Directors you still haven't seen
 

Due to the long loading times I couldn't use the search button to look for similar threads.

The title reads directors you still haven't seen, but it's pretty obvious it's about their films, not the directors personally. Just make a list of well-known/influencial/highly acclaimed/hyped filmmakers that you still have to discover (or don't want to!). The only condition is you haven't seen a single movie made by them!

My list:
-Woody Allen
-Charlie Chaplin
-Alejandro Jodorowsky
-Peter Greenaway
-Satyajit Ray
-William Wyler
-Mohsen Makhmalbaf
-Susanne Bier
-Carlos Reygadas
-Chantal Akerman
-Louis Malle
-Edward Yang
-Shohei Imamura
-Agnes Varda
-Jules Dassin
-Ming-liang Tsai
-Abel Gance
-Eric Rohmer
-Joseph Losey
-Istvan Szabo
-Andrzej Munk
-Emir Kusturica
-Hayao Miyazaki
-Henri-Georges Clouzot

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

-Woody Allen
-Charlie Chaplin
-Alejandro Jodorowsky
-Peter Greenaway
-Satyajit Ray
-William Wyler
-Mohsen Makhmalbaf
-Susanne Bier
-Carlos Reygadas
-Chantal Akerman
-Louis Malle
-Edward Yang
-Shohei Imamura
-Agnes Varda
-Jules Dassin
-Ming-liang Tsai
-Abel Gance
-Eric Rohmer
-Joseph Losey
-Istvan Szabo
-Andrzej Munk
-Emir Kusturica
-Hayao Miyazaki
-Henri-Georges Clouzot

The ones in black I have not watched an entire movie of. Some I never heard of.

I am amazed someone who composed a list like this never saw a Woody Allen movie.

Ingmar Bergman
Andrey Tarkovskiy
Akira Kurosawa
Yasujirô Ozu
Jean Renoir

These are THE most important directors that I've never watched a film of yet. I still have a lot to look forward to!

All those +

-Federico Fellini
-Jean-Luc Godard
-Alain Resnais
-Jean Renoir
-Francois Tuffaut
-Andrey Tarkovskiy
-Akira Kurosawa
-Ozu Yasujiro
-Vittorio De Sica
-Roberto Rossellini
-Carl Theodor Dreyer
-Robert Bresson
-F. W. Murnau

and some others :p

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

I have not seen any movies by

Kenji Mizoguchi (need to see Ugetsu)
Andrei Tarkovsky
Hayao Miyazaki (Forgive me Guaporense!)
Satyajit Ray
Sofia Coppola

All of whom I will one day see at least one of their movies.

If there are people who know the perfect movie to start discovering one of these "masters", I am very open to suggestions!

I'd suggest Rashomon for Kurosawa. I haven't seen any or enough of the other directors to suggest one though.

Bergman - Wild Strawberries
Tarkovsky - Ivan's Childhood (this is very different than most Tarkovsky films but it is by far his most accessible)
Kurosawa - Rashomon or Yojimbo (definitely Yojimbo if you like Sergio Leone's Fistful of Dollars/For a Few Dollars More

I think for Bergman try The Seventh Seal

i will agree with the Kurosawa movies of Rashomon or Yojimbo.

For Ozu I can only say Tokyo Story

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

Andrey Tarkovskiy
Ingmar Bergman
Federico Fellini
Jean-Luc Godard
Charlie Chaplin
Orson Welles
Terrence Malick
Milos Forman

and many more I must've forgotten about

and all the other highly acclaimed Japanese/Asian filmmakers, with the exception of Miyazaki

Fellini? Kurosawa? De Sica? Ouch.

For first time Fellini views I'd suggest La Strada or Nights of Cabiria. After those watch 8 1/2.

Kurosawa it can be Seven Samurai / Yojimbo or if you're not in a Samurai mood than Ikiru. Personally Ikiru is his best, but Kurosawa is a master film maker and his movies are indeed a amazing work of art.

De Sica of course must be Bicycle Thieves.

George steven's is my favorite director. Hopefully no one has mentioned him yet because you're all familiar with his films.
I've familiar with these directors and can comment on them.

