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Post by Mighty Jack on Feb 17, 2012 5:54:10 GMT -5
[/b] [li] This isn't my thread. I ask for contributions for all our film fanatics. Pick a great director and using IMDB, Tomatoes or your own thoughts, share what makes them great (and I do mean great. No Rick Sloane's or Coleman Francis’ allowed, please. But if you truly find a B movie director great, feel free to include them). Edit: So far my write-ups have been a blending of my own thoughts, with info picked up around the 'net [/li][li] You don’t have to imitate everything I do, and can put your own spin on the write-ups - but heading-wise try to use the model I’m using when posting (centered heading with picture on top, info underneath that) so we have some uniformity. (Hit the quote button to see what specs I used) [/li][li] All can comment, but lets not duplicate lead posts (what I mean is, we don’t need 2 or 3 lead posts on Hitchcock. One will do). Aside from that, discuss at will. [/li][li] If quoting a specific post, don’t quote the whole lead post with picture etc, just quote the director’s name and/or the specific sentence you want to address. This will save space. [/li][li] I don’t call dibs on any director. So if your hoping to cover Hitch or Kurosawa, please do so (I've written about each enough already) [/li][li] Above all. Have fun. Index[/li][li] Pedro Almodóvar - Chosen by Tony? Pepper? MJ? [/li][li] Vittorio De Sica - Chosen by Tony? Pepper? MJ? [/li][li] Hal Ashby - Chosen by Tony? Pepper? MJ? [/li][li] Susanne Bier - Chosen by Tony? Pepper? MJ? [/li][li] Howard Hawks - Chosen by Tony? Pepper? MJ? [/li][li] Ishiro Hondo - Chosen by codyhimes [/li][li] Wes Anderson - Chosen by Tony? Pepper? MJ? [/li][li] Powell & Pressburger - Chosen by Tony? Pepper? MJ? [/li][li] Buster Keaton - Chosen by Tony? Pepper? MJ? [/li][li] Steven Soderbergh - Chosen by Tony? Pepper? MJ? [/li][li] Billy Wilder - Chosen by Tony? Pepper? MJ? [/li][li] Michelangelo Antonioni - Chosen by TheNewMads [/li][li] The Coen Brothers - Chosen by Mr. Atari [/li][li] Stanley Kurbrick - Chosen by Frameous [/li][li] Hayao Miyazaki - Chosen by angilasman [/li][li] Victor Sjöström - Chosen by Tony? Pepper? MJ? [/li][li] Ernst Lubitsch - Chosen by Tony? Pepper? MJ? [/li][li] Alfred Hitchcock - Chosen by Tony? Pepper? MJ? [/li][/ul]
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Post by Mighty Jack on Feb 17, 2012 5:54:31 GMT -5
Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar has been called the most influential Spanish filmmaker since Luis Buñuel. Beginning in the 1980s, Almodóvar started serving up provocative, candy-colored visions fraught with postmodernist insight into everything from sex and violence to religion and the dangers of good gazpacho. Sometimes shocking, sometimes controversial, Almodóvar's films have always managed to present a new and intriguing view of his native country, shaping the attitudes of both his compatriots and a larger international audience - Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi (Rotten Tomatoes) Trademark:Often uses symbolism and metaphorical techniques to portray circular storylines. His films often portrays strong female characters and transsexuals Uses only his last name for his "Film By" credit ("Un film de Almodóvar") Quotes:"Already when I was very young, I was a fabulador. I loved to give my own version of stories that everybody already knew. When I got out of a movie with my sisters, I retold them the whole story. In general they liked my version better than the one they had seen." Trivia:The Lady from Shanghai (1947) is one of his favourite films. Academy Awards: Won an Oscar for best writing: Original screenplay for Talk to Her (2002) and was nominated for best director that same year. All About My Mother won the best foreign film Oscar in 1999. Key releases: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, All About My Mother, Talk to Her, Volver
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Post by Mighty Jack on Feb 17, 2012 6:49:31 GMT -5
Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica grew up poor in Naples. He was drawn towards acting, and by the late 1920s, was a successful matinee idol of the Italian theatre and film, mostly light comedies. He turned to directing in 1940, making comedies in a similar vein, but with his fifth film The Children are Watching Us (1944), he revealed hitherto unsuspected depths and an extraordinarily sensitive touch with actors, especially children. It was also the first film he made with the writer Cesare Zavattini with whom he would subsequently make Shoeshine (1946) and Bicycle Thieves (1948), heartbreaking studies of poverty in postwar Italy. After the box-office disaster of Umberto D. (1952), a relentlessly bleak study of the problems of old age, he returned to directing lighter work, appearing in front of the camera more frequently. Although Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963) won him another Oscar, it was generally accepted that his career as one of the great directors was over. However, just before he died he made The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1970), which won him yet another Oscar, and