I love Ennio Morricone’s work in the early works of Dario Argento (along with hundreds of others he’s done).
The Dust Brothers’ score for Fight Club is great in the film and plays well on it’s own.
Clint Mansell’s score in Requiem for a Dream, as performed by the Kronos Quartet, is amazing.
Jonny Greenwood’s work in There Will Be Blood added great tension.
Taxi Driver, Bernard Hermann’s last piece, is an absolute favorite.
If you don’t like Kubrick or Ozu you should just stop watching films.
David Fincher is the most UNDERRATED director working today.
Spielberg is to easy a target.
Woody Allen, are you kidding me? To hell with Lucus. Star Wars is fine fun but it is totally ripped of from The Hidden Fortress and, more explictly, Dune. The prequels were some of the worst movies to come out in years and actually make the original trilogy seem worse. Lucas should never be aloud to make films again. (He also destroyed the potential for the latest Indiana Jones movie). Stick to video games duechebag!
Michael Bay is the worst director on the planet and the fact that Criterion put out two of his film is a black mark (granted the only one really) against then. How much did he pay you guys to release that trash?
I guess Barry Lyndon because it seems to be the least seen. However, when people do see it, the generally think it’s great. Personally I never understood why people don’t like Eyes Wide Shut; it’s such a beautiful, complex film. I’ve watched it numerous times and it just keeps getting better.
And Guy Lee…you’re an idiot. Do the world a favor and stop watching movies.
Michael Bay is everything that is wrong with cinema today and Criterion should be ashamed that two of his films are in their catalogue.
Robocop rules!!
Film Theory and Criticism is a compelation of various early theories, from Munsterburg to Eisenstein to Metz to Sarris (just naming a few). It’s a great place to start if you don’t know anything about film theory but it’s only intros to any of those theories, so if you really want to dig deep you’ll need the individual books that it references.
The Willow Tree by Hubert Selby Jr. directed by (and starring) Werner Herzog.
Dune by Frank Herbert directed by Fernado Meirelles or as an animated film done by Pixar. (I am not looking forward to Peter Berg’s upcoming version).
Karl—Sorry if I insulted you but I stand by my opinion. You really should stop watching films. Kubrick is one of the greatest filmmakers ever to walk the earth. His intense understanding of filmic language and his unending devotion to both the subject of his films and the process of their making, mark him as one of the most unique and intensley personal of artists.
You wrote. “One of my friends keeps trying to get me into David Lynch and I just can’t do it, I might put him up for overrated, he really seems a emperor’s new clothes type and Kubrick really is.” Karl what the hell does that mean. Even allowing for the possiblity that English is not your first language, that makes little sense.
Go back and watch Kubrick. If you still don’t like him, watch again. Hopefully at some point you gain the maturity to recognize a brilliant, brilliant artist.
By the way, nothing I said is nearly as offensive as your desire to “reanimate his corpse and kill him again…” Grow up, get a brain, and stop talking about shit that is clearly over your intelligence level. GFY Asshole.
Samual—That’s all bullshit. Forget about comparing Bay to people like Goddard or Roeg, even when comparing him to other action directors, he’s crap. Who cares if people “find value” in them (which I think is debatable); if we are to consider ourselves serious filmgoers then we must resist accepting garbage just because the lowest common denominator rushes out to waste two plus hours on it. And exactly what of interest do they capture about the American value system. Is this the type of work anyone should look at when thinking about values? Bay is not imitated, his an imitator. If it seems that he is imitated it is only because those who might do so don’t have the brains to go back further then a couple of years. Anyone who did would see that Bay is just a third rate Tony Scott. Do you think it’s a coincidence that Bruckheimer turned to him after Scott stopped making films with him. It’s not! It’s because Bay’s work is totally derivative and Bruckheimer knew he could get the same, admittedly money making, product.
The action film has become a parody of itself, and though movies like the Bourne series and the reinvention of Bond show hope for the future, the days of early McTiernan, Cameron, and Donner are long gone. The age of mediocrity is upon us.