Akira kurosawa - Saw 11. The best to start with is Akira Kurosawa's Dreams. I especially love the first short story, and it's only an 11 minute commitment to watch it. That's why it's the best to start with :)
Charlie Chaplin - Saw 7. City lights is the best overall movie, the circus is the funniest
William Wyler - Saw 5, but I only really like his movies because of audrey hepburn :) Roman holiday was great and I plan to give it to my niece once she's old enough to rebel. haha my nephew will get 400 blows
F.W. Murnau - Saw 4. Hated 1, didn't like 2. Faust was alright. George steven's Place in the sun is similar to murnau's sunrise, only an order of magnitude better.
Hayao Miyazaki- Saw 2, I really liked spirited away the best
Vittorio De Sica - Saw 2. Really liked the bicycle thief
Ingmar Bergman - Saw 1. saw Seventh seal but I liked it. smiles of a summer night and persona are in my queue

I haven't seen these, but I have (queued movies in parentheses)

Woody Allen - tried to watch annie hall and turned it off
Federico Fellini - tried to watch 8 1/2 but turned it off (la strada)
Satyajit Ray (Aranyer Din Ratri)
Mohsen Makhmalbaf (Kandahar)
Yasujirô Ozu (tokyo story)
Jean Renoir (Le Crime de Monsieur Lange)
Jean-Luc Godard (breathless and band of outsiders)
Ozu Yasujiro (tokyo story)
Robert Bresson (mouchette)
Sofia Coppola (lost in translation)
Alain Resnais - queued 3 movies
Roberto Rossellini - queued 2 movies

Alejandro Jodorowsky
Peter Greenaway
Susanne Bier
Carlos Reygadas
Chantal Akerman
Louis Malle
Edward Yang?
Shohei Imamura
Agnes Varda
Jules Dassin
Ming-liang Tsai
Abel Gance
Eric Rohmer
Joseph Losey
Istvan Szabo
Andrzej Munk
Emir Kusturica
Henri-Georges Clouzot
Francois Tuffaut
Audrey Tarkovskiy
Carl Theodor Dreyer


Most of these guys I've never heard of, where did all these names come from? :eek:

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

For Jean Renoir the movie to see has to be The Grand Illusion.

F.W. Murnau's best movie is The Last Laugh.

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

This was my first Bergman film and I really didn't get it. :D It took me a year or two to force myself to see another Bergman film.
nah,I'd start with Stalker. ;)

I have to disagree from personal experience. My first taste of Kurosawa was one of the vignettes from Dreams I watched in a film class in college. Having seen many more of Kurosawa's movies, while Dreams is still an excellent film, it is also very different from his general body of work and his most personal. And I did not consider myself a Kurosawa fan until after I saw Seven Samurai. Dreams is still a must see for any fan of his work, but I think it is a poor starting point.

For me my first Bergman film was Wild Strawberries, and it took me a while after that to try The Seventh Seal which I enjoyed. :D

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

Fritz Lang
Jean Renoir
Federico Fellini
Jean Luc Godard
Andrei Tarkovsky
Spike Lee
Wes Anderson

I started with The Seventh Seal for Bergman. My first Tarkovsky was Solaris. Both I think are good introductions.

I haven't seen a feature film from any of the following (for shame!)

- Robert Bresson
- William Wyler
- Fritz Lang (!)
- Elia Kazan
- Kar Wai Wong
- Andrey Tarkovskiy (!)
- Krzysztof Kieslowski
- Woody Allen (!)
- François Truffaut (!)
- Michelangelo Antonioni
- David Lean (!)
- Carl Theodor Dreyer (!)
- Rainer Werner Fassbinder

In conclusion, I suck.

For the bolded, I suggest:

Amarcord
Breathless
The Royal Tenenbaums

Good starting points, I think.

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

I still haven't watched a film by:

- Bunuel
- Rivette
- Kaneto Shindo
- Kozaburo Yoshimura
- Satyajit Ray

Never watched an Indian film in my lifetime. I plan to begin watching those soon. Anyway, cinema is a large world.

A good thing about cinema is that, differently from literature, it is easy to get acquainted with the canon over a period measured in months.

Hitchcockian, I would suggest the following films:

Fritz Lang - M
Jean Renoir - The Rules of the Game
Federico Fellini - 8 1/2
Jean Luc Godard - Contempt
Andrei Tarkovsky - Stalker & Andrei Rublev & The Mirror & Solaris

Tarkovsky is the best out of this bunch, by far.

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

Based on TSPDT's Top 250 Directors, the top ten filmmakers that I remain completely unexposed to:

1) Carl Dreyer
2) Andrei Tarkovsky
3) Robert Bresson
4) F.W. Murnau
5) Howard Hawks
6) Fritz Lang
7) Sergei Eisenstein
8) Francois Truffaut
9) Kenji Mizoguchi
10) Roberto Rossellini

At least you mentioned him along with other greats which is good.

I suggest Un Chien Andalou as a starting point. My favorite feature from Bunuel is The Exterminating Angel, which would probably be a good place to go after Andalou.

The composer is not American. I saw my first Woody Allen movie, Annie Hall, a month ago.

Woody Allen is not among the most famous directors. In my country Stallone's films are much more famous.

I have The Exterminating Angel. Would try to start it soon.

Meh, TSPDT's Top 250 Directors list is crap, Miyazaki (95) and Naruse (121) are even behind Tarantino, Spielberg, The Cohen Brothers and Woody Allen. :eek: In the Sign and Sound poll Miyazaki and Naruse beat these four (Cohen Brothers one of the top 70 greatest directors of all time? even I know 70 better directors and I haven't watched 10% of the films that a film critic should have).

