Here's to cinema's winning streaks
June 30, 2016 1:36 AM Subscribe
A list from the BFI: 17 rare times when a director made five or more great films in a row.
"The challenge we gave to the writers below was to champion one director who they could confidently assert made five or more films in a row that they honestly considered were five-star, 10/10 classics. As you’ll see, it was a highly subjective exercise – one person’s five-star film is not necessarily another’s.
This is not an exhaustive list. Nobody, for example, picked Jean-Luc Godard, who – rather like Bob Dylan with his contemporaneous run of LPs – seemed to conduct the tenor of the 60s via a string of, um, 15 unassailable films between A bout de souffle in 1960 and Week End in 1967. Not all of the films in between were created equal, but certainly the medium has rarely known anything like the fire in Godard’s belly in those years.
The surefooted filmmakers below have all offered periods of comparable poise. Delivering over and over again, they dazzled with their originality and seemed unshakeable in their creativity… for a time. This list is a celebration of film history’s winning streaks, when such careers burnt like comets against the sky."
"The challenge we gave to the writers below was to champion one director who they could confidently assert made five or more films in a row that they honestly considered were five-star, 10/10 classics. As you’ll see, it was a highly subjective exercise – one person’s five-star film is not necessarily another’s.
This is not an exhaustive list. Nobody, for example, picked Jean-Luc Godard, who – rather like Bob Dylan with his contemporaneous run of LPs – seemed to conduct the tenor of the 60s via a string of, um, 15 unassailable films between A bout de souffle in 1960 and Week End in 1967. Not all of the films in between were created equal, but certainly the medium has rarely known anything like the fire in Godard’s belly in those years.
The surefooted filmmakers below have all offered periods of comparable poise. Delivering over and over again, they dazzled with their originality and seemed unshakeable in their creativity… for a time. This list is a celebration of film history’s winning streaks, when such careers burnt like comets against the sky."
Is The Fog really that good? I love Carpenter, but I think you have to squint a little to make that list work. David Cronenberg is the modern horror director they really should have run with -- there are a couple of distinct periods that qualify, from seven (!) films in the '70s-'90s (The Brood, Scanners, Videodrome, The Dead Zone, The Fly, Dead Ringers, Naked Lunch) to a mere five in the '90s-'00s (Crash, eXistenZ, Spider, A History of Violence, Eastern Promises). I would also argue less strongly (but still argue) for Dario Argento (Deep Red, Suspiria, Inferno, Tenebre, Phenomena).
posted by kittens for breakfast at 1:58 AM on June 30, 2016 [10 favorites]
posted by kittens for breakfast at 1:58 AM on June 30, 2016 [10 favorites]
Has Miyazaki ever made a film that was not great ?
posted by Pendragon at 1:59 AM on June 30, 2016 [16 favorites]
posted by Pendragon at 1:59 AM on June 30, 2016 [16 favorites]
Kubrick should be all eight films between Spartacus and Full Metal Jacket (and Eyes Wide Shut is pretty good too).
Woody Allen has a pretty good run between 1969 and 1977
1969 Take the Money and Run
1971 Bananas
1972 Play It Again, Sam
1972 Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)
1973 Sleeper
1975 Love and Death
1976 The Front
1977 Annie Hall
Also John Hughes (within 3 years! plus he produced Pretty in Pink and wrote European Vacation in that period)
1984 Sixteen Candles
1985 The Breakfast Club
1985 Weird Science
1986 Ferris Bueller's Day Off
1987 Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Also pretty much everything the Coen brothers have directed except The Ladykillers is stellar.
posted by leibniz at 3:08 AM on June 30, 2016 [7 favorites]
Woody Allen has a pretty good run between 1969 and 1977
1969 Take the Money and Run
1971 Bananas
1972 Play It Again, Sam
1972 Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)
1973 Sleeper
1975 Love and Death
1976 The Front
1977 Annie Hall
Also John Hughes (within 3 years! plus he produced Pretty in Pink and wrote European Vacation in that period)
1984 Sixteen Candles
1985 The Breakfast Club
1985 Weird Science
1986 Ferris Bueller's Day Off
1987 Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Also pretty much everything the Coen brothers have directed except The Ladykillers is stellar.
posted by leibniz at 3:08 AM on June 30, 2016 [7 favorites]
Glad to see Hal Ashby on the list. It's weird how huge he was in the seventies and how forgotten he is now.
posted by octothorpe at 3:22 AM on June 30, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 3:22 AM on June 30, 2016 [5 favorites]
I thought for sure Hitchcock should be on that list, but when I doublechecked his filmography his best streak was only 4-in-a-row
1958 - Vertigo
1959 - North by Northwest
1960 - Psycho
1963 - The Birds
Bracketing that powerhouse are The Wrong Man and Marnie, which are just fine and all, but I don't think anyone is going to argue either of them are in the same league.
So close, Al. So close.
posted by Aznable at 3:36 AM on June 30, 2016
1958 - Vertigo
1959 - North by Northwest
1960 - Psycho
1963 - The Birds
Bracketing that powerhouse are The Wrong Man and Marnie, which are just fine and all, but I don't think anyone is going to argue either of them are in the same league.
So close, Al. So close.
posted by Aznable at 3:36 AM on June 30, 2016
Not counting his little TV series in 1990/91, David Lynch put together this run of 5 consecutive feature films:
1986 - Blue Velvet
1990 - Wild At Heart
1997 - Lost Highway
1999 - The Straight Story
2001 - Mulholland Drive
posted by fairmettle at 3:52 AM on June 30, 2016 [8 favorites]
1986 - Blue Velvet
1990 - Wild At Heart
1997 - Lost Highway
1999 - The Straight Story
2001 - Mulholland Drive
posted by fairmettle at 3:52 AM on June 30, 2016 [8 favorites]
Woody Allen
Allen did not direct Play It Again Sam. And he neither wrote nor directed The Front, he only acted in it.
David Lynch
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me was a feature film, and (arguably) a stinker. Certainly not universally adored.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 4:38 AM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
Allen did not direct Play It Again Sam. And he neither wrote nor directed The Front, he only acted in it.
David Lynch
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me was a feature film, and (arguably) a stinker. Certainly not universally adored.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 4:38 AM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me was a feature film, and (arguably) a stinker. Certainly not universally adored
It, along with Inland Empire and Eraserhead, are his absolute masterpieces.
posted by maxsparber at 4:45 AM on June 30, 2016 [6 favorites]
It, along with Inland Empire and Eraserhead, are his absolute masterpieces.
posted by maxsparber at 4:45 AM on June 30, 2016 [6 favorites]
I was really hoping to see Zack Snyder on this list, just to be able to sit back and watch Metafilter melt down in some sort of cinematic existential crisis.
posted by HuronBob at 4:56 AM on June 30, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by HuronBob at 4:56 AM on June 30, 2016 [7 favorites]
Off to explore... Shohei Imamura
The six films from 1961-68:
Pigs and Battleships (1961)
The Insect Woman (1963)
Intentions of Murder (1964)
The Pornographers (1966)
A Man Vanishes (1967)
Profound Desire of the Gods (1968)
posted by Mister Bijou at 4:58 AM on June 30, 2016 [5 favorites]
The six films from 1961-68:
Pigs and Battleships (1961)
The Insect Woman (1963)
Intentions of Murder (1964)
The Pornographers (1966)
A Man Vanishes (1967)
Profound Desire of the Gods (1968)
posted by Mister Bijou at 4:58 AM on June 30, 2016 [5 favorites]
It'd be interesting to see some analysis of the film that broke the streak in each director's case. Where did they go wrong? What was missing from that film that all the others had so much of?
I'm not exactly a huge fan of Antonioni, but I'm a bit surprised to see Zabriskie Point included in his streak, as I would have said that film represents a pretty significant drop in quality from Blow-up.
posted by wabbittwax at 5:20 AM on June 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
I'm not exactly a huge fan of Antonioni, but I'm a bit surprised to see Zabriskie Point included in his streak, as I would have said that film represents a pretty significant drop in quality from Blow-up.
posted by wabbittwax at 5:20 AM on June 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
The Coen Brothers initial run:
Blood Simple 1984
Raising Arizona 1987
Miller's Crossing 1990
Barton Fink 1991
The Hudsucker Proxy 1994
Fargo 1996
The Big Lebowski 1998
O Brother, Where Art Thou? 2000
After that it gets a little "every other film is great", with things like The Ladykillers and Burn After Reading flanking masterpieces like No Country for Old Men and True Grit, but those first eight...they're bona fide. Bona fide!
posted by mcstayinskool at 5:33 AM on June 30, 2016 [29 favorites]
Blood Simple 1984
Raising Arizona 1987
Miller's Crossing 1990
Barton Fink 1991
The Hudsucker Proxy 1994
Fargo 1996
The Big Lebowski 1998
O Brother, Where Art Thou? 2000
After that it gets a little "every other film is great", with things like The Ladykillers and Burn After Reading flanking masterpieces like No Country for Old Men and True Grit, but those first eight...they're bona fide. Bona fide!
posted by mcstayinskool at 5:33 AM on June 30, 2016 [29 favorites]
No George Lucas? THX-1138, American Grafitti, Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi was quite a run.
posted by zippy at 5:34 AM on June 30, 2016
posted by zippy at 5:34 AM on June 30, 2016
Missing:
Billy Wilder
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Ace in the Hole (1951)
Stalag 17 (1953)
Sabrina (1954)
The Seven Year Itch (1955)
Steven Soderbergh (especially if you're willing to include Schizopolis, which I SO TOTALLY AM).
