40 list. Reloaded and Revolutions were average - bad films.
EDIT: adding more...
I don't think I have said enough. In my opinion,
Bound: good debut film, sparks of genius in it but not quite developed
The Matrix: great film, rejuvenated the action genre
The Matrix Reloaded/Revolutions: beating the same ol' pony to death
The Matrix / Bound are also very very similiar. I think there is a fine line between authorial signature and doing the same tricks. Watching Bound (I saw it after The Matrix), I couldn't help but feel the latter. Plus, The Matrix is already 4 years old with this poll. I don't think their recent films add up enough to be on this list.
Quote from: Pone of us is already on it.
Probably me.
:shock:
Quote from: The Silver BulletQuote from: Pone of us is already on it.
Probably me.
:shock:
or is it me?
Quote from: PQuote from: The Silver BulletQuote from: Pone of us is already on it.
Probably me.
:shock:
or is it me?
something with wings and pointy face.
Quote from: Por is it me?
Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's me.
Quote from: SHAFTRI still think Tarantino should be higher, on influence alone. Nice to see Wes and PTA on the list as well. Coen Bros seemed a little high...
The Coens are never high enough, man. You should know that.
Quote from: RoyalTenenbaumQuote from: SHAFTRI still think Tarantino should be higher, on influence alone. Nice to see Wes and PTA on the list as well. Coen Bros seemed a little high...
The Coens are never high enough, man. You should know that.
Would you agree it should just be Joel Coen. Ethan doesn't direct.
Quote from: aclockworkjjQuote from: Ghostboymandates that I include myself amongst the future success stories.
lemme buy you a drink at the oscar after party...sonowthen and pedro can come too.
hehehehe.
Xixax mike will be nominated for 4 "best actor" awards that night...let's indulge. and check out some hot hollywood ass in the corner, wit our drinks...laughing in our egotismistic melodies...
I will never be invited/nominated for an Oscar. I would however like to be the first guy with a non-lesbian/non-suicide movie to win an Independant Spirit award... :wink:
Quote from: SHAFTRQuote from: RoyalTenenbaumQuote from: SHAFTRI still think Tarantino should be higher, on influence alone. Nice to see Wes and PTA on the list as well. Coen Bros seemed a little high...
The Coens are never high enough, man. You should know that.
Would you agree it should just be Joel Coen. Ethan doesn't direct.
Ethan doesn't get credited with directing, but they both helm their films.
People too high on list: Lynch, Scorsese, Soderbergh, Malick, Ramsay, Almovadar, Haynes, Payne, and Fincher.
Guys who should not be touching list: Coen Brothers, Wes Anderson, Spike Jonze and the Wachowski brothers.
Happy Surprise (could also be higher): Hayao Miyazaki.
Missing from list: DGG, Fernando Meirelles, Steven Speilberg, Roman Polanski.
All else are fine or I dont know enough about them. But really, I don't give a shit. I'm having a hard time finding stuff to post on these days.
I have to admit that some of these directors I'm not very familiar with and that makes me both sad and excited.
I love this list because it doesn't really pander much to the obvious (who needs to argue about Bergman VS. Welles? We've all seen these movies and are just now arguing details and opinion).
I went through this list and have now added a few movies to my Netflix list and am excited to see them when they arrive.
Can someone help me out with Béla Tarr though? I guess his movies aren't convential (or short) enough for DVD? Can anyone shed some light on him, he's the only one I really don't know a thing about.
The only one on the list I'm adamant about not deserving to be on that list is Gaspar Noé. I think he's very Guy Ritchie... just a bunch of bullshit to cover up the lack of talent.
well blah!!!
yeah... read that... anyone seen his stuff or know of him?
QuoteAnd I most certainly would NOT put Lynch in the number one spot...
though I'm gonna get lynched for saying that, aren't I?
String me up too man! Lynch SUCKS. :P
Quote from: coffeebeetleQuoteAnd I most certainly would NOT put Lynch in the number one spot...
though I'm gonna get lynched for saying that, aren't I?
String me up too man! Lynch SUCKS. :P
No, YOU suck...
Quote from: Gamblor the ManwhoreQuote from: SHAFTRQuote from: RoyalTenenbaumQuote from: SHAFTRI still think Tarantino should be higher, on influence alone. Nice to see Wes and PTA on the list as well. Coen Bros seemed a little high...
The Coens are never high enough, man. You should know that.
Would you agree it should just be Joel Coen. Ethan doesn't direct.
Ethan doesn't get credited with directing, but they both helm their films.
Yeah. They write together and although the credits don't say so, they produce and direct together.
the fact that steven spielberg is not on that list blws away any shred of credibility in it...he's the most succsesful director of all times, and he makes pretty much only good to great movies and he's always true to his vision. i don't wanna think is envy what didn't got there, but if it's not envy, then it's some kind of blind criticism from these people...either way I wouldn't trust them that much...
