greed
psycho
touch of evil
every man for himself and God against all
kagemusha
brief encounter
black narcissus
chinatown
jules et jim
henry: portrait of a serial killer
i could think of many others that deserve to be there just as well
The only thing that keeps this movie from being totally dull is how obnoxiously surreal it is. The most remarkable thing about Eraserhead is that people are still talking about it after more than three decades.
casualties of war
raising cain
phantom of the paradise
the untouchables
hi, mom!
i have seen all of de palma’s feature films and i can understand why most people dislike him. his most famous films, with the exceptions on carrie and the untouchables, are pretty lousy (scarface and mission to mars being especially offensive). he has excelled in several genres (comedy, horror, mystery, crime) and even though he borrows from other directors (mostly hitchcock) a bit too much he is a talented, original director and deserves more credit than he receives.
Slacker and every Wes Anderson movie except maybe Life Aquatic shouldn’t be on Criterion. RoboCop’s a lot of fun but is one of Verhoeven’s lesser films. If Criterion had to release just one of his I’d say it should be Soldier of Orange.
Bottle Rocket is pretty good and Rushmore was great the first time I saw it, but both have deteriorated sorely upon repeated viewings. The Royal Tennenbaums and Darjeeling Limited are mediocre trash. The only film of his that holds up is The Life Aquatic. Anderson’s got talent that he has yet to use to its full extent. He’s easily the most overrated and disappointing modern director. Fantastic Mr. Fox may be lousy as hell but I’m just glad he’s doing something different.
his novels are written it such detail that they have a cinematic feel to them. pynchon writes with such detail his reader can see exactly what is going on in the scene. this style could be attributed to pynchon’s love of film:
“At various points, he considers selling both V and Lot 49 to the movies. He reveals himself as an avid moviegoer, offering capsule reviews.”
on a side note, i’ve written somewhere on theauteurs before that i’d love to see mason & dixon translated to film by p.t. anderson. my reasoning for this is that anderson has a great talent for panoramic and epic films as well as the writing capabilities to do justice to the unique character studies of the novel. also, pta is in a position now, thanks to the overwhelmingly positive reaction to there will be blood, to command huge budgets for his films.
hopefully some day we’ll see a pynchon novel hit the big screen, but i suspect not….
jacques tati – playtime
martin scorsese – taxi driver
paul verhoeven – total recall
akira kurosawa – kagemusha
rainer werner fasbinder – fox and his friends
brian de palma – raising cain
werner herzog – every man for himself and God against them all
oliver stone – platoon
john ford – the searchers
john singleton – baby boy
style over substance. it had a great feel and look to it, but not enough happened after the priest discovers he is a vampire. i found it enjoyable though.
safety last, greed, the gold rush. i don’t know much about silent movies, but i do know these are great films.
be sure to see ride the high country, an overlooked peckinpah gem. appaloosa is a good new western. alex cox’s walker is fun (and part of the criterion collection), but don’t expect anything serious. also some classics you may have already seen: my darling clementine, rio bravo, the wild bunch, the searchers.
How Green Was My Valley
Blossoms in the Dust
Citizen Kane
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
Hold Back the Dawn
The Little Foxes
The Maltese Falcon
One Foot In Heaven
Sergeant York
Suspicion
Spielberg – close encounters of the third kind
Mann – heat
Gilliam – fear and loathing in las vegas
Fincher – zodiac
Scorsese – taxi driver
Coppola – rumble fish
De Palma – raising cain
Tarantino – inglourious basterds
Coens – the big lebowski
P.T.Anderson – there will be blood
Demme – melvin and howard
Cassavetes – a woman under the influence
Reiner – the jerk
Penny Marshall – renaissance man
Eastwood – unforgiven
Cameron – true lies
Wes Anderson – the life aquatic
Jarmusch – broken flowers
Bay – haven’t liked any of them
D.G. Green – pineapple express
Huston – the dead
Ivan Reitman – meatballs
Lumet – before the devil knows you’re dead
Burton – peewee’s big adventure
best non-serious horror movie i know is blood diner; unbeatably hilarious. dead alive and bad taste by peter jackson are both worth seeing at least once. de palma’s horror films are usually good, if only for a laugh at times (raising cain, sisters, dressed to kill). for genuine scares/chills i’d recommend henry: portrait of a serial killer, the devil’s rejects, let the right one in, alien, frenzy, cape fear (original and remake). and if you’re interested in films that test how much you can take, check out schramm, nekromantic, cannibal holocaust, the audition, chan-wook park’s vengeance trilogy. also, you can’t go wrong with tobe hooper in my opinion; his films are the perfect combination of funny and creepy.
after seeing all his feature films, brian de palma is one of my very favorite directors because he has incredible range, both in genre (black and slapstick comedy, cops and gangsters, horror, war, drama, musical – there’s hardly a genre he hasn’t approached) and quality, with films ranging from classic to downright embarrassing. and like roger said, he is always pushing the edge. i especially appreciate how he has brought sleaze into mainstream movies (scarface and snake eyes are especially smarmy). it’s easy to hate de palma, but he has an immense amount of talent that he exhibits even in his worst films. a good example is the masterful tracking shot that opens bonfire of the vanities.
nine more:
rainer werner fassbinder
paul verhoeven
paul thomas anderson
martin scorsese
chan-wook park
orson welles
peter weir
sam peckinpah
jacques tati
i just saw my post from a few months ago. i’ve re-watched, and seen for the first time, many of his films since then and i would like to revise my opinion.
masterpieces:
taxi driver
raging bull
the king of comedy
very good/almost great movies:
last temptation of christ
the departed
goodfellas
casino
after hours
i need to see mean streets again, it’s been several years. i remember loving it but little about the film itself.
