MoFo Director's Cup Interest Thread

[bluedeed]

As I posted in the Future of HoF thread, I was thinking about starting a similar idea but focusing instead on single directors for the tournament. The idea is that we choose a director and 5 of their films will be nominated. There are no restrictions on how many people can join, the only requirement is that you watch all 5 of the films and write something about each of them in the thread or subthreads. The goal of these is to develop a better understanding of each director as a group, and generate interesting auteur (or anti-auteur) focused discussion.

Since only 5 films will be nominated, these would run for about half of the time that a normal HoF runs for, and I expect that many people will have seen several of the films beforehand, but I hope to also highlight lesser seen gems of great, popular filmmakers. If you're interested in joining one of these, let me know in the thread. Also if you have any suggestions for improving this idea, let me know there as well and I hope we can start something cool.

I've included 5 directors in a poll as candidates for the first one of these if it is to happen, you can vote on these or suggest your own candidates for consideration. I don't want the candidates that I chose off the cuff here to make people wary of joining. My suggested candidates are:

Jacques Demy
http://dorkshelf.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads//2013/06/Jacques-Demy.jpg
https://41.media.tumblr.com/bae938a0295ccfe8a2949b658fbffc3e/tumblr_n9qa9ckBvh1tphleno3_500.jpg

Jacques Tourneur
http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/tourneur.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b300/spacemonkey_fg/Blog%20Pictures%20III/IWalkedWithAZombie19433.jpg

John Ford
http://www.upress.state.ms.us/images/books/books/fall2001/john_ford.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/auteurs_production/images/film/she-wore-a-yellow-ribbon/w448/she-wore-a-yellow-ribbon.jpg

Josef von Sternberg
http://media-1.web.britannica.com/eb-media/59/9259-004-8273AB1C.jpghttp://www.moviediva.com/MD_root/MDimages/Copy_of_morocco.jpg

Roberto Rossellini
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/09/Roberto_Rossellini.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/auteurs_production/images/film/india-matri-bhumi/w448/india-matri-bhumi.jpg

Participants
Bluedeed
Christine
Citizen Rules
Cobpyth
Daniel M
Frightened Inmate No. 2
JiraffeJustin
Sane
Seanc
The Sci-Fi Slob

[jiraffejustin]

I'm definitely interested in this, but why no Tati?

[bluedeed]

Tati only made 6 features, and I thought it would be more interesting to choose a director with many more than 5 films. So when it's over, there's still a lot to explore but you'll be better prepared and get more out of the exploration. I've seen all of Tati's films and I didn't want to pick a director whose films I've seen all of. Also that would make for way too many Jacques.

[jiraffejustin]

Makes sense, I had no idea how many features Tati did. I don't know much about him tbh.

I voted for Sternberg, because Underworld is one of my favorite gangster pictures. I haven't seen any of his other films however.

[bluedeed]

I haven't decided who I'm voting for yet but I'm leaning towards Sternberg too. Yeah Tati has 6 features, 3 of which I love (Playtime, Parade, M. Hulot's Holiday) 1 of which I like a lot (Jour de Fete) and 2 of which I mildly dislike (Mon Oncle, Traffic)

[Frightened Inmate No. 2]

this is a great idea. i'm going with Rossellini just because i have three of his films sitting unwatched on my shelf and one on my hard drive.

[Daniel M]

Great idea, I'd definitely participate regardless of the director who gets voted in, they all look interesting. I've only seen one Demy and Tourneur, and then a handful of Ford. I'll have a think about this and probably cast a vote later.

[christine]

I'm not going to vote as I'll go along with whatever you all pick. Any of those guys look interesting to me :)

[seanc]

I'm down for this. Good way to expand my horizons. I voted for Ford but will participate regardless.

[Citizen Rules]

Bluedeed great idea. If you give this your all, I think this could become an important feature at MoFo. I voted for John Ford. I would be in for this, depending on the director.

I noticed your list was very light on American and British directors. What no Hitchcock? no Billy Wilder? If this is going to be an arthouse project, then I would pass on it, but wish you luck.:)

[christine]

Or Ken Loach, or Mike Leigh :)

[Daniel M]

Bluedeed great idea. If you give this your all, I think this could become an important feature at MoFo. I voted for John Ford. I would be in for this, depending on the director.

I noticed your list was very light on American and British directors. What no Hitchcock? no Billy Wilder? If this is going to be an arthouse project, then I would pass on it, but wish you luck.:)

Most people have seen films by Hitchcock and Wilder, especially the former. I think the idea would be too explore new directors and mainly older artists that people may feel deserve more exposure, and in most cases those happen to be more artistic directors. That's not to say artistic equals foreign or weird, John Ford is on the list and I'd imagine bluedeed would have been equally happy to put someone like Howard Hawks up there, there's plenty of great artistic directors that are American/British and/or make mainstream accessible films :)

[Cobpyth]

Very much interested in this!

Except for von Sternberg, I've seen at least one film from each director on the list so far. I'm interested in exploring all of them, but my vote goes to von Sternberg.

