Director John Frankenheimer is dead. I don't want to make this out to be one of those "random celebrity dies and is suddenly hailed as a genius" things, but Frankenheimer's made quite a few
damn good movies (and, yes, some bad ones). While his
later works weren't nearly as great as some of his
earlier films, his gift for filming action never went away: his 1998 film
Ronin wound up on
several lists of the "best car chases on film". He was supposed to helm the upcoming
Exorcist prequel, but failing health forced him to step aside. Despite the dodgy source material, I would have really liked to see Frankenheimer's take on it. He'll be missed.
posted by toddshot
on Jul 6, 2002 -
34 comments
The man behind Woman in the Dunes has passed away. Filmmaker Hiroshi Teshigahara died on Saturday with nary a press announcement. I haven't been this pissed off about a media blackout since Sam Fuller passed on (or, to some extent, the recent death of Joey Ramone). Is the only way for an obscure artist to gain that long-neglected recognition for their works to kick the bucket? It would seem that, even then, there are no guarantees.
posted by ed
on Apr 18, 2001 -
4 comments