(the wachowski brothers and no spielberg??? please)
Remember, it says 40 Best Directors "leading the way". It's a NOW list. From 1999 on, I'd say the Matrix was quite a bit more important and "leading the way" than AI, Minority Report, and Catch Me If You Can.
Really, the only weird name on the list is Malick (even though I love him).
Quote from: SoNowThenReally, the only weird name on the list is Malick (even though I love him).
Yeah. At least I got to see what he looks like...
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimage.guardian.co.uk%2Fsys-images%2FFilm%2FPix%2Fpictures%2F2003%2F11%2F11%2Fmalicka34444p.jpg&hash=49a0c1d26824cac7017ad7a6ccc27c1f13e6537c)
...exactly how I pictured him.
He's in Badlands, as the guy who comes to the door of the rich man's house (I think he was supposed to be an engineer??).
::leans back in his chair cracks open a beer(light beer) and gives a smirk::
HA!....RIGHT AFTER I STARTED THAT THREAD ABOUT "SOMETHING THAT IS TRUE BUT NO ONE ADMITS'..BAM!!THIS LIST POPS UP ABOUT MY MAN LYNCH BEING NUMERO UNO...! I TOLD YOU GUYS THIS........ :wink: ......LYNCH IS THE BEST ..I CANNNOT STRESS TO THESE SO-CALLED 'FILM BUFFS' ENOUGH THE GENIUS OF HIM..MAYBE SOME OF YOU GUYS NEED TO WATCH SOMETHING ON YOUR LEVEL..HAY!!!THE LAST SAMURIA IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER..GO SEE THAT THEN..... :wink:
as for the wachowshi's that just stupid..if ther're on that list what about mcG..??
or danny devito..
Quote from: NEON MERCURY::leans back in his chair cracks open a beer(light beer) and gives a smirk::
HA!....RIGHT AFTER I STARTED THAT THREAD ABOUT "SOMETHING THAT IS TRUE BUT NO ONE ADMITS'..BAM!!THIS LIST POPS UP ABOUT MY MAN LYNCH BEING NUMERO UNO...! I TOLD YOU GUYS THIS........ :wink: ......LYNCH IS THE BEST ..I CANNNOT STRESS TO THESE SO-CALLED 'FILM BUFFS' ENOUGH THE GENIUS OF HIM..MAYBE SOME OF YOU GUYS NEED TO WATCH SOMETHING ON YOUR LEVEL..HAY!!!THE LAST SAMURIA IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER..GO SEE THAT THEN..... :wink:
as for the wachowshi's that just stupid..if ther're on that list what about mcG..??
or danny devito..
EAT MY FUCKING SHORTS.
Quote from: ©bassQuote from: NEON MERCURY::leans back in his chair cracks open a beer(light beer) and gives a smirk::
HA!....RIGHT AFTER I STARTED THAT THREAD ABOUT "SOMETHING THAT IS TRUE BUT NO ONE ADMITS'..BAM!!THIS LIST POPS UP ABOUT MY MAN LYNCH BEING NUMERO UNO...! I TOLD YOU GUYS THIS........ :wink: ......LYNCH IS THE BEST ..I CANNNOT STRESS TO THESE SO-CALLED 'FILM BUFFS' ENOUGH THE GENIUS OF HIM..MAYBE SOME OF YOU GUYS NEED TO WATCH SOMETHING ON YOUR LEVEL..HAY!!!THE LAST SAMURIA IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER..GO SEE THAT THEN..... :wink:
as for the wachowshi's that just stupid..if ther're on that list what about mcG..??
or danny devito..
EAT MY FUCKING SHORTS.
c
dumbass.........ENVY...such a awfull sin.....
Quote from: NEON MERCURYQuote from: ©bassQuote from: NEON MERCURY::leans back in his chair cracks open a beer(light beer) and gives a smirk::
HA!....RIGHT AFTER I STARTED THAT THREAD ABOUT "SOMETHING THAT IS TRUE BUT NO ONE ADMITS'..BAM!!THIS LIST POPS UP ABOUT MY MAN LYNCH BEING NUMERO UNO...! I TOLD YOU GUYS THIS........ :wink: ......LYNCH IS THE BEST ..I CANNNOT STRESS TO THESE SO-CALLED 'FILM BUFFS' ENOUGH THE GENIUS OF HIM..MAYBE SOME OF YOU GUYS NEED TO WATCH SOMETHING ON YOUR LEVEL..HAY!!!THE LAST SAMURIA IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER..GO SEE THAT THEN..... :wink:
as for the wachowshi's that just stupid..if ther're on that list what about mcG..??
or danny devito..
EAT MY FUCKING SHORTS.
cdumbass.........ENVY...such a awfull sin.....
wait, CBrad is envious of your close-mindedness about the Wachowskis?
