Mike Nichols
Gaspar Noé
Christopher Nolan
David O. Russell
Roman Polanski
Gus Van Sant
Paul Schrader
the Directors
I have an obsession with viewing the entire body of work of filmmakers I love. When I lock onto a director I want to highlight, exceptions for letting one of their films go unseen are very rare. I love these directors, and to fully appreciate their work, I think it is important to view every film they have done. For those of you who may be unaware of some of the films created by these directors, I certainly hope you have as much fun discovering them as I did.
Jean-Pierre Melville
Mike Nichols
Gaspar Noé
Christopher Nolan
David O. Russell
Roman Polanski
Gus Van Sant
Paul Schrader
Mike Nichols
Gaspar Noé
Christopher Nolan
David O. Russell
Roman Polanski
Gus Van Sant
Paul Schrader
Please do one such feature on Alfred Hitchcock.
ReplyDeleteI'll be waiting. :)
Ohh I LOVE Hitch. One of my all time favorites. But wow, so many films to his name. That would take months of dedication. Someday though :)
DeleteMaybe a top 10 favorite films would be easier.
DeleteIt would be, certainly. But a little too much work for a full directors profile right now.
DeleteGlad you included Alfonso Cuaron :)
ReplyDeleteLove that guy. What a visionary.
DeleteWhere's the love for Japanese directors!? How about some Ozu?
ReplyDeleteOzu is one of my all time favorites, but the man has so many films, many of which are very hard to track down. I only write about directors whose entire filmography I've seen. But I should work harder on finding some obscure Ozu.
DeleteInnaritu? He's a great one with only a few films to his credit.
ReplyDeleteWas literally going to cover him next in this column. One of my favorite directors, no doubt. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
DeleteYou should do Danny Boyle. His films are all fairly entertaining.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great call. I've actually been meaning to cover him for a while now.
DeleteHere's my Danny Boyle post. Thanks for the push on this one. http://www.andsoitbeginsfilms.com/2014/06/the-directors-danny-boyle.html
DeleteWhat are your thoughts on doing one on John Carpenter? I think his early work certainly earns him a place in film history, at least up to They Live.
ReplyDeleteThat's so funny, I literally researched Carpenter for this series about two months ago. Ultimately, I decided it may not be a good use of my time, at least right then. Like you say, his work kind of falls off post-They Live (thought I'll always love the trash of Escape from L.A.). But his early stuff...yeah, there's no arguing the importance of those films. I should cover him though. It'd be nice to have a horror director up there.
DeleteYou're missing Barry Levinson from this page (just so you know).
ReplyDeleteAhh what would I do without you. Thanks man, nice catch.
Deletelol, no biggie. I'm just a stickler for things like that. Just out of curiosity, any chance of you ever doing a write up for Kurosawa? I only ask cause you've done write ups for every other director on your favorites list. I know working through all of his films is quite an undertaking to say the least.
DeleteYou know, I actually haven't covered a lot of those fellas. Bergman, Herzog, Hitchcock, Chaplin, Kurosawa... all masterful filmmakers with insanely long (and somewhat difficult to track down) filmographies. I have seen all of Bergman's though, so I need to start writing that beast of a post ASAP.
DeleteI was actually going to retract that portion of my statement when I looked through your favorite filmmakers again. But you beat me to it.
DeleteHaha, well, I gotta to on 'em soon!
DeleteA top 10 favorite Ingmar Bergman films.
ReplyDeleteI'll have my full post on Bergman's entire career up soon.
DeleteA top 10 favorite Federico Fellini films.
ReplyDeleteI could do that list, but I think I'll hold out for a full Fellini profile.
DeleteCharlie Chaplin are many and there are very good, you should do a list.
ReplyDeleteYou know, if I just focus on his features, a full profile for Chaplin is definitely doable.
DeleteJohn Carpenter ?
