Essential Directors

IdleRich

IdleRich
Recently my girlfriend and I watched all (ok, not quite all, but most) of Polanski's back catalogue. Most of them I'd seen before of course but some such as Pirates and What? and some of the later ones I'd never seen. But watching them over the course of a couple of weeks was quite a rewarding experience. I'm thinking to do the same with some other directors, maybe ones I'm less familiar with. I'm thinking that out of the canonical ones Cassavetes is maybe the one I'm least familiar with so would like to try and work through all of his... but what else should I go for? Why? Who would benefit from this kind of watching? Who wouldn't?
 

craner

Beast of Burden
I did exactly the same thing years ago, expect I did it chronologically. But I went in thinking that I loved Polanski's films (and aesthetic) and came out the other end thinking it was actually quite inconsequential and tatty.
 

craner

Beast of Burden
I think Mario Bava, Hitchcock, Powell and Pressburger and to a lesser extent William Friedkin all benefit from this kind of viewing.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
We did do Hitchcock one time, seen all of them from The Lodger I think... of course when there are that many they do blur a bit into one.
Bava is not a bad suggestion.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
A lot of good suggestions. Only seen a few of Bela Tarr's and there are some holes in my Bresson viewings.
Was hoping people could also say why they think their suggestions would benefit from that kind of approach.6
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
I've being doing this on a pretty ad hoc basis admittedly with Fellini. Shame not to see them on the big screen though tbh.

Kiarostami would be the other one though you can't get the early films (AFAIK). I think he really benefits from it as the films overlap and his asthetic undergoes a few radical shifts - back into very small scale dramas.

I'm trying to watch my way through all the Second Run films as well which is a mountain I'll maybe never climb but it's fun so far. I'm about 50 deep so that's like a third.
 

craner

Beast of Burden
A lot of good suggestions. Only seen a few of Bela Tarr's and there are some holes in my Bresson viewings.
Was hoping people could also say why they think their suggestions would benefit from that kind of approach.6

Sorry Rich, I will try and do this later.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
This is a great question, and a great way to spend one's time.

I started to do similarly last year, but with actors rather than directors. I only got so far as Meryl Streep, but I loved seeing all these early 80s films that were previously totally out of my awareness (Silkwood, Still of the Night etc). And whatever she may have done later, Streep is unbelievably good at the start of her career. May start that up again.

For directors - some very good suggestions so far, liking the Sidney Lumet, Powell and Pressburger and Denis Villeneuve. How about - and I am by no way familiar with the entire oeuvres of any of these - Nicholas Ray, FF Coppola, Gregg Araki, Chantal Akerman, Alain Resnais, Shane Meadows?

Interesting reflections on Polanski - not sure what I would think about his films now. I used to love The Tenant, Macbeth, Rosemary's Baby etc...but in the same way as Woody Allen, I don't imagine I can watch them in the same way I used to.
 
Last edited:

craner

Beast of Burden
Ivan Reitman.

Stripes - Ghostbusters - Legal Eagles - Twins - Ghostbusters II - Kindergarten Cop - Dave - Junior

It’s a golden comedy run!
 

craner

Beast of Burden
I think the basic thing that makes this worthwhile is when directors have a very distinct set of themes, obsessions, or a clear aesthetic that can be traced through a set of films that are otherwise very different. Repetition and difference. This works really well for Bava, Hitch, P&P.

The other good thing about doing this is you can sometimes discover films that have been forgotten or neglected that turn out to be incredible. This happened for me when I watched Friedkin’s Sorcerer which is now rehabilitated critically and has a nice blu-ray restoration, but when I wanted to see it was very difficult to get my hands on a decent copy; another one is ‘One from the Heart’ which is still waiting for its time, but I :love:.

When I watched Hitch chronologically (minus the early silent shorts, starting with 39 Steps) I did it while reading Donald Spoto’s ‘The Art of Alfred Hitchcock’ which worked extremely well.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
I think you've nailed it in the first sentence there. It's about that unmistakable trademark. Linklater is a (relatively) recent one who I think fits that description. Christopher Nolan too, tho I got the impression he's not that popular round here

I've wanted to see Sorceror for ages (and Wages of Fear). Add to the list
 

craner

Beast of Burden
The other time it works really well is when there is a clear aesthetic, technical or intellectual development, and a sequence of films build on or anticipate each other. Watching the early phases of Visconti (up to and including The Leopard) and Antonioni (up to and including Red Desert) is really worthwhile in this regard.
 

woops

is not like other people
Cronenberg.

If you like him check out this film which should be much more well known, directed by Don McKellar with DC playing a part.

As for the thread how about Kieslowski, enjoyed his early ones as well as his French stuff
 

catalog

Well-known member
I’d recommend bresson cos he had a relatively long career, but few films, so its a fairly short run. Hes all about the mundane, the sound design is always great. Theres a few duds (diary of a country priest and pickpocket spring to mind) and i suppose hes a bit samey. But by the time you get to the last one, money, the look has really changed but the same vibe is still there, more so cos of what has come before. I just like his way, and it seems to pay to get into it on a run of his films, cos theyre so sparse and odd. Like, the more bressons you watch, the better you get him. 5 bressons are better than one, as the prophet said.

If you wanna appreciate a good auteur, rehashing the same themes, you gotta go for howard hawks i suppose, doing his comedies and gangster films with the same characters, but theres barely any mention of him nowadays, history has not been kind maybe.
 
Top