Comments on: What I Really Want Is To Direct

What I Really Want Is To Direct

optovox — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:40:24 -0800

The films of Joel and Ethan Coen. The films of Tim Burton. The films of Stanley Kubrick.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:47:58 -0800

This Stanley Kubrick MySpace page has an insane mount of stills, photos, movie posters, information...

By: Dizzy

Dizzy — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:57:23 -0800

I must revisit "Barton Fink" because I just didn't get it the first time. Excellent post, opto!

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:05:05 -0800

Three directors whose entire bodies of work I've seen. Three personal favorites. I can understand this person's motivation, but I'm not amused. To anyone who's heard the word "auteur," these screen more like unfunny ribbing than informative commentary on the significance of their consistent tropes, or perhaps in Kubrick's case, consistent contrast. These are like a crayon-drawn roadmap of a familiar terrain, when what I'm ready for is some carbon dated geological samples. I see he's done Lynch, Mann, P.T. Anderson and Scorsese as well! It might be more fun to do this with a less cultish director, like Zemeckis or Tony Scott.

By: The Card Cheat

The Card Cheat — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:05:37 -0800

When you edit The Ladykillers into three second clips and mix it in with the Coen Brothers' good films, it makes it seem almost watchable.

By: kbanas

kbanas — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:07:26 -0800

The Card Cheat, I agree entirely. The Ladykillers could have been cut down to a single scene. "Madam, we must have waffles! We must all have waffles forthwith!"

By: dances_with_sneetches

dances_with_sneetches — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:16:54 -0800

When the Ladykillers came out, I thought to myself the Coen Brothers had lost it forever. I was almost as depressed as when George W. Bush was reelected. Shows my priorities.

By: quin

quin — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:22:25 -0800

I'm glad I'm not the only one who had issues with The Ladykillers. I so wanted to like it, I kept thinking 'Damn it, it's a Coen brothers film, you love their stuff...' and it kept not being great. Ah well, at least Burn After Reading sounds promising.

By: ORthey

ORthey — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:34:31 -0800

I also thought they'd lost it with the Ladykillers, but now they've made No Country, and Burn After Reading looks awesome. Those guys are as good as it gets in American cinema. Brilliant dudes.

By: octothorpe

octothorpe — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:36:43 -0800

quin: "Ah well, at least Burn After Reading sounds promising." The trailer is pretty funny (NSFW - language).

By: COBRA!

COBRA! — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:40:08 -0800

This has very little to do with the post, but my wife's working as we speak to find office space for the Coen Brothers' production unit for A Serious Man. I'm jealous, although she says it's not really all that fun.

By: The Card Cheat

The Card Cheat — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:44:36 -0800

Look at it this way; The Ladykillers was so bad that even the Coens knew they'd really screwed up, so bad that the fanboys (of whom I am one - I even liked Intolerable Cruelty) questioned their infalibility for the first time. So they knew their next film had to be something really special to make up for it. Hence; No Country. Seriously, The Ladykillers was awful. Diarrhea jokes. Pratfalls. Marlon Wayans. Lousy ethnic stereotypes. Tom Hanks. Fart jokes. I didn't laugh, giggle, chuckle or even smile once the whole way through. It actually made me angry. If it had been a Sam Weisman film, it would have ranked somewhere between D2: The Mighty Ducks and What's The Worst That Could Happen, but as a Coen Brothers' flick it was...words fail me...

By: Cookiebastard

Cookiebastard — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:46:43 -0800

I liked The Ladykillers. It's probably my favorite Tom Hanks movie, after Bachelor Party.

By: The Card Cheat

The Card Cheat — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:53:57 -0800

It's probably my favorite Tom Hanks movie, after Bachelor Party. *scans Tom Hanks IMDB entry* Me too, now that you mention it.

By: opsin

opsin — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:54:47 -0800

I always tend to call Barton Fink my favourite Coen Brothers film, but then I remember Big Lebowski, and Fargo, and Hudsucker, and... Oh, and Miller's Crossing. Damn that's a fine film! And No Country really did bring them back to form. Looking forward to more. Ladykillers, and the one after it (I think) are the only ones I didn't really like, though I still have to see The Man Who Wasn't There. Some of the best filmmakers around though for sure.

By: DU

DU — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:03:38 -0800

Wow, Burn After Reading does look good. I want to hate Brad Pitt but I can't. And it's got Sledgehammer! Even chewing gum!