ReplyDeleteYou're the second person to ask that I cover him here, so I will make Carpenter my next director to profile. I'm not the biggest fan of his post-They Live work, but it'll be fun to re-explore his great films. Thanks for the push!
DeleteWhy is no Ben Affleck, Warren Beatty, Rob Reiner, Ron Howard, Robert Redford, Sean Penn, George Clooney, John Cassavetes profile?
ReplyDeleteI am just one man, after all. But Cassavetes is next.
Delete3+4+17+31+9+4+4+6 is 77 movies (8 are short). Aren't so many
DeleteBen Affleck: I Killed My Lesbian Wife..., Gone Baby Gone, The Town, Argo
Warren Beatty: Heaven Can Wait, Reds, Dick Tracy, Bulworth
Robert Redford: Ordinary People, The Milagro Beanfield War, A River Runs Through It, Quiz Show, The Horse Whisperer, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Lions for Lambs, The Conspirator, The Company You Keep
Sean Penn: The Indian Runner, The Crossing Guard, The Pledge, Into the Wild
George Clooney: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Good Night, and Good Luck, Leatherheads, The Ides of March, Martin Scorsese Eats a Cookie, The Monuments Men
Dude, what the hell is Martin Scorsese Eats a Cookie? That sounds awesome.
DeleteI believe Sergio Leone is on your influential directors list. I'd LOVE to see one of these about him. His filmography is far briefer than many of these (though they do boast meaty run-times) and it'd be great to hear your thoughts on his movies.
ReplyDeleteAkira Kurosawa too. If its not too much to ask ;)
Thanks so much for the comment! I do appreciate Leone, and I have seen all of his films, so I should definitely get him up here. Kurosawa is another story. Dude has made so many films and a handful of them are hard to track down. But I've been slowly chipping away at his filmography for a while now :)
DeleteSorry I couldn’t locate the page we were discussing this on but I said you had inspired me to write my own film blog once in a while and well… here are the results http://moviesandshennanigans.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/top-10-overrated-films.html
DeleteIts been a while since Ive posted (this being the first in some months) and Im kind of young so it could be a tad crap- but you expressed interest so I thought why not
This isn’t trying to be an advert of any kind, sorry if it came across as such. Hope you like it.
Well.
Ish.
Great stuff man, really digging the posts. I'll save the site to my favorites and revisit often. And don't worry, your comment didn't play as an advert - all good man!
DeleteI hope you'll do a John Carpenter soon. Or give a date, when is gonna be published
ReplyDeleteSo here's the thing: while I appreciate that I've gotten many requests to cover John Carpenter, these posts take a very long time to research and complete, and I'm really only interested in covering filmmakers I love. Me writing about John Carpenter would only incite vitriol, which isn't really my thing. Basically, I'm not a fan, and I'd rather cover directors I am a fan of.
DeleteSo, who are the filmmakers you like and you didn't make a profile?
DeleteHitch, Bergman, Kurosawa, Chaplin, Keaton - it never ends. I want to get to all of them eventually, it just takes a lot of time.
DeleteAnd who are the filmmakers that you saw their all films and you didn't make a profile?
DeleteP.S. I hope for an M. Night Shyamalan.
Ha, well, sadly, I haven't seen After Earth. I kept up with Shyamalan's filmography for a while, almost as a joke. But after The Last Airbender, I'd had enough.
DeleteI understand, but tell me, YOU are excited by his next project: Labor of Love(2015)?
DeleteRe-teaming with Willis is enough of a selling point for me. But I don't have high hopes.
DeleteAnd he wrote this script in 1993.
DeleteIf you want to see a so-bad-its-funny worse than The Last Airbender watch After Earth. Shyamalan goes from bad to worse to worst.
DeleteI could never bring myself to watch it. It looked so bad.
DeleteAnd its worse than it looks. A work of art. Its worse than F. It's F-. But if you watch it as a comedy (and you are drunk) its funny.
DeleteAnd why did you do a profile of Steven Spielberg?
