This may sound odd but my pick Peckinpah he fascinates me and his films are so good. Plus he was one hell of a character.
Hou Hsiao-hsien’s films are amazing, and I think they offer a whole lot to write about. His use of camera alone could fill a few books. The history, and context of his films offer so much depth, too. I feel writing about his work would be much more of a learning experience for myself then it would be me lecturing on his, “style” and “technique.”
He’s one of the most prolific filmmakers alive today, too. All the films he made in the nineties I consider masterpieces, and I’ve not seen City of Sadness which is supposed to be one of his best films.
I’ve written some lengthy essays of Terence Fisher’s Hammer films under the pretext of reviewing DVDs for a couple of publications. I may have a third of a book already …
While I would be lying if I thought all of their movies were perfect, I think the Watchowski Brothers are two of the most interesting and visionary writer/directors working today. All of their films that they have written/directed/produced have been aesthetically or thematically interesting. I have also read their screenplays for Assassins and Carnivore.
I have written extensively on their movies in previous threads:
http://www.theauteurs.com/topics/964/comments
http://www.theauteurs.com/topics/1368/comments
hmm. maybe i’d like to write a book about quentin tarantino. so i could go deeper into his films and avoid the typical fluff thats already been written about him. i’d especially like to write a scholarly study about him now that he’s falling more and more out of favor with people. but the only thing i wouldn’t like is having to delve into the thousands of obscure films he’s seen that inflect his work. thats a bottomless pit.
i’d also like to write a book on jim jarmusch. a close analysis of his cinema. he makes some of the richest, most dense films out there. hell, i could write a whole book on “night on earth” alone probably.
It would definitely be a challenge finding new things to write about Tarantino. That was my motivation when I wrote my (unpublished) book, Dancing with Fassbinder. Well, someone did want to publish it, but I would have had to raise half the production costs (they assumed I was with a university who could foot the bill). It was a non-profit publisher. Most of the book has already appeared in different film journals in the form of essays, anyway. But it remains on the shelf.
I’d like to do something like A Cinema of Loneliness by Robert Philip Kolker, or Transcendental Style by Paul Schrader. Write about several important filmmakers, like Tarr, Tarkovsky and Jancso or something. That’d be neat.
something else. i can tell you the type of book i’d like to write. or, the method i’d like to use. it would be an exact replica of truffaut’s “hitchcock”. i dont know what filmmaker would be deserving of it, and it should definitely be someone near the end of his career (and life). for some reason, i have visions of spike lee when thinking about this fantasy book, or fantasy book series. but he’s not one of my favorite filmmakers, and i dont necessarily rate him among the modern legends.
I don’t believe there are enough books on The Archers. They seem to be severely underrated in the canon of classic cinema.
I’d like to get at the indiscriminate, quasi-divine cruelty in Lars Von Trier’s work. I published one article on The Idiots, after which another on Dogville was solicited; but I ran aground on that project, and have only a long draft to show for my pains.
I planned to write BANGKOK TRANSISTOR, work and life of Pen-Ek Ratanaruang. But I’m lazy.
Bunuel!
He had such an interesting life and every bio I’ve read on him has been just dreadful and filled with silly misinformation.
Plus I’ve studied French art history rather extensively and his beginnings with the Surrealists would be great fun to exspand upon.
I’d be far less interested in reading the findings of someone on a particular filmmaker (the last one I enjoyed was Brad Stevens’ “Abel Ferrara: The Moral Vision”). I could only attempt such a thing if the format was a wide-ranging conversation between me and the subject. The bookshelves are groaning under the weight of countless university press offerings. My candidates: Claire Denis (this would not be complete without the participation of Agnes Godard); Bruno Dumont; Hou Hsiao Hsien; Patrice Chereau. Perhaps Andrzej Zulawski (but who would read it?). And Roman Polanski. I’d love to pick his brain.
>>I don’t believe there are enough books on The Archers. They seem to be severely underrated in the canon of classic cinema.<,
Well, I think they’re highly revered – just not much written about. Aside from Powell’s memoirs (which are very circumspect), I can’t think of any books about the team.
EDIT:
I just checked Amazon & there are more books on Powell (& Pressberger) than I realized …
I am basing my response to those on my list that hasn’t written books, that I would like to score an awesome novel!:
pedro almodovar
lina wertmüller
Mario Bava
Buster Keaton
I´d be interested to conduct a study of Chan-Wook Park’s Vengeance Trilogy. Just because it´s kick-ass and the fact that Park is into both psychology, philosophy and russian realist Dostoyevskij. So I´m sure there’s a lot to be researched here.
Otherwise I´d want to tackle the cinema of Michael Haneke just because there does not seem to be that many books written about his work.
Pier Paolo Pasolini. How could anyone not want to write a book about him?
I’d probably want to focus on an auteur from Québec or Canada; preferably one that has passed away and whose entire oeuvre is readily accessible. Maybe Claude Jutra or Norman McLaren. Not enough of them are dead yet!
I want to write a book about you Justin. You are so great, man.
Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Lodge Kerrigan
park chan-wook or ki-young kim. also i second the guy who said pasolini.
and i know plenty have been done, but i’d still love to write a book about fritz lang
Ming-liang Tsai.
Because there is not one single decent book out there about this awesome person and his films.
Paradjanov because his films are seldom seen anywhere outside of Eastern Europe. Thanks for the question.
If I were to write a book on an auteur, I’d want to pick someone that hasn’t been hashed over again and again. This is why I’d go with Budd Boetticher. From what I can tell, he lead a very interesting life and made some fantastic movies. He’s been a little neglected by the film community, and so I think it’s high time that an authoritative work be put out on his life and films. Not that I’m a Boetticher expert, mind you.
I would like to write one on Mizoguchi, as even now there have been so few books on him in English. There’s Mark Le Fanu’s recent book, which had its faults and the structure didn’t really work, and Tadao Sato’s earlier book has been translated into English now, but that was not in depth. Others have covered him but i think there’s still a space. Otherwise i might do something on the lines of 1001 Films, or jumbled writings of foolish imaginings to do with films
@Grey Daises
“Ming-liang Tsai.”
You should write it. I’ve seen your photo essays on the favorite screenshots thread: keen eye. You can do it, if you find the time.
I’d like to write on Zulawski, Skolimowski, Borowczyk, Bartas and Oshii. Not enough (challenging) books about them.
But I have to check out the new book about Borowczyk. Might be something.
@Grey Daisies
Tsai would be a great choice.
And I’d LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE to read a book on Paradjanov. But please, PLEASE, on all of his work (not just the stuff after “Shadows of forgotten ancestors”).
Vittorio De Sica. I want to learn about this man and his history. He is such magnificent presence. Actor, director, gambler, and who knows what else. There is a book out now about him but it skims the surface. MIRACLE IN MILAN, UMBERTO D, SHOESHINE, THE CHILDREN ARE WATCHING US, THE BICYCLE THIEF. He directed these films and he acted on stage and screen.
Peter watkins. Because his films and ideas are very relevant today.
Justin Vicari
For me, right now, Bela Tarr I think, because I plan on studying his work anyway. I also want to learn more about Hungarian cinema/history.
But maybe also Jonas Mekas, the Kuchar brothers, Kaurismaki, Olivier Asseyas, Ulrich Seidl.