Badmovies.org Forum

Well guys, this film fan has been most strongly identifying as a horror fan for going on years now. No regrets, as it's my favorite genre, and it's been awesome to catch so many hidden gems along the way. However, concentrating on one genre has been... a mixed bag all in all, and it's kind of brought the "good movie" side of me to atrophy :P . I realized early in the year that even among the directors I consider my "favorites," in most cases I haven't even really seen a whole lot of their work.

So, 2015, I plan to get back in touch with the kinds of movies that make that general film-fan in me very happy. I plan on revisiting these favorite directors of mine and watching five films from each of their repertoires in order to get more well-versed in my movie idols, and hopefully seeing a whole lot of outstanding cinema on the way!

I tried to put any "famous" ones I hadn't yet seen on my list (in Kubrick's case, I put the only ones I hadn't seen on the list :P), alongside ones that personally seem interesting to me, and ideally at least one of what's considered their "weaker" works to see how they stack up.

Here's the lineup. Resisting the urge to change some out every couple days is difficult.

Sidney Lumet (love him for Dog Day Afternoon, 12 Angry Men, Network, Deathtrap, Serpico)
* A Long Day's Journey into Night
* The Pawnbroker
* Find me Guilty
* Guilty as Sin
* Child's Play (1972 :P)

David Cronenberg (love him for Videodrome, Eastern Promises, Shivers, The Fly, The Brood)
* A History of Violence
* eXistenZ
* Dead Ringers
* Scanners
* Cosmopolis

Fritz Lang (love him for Metropolis, Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse)
* M
* Spies
* Siegfried/Kriemhild's Revenge
* Destiny
* Rancho Notorious

Stanley Kubrick (love him for 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, Dr. Strangelove, Paths of Glory)
* Fear and Desire
* Barry Lyndon
* Killer's Kiss
* Spartacus
* Eyes Wide Shut

Milos Forman (love him for Amadeus, The People vs. Larry Flynt, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)
* The Firemen's Ball
* Man on the Moon
* Goya's Ghosts
* Valmont
* Ragtime

Alan Parker (love him for The Wall, Angel Heart, Evita)
* Mississippi Burning
* Midnight Express
* The Life of David Gale
* Birdy
* Shoot the Moon

Coen Brothers (love them for Fargo, No Country for Old Men, O Brother Where Art Thou?)
* Blood Simple
* The Big Lebowski
* The Hudsucker Proxy
* Intolerable Cruelty
* Inside Llewyn Davis

Brian De Palma (love him for Carrie, Phantom of the Paradise, Carlito's Way)
* Dressed to Kill
* Scarface
* The Untouchables
* Snake Eyes
* Sisters

Terry Gilliam (love him for Brazil, Time Bandits, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas)
* The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
* The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
* Twelve Monkeys
* Monty Python and the Holy Grail
* Jabberwocky

(The fact that I haven't seen some of these makes me feel like I'm "coming clean" here >.>)

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As scarce as I've been on Badmovies lately, I'll try and keep you guys posted as to my progress. If I keep myself to this thing, I guess we'll see if they remain my favorite directors by the end  :wink:

Not 100% sure what I'm supposed to be voting on here. My personal favorite of these is Kubrick (no big surprise). But I voted for Gilliam because I think the lineup of films you haven't seen from him yet is the best, and if you could only go with one of these, that would be my pick. (I might swap out TIDELAND for JABBERWOCKY or IMAGINARIUM, but a lot of people really hate TIDELAND as too dark and disturbing... your call).

I was asking which one my voters liked best overall, sorry for not being more clear >.< . However, I think you should be able to change your vote, so no biggie.

Jabberwocky is one I actually mainly picked because I wanted to see one of Gilliam's lowest-rated (going by IMDb), and Imaginarium because I keep getting glowing recommendations from an IRL friend of mine. In fairness, it was hard cutting Tideland and Life of Brian off the list, considering they could easily be considered part of Gilliam's more famous output.

I could select all 9 if I wanted... I like all those directors.  :teddyr:

I'd rank them Kubrick, Gilliam, Coens, Cronenberg, Forman, Lumet, Parker, de Palma, Lang (he would probably be higher if I'd seen more of his work).

I haven't seen much Lang myself. I just love his eye for sets and the sinister :teddyr:

Just work your way chronologically through and you may see how some may have influenced their successors.  :twirl:

I voted Cronenberg and Gilliam, mainly for 'you gotta see them!' Reasons, though not all on the list are classic films.

You can also add THE HILL, THE OFFENCE and MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS here.  :teddyr:

PS: I think you know who it was that voted for What kind of s**tty favorite directors are these?  :wink:

Ooh, I got no doubt that Sidney Lumet had at least a few more great ones that missed my list. I'm always up for more of his work, so I thank you for the additional recommendations :cheers:

Also, you're just saying that because you're some kinda film historian extraordinaire. Maybe pass some of those legendary better directors my way...? :bluesad:

I pretty much agree with Rev. on his list but Lang would rank right near the top for me.

Actually, I was momentarily conflicted about Lumet.

There is no doubt he has a tremendously incredible body of work.

But then there's BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOUR DEAD.  I hated that movie with a burning, seething passion.  I ranks on my personal "Most Hated" list.

But, he got a vote from me on the strength of his entire body of work.  One film I could not stand cannot undo the respect for the rest.

I voted for nearly all of them.  I don't like choosing one great person over another.  I won't say who I didn't vote for (though ya'll might be able to guess).

PS: In terms of one movie undoing a body of work, I could say the same about SNAKE EYES regarding De Palma.  I did not like that movie.  I could not let that undo the greatness that is SCARFACE (for example), however.

For a while, I didn't know that Lumet was still making movies. Had no idea that Find me Guilty and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead were his work, until I started looking up his full filmography. Made it even sadder for me when he passed :/ .

Making my list, I definitely wanted to see some of his more recent films, and was stuck between the two I just mentioned. Looks like I may have made the right choice?  :teddyr:

And I hear Snake Eyes is a film that turned a lot of people off of De Palma's recent films. That's one of the reasons I wanted to see it, to find out if I'd concur, if it was truly as bad as the hype suggested.