Director's Best

[criterionmaster]

Lolita?

[satantangofan]

My favourite Kubrick's are:

1. A Clockwork Orange
2. Barry Lyndon
3. 2001: A Space Odyssey
4. Full Metal Jacket
5. Dr Strangelove

[agentknight]

Lynch

1. Mulholland Dr. - As much as I love BV, a re-watch convinced me that MD is his greatest film.
2. Blue Velvet - Dennis Hopper's performance is amazing: both disturbing and darkly humorous.
3. Lost Highway - The structure is ingenious.
4. Eraserhead - Although lacking a strong narrative, Eraserhead is filled with unforgettable images and is unique in just about every way. May just be the most bizzare film I have ever seen.
5. The Elephant Man - Deeply flawed, but is a truly emotional experience with a strong and important message.

[kiddo]

What is "deeply flawed" in The Elephant man?

[PTAhole]

Yeah, I always thought the Elephant Man was Lynch's second best (after Blue Velvet.)

[satantangofan]

Agentknight, I'm intrigued to know why you think The Elephant Man is "deeply flawed".

[agentknight]

Sure, it was entertaining, but it was certainly far from perfect. The cinematography bugged me a lot, it seemed ameturish, for lack of a better word. It faded from scene to scene with no consideration for the momentum of the film. Roger Ebert raised a few good points in his review (as much as I hate to admit it >_>). So much of it is pure sentimentalism, so melodramatic and manipulative. To take an except from the review:

The film's philosophy is this shallow: (1)Wow, the Elephant Man sure looked hideous, and (2)gosh, isn't it wonderful how he kept on in spite of everything? This last is in spite of a real possibility that John Merrick's death at twenty-seven might have been suicide.

I agree with this completely.

[misterbalco]

Ingmar Bergman
1.The Seventh Seal (First film that got me into foreign cinema...Still dig it today)
2.Through A Glass Darkly
3.Fanny and Alexander
4.Persona
5.The Passion Of Anna (Underrated gem here!)

Charlie Chaplin
1.The Gold Rush (Duh)
2.City Lights
3.The Circus
4.Modern Times
5.Limelight

Stanley Kubrick
1. Paths Of Glory
A Clockwork Orange
2. Full Medal Jacket
4. Dr. Strangelove
5. 2001: A Space Odyssey

[Clark Nova]

Kurosawa:

1. Seven Samurai (my choice as the greatest film ever made)
2. Ran (might be the most visually beautiful film I've ever seen)
3. Rashomon
4. Yojimbo
5. The Hidden Fortress
6. Sanjuro (very enjoyable, but it felt a little too much like more-of-the-same with Yojimbo)

Cronenberg:

1. Videodrome (amazing how the effects hold up today, as well as his message about the dangers of media running our lives)
2. The Fly
3. Naked Lunch (incredibly strange, but very fun to watch if you can get past that)
4. A History of Violence (very underrated...one of the best films of 2005)

need to see more...

[nonfiction]

Takeshi Kitano

1. Hana-Bi


2. Sonatine


3. A Scene at the Sea


4. Boiling Point


5. Kikujiro


6. Dolls


7. Takeshis'


8. Kid's Return


9. Violent Cop


10. Zatoichi


11. Brother


Haven't seen Getting Any.

[criterionmaster]

My Cassavetes Rankings:

1. Faces



2. Killing of a Chinese Bookie



3. Love Streams



4. Shadows



5. Woman Under the Influence



6. Opening Night



7. A Child is Waiting



8. Gloria