By: matteo

matteo — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:06:42 -0800

The Ladykillers didn't find an audience because slapstick doesn't really work anymore (no one has seen the Mackendrick original anyway, I'm sure the inferiority to the previous film was no factor in the film bombing), and also one fears the Coens core audience -- those who will also go see The Hudsucker Proxy, as opposed to the wider audience who only goes to Fargo and No Country) is much more ready to laugh at the expense of the Coens usual targets -- rednecks -- than at the expense of blacks, as the viewer is supposed to do in The Ladykillers. as I wrote here months ago, it'd be interesting to see what happens next to the Coens delight in making fun of the hicks, since with Bardem they have found their perfect hick-killing machine, and noother character will ever be more efficient that way. they might have to stop making fun of uneducated, provincial whites -- this is a bit like forbidding Scorsese to ever shoot a violent scene for the rest of his career. Ladykillers made me laugh much more than Intolerable Cruelty did, and I'm afraid one has to judge silly comedies by that metric.

By: mcstayinskool

mcstayinskool — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:09:06 -0800

Man, Sledgehammer. Those were the days...

By: sonic meat machine

sonic meat machine — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:13:47 -0800

This post, by the weird ebbing and flowing of the Internet, led me to discover Shotgun Stories. Thank you, optovox. Thank you, the Internet!

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:14:01 -0800

I like The Ladykillers. Don't get me wrong, I can totally understand why y'all (especially the hardcore Coen fans) would despise it. It's dumb, yes, but it's got its moments. I'd take it over Raising Arizona or O Brother Where Art Thou any day of the week. Nthing the Tom Hanks comment. The Ladykillers seems to fit the Coens' style, i.e. 'take a standard crime drama and cram it into another genre'--the genre in this case being something along the lines of Eddie Murphy's fat-suit movies. Taken in that light, I think it works as well as could be expected. It's just goofy, roll credits. It does lack that certain special underlying pathos, though. Here's the rest, BTW: Woody Allen P.T. Anderson Wes Anderson Tim Burton David Lynch Michael Mann Scorsese 1, 2

By: tadellin

tadellin — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:25:03 -0800

than at the expense of blacks, as the viewer is supposed to do in The Ladykillers huh? I didn't get that at ALL from the movie.

By: poppo

poppo — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:27:22 -0800

I'd take it over Raising Arizona or O Brother Where Art Thou any day of the week. This is pushing the boundaries of free speech, watch yourself

By: ORthey

ORthey — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:32:40 -0800

Both the Coen Bros one and the Lynch one remind me that, with the right script and directors, Nicholas Cage can be fantastic. Both "Next" and "The Wicker Man" remind me that he can also be one of the worst actors. But in a best-worst way, at least.

By: tkchrist

tkchrist — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:33:39 -0800

All I can say is the Tim Burton clip made me weep for the Tim Burton that was. His take on Planet of the Apes was a shameful abomination and heralded in his recent sad streak of suck. Where, oh where, is the man who did Ed Wood? And that the Cohen Brothers had only one serious movie business fuck-up in an otherwise brilliant career? We should all be so lucky. I'd forgive them for doing Weekend at Bernie's 5 just for Blood Simple alone.

By: wabbittwax

wabbittwax — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:40:56 -0800

These all look like the work of someone whose greatest ambition is to cut the themed montages that appear during the Academy Awards.

By: opsin

opsin — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:59:30 -0800

Damn straigh tkchrist! Ed Wood is probably my favourite Burton film. It's just sublime! That and I'm with you ORthey on the Cage thing. Adaptation is another one where he shines (as Leaving Las Vegas even if it's one of the most terminally depressing films ever made). And yet then he goes and makes National Treasure and Ghost Rider and other tripe.

By: octothorpe

octothorpe — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:02:22 -0800

I actually fell asleep during Burton's Apes, the only time I've done that in a movie theater. What a pointless movie.

By: Guy_Inamonkeysuit

Guy_Inamonkeysuit — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:03:56 -0800

I only watched the Tim Burton link, but I loved it. It's true that his Batman was a flawed masterpiece, and that the series reboot with Christian Bale is on the money -- but that shot of the Batmobile zooming through the autumn night is pure 100% Batman the way it ought to be. Fucking brilliant. I said so at the time and I say so again. The Ladykillers... well, without Alec Guiness, of course, it wouldn't work. It is true, even his teeth were funny. I am a big Coen Brothers fan, but that movie and the horror that was Intolerable Cruelty simply reek. Other than those two dreadful misfires, however, those guys rock. I thought No Country was amazing.

