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Who is the greatest living filmmaker?

Started by Monsieur Verdoux, June 27, 2017, 02:35:16 PM

Previous topic - Next topic
Quote from: Dr Rock on March 13, 2018, 02:47:31 AM
Which one is that? The last film I can see he directed was 2014's 'Duran Duran: Unstaged'

(I think newbridge is referring to Twin Peaks: The Return)

Dr Rock

Ah, I've yet to catch up on that (despite loving Twin Peaks and Lynch). I have a long line of stuff I've got and not seen. Not a film though. Lynch is one the greatest living filmmakers anyway then, who would argue with that?


Norton Canes


Shay Chaise

It's Malick, without a doubt.

Then Wong Kar Wai.

Everyone else in this thread is crap.

itsfredtitmus

Hal Hartley improved upon Kar Wai anyway

thraxx


Unless Guy Ritchie passed away last night, then it's him.

itsfredtitmus

Quote from: thraxx on March 13, 2018, 11:07:50 AM
Unless Guy Ritchie passed away last night, then it's him.
Revolver... poetic cinema

MortSahlFan

My favorite LIVING ones.... Ken Loach, Mike Leigh, Aki Kaurismaki (although I have only seen his early 5-10 movies), only saw one or two after Matti Pellonnpaa passed away.

Dr Rock

Quote from: Shit Good Nose on March 12, 2018, 06:02:29 PM
Five, if you include his doc about The Stooges (which, even though I'm not a fan of Iggy or The Stooges, I thought was excellent).

It's interesting as they are all fairly atypical Jarmusch films, and different from each other.  Of the five, the two weakest ones (in my opinion) are Only Lovers Left Alive (which could be seen as a distant kissing cousin to Mystery Train, but nowhere near as good) and The Limits of Control (which could be seen as a closer kissing cousin to Ghost Dog, but nowhere near as good), but neither are terrible.  A warning for the former, though - it combines the "acting" "talents" of Tom Hiddleston AND Tilda Swinton, which is enough to put quite a few people off for life.

I have a lot of time for Broken Flowers, but I know it put a lot of long-time Jarmusch fans (who saw it as him selling out and going full mainstream - it isn't really, it's too sedate and measured for that) off.  And Paterson is a VERY low-key and gentle character piece.  Adam Driver is brilliant in it.

Thanks - turns out I've got most of them on my computer in my Jim Jarmusch collection. Will have to give them a watch.

Z

I thought his stooges doc was the kind of by the numbers utterly empty documentary that netflix banished from cinemas and moved to 11am on Sunday with a hangover. It's sole purpose was to show that Iggy Pop was a smart guy instead of just a mindless force of nature and, it was somewhat successful in that respect, I guess.

Patterson is probably my favourite Jarmusch. Only Lovers Left Alive has some of his absolute worst traits expressed at their most excessive, but I saw it in a pretty great setting and liked the whole setting, so I rate it way higher than I probably would had I seen it in the environment I saw most his films (college dorm, 1200x900 screen laptop, 360p flv files in ten minute chunks, stereo audio playing only in one ear so switched to mono).

zomgmouse

Quote from: Shit Good Nose on March 12, 2018, 06:02:29 PM
Of the five, the two weakest ones (in my opinion) are Only Lovers Left Alive (which could be seen as a distant kissing cousin to Mystery Train, but nowhere near as good) and The Limits of Control (which could be seen as a closer kissing cousin to Ghost Dog, but nowhere near as good), but neither are terrible.  A warning for the former, though - it combines the "acting" "talents" of Tom Hiddleston AND Tilda Swinton, which is enough to put quite a few people off for life.

Piffle, Lovers is sublime, I'd rank it among his highest. What about it puts you off? I think a lot of people disliked the frequency of cultural references, but as a film that is specifically about culture in the realm of human progress and decay I felt it fit perfectly. Personally my favourite of his used to be Dead Man for ages (the first of his I saw) but I think it's actually Down By Law now - that film grabbed me in a way I can't describe, to a similar degree to Dead Man but in a different way.

Jarmusch has a clear love of humanity, and a desire to showcase it in strange and resonant ways. In fact Varda, who I mentioned in my post above, is also deeply fascinated by and deeply in tune with humanity. And that's a big part of why I love these two filmmakers. Mike Leigh too. Something about their work cuts right to the core of being.

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: zomgmouse on March 14, 2018, 03:59:12 AM
Piffle, Lovers is sublime, I'd rank it among his highest. What about it puts you off?

Like most others who aren't keen, mainly Hiddleston and Swinton.  I don't usually mind either of them, but the two of them together, AND doing so much ACTING when Jarmusch films are normally such low key affairs, it just jarred a bit for me.  But, as I said, I don't think it's terrible, I just think it's one of his weakest.

My favourites have always been Mystery Train and Ghost Dog.  I used to LOVE Dead Man.  I still like it, but the more I see it the more I wish someone other than Johnny Depp was the lead.


newbridge

Quote from: itsfredtitmus on March 13, 2018, 11:04:45 AM
Hal Hartley improved upon Kar Wai anyway

Which Hal Hartley movies are Wong-Kar-Wai-ish?

itsfredtitmus

Quote from: newbridge on March 15, 2018, 11:25:53 PM
Which Hal Hartley movies are Wong-Kar-Wai-ish?
book of life is 100 percent kar-wai, almost a complete pisstake of him


itsfredtitmus

some of his later films like Girl from Monday would probably appeal

greenman

Quote from: newbridge on March 13, 2018, 02:32:42 AM
Excuse me sir, David Lynch just made arguably his best work.

On the other example the Coens seem like the Primal Scream of film makers, whenever you think there permanently lost to Stones aping/minor comedy's featuring George Clooney they come back with a 2013/Llewyn Davis.

That and I'd argue there style doesn't naturally attract "greatest" labels but honestly you look at shear amount of excellent cinema and it isn't so unjustified I'd say.

newbridge

Quote from: itsfredtitmus on March 16, 2018, 08:22:58 AM
book of life is 100 percent kar-wai, almost a complete pisstake of him

Is Hal Hartley really in a position to do a "pisstake" of one of the most interesting directors of the last 30 years?