On Sep 21, 8:07 pm, Harkness wrote:
> On Sep 20, 11:03 pm, Okierazorbacker
> wrote:
> >"The Birds" isn't one of my favorites, but SoaD, SoaT, NBNW, RW, etc.,
> >c'mon. TLV pales in comparison.
> I'll give you my discs of "The Man Who Knew Too Much," "Topaz," "Torn
> Curtain," "The Birds," & "The Trouble With Harry" in exchange for your
> discs of "The Lady Vanishes," "The 39 Steps," "Rebecca," "Foreign
> Correspondent," & "Secret Agent."
I do like "Rebecca" very much, and "Foreign Correspondent" is quite
nice too. But I'll take your "Man Who Knew Too Much" remake.
Definitely.
> > eisenstein -- For me I'd consider him to belong on this level if only
> > because he's been Russia's top director forever.
>
> Well, if you're sense of Soviet film history ends in 1945 and you
> determinedly ignore Pudovkin and Dovzhenko.
I've heard Eisenstein's name for many years and have seen a few of his
movies now and enjoyed them all. I don't know the other names you
mention, but am glad to have another point of reference. Thanks.
>
> > hitchcock -- I don't care for his early movies, which strike me as
> > simply quota quickies with a bit more style than most, but once he hit
> > his stride he churned out masterpiece after masterpiece. Even his
> > lesser later films, like "Marnie," have more going for them than most
> > product of their era.
>
> Marnie is NOT a lesser film. Topaze, now that's a lesser film.
Agreed that Topaz is more lesser than Marnie. Or something like that.
>
>
> You really need to start looking at Japanese cinema beyond Kurosawa.
Yes I do. I've liked what I've seen from Ozu, Mizoguchi, Miyazaki,
Kinugasa, Takahata. Not sure which of them are one-hit wonders, but
yeah, there's a lot there to see and I've enjoyed most of it.
> bergman -- Many would say the same about Bergman (hello, Woody?) but
> I'm not a fan. I don't think his work has aged well, but I can
> understand his place in history, so he belongs.
>
> Hmmm.. Have you seen any of his work lately, or are you guessing?
Definitely not guessing. In the past year or so I've seen "Wild
Strawberries" and "The Seventh Seal," maybe others, but they just left
me cold. Memorable, yeah, and not faceless crap by any stretch, but
just not films I care to see again.
>
> > fellini -- I'm also generally not a fan of Italian films, and haven't
> > seen anything by Fellini that appeals to me. Again, sense of history,
> > yeah, but not my cup of Diet Dr. Pepper.
>
> Let's see, you don't like the French, you don't like the Italians, and
> you're pig-ignorant on the subject of Japanese cinema.
Aw c'mon, gimme a break. Pig ignorant? That's a BIT strong. I've
often said that I like Eastern European and Asian movies, and
certainly Japanese is at the top of the list. Not just Kurosawa. But
hey, it's not like they turn up often on DirecTV, and I have three
queues full at Netflix of many things I want to see, Japanese only one
among them. Also still holding out hope for French & Italian movies I
haven't seen yet. I average about three films each day; give me
time. :-}
>
> > tarkovsky -- Haven't seen any of his work yet. So much film, so
> > little time. Will get to it.
>
> > kusterica -- Whom? New to me.
>
> For someone who claims to like Eastern European films, you seem to
> have some HUGE blind spots.
>
Yep. Some of us have raised children and gone back to college to
train for a new career. FINALLY getting around to watching all those
movies I've missed for the last couple of decades.
>
> > Renoir -- His '30s films that have such a great reputation leave me
> > cold, but I did get a chance to see "This Land Is Mine" recently and
> > loved it.
>
> Renoir is my favorite director -- This Land is Mine is one ofthe worst
> films anybody has ever made. Your fondness for it is inexplicable, but
> it does explain some things about your taste.
Yep. I don't mind (at least not as much as some do) grandstanding,
staginess, outright manipulation if it's something I agree with. Like
I've said elsewhere, I'm definitely a populist with some arty
leanings. That doesn't make me popular with the elitist film snobs,
but that's fine. Also, I'm more an "I don't know a lot about art but
I know what I like" type. Yeah, I like my movies to be well made from
an artistic perspective, generally, but that's not all there is to it.
>
> Just out of curiosity, who underrates RideThe High Country? It's
> regarded as a classic, even by people who don't like Peckinpah in
> general.
Maybe by film geeks like us. I never heard of it until I started
digging into this history a couple of years ago. But I sure had heard
of "The Wild Bunch" and even "Straw Dogs." I definitely like RtHC
better.
>
> My problem with ranking Wilder on a top 30 list is the lack of any
> visual style -- he's an extreme example of a writer turned director.
> Occasionally there's something happening visually in his films,but
> it's usually because there's a great art director in the house.
Oh, c'mon!!! You're gonna diss Wilder?! Greatest auteur of his age?
Wow.
>
> > Mankiewicz -- "All About Eve" and "Sleuth" stand way above the rest of
> > his work, and he didn't direct even two dozen movies, but those two
> > are SO good that I'd include him.
>
> You have a fondnress for directors who have a great decade or so --
> one of the qualifications for my lists were directors who made great
> films across at least 20 years -- lots of directors I like are guys
> with great decades -- Woody Allen, Anthony Mann -- but they tend to
> slide either when the zeitgeist shifts (Allen) or when they suddenly
> get promoted to the kind of vast projects that ruined Mann's career at
> the end. Nicholas Ray, there's another great decade.
>
> As to Mankiewicz, Jacques Rivette, who's about an inch off my 30, once
> defined "mise-en-scene" as "What Joseph Mankiewicz's films don't
> have".
>
Actually I tried to limit my selections to guys who'd had at least two
really REALLY good films. Again, my sense of the history of the
medium is not as encyclopedic as some.
>
>
> > Wenders -- His best work is heartbreaking. And that's a good thing.
>
> And he hasn't made a watchable film in 20 years.
I can't argue, although I haven't seen "The Buena Vista Social Club"
yet. Not that it's typical of his work.
>
> > Hartley -- One of the few directors who can triumph in spite of
> > grossly uneven acting performances. I'll watch anything he ever
> > makes. We have him to thank for Adrienne Shelly, and that alone puts
> > him high on my list.
>
> High quirk quotient, but has he ever made a great film?
>
Have you seen "Trust"? How about "Amateur"? Even "Henry Fool" is
treasured by some, although I prefer "The Unbelievable Truth."
Personally I think they're all three great, truly GREAT indie films,
yes I do.
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