Schizopolis (1996)
Out of Sight (1998)
The Limey (1999)
Erin Brockovich (2000)
Traffic (2000)
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
posted by wabbittwax at 5:35 AM on June 30, 2016 [10 favorites]
Billy Wilder
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Ace in the Hole (1951)
Stalag 17 (1953)
Sabrina (1954)
The Seven Year Itch (1955)
Steven Soderbergh (especially if you're willing to include Schizopolis, which I SO TOTALLY AM).
Schizopolis (1996)
Out of Sight (1998)
The Limey (1999)
Erin Brockovich (2000)
Traffic (2000)
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
posted by wabbittwax at 5:35 AM on June 30, 2016 [10 favorites]
John Carpenter's run includes Escape From New York. Never thought I'd see Snake Plissken on such a list. I thought Snake Plissken was dead.
posted by mcstayinskool at 5:35 AM on June 30, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by mcstayinskool at 5:35 AM on June 30, 2016 [6 favorites]
No George Lucas? THX-1138, American Grafitti, Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi was quite a run.
Lucas did not direct Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi. Thankfully.
posted by mcstayinskool at 5:39 AM on June 30, 2016 [24 favorites]
Lucas did not direct Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi. Thankfully.
posted by mcstayinskool at 5:39 AM on June 30, 2016 [24 favorites]
I've not seen enough of his 50s films but Bunuel has one of the most impressive streaks: nine films from 1961 to 1977:
1961 - Viridiana
1962 - The Exterminating Angel
1964 - Diary of a Chambermaid
1967 - Belle de jour
1969 - Milky Way
1970 - Tristana
1972 - The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
1974 - The Phantom of Liberty
1977 - That Obscure Object of Desire
... come to think of it, this could (should?) be extended even to ten by including The Young One from 1960.
posted by sapagan at 6:03 AM on June 30, 2016 [5 favorites]
1961 - Viridiana
1962 - The Exterminating Angel
1964 - Diary of a Chambermaid
1967 - Belle de jour
1969 - Milky Way
1970 - Tristana
1972 - The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
1974 - The Phantom of Liberty
1977 - That Obscure Object of Desire
... come to think of it, this could (should?) be extended even to ten by including The Young One from 1960.
posted by sapagan at 6:03 AM on June 30, 2016 [5 favorites]
As usual, Takahata gets second fiddle to Miyazaki.
1988 - Grave of the Fireflies
1991 - Only Yesterday
1994 - Pom Poko
1999 - My Neighbors the Yamadas
2013 - The Tale of Princess Kaguya
posted by lawrencium at 6:11 AM on June 30, 2016 [6 favorites]
1988 - Grave of the Fireflies
1991 - Only Yesterday
1994 - Pom Poko
1999 - My Neighbors the Yamadas
2013 - The Tale of Princess Kaguya
posted by lawrencium at 6:11 AM on June 30, 2016 [6 favorites]
Checks list for Adam Sandler, Director
posted by zippy at 6:16 AM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by zippy at 6:16 AM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
Steven Soderbergh (especially if you're willing to include Schizopolis, which I SO TOTALLY AM).
Schizopolis (1996)
Out of Sight (1998)
The Limey (1999)
I think that's where it stops for most people -- whenever I talk about The Limey, even among cinephiles, I get blank looks. People didn't see the damn thing, and even Soderbergh fans forget about it.
posted by Etrigan at 6:16 AM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
Schizopolis (1996)
Out of Sight (1998)
The Limey (1999)
I think that's where it stops for most people -- whenever I talk about The Limey, even among cinephiles, I get blank looks. People didn't see the damn thing, and even Soderbergh fans forget about it.
posted by Etrigan at 6:16 AM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
I thought John Ford might qualify, as he has several classics. Finding five consecutive winners was tough though.
posted by bwvol at 6:18 AM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by bwvol at 6:18 AM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
They missed one of my favorites: Todd Solondz
He has made some of the most compelling, thoughtful, razor-sharp movies I've ever seen...
1. Welcome to the Dollhouse
2. Happiness
3. Storytelling
4. Palindromes
5. Life During Wartime
6. Dark Horse
posted by Dressed to Kill at 6:26 AM on June 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
He has made some of the most compelling, thoughtful, razor-sharp movies I've ever seen...
1. Welcome to the Dollhouse
2. Happiness
3. Storytelling
4. Palindromes
5. Life During Wartime
6. Dark Horse
posted by Dressed to Kill at 6:26 AM on June 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
The Limey is genius. TELL HIM I'M FUCKING COMING!
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 6:28 AM on June 30, 2016 [18 favorites]
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 6:28 AM on June 30, 2016 [18 favorites]
The Limey is sublimey. One of my favourite films.
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 6:29 AM on June 30, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 6:29 AM on June 30, 2016 [5 favorites]
People beat me to the Coens and Soderbergh.
Between 1986 and 1982, Rob Reiner made Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery and A Few Good Men, which is a pretty solid run. Harry and Sally has not aged well, I don't think.
Lots of titans can manage about four-and-a-half, it seems: Coppola's 1970s to early 80s was a pair of Godfathers, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now, and the quirky One From The Heart. So close.
Likewise in the same seventies to eighties timeframe Scorsese does The Last Waltz, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, After Hours, and The Color of Money. I liked them all, but to be fair I have not seen TCoM since it came out when I was a teenager.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:36 AM on June 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
Between 1986 and 1982, Rob Reiner made Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery and A Few Good Men, which is a pretty solid run. Harry and Sally has not aged well, I don't think.
Lots of titans can manage about four-and-a-half, it seems: Coppola's 1970s to early 80s was a pair of Godfathers, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now, and the quirky One From The Heart. So close.
Likewise in the same seventies to eighties timeframe Scorsese does The Last Waltz, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, After Hours, and The Color of Money. I liked them all, but to be fair I have not seen TCoM since it came out when I was a teenager.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:36 AM on June 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
Not only is The Limey a stellar, small example of masterful film-making, especially as one long homage to 60's cinema in U.S. and England, but if you ever have the chance, listen to the commentary on the DVD ... edited in the same style as the movie with flash-forwards and back in the audio - it's like listening to/watching a remix. It just shows how wonderfully obsessive Soderbergh is.
posted by buffalo at 6:38 AM on June 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by buffalo at 6:38 AM on June 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
It'd be interesting to see some analysis of the film that broke the streak in each director's case. Where did they go wrong? What was missing from that film that all the others had so much of?
Streak-Breakers
Anderson: Inherent Vice
Antonioni: Chung Kuo - Cina (documentary) or The Passenger (narrative)
Ashby: Being There
Carné: Les Portes de la Nuit (Gates of the Night)
Carpenter: Christine, which they mention, or maybe Starman
Chaplin: Monsieur Verdoux
Imamura: History of Postwar Japan as Told by a Bar Hostess (documentary), several other documentaries, some made for TV; Vengeance Is Mine was his next narrative movie
Kazan: America America
Kubrick: Full Metal Jacket
Longinotto: Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go
Mackendrick: The Devil's Disciple (uncredited) or A Boy Ten Feet Tall
Miyazaki: Howl's Moving Castle
The Archers: Hour of Glory
Roeg: Insignificance
Sturges: The Great Moment
Tarkovsky: Nostalgia
Weir: Witness
There's some questionably "lesser" films on that list.
posted by Etrigan at 6:39 AM on June 30, 2016 [5 favorites]
Streak-Breakers
Anderson: Inherent Vice
Antonioni: Chung Kuo - Cina (documentary) or The Passenger (narrative)
Ashby: Being There
Carné: Les Portes de la Nuit (Gates of the Night)
Carpenter: Christine, which they mention, or maybe Starman
Chaplin: Monsieur Verdoux
Imamura: History of Postwar Japan as Told by a Bar Hostess (documentary), several other documentaries, some made for TV; Vengeance Is Mine was his next narrative movie
Kazan: America America
Kubrick: Full Metal Jacket
Longinotto: Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go
Mackendrick: The Devil's Disciple (uncredited) or A Boy Ten Feet Tall
Miyazaki: Howl's Moving Castle
The Archers: Hour of Glory
Roeg: Insignificance
Sturges: The Great Moment
Tarkovsky: Nostalgia
Weir: Witness
There's some questionably "lesser" films on that list.
posted by Etrigan at 6:39 AM on June 30, 2016 [5 favorites]
And thank you Dressed to Kill for mentioning Solondz.
posted by buffalo at 6:41 AM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by buffalo at 6:41 AM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
A good selection, and one it's endless fun to try to add to! I object to this in the strongest terms, though:
Additions:
Abbas Kiarostami
Close-Up (1990)
Life, and Nothing More... (1991)
Through the Olive Trees (1994)
Taste of Cherry (1997)
The Wind Will Carry Us (1999)
Hou Hsiao-Hsien
A Summer at Grandpa's (1984)
A Time to Live, A Time to Die (1985)
Dust in the Wind (1986)
Daughter of the Nile (1987)
A City of Sadness (1989)
The Puppetmaster (1993)
Good Men, Good Women (1995)
Goodbye South, Goodbye (1996)
Flowers of Shanghai (1998)
Millennium Mambo (2001)
Café Lumière (2003)
Three Times (2005)
Edward Yang
That Day, on the Beach (1983)
Taipei Story (1985)
The Terrorizers (1986)
A Brighter Summer Day (1991)
A Confucian Confusion (1994)
Mahjong (1996)
Yi Yi (2000)
Hou and Yang, both Taiwanese, are maybe the great directors people are least likely to think of in connection with lists like this, and neither ever made a dud as far as I know; every time I watch a movie by either, I think "Why the hell isn't this guy better known and more widely revered?"
posted by languagehat at 6:47 AM on June 30, 2016 [10 favorites]
Robert Bresson had a super four-film run from Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne in 1945 to Pickpocket in 1959, but then arguably slipped a little with The Trial of Joan of Arc (1962), which found unfavourable comparisons with Dreyer’s Joan film.Yeah, bullshit. I hate that weasel word "arguably"! People can argue whatever they like, but The Trial of Joan of Arc is a masterpiece. (There can be more than one on the same subject, you know.) It's not like Bresson never made a dud—Le diable probablement, I'm looking at you—but The Trial of Joan of Arc ain't it.