his final film A Brief Vacation (1973). Trademark:Was one of the founding fathers behind the style of neorealism. His movies could be bleak and pessimistic, but he also had a touch of the sentimentalist in him. Quotes:“There is no crisis in cinema. There are negative periods.” Trivia:Though considered one of the Italian cinema's greatest and most influential directors, De Sica's sole Academy Award nomination was for acting, when he received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nod for playing Major Rinaldi in 1957s A Farewell to Arms The Bicycle Thief was cited by Turner Classic Movies as one of the 15 most influential films in cinema history Academy Awards: His movies Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963), Marriage Italian Style (1964), The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1970) were Oscar-nominated for "Best Foreign Language Film". Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963) and The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1970) won. Bicycle Thieves (1948) and Shoeshine (1946) received special Honorary Awards for their high and outstanding quality. Directed Sophia Loren to an Oscar nomination twice, for Two Women (1960) and for Marriage Italian Style (1964). Loren won an Oscar for the first nomination. Key releases: Shoeshine, The Bicycle Thief, Umberto D, Two Women
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Feb 17, 2012 10:38:35 GMT -5
Uwe Boll and Michael Bay.
There. I've ruined the thread. Yoiu're welcome!
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Post by Mighty Jack on Feb 17, 2012 16:19:23 GMT -5
Why did I know you'd be the one to do that To clairify, I don't mind if this is diverse and includes names from Truffaut to Wes Craven to Rob Reiner... I just want to avoid silliness like including the guy who made Birdemic. I have no idea if this will catch on. But I'd enjoy reading/seeing other folks choices.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Feb 17, 2012 16:30:07 GMT -5
I intend to do something more extensive and serious later. I was just in a rush this morning and slid that through for giggles.
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Post by Mighty Jack on Feb 18, 2012 1:12:37 GMT -5
Hal Ashby He started out as an editor before turning to direction, and while this maverick hippie sabotaged his own career with drug use and erratic behavior, at his peak, throughout the 70s, he produced motion pictures that were intelligent and strikingly original. Unlike his contemporaries (Scorsese, Brian De Palma), he didn't have a distinct singular style, which might be why he doesn't get the attention he deserves. His star fell in the 80s after a series of critical and commercial flops. Ashby died from cancer in December 1988 at the age of 59. Trademark:* He was known for well acted, human scale dramas. The people in his films generally face choices in situations that reflect major social concerns. * He employed a variety of editing techniques - saying that he did not rely on a distinctive style, but rather attempted to adapt his style to the type and subject of each film. Quotes:On working as an editor - “It’s the perfect place to examine everything. Everything is channelled down into that strip of film, from the writing to how it’s staged, to the director and the actors. And you have the chance to run it back and forth a lot of times, and ask questions of it – Why do I like this? Why don’t I like this?” Trivia:"Bound For Glory", the story of Woody Guthrie, was the first film to use a steady cam. Harold and Maude’s indie-quirky style inspired and influenced Wes Anderson Academy Awards: He was nominated as best director in 1979 for “Coming Home”. In 1968 he won an Oscar for editing “In the Heat of the Night”. Directed 10 different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Lee Grant, Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid, Jack Warden, Jon Voight, Jane Fonda, Bruce Dern, Penelope Milford, Melvyn Douglas and Peter Sellers. Grant, Fonda, Voight and Douglas won Oscars for their performances in one of his movies Key releases: Shampoo, Harold and Maude, Bound For Glory, The Last Detail, Coming Home, Being There
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Post by Mighty Jack on Feb 19, 2012 15:04:17 GMT -5
Susanne Bier I felt the ladies needed some representation, and Susanne is one of my favorites to emerge from the past decade. In Europe there is this strange thing where critics don't like it if a film is both commercial and artistically viable. It has to be one or the other. Americans find this stupid (as well we should) and as a result, Bier has actually earned more respect here, than in her native Denmark. She studied art and architecture at Jerusalem University prior to her acceptance to the National Film School of Denmark from where she graduated in 1987. She went on to direct various films in Denmark and Sweden, her first commercial success being the romantic comedy The One and Only in 1999. She then moved onto darker material, for which she's won acclaim and a host of awards. Trademark:* Her pictures are frequently about the family unit , and good people put to the test by tragic