By foreign, I mean their films originate in a language that isn't English.
For my money....
Ingmar Bergman is the best thing to happen to world cinema.
Akira Kurosawa is a close second
Now....best foreign film?
Again, I'm going with Bergman. His "Seventh Seal" is my favorite foreign film. Followed closely by Kurosawa's "Rashomon"
I have yet to see 8 1/2, Seven Samurai, or Grand Illusion. I chose these out of the dozen or so foreign films I've seen:
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
El Mariachi
Magic Flute
Wild Strawberries
Yojimbo
Ran
Throne of Blood
Cries and Whispers
Amelie
My Father's Glory
Brotherhood of the Wolf
I think that's it....to explain the extreme lack of foreign film experience, the only thing I can account for that is that I live in a small town with a very minimal selection at the local movie stores. Although, I am getting shitload of foreign films for christmas:
8 1/2
Seven Samurai
Sanjuro
Hidden Fortress
Band of Outsiders
Winter Light
Through a Glass Darkly
And then some....
does ebonics count???????
Godard. Breathless revolutionized cinema in 1960. Alphaville has been highly influential. His 60's films are as fresh now as they were when they were first released.
j_scott_stroup04 it's great that ur getting involved in starting topics of movie discussion, i hope soon u will grow out of list-making and ranking threads.
and onto fruitful relevant discussion.
Quote from: Pj_scott_stroup04 it's great that ur getting involved in starting topics of movie discussion, i hope soon u will grow out of list-making and ranking threads.
and onto fruitful relevant discussion[/b].
yeah!!..join us over here j_scott_stroupe04:
http://xixax.com/viewtopic.php?t=4756 ..... :wink:
Hey, hey, now be nice...
This is just a method to individualize those who I feel share my opinions. :-D
....It's also a method of finding out which directors or films I need to see.
Some directors of really thoughtful, really beautiful films who for one reason or another never took the world by storm like your Fellinis and your Bergmans:
Abbas Kiarostami
Alexandr Sokurov
Andrei Tarkovsky
Theo Angelopoulos
Robert Bresson
Carl Theodor Dreyer
Quote from: godardianSome directors of really thoughtful, really beautiful films who for one reason or another never took the world by storm like your Fellinis and your Bergmans:
I'll add Henri-Georges Clouzot and Krzysztof Kieslowski.
And also piggy-back this thread for further discussion:
http://xixax.com/viewtopic.php?t=4144
To keep the list short, I'll stick to the ones that live.
Kusturica
Lars von Trier
Takeshi Kitano
Teresa Villaverde
Godardian:
Obviously, being a Godard fan, you would be the one I'd go to if I were to ask for a recommendation. So....which Godard film would you recommend for a person in my situation, in which I've only seen Sympathy for the Devil (I'm sure that's not a "Godard" film in the true sense of the word).
would it be Breathless? Contempt? Band of Outsiders (which is probably going to be my first offical Godard)?
is there any other ones that should be first....or specific ones I should save for last?
Quote from: j_scott_stroup04Godardian:
Obviously, being a Godard fan, you would be the one I'd go to if I were to ask for a recommendation. So....which Godard film would you recommend for a person in my situation, in which I've only seen Sympathy for the Devil (I'm sure that's not a "Godard" film in the true sense of the word).
would it be Breathless? Contempt? Band of Outsiders (which is probably going to be my first offical Godard)?
is there any other ones that should be first....or specific ones I should save for last?
contempt or alphaville or band of outsiders -- personally despise the last 2 acts of breatless -- 1st is quite wonderful
Quote from: j_scott_stroup04Godardian:
Obviously, being a Godard fan, you would be the one I'd go to if I were to ask for a recommendation. So....which Godard film would you recommend for a person in my situation, in which I've only seen Sympathy for the Devil (I'm sure that's not a "Godard" film in the true sense of the word).
would it be Breathless? Contempt? Band of Outsiders (which is probably going to be my first offical Godard)?
is there any other ones that should be first....or specific ones I should save for last?
Well... it depends. My
favorite is
My Life to Live (Vivre sa Vie), but I'm not sure that's a good "first." Probably
Breathless and
Band of Outsiders are the most fun, most accessible Godard, and then if you like those, go on to
Contempt,
Vivre sa Vie, and
Alphaville.
Thanks a bunch!!
In the coming months, I'm probably going to be spending a shit load of money on half.com, ebay and such.
The first Godard film I saw was Sympathy for the Devil. It played at a midnight show, and lots of rockers and stoners went because it featured the Rolling Stones. By the half-way point, most of the audience was gone. It features the Stones rehearsing and recording the title song, over and over, cross-cut with gun-toting Marxist revolutionaries spouting incendiary slogans. This film came out in 1968, the beginning of Godard's political phase, in which aesthetic concerns took a back seat to left-wing political statements.
My personal favorite by Godard is My Life to Live. It is instructive to compare the looseness of Breathless with the rigidness of My Life to Live.
I would recommend Pierrot le Fou, Alphaville, Les Carabiniers, Breathless, Band of Outsiders and Contempt. You can't go wrong with any of them. Le Petit Soldat is highly political. Weekend is one of his best, but isn't on DVD. Every Man For Himself is cool (his 1980 comeback film), but it's not on DVD either.
Wong Kar-Wai
scorsese
hitchcock
welles
kubrick
spielberg
...
Señor Spielbergo.
Quote from: PSeñor Spielbergo.
:lol:
No love for Almodovar? All About My Mother has got to be one of the best foreign films ever made.
There are many...but right now I'll go with Peter Jackson.
But as I said, there are many.
Quote from: StefenNo love for Almodovar? All About My Mother has got to be one of the best foreign films ever made.
+[/b]
talk to her.
Quote from: j_scott_stroup04Thanks a bunch!!
In the coming months, I'm probably going to be spending a shit load of money on half.com, ebay and such.
spend it on netflix instead.
Quote from: StefenNo love for Almodovar?
I'll vote for Almodovar.
I won't.
Godard and Bergman are still alive folks....
anyway, if we're talking younger, I'll go with Cristophe Gans, based on Brotherhood Of The Wolf alone.
nobody mentioned Tykwer and that spanish guy that made The Others.
I got some Godard for Christmas: Breathless, Alphaville, and Band of Outsiders. I've watched Breathless and Band of Outsiders and absolutely loved them! Godard seems like he's gonna be one of my favorites, his style definitely intrigues me.
I also got 8 1/2, Juliet of the Spirits, Fellini's Roma, and La Strada. 8 1/2 was fuckin' amazin'! For about the first hour, the only thing I could think about was that this film was overrated. By the end I was blown away! It's one of those films that get better with each viewing, and by the end you see why the first part of the film is how it is, and that begins to be enjoyable as well. I'd definitely put it along the lines of Citizen Kane.
Quote from: mollynobody mentioned Tykwer and that spanish guy that made The Others.
Alejandro Amenábar.
there's also the spanish guy who directed Lucia y el Sexo and Los Amantes del Circulo Polar, Julio Medem.