This list is clearly biased towards US directors, which is natural given it is a list composed from american and british lists, which are mostly composed by american and british critics who pretty much known only American and popular European films. They even ranked Almodovar above Naruse!

In Japan, Miyazaki and Naruse are considered to be better than Mizoguchi, who is 25th place on that list. Mizoguchi is popular among American critics because his films managed to win three Venice golden lions in the 1950's, so every American critic knows Ugetsu and other Mizoguchi films. Now, I love Ugetsu (just look at my top 10), but western critics need to understand the existence of more than 3 Japanese directors. I understand that time is limited so an individual film critic cannot know much but in composing these lists the authors must have had some research into top films lists that included more information.

Even the IMDB top 250 is better than TSPDT's top 1000 films list. Though if you do a best directors list using the IMDB top 250 you will get Christopher Nolan at the top 5: http://www.imdb.com/list/vR9zwrTG4i4/

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

Blah, blah, blah (again).

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

I wouldn't say any list is perfect, but all lists at least serve a purpose. N00bs, for lack of a better term use those lists as gateway drugs so to speak. So in that aspect, I'm fine with them.

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

I swear, if you compiled all of his pro-Miyazaki, pro-Japanese critics and anti-American rants, you could publish them into one massive volume.

We get it, Guaporense. You don't like what American critics have to say. You think Miyazaki > everybody else who ever made a film. You can stop writing novels about it.

And what exactly makes Miyazaki better than Tarantino, Spielberg, Coen brothers and Woody Allen?

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

You shouldn't have done that.

I'd suggest Ivan's childhood as for Tarkovsky, it's also his 1st feature; Lancelot du lac by Bresson and India: Matri Bhumi for Rossellini. There's a lot to see.....

Since I got paid a few days ago this will be rectified thanks to Amazon. Hello Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away!

M is my favorite Fritz Lang movie, and Contempt is actually the film I liked best by Godard. And it cameos Fritz Lang! I sense a theme...

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

that's funny because my second Bergman film was Wild Strawberries. :D

go figure! lol

First argument: Do you ever knew a cinephile who was about as big fan of Tarantino's, Spielberg's, Coen brothers' or Woody Allen's work as I am a fan of Miyazaki's?

Second argument: The emotional reaction I get from watching the works of the Coens, while enjoyable, is weak if compared to the emotional reaction I get from Miyazaki's works (or any other film I put on my favorites or on my list of certified greats). I also didn't see anything really brilliant in a Coens film (yeah, they have tons of jokes but they never take themselves seriously enough to really hit a strong emotional chord). I think that it is very hard to argue that the Coen are among the greatest directors ever, though I included The BigLebowski among my top 25 movies of the 1990's, but that's because I am rather ignorant of most cinema, I guess I could eventually find hundreds of movies superior to The Big Lebowski made in the 1990's.

I found tons of people who said that Miyazaki's movie X is the best movie ever, I found tons of people who said that Kurosawa's movie X is the best movie ever, I found tons of people who said that Kubrick's movie X is the best movie ever but who do you know that says that Fargo is the greatest movie ever made?

I can understand if a list would rank Hitchcock, Kubrick, Haneke, Bela Tarr or Bresson above Miyazaki, I cannot understand the Coens above him. Honestly, I have watched a fair number of Coens films and I find these movies comparable to Family Guy in general terms, though The Big Lebowski manages to attain South Park levels of quality.

Miyazaki is regularly considered one of greatest directors of all time (for instance, John Lasseter said that or even the trailer to Princess Mononoke, who said that the Coens were among the greatest directors of all time?) and also one of the greatest storytellers or our generation (as Andrew Osmond), in any media, either book, TV or film. Nausicaa, the science fiction manga Miyazaki wrote, is considered by those who read it a better genre novel than Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and Frank Ebert's Dune. Miyazaki is perhaps the best genre (fantasy and science fiction) filmmaker of all time, for example, he has the highest number of five star reviews at Moria (a database of reviews of science fiction, fantasy and horror movies, http://moria.co.nz/). That's some serious stuff.

Spielberg would be the greatest of these four guys. But I find his films still a bit lacking in subtlety and gravitas (though Mark might disagree here :)). Anyway, I can understand someone ranking Spielberg above Miyazaki, given the emotional richness of the aggregate total of Spielberg's films.

But Tarantino, the Coens and Woody Allen? Their comedies are enjoyable, but I find their films quite lacking in substance (Pulp Fiction, though, might by an exception, it's coolness factor is so high that it achieves sublimity through heterodox means).

