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Author Topic: 1SO vs. All the Directors  (Read 85475 times)

1SO

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1SO vs. All the Directors - Claude Chabrol
« Reply #500 on: February 14, 2019, 11:42:04 PM »
#180 Claude Chabrol  Ranked List

Back in film school, I got off on the wrong foot with Chabrol. He was described to me as a French Hitchcock and I rented The Butcher with great excitement. Turns out, accent on the French and cross out Hitchcock. Ifelt burned by that setup. Fast forward to last November when I watched La Cérémonie for the Top 100 Club. Not only was it a successful experience, it got me wondering if I was finally in tune with the French Thriller experience.

While I'm not looking to make a big project out of this, Chabrol has quite a few titles I'm interested in. (A career spanning Six Decades will have that effect.)

DEFINITE:
The Good Time Girls (1960)
This Man Must Die (1969)

LIKELY:
Le Beau Serge (1958)
Story of Women (1988)

POSSIBLE:
Just Before Nightfall (1971)
Blood Relatives (1978)
L'Enfer (1994)

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Re: 1SO vs. All the Directors - Jacques Demy
« Reply #501 on: February 20, 2019, 01:16:32 PM »
#181 Jacques Demy Ranked List

My ranking comes with the quote, "I feel a little guilty -- and a little dense," which is cute but doesn't sound like something I would say. Reading the thread, it's actually part of a wonderful comment from MartinTeller.

Movies are not universal experiences, but I always feel a little guilty -- and a little dense -- when a much-heralded "classic" leaves me cold (perhaps in this case, "lukewarm" fits better).  In the end, I'm the one who's missing out.  But for me, this film doesn't work.  It is an admirable experiment (with points for a high degree of difficulty) and I would say that thematically, it's more successful than I initially gave it credit for.  I just don't enjoy watching it very much.

It's a good lens to view how I look at Demy and why I haven't done a deeper exploration. I'm not looking to do one now either. There are three 2nd Tier Demy films to watch, but I'm just going to look for the one Martin rates highest, Bay of Angels, which Martin Reviews in the thread.

Une chambre en ville and Model Shop will have to sneak up on my some other time.
« Last Edit: February 21, 2019, 01:26:29 PM by 1SO »

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1SO vs. All the Directors - William Dieterle
« Reply #502 on: February 21, 2019, 01:44:00 PM »
#182 William Dieterle Ranked List

One of those directors from Classic Hollywood, so I've stumbled onto a bunch of films, but I wouldn't call myself a fan. (7 of his 10 Lt. Green titles I'd Rate OKAY.) He's the dramatic version of Lloyd Bacon, where the films I like are often due to the performances and an occasional above average script. Looking forward to a rewatch of The Life of Emile Zola in a couple of years, his one true masterpiece, but again, that's because of the acting and script.

There are a number of my favorite actors with titles I haven't seen, but with most of them the story doesn't excite me.

LIKELY:
The Last Flight (1931) - a pixote recommendation (I think).
Syncopation (1942)
Paid in Full (1950)

POSSIBLE:
Man Wanted (1932)

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1SO vs. All the Directors - Robert J. Flaherty
« Reply #503 on: February 23, 2019, 03:16:14 PM »
#183 Robert J. Flaherty Ranked List

Flaherty brings me back to film school. In my first year, the first documentary we watched was Nanook of the North, which seems to be the template you compare and contrast all other types of documentaries to. It wasn't until this decade that I was even aware of the filmmaker as somebody who made more than one film, possibly because half of his features have co-Directors.

With few features to choose from, I'm planning to watch Moana (1926) because I can't resist that title, and White Shadows in the South Seas (1928), which shares credit with W.S. Van Dyke and won the Oscar for Best Cinematography.

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1SO vs. All the Directors - Victor Fleming
« Reply #504 on: February 23, 2019, 09:11:50 PM »
#184 Victor Fleming Ranked List

I'd love to hear from someone whose first memory of the name Victor Fleming isn't in connection to Gone With the Wind and Wizard of Oz being released in the same year. That was the beginning and the end of my knowledge until Always (1989) was released and I heard it was based on Fleming's A Guy Named Joe. (Still took until 2015 to watch it.)