[mark f]

I noticed your list was very light on American and British directors. What no Hitchcock? no Billy Wilder? If this is going to be an arthouse project, then I would pass on it, but wish you luck.:)
Except for The Blue Angel and Ana-ta-han, all of von Sternberg's films are American. Except for four very minor films at the beginning of his career and a sword and sandal flick at the end, all of Tourneur's films are American or British.

[Citizen Rules]

I had forgot his name but yes, Von Sternberg did many films in America. I've seen Morroco and Blonde Venus, that I know of. I don't keep a list of films that I've seen so I often forget film titles. I've also seen The Blue Angel.

I've seen a few of Jacques Tourneur films: Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie, Out of the Past (which was in the Noir Hof).

I see Tourneur did a lot of Noir films. SO count me in on Tourneur and Von Sternberg as well as Ford.

[Sane]

I'm in. Not seen any films by Von Sternberg or Rossellini but want to see more early Hollywood films so voted Von Sternberg.

[jiraffejustin]

If we do von Sternberg, I am going to lobby hard for Underworld to be one of the five films. It's one of the best gangster pictures I've seen, and earliest, and I just think most of the people doing this with us will really enjoy it.

[Citizen Rules]

Besides nominating the best work from a director...another goal should be to showcase fine examples of the directors auteur stamp... also to showcase films that are atypical or juxtaposed of the director's style. So I'm nominating Jet Pilot for von Strenberg.

[The Sci-Fi Slob]

I'm in.I've only seen John Ford's films out of those 5.

[Zotis]

Sounds interesting. I think I'll watch from the sidelines for now.

[Camo]

Great idea Bluedeed. I'm going to sit the first one out, but I'll definitely keep my eye out and join later ones.

[jiraffejustin]

bluedeed since this is your idea and you very clearly had something in mind for these five guys, which of their films did you have in mind to be the selected ones for these directors?


For von Sternberg, the five I'd like to see with this:

Underworld
The Last Command
The Docks of New York
The Blue Angel (German)
Shanghai Express

[rauldc14]

I really dig this idea. I may sit the first one out, but I might change my mind.

[bluedeed]

Bluedeed great idea. If you give this your all, I think this could become an important feature at MoFo. I voted for John Ford. I would be in for this, depending on the director.

I noticed your list was very light on American and British directors. What no Hitchcock? no Billy Wilder? If this is going to be an arthouse project, then I would pass on it, but wish you luck.:)

As I said, these directors were chosen very much off the cuff. The only thing I knew is that I didn't want to do Hitchcock first because everyone on this forum has seen a lot of Hitch basically. Him and Billy Wilder are very popular here and if we did them people would barely be seeing something new.

This isn't an arthouse project, Roberto Rossellini can be considered arthouse, same with Ford's late period films like 7 Women but besides that the rest I don't consider arthouse. Demy is like an update of Ophuls and Hollywood musicals, he's considered part of the FNW but sticks much closer to genre manipulation than the rest, he's very accessible. Sternberg and Tourneur made mostly Hollywood films (though if Sternberg is nominated, I'd like to have Anatahan be one of the movies). Jean-Marie Straub calls Stagecoach the most experimental film ever made, but I think most people (myself included) wouldn't think the same and find Ford to be a great, entertaining Hollywood filmmaker.

I hope this idea will take off and that we can cover a number of directors, so the idea wasn't to choose the best directors for this one, but choose a good sampling and don't choose any that would be a shoo-in to be chosen

[bluedeed]

bluedeed since this is your idea and you very clearly had something in mind for these five guys, which of their films did you have in mind to be the selected ones for these directors?


For von Sternberg, the five I'd like to see with this:

Underworld
The Last Command
The Docks of New York
The Blue Angel (German)
Shanghai Express

My main thing with each director is that I wanted people (including myself in some cases) to see something characteristic and uncharacteristic (or at least unexpected from each director). So for each director I had a couple of films in mind:

Demy: Lola, A Room in Town
Tourneur: I Walked with a Zombie and something (I don't know Tourneur well)
Ford: Steamboat Round the Bend or Judge Priest, Stagecoach
Sternberg: Underworld, Anatahan
Rossellini: Rome, Open City; India Matri Bhumi

But I don't want to make the decisions on all of the films being watched, that wouldn't be fun, so suggestions and nominations for which films to be watched will be heavily considered.

[mark f]

You can't go wrong with Stars in My Crown for Tourneur.

[bluedeed]

But it seems very unlikely that he'll be chosen :( I'm the only one who voted for him so far

[Citizen Rules]

Once you chose a director for the Director's Cup, you might consider having a separate nomination/discussion thread where everyone throws out movies and discusses why or why not they should be included in the 5 Movies to watch. That would be a lot of fun in itself.

[Citizen Rules]

You can't go wrong with Stars in My Crown for Tourneur.I voted to soon, I just realized I have seen Stars in My Crown and it's a strong film!