If one would rank directors based on the IMDB top 250, Miyazaki shows up in 4th place (http://www.imdb.com/list/vR9zwrTG4i4/), and 1st place among non-English language directors and above all these guys (though below Christopher Nolan, who also makes enjoyable films but lacking in gravitas). And if you rank directors based on the critics votes on the Sign and Sound poll, Miyazaki is also above these four.

If you rank directors based on their relative positions in Kinema Junpo's top 200 Japanese films lists, two lists elaborated by both critics and readers, Miyazaki and Naruse rank above Mizoguchi, who is 25th place in that list. So, the Japanese, who knows the work of these directors well, say that a director who the American/British critics know well (Mizoguchi), who is considered greatly superior by those American/British than the Coens, in turn is considered inferior to these two.

Also, besides Miyazaki, there are like 5-6 other anime directors who I would rank above the Coen brothers, and I am just starting to explore other anime directors. I could easily find 100 directors who I would rank above the Coens.

And also, I am also exploring Naruse's work. Truly a great director who made powerful works of art during the Japanese golden age of cinema. While I am still ignorant of most of his work, he clearly is a superior artist than the Coens, for instance.

So, if you make a rank where Miyazaki is around 100th place (and Naruse around 120th place), you should find 120 directors who made really powerful work and not only those cool but superficial comedies. I think it is possible to make a list where even I would agree on putting a hundred directors above Miyazaki and 120 above Naruse, but they all must do hardcore stuff like Tarkovsky, so they surpass those two in some ways that they doesn't even try.

Anyway, is too much to demand from those that compile that top 1000 greatest movies list enough great directors to remove the Cohens from a top 100 directors list? Or I am just taking those lists too much seriously? I guess I have analysed these top films lists with more rigor than the organization who made them.

Anyway, either the IMDB top 250 or the Sign and Sound top 250 boast a better selection than that top 1000 films list. The main problem of the IMDB's top 250 list is the lack of obscure directors/movies, caused by the restriction on the minimum number of votes required for a film to show up there while the main problem of the Sign and Sound top 250 films list is the bias toward older directors (as if old movies earn interest over their age), given their landmark positions.

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

You do realize that the Coen brothers don't just make comedies, right?
Also I wouldn't call Tarantino's films comedies.

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

I'll be honest, I stopped reading after you compared the Coen Brothers to Family Guy and South Park. They are nothing like either one of those shows, and that is almost disrespectful. Happiness is an emotion, and when I watch something like The Hudsucker Proxy, The Big Lebowski, or O Brother, Where Art Thou? I feel happy. I feel really happy. Then you also have No Country For Old Men, which happens to be their best film. I don't know exactly how that's anything like an episode of Family Guy.

This is not a knock on Miyazaki, who is awesome, but a defense of the Coen Brothers. And even though I am not constantly on about Tarantino or the Coens, I am just as big of a fan of theirs as you are of Miyazaki.

I also felt really happy after I watched the Big Lebowski, but it wasn't nearly as great as an experience as watching Scott Tenorman Must Die. So yes, I believe that Scott Tenorman Must Die is possibly greater work of art than anything the Cohen Brothers ever done, for me at least. Anyway, the guys who make South Park are quite brilliant in their own way and they also seek the same type of emotion as the Coens do. Family Guy is a bit lower in quality, though some episodes made me really happy as well. Overall, I cannot honestly say that I prefer the Coens work over Family Guy. Both made me really happy, though The Big Lebowski is significantly better than any single Family Guy episode.

I also didn't understand No Country For Old Men so I don't regard it as their best movie (I liked Fargo and The Big Lebowski much more). I personally consider the types of emotions these films seek to create are lower than, for example, the types Kurosawa's films seek (which is a sublime feeling, a feeling of something great, something above simple "happy"). Now, there is also the question of preference between types of emotions. So, it is still hard for me to think that a work that doesn't seek to attain what I define as sky should be regarded as part of the sky. So, since the Coens never tried to make what I would consider a great movie, I wouldn't consider them great directors.

I don't hold gross/dark comedy in very high regard. Maybe because it is a more forgettable feeling, for me at least, such as jokes involving extreme violence (Pulp Fiction is a festival of jokes involving extreme violence, as Kill Bill, though they are the best in what they do) if compared to the subtle cartoon of Porco Rosso and it's innocent comedy or the raw emotional power of Ikiru. Anyway, the only Coen or Tarantino film that I ever felt the desire of watching again was Pulp Fiction, because I think it transcends a bit it's own genre limitations and achieves something really beyond mere escapism.