ReplyDeleteBecause I... wanted to.
DeleteThis is a great series you have here, Alex. Really, it is. Some ideas for it: Tarkovsky, Huston, and Wong Kar-wai.
ReplyDeleteThanks buddy, I really appreciate it. Been working on Tarkovsky slowly but surely, same with Kar-wai. Huston is a worthy challenge as well. There are SO MANY to choose from!
DeleteBy the way, I saw your earlier comment about Carpenter in response to Budai Robert (funny how many people mentioned him after I did) and now that I think about it that way, I guess you're right. It's probably for the best you don't cover him, at least not right now as a priority. It's funny how different his early work is compared to his later work. It's as if after finishing They Live, a very fine cult film, he was replaced by a hack doppelganger who couldn't even direct traffic. It's odd.
DeleteDon't get me wrong, I dig a lot of Carpenter's films, but by and large, genre directors do little for me, and inciting said director's fan base isn't really what I'm into. I did research him though. I wrote out his filmography, noted the films I still had to see and should see again, and after some thinking, I realized my time would be better spent elsewhere. Way it goes, you know?
DeleteI understand. I probably would've done the same thing if I were you.
DeleteJames Cameron?
ReplyDeleteThat's one definitely worth writing about. I've liked a lot of his films, others not so much. A good balance.
DeleteJames Cameron isn't such a great director. He made 2 horrible films. Unwatchable films! One is Piranha Part Two: The Spawning. It's awful. The second one is TITANIC. I hate this film so much. (Top 5 films I just hate(WORST TO BEST): The Wizard of Oz, Titanic, The Last Airbender, Transformers, Twilight.) But he made also three perfectly decent films, with many flaws but still enjoyable: The Abyss, True Lies and Avatar. One sci-fi thriller film with bad special effects and a great. And two of the best sequels films\sci-fi films\action films of all time: Aliens, which, maybe, isn't better than its predecessor and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which is an update sequel, in my opinion flawless, perfect.
DeleteT2 is my favorite, but I do love The Abyss and True Lies. Aliens is very good as well. Titanic has never worked for me.
DeleteT2 its my favorite too. So great. I hate the Titanic. Too many reasons
DeleteBut Avatar?
DeleteI think its technical achievements are certainly worth highlighting, but story wise... it's a tad lame. I've only seen it once though.
DeleteTony Scott !, the best action film director.
ReplyDeleteI actually really dig his work. Sad that he's gone.
DeleteA few ''COOL'' ideas: Michael Bay, Nicolas Winding Refn, Sam Raimi, Antoine Fuqua, John Woo and Terry Gilliam.
ReplyDeleteA few "SMArt" ideas: Andrei Tarkovsky, Park Chan-wook, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Pedro Almodóvar, Robert Altman and François Truffaut.
Who will have a profile? When?
Great choices. I'm working on Hitchcock now, should have him down soon. Tarkovsky and Kieślowski are ones I'd LOVE to cover ASAP. Hopefully within the next few months.
DeleteI love this feature of yours and your manner of appraising the directors. I always use them as a reference when I start working through each director's filmography. It'd be great to see the Dardenne brothers and Krzysztof Kieślowski.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Angela! I've been working on Kieślowski for a few months now - he's one of my favorites. I'm woefully behind on the Dardenne brothers films. Need to fix that ASAP.
DeleteYou ever watched a great director who started to make bad films after bad films and then again great films?
ReplyDeleteThat's a great question. Been trying to think of someone for the past few hours, and I can't. So I suppose my answer is no.
DeleteBut a bad director who started to make great films?
DeleteI think a lot of great directors started out making bad-to-mediocre films, Bergman included.
DeleteA Ben Stiller profile? He made some good (maybe great comedy) films.
ReplyDeleteHe's a solid filmmaker, but I have a lot of people ahead of him right now. Mike Nichols will definitely be next.
DeleteJust two female directors who have a profile.