Quote from: SoNowThenRemember, it says 40 Best Directors "leading the way". It's a NOW list. From 1999 on, I'd say the Matrix was quite a bit more important and "leading the way" than AI, Minority Report, and Catch Me If You Can.
E.T. and Schindler's List are still more important than The Matrix...
what's the matrix contribution, really?? the cool special effects that everyone's been imitating?? is it supposed to be some kind of landmark just becaus it has some brains in it?? spielberg has been doing smart and entertaining movies way before the wachowski brothers...he has en enormous influence in the industry, and he's still experimenting and challenging himself, making different kind of movies and staying true to what he wants, instead of thinking on audiences both intelectual or mainstream...he's been growing as an artist in our eyes, getting darker, and better....
For fuck's sakes, does the word RECENT mean anything to you? Of course I agree that he'd be more imporant than the Wachowski Bros on an all time list. But this is not that list. This is saying: right now, who's leading the way in terms of directors.
Quote from: SoNowThenFor fuck's sakes, does the word RECENT mean anything to you? Of course I agree that he'd be more imporant than the Wachowski Bros on an all time list. But this is not that list. This is saying: right now, who's leading the way in terms of directors.
I really think that RECENTLY or whatever, Spielberg is leading the waya lot more than the Wachowski Brothers...specially after The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions, I don't think they're really leading shit except big trucks loaded with cash to their homes...(not that I didn't thought Revolutions was kinda cool by the way)...
I think, too, that Minority Report and Catch me if You Can are proof of a tremendous artist at the peak of his game showing how to get the shit done. And A.I. is still an underrated masterpiece. They all also happen to be box office hits. He should be on the list at least more than the Wachowski Bros and Terrence Malick...
Quote from: AlexandroI don't think they're really leading shit except big trucks loaded with cash to their homes...(not that I didn't thought Revolutions was kinda cool by the way)...
hahaha, thats fucking hilarious.
Quote from: SoNowThenFor fuck's sakes, does the word RECENT mean anything to you? Of course I agree that he'd be more imporant than the Wachowski Bros on an all time list. But this is not that list. This is saying: right now, who's leading the way in terms of directors.
Shouldn't Peter Jackson be on that list over the Wachowski Bros?
Or M Night, I wouldn't say that The Matrix films are any better than his 3 films.
I'd even put Mendes ahead of the Wachowski Bros.
Agreed, Jackson should most definitely be on the list, instead of Malick. Like I said, I love Malick, but yeah, for the now, PJ is the man.
Indeed...
a guy who makes one of the most succesful trilogies of all time (both critically and economically) and gets paid 20 million dollars to direct his next film is leading a lot of stuff...He should be there...why isn't he???
Maybe he was snubbed just like Spielberg because he makes blockbuster films that doesn't include references to all the religions of the world and don't have entire sequences just to show off their revolutionary special effects...
but his movie shows off one religion of the world and does contain revolutionary effects....
I hope all this LOTR attention will bring PJ some critical re-evaluation of The Frighteners. I liked that flick a lot...
Quote from: SoNowThenbut his movie shows off one religion of the world and does contain revolutionary effects....
I hope all this LOTR attention will bring PJ some critical re-evaluation of The Frighteners. I liked that flick a lot...
You're right, but in The Matrix films, specially in the 2 sequels...a lot of time they're just showing off. It's like: "hey, look at this cool sequence", meanwhile, in the LOTR films, everything seems perfectly integrated to the story...
That's 'cause they're working off some of the best source material of all time. It would be very hard to fuck it up.
Something I noticed and liked about the LOTR behind the scenes on the dvd, is that they treat the text like it's the bible. There's so much respect for what is written. Yet, if some screenwriter sold something to a studio, everyone would undermine it and fuck with it, etc. We need more respect for what's written (and perhaps more thorough writers)!!
I love Scorsese, but if he is #2, Spielberg should be on that list.
No Altman, Godard, Polanski? All of them are working in top form. They don't make flashy films like Lynch and Coen Bros.
Scorsese is much better than Lynch. Lynch is more of a cinematographer than a filmmaker. His films have very little substance.
The Coen Bros. are the most overrated filmmakers in the business.
Quote from: RegularKarateQuote from: NEON MERCURYQuote from: ©bassQuote from: NEON MERCURY::leans back in his chair cracks open a beer(light beer) and gives a smirk::
HA!....RIGHT AFTER I STARTED THAT THREAD ABOUT "SOMETHING THAT IS TRUE BUT NO ONE ADMITS'..BAM!!THIS LIST POPS UP ABOUT MY MAN LYNCH BEING NUMERO UNO...! I TOLD YOU GUYS THIS........ :wink: ......LYNCH IS THE BEST ..I CANNNOT STRESS TO THESE SO-CALLED 'FILM BUFFS' ENOUGH THE GENIUS OF HIM..MAYBE SOME OF YOU GUYS NEED TO WATCH SOMETHING ON YOUR LEVEL..HAY!!!THE LAST SAMURIA IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER..GO SEE THAT THEN..... :wink:
as for the wachowshi's that just stupid..if ther're on that list what about mcG..??
or danny devito..