I watched Coen films for years before I discovered Miyazaki, since I discovered Miyazaki I never watched a Coen film again, the last one was A Serious Man a few years ago. Like most other movies, I regarded them as simply entertainment, something to kill time. When I watched Spirited Away, it was something very, very different from what I was used to, the only film comparable to it that I had watched before was Kubrick's 2001, in terms of spontaneously achieving that feeling of sublimity that goes beyond entertainment but impresses itself into the heart. I never found such feeling while watching the Coens, or Monthy Python, or Family Guy or Seinfeld. I never expected to find it in a cartoon and I actually wish I didn't love these movies so much since they have taken too much time out of my real life. It bordering on what a psychiatrist might say that it is a mental illness that I am so affected by these movies so that my real life is negatively affected, I once watched Nausicaa and I was unable to think in anything else besides that cartoon for over a week, the Nausicaa manga was even worse. That never happened to me on work of any other director or any other work of fiction.

So, I like Coens films, but I honestly have difficulty understanding how someone might truly love them to the degree of wishing to love them less, for practical reasons. This review is pretty much on my line of thinking regarding No Country For Old Men: http://criticafterdark.blogspot.com....and-ethan.html, though this critic is a bit too hard on it.

They never made a serious film. Not among the 8-9 films I have watched from them at least.

They are never serious. Maybe Reservoir Dogs is a bit more serious. But I never watched Tarantino for the drama (nobody does), but for the fun of watching extreme cartoon violence and bullsh*t dialogue executed in cool, entertaining manner. That's comedy in my book.

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

Is it me or are almost all of Guaporense's posts tl;dr? There's no point in reading because we know what it says. There's no point is responding because that is comparable to feeding a stray dog.

The best director is one who works strictly with animation...too funny. Just propose already, Guap.

http://basedonnothing.net/wp-content...ki-610x250.jpg

Hmmm...It doesn't look like Hayao likes the sound of that.

It is common knowledge that Woody Allen and his movies are far more popular and successful in Europe than in the USA.

Possibly that is not true for 'your country'; but judging by the spuriousness of several of your claims that you air with such certainty, I'm not sure if that is the case.

First you said the first Woody Allen film you saw was a month ago. Then, in the same thread, a few hours later, you lay claim to some kind of expertise on the substance of Woody Allen's films.....

Woody Allen has directed well over 40 films - every single one of which he has written. How many have you seen since you watched Annie Hall a month ago?

You've clearly seen lots of films and occasionally you offer some worthwhile opinions on and insight into them. However, spouting about things that you clearly know little about undermines your credibility.

I can't agree with you here, Guap.

First of all, you're degrading the art of comedy to something unimportant and futile, which it is not, of course. Humor is one of the very few elements that singly can make a movie entertaining and worth watching.

The Coen Brothers take it one step further. They also offer some very awesome characters, great visuals, fantastic camera work and some of their scripts are among the best and most original ever written.
They've made 15 movies and from the 12 I've seen, I didn't dislike a single one of them.

I also think you should watch way more Woody Allen films, before you criticize him, because he's just a filmmaking genius, in my opinion. I've seen 18 of his movies yet and although there are a few lesser in quality, they are all still worth a watch, in my opinion. And your posts clearly show that you don't know him, as his movies are full of philosophical references and questions about life. He's certainly not just a funny fellow making funny films.

And well, I shouldn't have to defend Tarantino, as he's one of the most influential directors of the last 20 years when it comes to style.

Miyazaki's influence and importance should also not be underestimated, but to state that a list with the three directors mentioned above in front of him, is immediately a bad list, is nonsense. In my opinion they can not be compared anyway.

Yeah because No Country was such a riot. :rolleyes:
So was True Grit.


Your book is wrong. Entertaining and cool does not necessarily equal comedy.

Tarantino makes action movies. He makes adventures. And he's damn good at it. These types of movies have traditionally contained comedic elements but that does not make them comedies.

You've chastized other members here for their ignorance about the types of film you love, but your own ignorance about other films is glaringly obvious in your recent posts.

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

Guaporense, regarding your first argument: me. I am a huge, huge Tarantino fan, probably as much as you are of Miyazaki's. But what has this question got to do with mine, anyway? I fail to see the connection.

regarding your second argument: you didn't answer my question. I asked "what exactly makes Miyazaki better than the rest of the directors that you mentioned". You merely gave your opinion. You said why you find him better, which I understand. However, I find your comparisons laughable. Are you trying to say that Miyazaki's work is superior just because his films have made you shed a tear, while a Tarantino or a Coen brothers film hasn't? So, just because Tarantino and the Coens don't make tearjerkers, they're not as good as Miyazaki? I think it is unfair to disparage the works of Tarantino and the Coens just because their films don't give you the same feeling that a Miyazaki film does.

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

And Tarantino definitely doesn't make comedies. He has never made one.

Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Jackie Brown are crime dramas. Kill Bill vol. 1 is an action/adventure movie. Kill Bill vol. 2 is a drama/action movie. Death Proof is a drama/thriller movie. Inglourious Basterds is a drama. Django Unchained is an action/western movie. There are funny moments in each of his films, but that does not make the entire film a comedy.

Yesterday I made a thread about the directors you still haven't seen. How come today I am reading about Miyazaki and Coen brothers being compared?