In 1986, when I was nine years old, my uncle took me to see Aliens. It was the first R rated film I saw in the theater and the intensity of that film sticks with me till this day. It was also the moment that I began to understand the idea of formula and reading a film. Early in the film, when Ripley first shows she can use the loader, my uncle, who hadn’t seen the film, leaned over and said, “she’s going to need that to survive the film.” This, of course, is true, and for a young boy already in love with movies, it was a revelation. I’ve never looked at films the same way. Thanks uncle Stan.
Having not seen Slumdog, I can’t comment on that film specificly but I would like to say that ALL film is manipulation. To what end that manipulation is used and how it synchronizes with the needs of both storytelling in general and of a particular story, are what seperate the good films from the garbage.
Karl—Of course I know the story of the emperor’s new clothes, I just didn’t get how you were applying it. I’d like to apologize (just a little) for the tone of my last post. I’m very passionate about the artist I love and Kubrick has always been near the top of that list. This being the Criterion website, I expect people to be smarter then the average joker who posts on imdb or wherever and because I expect this elevated level of intelligence it shocks me to encounter someone with your opinion of Kubrick, a man, despite what you may think of his films, with extreme intelligence. Hoping to understand your views a little better, I checked out your reviews and I have to say, they came off sounding like the work of a person who either knows that Kubrick is a great director and just likes to play devils advocate or a person who has truely and sadly, missed the point. Good luck with your life and films.
Justin-Don’t bother. Lists like that are always transitory when you really care about film and are constantly seeing new things and revisting old ones. Well, maybe don’t bother is to harsh. Perhaps don’t take it too seriously is better. To answer your question about TCM…you are a crazy nerd and I would also love to program TCM for a month. Fuck a month, I want a year!
Interesting thread Justin. The one thing I would mention is the fall of the traditional Hollywood studio system. Prior to the sixties/seventies, the producer had a lot more say in the creation of a film. However, with the rise of broadcast television, movie attendence was down and there was a push for new, creative ideas. Enter the film school brats and there dedication to cinema and cinema history. These young filmmakers understood better then any previous generation the flow of film history and drew there influences from all over the world, and Europe in particular. This is somewhat ironic since the filmmakers of Europe, like the New Wavers in France, were looking at American film, particularly film noir, for their inspiration. Much of the best noir of course, was made by transposed Germans and utililized the techniques originated in German expressionism. So you have young American filmmakers, drawing on Europeans who are drawing on American films created by Europeans. This cyclical nature of film influence still prevails today, probably to an even greater degree do to the availablilty of films from all over the world. The 60s/70s kinda started all that though and, like you, I have a deep affection from films of that era.
I just wanted to say one other thing about your last post; I thought it was very interesting that you singled out two early PT Anderson works as examples of films that are clearly derivative of seventies filmmakers but don’t quite hold the same power. Though I like both Boogie Nights and Magnolia, I have to agree with you. It always felt to me that Boogie Nights was Anderson’s Scorsese film and Magnolia was his Altman film, good but by no means on par with the best work of those masters. However I felt that with Punch-Drunk Love and especially There Will Be Blood, Anderson managed to bring his own unique voice to the forefront, while still maintaining a sense of respect and admiration for those who came before him.
Wow, this is the coolest thread I’ve seen on this sight. I hope it never ends. I wish I could do this but since I can’t, maybe someone would work on these requests:
The Machinist
Heart of Glass
Never Cry Wolf
Real Genius
All That Jazz
The Grifters
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
From Hell
Heavenly Creatures
Road to Perdition
Why Did Her R. Run Amok?
Fear X
Dreamscape
After Hours
Bound
Wow, so many of my request done in less than 24 hours! Thanks Josh, Jasper, Jaminez, and David (I think that’s everyone). They all rock. Keep ‘em coming and I’ll come up with more requests.
Josh-I totally agree with you in regards too Texas Chainsaw…you did a bang up job of finding creepy images that aren’t overused. Cheers.