Additions:
Abbas Kiarostami
Close-Up (1990)
Life, and Nothing More... (1991)
Through the Olive Trees (1994)
Taste of Cherry (1997)
The Wind Will Carry Us (1999)
Hou Hsiao-Hsien
A Summer at Grandpa's (1984)
A Time to Live, A Time to Die (1985)
Dust in the Wind (1986)
Daughter of the Nile (1987)
A City of Sadness (1989)
The Puppetmaster (1993)
Good Men, Good Women (1995)
Goodbye South, Goodbye (1996)
Flowers of Shanghai (1998)
Millennium Mambo (2001)
Café Lumière (2003)
Three Times (2005)
Edward Yang
That Day, on the Beach (1983)
Taipei Story (1985)
The Terrorizers (1986)
A Brighter Summer Day (1991)
A Confucian Confusion (1994)
Mahjong (1996)
Yi Yi (2000)
Hou and Yang, both Taiwanese, are maybe the great directors people are least likely to think of in connection with lists like this, and neither ever made a dud as far as I know; every time I watch a movie by either, I think "Why the hell isn't this guy better known and more widely revered?"
posted by languagehat at 6:47 AM on June 30, 2016 [10 favorites]
Ooh, tricky. I want to complain about a list, because that is the right Mefi thing to do, but I honestly can't remember if I enjoyed Jabberwocky
posted by pompomtom at 6:49 AM on June 30, 2016
posted by pompomtom at 6:49 AM on June 30, 2016
Kurosawa
1965 Red Beard - even among a man known for epics, this was epic.
1963 High and Low - brilliant and thrilling
1962 Sanjuro - classic Kurosawa
1961 Yojimbo - ditto
1960 The Bad Sleep Well - lesser known but classic.
1958 The Hidden Fortress - my least favorite among these, but very good and ahem, influential.
1957 The Lower Depths - haven't seen it. Good reputation.
1957 Throne of Blood - all time great.
1955 I Live in Fear - haven't seen it. Good reputation.
1954 Seven Samurai - all time classic.
1952 Ikiru - haven't seen it. I've heard people argue it's his best.
1951 The Idiot - haven't seen it. It may be the streak breaker.
1950 Rashomon - all time classic.
Frank Capra (I left out his war documentaries. Most of the time he left his name off, anyhow)
1948 State of the Union - classic Tracy and Hepburn.
1946 It's a Wonderful Life - all time classic.
1944 Arsenic and Old Lace - all time classic.
1941 Meet John Doe - lesser known, but no slouch and very Capra-esque.
1939 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington - all time classic.
1938 You Can't Take It with You - great
1937 Lost Horizon - great.
1936 Mr. Deeds Goes to Town - Capra classic.
As for Hitchcock, I would pick his early to mid-40s output.
1946 Notorious - my favorite Hitchcock.
1945 Spellbound - classic Hitchcock.
1944 Lifeboat - classic directing within constraints film.
1943 Shadow of a Doubt - Hitchcock's favorite.
1942 Saboteur - streak breaker? Still it has enough classic Hitchcock moments to not be a slouch.
1941 Suspicion - perfect Hollywood-ish Hitchcock. Cary Grant - as a killer?
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 6:58 AM on June 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
1965 Red Beard - even among a man known for epics, this was epic.
1963 High and Low - brilliant and thrilling
1962 Sanjuro - classic Kurosawa
1961 Yojimbo - ditto
1960 The Bad Sleep Well - lesser known but classic.
1958 The Hidden Fortress - my least favorite among these, but very good and ahem, influential.
1957 The Lower Depths - haven't seen it. Good reputation.
1957 Throne of Blood - all time great.
1955 I Live in Fear - haven't seen it. Good reputation.
1954 Seven Samurai - all time classic.
1952 Ikiru - haven't seen it. I've heard people argue it's his best.
1951 The Idiot - haven't seen it. It may be the streak breaker.
1950 Rashomon - all time classic.
Frank Capra (I left out his war documentaries. Most of the time he left his name off, anyhow)
1948 State of the Union - classic Tracy and Hepburn.
1946 It's a Wonderful Life - all time classic.
1944 Arsenic and Old Lace - all time classic.
1941 Meet John Doe - lesser known, but no slouch and very Capra-esque.
1939 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington - all time classic.
1938 You Can't Take It with You - great
1937 Lost Horizon - great.
1936 Mr. Deeds Goes to Town - Capra classic.
As for Hitchcock, I would pick his early to mid-40s output.
1946 Notorious - my favorite Hitchcock.
1945 Spellbound - classic Hitchcock.
1944 Lifeboat - classic directing within constraints film.
1943 Shadow of a Doubt - Hitchcock's favorite.
1942 Saboteur - streak breaker? Still it has enough classic Hitchcock moments to not be a slouch.
1941 Suspicion - perfect Hollywood-ish Hitchcock. Cary Grant - as a killer?
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 6:58 AM on June 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
I don't understand how Hitchcock's not on their list.
The Wrong Man -- 1956
The Man Who Knew Too Much -- 1956
To Catch a Thief -- 1955
The Trouble with Harry -- 1955
Dial M for Murder -- 1954
Rear Window -- 1954
(Darnit, Aznable. When I started typing this, before meetings at work, no one had mentioned Hitchcock yet!)
posted by DigDoug at 7:02 AM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
Alfred Hitchcock made Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960) and The Birds (1963) without so much as batting an eyelid. Watch those films and goggle at a purple patch that no-one can argue with. Is 1964’s Marnie as good? Auteurists and Hitchcock obsessives make great claims for it, but – by those very high standards – it doesn’t feel quite so canonical.BUT, his previous 6 are all impressive too. At least as much as Marnie.
The Wrong Man -- 1956
The Man Who Knew Too Much -- 1956
To Catch a Thief -- 1955
The Trouble with Harry -- 1955
Dial M for Murder -- 1954
Rear Window -- 1954
(Darnit, Aznable. When I started typing this, before meetings at work, no one had mentioned Hitchcock yet!)
posted by DigDoug at 7:02 AM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
For Hitchcock I would hasten to add Rebecca and Foreign Correspondent which come right before Suspicion and are both brilliant.
posted by wabbittwax at 7:08 AM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by wabbittwax at 7:08 AM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
No mention of Yasujirô Ozu? I haven't seen enough of his films to make a list but did see enough of them to deem it highly unlikely that he made a dud.
posted by Kosmob0t at 7:16 AM on June 30, 2016
posted by Kosmob0t at 7:16 AM on June 30, 2016
I couldn't believe they didn't mention Julien Bordelon, who in the late sixties and seventies had an amazing streak consisting of The Butterfly and the Violin (1969), The Blue Wall (1971) (a huge influence on the Italian Soft Wave), Children of Montluçon (1974), Train Stories (1975), and Vardon and Nanette (1978).
But then I remembered in 1970 he did Fishfarter so that's probably why they discounted him.
posted by beerperson at 7:18 AM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
But then I remembered in 1970 he did Fishfarter so that's probably why they discounted him.
posted by beerperson at 7:18 AM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
Sergio Leone had a good streak with A Fistful of Dollars, A Few Dollars More, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West, and Duck, You Sucker. Not all well received, but they're still masterpieces. Clint Eastwood gets close but has a few stinkers in the middle of his best stuff.
posted by mattamatic at 7:20 AM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by mattamatic at 7:20 AM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
Doesn't meet the article criterion, but was a little astonished to find out that Shyam Benegal trotted out Ankur (1973), Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976) and Bhumika (1977) within a 4-year period.
For those not familiar with these movies, follow the Wikipedia link above, or better yet, go watch them.
posted by splitpeasoup at 7:36 AM on June 30, 2016
For those not familiar with these movies, follow the Wikipedia link above, or better yet, go watch them.
posted by splitpeasoup at 7:36 AM on June 30, 2016
Come on, Tom Six. Churn through Human Centipedes IV and V already. You're so close!
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 7:40 AM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 7:40 AM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by beerperson at 7:54 AM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
Seeing Cassavetes' Faces, Husbands, Minnie and Moskowitz, A Woman Under the Influence, and The Killing of a Chinese Bookie over consecutive nights at a retrospective was probably the most intense cinematic experience I've ever had. It was a process of learning a new dramatic language, a new understanding of adulthood and a deep dive into the mindset of those born in the 1920s and '30s.
posted by bendybendy at 8:01 AM on June 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by bendybendy at 8:01 AM on June 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
What about Terry Gilliam? Time Bandits, Brazil, Adventures of Baron Muchasen (I will fight you on this one if you say it is bad), The Fisher King, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
posted by Hactar at 8:02 AM on June 30, 2016 [19 favorites]
posted by Hactar at 8:02 AM on June 30, 2016 [19 favorites]
What about Terry Gilliam?