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

Don't do that!

me too, but i feel like i already know im going to disagree with his pov so i have no film insight to gain

i found no country really disappointing. action is supposed to build and they totally deflated right before the final match by not showing it go down

.

Oh I don't disagree. I hated that movie, actually. I just pointed to it because it is a Coen brothers film that is decidedly not a comedy.

It's not just you. He writes a novel each and every time and then constantly goes back and edits it to add even more statistics that nobody gives a **** about. I swear I get cross-eyed everytime I try to read one and I don't know why I bother because they all say the same damn thing.

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

Haven't seen any Woody Allen films.I don't know,whenever I want to watch his film,I read the plot summary and I instantly don't want to see it. :D

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

I once had a girlfriend who couldn't stand Woody Allen although she'd never seen his films. She had been indoctrinated by her mother. After I moved away, I learned from her that she had seen The Purple Rose of Cairo with her sister. She loved it and went back to watch it several times.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3158/...036bca94_m.jpg

I've only 4 Woody Allen films Take the money and run, Annie Hall, Manhattan Murder Mystery and Midnight In Paris i'd say i enjoyed all of them and am looking forward to seeing more starting with Crimes And Misdemeanors.

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

I've never seen a Woody Allen film but I have Crimes and Misdemeanors and Midnight in Paris both recorded, looking forward to them :)

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

I love/like all of the Woody movies I've seen.

Annie Hall
Midnight in Paris
Hannah and Her Sisters
Crimes and Misdemeanors -
Manhattan

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

that's an interesting story,Mark. :)) I'll eventually see something from Woody Allen sooner or later,probably Annie Hall or Vicky Christine Barselona.

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

Legit recommendations, Tyler1. Thanks!

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HT5M7bejwt..._manhattan.jpg

I've seen all the Woody Allen films that he both wrote and directed, and also the early two that he wrote but didn't direct - of which Play it Again, Sam is highly worthwhile (especially if you like Casablanca).

Of his numerous films, it goes without saying that some are better than others, and Woody Allen would be the first to tell you that. However, there's always things I like in each and every one of his films.

For me, Woody Allen possesses that rare combination (like Charlie Chaplin) of being able to make you laugh while posing tough questions about the human condition, relationships, etc. His movies consistently pay homage to icons of cinema and literature, from the Marx Brothers to Bergman, and from Sophocles to Dostoevsky. There are also regular references to psychology, psychoanalysis, history and philosophy. Few viewers (including me) grasp all his allusions - because most of us are not nearly as literate as Allen is.

As a professional jazz clarinetist, his scores are often infused with great jazz. And his scripts and finished products are some of the tightest around. He's a ruthless editor. Say what you want about him, but there is hardly ever any wasted space in a Woody Allen film.

Also, his films always have some of the best actors around because practically everyone considers it an honor to be asked to act in a Woody Allen film. And one of the best actors in his films is often Allen himself - again, expressing a unique combination of vulnerable emotion and masterful comedic timing.

In addition to his early slapstick-inspired, straight out comedies like Take the Money and Run, Bananas and Sleeper (if that's your cup of tea; it's not everyone's), I'd recommend:

- Annie Hall (a turning point for Allen in terms of infusing his comedy with a very human story)
- Interiors (this is perhaps Allen's most introspective movie; decidedly not a comedy)
- Manhattan (Allen's love letter to the city; filmed in black and white, one of the most beautifully-shot films I've seen)
- Zelig (highly original concept and execution; very funny yet sad)
- The Purple Rose of Cairo (a heartwarming ode to those of us who get lost in the fantasy world of film)
- Hannah and her Sisters (an intimate look at three sisters and their relationships with each other and the men in their lives; a perspective not many men could pull off as successfully)
- Crimes and Misdemeanors (a Dostoevsky-inspired drama)
- Sweet and Lowdown (great portrait, acted by Sean Penn, of a frustrated jazz guitarist in awe of Django Reinhardt)
- Vicky Cristina Barcelona (a smart, sexy and thoughtful look at a complex circle of relationships)

My one-line descriptions of these movies are of course highly simplistic; there's so much more to say about them. His movies are generally infused with a great deal of wit and existentialism. There's many more I'd recommend, but some of the ones listed above would be a good start.

I'd also recommend The Front, a rare film in which Allen acts, but neither directs nor writes.

Not only shed tears but Miyazaki's action scenes, for instance, send shivers down my spine while his movies possess a visual quality, his action scenes are not only powerful but also poetic. Miyazaki's action scenes also transmit information about the character's personality.

They don't make movies with action scenes as good as well.

What would be fair? Do you want me to analyse the movies? The fact is that I know these two guys for years and was never impressed and when I watched Spirited Away I noticed great art. And yes, of course it is feeling since art is feeling.