But it seems very unlikely that he'll be chosen :( I'm the only one who voted for him so far There's always round two.:)

[Camo]

But it seems very unlikely that he'll be chosen :( I'm the only one who voted for him so far

You should just take the votes from the people who are participating. I didn't vote because I won't be doing the first one. Also an idea for the future ones, maybe all of the participants could pick a director that can't be nominated. When i join one I hope it's a director I haven't explored much or at all, rather than the usual Kubrtick, Scorcese, Tarantino, etc.

[jiraffejustin]

Once you chose a director for the Director's Cup, you might consider having a separate nomination/discussion thread where everyone throws out movies and discusses why or why not they should be included in the 5 Movies to watch. That would be a lot of fun in itself.

I think that will probably complicate things to an unnecessary degree. When it becomes work, it loses the fun. No reason to start an argument over these things. bluedeed can act as the moderator, and as the moderator I think he should have the final say over what goes in. However he chooses to handle that should be up to him.

[Daniel M]

I voted Demy because he looks cool, and that picture from Lola always makes me want to watch it. I wouldn't mind if any of them got in, but I kind of hoped it wouldn't be Ford as I've seen his films the most and will probably be watching more soon anyway, I guess it gives me more motivation to check out some of his lesser celebrated works though.

[bluedeed]

I voted Demy because he looks cool, and that picture from Lola always makes me want to watch it. I wouldn't mind if any of them got in, but I kind of hoped it wouldn't be Ford as I've seen his films the most and will probably be watching more soon anyway, I guess it gives me more motivation to check out some of his lesser celebrated works though.

You should watch Lola, it's great! I think Demy (or someone else) described Lola as a musical without music, and it's his tribute to the great Max Ophuls. Don't worry though, if Ford gets picked, I'll make sure we see some dark horses in his filmography. Ford's filmography is the most extensive of these guys by far.

[Daniel M]

You should watch Lola, it's great! I think Demy (or someone else) described Lola as a musical without music, and it's his tribute to the great Max Ophuls. Don't worry though, if Ford gets picked, I'll make sure we see some dark horses in his filmography. Ford's filmography is the most extensive of these guys by far.

Yeah I plan to anyway for the Sixties list, and especially after how much I enjoyed The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Musicals in general, when done right, are something I'm quite a fan of. You also remind me of my need to watch Max Ophuls films, I have only seen Caught although have The Earrings of Madame De... ready which I am hoping will be a masterpiece, he would be another good future suggestion for this thread actually.

And yeah I trust you to pick some interesting and varied films from these directors bodies of work, because of the amount of films Ford has made there's always lots to explore.

[nebbit]

John Ford :yup:

[bluedeed]

Alright guys, I'm going to allow people to continue to vote until Friday, though the winner looks pretty clear at this point. After that we can start! I've chosen 4 of Ford's films and I have several others in mind. Let me know if you think I should put the last one to a vote or not. Everyone else can keep in mind that they're free to join at any time providing they watch and share their opinions about the movies. Happy watching and keep in mind that Tag Gallagher's essential book on Ford is available for free at a number of sites online :)

[seanc]

I like the idea of voting on the fifth bluedeed.

[mark f]

Either way you need The Quiet Man. :cool:

[bluedeed]

The Quiet Man wants everyone to join ;)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac139/bluedeed/vlcsnap-2015-04-29-11h38m59s181_zpsrms5nvji.png

[jiraffejustin]

The Quiet Man features one of the better fist fight scenes in the history cinema, for anybody out of the know.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bm0RIs-VJU

[rauldc14]

The Quiet Man and Grapes of Wrath both rock.

[seanc]

I feel like I have seen The Quiet Man but can't remember it at all. I am watching all five regardless if I have seen them or not anyway.

[neiba]

I'm in for this! :) John Ford is a director I really really like! My vote went to him!

[rauldc14]

Are we moving forward with John Ford?

[bluedeed]

Yes we are. I'll post the official thread any time now, I just wanted to wait until it was daytime in most places to do so

[rauldc14]

We should try this again

[Friendly Mushroom!]

We should try this again

Yeah. I think the John Ford one failed and no finished because all the films were quite obscure and hard to find. So for the next one maybe have some "easier to find" movies.

[seanc]

I would be on board. Honestly I stopped because it didn't seem like people were watching, and I find Ford a drag so far.

[rauldc14]

Ford is great, those were some tough ones to get a hold of though.

[Daniel M]

Yeah I loved the Ford one and watched them all apart from Steamboat 'Round the Bend which even I couldn't find. Happy to do another!

[rauldc14]

I still want to see Wagon Master and Steamboat Round the Bend

[Mr Minio]

Other: Visconti

[seanc]

Even if three or four of us do it, it would be fun if we watched together. I would throw up a poll and start a thread later if you guys are interested. Rep says yes.

[Daniel M]

Try this link (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x37c4ds) for Wagon Master. Quite a few Ford films are available on Dailymotion or Youtube :)

[rauldc14]

I'm on board Sean let's do it!

It can be a more relaxed sort of thing too.