Are we counting all the ones he tried to do in between the actual movies?
posted by Etrigan at 8:04 AM on June 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
Are we counting all the ones he tried to do in between the actual movies?
posted by Etrigan at 8:04 AM on June 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
I don't think the word rare means what they think it means.
Multiple directors in each decade, in a field that rewards success with more opportunity. Yes, weighed against the pure number of films made in the last century, the number of directors is small, but the frequency of streaks is hardly rare.
posted by OHenryPacey at 8:08 AM on June 30, 2016
Multiple directors in each decade, in a field that rewards success with more opportunity. Yes, weighed against the pure number of films made in the last century, the number of directors is small, but the frequency of streaks is hardly rare.
posted by OHenryPacey at 8:08 AM on June 30, 2016
This list is just a depressing reminder that almost all of my favorite movies were made by men.
posted by a strong female character at 8:30 AM on June 30, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by a strong female character at 8:30 AM on June 30, 2016 [8 favorites]
Punch-Drunk Love would seem like a streak breaker to me on the grounds that it's garbage.
posted by Artw at 8:48 AM on June 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Artw at 8:48 AM on June 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
For John Ford,
1940 The Long Voyage Home
1940 The Grapes of Wrath
1939 Drums Along the Mohawk
1939 Young Mr. Lincoln
1939 Stagecoach
Might qualify, I haven't seen Young Mr. Lincoln, but from what I've seen it's supposed to be good.
posted by Carillon at 8:50 AM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
1940 The Long Voyage Home
1940 The Grapes of Wrath
1939 Drums Along the Mohawk
1939 Young Mr. Lincoln
1939 Stagecoach
Might qualify, I haven't seen Young Mr. Lincoln, but from what I've seen it's supposed to be good.
posted by Carillon at 8:50 AM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
James Cameron
The Terminator (1984)
Aliens (1986)
The Abyss (1989)
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
True Lies (1994) (some would say it's a streak-breaker, I would not)
Titanic (1997)
posted by wabbittwax at 8:56 AM on June 30, 2016 [10 favorites]
The Terminator (1984)
Aliens (1986)
The Abyss (1989)
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
True Lies (1994) (some would say it's a streak-breaker, I would not)
Titanic (1997)
posted by wabbittwax at 8:56 AM on June 30, 2016 [10 favorites]
I would add David Fincher:
Se7en (1995)
The Game (1997)
Fight Club (1999)
Panic Room (2002)
Zodiac (2007)
(Streak breaker: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008))
Also:
Immediate thought: John Carpenter. Boom. He's on there. Awesome.
posted by brundlefly
Is The Fog really that good? I love Carpenter, but I think you have to squint a little to make that list work. David Cronenberg is the modern horror director they really should have run with [...]
What's this version of eponysterical irony called? Eponyronic?
posted by ejs at 9:02 AM on June 30, 2016 [6 favorites]
Se7en (1995)
The Game (1997)
Fight Club (1999)
Panic Room (2002)
Zodiac (2007)
(Streak breaker: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008))
Also:
Immediate thought: John Carpenter. Boom. He's on there. Awesome.
posted by brundlefly
Is The Fog really that good? I love Carpenter, but I think you have to squint a little to make that list work. David Cronenberg is the modern horror director they really should have run with [...]
What's this version of eponysterical irony called? Eponyronic?
posted by ejs at 9:02 AM on June 30, 2016 [6 favorites]
Except Panic Room wasn't a great film. I would, however, add Alien 3 to the beginning of that list. Despite all the criticism about the death of Newt, and all the interference by the studio, it's still a great film.
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 9:11 AM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 9:11 AM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
Given the ongoing critical rehabilitation of Paul Verhoeven, you could probably cobble together a serious argument for the following five movies as a "streak":
RoboCop (1987)
Total Recall (1990)
Basic Instinct (1992)
Showgirls (1995) (yes, people do defend this one)
Starship Troopers (1997)
All five of these toe the line between vulgarity & excess and send-ups of vulgarity & excess, which is why you'll find defenders of each one.
posted by Johnny Assay at 9:13 AM on June 30, 2016 [12 favorites]
RoboCop (1987)
Total Recall (1990)
Basic Instinct (1992)
Showgirls (1995) (yes, people do defend this one)
Starship Troopers (1997)
All five of these toe the line between vulgarity & excess and send-ups of vulgarity & excess, which is why you'll find defenders of each one.
posted by Johnny Assay at 9:13 AM on June 30, 2016 [12 favorites]
It's an interesting mess, but still a mess. I'd say Panic Room is the better of the two, TBH.
posted by Artw at 9:13 AM on June 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Artw at 9:13 AM on June 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
I agree that Alien 3 is good, but since David Fincher himself hated it, it might be an insult to add it to his list.
posted by ejs at 9:16 AM on June 30, 2016
posted by ejs at 9:16 AM on June 30, 2016
I suspect the good-but-come-on-really-is-it-great is a bigger enemy of this kind of list than the outright stinker.
posted by Artw at 9:22 AM on June 30, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by Artw at 9:22 AM on June 30, 2016 [7 favorites]
Are we counting all the ones he tried to do in between the actual movies?
Well, Lost in La Mancha was actually an interesting documentary. So maybe?
posted by Hactar at 9:43 AM on June 30, 2016
Well, Lost in La Mancha was actually an interesting documentary. So maybe?
posted by Hactar at 9:43 AM on June 30, 2016
I will defend the brilliant hilarity of Showgirls until my death
posted by a strong female character at 9:43 AM on June 30, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by a strong female character at 9:43 AM on June 30, 2016 [5 favorites]
I will defend the brilliant hilarity of Showgirls until my death
Hopefully, while flailing violently in a swimming pool.
posted by wabbittwax at 9:46 AM on June 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
Hopefully, while flailing violently in a swimming pool.
posted by wabbittwax at 9:46 AM on June 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
What do you win for defending Showgirls?
posted by Artw at 9:58 AM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 9:58 AM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
The warm feelings of being right
posted by the phlegmatic king at 10:03 AM on June 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by the phlegmatic king at 10:03 AM on June 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
"Being There" killed Hal Ashby's streak...What?
posted by cazoo at 10:15 AM on June 30, 2016 [15 favorites]
posted by cazoo at 10:15 AM on June 30, 2016 [15 favorites]
I could see including David Lynch, but everyone has their own idea of what his bad movies are. For me, the six-film streak would be Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Dune, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. The obvious sticking point there is Dune, which I think on balance is a work of genius, despite its flaws; Fire Walk with Me is a polarizing film, too, but I would rank it among Lynch's best. But at the same time, films like Lost Highway and Inland Empire have their champions, and I think these are mostly messes. The former is a sketch for the far superior Mulholland Drive; the latter is just a compendium of odds and ends that Lynch threw together at random, it would appear.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 10:17 AM on June 30, 2016
posted by kittens for breakfast at 10:17 AM on June 30, 2016
can't believe they overlooked michael bay
posted by poffin boffin at 10:26 AM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 10:26 AM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
I feel sure that guy is going to blow up one day.
posted by maxsparber at 10:34 AM on June 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by maxsparber at 10:34 AM on June 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
You're leaving out The Ice Pirates!
posted by Etrigan at 11:13 AM on June 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 11:13 AM on June 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
Paranoia Agent was a TV show but I'm willing to include it if you are.
posted by RustyBrooks at 11:27 AM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by RustyBrooks at 11:27 AM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
I don't think I've ever hated a movie as much as I hate "Perfect Blue". It is a perfect trainwreck combination of intense misogyny and humorlessness.
posted by a strong female character at 11:40 AM on June 30, 2016
posted by a strong female character at 11:40 AM on June 30, 2016
Jafar Panahi
2006 Offside (if we don't)
2003 Crimson Gold
2000 The Circle
1997 Ardekoul (if we count a short)
1997 The Mirror
1995 The White Balloon
Also what do we do with someone like Wiseman, who I woul argue, might have a streak of 12
posted by PinkMoose at 11:48 AM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
2006 Offside (if we don't)
2003 Crimson Gold
2000 The Circle
1997 Ardekoul (if we count a short)
1997 The Mirror
1995 The White Balloon
Also what do we do with someone like Wiseman, who I woul argue, might have a streak of 12
posted by PinkMoose at 11:48 AM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
Jackie Brown seems like the weak link there to me -- it's good if way too long, but not as good as the films that surround it. Also, it gets hard to account for Tarantino's films starting with Kill Bill: is it two movies or, as originally intended, one? If Death-proof is his fifth film, I can't imagine anyone would argue that's a streak.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 11:50 AM on June 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by kittens for breakfast at 11:50 AM on June 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
No Howard Hawks?
Ball of Fire
Air Force
To Have and Have Not
The Big Sleep
Red River
The Hitchock ommission is not entirely outrageous -- Hitch did have some duds in between his masterpieces -- but I think a strong argument could be made for two five-film streaks for Hitch:
Suspicion
Saboteur
Shadow of a Doubt
Spellbound
Notorious
(This is somewhat of a cheat, since Lifeboat should be on that list and I omit it because it's too talky and static)
The Wrong Man
Vertigo
North by Northwest
Psycho
The Birds
The Wrong Man holds up very well and is slowly coming around to being seen as one of his better films of the period. It's certainly one of Henry Fonda's best performances.
