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Bernardo Bertolucci - Though his films are criticized for the lack of obvious meaning, Bertolucci’s films are well shot, superbly scripted, wonderfully acted art films. They often focus in 3 main areas, Sex politics and cinema. And somehow, this mixture is often quite potent and whenever I watch a Bertolucci film, I get a special feeling. Though I may miss his message, I still get great vibes.
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John Ford - Though I got to know him through his Westerns, it was after branching out to other Ford films that gave me a real appreciation for him as a director. He has worked in Shirly Temple Family films, political art films, social commentaries, and adventure films. And his vision is always clear to me. He has an amazing eye for visual beauty. And his films often portray a vibrant and interesting view of Americana. He is a great storyteller and a great director of actors.
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Akira Kurosawa - Though I’ve seen few of his films, Kurosawa immediatley impressed me with his no nonsense style of filming. His use of long, unbroken takes is extremely impressive. His performances are strong and often entertaining. I’ve found his films have very classic and timless stories which are filmed in an often poteic and hypnotic, almost surreal style. His use of widescreen and lighting has often been praised. Rightly so, as a movie goer who often appreciates camera art more than not, his films are very satisfying to me. Though his very deliberate pacing can often bore me.
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Werner Herzog - I first knew Herzog as the unseen narrator of a family favorite, Grizzly Man (which ofcourse he also directed). But after seeing his other films, only then did I come to find a respect for Herzog as a filmmaker. His fascination with nature is very beautiful on film and the harsh climates he films in brilliantly parallel the struggle of the main character who’s dreams, seemingly unreachable, are always explored in a deep character study. Though he may from time to time make detours into the world of hollywood filmmakng, his personal vision is still unmistakable while he brings a personal touch to even the most impersonal f projects.
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Joel & Ethan Coen - It almost feels cliche to name them as a favorite but god knows they’ve earned their spot. Though their scripts are often ultra violent and unflinchingly dark, they manage to find humor in even the most horrible of things. But they also manage to make it all tasteful and not exploitive. Though even their most serious films are copiously seasoned with this unmstakable brand of dark humor, they have shown themselves time and again to be masters of surprise and suspense. They don’t cater to the audience, often killing off a likeable character in favor of realism or necessity. This avoding of cliches; and unpredictability is what will make me see every single one of their films.
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Orson Welles - Though he is now a highly respected auteur, he was often neglected in his day becuase his films didn’t please studio bosses who favored money over art. All his films have atleast some trace of Welles in them, even the more impersonal projects. Most of his films feature character who face some sort of downfall at some time or another. Which he films with great detail and extrordinary camera work. He also is very skilled at adapting bnovels in the style they were written. The Trial, an adaptation of a Franz Kafka book, is filmed in a surreal form of neurotica that is unmistakably Kafka.
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John Cassavetes - Though I’ve only recently started viewing his films, it was love at first sight. Like Welles, he often acted in others films to finance his own independent ventures. His hatred of Hollywood studios and big budget action films clearly influences his decision making process while filming. He has successfully avioded all possible feeling of Hollywood in his most personal films. As a director, he favored focus on acting over plot. His plots themselves are often bland on paper yet very potent on film. He makes film about life. There is nothing extraordinary about the storylines in his films. He simple films life on film in a manner that you almost feel like there is a camera crew following people around to examine their daily lives. Before venturing into directing his own films, he was one of the 1950’s top young man stars in the ilk of Sal Mineo and Montgomery Clift. He worked as a teacher in an acting workshop before mustering up cash and volunteers to appear in his first feature, Shadows.
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Clint Eastwood - I’ve liked Clint Eastwood in everything he’sdone in the film industry. I liked him as an actor, as a film musician, and a director. His films don’t seem to have any noticeable personal vision. Making him one of the few on my list who perhaps wasn’t a Maverick.And while many different directors could film his films in a smilar way, kn one can make it as good as he does. His films are very harsh and don’shy away from the more unpleasant aspects of life, but they aren’t vertly violent. His films are well paced, brilliantly acted, wonderfully directed and intense dramas.
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Sergio Leone - For a Spaghetti fan, I feel a little precautious naming Leone as a fav, but theirs no doubt in my mind his place here is as well earned as the next man. One of the most influential of directors, Leone’s films are definitley odd. Odd in there extremely deliberate pacing, little dialogue, and editing style that was modelled after the film’s scores. And though his plots may be thin, his films have more substance than some of the best. As a director, he’s obviously a perfectionist. The ritualistc approach to scenes give them a choreographed feel. The detail is such that if a character steps on a floor board and the floor board bends down a little, it feels entirely scripted. He manages to make something out of almost absolutley nothing. If any other director filmed a scene that was just 3 guys waiting for a train for a whole 10 minutes or so, they be called a moneywasting asshole!