ReplyDeleteI certainly hope your curt criticism is against the latent misogyny within the entertainment industry and not against this blog. Be careful here.
DeleteI just want to say there are just two or three female directors who deserve a profile, because Hollywood is so mysogyny. So the first time a female director won the Oscar was in 2009. Such a shame. Kathryn Bigelow, Jane Campion, Penny Marshall, Sarah Polley, Leni Riefenstahl, Lone Scherfig are very great directors who deserves profiles, but I know you are very busy with Hitchcock, Nichols and probably Steve McQueen (tell me who I should expect). Keep going, you are terrific.
DeleteOkay great, glad to hear that. Really appreciate your kind words.
DeleteWho is next for a profile?
DeleteHitch is next. Been literally working on him for the whole year. Some of his movies are so hard to find, and I've realized that my opinions on some of his films change everytime I watch them.
DeleteBut after that, if you could pick ONE director for me to cover next, who would it be. Pick one and I'll cover him (or her...) next. Promise.
Wow, great. John Cassavetes.
DeleteAwesome, been wanting to cover him for a while now. He'll be next after Hitch.
DeleteI love so much Hitchcock. He had got a masterful style to make films. I'm so excited for his profile. My favorite is of course Psycho, but his other films I saw were masterful too. Rear Window is perfect; North by North-West is the best spy movie I ever saw (better than James Bond); Rope is very great (one shot AND in real-time); The Man Who Knew Too Much (remake) was also great and thrilling; The 39 Steps is a very fine spy thriller (and a funny one); Strangers on a Train is a brilliant film, I love the concept and execution of it; The Birds was my first Hitchcock film, so intense, so great, without this film we would never had Jaws. (Note: I never saw Vertigo, Frenzy, Torn Curtain, Marnie, The Wrong Man, The Trouble with Harry, Dial M for Murder, Notorious, Spellbound, Lifeboat, Shadow of a Doubt, Rebecca, The Lady Vanishes, Sabotage, Blackmail or Suspicion; but I will see them soon.) When will you post his profile? (I wanted to rewrite someting)
DeleteI'm hoping to have it up by the end of the year. If not, then very early in January. So happy that you're a fan. Seems like we enjoy a lot of the same Hitch films.
DeleteWho wouldn't enjoy a great Hitchcock film?
DeleteThat's why he was "The MASTER of suspense".
Hell yeah man. One of the best.
DeleteWhat do you think is his worst 5 films?
DeleteI haven't seen them all yet, but so far: The Pleasure Garden, Mary, Number Seventeen, Waltzes from Vienna, Jamaica Inn.
DeleteCould you do Bob Fosse? (Still waiting for Bergman)
ReplyDeleteFosse is an interesting choice. I adore All That Jazz. Thanks for the reco! I really wanted to have Bergman completed by 2014, but I got latched onto Hitchcock. I only have a few Bergman's left, but his films take so much out of me. He's my favorite filmmaker, but I cannot binge watch his work at all. So trust me man, my Bergman piece will definitely be out soon!
DeleteI watched All That Jazz yesterday, everything about the film was great and the performance by Scnedier... Wow
DeleteSo good, right? Easily the best film Fosse made.
DeleteI agree with that statement
DeleteYou will write in Hitchcock's profile about Alfred Hitchcock Presents?
ReplyDeleteProbably not, only because I'm eager to get the post up, and there are a lot of episodes of that show. Would take me a long time to watch.
DeleteCould you put Bob Rafaelson your 'To Do List'? Five Easy Pieces is one om favorite movies and contain what i believe to be the greatest performance of all time by Jack Nicholson. Just a recommendation (:
ReplyDeleteI do love Five Easy Pieces, but none of Rafelson's other films (that I've seen) really grab me. I like some of what he did with The Postman Always Rings Twice, though.