And Billy Wilder -- this stretch of films is almost 100% perfection:
A Foreign Affair
Sunset Blvd.
Ace in the Hole
Stalag 17
Sabrina
posted by blucevalo at 12:08 PM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
Ball of Fire
Air Force
To Have and Have Not
The Big Sleep
Red River
The Hitchock ommission is not entirely outrageous -- Hitch did have some duds in between his masterpieces -- but I think a strong argument could be made for two five-film streaks for Hitch:
Suspicion
Saboteur
Shadow of a Doubt
Spellbound
Notorious
(This is somewhat of a cheat, since Lifeboat should be on that list and I omit it because it's too talky and static)
The Wrong Man
Vertigo
North by Northwest
Psycho
The Birds
The Wrong Man holds up very well and is slowly coming around to being seen as one of his better films of the period. It's certainly one of Henry Fonda's best performances.
And Billy Wilder -- this stretch of films is almost 100% perfection:
A Foreign Affair
Sunset Blvd.
Ace in the Hole
Stalag 17
Sabrina
posted by blucevalo at 12:08 PM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
I've only seen a few of his movies, but he has a stellar rep—no love for Ernst Lubitsch?
posted by kenko at 12:15 PM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by kenko at 12:15 PM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'm glad they articulated that this list is highly subjective and that they are aiming for those high brow directors everybody knows. If they are not going to go with Marnie for Hitchcock or Bresson's Joan film then it is a bit surprising some of the filmmakers they end up chosing.
Like Paul Thomas Anderson? Magnolia and The Master are pretty weak in my estimation saved only by the performances. The central bravura performance in There Will Be Blood is what holds that film together I think. As much as I like Ashby, I don't know if his Bound for Glory is a particularly strong film. The Fog is definitely the weak link in Carpenter's run. Elia Kazan's Baby Doll or Wild River? ugh no thanks. I loathe Barry Lyndon beyond words. In that otherwise great run for Mackendrick I find his Mandy weak compared to the other films. One thing though I'd extend the Powell & Pressburger films with Contraband (1940), 49th Parallel (1941), One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942). All great entertaining wartime films. And I'd expand it beyond Red Shoes with The Small Back Room (1949) which is really underrated. After that they are way more uneven though Tales of Hoffman is a standout. The weakest in the run is Black Narcissus but mostly because of the Brown face which has aged badly.
Soderbergh mentioned above had a great run there. Nthing Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Abbas Kiarostami. Edward Yang is good but a lot of his films are not widely available in North America (I've seen 2 on that list - both are great). Shyam Benegal is really not as well known as he should be. I'd add Ritwik Ghatak and Satyajit Ray both ith great runs.
the latter is just a compendium of odds and ends that Lynch threw together at random, it would appear.
You should rewatch Inland Empire again but realise it is a non-linear narrative. All those "odds and ends" as you call them are related to each other. Each scene builds onto each other - a multi layered onion. Lost Highway is the same way but more linear.
posted by Ashwagandha at 1:19 PM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
Like Paul Thomas Anderson? Magnolia and The Master are pretty weak in my estimation saved only by the performances. The central bravura performance in There Will Be Blood is what holds that film together I think. As much as I like Ashby, I don't know if his Bound for Glory is a particularly strong film. The Fog is definitely the weak link in Carpenter's run. Elia Kazan's Baby Doll or Wild River? ugh no thanks. I loathe Barry Lyndon beyond words. In that otherwise great run for Mackendrick I find his Mandy weak compared to the other films. One thing though I'd extend the Powell & Pressburger films with Contraband (1940), 49th Parallel (1941), One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942). All great entertaining wartime films. And I'd expand it beyond Red Shoes with The Small Back Room (1949) which is really underrated. After that they are way more uneven though Tales of Hoffman is a standout. The weakest in the run is Black Narcissus but mostly because of the Brown face which has aged badly.
Soderbergh mentioned above had a great run there. Nthing Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Abbas Kiarostami. Edward Yang is good but a lot of his films are not widely available in North America (I've seen 2 on that list - both are great). Shyam Benegal is really not as well known as he should be. I'd add Ritwik Ghatak and Satyajit Ray both ith great runs.
the latter is just a compendium of odds and ends that Lynch threw together at random, it would appear.
You should rewatch Inland Empire again but realise it is a non-linear narrative. All those "odds and ends" as you call them are related to each other. Each scene builds onto each other - a multi layered onion. Lost Highway is the same way but more linear.
posted by Ashwagandha at 1:19 PM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
Eh, I'm not really feeling it. I get what Lost Highway is doing, I just don't think it's very good at it. It has its moments. Inland Empire does, too, but I think the whole "it's a non-linear narrative" argument is kinda weak, to be honest. It seems like Lynch shot a bunch of improved stuff with his friends and eventually stitched it all into one colossal home movie. If that's your thing, okay. I found it to be a monumental waste of time sporadically broken up by cool short subjects.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 1:28 PM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by kittens for breakfast at 1:28 PM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
Jim Jarmusch:
1986 Down by Law
1989 Mystery Train
1991 Night on Earth
1995 Dead Man
1999 Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
2003 Coffee and Cigarettes
2005 Broken Flowers
1984's Stranger Than Paradise was well-received, but I haven't seen it
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 1:45 PM on June 30, 2016 [6 favorites]
1986 Down by Law
1989 Mystery Train
1991 Night on Earth
1995 Dead Man
1999 Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
2003 Coffee and Cigarettes
2005 Broken Flowers
1984's Stranger Than Paradise was well-received, but I haven't seen it
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 1:45 PM on June 30, 2016 [6 favorites]
Spielberg's greatest period kind of gets fucked up by 1941 and Temple of Doom turning out to be super racist in a modern light. His best continuous run may actually be Minority Report to Munich, and those aren't really his star films. The Lost World breaking up Jurrasic Park / Schindlers List and Amistad / Saving Private Ryan does him no favours either.
posted by Artw at 1:57 PM on June 30, 2016
posted by Artw at 1:57 PM on June 30, 2016
Yeah, it's weird how Spielberg just keeps laying eggs every third or fourth time out. I guess this is inevitable when a filmmaker is that prolific.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 2:03 PM on June 30, 2016
posted by kittens for breakfast at 2:03 PM on June 30, 2016
> (This is somewhat of a cheat, since Lifeboat should be on that list and I omit it because it's too talky and static)
That's a total cheat; if we're allowed to omit movies we don't like, everybody can be on the list!
posted by languagehat at 2:09 PM on June 30, 2016 [5 favorites]
That's a total cheat; if we're allowed to omit movies we don't like, everybody can be on the list!
posted by languagehat at 2:09 PM on June 30, 2016 [5 favorites]
Only everybody who has made at least five good movies! (I'm looking at you, M. Night Shyamalan... Or actually, not looking at you.)
posted by ejs at 2:19 PM on June 30, 2016
posted by ejs at 2:19 PM on June 30, 2016
I know a lot of people can't stand Terrence Malick - and I get it, I really do - but despite the 20-year-gap, I think one could make the case for him:
1973 Badlands (watch it for the first time or again, just make sure you've seen it before you die)
1978 Days of Heaven
1998 The Thin Red Line
2005 The New World
2011 The Tree of Life
posted by ORthey at 2:25 PM on June 30, 2016 [5 favorites]
1973 Badlands (watch it for the first time or again, just make sure you've seen it before you die)
1978 Days of Heaven
1998 The Thin Red Line
2005 The New World
2011 The Tree of Life
posted by ORthey at 2:25 PM on June 30, 2016 [5 favorites]
Cronenberg's run from Scanners on is pretty damn great:
Scanners
Videodrome
The Dead Zone
The Fly
Dead Ringers
Naked Lunch
posted by Artw at 2:31 PM on June 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
Scanners
Videodrome
The Dead Zone
The Fly
Dead Ringers
Naked Lunch
posted by Artw at 2:31 PM on June 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
Was going to go with Takeshi Kitano's run from Hana-Bi to Zatoichi, but I forget about Brother in the middle. Getting 5 in a row *is* hard!
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 2:32 PM on June 30, 2016
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 2:32 PM on June 30, 2016
Sergio Leone:
Dollars Trilogy
Once Upon A Time in the West
Duck You Sucker AKA Fistfull of Dynamite AKA Once Upon a Time in the Revolution
posted by Artw at 2:36 PM on June 30, 2016
Dollars Trilogy
Once Upon A Time in the West
Duck You Sucker AKA Fistfull of Dynamite AKA Once Upon a Time in the Revolution
posted by Artw at 2:36 PM on June 30, 2016
Has Miyazaki ever made a film that was not great ?
The Wind Rises might be slightly too self indulgent.
posted by Artw at 2:39 PM on June 30, 2016
The Wind Rises might be slightly too self indulgent.
posted by Artw at 2:39 PM on June 30, 2016
I'm not going to argue with this list, although my definition of "great" is stricter than their's. I was going to mention Jean Renoir until I looked at his filmography: his great films are scattered amongst OK but not great films.
Carillon: "Young Mr. Lincoln" is a wonderful, definitely great film.
Sapagan: I'm a huge Bunuel fan, and I agree with your list wholeheartedly.
Pruitt-Igoe: "Stranger than Paradise" is a great film, but I have a problem with "Dead Man".
posted by acrasis at 3:10 PM on June 30, 2016
Carillon: "Young Mr. Lincoln" is a wonderful, definitely great film.
Sapagan: I'm a huge Bunuel fan, and I agree with your list wholeheartedly.