EAT MY FUCKING SHORTS.
cdumbass.........ENVY...such a awfull sin.....
wait, CBrad is envious of your close-mindedness about the Wachowskis?
......RK...come on my brother ..don't you agree that the wachowski's should not be on that list.....????..and i know that IN NO WAY is this a DEFINITIVE list..to me its just funy that after i mentioned all of this high praise for lync in an earlier thread ..this "reputable" list appears w/lynch #1........BUT THERE WITHIN LIES A PARADOX> i'm bitch'n about how the phuck can the wachowskis be on that list but i'm in absolute agreement w/ the fact that lynch is number one..You see its ironic.......you got to reason these things out ..honeslty i can see the high praise for lynch.....but the wachowskis and not peter jackson WTF??.......
Quote from: soixante
The Coen Bros. are the most overrated filmmakers in the business.
How?
Quote from: soixanteLynch is more of a cinematographer than a filmmaker. His films have very little substance.
..i know where your going with this but i think that straight story and elephant man have
substance.....
Quote from: NEON MERCURY
......RK...come on my brother ..don't you agree that the wachowski's should not be on that list.....????..and i know that IN NO WAY is this a DEFINITIVE list..to me its just funy that after i mentioned all of this high praise for lync in an earlier thread ..this "reputable" list appears w/lynch #1........BUT THERE WITHIN LIES A PARADOX> i'm bitch'n about how the phuck can the wachowskis be on that list but i'm in absolute agreement w/ the fact that lynch is number one..You see its ironic.......you got to reason these things out ..honeslty i can see the high praise for lynch.....but the wachowskis and not peter jackson WTF??.......
i find nothing ironic or paradoxical in ur incoherent babbling. ur praising urself b/c a month ago u started a thread saying how lynch was the greatest ever, and now these ppl come out w/ this list that has lynch at #1 and u feel u've accomplished sumthing here? um.... okie dokie.
Quote from: NEON MERCURYQuote from: soixanteLynch is more of a cinematographer than a filmmaker. His films have very little substance.
..i know where your going with this but i think that straight story and elephant man have substance.....
I would say that The Straight Story is more Mary Sweeney's film than Lynch's. She put the project together, co-wrote it an also did the editing. She had to convince Lynch to even do the film.
Quote from: Gamblor the ManwhoreQuote from: soixante
The Coen Bros. are the most overrated filmmakers in the business.
How?
I think the Coens are talented, but they are no more talented than a great deal of other filmmakers who don't get as much critical attention. The characters in Coen films are like cartoon characters. I never get emotionally invested in the characters, the way I get emotionally involved in PTA's characters. The Coen Brothers are certainly very clever, and they have a great visual sense, but it all comes down to this (to quote Magnolia) -- What Is This In The Service Of? Do I feel any emphathy for the characters in Raising Arizona or Barton Fink? No, they are just "types," viewed with smug detachment by their makers. What makes PTA great is that he creates characters who are three-dimensional. When Amber Waves loses her kid at the custody hearing in Boogie Nights, it was heart rending. The Coens have never created characters with this much depth.
I guess it comes down to sensibility -- I don't like their sensibility, which is hip, ironic, smug and emotionally detached.
that's exactly what critics of Kubrick say...
why must we feel involved with every character in every movie? Don't you like to sit back and watch a good story unfold?
See, for me, when Amber loses her kid at the custody hearing, I was thinking "thank goodness". The last thing her kid needs is to be around a junkie headcase who lives on a porno movie set.
Quote from: SoNowThenSee, for me, when Amber loses her kid at the custody hearing, I was thinking "thank goodness". The last thing her kid needs is to be around a junkie headcase who lives on a porno movie set.
very true, and I fully agree...it was set up in a way that would expect you to feel sorry for Amber. But when all is said and done, i feel pta did a great job of lettin' us not forget about the reality part of things. Is amber a bad person at heart?? no. but would I like to see her raisin' a kid. no way. it would be even worse than myself dealin' with a little jj....
Someone please kill the guy who made this list!
Quote from: SoNowThenthat's exactly what critics of Kubrick say...
why must we feel involved with every character in every movie? Don't you like to sit back and watch a good story unfold?
See, for me, when Amber loses her kid at the custody hearing, I was thinking "thank goodness". The last thing her kid needs is to be around a junkie headcase who lives on a porno movie set.