circumstances. * The intimate family concerns, are played out on a global stage. * At times she’ll get a little to artsy-fartsy for her own good... as in her propensity for zeroing in on tight shots of the eye or mouth. Quotes:“My first job as a filmmaker is to not make a boring film. I don't see a conflict between art and commerce, but I do see one between boredom and commerce. I think once you start structuring according to theme, things become more educational than emotional, and I don't think that works. I think it really is about addressing the conflict between the characters and addressing the storytelling and psychology. That way, the feelings are the undercurrent of the whole story, which is exciting.” Trivia:* She has filmed one movie in America to mixed reviews, “The Things We Lost in the Fire” (It's my least favorite from her) * Called "In a Better World" in the US, the film's title in Danish is "Haevnen," , which translates to "vengeance." * Her film Brothers, was remade in America (starring Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman) Academy Awards: "In a Better World" won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2011. After the Wedding was nominated in 2006 Key releases: Brothers, After the Wedding, In A Better World
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Post by Mighty Jack on Feb 21, 2012 2:05:58 GMT -5
Howard Hawks Hawks was a guy who didn't get much respect from Oscar, earning only one Best Director nomination (for Sergeant York) and he lost that to John Ford. He was known for his straightforward, no-nonsense style and craftsmanship, as well as his versatility. He was one of the best with screwball comedy and was equally as deft with westerns or war or gangsters. If he had a blind spot it was that his films didn't have a message, he didn't believe in message pictures. He simply wanted to tell a good story. He was the prototype for the independent filmmaker. In an age when directors were often hired hands who were submissive to the studio system. Hawks worked as producer and developed his own stories and didn't tie himself down to one studio. Trademark:* Heroes in his films are often professionals who always get the "job" done and who often wind up learning teamwork is the best way of dealing with problems. * Rapid-fire, occasionally overlapping dialogue * His female characters are frequently "just one of the guys," coining the term "Hawksian Women." Quotes:“I don't think plot as a plot means much today. I'd say that everybody has seen every plot twenty times. What they haven't seen is characters and their relation to one another. I don't worry much about plot anymore.” Trivia:Hawks had said in interviews that he was supposed to direct the now-beloved Casablanca (1942) and Michael Curtiz was meant to direct Sergeant York (1941). However, the two directors had lunch together and Curtiz complained that he knew nothing about the "hill people", while Hawks was struggling to make this "musical comedy", so they switched films. Hawks said that he always considered "Casablanca" a musical comedy because of the number of singing scenes in the café, namely the "La Marseillaise" scene. Later, Hawks said that Curtiz shot the film "beautifully and the whole picture came out different because of the two people in it [Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman]. They made you believe something Frequently worked with William Faulkner. Faulkner wrote or co-wrote many of Hawks' films. Key releases: Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday, Red River, To Have and Have Not, El Dorado, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Ball of Fire, Sergeant York, Rio Bravo
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2012 2:12:12 GMT -5
Ishiro HondaImage courtesy of The Filmgoers' Guide, used without permission Although he would have preferred to direct human dramas, Ishiro Honda will be best remembered as the director of many (twenty-five!) Japanese science-fiction films. Because of the sheer number of special effects movies he's directed (including eight Godzilla films, more than any other director) and because most of those films were re-edited and poorly dubbed upon release in the United States, Honda's work has never really received critical acclaim, and thus makes him a somewhat unorthodox choice for this thread. Honda proved, however, to be a more-than competent director that loved the art of filmmaking, and always put his own ideas and beliefs at the core of his films. Furthermore, Honda's films have made a significant impact on the popular culture of Japan and the United States. His career started off with several dramas and war movies, but the success of "Godzilla" in 1954 (his best known work) forever pigeonholed him as a director of monster and special effects pictures. While these genres were considered second-rate in Hollywood, there was no such stigma in Japan at the time. Still, Honda longed to direct dramas about ordinary people. This desire is easily seen in his monster movies, which often feature normal characters behaving realistically in fantastic situations. The strong human element is one of the most defining characteristics of his work. Honda's movies almost