Pruitt-Igoe: "Stranger than Paradise" is a great film, but I have a problem with "Dead Man".
posted by acrasis at 3:10 PM on June 30, 2016
Jean-Pierre Jeunet is another director with a streak arguably ruined by an Alien sequel:
2004: A Very Long Engagement
2001: Amélie
1997: Alien: Resurrection
1995: The City of Lost Children (with co-director Marc Caro)
1991: Delicatessen (with co-director Marc Caro)
posted by mbrubeck at 3:37 PM on June 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
2004: A Very Long Engagement
2001: Amélie
1995: The City of Lost Children (with co-director Marc Caro)
1991: Delicatessen (with co-director Marc Caro)
posted by mbrubeck at 3:37 PM on June 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
I don't think Wes Anderson has ever made a bad film. I don't really have any strong desire to revisit The Life Aquatic, or The Darjeeling Limited, or The Grand Budapest hotel... but they're still good films.
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 3:47 PM on June 30, 2016
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 3:47 PM on June 30, 2016
I would disagree on Darjeeling - that was the one where it all came a bit too much to bear. Weirdly since then he's detached from reality further and gone even more twee and storybookish and I love the results.
posted by Artw at 3:57 PM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 3:57 PM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
How about Martin Brest?
1982: Fast Times At Ridgemont High
1984: Beverly Hills Cop
1985: Spies Like Us
1988: Midnight Run
1992: Scent of A Woman
Hoo-ha! That's some streak!
posted by ericbop at 4:19 PM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
1982: Fast Times At Ridgemont High
1984: Beverly Hills Cop
1985: Spies Like Us
1988: Midnight Run
1992: Scent of A Woman
Hoo-ha! That's some streak!
posted by ericbop at 4:19 PM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
Zhang Yimou
1990 Ju Dou
1991 Raise the Red Lantern
1992 The Story of Qui Ju
1994 To Live
1995 Shanghai Triad
(Although I don't remember seeing the last one)
posted by TWinbrook8 at 4:27 PM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
1990 Ju Dou
1991 Raise the Red Lantern
1992 The Story of Qui Ju
1994 To Live
1995 Shanghai Triad
(Although I don't remember seeing the last one)
posted by TWinbrook8 at 4:27 PM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
Sydney Pollack
1975 Three Days of the Condor
1974 The Yakuza
1973 The Way We Were
1972 Jeremiah Johnson
1969 They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
posted by CosmicRayCharles at 4:31 PM on June 30, 2016
1975 Three Days of the Condor
1974 The Yakuza
1973 The Way We Were
1972 Jeremiah Johnson
1969 They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
posted by CosmicRayCharles at 4:31 PM on June 30, 2016
Is The Ice Storm any good? It's in the middle of my Ang Lee run.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 4:35 PM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by TWinbrook8 at 4:35 PM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
Is The Ice Storm any good? It's in the middle of my Ang Lee run.
Well, it got a Criterion reissue…
posted by Going To Maine at 4:37 PM on June 30, 2016
Well, it got a Criterion reissue…
posted by Going To Maine at 4:37 PM on June 30, 2016
Since Howard Hawks and Billy Wilder were mentioned, after a bunch of searching, and lots of not-quites, I think I found one:
Stanley Kramer
The Defiant Ones
On the Beach
Inherit the Wind
Judgement at Nuremburg
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Ship of Fools (might be a streak breaker)
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
A few almosts: Blake Edwards, Josef von Sternberg, Ernst Lubitch, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Victor Fleming, George Cukor
posted by monopas at 4:47 PM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
Stanley Kramer
The Defiant Ones
On the Beach
Inherit the Wind
Judgement at Nuremburg
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Ship of Fools (might be a streak breaker)
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
A few almosts: Blake Edwards, Josef von Sternberg, Ernst Lubitch, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Victor Fleming, George Cukor
posted by monopas at 4:47 PM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
My almost is Sidney Lumet, who was just prolific enough to suffer from Hitchcock's Disease.
posted by rhizome at 5:50 PM on June 30, 2016
posted by rhizome at 5:50 PM on June 30, 2016
Fast Times At Ridgemont High was directed by Amy Heckerling, not Martin Brest.
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 6:17 PM on June 30, 2016
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 6:17 PM on June 30, 2016
Apparently they dated though.
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 6:23 PM on June 30, 2016
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 6:23 PM on June 30, 2016
I'd argue Truffaut's first five:
The 400 Blows
Shoot the Piano Player
Jules and Jim
The Soft Skin
Fahrenheit 451
Some might quibble over the fifth but, but if we're counting Marnie to keep Hitchock's streak going and Barry Lyndon for Kubrick, then Fahrenheit 451 counts.
posted by pasici at 6:29 PM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
The 400 Blows
Shoot the Piano Player
Jules and Jim
The Soft Skin
Fahrenheit 451
Some might quibble over the fifth but, but if we're counting Marnie to keep Hitchock's streak going and Barry Lyndon for Kubrick, then Fahrenheit 451 counts.
posted by pasici at 6:29 PM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
Eh, I'm not really feeling it.
Fair enough but I think Inland Empire is his most personal (and self-indulgent film) to date. It's non-commercial, made largely with his own money, and here he's answering mostly to himself. That "improvised stuff" is all connected - everything that's good in his other films is in there, all that great subconscious stuff he mines is right there, it's like watching an experimental film, you have to work for it. To my eyes it's what his art has been moving towards, Inland is one the purest visions we've got from him since at least Eraserhead. But you're right though it isn't Dune or Wild At Heart or Blue Velvet... it's better. I get that it is not the most accessible work but hey chacun son cinéma.
I was going to mention Jean Renoir until I looked at his filmography
Funny so was I. Another French stalwart I considered was Chabrol but looking through his filmography (which is pretty big and mixed with a lot of TV) I felt the same way, great stuff mixed with inferior.
How about Fritz Lang -
Der müde Tod [Destiny] (1921)
Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler (1922)
Die Nibelungen (1924)
Metropolis (1927)
Spione (1928)
Frau im Mond [Woman in the Moon] (1929)
M (1931)
Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse (1933)
That's a pretty decent run and he had plenty more films in him before he was done.
posted by Ashwagandha at 6:46 PM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
Fair enough but I think Inland Empire is his most personal (and self-indulgent film) to date. It's non-commercial, made largely with his own money, and here he's answering mostly to himself. That "improvised stuff" is all connected - everything that's good in his other films is in there, all that great subconscious stuff he mines is right there, it's like watching an experimental film, you have to work for it. To my eyes it's what his art has been moving towards, Inland is one the purest visions we've got from him since at least Eraserhead. But you're right though it isn't Dune or Wild At Heart or Blue Velvet... it's better. I get that it is not the most accessible work but hey chacun son cinéma.
I was going to mention Jean Renoir until I looked at his filmography
Funny so was I. Another French stalwart I considered was Chabrol but looking through his filmography (which is pretty big and mixed with a lot of TV) I felt the same way, great stuff mixed with inferior.
How about Fritz Lang -
Der müde Tod [Destiny] (1921)
Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler (1922)
Die Nibelungen (1924)
Metropolis (1927)
Spione (1928)
Frau im Mond [Woman in the Moon] (1929)
M (1931)
Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse (1933)
That's a pretty decent run and he had plenty more films in him before he was done.
posted by Ashwagandha at 6:46 PM on June 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
Some might quibble over the fifth but, but if we're counting Marnie to keep Hitchock's streak going and Barry Lyndon for Kubrick, then Fahrenheit 451 counts.
I guess that it's personal taste but Barry Lyndon might be my favorite Kubrick. I could watch that film every day.
posted by octothorpe at 7:00 PM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
I guess that it's personal taste but Barry Lyndon might be my favorite Kubrick. I could watch that film every day.
posted by octothorpe at 7:00 PM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
I could watch that film every day.
Ha! Octothorpe I salute you! I barely made it through the first time I watched it!
posted by Ashwagandha at 7:08 PM on June 30, 2016
Ha! Octothorpe I salute you! I barely made it through the first time I watched it!
posted by Ashwagandha at 7:08 PM on June 30, 2016
Late weird noir lang might be better. Love Barry lyndon
posted by PinkMoose at 8:43 PM on June 30, 2016
posted by PinkMoose at 8:43 PM on June 30, 2016
They are but if we're talking streaks of 4 or 5 or more films it is harder to say that as there are some weaker films in the mix like Moonfleet, Blue Gardenia, Cloak & Dagger or Secret Beyond the Door... Don't get me wrong those are all enjoyable just not as good as say Rancho Notorious or Big Heat. Those early films however are pretty solid and very influential.
posted by Ashwagandha at 9:12 PM on June 30, 2016
posted by Ashwagandha at 9:12 PM on June 30, 2016
Has Miyazaki ever made a film that was not great ?
Totoro vs Predator only made it to a few art house theaters before the negatives were destroyed.
posted by sebastienbailard at 9:55 PM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
Totoro vs Predator only made it to a few art house theaters before the negatives were destroyed.
posted by sebastienbailard at 9:55 PM on June 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
I think he'd actually make a pretty great Aliens movie. Or maybe even better The Thing.
posted by Artw at 9:58 PM on June 30, 2016
posted by Artw at 9:58 PM on June 30, 2016
Out on a limb here I know, but the Hungarian director Béla Tarr has never made a bad film and for some of us these six films are all classics.
