The Top 100 Male Actors of All-Time

@Drake- Imo, you are confusing the material with the abilities of the Director. On Golden Pond is in general a sentimental/family movie (a famous 4 stars from Ebert). If you don’t like these types of movies, that’s fine. Either way, it’s beautifully shot. However something like The Fox is completely different than On Golden Pond, and is brimming with psychological tension. So don’t let what you/I think of On Golden Pond spoil you from watching this. Because The Fox (4 stars from Ebert) is a genuinely great movie. Even though regrettably it is hard to find.

As for Intersection, I loved it. And I can see many didn’t. But the main criticism (including the 1 star panning from Ebert) seems to be that it has “unlikeable characters”. I don’t mind seeing flawed characters being depicted on the screen. For me, it belongs in the top tier or two for DP Vilmos Zsigmond. The film’s main character is a wealthy architect, so it makes sense that the movie looks great.

I do hope you give these films another shot even though we’re worlds apart currently. Cheers.

@Drake- Top 5-6 or so for Vilmos Zsigmond I would say. I should mention The River here as well.

I think The Fox and The Rose are very ambitious films. The way the Rose is shot and written is very different from standard biopics. There are some very long takes to heighten the drama/singing at certain points. Among others (Neon lighting, crane shots, one takes, bookends).

The Fox is by definition very ambitious and controversial. It is from a D.H. Lawrence (Women in Love) novel and very psychological. Certainly reminded me of Polanski works in the 1960’s (Knife in the Water, Repulsion). I wouldn’t say Rydell went full psychological like this film again (which is in a way disappointing) but there are similarities between this film and The River for sure. With the establishing shots of the rural country house and also the staredowns with the animal (Fox/Deer). Ebert makes some good points in his review about this film as well.

I think one of the things I noticed constantly in his films is he isn’t afraid to kill off major characters. Which in itself is an ambitious thing narratively. There was a famous one in the early 1970’s which I haven’t yet seen but all throughout his works major characters get killed.

Other traits I have seen from Rydell are Recurring motifs (Congreve Clock, The Fox, Goons). Bookends. Rural photography, Establishing shots across rivers. Staredowns with animals. Adult dramas. Dissolves. Relationships with children. Deep Focus photography, Phone booth scenes before the climax (The Rose, Intersection), Versatility (both rural and urban dramas), Some instances of symmetrical photography (For the Boys, Intersection) etc.

I found the Vietnam war raid sequence in For the Boys to be quite stunning as well.

@Drake- The Black Dahlia? This wasn’t a film that was on my radar at all. I provided you a range because you asked for one. My main point was Intersection has top shelf Cinematography or “some of the Best Cinematography” in exact terms. It’s faultless and has many eye catching scenes visually. The best one probably being the huge building Geres’ character builds. Not just the exteriors but interiors here are perfection as well. Or how about the scene Geres’ character drops off Davidovich’s character during the rain? Or the scene Gere’s character goes through the rooms of his former house (which reminds him of his past, this is shown visually without a single word of dialogue)? I’m just cherry picking scenes one by one here but the whole film is shot so well.

So I didn’t talk about The River because the post was about Intersection. But that one belongs up there as well. Certainly the whole opening sequence without a single word of dialogue is stunning. Or how about the deer chasing scene? And there are many others as well. This film is not as big as Heaven’s Gate but has a very similar plot and makes for an excellent companion piece.