It's funny, Kubrick is one of my favorite filmmakers. He does present his characters with a cool, clinical sense of detachment, but he never loses sight of their humanity -- whether it be Alex in Clockwork Orange or Kidman's character in Eyes Wide Shut. At least they're flesh and blood characters, viewed from a lofty, Olympian distance. The Coens create cartoony characters that they often make fun of.
The scene in which Alex visits his parents after being in prison in Clockwork Orange had a great deal of poignancy, much more than I've ever seen in a Coen film. Or the scene in which Barry Lyndon's son died. I have yet to see anything like that in a Coen film. There is a difference between lofty, Olympian detachment, versus the smug, ironic detachment of college boys making fun of everything and not taking anything seriously. It's called immaturity vs. maturity.
I agree that Amber shouldn't be allowed to have custody of her kid, but the poignancy for me was the crushing realization of the wages of sin that hits all of the characters. I don't feel sorry for her because she deserves to keep her kid -- I feel sorry for her because she doesn't deserve to keep her kid, and I feel her sense of irreparable loss (thanks to Julianne Moore's brilliant acting).
As for watching a good story unfold, I don't think storytelling is the Coen Bros' strong point. Man Who Wasn't There was just a Dashiell Hammett pastiche, while Hudsucker Proxy was a pastiche of Capra films and screwball comedies. I think the Coens are the 90's equivalent of Peter Bogdanovich.
Ummmm I just noticed this, but Terrence Malick is number 5? That deserves a big "What the Fuck?" Ok, there's been lots of talk about directors on the list who may or may not be leading the way, and Malick may have been mentioned already, but seriously, their list is considerably flawed now. After 20 years, Malick makes the Thin Red Line, and nothing since. How the fuck is that leading any kind of way for film-making? I don't care how good TTRL was, it didn't influence cinema in any way to make Malick a big leader of directing, let alone the fifth biggest. I can't believe I missed that, this list is complete trash now. Might be a little rejective of the rest of the qualities of their list, but honestly, that's a big fucking mistake.
Quote from: soixante
As for watching a good story unfold, I don't think storytelling is the Coen Bros' strong point. Man Who Wasn't There was just a Dashiell Hammett pastiche, while Hudsucker Proxy was a pastiche of Capra films and screwball comedies. I think the Coens are the 90's equivalent of Peter Bogdanovich.
You could say the same for Kill Bill, doesn't mean Tarantino isn't deserving of the praise he gets as a filmmaker. It's the fact that they (Coens and Tarantino alike) can take the style and make it their own and mock it while at the same time show their love for it that makes them great filmmakers. Even PTA once said movies are like songs, they have the same similar structure of verse chorus verse, all you can do is add on to it. These guys are paying tribute to old styles, and doing it goddamn well.
Quote from: SHAFTRQuote from: NEON MERCURYQuote from: soixanteLynch is more of a cinematographer than a filmmaker. His films have very little substance.
..i know where your going with this but i think that straight story and elephant man have substance.....
I would say that The Straight Story is more Mary Sweeney's film than Lynch's. She put the project together, co-wrote it an also did the editing. She had to convince Lynch to even do the film.
.this in a way proves the gennius of lynch.....
you stated that he was "pushed" into doing this film..which one would assume that once your pushed into somethignt that your heart is not into, the film as a result of your lack of heart would suffer..bu tnnot w/lynch-he made this(straight story) a modest masterpiece.....{
spoileralso, at the end he could have screwed it up and cheesed it out ..bu the choose a unnncoventional way..and it paid off well}......
and what ever liitle involment he had he was still the
director of this film so had his imput in it..
Quote from: SoNowThenthat's exactly what critics of Kubrick say...
why must we feel involved with every character in every movie? Don't you like to sit back and watch a good story unfold?
See, for me, when Amber loses her kid at the custody hearing, I was thinking "thank goodness". The last thing her kid needs is to be around a junkie headcase who lives on a porno movie set.
Yes, but... the father didn't seem much better, really. Seemed to me he was using the kid to "get back" at Amber somehow, like he had this big chip on his shoulder. I think PTA set this up in a similar way he set upt he Bill Macy suicide thing (the way he discusses it on the soundtrack, how horrified he was when the audience actually cheered him murdering his wife): He's absolutely not into allowing the audience to feel triumphant at anyone's pain, or divvying up the world into black and white, "he's 'right' so we're on his side, she's 'wrong' so we're not for her." Not in the least; if I felt that's what he was trying to do with his stories and characters, I'm sure I'd have very little fondness for him as a filmmaker.
I really like soixante's way of putting it. Amber is, above and beyond being a "junkie headcase who lives on a porno movie set," a human being in a lot of pain, someone PTA clearly feels for and means for us to, even if some of us might not. In my opinion, that's what PTA was really trying to get at. Of course she wasn't going to get custody of her kid- but it's not some sort of moral superiority at work, some sort of, "Yeah! Right on!" kind of thing. It's genuinely tragic, and I really believe we're supposed to feel for her.