DeleteYou have a good point that Five Easy Pieces is the only great movie he has really made (Have not seen The Postman Always Rings Twice). But you have to agree that the ending to Five Easy Pieces i one of the greatest endingz of all time. Bobby Dupea reminds me so much of myself that it makes me uncomfortble.
ReplyDeleteYou should do a list of your favorite movie endings some time
Whenever I do lists regarding endings, it always pisses people off, even if I put a spoiler warning! But I actually was thinking about that exact topic earlier today. So maybe soon!
DeleteI truly believe that as long as you make it clear in the title or intrudictions that there will be spoilers that people have no righy to complain.
ReplyDeleteI should definitely do it soon.
DeleteSpike Jonze?
ReplyDeleteGreat call. I should cover him very soon.
DeleteI love Her and Being John Malkovich. A+ and A+.
DeleteSuch a fine filmmaker.
DeleteWhat do you think about Terry Gilliam?
ReplyDeleteSpotty. I like a lot of his films, dislike some others. Love very few, but also hate some as well.
DeleteWhich you like, which you dislike, which you hate, and which you love?
DeleteOf the ones I've seen...
DeleteLove: Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Brazil, The Fisher King
Like: Jabberwocky, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Dislike: The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Brothers Grimm (though Ledger is great), The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (again, Ledger is great)
Hate: Tideland
:) So you love as many as you like as many as you dislike.
DeleteWhat it is so wrong with Tideland?
Well, I need to make clear that hate is a very ugly word, and one I shouldn't have used here. I don't HATE Tideland, it just does nothing for me. It's Gilliam at his most Gilliamesque, and not, to me, in a good way.
DeleteGetting restless for hitchcock man!
ReplyDeleteAhh sorry! Been so busy promoting my own movie that blogging and movie watching have kind of taken a back seat. Soon though I promise!
DeleteThats alright! Can you give an expected date?
DeleteMy life goes back to normal after Feb. 14, so I'll hopefully have it up by the end of Feb/early March!
DeleteBro, you should do Elia Kazan when you get the time. His movies are legendary.
ReplyDeleteOh, he'd be great to cover. Stacked filmography though. I've sadly been neglecting this column for the past few months, been so busy promoting my own movie. But I'll get back to it soon!
DeleteAnd David Lean, he is the true master of the word 'epic'
ReplyDeleteHell yeah, for sure.
DeleteAlex, I know that I have been writing many requests lately but just know the name of a great director came to me... Sergio Leone!
ReplyDeleteI'll definitely cover him soon. A small, but superb body of work.
DeleteSorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, to say this but I'm still waiting for Hitchcock. I begin to feel upset. When?
ReplyDeleteMy life goes back to semi normal after Feb. 15, so that's when I'm diving fully back into Hitch. I've so busy promoting my movie!
DeleteA few more days, right?
DeleteSoon!
DeleteBo Widerberg? Hope you do not mind me adding thing's to you queeu
ReplyDeleteThat's a really spirited choice. I'd love to dive more into his work.
DeleteI never mind you leaving suggestions! I've just been so busy recently, so I've been neglecting this column a bit. Will get back into it soon.
I understand, you have your own life and priorities just like everyone else.
DeleteThanks man.
DeleteStill waiting for Hitchcock...
ReplyDeleteWorking on it as we speak. Can't rush these things.
DeleteWriting or watching his films?
DeleteBoth. It's such a vast filmography and I want to do it right. But I do chip away at it everyday.
DeleteGeorge Lucas? One can't denie his influence (:
ReplyDeleteDefinitely one of the most influential directors ever. Sadly, I'm not a fan of most of his films, so I don't think I'd have anything constructive to add with a profile, you know?
DeleteI understand, this should be list of directors that you really admire. And in all honesty i have never cared for Star Wars (Im expecting someone to do a driveby) i think American Graffiti to be his greatest film and my personal favorite. Except of that movie im not that big off a fan.
ReplyDeleteI fully agree. I learned a long time ago that stating my opinions about Star Wars on this blog gets me no where, so I just stay off them. American Graffiti, however, is a masterpiece.