Movies That Should Be In the Criterion Collection over 3 years ago
Greed needs to get treatment similar to what The Leopard received. It deserves it as much or more than any other movie.
Also: Ride the High Country, Querelle, I Stand Alone, Every man for Himself and God Against All.
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Movies you love, but everyone else hates. over 3 years ago
Showgirls! Also Pee Wee’s Big Adventure and De Palma films in general, specifically Body Double and Raising Cain.
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Here it is... Top 10 films of all time? over 3 years ago
greed
psycho
touch of evil
every man for himself and God against all
kagemusha
brief encounter
black narcissus
chinatown
jules et jim
henry: portrait of a serial killer
i could think of many others that deserve to be there just as well
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What great films do you violently hate for no other reason than because you're a total idiot? over 3 years ago
I second Shaun’s thoughts on Woody Allen. Annie Hall was okay, but he’s been milking it for over three decades now.
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Most violent films you've seen over 3 years ago
I’m gonna say Schramm for the nails-in-dick scene. Other than that the violence isn’t too over the top for its genre.
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Who do you think the most overrated director is? over 3 years ago
lynch, tarantino, kubrick
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The scariest or most disturbing film you have EVER seen. over 3 years ago
Schramm was very disturbing. Salo is the only film I’ve had to turn off. I guess rape and torture just isn’t my thing….
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Eraserhead over 3 years ago
The only thing that keeps this movie from being totally dull is how obnoxiously surreal it is. The most remarkable thing about Eraserhead is that people are still talking about it after more than three decades.
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You choose the book to make into a film. Then choose the director. Go! over 3 years ago
Mason & Dixon by David Lean.
Oh What A Paradise it Seems by Paul Thomas Anderson.
The Postman Always Rings Twice by Paul Verhoeven.
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Top 5 De Palma over 3 years ago
casualties of war
raising cain
phantom of the paradise
the untouchables
hi, mom!
i have seen all of de palma’s feature films and i can understand why most people dislike him. his most famous films, with the exceptions on carrie and the untouchables, are pretty lousy (scarface and mission to mars being especially offensive). he has excelled in several genres (comedy, horror, mystery, crime) and even though he borrows from other directors (mostly hitchcock) a bit too much he is a talented, original director and deserves more credit than he receives.
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Greatest movie villain. over 3 years ago
willem dafoe as rick masters in to live and die in la
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Film quotes you love over 3 years ago
“speak for yourself moron”
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Your favorite title sequence over 3 years ago
under the volcano
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3 Favourite Movies From 5 Favourite Directors over 3 years ago
paul verhoeven:
total recall
starship troopers
black book
r. w. fassbinder:
fox and his friends
querelle
veronika voss
brian de palma:
raising cain
phantom of the paradise
body double
spike lee:
do the right thing
25th hour
jungle fever
peter weir:
the mosquito coast
the truman show
the year of living dangerously
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Worst Criterion DVDs about 3 years ago
Slacker and every Wes Anderson movie except maybe Life Aquatic shouldn’t be on Criterion. RoboCop’s a lot of fun but is one of Verhoeven’s lesser films. If Criterion had to release just one of his I’d say it should be Soldier of Orange.
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Do You Like Wes Anderson? about 3 years ago
Bottle Rocket is pretty good and Rushmore was great the first time I saw it, but both have deteriorated sorely upon repeated viewings. The Royal Tennenbaums and Darjeeling Limited are mediocre trash. The only film of his that holds up is The Life Aquatic. Anderson’s got talent that he has yet to use to its full extent. He’s easily the most overrated and disappointing modern director. Fantastic Mr. Fox may be lousy as hell but I’m just glad he’s doing something different.