In fact, I've been extremely surprised to read here how some people seem to dislike or look down on Rollergirl and Amber Waves. That interpretation seems so far-fetched to me; it honestly never would have crossed my mind. To me, they're absolutely equal in complexity and final sympathy to the rest of the characters.
complexity yes, sympathy, I dunno -- but I group Dirk and well, pretty much all the rest of them. Except for some reason Buck. I genuinely feel Buck got shafted way worse than he put himself out to be. Maybe that's why PTA gave him the bag of money...
I mean, as to Rollergirl, he even said himself on the commentary about those "I dunno" girls.
Also, I think you're reading way too much into the husband character in that scene. All the info presented was that he didn't want her to have custody (or much contact at all) with the kid, with very VERY valid reasons. Keep in mind we see her phoning and harassing him in the middle of the night while she snorts a rail. I mean, yes it was painful to watch Amber break down and cry (probably a testament to JM's great acting), but I didn't feel like she was unfairly treated. I feel like she was sleeping in a very bad bed she made for herself. Just like every character in the last half of the movie.
Quote from: SoNowThencomplexity yes, sympathy, I dunno -- but I group Dirk and well, pretty much all the rest of them. Except for some reason Buck. I genuinely feel Buck got shafted way worse than he put himself out to be. Maybe that's why PTA gave him the bag of money...
I mean, as to Rollergirl, he even said himself on the commentary about those "I dunno" girls.
Also, I think you're reading way too much into the husband character in that scene. All the info presented was that he didn't want her to have custody (or much contact at all) with the kid, with very VERY valid reasons. Keep in mind we see her phoning and harassing him in the middle of the night while she snorts a rail. I mean, yes it was painful to watch Amber break down and cry (probably a testament to JM's great acting), but I didn't feel like she was unfairly treated. I feel like she was sleeping in a very bad bed she made for herself. Just like every character in the last half of the movie.
I guess I don't have a hard time sympathizing with people who've made mistakes and pay for it (especially as dearly as Amber pays for hers, or maybe "choice" is a better word than "mistake," as family life/porn life is probably a mutually exclusive choice for most people). I think it's self-righteous and arrogant to deny people sympathy because they're suffering for their own mistakes. Let's just put it this way: I firmly believe that if we all really got what we deserved, we'd all be fucked. A little grace, compassion, and empathy, or at the very least understanding, is almost always in order. Maybe our mistakes don't have such awful consequences, or maybe they just haven't caught up with us, but: It really breaks my heart when she's in there, under the judgmental, self-righteous prick eyes of Reagan and Bush in portraiture (here's where SoNowThen and I will surely disagree, as he finds PTA's films apolitical. I, on the other hand, don't feel like he would use an intertitle reading "80s," have a main character getting her life ruined under specifically chosen art direction depicting the ringleaders of that godawful era, or a black child helping himself to a rich white lady's wallet if he were entirely apolitical; to me, saying he's apolitical is equivalent to saying he's not entirely in control of his own mis en scene, and I happen to think he is), getting her soul torn out as payback for her bad choices.
And I don't think it's reading too much into it at all to say the ex-husband/father is something of a bully.
As for Rollergirl- I have a much easier time finding sympathy for people who are messed up, confused, and self-destructive than I do for people who are cruel, spiteful, and, again, bullies (the cruelty and bullying of her nemesis from high school, who also suffers from a little self-righteous streak that gets an ugly display in the back of the limo, finally results in a violence I feel is neither condemned nor endorsed by the filmmaker, though I do feel he finds it the inevitable result of such torment).
i've just checked the list, i think is nice to see Lynch as number one, i don't know if he's the best, but he is the most original of these years, and i'm sure no one would deny his name is one of the most important in the history of cinema....
ok, now about PTA, i love him and i would like to see him in a higher number, even so i think he's well when he is, seeing the names are before him...
Now, what are the Wachowski's brothers doing there??????? if the list would be about movies ok, i think Matrix is important for Hollywood yes, but they as filmmakers hmmmmmm...i have my doubts, and why are they over Lars von Trier????? :roll: uh?
and Soderbergh number 4?? hmmm...Soderbergh is a good filmmaker but i don't think THAT good....
and WHERE WOODY ALLEN WAS???? :shock:
that's the problem with lists
Quote from: Vile5Now, what are the Wachowski's brothers doing there??????? if the list would be about movies ok, i think Matrix is important for Hollywood yes, but they as filmmakers hmmmmmm...i have my doubts
Well, I think the Wachowskis are there, because in a way they revolutionized Hollywood and cinema. Let me try to explain this... like,with The Matrix they introduced a new knd of special effects to films, visual effects and editing and whatever (I'm not very good with technical names for SFX). And then, they proceeded to create a very interesting thing, by creating two more films, the Animatrix and then the computer games, which allowed the fans to really get involved in The Matrix. I think they did a very important thing, by using every media they couldto communicate with their audiences. So I think we could call them big influences. I'm not the world's biggest Matrix fan (The Matrix = Very Good; Reloaded = Near Perfection; Revolutions = Huge Fucking Disappointment) but I admire what they did.
