Get To Know...Directors!

Discussion in 'Movies/TV' started by KamikaZ, Mar 17, 2011.

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  1. onetontitan

    onetontitan Marioto

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    A rather obvious one:

    Martin Scorsese

    The "Best": Taxi Driver

    A true masterpiece; Taxi Driver shows an audience what happens when great source material is executed PERFECTLY by a director.

    (Honorable mention: Raging Bull)

    The "Worst": New York, New York

    There are some people that should just stick to their guns. Marty made a musical...and it sucked.

    (Honorable mention: The Color of Money)

    The "Overrated": Mean Streets

    Though a necessary segway into the Scorsese crime era, this film does not accomplish nearly half of what his other films often do. The acting is sub-par (besides a brilliant performance by De Niro) and the camerawork is erratic at best.

    (Honorable mention: Cape Fear)

    The "Underrated": The Aviator

    Aside from Citizen Kane, I haven't seen a greater character study. Beautifully shot, brilliantly paced and above all, it had one of the finest acting performances of DiCaprio's career. A true unappreciated masterpiece.

    (Honorable mention: Gangs of New York)

    Most "Characteristic": Goodfellas

    You can't think of Martin Scorsese and not think of Goodfellas. It is a monumental achievement in filmmaking whether you like it or not. The camerawork is still studied in film schools across the country, the acting is engaging and realistic and the editing is, dare I say, perfect...

    (Honorable mention: The Departed)
     
    #11 onetontitan, Mar 20, 2011
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  4. onetontitan

    onetontitan Marioto

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    The Coen Brothers

    The "Best": Fargo

    One of the funniest films I've ever seen. A true American classic. It has a story so simple that it's almost hard to believe that the film sustains itself throughout. The acting is spot FREAKING on by every actor. I still laugh to myself thinking about the Minnesota dialect.

    (Honorable mention: No Country for Old Men)

    The "Worst": The Ladykillers

    First of all, I think it is the Coen's least ambitious effort thus far. They tackle a remake and really bring nothing new to an otherwise boring movie. The casting was questionable and the performances are suspect as well. Oh, and the movie isn't funny.

    (Honorable mention: Intolerable Cruelty)

    The "Overrated": A Serious Man

    When pretension strikes, it makes for a painful movie (for the most part). I feel like this is the Coen's most over-indulgent film. They targeted an odd demographic for this movie and some got it, some didn't. I got the movie, I just thought it was like farting into a coffee can and smelling it. That pretentious.

    (Honorable mention: O Brother, Where Art Thou?)

    The "Underrated": The Man Who Wasn't There

    One of the most strikingly visual throwbacks to film noir in the past 30 years. If anything, it looks amazing...but it does more than that for me. The story is great, the acting is realistic and the direction is spot on. A VERY underrated movie. It BOMBED at the box office.

    (Honorable mention: Miller's Crossing)

    Most "Characteristic": Barton Fink

    This category was particularly hard for me because the Coen's have tackled so many genres and time periods. Barton Fink is set in the 1940's and is as quirky and odd as the time it is representing. I think the Coen's have a great deal of quirky qualities to their films. Also, I think this movie has a lot of symbolism and motifs (something the Coen's are known for doing). At the end of the day, this is their most "signature" film, IMO.

    (Honorable mention: The Big Lebowski)
     
    #12 onetontitan, Mar 20, 2011
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  7. Deuce Wayne

    Deuce Wayne NOW Y'ALL GET THE MESSICH?!

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    Too true. I'll always point to that film if anyone doubts DiCaprio. He's too consistent, therefore underrated.
     
    #13 Deuce Wayne, Mar 20, 2011
  10. KamikaZ

    KamikaZ Ex-Hall of Famer

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    Sam Pekinpah

    Best: The Wild Bunch Only Huston was more obsessive about the "men on a mission" genre theme, but this might be one of the strongest takes on it. A very mature Westerm, not to mention easily the most violent and brutal, it strongly explores the themes of redemption, revenge, etc. Most of all, it's just a brilliant movie - remember, this is the man who basically perfected slow motion before it was so grossly overused today.

    Runner Up: The Getaway

    Worst - The Osterman Weekend Kind of hurts me to say this, especially with my love for seemingly all things Rutger Hauer, but this is pretty bad. A very confusing and needlessly convoluted adaptation of the Robert Ludlum novel, just a wasted opportunity in my mind. By this time, the man was pretty messed up on cocaine and alcohol abuse, and to me, really the clear example where his work suffered.

    Runner-Up: The Convoy

    Overrated - Pat Garret & Billy the Kid This isn't even an average film by any stretch of the imagination, but it is definitely not the revisionist masterpiece that many film geeks nowadays claim it to be (yes, above his other classics The Wild Bunch and Ride The High Country. I honestly believe that people get so damn carried away with the production drama of this film (you can wiki it for a decent synopsis of what happened, but basically there was a struggle between Pekinpah and the production company over cuts). Good film? Undoubtedly. Great film? I would venture, no.

    Runner-Up: Major Dundee

    Underrated - Ballad of Cable Hogue I could honestly dispute this pick for a long, long while, because a good 70% of Pekinpah's catalog is vastly underrated by mainstream and genrephiles alike. But I picked this one because I feel like it's often overlooked by even Pekinpah fans such as myself. And that's because it really is different from what he usually does, and that's a somewhat light-hearted, often times darkly humorous adventure tale. The real gem of this is the always brilliant Jason Robards, who plays a pretty pathetic character with great charisma. I honestly feel this is one of the best Westerns ever made, easily one of the strongest in an incredibly deep catalog.

    Runner-Up: Cross of Iron

    Most Characteristic: Straw Dogs I think most Pekinpah fans would make this his best work, not most characteristic, because it's a very mature, realistic, and by far his most disturbing work. But that's exactly why I think it represents his catalog the best - while it surely deals with the horrors of violence, extreme misogyny, and sexual abuse, it isn't his only film to do it. This is a film that really does define the auteur, and one of the most thoughtful meditations of violence ever created.

    Runner-Up: Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia
     
    #14 KamikaZ, Mar 20, 2011
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  13. onetontitan

    onetontitan Marioto

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    Nice. I was thinking about going with Pekinpah. My next entry into this will be a lot more obscure.
     
    #15 onetontitan, Mar 21, 2011
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