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Author Topic: Filmspotters' Top 100 Directors 2010: FYC and Your Lists  (Read 53625 times)

Bondo

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Re: Filmspotters' Top 100 Directors 2010: FYC and Your Lists
« Reply #20 on: September 09, 2010, 09:58:57 AM »
It is like teacher evaluation. Ideally I would have test results before and after they had a class and I could see their value added to the students (and whatever other control measures necessary). I could sort out whether a bad teacher just had a great class that learned in spite of the teacher or whether they had a normal class that benefitted greatly from a good teacher. But with film I don't have that information. I can intuit based on other people's reports, but by and large I don't have the information necessary to break apart film quality from director quality. Maybe I can know that Kevin Smith should be knocked down but there are others on the list who probably should as well but I don't know that they should. I expect M Night is the opposite to some degree. He's a much better director who is held back by M Night the writer.

mañana

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Re: Filmspotters' Top 100 Directors 2010: FYC and Your Lists
« Reply #21 on: September 09, 2010, 11:38:52 AM »
If you like his films that's a perfectly good reason to put him on your list, Bondo.
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Jared

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Re: Filmspotters' Top 100 Directors 2010: FYC and Your Lists
« Reply #22 on: September 09, 2010, 11:48:54 AM »
Guys like a Soderbergh or Welles have their fingerprints all over a film.

Conversely, if a director decides to be "hands off" regarding a lot of the stuff in the movie, as Kevin Smith admittably is, that is his decision and the movie's quality is affected by it (for better or worse).

I dunno, to me, ranking directors is basically a ranking of their filmographies. This is only adjusted if there a performance in a movie or something that heavily influences the quality. I dont know how "involved" in the process half the people on my list get, so its not really something I weigh in much.

FroHam X

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Re: Filmspotters' Top 100 Directors 2010: FYC and Your Lists
« Reply #23 on: September 09, 2010, 11:54:39 AM »
I will say that this is a certain rhythm to the direction and editing in Clerks and Chasing Amy that make those films very "Kevin Smith" even without the writing.
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Beavermoose

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Re: Filmspotters' Top 100 Directors 2010: FYC and Your Lists
« Reply #24 on: September 09, 2010, 12:36:17 PM »
Maybe Kevin Smith's lack of direction could be considered a stylistic choice. Would Clerks have been Clerks if it had long pans and epic crane shots or extreme close-ups or whatever?

Jared

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Re: Filmspotters' Top 100 Directors 2010: FYC and Your Lists
« Reply #25 on: September 09, 2010, 01:22:37 PM »
lol. i think the movie cost less than a crane shot.

Bill Thompson

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Re: Filmspotters' Top 100 Directors 2010: FYC and Your Lists
« Reply #26 on: September 09, 2010, 03:09:13 PM »
It is like teacher evaluation. Ideally I would have test results before and after they had a class and I could see their value added to the students (and whatever other control measures necessary). I could sort out whether a bad teacher just had a great class that learned in spite of the teacher or whether they had a normal class that benefitted greatly from a good teacher. But with film I don't have that information. I can intuit based on other people's reports, but by and large I don't have the information necessary to break apart film quality from director quality. Maybe I can know that Kevin Smith should be knocked down but there are others on the list who probably should as well but I don't know that they should. I expect M Night is the opposite to some degree. He's a much better director who is held back by M Night the writer.

I don't agree with this as you can separate film quality from the quality of the director simply by watching movies and paying attention to what the director does in his/her various films.

FifthCityMuse

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Re: Filmspotters' Top 100 Directors 2010: FYC and Your Lists
« Reply #27 on: September 09, 2010, 10:55:50 PM »
I'm really pleased that Agnes Varda made the last list, but really people, this woman is top 5 material. If you haven't seen any of her films, or only one or two, now is the time to get on it. Daguerreotypes is brilliant, The Gleaners and I is wonderful, and Jacquot de Nantes is probably the most loving tribute one filmmaker has ever made for another.

Verite

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Re: Filmspotters' Top 100 Directors 2010: FYC and Your Lists
« Reply #28 on: September 09, 2010, 11:54:59 PM »
I'm really pleased that Agnes Varda made the last list, but really people, this woman is top 5 material. If you haven't seen any of her films, or only one or two, now is the time to get on it. Daguerreotypes is brilliant, The Gleaners and I is wonderful, and Jacquot de Nantes is probably the most loving tribute one filmmaker has ever made for another.
Twenty-four Agnes Varda films, seven of which aren't available on DVD anywhere (and unavailable on VHS in the U.S.) as far as I know, are available to legally watch here.  

I highly recommend those three that FCM mentioned especially the latter two (the last is in my top 100).  Also, highly recommended are Cleo from 5 to 7 (top 100); The Beaches of Agnes (top 100 contender); Vagabond; and Ydessa, the Bears, and Etc. (now on DVD as part of the short films triptych Cinevardaphoto).  Not as highly as the aforementioned films, but recommended: Le bonheur; La pointe-courte; and The Universe of Jacques Demy (not to be mistaken with the great Jacquot de Nantes).  I'm slacking with her other films since I know I have until May to watch them.
« Last Edit: September 09, 2010, 11:59:52 PM by Ver Schmer »
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chardy999

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Re: Filmspotters' Top 100 Directors 2010: FYC and Your Lists
« Reply #29 on: September 10, 2010, 07:56:38 AM »
I'm really pleased that Agnes Varda made the last list, but really people, this woman is top 5 material. If you haven't seen any of her films, or only one or two, now is the time to get on it. Daguerreotypes is brilliant, The Gleaners and I is wonderful, and Jacquot de Nantes is probably the most loving tribute one filmmaker has ever made for another.
Twenty-four Agnes Varda films, seven of which aren't available on DVD anywhere (and unavailable on VHS in the U.S.) as far as I know, are available to legally watch here.  

I highly recommend those three that FCM mentioned especially the latter two (the last is in my top 100).  Also, highly recommended are Cleo from 5 to 7 (top 100); The Beaches of Agnes (top 100 contender); Vagabond; and Ydessa, the Bears, and Etc. (now on DVD as part of the short films triptych Cinevardaphoto).  Not as highly as the aforementioned films, but recommended: Le bonheur; La pointe-courte; and The Universe of Jacques Demy (not to be mistaken with the great Jacquot de Nantes).  I'm slacking with her other films since I know I have until May to watch them.

That's a great advertisement. I haven't seen anything from Varda but this website looks inviting.  :D
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