DeleteAmerican Graffiti has perhaps the greatest use of music I've ever seen in movie.
DeleteJohn Cassavet?
ReplyDeleteDefinitely going to cover him soon.
DeleteAdding request for the future
ReplyDeleteSidney Lumet, Sydney Pollack, David Lean, Orson Welles, Jason Reitmam, Billy Wilder, Frank Capra, Jim Jarmuch, Charlie Chaplin, Robert Altmam, Lars Von Trier, Tomas Vinterberg, Michael Moore , Alexander Payne,
Bo Widerberg, Jan Troell, Pedro Almodvar, Felini, Chaplin
Great picks right there, definitely have a lot of them on my list to cover. Been trying to finish Hitckcock for a while but it's just so much.
DeleteKeep on fighting.
DeleteWould love to see profiles on Wong Kar-wai and Sergio Leone, but no rush. I only found your site a couple of months ago, so I have plenty of other stuff to read in the meantime. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely need to cover Wong Kar-wai. Leone has gotten a lot of requests, so I need to get to him soon as well. Thanks for the recos, and thanks for checking out the site!
DeleteLove your blog, especially your "directors" entries. A couple filmmakers I would love to see you cover are Akira Kurosawa, Sidney Lumet, Hayao Miyazaki, John Huston, Kim Ji-woon, Orson Wells, Sergio Leone, Bong Joon-ho, Billy Wilder, as well as more "genre" filmmakers such as Guillermo del Toro, James Cameron, Sam Raimi, Dario Argento, just to name a few :p
ReplyDeleteAlso another suggestion: Have you thought about updating the previous entries? I know that your analysis of Soderbergh ends with the Informant, as well as Scorsese with Shutter Island. I know you've reviewed their following films as well as others, but it would be nice to see them all in one spot.
Thanks again, and can't wait for your opinion on HItchcock's films.
Thanks so much for the comment and suggestions! Really happy that you like the site. Hitchcock has taken me such a long time (I'll be posting it next week!), so after that, I'm going to focus on some directors with somewhat smaller filmographies. Leone and Cameron and del Toro will be high on the list.
DeleteIn terms of going back and adding to former entries... I dunno, I battle with it. I don't really like to edit my posts, because they are so indicative of a time and place. Like... I like going back and looking at some of the old posts and seeing how my writing/design/formatting has changed over the years, not to mention my opinions. But it would be fun to update some of them.
I really don't want to see any of the director old posts changed at all. It would be fun but this shows how great your writing became. What if you'd make a new second post on that director adding the new films and making a new slide for the old director posts and keep the old ones there.
DeleteThanks man. That's probably what I'd end up doing, creating an addendum post to supplement posts I've already written. Soderbergh and Scorsese would be great places to start.
DeleteThere will be Leone and Tarkovsky- soon- or there will be blood...
ReplyDeleteBtw, have you seen the original Dutch 'The Vanishing' of 88'? :)
Workin' on them! LOVE The Vanishing. Called it one of the scariest non horror films ever made.
DeleteSatyajit Ray? He is a great filmmaker who has created movies like the Apu Trilogy
ReplyDeleteOh man, I love that guy. Have a lot more of his films to see though. So good.
DeleteWill you be covering Denis Villeneuve in the future? Worked through all his stuff today and I was more than impressed. Cant wait to see Sicaro
ReplyDeleteDefinitely going to do a post on him after Sicaro is released. I love his films.
DeleteHey Alex. How about Hawks? A fantastic versatile filmmaking auteur in the Andrew Sarris mold. Hawks' films are modern, fresh, and have stood the test of time. Just wondering if you were planning to cover him at some point?
ReplyDeleteHi there, as much as I love his work, I wasn't planning on covering him, just because his filmography is so vast and many of the titles are difficult to find. A great director though!