Őszi almanach / Almanac of Fall (1985)
Kárhozat / Damnation (1988)
Sátántangó / Satan's Tango (1994)
Werckmeister harmóniák / Werckmeister Harmonies (2000)
A londoni férfi / The Man from London (2007)
A torinói ló / The Turin Horse (2011)
posted by vac2003 at 11:11 PM on June 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
Őszi almanach / Almanac of Fall (1985)
Kárhozat / Damnation (1988)
Sátántangó / Satan's Tango (1994)
Werckmeister harmóniák / Werckmeister Harmonies (2000)
A londoni férfi / The Man from London (2007)
A torinói ló / The Turin Horse (2011)
posted by vac2003 at 11:11 PM on June 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
No Howard Hawks?
Ball of Fire
Air Force
To Have and Have Not
The Big Sleep
Red River
I came here to add Howard Hawks, too, but my run-of-five would look like this:
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
His Girl Friday (1940)
Sergeant York (1941)
Ball of Fire (1941)
Which means he potentially has nine great films in a row from 1938-1948 -- nearly one every year.
posted by paisley sheep at 12:18 AM on July 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
Ball of Fire
Air Force
To Have and Have Not
The Big Sleep
Red River
I came here to add Howard Hawks, too, but my run-of-five would look like this:
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
His Girl Friday (1940)
Sergeant York (1941)
Ball of Fire (1941)
Which means he potentially has nine great films in a row from 1938-1948 -- nearly one every year.
posted by paisley sheep at 12:18 AM on July 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
Has Miyazaki ever made a film that was not great ?
Totoro vs Predator only made it to a few art house theaters before the negatives were destroyed.
True, but only because audiences found it boring. Totoro took down the Predator in the first minute and the rest of the movie simply consisted of of one long scene of Totoro napping in the forest and occasionally briefly waking to eat acorns.
posted by fairmettle at 6:54 AM on July 1, 2016 [7 favorites]
Totoro vs Predator only made it to a few art house theaters before the negatives were destroyed.
True, but only because audiences found it boring. Totoro took down the Predator in the first minute and the rest of the movie simply consisted of of one long scene of Totoro napping in the forest and occasionally briefly waking to eat acorns.
posted by fairmettle at 6:54 AM on July 1, 2016 [7 favorites]
Would watch.
posted by Artw at 9:28 AM on July 1, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by Artw at 9:28 AM on July 1, 2016 [4 favorites]
only because audiences found it boring.
I think Japanese audiences would love that.
posted by Ashwagandha at 9:50 AM on July 1, 2016
I think Japanese audiences would love that.
posted by Ashwagandha at 9:50 AM on July 1, 2016
Also, it gets hard to account for Tarantino's films starting with Kill Bill: is it two movies or, as originally intended, one?
If the fact that they were theatrically released as two movies isn't sufficient to convince you, I would argue that vol. 1 and vol. 2 are stylistically and tonally different enough to be considered separate movies — more so than the movies in most movie series. vol. 1 is primarily a martial arts movie. vol. 2 is practically a western. (Well, except for the Pai Mei segment, but that serves partly as back story for what comes right after.)
And I came in looking for exactly that same QT streak. Although I haven't seen Jackie Brown, it seems to be well-regarded.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 9:52 AM on July 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
If the fact that they were theatrically released as two movies isn't sufficient to convince you, I would argue that vol. 1 and vol. 2 are stylistically and tonally different enough to be considered separate movies — more so than the movies in most movie series. vol. 1 is primarily a martial arts movie. vol. 2 is practically a western. (Well, except for the Pai Mei segment, but that serves partly as back story for what comes right after.)
And I came in looking for exactly that same QT streak. Although I haven't seen Jackie Brown, it seems to be well-regarded.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 9:52 AM on July 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
There's a whole bunch of bores who will tell you it's the only good QT film, in fact. They're wrong, of course, but we shouldn't count them against it.
posted by Artw at 10:15 AM on July 1, 2016
posted by Artw at 10:15 AM on July 1, 2016
It's not the only good one, but it is my favorite. I have seen it many times.
posted by RustyBrooks at 10:29 AM on July 1, 2016
posted by RustyBrooks at 10:29 AM on July 1, 2016
If the fact that they were theatrically released as two movies isn't sufficient to convince you, I would argue that vol. 1 and vol. 2 are stylistically and tonally different enough to be considered separate movies — more so than the movies in most movie series. vol. 1 is primarily a martial arts movie. vol. 2 is practically a western. (Well, except for the Pai Mei segment, but that serves partly as back story for what comes right after.)
Also, only one of them is any good. (Fight me! No, don’t. De gustibus.)
posted by Going To Maine at 12:13 PM on July 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
Also, only one of them is any good. (Fight me! No, don’t. De gustibus.)
posted by Going To Maine at 12:13 PM on July 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
One of them is cerrainly considerably better than the other.
posted by Artw at 12:38 PM on July 1, 2016
posted by Artw at 12:38 PM on July 1, 2016
I love both Kill Bills. If I were to choose, though, I'd definitely pick the second. The first is great but the second even better. The first a fun remix of kung fu tropes and influences; the second basically a 21st century Leone. Can't really imagine how the hell could they have been combined into one film.
posted by sapagan at 1:13 PM on July 1, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by sapagan at 1:13 PM on July 1, 2016 [3 favorites]
Wait, no Christopher Nolan? Memento (or possibly Following, which I haven't seen) to Interstellar.
posted by gryftir at 1:28 PM on July 1, 2016
posted by gryftir at 1:28 PM on July 1, 2016
Wait, no Christopher Nolan? Memento (or possibly Following, which I haven't seen) to Interstellar.
De gustibus again, but I think that Nolan’s movies have actually aged pretty terribly. They do boffo BO, but then seem to disappear.
posted by Going To Maine at 1:35 PM on July 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
De gustibus again, but I think that Nolan’s movies have actually aged pretty terribly. They do boffo BO, but then seem to disappear.
posted by Going To Maine at 1:35 PM on July 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
I think *I* aged watching interstellar - was close to yelling at the screen before it ended.
posted by Artw at 3:16 PM on July 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 3:16 PM on July 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
I think *I* aged watching interstellar - was close to yelling at the screen before it ended.
I admire your restraint. I was yelling at the screen from the moment MM stumbles on NASA, which is operating some secret last-ditch effort to save humanity? Why does it have to be secret? Downhill from there and that wasn't uphill to begin with.
posted by ORthey at 3:47 PM on July 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
I admire your restraint. I was yelling at the screen from the moment MM stumbles on NASA, which is operating some secret last-ditch effort to save humanity? Why does it have to be secret? Downhill from there and that wasn't uphill to begin with.
posted by ORthey at 3:47 PM on July 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
Almodovar has a case, I think. Although I haven't seen Matador so I'm not positive if that initial run starting with "What Have I Done to Deserve This" would qualify.
posted by cell divide at 4:34 PM on July 1, 2016
posted by cell divide at 4:34 PM on July 1, 2016
Michael Mann?
This seems like a pretty solid run:
The Last of the Mohicans
Heat
The Insider
Ali
Collateral
Sadly Thief and Manhunter have The Keep between them and Band of the Hand after.
posted by octothorpe at 4:51 PM on July 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
This seems like a pretty solid run:
The Last of the Mohicans
Heat
The Insider
Ali
Collateral
Sadly Thief and Manhunter have The Keep between them and Band of the Hand after.
posted by octothorpe at 4:51 PM on July 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
The Keep being TOO awesome, obvs.
posted by Artw at 5:09 PM on July 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 5:09 PM on July 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
I've never seen it because I've read that it was pretty horribly butchered by the studio. Is it still worth a watch? It looks like it's up on Amazon Prime.
posted by octothorpe at 5:17 PM on July 1, 2016
posted by octothorpe at 5:17 PM on July 1, 2016
The Keep is a gorgeous, magnificent film with a dumb script. Look, if we're arguing that movies like Jackie Brown and Panic Room are modern classics, The Keep is 2001: A Frickin' Space Odyssey.
Obviously, Kill Bill Volume 1 is better than the sequel, which is kind of drecky and the beginning of my own personal discontent with QT. I actually get angry when I think about that whole lioness reunited with her cub mountain of text while "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" plays...Jesus Christ, what schlock. The first movie didn't try to sell me a bill of goods. Great action, perfect pacing, snappy dialogue -- Tarantino made a movie great in all the ways his previous films were not, once, and never again.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 5:20 PM on July 1, 2016
Obviously, Kill Bill Volume 1 is better than the sequel, which is kind of drecky and the beginning of my own personal discontent with QT. I actually get angry when I think about that whole lioness reunited with her cub mountain of text while "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" plays...Jesus Christ, what schlock. The first movie didn't try to sell me a bill of goods. Great action, perfect pacing, snappy dialogue -- Tarantino made a movie great in all the ways his previous films were not, once, and never again.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 5:20 PM on July 1, 2016
The dumb script was built TO KEEP SOMETHING IN.
posted by Artw at 6:00 PM on July 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 6:00 PM on July 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
Panic Room isn't the best thing that Fincher ever did but it's a solid thriller and Foster is great in it.
I know that he won't acknowledge it but the "Workprint" cut of Alien^3 is pretty good and so much better than the released version.
posted by octothorpe at 6:02 PM on July 1, 2016
I know that he won't acknowledge it but the "Workprint" cut of Alien^3 is pretty good and so much better than the released version.
posted by octothorpe at 6:02 PM on July 1, 2016
I don't know whether it's a "modern classic", but id gladly watch Jackie Brown any time.
posted by Going To Maine at 6:26 PM on July 1, 2016
posted by Going To Maine at 6:26 PM on July 1, 2016
I was gonna say Francis Coppola, but he had four masterpieces followed by One From the Heart.
