Hooper. Tom Hooper is a British director who came up in television like so many directors and auteurs before him since the 1950’s. Depending on how you count his television work (I have one TV miniseries and TV movie below in the archives) he has made eight or nine films—and all but his most recent- Cats in 2019- land in the archives. It is a difficult time to mount a defense for Hooper with Cats as a supposed dumpster-fire disaster in 2019 (I have not seen it yet, but do plan to see it). Given his track-record though, if he were a stock, I’d buy it all right now while it is so low. My guess is he bounces back and his next film is exceptional just like The King’s Speech and The Danish Girl. Other great directors have won the infamous Golden Raspberry (Razzie) for worst film and/or worst director including Michael Cimino, Gus Van Sant, and Paul Verhoeven. The case for Hooper is the consistency in his work (both in content and in style) and the depth of filmography already (six archiveable films).
one of a dozen or more stand-alone striking images from The King’s Speech– Hooper’s best work
Best film: The King’s Speech. It is one of those films that would have been better off not to win best picture in 2010. No, it is not as good as The Social Network, Black Swan, Inception and a few others from 2010—but it is stunning to look at— and formally consistent with the proclivity for close-up shots— both within the film itself (set up right from the opening titles with a close-up) and Hooper’s larger oeuvre.
formally consistent with the proclivity for close-up shots— both within the film itself (set up right from the opening titles with a close-up here) and Hooper’s larger oeuvre.
total archiveable films: 6
Les Misérables isn’t a complete artistic triumph— but it is full of Hooper’s trademark close-ups and several strong compositions like this one here
top 100 films: 0
top 500 films: 0
top 100 films of the decade: 0
most overrated: Tom Hooper does not have an overrated film. TSPDT didn’t bite on The King’s Speech like the Academy did (thank goodness) – but now they’re too far the other way and they are underrating having it as #23 on the top 1000 for the 21st century consensus list. It is the only Hooper film rated on either TSPDT list- hence nothing being overrated.
most underrated : It is The Danish Girl which is simply breathtakingly beautiful. It doesn’t land as one of the 43 films from 2015 on the TSPDT consensus list and should.
The Danish Girl- I was struck by it in theater, and then upon closer inspection it was even stronger
gem I want to spotlight : The Danish Girl. I hate to pick the same film—but I was struck by it in theater, and then upon closer inspection it was even stronger. It is like the lite version of Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner—the story of an artist- that also has artistic ambitions and compositions itself— certainly proof Tom Hooper is indeed an artist if The King’s Speech wasn’t enough.
belongs on a wall in a museum composition here…
….and another here- jaw-droppers
stylistic innovations/traits:
- Close-ups– Hooper may have been surpassed by Barry Jenkins here and may not quite be up to the work of Jonathan Demme—but he is dedicated to shot choice and there are some strikingly shots here throughout his work. As I said above on The King Speech – his best work- he sets it up from the very outset. This often makes for some very good performances.
Close-ups– Hooper may have been surpassed by Barry Jenkins here and may not quite be up to the work of Jonathan Demme—but he is dedicated to shot choice and there are some strikingly shots here throughout his work
again and again with the close-ups
- Sort of “regal” period pieces, aristocracy (sort of Merchant Ivory meets Visconti) often about political and/or historical biopics – and despite the penchant for close-ups, there is a clear interest in the foreground/background.
despite the penchant for close-ups, there is a clear interest in the foreground/background– look at this shot here from The King’s Speech– matching the the muted colors of his suit with the art (posing as a wall) behind him– really strong
this is a Visconti move- clearly Hooper is in that lineage. Dropping his action in front of a beautiful mural or tapestry
top 10
- The King’s Speech
- The Danish Girl
- John Adams
- Les Misérables
- The Damn United
- Longford
By year and grades
| 2006- Longford | R |
| 2008- John Adams | R |
| 2009- The Damn United | R |
| 2010- The King’s Speech | HR |
| 2012- Les Misérables | R |
| 2015- The Danish Girl | R/HR |
*MP is Masterpiece- top 1-3 quality of the year film
MS is Must-see- top 5-6 quality of the year film
HR is Highly Recommend- top 10 quality of the year film
R is Recommend- outside the top 10 of the year quality film but still in the archives
Robert Redford.Has 3 very good films.Ordinary People,Quiz Show,A River runs through it
Will Redford make the top 250?
@Janith- He will not
I’ve seen the King’s Speech before and I liked it.
Here are some of my thoughts, let me know what you think.
Today I watched The Damned United as I was presently surprised by its quality. Some of the cinematography was striking, some of it’s dialogue was just brilliant and i was really impressed by the flashback narrative and the way the movie was blended with / edited together with documentary footage and movie footage.
The acting was brilliant in many scenes, so were the match scenes and the characterization was brilliant as well. It showed how a man is too ambitious, forgets his friends/assistant and then apologises/ realises his pettiness.
The film form was good with many repeated shots like the shots of Brian outside the dressing room or the players signing.
Did you notice any similarities between Raging Bull? The two main actors and their characters, the sports footage and more.
@Azman- thank you for the share here. I don’t have current notes on The Damn United unfortunately but do look forward to seeing it again and creating a page for it.
It’s better than The King’s Speech, I reckon. Although that might just be because I prefer Michael Sheen and Timothy Spall to Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush.
“I have not seen Cats yet, but plan to see it.”
So… how was it?
@Zane- haha I have not seen it yet- keeps eluding me.