always featured special effects directed by his friend Eiji Tsuburaya, the undisputed master of his art in Japan, music by acclaimed composer Akira Ifukube, and produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka. Together, this team was responsible for some of the most well-known and well-made kaiju movies, including six of his eight Godzilla films. Honda also worked closely with screenwriters Shinichi Sekizawa and Takeshi Kimura (sometimes credited as Kaoru Mabuchi). Sekizawa's scripts for Honda were usually more upbeat and comedic, and tended to focus on fantastic elements (he wrote "Mothra," "King Kong vs. Godzilla," and "Monster Zero"), while the pessimistic Kimura wrote darker stories such as "War of the Gargantuas" and the excellent "Matango." Ishiro Honda more or less retired from directing feature films in 1970. Eiji Tsuburaya had passed away, and with the declining quality of Japanese monster movies and no other films being assigned him, Honda moved into TV work. Tomoyuki Tanaka lured Honda back for one more Godzilla film in 1975, "Terror of Mechagodzilla," which proved to be Honda's final work as director. He spent the later years of his life working with his close friend Akira Kurosawa on his final films. Honda died in 1993 at the age of 81. Trade Mark:* Many of his early films have been compared to documentaries... albeit documentaries featuring giant monsters. * Honda's films often involve the people of the world putting aside their differences and uniting to overcome some sort of enormous threat. * The danger of nuclear energy and weaponry plays a key role in many of his films. It was his decision to add the H-Bomb metaphors to the original "Godzilla," which became one of the hallmarks of the genre. * Treated his monster characters very sympathetically. He believed that monsters were tragic creatures that weren't trying to be evil or destructive. Quotes:"How can we make a special effects scene impressive? Needless to say, special effects shooting is trick photography, not reality. In order to make the unreal look real, the director himself has to make believe that he is part of the scene. Let's assume that suddenly, there is Godzilla -as tall as 50 meters- in front of you; you actually need to have this feeling of shock. A film that records events as they occur is called a documentary. A special effects film is fundamentally the same as a documentary." Trivia:* Close friend of Akira Kurosawa. They were assistant directors at P.C.L. and Toho in the 1930s and 1940s. After Honda retired from filmmaking in 1975, he assisted Kurosawa with his final films. * His second monster film, "The Monster Snowman" (aka "Half Human"), is practically banned in Japan. The portrayal of a tribe of villagers in the film is considered very politically incorrect and racist in the film's native country (comparisons have been drawn to the Ainu people of Hokkaido), and Toho has never issued the film on video or DVD. A leaked screener tape is the only way to see Honda's cut of the film. Academy Awards: None in the US. "Godzilla" reportedly won the Japanese Academy Award for Best Special Effects and was nominated for Best Picture (lost to "Seven Samurai"), though I can't confirm that. I'm uncertain if any of his other films won Academy Awards in Japan. Key releases: * Godzilla (1954) - Honda's best film, his most well known and the one that shaped his life and career. * The Mysterians (1957) - The first of several Toho films dealing with alien invaders. Honda also incorporated his theme of the brotherhood of mankind into this film. This theme is revisited in several subsequent films. * Mothra (1961) - Next to "Godzilla," this is perhaps the most important kaiju movie. A beautiful, epic fantasy that brings together many of Honda's most popular ideas. * King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) - Honda's original Japanese version is a brilliant comedy satirizing Japanese media. This isn't his best film, but it displays his range as a director. * Matango (1963) - Honda's dark masterpiece about a group of castaways literally and figuratively losing their humanity. Websitewww.japanesegiants.com/honda/index.html
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Post by Mighty Jack on Feb 21, 2012 2:55:28 GMT -5
Thanks for contributing cody. I know we have many on board who will be happy to see his name.
On his work with Kurosawa: My favorite story is his work on Stray Dog. He filmed the black market scenes in his role as assistant director. Honda hid the camera in a box and walked the streets for hours. And the shots of Murikama’s shoes seen from behind… Those were actually Honda’s feet not Mifune’s.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Feb 21, 2012 2:58:39 GMT -5
I wish I could see more of Honda's work here in the States. I'd love to get a peek at his pre-Godzilla dramas, before he became Toho's go-to guy for giant monsters.
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Post by Mighty Jack on Feb 21, 2012 5:09:12 GMT -5
I'd like to see them, see what they are like. And many of them star Shiumra and Mifune. Here's the poster for Skin of the South. Giant looming head menaces Tokyo? I think Godzilla was his destiny.