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what actors do you consider creepy? about 3 years ago
Tim Curry creeps me the fuck out…
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Top Scorsese about 3 years ago
5 no direction home
4 last temptation of christ
3 goodfellas
2 gangs of new york
1 taxi driver
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Top 5 De Palma's about 3 years ago
phantom of the paradise
raising cain
the untouchables
hi mom!
body double
bonfire of the vanities is a great bad movie
bottom five, just for fun.
scarface
femme fatale
home movies
murder a la mod
mission to mars
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Thomas Pynchon and film? about 3 years ago
his novels are written it such detail that they have a cinematic feel to them. pynchon writes with such detail his reader can see exactly what is going on in the scene. this style could be attributed to pynchon’s love of film:
“At various points, he considers selling both V and Lot 49 to the movies. He reveals himself as an avid moviegoer, offering capsule reviews.”
http://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/04/books/pynchon-s-letters-nudge-his-mask.html
on a side note, i’ve written somewhere on theauteurs before that i’d love to see mason & dixon translated to film by p.t. anderson. my reasoning for this is that anderson has a great talent for panoramic and epic films as well as the writing capabilities to do justice to the unique character studies of the novel. also, pta is in a position now, thanks to the overwhelmingly positive reaction to there will be blood, to command huge budgets for his films.
hopefully some day we’ll see a pynchon novel hit the big screen, but i suspect not….
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favorite short film. about 3 years ago
camera – david cronenberg
hedgehog in the fog – yuri norstein
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10 directors 1 movie about 3 years ago
jacques tati – playtime
martin scorsese – taxi driver
paul verhoeven – total recall
akira kurosawa – kagemusha
rainer werner fasbinder – fox and his friends
brian de palma – raising cain
werner herzog – every man for himself and God against them all
oliver stone – platoon
john ford – the searchers
john singleton – baby boy
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Bakjwi (Thirst) - Park Chan-wook Discussion almost 3 years ago
style over substance. it had a great feel and look to it, but not enough happened after the priest discovers he is a vampire. i found it enjoyable though.
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SILENT FILMS & WESTERN FILMS SUGGESTIONS almost 3 years ago
safety last, greed, the gold rush. i don’t know much about silent movies, but i do know these are great films.
be sure to see ride the high country, an overlooked peckinpah gem. appaloosa is a good new western. alex cox’s walker is fun (and part of the criterion collection), but don’t expect anything serious. also some classics you may have already seen: my darling clementine, rio bravo, the wild bunch, the searchers.
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Astounding Debuts almost 3 years ago
being john malkovich
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It´s the Academy of you, pick a year, nominate and then choose a winner. almost 3 years ago
finally….
How Green Was My Valley
Blossoms in the Dust
Citizen Kane
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
Hold Back the Dawn
The Little Foxes
The Maltese Falcon
One Foot In Heaven
Sergeant York
Suspicion
Citizen Kane
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Best Film by Each of These Directors: Hollywood Style over 2 years ago
Spielberg – close encounters of the third kind
Mann – heat
Gilliam – fear and loathing in las vegas
Fincher – zodiac
Scorsese – taxi driver
Coppola – rumble fish
De Palma – raising cain
Tarantino – inglourious basterds
Coens – the big lebowski
P.T.Anderson – there will be blood
Demme – melvin and howard
Cassavetes – a woman under the influence
Reiner – the jerk
Penny Marshall – renaissance man
Eastwood – unforgiven
Cameron – true lies
Wes Anderson – the life aquatic
Jarmusch – broken flowers
Bay – haven’t liked any of them
D.G. Green – pineapple express
Huston – the dead
Ivan Reitman – meatballs
Lumet – before the devil knows you’re dead
Burton – peewee’s big adventure
Go to Comment
Help me find some good horror films over 2 years ago
best non-serious horror movie i know is blood diner; unbeatably hilarious. dead alive and bad taste by peter jackson are both worth seeing at least once. de palma’s horror films are usually good, if only for a laugh at times (raising cain, sisters, dressed to kill). for genuine scares/chills i’d recommend henry: portrait of a serial killer, the devil’s rejects, let the right one in, alien, frenzy, cape fear (original and remake). and if you’re interested in films that test how much you can take, check out schramm, nekromantic, cannibal holocaust, the audition, chan-wook park’s vengeance trilogy. also, you can’t go wrong with tobe hooper in my opinion; his films are the perfect combination of funny and creepy.
Go to Comment
Top 10 Directors. over 2 years ago
after seeing all his feature films, brian de palma is one of my very favorite directors because he has incredible range, both in genre (black and slapstick comedy, cops and gangsters, horror, war, drama, musical – there’s hardly a genre he hasn’t approached) and quality, with films ranging from classic to downright embarrassing. and like roger said, he is always pushing the edge. i especially appreciate how he has brought sleaze into mainstream movies (scarface and snake eyes are especially smarmy). it’s easy to hate de palma, but he has an immense amount of talent that he exhibits even in his worst films. a good example is the masterful tracking shot that opens bonfire of the vanities.
nine more:
rainer werner fassbinder
paul verhoeven
paul thomas anderson
martin scorsese
chan-wook park
orson welles
peter weir
sam peckinpah
jacques tati
Go to Comment
Top Scorsese over 2 years ago
i just saw my post from a few months ago. i’ve re-watched, and seen for the first time, many of his films since then and i would like to revise my opinion.
masterpieces:
taxi driver
raging bull
the king of comedy
very good/almost great movies:
last temptation of christ
the departed
goodfellas
casino
after hours
i need to see mean streets again, it’s been several years. i remember loving it but little about the film itself.
Go to Comment