DeleteI know exactly what you mean in respect to some of his titles being hard to find. It's a shame because it's a result of some neglect on the man and his work. The guy is more influential than so many realize and way ahead of his time. He could do it all and then some which includes fancy camera work via "Scarface" and sprinkled in some of his other films if people paid attention. Welles called him "great prose" and also stated that Hawks is the most talented of American directors. More importantly the "Hawksian woman" modernized cinema in a big way along with his worldview and themes. The French named "Hitchcock" and "Hawks" as the best American directors and the front-runners of the whole "Auteur theory" to begin with. I'm inclined to agree as those two are my favorite in the golden age era. Hopefully soon someone will give the respect that Hawks deserves and get those hard to find titles back in circulation. Some of those are great films and I did see them on "VHS". I do love your Blog, excellent work especially on "directors" and "top 10's" . Great coverage on Hitchcock, Kubrick, Scorsese and Polanski. 4 of my top 5, along with Hawks and PTA hugging in there as well. Starting to check Soderbergh's work as I see him as one of your favorites. Haven't delved into foreign cinema just yet. Keep up the great work Alex! -Scott
DeleteThanks Scott! I completely agree with you that Hawks' entire catalogue deserves to be out in the open, on DVD at least. So glad you like the blog and the director's post. That means a lot!
DeleteWong Kar Wai
ReplyDeleteJoon-Ho Bong
Lukas Modyson
All good picks. Wong Kar Wai in particular is one I'm interested in exploring more.
DeleteYeah, i have really gotten into Korean and Hong Kong movies.
DeleteAnd i believe you will love Wong Kar Wai (:
DeleteI've seen most of his films, but surprisingly, The Grandmaster is the one I like the least so far.
DeleteJohn Smith: I did not like The Grandmaster that much either. My favorite has to be 'Fallen Angels'. It is among my top 15 movies or might even be in top 10. In The Mood For Love is my second favorite of his.
DeleteFallen Angels is one of the few I haven't seen yet. Need to get on it ASAP.
DeleteI know that many people have suggested it already, but I'd love to see you do a write-up on Tarkovsky's filmography. His films are long and daunting but there's not too many of them. He's a giant of cinema; The Mirror is one of my top 3 films of all time. There's so much power behind his storytelling.
ReplyDeleteI REALLY need to get to a post on him. Working on Bergman right now, then I'm certain Tarkovsky will be next.
DeleteOkay, you got 2 of the Three Amigos of Cinema on here (Cuaron, Innaritu), but I would really love to hear your thoughts on Guillermo del Toro.
ReplyDeleteI actually got close to finishing that post, but then I realized I'm not the biggest fan of his work, which kind of surprised me. I mean, I've always considered myself a huge del Toro fan, but I only love two of his films, which I guess I didn't realize until I wrote it all out.
DeleteJohn Smith: Where those two Pan's Labyrint and The Devil's Backbone?
DeleteYes sir!
DeleteJohn Smith: Knew it (:
DeleteWhat do you think of John Ford's work? Have you seen his westerns such as "The Searchers", "Stagecoach", or "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" ?
ReplyDeleteI like a lot of his films, particular the 3 you mentioned. Liberty Valance is my favorite Ford film (and favorite John Wayne role). I don't think I'd ever cover Ford here, because he has so many credits!
DeleteI know what you mean, Ford's filmography goes on forever. It would take an eternity to cover him. Thanks for the reply.
DeleteOn another note, could Nolan slip into your list as one of your favorite directors? I noticed you rank all his films pretty high and he has another exciting film coming our way. Dunkirk
I do love Nolan. He's definitely up there as one of my favorites.
DeleteHi Alex. What do you think of John Ford's work? Have you seen "The Searchers" and many of his films?
ReplyDeleteDid you see "The Hateful Eight" and if so, what are your thoughts on the film?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely loved it. Came in at #5 on my Top 10 of the year!
Deletehttp://www.andsoitbeginsfilms.com/2016/01/top-10-films-of-2015.html
Awesome! I'm looking forward to seeing it. Great reviews Alex!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!