Pretty much: Miyazaki films are works of audiovisual art, while Coen and Tarantino films are more plot oriented, less focused on beauty and more on entertaining through amusing situations. Their characters are caricatures that are made to amuse the viewer. Miyazaki's worlds are fantastical (with the exception of the slice of life drama he occasionally wrote) but build with internal realism and his characters are more realistic. In a sense, his characters are more "boring", like Ozu's characters. Ozu's sense of humanism heavily influenced Miyazaki and Takahata.

The lack of humanism is films like Pulp Fiction and No Country for Old Men is what makes these movies comedies in my opinion. Since all characters are robots, designed to amuse the viewer, if they die, one is not touched since they are not real people but cartoon characters. Instead I find that these situations are funny. I loved Pulp Fiction because it made me smile because of it's ludicrousness. Bruce Willis with a katana sword was awesome in an ironical way.

Also, in terms of influence there isn't much comparison, considering that genre movies dominate audiences worldwide and Coen and Tarantino haven't made much an impact there while Miyazaki's influence over films such as Avatar is huge (Avatar is pretty much a second rate copy of PM), Pixar's is also hugely influenced by Miyazaki. Include his influence over other japanese animation and live action films as well. So if you measure the greatness of a director by influence there is also a huge discrepancy.

Finally, the guys who made that top 1000 films list know that they are biased toward American and European films. So they agree with me: "however, the imbalance between North American and European cinema (881 films) versus the rest of the world (119 films) continues.", which is an obvious consequence of the fact that if you take lists made by Westerners you will have a pro-western bias. In the same way if you take only lists made in India you would have a pro-Indian bias. The greatest Indian director, Satyajit Ray, was ranked 35th on that list and India's film industry is probably equal to hollywood in terms of expertise employed.

If you try to reduced the bias by taking into account the number of films produced in each country you will get a much more sensible raking of directors. Miyazaki was ranked the 4th greatest japanese director, and Japan produced 30,000 films, while the US produced 50,000 films, so Miyazaki would be equivalent in greatness to the 6th or 7th greatest hollywood director.

That means that Miyazaki is equivalent to Scorsese or Chaplin on that list. In terms of influence he is indeed more comparable to these two than to Tarantino and James Cameron.

Somebody write an essay of why Uwe Boll is better than Miyazaki, just so Guapo's head explodes :p

Off the top of my head, two whose films I haven't seen: Francois Tuffaut and Ingmar Bergman.

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

Nice; a post on topic.

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

Haven't seen the vast majority of the directors in Mr Minio's thread

I tried watching Annie Hall, but about 20 minutes into the film i felt like I was still waiting for the movie to start. I didn't want to make the GF sit through it so I turned it off.

So many movies up there, maybe you could recommend one based on my tastes?

Perhaps give Annie Hall another shot without your girlfriend so you don't have to worry about her opinion.

Also, try Crimes and Misdemeanors or Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

Love and Death I enjoyed, and I also liked Everything You wanted to know about Sex* But where Afraid to Ask. Those were pretty good Woody Allen movies. I also saw Curse of the Jade Scorpion and Hollywood Ending. CotJS, sucked while Hollywood Ending was okay, but I really liked the concept behind it.

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

Never seen an Elem Klimov film.

In terms of directors, I will say that I have never actually seen a foreign film with subtitles, so any director who has only made films with subtitles would be at the top of my list.

There are a few directors i haven't seen here.

By the way, Woody Allen's movie's are weird. But Midnight in Paris is the most fun. So if you wanna watch his movies, you can start with that. His earlier works were just too weird for me!

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

Never seem a film by:

- Billy Wilder
- Keisuke Kinoshita

:)

I suggest Some Like It Hot,Sunset Boulevard and The Apartment three fabulous movies imo.

A few i still haven't seen

- Tarkovsky
- Ozu
- Lean
- Altman
- Bresson
- Buñuel
- Von Trier

Sunset Blvd. is one my favs from the three!

I disagree with this part. I monitor the Indian film industry very closely because of close connections to the country. But i would have to say, the expertise is just not there. If you talking about lights, sound mixing and all those behind the scene stuff, then yes, they are.

But if you are talking about what people see, the story, the actors (acting skills), the direction and all that, its just not good. Most good actors are often handed supporting casts, coz no one sees acting skills, all they wanna see is stars.

The industry basically runs on the concept of feed the people what they want.

To be honest, 80% for Indian movies are rip offs from a movie from another country. Sometimes directors are sly, they would copy a movie from, lets say, Spanish movie. Because they know the 90% of the people, watch movies in their own bubble (own language) and think this is all they would ever be able to see and hardly anyone would know and the director takes the credit for making an amazing movie! But at the end of the day, its not their work.

