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Sean O'Hara
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 Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:34 pm Post subject: Re: Crappy movies by great directors |
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In the Year of the Earth Rat, the Great and Powerful Richard Schultz
declared:
| Quote: |
Except that Hitchcock didn't make "great films right out of the gate" either.
I've never seen "The Pleasure Garden" (although I'd like to), but I get
the impression that neither it nor "The Mountain Eagle" are works of
genius.
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We have no way of judging "The Mountain Eagle" since no prints survive.
--
Sean O'Hara <http://diogenes-sinope.blogspot.com>
Anarchism is founded on the observation that since few men are wise
enough to rule themselves, even fewer are wise enough to rule others.
-Edward Abbey |
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Anim8rFSK
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| Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:35 pm Post subject: Re: Crappy movies by great directors |
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In article <2l4p74pv17ubeavokqqr5br4im6cdcmo14@4ax.com>,
Howard Brazee <howard@brazee.net> wrote:
| Quote: | On Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:50:21 +0200, "Michael" <michaelwynn2@gmail.com
wrote:
I want to mention 3 movies that are absolutely awful: Mean Streets by
Scorcese, The Duel by Speilberg and Bad Taste by Peter Jackson. When I saw
these 3 movies, I had no idea that they would become the geniouses they are
are.
I've seen people say that when they saw _The Duel_, they had no idea
Speilberg would turn out to be a crappy director.
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Beat me to it.
And it's just 'Duel'
--
Star Trek 09:
No Shat, No Show. |
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william
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| Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:35 pm Post subject: Re: Crappy movies by great directors |
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On Jul 15, 2:38 pm, Okierazorbacker <okierazorbac...@yahoo.com> wrote:
| Quote: | OK, here's a list for you guys to flame into. My favorite of
Spielberg's directorial work, chronologically.
Duel
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Raiders Of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade
Jurassic Park
Schindler's List
Amistad
A.I.
Minority Report
War Of the Worlds
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I'll agree with "Duel." As someone who tends to be on the record as
not liking Truffaut, Hitchcock or Spielberg, I have to ask where is
"Empire of the Sun"? "Duel" is a fun, twisty and twisted road movie
but "Empire of the Sun" had real cinematic language to it. I "got"
that flick. Maybe because it was about a child's obsession with
airplanes as a way to avoid the horrors of his life. Maybe Spielberg
made it too clean. Maybe a lot of things but I think it's an under-
rated film from an over-rated director.
William
www.williamahearn.com |
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Anim8rFSK
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| Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:37 pm Post subject: Re: Crappy movies by great directors |
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In article <2l4p74pv17ubeavokqqr5br4im6cdcmo14@4ax.com>,
Howard Brazee <howard@brazee.net> wrote:
| Quote: | On Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:50:21 +0200, "Michael" <michaelwynn2@gmail.com
wrote:
I want to mention 3 movies that are absolutely awful: Mean Streets by
Scorcese, The Duel by Speilberg and Bad Taste by Peter Jackson. When I saw
these 3 movies, I had no idea that they would become the geniouses they are
are.
I've seen people say that when they saw _The Duel_, they had no idea
Speilberg would turn out to be a crappy director.
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A lot of people thought, based on NIMH, that Don Bluth would make good
films.
Boy, howdy, were THEY wrong.
--
Star Trek 09:
No Shat, No Show. |
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Sean O'Hara
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| Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:42 pm Post subject: Re: Crappy movies by great directors |
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In the Year of the Earth Rat, the Great and Powerful Michael declared:
| Quote: | And Bad Taste, well, that really lived up
to it's title. Then of course, these guys make some excellent movies later
on. That they would do so was not obvious to me at the time. The only
exception I can think of, is Hitchcock, who seems to have started out with a
bang in silent movies and just kept going, although he later on occasionally
made a turkey or two as well.
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Wes Anderson -- Bottle Rocket may not be up to the level of
Rushmore, but it's still a major work of the '90s.
Kevin Smith -- Clerks is probably his best film.
Preston Sturges -- His debut was The Great McGinty, and within a
year he was doing The Lady Even and Sullivan's Travels (and, sure,
Christmas in July is in there too, but it's not a bad film, just
weak compared to the genius of the other three).
--
Sean O'Hara <http://diogenes-sinope.blogspot.com>
Veronica: Come on. Ruined lives? Bloodshed? You really think a
relationship should be that hard?
Logan: No one writes songs about the ones that come easy.
--Veronica Mars |
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Magnus, Robot Fighter
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| Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:50 pm Post subject: Re: Crappy movies by great directors |
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On Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:42:36 -0400, Sean O'Hara <seanohara@gmail.com>
wrote:
| Quote: | In the Year of the Earth Rat, the Great and Powerful Michael declared:
And Bad Taste, well, that really lived up
to it's title. Then of course, these guys make some excellent movies later
on. That they would do so was not obvious to me at the time. The only
exception I can think of, is Hitchcock, who seems to have started out with a
bang in silent movies and just kept going, although he later on occasionally
made a turkey or two as well.