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Post by Mighty Jack on Feb 22, 2012 1:44:34 GMT -5
Wes Anderson One of my all time favorite films, Harold and Maude, went on to inspire a host of quirky Indie style filmmakers, with Anderson at the vanguard and among the best. Yes he draws from the same well, movie after movie: You have the odd/dysfunctional family dynamic, the memorable music, and a slow motion walk off at the end. But I find his films so damned entertaining and moving – delightfully distinctive and eccentric - that I don’t mind it. As long it works, I’ll be paying for a ticket. I also find that his pictures get stronger with each viewing. Trademark:* His co-writers include Owen Wilson, Noah Baumbach and Roman Coppola * Makes obsessive and comedic use of "rostrum camera" insert shots, foregrounding the minutiae of books and other documents. * Likes to shoot with extremely wide-angle anamorphic lenses that exhibit considerable barrel distortion. * Frequently uses a take/double take technique where he will show a character/action, quickly pan to another character/action, then pan back, usually with handheld camera. * Anderson has been called an auteur as he is involved in every aspect of his films' production. His films employ similar aesthetics, using a deliberate, methodical cinematography, with mostly primary colors. Quotes:“I want to try not to repeat myself. But then I seem to do it continuously in my films. It's not something I make any effort to do. I just want to make films that are personal, but interesting to an audience. I feel I get criticized for style over substance, and for details that get in the way of the characters. But every decision I make is how to bring those characters forward.” Trivia:Kumar Pallana was cast in his first 3 films. Kumar was the proprietor of the coffee shop Wes and Owen Wilson hung out in during college. Academy Awards:Hasn’t won one, but he was nominated in 2001 for Best Original Screenplay for The Royal Tenenbaums and in 2010 for Best Animated Feature for Fantastic Mr. Fox. Key releases: Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr. Fox
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Post by Mighty Jack on Feb 23, 2012 2:47:37 GMT -5
This is turning into the “me” thread, which I didn't really want. But what the hell. It keeps me from boredom (I have no life, so to speak) so I might as well keep at it. Up next: Before there were the Coen's there was... Powell and Pressburger Sergio Angelini wrote, "The films made by the team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger are celebrated not only for their wit, conceptual audacity and visual flamboyance but also for their willingness to take risks and go against the prevailing tastes and attitudes of their times."The British film-making partnership of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, also known as The Archers, made a series of influential films in the 1940s and 1950s. Their collaborations were mainly from original stories by Pressburger with the script written by both Pressburger & Powell. Powell did the majority of the directing while Pressburger did most of the work of the producer and also assisted with the editing, especially the way the music was used. Unusually, the pair shared a writer-director-producer credit for most of their films. (Wiki) I found their work highly original, thought provoking and in my favorite pieces (Red Shoes and A Matter of Life and Death) displayed film as works of art. There is often something a little skewed, melodramatic, in both language and visual. That can be off-putting to some, but refreshing and different for those who appreciate it. Once the partnership dissolved, Michael Powell would go on to direct Peeping Tom, a release so controversial it set his career on the downward spiral. It has since been hailed as a classic, largely through the efforts of Martin Scorsese, who championed the film. Trademark:* Women are predominantly featured in psychologically dense efforts – Issues that lead to their undoing in Shoes and Narcissus include sexual repression, displacement and pressure to conform. * They tackle complex issues, champion high art - and while they employed fantasy elements, they did not believe in film as pure escapism. * Conceptually blends both realism and fantasy. Are known for their innovative use of color. Quotes:"Art is merciless observation, sympathy, imagination, and a sense of detachment that is almost cruelty." – Michael Powell "I live cinema. I chose the cinema when I was very young, 16 years old, and from then on my memories virtually coincide with the history of the cinema . . . I'm not a director with a personal style, I am simply cinema. I have grown up with and through cinema; everything that I've had in the way of education has been through the cinema; insofar as I'm interested in images, in books, in music, it's all due to the cinema." - Michael Powell "I think that a film should have a good story, a clear story, and it should have, if possible, something which is probably the most difficult thing - it should have a little bit of magic . . . Magic being untouchable and very difficult to cast, you can't deal with it at all. You can only try to prepare some nests, hoping that a little bit of magic will slide into them." – Emric Pressburger Trivia:Powell was voted the 22nd Greatest Director of all time by Entertainment Weekly. Four of their films are among the Top 50 British films of the 20th century according to the British Film Institute, with The Red Shoes placing in the top 10. Academy Awards:They earned several nominations, including Best Picture for The 49th Parallel (1943) and Red Shoes (1949). The wins include.. 1943: Pressburger won for Best Writing, Original Story “49th Parallel 1948: Black Narcissus won for set/art direction and cinematography 1949: The Red Shoes won for set/art direction and best music Key releases: Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, A Matter of Life and Death, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
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