Wow Justin, banal really? I couldn’t disagree more. I’m a huge Cronenberg fan and while I love his early “bio-horror” work, he pretty much took it as far as it could go with Crash and eXistenZ and that Spider showed a great deal of growth; a move toward the psychological through one of the most complex characters of recent years (do honestly not like Ralph’s performance?) He then continued that move in A History of Violence, which I consider the most thought provoking films in years. Not only did it allow us to question the reality of Tom within the film, but asked us also to consider our own relasionships to violence and Cronenberg’s use of violence throughout his career. Awesome stuff!
I don’t want this to come off as an attack on you personally. I’ve read many of your posts and respect your opinion (that reminds me, why did you de-friend me), I just think your personal prefernece for his early work is clouding your judgement on this new, admittedly different work. Whatever though, we all have out likes and dislikes.
What I’m really trying to get at here is a question I’ve brought up in some of my classes (I’m a film studies major), that is: As fans who care about directors (and this could be applied to any art), do we have a responsiblility to allow them to grow as artists and individuals. My arguement has always been that we do. People change. Artists change, and grow. Preoccupations of youth give way to different preoccupations in middle age, old age, whatever. Isn’t it unfair to dismiss new work simply because we prefer the work of the past? Isn’t it better to chalange ourselves and try and discover why an artist might be changing and what that means for him?
I just also like to note that, though they are not as “out there” as a lot of his early work, Cronenberg’s recent films have hardly been “mainstream”. They may have gotten good reviews and made a bit more money then ususal but they are hardly Transformers or…I don’t know, Adam Sandler flicks. Hell they’re not even as mainstream as works of his like The Dead Zone or The Fly or his, ahem, acting “work.”
Glad to see some people on here born prior to 1980. ‘77 has already been mentioned so I’ll choose films he didn’t use.
The Last Wave
New York, New York
The Duellists
Hardcore
Rabid
The Obscure Object of Desire
Killer of Sheep
Sorcerer (way underrated)
Kingdom of the Spiders
Pete’s Dragon
Movies you love, but everyone else hates. over 3 years ago
I can’t believe no one has the guts to mention it already, I guess it has to be me. Death to Smoochy is really quite hilarious.
Go to Comment
Outstanding Original Score in any Film over 3 years ago
I love Ennio Morricone’s work in the early works of Dario Argento (along with hundreds of others he’s done).
The Dust Brothers’ score for Fight Club is great in the film and plays well on it’s own.
Clint Mansell’s score in Requiem for a Dream, as performed by the Kronos Quartet, is amazing.
Jonny Greenwood’s work in There Will Be Blood added great tension.
Taxi Driver, Bernard Hermann’s last piece, is an absolute favorite.
Go to Comment
Who do you think the most overrated director is? over 3 years ago
If you don’t like Kubrick or Ozu you should just stop watching films.
David Fincher is the most UNDERRATED director working today.
Spielberg is to easy a target.
Woody Allen, are you kidding me? To hell with Lucus. Star Wars is fine fun but it is totally ripped of from The Hidden Fortress and, more explictly, Dune. The prequels were some of the worst movies to come out in years and actually make the original trilogy seem worse. Lucas should never be aloud to make films again. (He also destroyed the potential for the latest Indiana Jones movie). Stick to video games duechebag!
Michael Bay is the worst director on the planet and the fact that Criterion put out two of his film is a black mark (granted the only one really) against then. How much did he pay you guys to release that trash?
Go to Comment
What is Kubrick's Most Under-Appreciated Film? over 3 years ago
I guess Barry Lyndon because it seems to be the least seen. However, when people do see it, the generally think it’s great. Personally I never understood why people don’t like Eyes Wide Shut; it’s such a beautiful, complex film. I’ve watched it numerous times and it just keeps getting better.
And Guy Lee…you’re an idiot. Do the world a favor and stop watching movies.