DeleteHi Alex. Found your blog through The Matinee. I can't believe you've seen all the films of all these directors, that must have taken a while! You seem to be as obsessed with film lists as I am. I've actually just started the same idea, my first director is Scorsese, will definitely be back to see your thoughts on these when I'm finished. Added you to my recommended blogs list (cuemarks.blogspot.com), haven't been blogging long so don't have much of a readership to point your way, but it's the thought that counts! Cheers, Donald.
ReplyDeleteHey Donald! Yeah man, it's crazy to look back at this catalogue. I don't have as much free time nowadays, so it's had to tackle an entire filmography! I'll definitely give your blog a read!
DeleteBrilliant blog!
ReplyDeleteA request: How about Sidney Lumet?
Thanks for sharing your passion
Thanks so much! I would LOVE to do a post on Lumet. He actually has a huge filmography, and I've had trouble tracking some of his work down. But he's one I need to do ASAP.
DeleteWhat is your take on Terry Gilliam? Any plans to cover his films in the future?
ReplyDeleteHe'd make for a good post because his filmography is all over the place. I'll definitely put him on my to-do list.
DeleteI was making a list of directors to get into (and continue getting into) and I sort of went... overboard. I then noticed that you and I are both missing some directors, such as: Ben Affleck, Robert Altman, Richard Attenborough, Joon-ho Bong, Mel Brooks, John Carpenter, Frank Capra, Jackie Chan, Charlie Chaplin, Damien Chazelle, George Clooney, Michael Curtiz, Lee Daniels, Paul Feig, Federico Fellini, John Ford, Mel Gibson, Terry Gilliam, Howard Hawks, Werner Herzog, Ron Howard, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Angelina Jolie, Spike Jonze, Elia Kazan, Buster Keaton, Akira Kurosawa, Yorgos Lanthimos, Sergio Leone, George Lucas, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Adam McKay, George Miller, Hayao Miyazaki, Michael Moore, Jeff Nichols, Sam Raimi, Robert Redford, Nicolas Widning Refn, Rob Reiner, Otto Preminger, Ben Stiller, Lars von Trier, Guillermo del Toro, Francois Truffaut, the Wachowskis, Billy Wilder, Orson Wells, and Robert Zemeckis, to name a few.
ReplyDeleteSide note: These are my favorite posts you do. Keep it up!
I would love to cover so many of those directors. These damn posts take so much time, but I hope to do more in 2017. Thanks so much for checking them out!
DeleteKinda surprised that no Sam Mendes is there tho.
ReplyDeleteI should cover him some day, for sure. What's your favorite Mendes film?
DeleteI wondered what you thought about John McTiernan and if you were planning to do a profile on him? He had a great start to his career (Predator, Die Hard,Red October) but kinda lost his mojo after that. Shame really, just five minutes of Die Hard is better than pretty much 95% of action films today.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on this. I actually think he'd make a great candidate for this series, because I like many of his "lesser" films more than most. I think Last Action Hero is a subversive mess, but in the best possible way. And I've always loved his Thomas Crown Affair remake. I do wonder if he'll work again, following his legal troubles.
DeleteTwo words: Yorgos Lanthimos
ReplyDeleteWould love to. Any tips on finding Kinetta with English subtitles?
DeleteRobert Altman would be cool to see, if your still doing this series. Maybe Walter Hill and Jonathan Demme too? I think something about Miyazaki would be interesting or Hal Ashby too. I’ve just found this blog and am catching up on your stuff, so apologies if you’ve retired this series.
ReplyDeleteHey there! I really appreciate you checking the blog out! I didn't officially retire it, I just focus on podcasting a bit more now. We cover directors on there too, and we've been talking about an Ashby episode for a while. All great recs for you, but Ashby... I love his films.
DeleteHave you finished Ozu yet? We are waiting.
ReplyDelete