Quote from: Vile5and why are they over Lars von Trier????? uh?
and Soderbergh number 4?? hmmm...Soderbergh is a good filmmaker but i don't think THAT good....
and WHERE WOODY ALLEN WAS????
that's the problem with lists
On the other hand, I couldn't agree more with this.
Quote from: RoyalTenenbaumQuote from: Vile5Now, what are the Wachowski's brothers doing there??????? if the list would be about movies ok, i think Matrix is important for Hollywood yes, but they as filmmakers hmmmmmm...i have my doubts
Well, I think the Wachowskis are there, because in a way they revolutionized Hollywood and cinema. Let me try to explain this... like,with The Matrix they introduced a new knd of special effects to films, visual effects and editing and whatever (I'm not very good with technical names for SFX). And then, they proceeded to create a very interesting thing, by creating two more films, the Animatrix and then the computer games, which allowed the fans to really get involved in The Matrix. I think they did a very important thing, by using every media they couldto communicate with their audiences. So I think we could call them big influences. I'm not the world's biggest Matrix fan (The Matrix = Very Good; Reloaded = Near Perfection; Revolutions = Huge Fucking Disappointment) but I admire what they did.
well i get your point, and yes as creators of a new cinematographic language, i vote for them, BUT my question is:do they deserve to being on that list for Matrix only?? if i wouldn't have watched Reloaded and Revolutions i'd say: "hmmm, maybe", but now i don't think so, cause to be a good filmmaker, i mean THAT good you must to show consistency, and sadly i didn't see that in Wachowskis bro's work, maybe you don't think like me, and that's right anyway...
noe's a fucking hack in my opinion. inifintile novelty act, a child desperate for anyone's attention -- its like show and tell without any show and nothing to tell.
Quote from: Vile5well i get your point, and yes as creators of a new cinematographic language, i vote for them, BUT my question is:do they deserve to being on that list for Matrix only?? if i wouldn't have watched Reloaded and Revolutions i'd say: "hmmm, maybe", but now i don't think so, cause to be a good filmmaker, i mean THAT good you must to show consistency, and sadly i didn't see that in Wachowskis bro's work, maybe you don't think like me, and that's right anyway...
We should just ignore lists like this anyway :wink:
Quote from: RoyalTenenbaumQuote from: Vile5well i get your point, and yes as creators of a new cinematographic language, i vote for them, BUT my question is:do they deserve to being on that list for Matrix only?? if i wouldn't have watched Reloaded and Revolutions i'd say: "hmmm, maybe", but now i don't think so, cause to be a good filmmaker, i mean THAT good you must to show consistency, and sadly i didn't see that in Wachowskis bro's work, maybe you don't think like me, and that's right anyway...
We should just ignore lists like this anyway :wink:
well said
Quote from: Vile5Quote from: RoyalTenenbaumQuote from: Vile5well i get your point, and yes as creators of a new cinematographic language, i vote for them, BUT my question is:do they deserve to being on that list for Matrix only?? if i wouldn't have watched Reloaded and Revolutions i'd say: "hmmm, maybe", but now i don't think so, cause to be a good filmmaker, i mean THAT good you must to show consistency, and sadly i didn't see that in Wachowskis bro's work, maybe you don't think like me, and that's right anyway...
We should just ignore lists like this anyway :wink:
well said
It's that one time of the month when I say something right...
The 30 Harshest Filmmaker-on-Filmmaker Insults In History
1. Francois Truffaut on Michelangelo Antonioni:
"Antonioni is the only important director I have nothing good to say about. He bores me; he's so solemn and humorless."
2. Ingmar Bergman on Michelangelo Antonioni:
"Fellini, Kurosawa, and Bunuel move in the same field as Tarkovsky. Antonioni was on his way, but expired, suffocated by his own tediousness."
3. Ingmar Berman on Orson Welles:
"For me he's just a hoax. It's empty. It's not interesting. It's dead. Citizen Kane, which I have a copy of — is all the critics' darling, always at the top of every poll taken, but I think it's a total bore. Above all, the performances are worthless. The amount of respect that movie's got is absolutely unbelievable."
4. Ingmar Bergman on Jean-Luc Godard:
"I've never gotten anything out of his movies. They have felt constructed, faux intellectual, and completely dead. Cinematographically uninteresting and infinitely boring. Godard is a fucking bore. He's made his films for the critics. One of the movies, Masculin, Féminin, was shot here in Sweden. It was mind-numbingly boring."