Go to Comment
Worst Criterion DVDs over 3 years ago
Michael Bay is everything that is wrong with cinema today and Criterion should be ashamed that two of his films are in their catalogue.
Robocop rules!!
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Books about film. over 3 years ago
Film Theory and Criticism is a compelation of various early theories, from Munsterburg to Eisenstein to Metz to Sarris (just naming a few). It’s a great place to start if you don’t know anything about film theory but it’s only intros to any of those theories, so if you really want to dig deep you’ll need the individual books that it references.
Go to Comment
Greatest samurai film of all time? over 3 years ago
I can’t believe no one mentioned the Zatoichi films! 26 films. 100+ tv episodes! Shintaro Katsu as the blind swordsman! Great stuff!
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Last movie you saw and rate it over 3 years ago
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 5/5.
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You choose the book to make into a film. Then choose the director. Go! over 3 years ago
The Willow Tree by Hubert Selby Jr. directed by (and starring) Werner Herzog.
Dune by Frank Herbert directed by Fernado Meirelles or as an animated film done by Pixar. (I am not looking forward to Peter Berg’s upcoming version).
Go to Comment
Who do you think the most overrated director is? over 3 years ago
Karl—Sorry if I insulted you but I stand by my opinion. You really should stop watching films. Kubrick is one of the greatest filmmakers ever to walk the earth. His intense understanding of filmic language and his unending devotion to both the subject of his films and the process of their making, mark him as one of the most unique and intensley personal of artists.
You wrote. “One of my friends keeps trying to get me into David Lynch and I just can’t do it, I might put him up for overrated, he really seems a emperor’s new clothes type and Kubrick really is.” Karl what the hell does that mean. Even allowing for the possiblity that English is not your first language, that makes little sense.
Go back and watch Kubrick. If you still don’t like him, watch again. Hopefully at some point you gain the maturity to recognize a brilliant, brilliant artist.
By the way, nothing I said is nearly as offensive as your desire to “reanimate his corpse and kill him again…” Grow up, get a brain, and stop talking about shit that is clearly over your intelligence level. GFY Asshole.
Go to Comment
Worst Criterion DVDs over 3 years ago
Samual—That’s all bullshit. Forget about comparing Bay to people like Goddard or Roeg, even when comparing him to other action directors, he’s crap. Who cares if people “find value” in them (which I think is debatable); if we are to consider ourselves serious filmgoers then we must resist accepting garbage just because the lowest common denominator rushes out to waste two plus hours on it. And exactly what of interest do they capture about the American value system. Is this the type of work anyone should look at when thinking about values? Bay is not imitated, his an imitator. If it seems that he is imitated it is only because those who might do so don’t have the brains to go back further then a couple of years. Anyone who did would see that Bay is just a third rate Tony Scott. Do you think it’s a coincidence that Bruckheimer turned to him after Scott stopped making films with him. It’s not! It’s because Bay’s work is totally derivative and Bruckheimer knew he could get the same, admittedly money making, product.
The action film has become a parody of itself, and though movies like the Bourne series and the reinvention of Bond show hope for the future, the days of early McTiernan, Cameron, and Donner are long gone. The age of mediocrity is upon us.
Go to Comment
What is your most memorable film going experience? (Only one per post please!) over 3 years ago
In 1986, when I was nine years old, my uncle took me to see Aliens. It was the first R rated film I saw in the theater and the intensity of that film sticks with me till this day. It was also the moment that I began to understand the idea of formula and reading a film. Early in the film, when Ripley first shows she can use the loader, my uncle, who hadn’t seen the film, leaned over and said, “she’s going to need that to survive the film.” This, of course, is true, and for a young boy already in love with movies, it was a revelation. I’ve never looked at films the same way. Thanks uncle Stan.
Go to Comment
What Is "Movie Hell" For You? over 3 years ago
A continuous loop of the crap that Michael Bay has either directed or produced. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry.