Wes Anderson -- Bottle Rocket may not be up to the level of
Rushmore, but it's still a major work of the '90s.
Kevin Smith -- Clerks is probably his best film.
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Dogma gets better over time. Rickman is great and it's probably Ben
Affleck's best performance(Didn't see Holywoodland) |
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moviePig
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| Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:01 pm Post subject: Re: Crappy movies by great directors |
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On Jul 15, 1:50 am, "Michael" <michaelwy...@gmail.com> wrote:
| Quote: | I want to mention 3 movies that are absolutely awful: Mean Streets by
Scorcese, The Duel by Speilberg and Bad Taste by Peter Jackson. When I saw
these 3 movies, I had no idea that they would become the geniouses they are
are. Mean Streets had no purpose. It was a bunch of guys going around doing
nothing. The Duel was a chase film like The Hitchhiker without any
interesting character development. And Bad Taste, well, that really lived up
to it's title. Then of course, these guys make some excellent movies later
on. That they would do so was not obvious to me at the time. The only
exception I can think of, is Hitchcock, who seems to have started out with a
bang in silent movies and just kept going, although he later on occasionally
made a turkey or two as well.
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I can add a small epitome here (...apologies if it's a repeat):
Alfonso Cuaron has directed as sparkling an ouevre as any contemporary
filmmaker I've found. E.g., his Harry Potter will go down as the
best, Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN was stunning, and CHILDREN OF MEN was
transcendent. So, I figured, why not check out the '91 comedy SOLO
CON TU PAREJA (his first and only available feature unseen by me),
because surely genius must be a lifelong gift and thus somewhat
apparent even early on. Well, I did manage to sit all the way through
it... but could only marvel at the inexplicable prescience of whatever
seer found reason to finance Cuaron's next movie (THE LITTLE
PRINCESS), because SOLO was an unfunny half-baked turkey fit to
fatally poison anyone's career. And I'm still puzzled about how that
could be so... e.g., did Cuaron trade his soul to the devil (or
Voldemort) in '93?...
--
- - - - - - - -
YOUR taste at work...
http://www.moviepig.com |
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Okierazorbacker
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:11 pm Post subject: Re: Crappy movies by great directors |
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On Jul 15, 4:35 pm, william <williamahe...@yahoo.com> wrote:
| Quote: |
I'll agree with "Duel." As someone who tends to be on the record as
not liking Truffaut, Hitchcock or Spielberg, I have to ask where is
"Empire of the Sun"? "Duel" is a fun, twisty and twisted road movie
but "Empire of the Sun" had real cinematic language to it. I "got"
that flick. Maybe because it was about a child's obsession with
airplanes as a way to avoid the horrors of his life. Maybe Spielberg
made it too clean. Maybe a lot of things but I think it's an under-
rated film from an over-rated director.
I was expecting someone to bring that up. Yes, it's a good movie but |
I don't think it's THAT good. It's one of his attempts to make a
"serious film," and he got credit for that. I think of Spielberg as a
latter-day Frank Capra, not that this is an original thought on my
part; populist but not cared for by the film snobs (I never mean that
term as a putdown, btw, just can't think of a better one).
I am really curious, however, as to not liking Hitchcock. I know
there are lots who don't care for Spielberg (I generally don't care
for Truffaut myself), but didn't know the movie fan existed who didn't
care for Hitch. Please elucidate. |
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Okierazorbacker
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:12 pm Post subject: Re: Crappy movies by great directors |
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On Jul 15, 4:45 pm, "Michael" <michaelwy...@gmail.com> wrote:
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I am bit surprised, however, that no one has given Speilberg credit for his
landing scene in Saving Private Ryan. It is just as good as the landing
scenes in the Longest Day.
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Actually it's much, much better than TLD, which is pretty good for its
time but distracting due to all of those famous faces you mention.
The problem with SPR is that the bulk of it is fairly ordinary IMO.
But those opening 20 minutes, yeah, completely unforgettable. The
best thing about SPR is that it led to the production of perhaps the
best miniseries ever created: "Band Of Brothers." |
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David Oberman
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:25 pm Post subject: Re: Crappy movies by great directors |
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"Michael" <michaelwynn2@gmail.com> wrote:
| Quote: | I want to mention 3 movies that are absolutely awful: Mean Streets by
Scorcese, The Duel by Speilberg and Bad Taste by Peter Jackson. When I saw
these 3 movies, I had no idea that they would become the geniouses they are
are. Mean Streets had no purpose. It was a bunch of guys going around doing
nothing. The Duel was a chase film like The Hitchhiker without any
interesting character development. And Bad Taste, well, that really lived up
to it's title. Then of course, these guys make some excellent movies later
on.
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Such as . . . ?
____
I will wage war against destiny!