By: Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese

Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:04:08 -0800

Anybody know the name of the track that opens the Kubrick clip? And was it used in a Kubrick movie? Sounds familiar but I can't place it. (It's a great way to start that clip.)

By: any major dude

any major dude — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:04:35 -0800

Very well done. I've seen The Man Who Wasn't There a couple of times now and it's the one Coen Brothers film that truly haunts me. The pacing and mood just paralyze you to his fate. I think it's their most underrated film and Billy Bob's best work outside of A Simple Plan.

By: wabbittwax

wabbittwax — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:20:51 -0800

Anybody know the name of the track that opens the Kubrick clip? And was it used in a Kubrick movie? Sounds familiar but I can't place it. (It's a great way to start that clip.) I believe that's the theme from "Lolita". I agree it was a great way to start the clip. It showed a greater sense of whimsy than one associates with Kubrick.

By: shakespeherian

shakespeherian — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:24:04 -0800

Nic Cage is also very good in Bringing Out the Dead.

By: wabbittwax

wabbittwax — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:25:14 -0800

Nicolas Cage is prone to flights of ridiculousness. He needs to be directed by someone who knows how to either exploit this or reign him in.

By: painquale

painquale — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:27:41 -0800

Intolerable Cruelty was not bad. It's more like a Billy Wilder film than any other non-Billy-Wilder film I've seen. It's just that it's not as amazing as their other work, and The Ladykillers, which came next, drags it down.

By: wabbittwax

wabbittwax — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:31:09 -0800

I must revisit "Barton Fink" because I just didn't get it the first time. My theory about "Barton Fink" is that the key to understanding it is realizing that they're making fun of art-house films. So, it is freighted with a lot of "meaningful" symbols that are in essence red herrings.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:31:27 -0800

Anybody know the name of the track that opens the Kubrick clip? And was it used in a Kubrick movie? Sounds familiar but I can't place it. (It's a great way to start that clip.) "Lolita Ya Ya" , from the soudtrack, composed by Nelson Riddle. I believe it may have been Sue Lyon singing. The Ventures also did a great version.

By: DU

DU — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:57:23 -0800

Where, oh where, is the man who did Ed Wood? I happen to be watching that right now and my question is: What's the deal with Depp? Does he ever play a character straight, with a normal voice?

By: wabbittwax

wabbittwax — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:02:28 -0800

What's the deal with Depp? Does he ever play a character straight, with a normal voice? 21 Jump Street? Nightmare on Elm Street?

By: billypilgrim

billypilgrim — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:13:32 -0800

Oh man, that first one has put a dread curse on my wallet. Now that it's made me remember that there are Coen Brothers movies out there that I still don't own, there will be no stopping me in my mad dash to the movie store. Fer christsakes, I don't own Oh Brother Where Art Thou or The Man Who Wasn't There! What will the neighbors think? What hast thou wrought, oh maker of mediocre montages? What hast thou wrought?

By: tkchrist

tkchrist — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:18:25 -0800

I happen to be watching that right now and my question is: What's the deal with Depp? Does he ever play a character straight, with a normal voice? Donnie Brasco and Dead Man. Two excellent films I might add.

By: tkchrist

tkchrist — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:21:48 -0800

Oh Brother Where Art Thou and The Big Lebowski (and Office Space or Caddy Shack) are my Flu Films. If I have to stay home sick from work those are the movies I watch as my cure.

By: Green With You

Green With You — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:27:47 -0800

Dead Man was one of those films that just wouldn't let me go until long after it was over.

By: tkchrist

tkchrist — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:55:19 -0800

Dead Man was one of those films that just wouldn't let me go until long after it was over. Yes. The scene around the camp fire with Iggy Pop in the settlers frock and bonnet particularly. "Ya know I clean up real good... you sure have pretty skin there, Mister."

By: quin

quin — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:27:08 -0800

The scene in Dead Man where Depp is first walking into the town of Machine is still, in my opinion, one of the best visual representations of Hell I've seen put to film.

By: The Great Big Mulp

The Great Big Mulp — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:29:05 -0800

Dead Man is the only Jarmusch film that I know I like. The others leave me wondering whether or not I actually enjoyed them.

