The works of Buster Keaton, especially The Cameraman and of Charlie Chaplin, especially City Lights. The Conformist by Bernardo Bertolucci, Raging Bull by Martin Scorsese, Clockwork Orange and Dr. Strangelove by Stanley Kubrick, Crumb by Terry Zweigoff, Open Doors by Gianni Amelio, Dillinger is Dead by Marco Ferreri, Nosferatu Phantom of the Night by Werner Herzog, Persona by Ingmar Bergman …
I’ve always found Contempt an irresistable, complete work … Weekend may have been Godard’s most ambitious … however, Breathless has always retained it’s youth and freshness and that is where I always choose to begin with Godard.
Rashomon is a good work, to be sure but I prefer other Akira Kurosawa films like his majestic The Seven Samurai, the classic Yojimbo, and even his Macbeth adaptation, Throne of Blood, which is haunting.
My problem with Stanley Kubrick – one of my all-time faves – was that he withdrew too much into himself in the latter half of his career and as a result, for me, his later films were nowhere near what his earlier works were. From 1958 to 1971 he made 6 films, among them his finest … Paths of Glory, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Clockwork Orange … that’s a film in every 2+ years or so and what films ! From Barry Lyndon in 1975 to Eyes Wide Shut in 1999 he made 4 films in 24 years … 4 films ! It was 12 years from Full Metal Jacket to Eyes Wide Shut … that’s ridiculous. Why did you retreat so much Stanley ? You were great … R.I.P.
Richard, I appreciate your point, certainly with regards to his Napoleon project … I think he went ahead and did Barry Lyndon as a fall back plan. Having said that … A.I. ? So what ? Read your words, you’re agreeing with me, lol. Obsession, perfectionism, etc. My friend, thanks for the feedback. P.S. Obviously, we both think the world of Stanley :)
I love the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. It has reached perfection in its own medium. I doubt that a hack like Zack Snyder can come remotely close to it. He turned Frank Miller’s 300 into a voluptuous yawn. In a perfect world, directors like Stanley Kubrick, Peter Greenaway, or David Cronenberg would have tackled Watchmen.
I started out not liking him because so many kept people talking about him – you know, the mainstream. Hearing them you’d think he had invented cinema. Meanwhile, here I was watching Bergman, Fellini, Kurosawa, Kubrick, Bertolucci, Scorsese, etc. He still does not rank with those directors but I must say, now I like some of his work … a lot. Most of Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, I and II, and Death Proof. These are fine films, indeed. I love how he brings elements like american pulp, spaghetti western, and manga to his work. His control of the medium is highly impressive and very entertaining.
Movies That Should Be In the Criterion Collection over 3 years ago
The works of Buster Keaton, especially The Cameraman and of Charlie Chaplin, especially City Lights. The Conformist by Bernardo Bertolucci, Raging Bull by Martin Scorsese, Clockwork Orange and Dr. Strangelove by Stanley Kubrick, Crumb by Terry Zweigoff, Open Doors by Gianni Amelio, Dillinger is Dead by Marco Ferreri, Nosferatu Phantom of the Night by Werner Herzog, Persona by Ingmar Bergman …
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Your Favorite Godard Film? over 3 years ago
I’ve always found Contempt an irresistable, complete work … Weekend may have been Godard’s most ambitious … however, Breathless has always retained it’s youth and freshness and that is where I always choose to begin with Godard.
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Rashomon over 3 years ago
Rashomon is a good work, to be sure but I prefer other Akira Kurosawa films like his majestic The Seven Samurai, the classic Yojimbo, and even his Macbeth adaptation, Throne of Blood, which is haunting.
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Underrated Films... over 3 years ago
I think Bernardo Bertolucci’s Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man is very underrated. I would love to see it in Criterion sometime too.
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Is Stanley Kubrick 'cold' or not? over 3 years ago
My problem with Stanley Kubrick – one of my all-time faves – was that he withdrew too much into himself in the latter half of his career and as a result, for me, his later films were nowhere near what his earlier works were. From 1958 to 1971 he made 6 films, among them his finest … Paths of Glory, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Clockwork Orange … that’s a film in every 2+ years or so and what films ! From Barry Lyndon in 1975 to Eyes Wide Shut in 1999 he made 4 films in 24 years … 4 films ! It was 12 years from Full Metal Jacket to Eyes Wide Shut … that’s ridiculous. Why did you retreat so much Stanley ? You were great … R.I.P.
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Best Westerns over 3 years ago
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly … The Wild Bunch … High Plains Drifter … Leone, Peckinpah, and Eastwood … enough said.
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Who do you think the most overrated director is? over 3 years ago
OMG … Steven Spielberg
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Best Film About Film? over 3 years ago
In a class by itself, Fellini’s 8 1/2. Honourable mention goes to Richard Rush’s The Stunt Man.
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Best Shakespeare Adaptations over 3 years ago
Chronological order … Richard III by Olivier, Throne of Blood (based on Macbeth) by Kurosawa, and Polanski’s Macbeth.
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FEMALE DIRECTORS over 3 years ago
Lina Wertmuller, Jane Campion, and Barbera Kopple. Honourable mention to porn film director, Anna Span.
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YOUR FAVORITE SILENT FILM, PLEASE. over 3 years ago
Buster Keaton’s The Cameraman. Honourable mention to G.W. Pabst’s Pandora’s Box.
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Top 5 Bertolucci over 3 years ago
The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man, and Before the Revolution.
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Boxing Films over 3 years ago
In a class by itself, Scorsese’s Raging Bull.
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Is Stanley Kubrick 'cold' or not? over 3 years ago
Richard, I appreciate your point, certainly with regards to his Napoleon project … I think he went ahead and did Barry Lyndon as a fall back plan. Having said that … A.I. ? So what ? Read your words, you’re agreeing with me, lol. Obsession, perfectionism, etc. My friend, thanks for the feedback. P.S. Obviously, we both think the world of Stanley :)
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If you had to pick ONE film as your favorite... over 3 years ago
The Cameraman by Buster Keaton … sheer genius.
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Watchmen over 3 years ago
I love the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. It has reached perfection in its own medium. I doubt that a hack like Zack Snyder can come remotely close to it. He turned Frank Miller’s 300 into a voluptuous yawn. In a perfect world, directors like Stanley Kubrick, Peter Greenaway, or David Cronenberg would have tackled Watchmen.
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A BETTER NOSFERATU - SCHRECK OR KINSKI over 3 years ago
Klaus Kinski was a brilliant, demonic actor (and writer). He attracted stardom while spitting in its face. Kinkski, by far.
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Quentin Tarantino over 3 years ago
I started out not liking him because so many kept people talking about him – you know, the mainstream. Hearing them you’d think he had invented cinema. Meanwhile, here I was watching Bergman, Fellini, Kurosawa, Kubrick, Bertolucci, Scorsese, etc. He still does not rank with those directors but I must say, now I like some of his work … a lot. Most of Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, I and II, and Death Proof. These are fine films, indeed. I love how he brings elements like american pulp, spaghetti western, and manga to his work. His control of the medium is highly impressive and very entertaining.
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INGMAR BERGMAN'S AUS DEM LEBBEN DER MARIONETTEN over 3 years ago
From the Life of the Marionette’s is a late, impressive film, made in Germany, and Bergman’s most underrated work.
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Top 5 Bertolucci over 3 years ago
The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man, Before the Revolution, and 1900.
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WHO IS / WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FILM ACTRESS EVER? over 3 years ago
Michelle Wild
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