-- Beethoven |
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David Oberman
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:28 pm Post subject: Re: Crappy movies by great directors |
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"Michael" <michaelwynn2@gmail.com> wrote:
| Quote: | We didn't learn anything about the bad guy.
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Milton wrote a gargantuan poem called "Paradise Lost." We learn a LOT
about the bad guy. But sometimes the bad guy is more menacing in a
story if we know less about him.
____
I will wage war against destiny!
-- Beethoven |
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David Oberman
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:37 pm Post subject: Re: Crappy movies by great directors |
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calvin <crice5@windstream.net> wrote:
| Quote: | JAWS never was that good, really. It was the nationwide
shark madness that summer that made it the 'event' movie
of all time; and how good it was didn't matter, as long as it
delivered what we saw in the first half hour. Robert Shaw
being swallowed whole alive remains the most ludicrous
shot in all filmdom, that I can remember.
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JAWS is the saltiest & one of the most suspenseful (& funniest)
American movies I've ever seen.
____
I will wage war against destiny!
-- Beethoven |
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Matt Barry
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:37 pm Post subject: Re: Crappy movies by great directors |
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"Anim8rFSK" <ANIM8Rfsk@cox.net> wrote in message
news:ANIM8Rfsk-43F1DB.09375315072008@news.west.cox.net...
| Quote: |
A lot of people thought, based on NIMH, that Don Bluth would make good
films.
Boy, howdy, were THEY wrong.
|
There's someone you don't hear much about anymore. Has he worked on any new
projects recently? (I can't think of any since at least the early 90s). As a
kid, I always preferred his darker (especially "NIMH") films over the sappy
Disney fare.
--
Matt Barry
View my films at: www.youtube.com/comedyfilm
Read my blog at: http://filmreel.blogspot.com |
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Michael
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:00 pm Post subject: Re: Crappy movies by great directors |
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I liked Taxi Driver and the Gangs of new york by Scorcese,
and Saving Private Ryan, Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T by Speilberg
and The Lord of The Rings Triology and King Kong by Jackson
"David Oberman" <doberman@socal.rr.com> skrev i melding
news:9bnp74pn7bl2724qfkmodds4kl01l7lj88@4ax.com...
| Quote: | "Michael" <michaelwynn2@gmail.com> wrote:
I want to mention 3 movies that are absolutely awful: Mean Streets by
Scorcese, The Duel by Speilberg and Bad Taste by Peter Jackson. When I saw
these 3 movies, I had no idea that they would become the geniouses they
are
are. Mean Streets had no purpose. It was a bunch of guys going around
doing
nothing. The Duel was a chase film like The Hitchhiker without any
interesting character development. And Bad Taste, well, that really lived
up
to it's title. Then of course, these guys make some excellent movies later
on.
Such as . . . ?
____
I will wage war against destiny!
-- Beethoven |
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william
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:04 pm Post subject: Re: Crappy movies by great directors |
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On Jul 15, 6:11 pm, Okierazorbacker <okierazorbac...@yahoo.com> wrote:
| Quote: | I am really curious, however, as to not liking Hitchcock. I know
there are lots who don't care for Spielberg (I generally don't care
for Truffaut myself), but didn't know the movie fan existed who didn't
care for Hitch. Please elucidate.
|
Okay, but I don't have a glib answer. I tend to like his Brit films
and his silent films. For example, "The Farmer's Wife" is a rom-com
that anyone sees the end of coming. But it's shot beautifully. As is
"Blackmail." While I found "The Lodger" violated the book, it too
showed some narrative and visual touches that were interesting. True
also of "Number 17." But to jump to his major works, I find "Vertigo"
to be gutless. She fell? Oh, please. Read the book. The film only
makes sense if he pushes her. And read "Strangers On A Train." No
wonder Raymond Chandler bailed on that. "North by Northwest" is fluff
and would be good fluff if it weren't so condescending toward "good"
girls. (I loved "Shadow Of A Doubt.") "Psycho" is important in film
history but it is marred by needless psychobabble. (Many "important"
films have stupid stories, eg, "Metropolis," "Cabinet of Dr
Caligari.") Then we could talk about the non-films or films that flat
out sucked such as "The Paradine Case," "Under Capricorn," "Rope,"
"Topaz," "Family Plot," "Suspicion," or "Marnie." He had a tendency to
make the same innocent-man-on-the-run flick over and over and over
again. Hitchcock wasn't an auteur (not that that matters), he was an
entertainer. And as such, he believed no one cared about sense or
consistency. So he tossed in a hook and found a way to shoot a
memorable scene or two and wham-bam we're done. That may work for you
but I'm looking for something else. The original "The Man Who Knew Too
Much" is contrived and yet has a lot going for it. The remake is
wretched and despicable and is a horrible piece of film making that
I'll never sit through again. Hitchcock is all posture and no gesture.
There's nothing beyond the scant plot we've all seen before and from
him no less time after time.
William
www.williamahearn.com |
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