To make matters worse, Indian movie industry is just too split up for the wide range of languages available. The term "bollywood" in referred to the industry for the language Hindi (the most widespread language in India). But at the present moment, i would say the Bengali film industry churns out better movies than their bollywood counterparts.
So it would be Bengali>>Bollywood>>Rest of India.

Ray is just special, one of a kind. His body of work is just too good.

He theory was simple, i make movies for me, not for others. And that is what made him different.

After that there has been no other director in Indian industry which are good. And yes, he is from the Bengali film industry, not bollywood.

My personal fav of the three is probably The Apartment, they're all great though. I still want to see Wilders The Lost Weekend and Double Indemnity.

Double Indemnity is amazing. For me, if you watch it, it might very well beat Apartment for you! :)

Since you didn't mention it, in the previous three, i did not mention it. DI and Sunset Blvd would tied for #1 for me, then the Apartment, then Some like it Hot. I haven't watched Lost weekend, the plot did not excite me somehow! :(

You have one seriously ****ed up definition of "comedy," sir.

Jean Renoir
Yasujirô Ozu
Luis Buñuel
Fritz Lang
John Cassavetes
Peter Greenaway
Pedro Almodóvar
Kenji Mizoguchi
Michelangelo Antonioni

...and the anime guy.

Shame! You're missing quite possibly the two greatest directors of all time!

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

Guapo, you so crazy...

His favorite comedies are No Country for Old Men and PMMM film version...

Any recommendations?

Kenji: Ugetsu, Sansho the Bailiff, Ozu: Noriko trilogy

And while I'm at it

Jean Renoir - Grand Illusion, Rules of the Game,
Luis Buñuel - The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Belle de Jour
Fritz Lang - Metropolis, Dr. Mabuse trilogy
John Cassavetes - Faces, Woman Under the Influence
Peter Greenaway - The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, A Zed and Two Noughts
Pedro Almodóvar - Talk to Her, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Michelangelo Antonioni - Red Desert, L'Eclisse

For Mizoguchi I would recommend Sansho the Bailiff and The Story of Late Chrysanthemums. For Ozu (it's so hard to choose), Woman of Tokyo, Late Spring, Early Summer, and Late Autumn are my favorites, but there's so many Ozu films I think are perfect.

PMMM is no comedy. Its an science fiction horror thriller dark fantasy art blockbuster action tragedy character study. Hence, the best movie in each of these categories.

Oops

In a poll in japan in 2010 miyazaki had even more movies in the top 100 than mizoguchi and ozu. :p Though still far from Kurosawa. Still mizoguchi and ozu are certainly among the best directors. though i find the more modern japanese stuff to be more in line with my 21st century sensibilities.

Thanks for more meaningless data. My sensibilities (yes, even as a millennial) fall right in line with Ozu, I don't think its a zeitgeist thing, more what you're familiar with and exposed to. Mizoguchi is fairly humorless and I don't always find him as poignant as Ozu, but both directors have examined the mise en scene of their respective stylistic choices (long, sustained and moving shots for Mizoguchi, even, geometric framings for Ozu) to a greater extent than any other director I've seen, that's why I consider them among the best.

Ozu: Tokyo Story, Autumn Afternoon, Late Spring
Mizoguchi: Sancho the Bailiff, Ugetsu
Miazaki: Mononoke, Spirited Away, Nausicaa (his other films are less accessible)
Fritz Lang: M
Almodovar: his movies are funny but not powerful

I see. I consider them among the best because i found their films to be extremely powerful (for me). I don't try to analyse movies that much though.

Forgive my incessantly technical brain, I bring engineering sensibilities to film. When I watch a film, I can't help but notice the formal side of it.

Directors I still haven't seen:

Andrey Tarkovskiy - I will watch Stalker soon, thanks to Guap, as he nominated it for the Hall of Fame tournament. I'm also looking forward to seeing Solaris.

Yasujiro Ozu - I will watch Tokyo Story in the near future.

Fritz Lang - I have M and Metropolis both on DVD, so I'll watch one of those two first.

François Truffaut - All recommendations are welcome!

Luis Bunuel - All recommendations are welcome!

Jean Renoir - All recommendations are welcome!


There are more of course, but these are the most important at the moment.


I don't know if that's true. Which of his films have you already seen?

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

François Truffaut - Shoot The Piano Player, Jules and Jim
Luis Bunuel - The Exterminating Angel, That Obscure Object of Desire
Jean Renoir - I'll stand by the same from above for you (unless you like musicals, he has a trilogy)

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

Belle de jour was the only Bunuel I truly loved.

Re: Directors you still haven't seen
 

Cobpyth you should watch The 400 Blows and if you like it there's 3 sequels.

Since I'm a young movie fan there's many rgreat directros that I haven't seen anything

Fellini
Ozu
Jarmusch
Tarkovsky
Bunuel
Herzog
Godard
Renoir
Antonioni

and I've only seen 3 movies pre 1940 so I need to catch up on those lol