Nathan M, I didn’t realize there was another Nathan and I thought you were arguing with yourself. It gave me quite a chuckle. Thank you.
To put it simple, not everyone has the ability to write, to put ideas into words. That happens with everyone including directors. I do admire directors who also create their scripts, but that doesn’t diminish their talent and their ability as directors. A good script is always essential to make a good film, but that doesn’t mean it has to be written by the director. A filmmmaker can rely on the screenwriter, as on a cinematographer or a music score composer. Not everyone can be a multi-talented artist. But all we need is people who are great in their job and I do think David Fincher is very good in what he does as a director.
Deckard, Fincher is quite conventional as a filmmaker, and I’m happy you pointed this out. That is not to say he is without ability, though I am not able to say exactly what that is. His fans always go on about technology this and that, but that doesn’t make an impact or persuade me to their point. I suppose I’d say he’s more about the look more than anything. Yes, he does know how to wring the most out of the genre pieces he’s drawn to. But, like you, he’s never challenged me or forced me to think very deeply about anything at all.
does anyone know if there’s a difference btw the 1998 and 2002 dvd? can’t find much info online and they look similar, but wondering if 2002 is maybe a better transfer or something?
Not sure about the more recent disc, but if I recall correctly, the original release is non-anamorphic.
Nathan M.
“You can be a great director and not write your own scripts, but you can’t be a good filmmaker. When you think of Schindlers List you think of speilberg, even though he didn’t really create anything, he just read a script, and followed the cues. The writer of the script id the true talent, because creating something out of nothing takes alot, and reading someone else’s script, and interpreting it does not.” -Nathan W
Ok, Nathan, that is one of the most insane things I’ve read on this site ever. Do you really think that reading a script, and bringing it to the screen is somehow a non-creative act? Screenwriting is not easy, and it takes a load of creative ability, but scripts aren’t meant to be literature in the same way that a novel is. They function as a blueprint. But less like a blueprint than an actual blueprint. A director still has to make sure that every member of his cast and crew are moving in the right direction. There are a million or more creative decisions that a director must make when bringing a script to the screen, and any one of those million decisions could do serious damage to the intent of the script. A director could include every line of dialogue, every scene, every location, and every gesture suggested by the writer, and still fuck a good script up. A director doesn’t write the story – s/he tells it. And there is real creativity in the telling.