5. Orson Welles on Jean-Luc Godard:
"His gifts as a director are enormous. I just can't take him very seriously as a thinker — and that's where we seem to differ, because he does. His message is what he cares about these days, and, like most movie messages, it could be written on the head of a pin."
6. Werner Herzog on Jean-Luc Godard:
"Someone like Jean-Luc Godard is for me intellectual counterfeit money when compared to a good kung-fu film."
7. Jean-Luc Godard on Quentin Tarantino:
"Tarantino named his production company after one of my films. He'd have done better to give me some money."
8. Harmony Korine on Quentin Tarantino:
"Quentin Tarantino seems to be too concerned with other films. I mean, about appropriating other movies, like in a blender. I think it's, like, really funny at the time I'm seeing it, but then, I don't know, there's a void there. Some of the references are flat, just pop culture."
9. Nick Broomfield on Quentin Tarantino:
"It's like watching a schoolboy's fantasy of violence and sex, which normally Quentin Tarantino would be wanking alone to in his bedroom while this mother is making his baked beans downstairs. Only this time he's got Harvey Weinstein behind him and it's on at a million screens."
10. Spike Lee on Quentin Tarantino (and the "n-word" in his scripts):
"I'm not against the word, and I use it, but not excessively. And some people speak that way. But, Quentin is infatuated with that word. What does he want to be made — an honorary black man?"
11. Spike Lee on Tyler Perry:
"We got a black president, and we going back to Mantan Moreland and Sleep 'n' Eat?"
12. Tyler Perry on Spike Lee
"Spike can go straight to hell! You can print that... Spike needs to shut the hell up!"
13. Clint Eastwood on Spike Lee:
"A guy like him should shut his face."
14. Jacques Rivette on Stanley Kubrick:
"Kubrick is a machine, a mutant, a Martian. He has no human feeling whatsoever. But it's great when the machine films other machines, as in 2001."
15. Jacques Rivette on James Cameron (and Steven Spielberg):
"Cameron isn't evil, he's not an asshole like Spielberg. He wants to be the new De Mille. Unfortunately, he can't direct his way out of a paper bag. "
16. Jean-Luc Godard on Steven Spielberg:
"I don't know him personally. I don't think his films are very good."
17. Alex Cox on Steven Spielberg:
"Spielberg isn't a filmmaker, he's a confectioner."
18. Tim Burton on Kevin Smith (after Smith jokingly accused Burton of stealing the ending of Planet of the Apes from a Smith comic book):
"Anyone who knows me knows I would never read a comic book. And I would especially never read anything created by Kevin Smith."
19. Kevin Smith on Tim Burton (in response to "I would never read a comic book"):
"Which, to me, explains fucking Batman."
20. Kevin Smith on Paul Thomas Anderson (specifically, Magnolia):
"I'll never watch it again, but I will keep it. I'll keep it right on my desk, as a constant reminder that a bloated sense of self-importance is the most unattractive quality in a person or their work."
21. David Gordon Green on Kevin Smith:
"He kind of created a Special Olympics for film. They just kind of lowered the standard. I'm sure their parents are proud; it's just nothing I care to buy a ticket for."
22. Vincent Gallo on Spike Jonze:
"He's the biggest fraud out there. If you bring him to a party he's the least interesting person at the party, he's the person who doesn't know anything. He's the person who doesn't say anything funny, interesting, intelligent... He's a pig piece of shit."
23. Vincent Gallo on Martin Scorsese:
"I wouldn't work for Martin Scorsese for $10 million. He hasn't made a good film in 25 years. I would never work with an egomaniac has-been."
24. Vincent Gallo on Sofia (and Francis Ford) Coppola:
"Sofia Coppola likes any guy who has what she wants. If she wants to be a photographer she'll fuck a photographer. If she wants to be a filmmaker, she'll fuck a filmmaker. She's a parasite just like her fat, pig father was."
25. Vincent Gallo on Abel Ferrara:
"Abel Ferrara was on so much crack when I did The Funeral, he was never on set. He was in my room trying to pick-pocket me."
26. Werner Herzog on Abel Ferrara:
"I have no idea who Abel Ferrara is. But let him fight the windmills... I've never seen a film by him. I have no idea who he is. Is he Italian? Is he French? Who is he?"
27. David Cronenberg on M. Night Shymalan:
"I HATE that guy! Next question."
28. Alan Parker on Peter Greenaway (specifically The Draughtsman's Contact):
"A load of posturing poo-poo."
29. Ken Russell on Sir Richard Attenborough:
"Sir Richard ('I'm-going-to-attack-the-Establishment-fifty-years-after-it's-dead') Attenborough is guilty of caricature, a sense of righteous self-satisfaction, and repetition which all undermine the impact of the film."
30. Uwe Boll on Michael Bay:
"I'm not a fucking retard like Michael Bay."
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lol@Kevin Smith creating a special Olympics of film.
Those were pretty good.