Herzog. Herzog has almost equal importance in the documentary community but of course that’s not counted here. I’m a much bigger fan of his five Kinski collaborations than TSPDT and not as sure on his
The third film from Quentin Tarantino--- a very strong effort if falling short of the transcendent brilliance of Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs Tarantino’s first (and only to date) adaption- Elmore Leonard’s “Rum Punch”
Griffith. Five years ago I would not have Griffith in the top 50 directors of all-time. Another example of why this is an always-evolving list that I hope to pause and update every 4-5 years.
A three-pronged masterpiece--- magnificent writing (on par with or superior to the great works of say Bergman or Before Sunset), tour de force direction behind the camera (the dance contest sequence, the freeze frame on
A remarkable debut—a born virtuoso-- like Welles, The Coen Brothers or our two fathers of the French New Wave this one comes direct from Tarantino as a wholly realized voice and cinematic vision A taut
Kenneth Lonergan’s debut- an undoubtedly gifted writerGratifying setting-- small-town AmericaGlowing 4 stars from Travers and EbertRich characterizations and performances from Laura Linney, Mark Ruffalo, Matthew Broderick and the young Rory Culkin – Linney is wonderful-
Kalatozov. With only three films in the archives (I’ve tried to find others but no luck yet) Kalatozov is an interesting case. His three films are big stylistically muscular ambitious films and the images below
Satyajit Ray. He’s much more than just the Apu trilogy as recent viewings of Charulata, The Big City and The Music Room have proven. Ray’s case is he is a Mount Rushmore realist (along with
11 separate vignettes filmed over the course of nearly two decades Black and white, stationary camera, urban coffee houses—vices (cigarettes and coffee as the title states), graffiti on the wall to start us on the
Like all of Jarmusch’s work- a heavy formal achievement—here the main feats are the dissolve edits (largely in the first 30 minutes), Rza’s score, and the meditative readings (through title card breaks)—the pairing of all
Hypnotic masterpiece – Jarmusch’s greatest achievement Goes back to black and white photography after two consecutive color films- he’s 3/3 even through 6 films at the time of Dead Man This is his first narrative
A weaker effort (box office bomb not that that matters) from Lubitsch which is no insult but not enough to vie for one of his best or 1941’s best. A remake of his own work