Fleming's actual deserved credit gets complicated because he was the credited director on two of 1939's biggest films, winning the Oscar for Wind, but since then it's come out that a lot of cooks had a hand in Wind and Oz. The Good Earth is often listed as one of his pictures, though his contribution is uncredited.

I got a fresh start with Fleming after smirnoff's review of Captains Courageous got me to see the film, and I loved it. Fleming has been one of my Old Hollywood regulars ever since.

Treasure Island (1934) - I should watch this, and it's got Lionel Barrymore who i will always see, but I don't feel like I need yet Another version of this story in my life.
Tortilla Flat (1942) - Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr and John Garfield
Joan of Arc (1948) - I've had the DVD sitting around the house for years. Put off by its length, now seem the time to watch it.

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Re: 1SO vs. All the Directors
« Reply #505 on: February 23, 2019, 09:58:40 PM »
A little Flemathon would probably do me good. Revisiting Captain's Courageous and Wizard of Oz would be nice, just to see where I stand. And seeing Gone with the Wind for the first time feels like something that needs to happen sooner or later. It's one of those big classics I've never caught up with. :)


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Re: 1SO vs. All the Directors - Nicolas Roeg
« Reply #506 on: February 25, 2019, 11:50:46 PM »
Checking in on this...

If anyone is interested, I would happily team up to watch that trilogy and talk about Roeg's mark on cinema.
Walkabout (1971)
Don't Look Now (1973)
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
All three of those could end up on a Top 100 of mine, but I don't know if I have much worthwhile to contribute as they all primarily have been gut level experiences, that may be a bit hard to account for verbally. I and Sandy watched Walkabout earlier this year and I'd like to revisit the other movies as well, time permitting.

I have seen Walkabout, and the other 2  are a strong interest for me. I will see if I can source the 3 films.

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1SO vs. All the Directors - Kinji Fukasaku
« Reply #507 on: February 26, 2019, 12:00:55 AM »
#185 Kinji Fukasaku Ranked List

Starting with Battle Royale, I thought I had discovered a new favorite director. I bought The Yakuza Papers Box Set, and dove in. I quickly grew tired of Fukasaku's style, favoring scenes of violent chaos. Endless fights breaking out, I started to get a negative reaction every time one of these brawls interrupted the tedium and overly-complicated plots. I'm not even sure if I finished the set. (It gets complicated trying to keep track of all the titles.)

I'd like to find a new way in, but I'm not sure what approach would be best. He's made a number of terrible space films and the one comedy I saw, Fall Guy, turned me way off when it got to making rape jokes, by which I mean comedic bits happening while someone is being raped. (A cultural bridge too far.)

Availability may be a factor.
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) - the obvious choice, but he's one of two Japanese directors credited, so not a fair look at his work.
Under the Flag of the Rising Sun (1972) - the title I'll be looking for.

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1SO vs. All the Directors - Abel Gance
« Reply #508 on: February 27, 2019, 01:29:35 AM »
#186 Abel Gance Ranked List

Director of the definitive film on Napoleon. That was all I knew about Gance and it wasn't until I could see the film in its proper format (with the VHS breaking into widescreen when the three images are playing together) that I finally watched Gance's masterpiece. Later on I caught La Roue, probably his 2nd most popular film, but it was the two versions of J'Accuse! I remember better because of the way they're indirectly Horror films.

That does leave me with some titles, but none I'm interested in. I'm good with moving on.

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1SO vs. All the Directors - Henry Hathaway
« Reply #509 on: February 27, 2019, 01:56:56 AM »
#187 Henry Hathaway Ranked List

Pretty long list, and not because I'm a fan but because he keeps working with those Old Hollywood Actors I love. I often seem him listed as a master of Westerns and maybe he is with 8 of his 23 credits rating above 7.0 on IMDB. I find Hathaway very hit and miss, often dragging scenes out longer than necessary. There's no consistency with his war or Noir films either. He's made 7 film each with John Wayne and Gary Cooper and they're a mixed bag too.

LIKELY:
Diplomatic Courier (1952)
Nevada Smith (1966)

POSSIBLE:
The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951)
Shoot Out (1971)

MAYBE:
Go West Young Man (1936)
Woman Obsessed (1959)

 

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