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Nicholas Ray - Though he was basically a Hollywood director, he had the heart and spirit of a maverick with his undenaibly personal approach to the material in his films. Ray identified with society’s outsiders and his films do too. Ever since his first film, Ray’s sympathy with the outcasts was clear. Other common trademarks of his work such as the purifying use of natue locations, and night as a metahpor for solitude. He had a keen eye for interesting stories and a great visual sense that used either color or black and white to parallel the emotions onscreen.
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Quentin Tarantino - Another director that I feel cliche naming. But I can’t deny my respect for his work. Like Leone, he challenges the audience (studios rather) with his extremely long and talky scenes of idle chit chat. But in these scenes of mere talk, he shows his great talent for dialogue that makes you feel like a spectator listening in on these incredibly interesting conversations. And while his films are more talky than those of his idle, Leone, he still uses violence in the same way, only after a long and drawn out build up. His stories have been done before and become mostly a Cinephile’s recreation of his favorite films, but there always fresh, entertaining, and extremely well directed.
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Robert Wise - Though his personal trademarks aren’t as apparent as other directors, he has continuosly made wonderful films in a variety of different genres. His Film Noir, the few he made, were dark and synical and atmsopheric. He made every genre he worked in his own. Always incorporating genre trademarks to make a full genre film. His Musicals were big and vibrant, and his horror films were dark and gothic. He had a good sense of character and always got good performances from his actors.
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Mel Gibson - Though it’s becoming popular to not like the man (and he clearly doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut), I have always respected him as a good actor and indenpendent director. Like Eastwood, he knows how to tell a good stroy in as simple a manner as possible. And while some of his films are open for attack, they have all been well dreicted. His eye for historical realism has bothered some but for others, is rewarding in it’s truthfulness. The violence in his films is grisly and tough but that’s life and Gibson surely doesn’t shy away at all from the harsh realities of the world we live in and have lived in.
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Warren Beatty - Though he’s only directed about 4 films, they have all been well made, diverse, and highly rewarding experiences. The subject of his films often makes them feel personal to him through his thorough recreations. His performances in his films have been great and his visual sense has been brought to life in Vittorio Storaro. He has shown to be a gifted director of actors and large scale scenes. He also is good at recreating the source material. As evidence by the convinving 1910’s of Reds and the comic book look of Dick Tracy.
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Michael Curtiz - Though most known for his classic '42 romantic drama, Casablanca, Curtiz has shown himself to be a capable hand in almost every genre, from nautical films to Robin Hood, from Westerns to Film Noir. He had a true skill in action scenes that were often energetic and fast paced. His visual skill was often very noticeable, even in his Westerns which no doubt were more action oriented than art oriented. Similar to Robert Wise in his diversity, Curtiz is one of cinema’s great directors.
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Raoul Walsh - Like Curtiz and Wise, Walsh was diverse. But he had a much more clear personal vision on his films. Walsh was an adventurous undividual in real life which often reflected onto his films. While Ford’s heroes acted out of duty and Hawks’s out of professional respect, Walsh’s acted adventurously for adventures sake. No need of personal respect to get in the way of a little fun. He was also a capable director of action. Both small scale and epic scale. His work with actors may not have been a sharp as others but his films are no doubt character driven.
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Anthony Mann - One of the more underrated directors, Mann’s films all share his personal visions. The heroes of Mann’s films were driven individuals who were extremely human. They often had very dark and violent sides. The violence on film often parallels the heroes violence. Mann was a natural at filming more dark human emotions. Though he started out in low budget film Noir quickies, he ended his career directing large scale historical epics for super producer, Samuel Bronston in Spain.
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Steven Soderbergh - Again, I feel strange putting Hollywood directors here, but I have a great respect for Soderbergh. Though his Ocean films are pretty crappy in the Hollywood sense, his more personal films are wonderfully directed and diverse. As a crime film director, he has shown a cold primitive vision that perfectly fitted into the cold criminal worlds he depcts. He has also made tributes to old Hollywood with The Good German, filmed in a Film Noir fashion. not letting hardly any modern technology interfere with the making of this film. Though not all his films are good, I’ll still keep my eye out for his films
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Stanley Kubrick - Though an extreely odd individual, Kubrick’s films all seem to have a personal vision in them. They can be long and deliberate but the director’s personal vision is always effective no matter what type of film he is making. Be it political comedy, period dramas, horror thrillers, war films, or Erotic thrillers. Each film has the feel of it’s own genre while still having the Kubrick touch.
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William A. Wellman - Though i haven’t seen a whole lot of his films, he has shown a great respect for some f the material he has wrked on that shows clearly on film. However, in films he doesn’t respect, he lack of interest is also clearly visible. Either way, he is an undoubtedly a skilled director who’s films are quite distinct.[/quote]
Ok, here are my full thoughts on the directors. Maybe a little detached still but still completely my own thoughts.
