The Goals/Aims Of The Director's Showcase

[Cena's Little Helper]

Fellow WZers,

All right, so, I had planned on doing a Director's Showcase for quite some time, but I ran into a bit of a problem. The idea itself is simple: cover ten directors, discuss what impact they have had on the world of cinema, and then discuss three of their works. For each director, the three woks covered would be what I consider to be their magnum opus (that is to say, their most popular or recognizable film), their masterpiece (if this happens to be the same as what I consider to be their magnum opus, then I would instead discuss what I consider to be their most underrated film), and their worst film.

But, the problem I faced and still face is this: whether or not to opt for mainstream or lesser-known directors. While it is in no way, shape, or form true that a mainstream director is necessarily not a good one, it is nonetheless true that most of them see film as profitable entertainment rather than as a medium for artistic or philosophical expression. So, as there's not much that can be reasonably said about such directors, should I choose cover them, I run into the problem of having very little to say. On the other hand, with lesser-known directors, I would have plenty to work with, but I would also be dealing with filmmakers that are, for the most part, extremely polarizing. As one of the primary aims of this sub-forum is to get its readers out there to watch some of the films it discusses, in opting to cover more controversial directors, I run the risk of turning readers off if they don't like what they see.

Ultimately, I have decided to take the middle ground, and cover directors with moderate box-office success and loads of critical acclaim. Also, the filmographies of the directors that I discuss will be widely available on DVD. So, without further ado, here are the directors that I will discuss for this Showcase:

Pedro Almodóvar
Dario Argento
John Carpenter
Brian De Palma
Federico Fellini
Akira Kurosawa
Michael Haneke
Neil Jordan
Mike Leigh
Michael Mann
Takashi Miike

 

[Uncle Sam]

Cool. Cool.

Big Almodovar fan right here. I watched Volver and Talk To Her back to back just a few nights ago. Bother were awesome, awesome films. In fact, I almost secured tickets for Broken Embraces screening/interview at the BFI. I would have done if they didn't organise it like a fucking prize draw!

But anyway, yeah. Looking forward to this.

 

[X]

This sounds great tdigle, can't wait to see your thoughts on some of my all time favorite directors. You've got quite the range of directors there from Italian giallo to Kurosawa, quite the span there. This should be great.

And might I add I am extremely pleased to see that you've included Dario Argento in your list, a director I'm sure very few people here have heard of outside of us horror fans. Can't wait to see your thoughts on Suspiria, one of my all time favorite horror films. John Carpenter being added as well earns you huge points in my book as I've been an obsessive fanboy of the man since I was six years old.

And damn, Neil Jordan? The Company of Wolves should be a real fun one to discuss.

Just a great list from top to bottom. Any time you're introducing the masses to people like Kurosawa and Fellini, you're doing a damned good thing. Rep on the way for having great taste. Also can't wait to see your thoughts on Rashomon.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Just so you know, my Pedro Almodóvar box sets are going to remain unwatched. But I'll still talk about his films like I've watched them. I've seen Bad Company & Volver sober, if that helps. I fell asleep during Volver 20 minutes in and never watched the ending.

Where's Steve Seagal in this thing, he's a director too?

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

Just for Jake, Takashi Miike will be added as an eleventh director. Also, I am going to incorporate the post that I would have done on Argento's style into the reviews themselves, as a post on his style would require way too much in terms of visual supplements in order to be satisfactory.

Also, I'd like to stress to the viewers of this sub-forum that this is not meant to be an exercise in whom I consider to be the best directors of all time. Rather, I have just chosen 11 directors that I am familiar with and am making comments on some of their films in order to generate discussion. Obviously, I am the epitome of procrastination, but things should get moving now.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

So I'm on holiday next week, Center Parcs in Cumbria, before you ask. So I won't be online for a couple of days. Yes, I will be taking my laptop, and sure I'll probably be watching the same number of films I do in an average week. But the key words here are my laptop. We all know I don't access this fucked up site on my own computer.

So my suggestion is that you give me the list of the first 10 films or whatever and start this thing in about 10 days.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

So I'm on holiday next week, Center Parcs in Cumbria, before you ask. So I won't be online for a couple of days. Yes, I will be taking my laptop, and sure I'll probably be watching the same number of films I do in an average week. But the key words here are my laptop. We all know I don't access this fucked up site on my own computer.

So my suggestion is that you give me the list of the first 10 films or whatever and start this thing in about 10 days.

A long post on Deep Red will be up tonight, followed by a relatively short post on Suspiria. I will probably cover Tenebre and Opera after Michael Mann (that will be easier to do, as most of that will come from the heart). Then, I'll work on Takashi Miike (I intend to cover Ichi The Killer, Audition, and Gozu) along with some stuff from Almodovar (he's gonna be a bitch to write about).

So, here are the movies that, for sure, will be covered during your absence:

Deep Red
Suspiria
Thief
Heat
Collateral
Ichi The Killer
Audition
Gozu
Talk To Her

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Cool, I only need to buy Deep Red & Thief. And I'll only need to watch Talk To Her.

I will not, howver, be watching any Miike in the company of children. Or wolves.