Go to Comment
What's so wrong with well done manipulation? over 3 years ago
Having not seen Slumdog, I can’t comment on that film specificly but I would like to say that ALL film is manipulation. To what end that manipulation is used and how it synchronizes with the needs of both storytelling in general and of a particular story, are what seperate the good films from the garbage.
Go to Comment
Who do you think the most overrated director is? over 3 years ago
Karl—Of course I know the story of the emperor’s new clothes, I just didn’t get how you were applying it. I’d like to apologize (just a little) for the tone of my last post. I’m very passionate about the artist I love and Kubrick has always been near the top of that list. This being the Criterion website, I expect people to be smarter then the average joker who posts on imdb or wherever and because I expect this elevated level of intelligence it shocks me to encounter someone with your opinion of Kubrick, a man, despite what you may think of his films, with extreme intelligence. Hoping to understand your views a little better, I checked out your reviews and I have to say, they came off sounding like the work of a person who either knows that Kubrick is a great director and just likes to play devils advocate or a person who has truely and sadly, missed the point. Good luck with your life and films.
Go to Comment
Directors who should be ashamed of themselves over 3 years ago
I would have said Tamahori but since he was first out of the gait I’ll say…
Dominic Sena, from Kalifornia to Swordfish, Gone in Sixty Seconds
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Which Movies Have You Walked Out On? over 3 years ago
The Rock-Michael Bay must be stopped
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paranoia themed films over 3 years ago
Repulsion and Taxi Driver, no doubt.
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Here it is... Top 10 films of all time? over 3 years ago
Justin-Don’t bother. Lists like that are always transitory when you really care about film and are constantly seeing new things and revisting old ones. Well, maybe don’t bother is to harsh. Perhaps don’t take it too seriously is better. To answer your question about TCM…you are a crazy nerd and I would also love to program TCM for a month. Fuck a month, I want a year!
Go to Comment
Who do you read? over 3 years ago
Chuck Palahniuk
Martin Amis
Vladimir Nabokov
Hubert Selby Jr.
Frank Herbert
Hermann Hesse
Dennis Lehane
Stanislaw Lem
Go to Comment
FILMS OF THE SEVENTIES over 3 years ago
Interesting thread Justin. The one thing I would mention is the fall of the traditional Hollywood studio system. Prior to the sixties/seventies, the producer had a lot more say in the creation of a film. However, with the rise of broadcast television, movie attendence was down and there was a push for new, creative ideas. Enter the film school brats and there dedication to cinema and cinema history. These young filmmakers understood better then any previous generation the flow of film history and drew there influences from all over the world, and Europe in particular. This is somewhat ironic since the filmmakers of Europe, like the New Wavers in France, were looking at American film, particularly film noir, for their inspiration. Much of the best noir of course, was made by transposed Germans and utililized the techniques originated in German expressionism. So you have young American filmmakers, drawing on Europeans who are drawing on American films created by Europeans. This cyclical nature of film influence still prevails today, probably to an even greater degree do to the availablilty of films from all over the world. The 60s/70s kinda started all that though and, like you, I have a deep affection from films of that era.
I just wanted to say one other thing about your last post; I thought it was very interesting that you singled out two early PT Anderson works as examples of films that are clearly derivative of seventies filmmakers but don’t quite hold the same power. Though I like both Boogie Nights and Magnolia, I have to agree with you. It always felt to me that Boogie Nights was Anderson’s Scorsese film and Magnolia was his Altman film, good but by no means on par with the best work of those masters. However I felt that with Punch-Drunk Love and especially There Will Be Blood, Anderson managed to bring his own unique voice to the forefront, while still maintaining a sense of respect and admiration for those who came before him.
Go to Comment
WHICH DIRECTORS...NOT...CURRENTLY REPRESENTED IN THE CRITERION COLLECTION DO YOU WANT TO SEE INCLUDED? over 3 years ago
HAL ASHBY
HAL ASHBY
HAL ASHBY
None of his films have truely satifying dvds available.
