My 12 favorite directors and the films I like
I would watch any film made by these directors.
Pedro Almodovar
Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown, All About My Mother, Talk To Her.
Robert Altman
M*A*S*H, The Long Goodbye, Short Cuts, Cookie's Fortune, Gosford Park.
Charlie Chaplin
Easy Street, The Cure, The Gold Rush, City Lights, Modern Times, Monsieur Verdoux.
George Cukor
The Women, Holiday, The Philidelphia Story, Adam's Rib, A Star Is Born.
John Ford
Stagecoach, The Long Voyage Home, Grapes Of Wrath, They Were Expendable, My Darling Clementine, The Quiet Man, Mister Roberts (co-directed).
Peter Greenaway
The Draughtman's Contract, Drowning By Numbers, The Cook The Thief His Wife And Her Lover, The Pillow Book.
Howard Hawks
Twentieth Century, Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday, The Big Sleep, Rio Bravo, Hatari!.
Alfred Hitchcock
Foreign Correspondant, Notorious, Rear Window, Vertigo, North By Northwest, Psycho, Marnie.
Krzysztof Kieslowski
The Decalogue, The Double Life Of Veronique, White, Red.
Michael Powell
The Thief Of Bagdad, Stairway To Heaven, Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, Peeping Tom.
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Rublev, The Mirror, Solaris, Stalker, The Sacrifice.
Francois Truffaut
The 400 Blows, Shoot The Piano Player, Jules And Jim, Fahrenheit 451, Small Change, Day For Night.
Cool. I'm a bit surprised The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence didn't make the John Ford short list, but that's neither here nor there (well, okay, maybe it's here). Also that The Mirror didn't make the Tarkovsky short list - what in the heckfire am I watching it for then!? :-)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence is my second least favorite John Ford I have ever seen. It contains that spooky kind of American cheese that makes my skin crawl. Not quite as bad as Broken Lance or Northwest Passage but pretty close.
I don't know J., why are you watching the Mirror? bwaahahahaha! =:~D Actually, I have to watch it a couple more times before I make any decisions about The Mirror.
Could you please explain what, "that spooky kind of American cheese that makes my skin crawl" means? I'm not taking offense to it, but I am seriously curious.
Over-blown but earnest screen-writing, a wounded hero, a benefactor needing saving himself, the I can't-you can-wait I can series of scenes, 1 win-one-for-the-kipper speech, a pupil having to do the manly dead scene plus 1 or 2 underachievers needing a second chance all mixed together. Formula for spooky American cheese.
Ok I usually try to stay away from defending movies. But when a canadian starts ripping on Americana...just hold me back... :)
Actually I do have a question for you about your dislike of Liberty Valance... Did you not think the whole point of the movie was that America's history is built on so much bullshit that the truth and the legend are so hard to seperate that the Legend is what is often remembered? The line about printing the Legend certainly leaves little doubt in my mind.
Now if you were to use this description of say Ford's Calvary trilogy or even The Quiet Man (movies I happen to love by the way) I could sort of see your point. But then I am a sappy american.
If you dont like Ford for these qualities, I shudder to think what your thoughts on Frank Capra might be...
First of all, I also dislike Ford's calvalry trilogy, but for too many silly and burly men reasons this time.
Yes.
Frank Capra, although sharing some qualities with Ford, tends to gently nudge belief systems with his characters. I love his films.
But name any film with the formula I listed above and I gurantee I disliked it.
Great list, but as a friend, let me warn you a bit about Mr. Altman. He has certainly laid his fair share of eggs, believe me...
As for Hitchcock, he has a few bad (sometimes boring) clunkers as well.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I know, I know, I know, Altman has laid some big, big eggs. Dr. T. and Fool For Love come to mind. But...I...can't...stop...watching. :~D
How could you not have "Nashville" for Altman's short list?
Also, it's just my opinion, but "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" is one of my favorite Ford films, and I can't help but take a little offense at some of your comments.