By: Liquidwolf

Liquidwolf — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:31:43 -0800

Oh , I see, by Sledgehammer you mean David Rasche. I forgot he existed, glad he's back. My parents were friends with that guy's sister. True story.

By: P.o.B.

P.o.B. — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:56:13 -0800

tkchrist you philistine! Diarrhea jokes. Pratfalls. Marlon Wayans. Lousy ethnic stereotypes. Tom Hanks. Fart jokes You do realize, minus Hanks and Wayans, these things are included in other Coen brother films? I didn't think that much of The Ladykillers when I first saw it. I've re-watched it and (surprisingly) thoroughly enjoyed it. Actually, Barton Fink is not unlike Dead Man in that it is one mans slow descent into hell. (Yeah, I know I just glossed over a whole hell of a lot of stuff.)

By: konolia

konolia — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:13:13 -0800

I just about have O Brother Where Art Thou memorized. Every time I see it I find a new facet to appreciate.

By: Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese

Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:36:20 -0800

"Lolita Ya Ya" , from the soudtrack, composed by Nelson Riddle. Thanks, Astro. I didn't even realized a soundtrack from that film had been released.

By: Wolof

Wolof — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:29:48 -0800

Fargo — snow. O Brother — water. Hudsucker — air. Barton Fink — fire. Miller's Crossing — earth. I leave the others undone as a genteel diversion for the cinematically inclined.

By: Durn Bronzefist

Durn Bronzefist — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:17:41 -0800

Like a few others here, the Coen montage has set me wanting to stay up all night and watch them again (and buy the ones I don't have). The only thing that didn't fit for me was the music playing while Jeff Bridges dances with his shadow against the giant white wall, where there can only be Just Dropped In by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition.

By: Suparnova

Suparnova — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:29:08 -0800

This may be old news to people more on the up then me, but I've heard Tim Burton is doing an Alice in Wonderland movie. I am anticipating either a boring, mediocre film or something truly spectacular.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 04:49:30 -0800

Fargo — snow. O Brother — water. Hudsucker — air. Barton Fink — fire. Miller's Crossing — earth. I'm hearing you, Wolof, but to get that all-important fifth element into there, I think you'd have to add: The Man Who Wasn't There — hopelessness. That is the fifth element, right?

By: Wolof

Wolof — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 05:36:56 -0800

No, the fifth element is Mila Jokovich. Also, I have already kindly donated the potential reader five of these whale sharks. I don't think we are talking pedantic schemas here — let us say, for example, smoke + Coens? Which film would that be? This sort of structuring is an extremely economical device that knits together disparate filmic components into a package that appears neater than it is. It's a very intelligent procedure for producing visual continuity that generates alternative readings at the same time.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 05:39:47 -0800

You're blowing my mind, Wolof.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 05:41:15 -0800

But actually, if it's "smoke + Coens", I guess I'd offer up The Man Who Wasn't There once again. That's some smoky stuff.

By: Wolof

Wolof — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 05:49:27 -0800

At the same time as the viewer is assembling the various strands of meaning posited by the film and deciding on their relative "truth value", that is. The distinction between sjuzhet and fabula is also relevant in this context.

By: wabbittwax

wabbittwax — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:10:20 -0800

The distinction between sjuzhet and fabula is also relevant in this context. I've said that many times.

By: daedsiluap

daedsiluap — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:18:18 -0800

A high school student I taught had a similar idea to the Nic Cage theory, but directed it towards John Goodman. Is John Goodman only good in Coen Brothers films?

By: es_de_bah

es_de_bah — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:38:38 -0800

Tim Burton with no Nitemare Before Christmas? Were they afraid of Disney? What's the deal?

By: wabbittwax

wabbittwax — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:40:03 -0800

John Goodman is good in everything. You could argue that the films themselves aren't so good. But he, at least, is good in everything. I would argue that his presence in a film automatically improves it, if only slightly.

By: the duck by the oboe

the duck by the oboe — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 10:25:13 -0800

Billy Bob Thornton's eyebrows should have won an Oscar for The Man Who Wasn't There. And this reading of O Brother is worth a look.

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 10:34:06 -0800

Tim Burton with no Nitemare Before Christmas? Were they afraid of Disney? What's the deal? He didn't direct that.

By: es_de_bah

es_de_bah — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 08:37:43 -0800

True, but he did write the original story for it, produce it, and art direct it. And it was kind of his baby.