Same for John Landis, who did Animal House, Blues Brothers, American Werewolf in London, Trading Places, the music video for Thriller (!), and then.... Into the Night. Oops.
I'd put Fellini on the list for this run: La strada, Il Bidone, Notte di Cabiria, La Dolce Vita, 8½
posted by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam at 2:01 AM on July 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
Same for John Landis, who did Animal House, Blues Brothers, American Werewolf in London, Trading Places, the music video for Thriller (!), and then.... Into the Night. Oops.
I'd put Fellini on the list for this run: La strada, Il Bidone, Notte di Cabiria, La Dolce Vita, 8½
posted by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam at 2:01 AM on July 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
(or possibly Following, which I haven't seen)
Those are my favorite type of Nolan movies.
posted by fairmettle at 2:22 AM on July 2, 2016 [3 favorites]
Those are my favorite type of Nolan movies.
posted by fairmettle at 2:22 AM on July 2, 2016 [3 favorites]
I can usually get through any film but I give up on Following about forty minutes in. It's just deadly boring and amateurish.
posted by octothorpe at 5:25 AM on July 2, 2016
posted by octothorpe at 5:25 AM on July 2, 2016
I think Christopher Nolan is the new M. Night Shyamalan, more or less; within a few years, no one will admit having liked his films.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 9:32 AM on July 2, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by kittens for breakfast at 9:32 AM on July 2, 2016 [4 favorites]
Antonioni: Chung Kuo - Cina (documentary) or The Passenger (narrative)
What?! Passenger is a friggin' masterpiece. Not a streak-breaker.
I'm gonna add the incredible Michael Haneke, who has only ever made one bad film (The Castle), but it was for television, so don't think it counts:
2012 Amour
2009 The White Ribbon
2007 Funny Games
2005 Caché
2003 Time of the Wolf
2001 The Piano Teacher
2000 Code Unknown
1997 Funny Games
1994 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance
1992 Benny's Video
1989 The Seventh Continent
Also, JP Melville's final films:
1972 Un Flic
1970 Le Cercle Rouge
1969 The Army of Shadows
1967 Le Samouraï
1966 Le Deuxieme Souffle
And I'll second Bela Tarr.
Those of you citing Tarantino are forgetting that dreadful movie he made that takes place in a hotel. Terrible, terrible film (and yeah, I know he only made a 1/3 of it but it was bad enough to count).
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 6:12 PM on July 2, 2016 [4 favorites]
What?! Passenger is a friggin' masterpiece. Not a streak-breaker.
I'm gonna add the incredible Michael Haneke, who has only ever made one bad film (The Castle), but it was for television, so don't think it counts:
2012 Amour
2009 The White Ribbon
2007 Funny Games
2005 Caché
2003 Time of the Wolf
2001 The Piano Teacher
2000 Code Unknown
1997 Funny Games
1994 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance
1992 Benny's Video
1989 The Seventh Continent
Also, JP Melville's final films:
1972 Un Flic
1970 Le Cercle Rouge
1969 The Army of Shadows
1967 Le Samouraï
1966 Le Deuxieme Souffle
And I'll second Bela Tarr.
Those of you citing Tarantino are forgetting that dreadful movie he made that takes place in a hotel. Terrible, terrible film (and yeah, I know he only made a 1/3 of it but it was bad enough to count).
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 6:12 PM on July 2, 2016 [4 favorites]
Odd thing I noticed in the article- the titles of Imamura and Miyazaki's films are all translated into English, while Carné and Antonioni's are not. What's up that?
posted by Uncle Ira at 7:54 PM on July 2, 2016
posted by Uncle Ira at 7:54 PM on July 2, 2016
Uncle Ira, because they use the same alphabet we do and Japan doesn't.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 12:42 PM on July 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 12:42 PM on July 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
I think Christopher Nolan is the new M. Night Shyamalan, more or less; within a few years, no one will admit having liked his films.
I think there is some truth to this. I remember my friends raving about Memento when it came out. Hotly anticipating being blown away I was, to put it mildly, underwhelmed when I went to see it. Great gimmick but such a lackluster story to go along with it. Same with Inception, I wanted to like that movie but man aside from the gimmick it is a fair to middling story barely held together by the performances. I liked Prestige though I'll give him that one.
posted by Ashwagandha at 5:51 PM on July 3, 2016
I think there is some truth to this. I remember my friends raving about Memento when it came out. Hotly anticipating being blown away I was, to put it mildly, underwhelmed when I went to see it. Great gimmick but such a lackluster story to go along with it. Same with Inception, I wanted to like that movie but man aside from the gimmick it is a fair to middling story barely held together by the performances. I liked Prestige though I'll give him that one.
posted by Ashwagandha at 5:51 PM on July 3, 2016
Those of you citing Tarantino are forgetting that dreadful movie he made that takes place in a hotel. Terrible, terrible film (and yeah, I know he only made a 1/3 of it but it was bad enough to count).
Are we counting the less good part of Dusk till Dawn then? Which means the more good part would count towards Rodriguez.
Oh never mind, the solidly boring The Faculty blocks anything going on there.
posted by Artw at 9:29 PM on July 3, 2016
Are we counting the less good part of Dusk till Dawn then? Which means the more good part would count towards Rodriguez.
Oh never mind, the solidly boring The Faculty blocks anything going on there.
posted by Artw at 9:29 PM on July 3, 2016
ORthey: "I admire your restraint. I was yelling at the screen from the moment MM stumbles on NASA, which is operating some secret last-ditch effort to save humanity? Why does it have to be secret?"
...for the reason they gave in the movie? I mean, literally, Cooper asks "Why secret?" and Professor Brand answers "Public opinion won’t allow spending on space exploration. Not when we’re struggling to put food on the table." I don't know how they could have made the answer any more explicit.
Now, I'm not saying you have to like that reason. You could totally think it sucks eggs. But there's a big difference between "The reason they gave for it being secret was lame/unrealistic/stupid/etc." and "Why does it have to be secret?"
posted by Bugbread at 4:40 AM on July 4, 2016
...for the reason they gave in the movie? I mean, literally, Cooper asks "Why secret?" and Professor Brand answers "Public opinion won’t allow spending on space exploration. Not when we’re struggling to put food on the table." I don't know how they could have made the answer any more explicit.
Now, I'm not saying you have to like that reason. You could totally think it sucks eggs. But there's a big difference between "The reason they gave for it being secret was lame/unrealistic/stupid/etc." and "Why does it have to be secret?"
posted by Bugbread at 4:40 AM on July 4, 2016
kittens for breakfast: "I think Christopher Nolan is the new M. Night Shyamalan, more or less; within a few years, no one will admit having liked his films."
I think that will be true for the Batman movies, but I'm not so sure about the others.
Plus the Sixth Sense was a good movie. There's a reason that Shyamalan became famous. The problem was that it took a few movies for folks to realize that he had one good movie in him and it was all used up.
posted by Bugbread at 4:43 AM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
I think that will be true for the Batman movies, but I'm not so sure about the others.
Plus the Sixth Sense was a good movie. There's a reason that Shyamalan became famous. The problem was that it took a few movies for folks to realize that he had one good movie in him and it was all used up.
posted by Bugbread at 4:43 AM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
I would say that Memento and The Prestige are his only fully successful films for me but he's interesting enough even when he's wrong-headed that I'll go to see any of his movies.
posted by octothorpe at 7:05 AM on July 4, 2016
posted by octothorpe at 7:05 AM on July 4, 2016
>>interesting enough even when he's wrong-headed
Yes, i think it can be better to be an interesting failure then boring success when it comes to film.
posted by Ashwagandha at 7:37 AM on July 5, 2016
Yes, i think it can be better to be an interesting failure then boring success when it comes to film.
posted by Ashwagandha at 7:37 AM on July 5, 2016
And for posterity, Kieślowski:
A Short Film About Killing (Krótki film o zabijaniu 1988)
A Short Film About Love (Krótki film o miłości 1988)
The Double Life of Véronique (La Double vie de Véronique/Podwójne życie Weroniki 1991)
Three Colors: Blue (Trois couleurs: Bleu/Trzy kolory: Niebieski 1993)
Three Colors: White (Trois couleurs: Blanc/Trzy kolory: Biały 1994)
Three Colors: Red (Trois couleurs: Rouge/Trzy kolory: Czerwony 1994)
posted by ersatz at 11:17 AM on July 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
A Short Film About Killing (Krótki film o zabijaniu 1988)
A Short Film About Love (Krótki film o miłości 1988)
The Double Life of Véronique (La Double vie de Véronique/Podwójne życie Weroniki 1991)
Three Colors: Blue (Trois couleurs: Bleu/Trzy kolory: Niebieski 1993)
Three Colors: White (Trois couleurs: Blanc/Trzy kolory: Biały 1994)
Three Colors: Red (Trois couleurs: Rouge/Trzy kolory: Czerwony 1994)
posted by ersatz at 11:17 AM on July 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
The problem was that it took a few movies for folks to realize that he had one good movie in him and it was all used up.
The Visit was a good movie.
posted by maxsparber at 11:49 AM on July 6, 2016
The Visit was a good movie.
posted by maxsparber at 11:49 AM on July 6, 2016
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