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Best Film About Film? over 3 years ago
The Purple Rose of Cairo
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The Auteurs' Fake Criterion Covers about 3 years ago
Wow, this is the coolest thread I’ve seen on this sight. I hope it never ends. I wish I could do this but since I can’t, maybe someone would work on these requests:
The Machinist
Heart of Glass
Never Cry Wolf
Real Genius
All That Jazz
The Grifters
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
From Hell
Heavenly Creatures
Road to Perdition
Why Did Her R. Run Amok?
Fear X
Dreamscape
After Hours
Bound
Y’all rock, keep ’em coming.
Go to Comment
The Auteurs' Fake Criterion Covers about 3 years ago
Josh—I certainly will.
Jasper—I agree 100%.
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The Auteurs' Fake Criterion Covers about 3 years ago
Wow, so many of my request done in less than 24 hours! Thanks Josh, Jasper, Jaminez, and David (I think that’s everyone). They all rock. Keep ‘em coming and I’ll come up with more requests.
Josh-I totally agree with you in regards too Texas Chainsaw…you did a bang up job of finding creepy images that aren’t overused. Cheers.
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The Auteurs' Fake Criterion Covers about 3 years ago
Josh-Awesome work on this page. That Magnolia cover is especially brilliant.
Carter-Great Brick cover, I love that movie. I like how you incorporated the phonebooth, such a staple of noirs and neo-noirs.
Thanks all who’ve been working on my requests…here’s some more.
Being There
Top Secret
The Big Blue
Young Frankenstein
Narc
Carlito’s Way
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Phil Kaufman version from ’78)
NEVER LET THIS THREAD DIE!!
Go to Comment
Has Cronenberg lost it...or found it?! about 3 years ago
Wow Justin, banal really? I couldn’t disagree more. I’m a huge Cronenberg fan and while I love his early “bio-horror” work, he pretty much took it as far as it could go with Crash and eXistenZ and that Spider showed a great deal of growth; a move toward the psychological through one of the most complex characters of recent years (do honestly not like Ralph’s performance?) He then continued that move in A History of Violence, which I consider the most thought provoking films in years. Not only did it allow us to question the reality of Tom within the film, but asked us also to consider our own relasionships to violence and Cronenberg’s use of violence throughout his career. Awesome stuff!
I don’t want this to come off as an attack on you personally. I’ve read many of your posts and respect your opinion (that reminds me, why did you de-friend me), I just think your personal prefernece for his early work is clouding your judgement on this new, admittedly different work. Whatever though, we all have out likes and dislikes.
What I’m really trying to get at here is a question I’ve brought up in some of my classes (I’m a film studies major), that is: As fans who care about directors (and this could be applied to any art), do we have a responsiblility to allow them to grow as artists and individuals. My arguement has always been that we do. People change. Artists change, and grow. Preoccupations of youth give way to different preoccupations in middle age, old age, whatever. Isn’t it unfair to dismiss new work simply because we prefer the work of the past? Isn’t it better to chalange ourselves and try and discover why an artist might be changing and what that means for him?
I just also like to note that, though they are not as “out there” as a lot of his early work, Cronenberg’s recent films have hardly been “mainstream”. They may have gotten good reviews and made a bit more money then ususal but they are hardly Transformers or…I don’t know, Adam Sandler flicks. Hell they’re not even as mainstream as works of his like The Dead Zone or The Fly or his, ahem, acting “work.”
Go to Comment
TOP 10 FILMS FROM YOUR "BIRTH YEAR" about 3 years ago
Glad to see some people on here born prior to 1980. ‘77 has already been mentioned so I’ll choose films he didn’t use.
The Last Wave
New York, New York
The Duellists
Hardcore
Rabid
The Obscure Object of Desire
Killer of Sheep
Sorcerer (way underrated)
Kingdom of the Spiders
Pete’s Dragon
Go to Comment
The Auteurs' Fake Criterion Covers about 3 years ago
Damn Josh that first American History X cover is perfect, and scary.
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