Directors Who Were Not Popular In Their Country?

[MortSahlFan]

I use "Were" specifically because things can change for a living director. Maybe they make one great movie and their country loves them forever. Name a dead director who IS popular in other countries, but not their own. Specify all you can.. The country/countries a particular director IS popular, maybe reasons why you think (or know) this?

I've heard Kurosawa say he was disliked in Japan. One reason I read was that he drew from Western influences (Shakespeare, for example) and wasn't Japanese "enough". I've heard the same being said about Bergman as well. My guess is that his movies might paint a dark picture of Sweden. I heard a director in this Bergman documentary say that Fellini wasn't liked in Italy, but I find it hard to believe. He mentioned that his last few movies didn't make any money as a possible reason, but that's usually standard anywhere.

[Sin Agog]

Three American directors who completely fucked off the atavistic sub-Hayes red-hunters back in the U.S.: Emile de Antonio, who released some fucking scathing documentaries attacking all the war-mongerers and control freaks in his country: In The Year of the Pig showing that Vietnam was cooked up based on a non-existent enemy submarine attacking an American sub with non-existent torpedoes, and that the pezzonovantes in charge of both countries never once tried to actually communicate, while his doc on McCarthy's trial is one of the few bits of left-wing catharsis amidst some very slim pickings.  William Klein and Joseph Losey clearly had more European sentiments, ultimately just fucking off to, respectively, France and Engerland to make careers there instead.  Klein's Who Are You Polly Magoo, Mr Freedom and The Model Couple are pretty scathing attacks on various elements of capitalism, with the latter being one of actually quite a few satires of Reality TV before that was seemingly even a thing.  Losey had less of a choice in the direction of his career on account of refusing to testify to the HUAC.  Bet he enjoyed watching Antonio's Point of Order in the best seat in the house.

[oy vey]

He's not dead but time is running out on that one great movie you speak of...

"In England, I'm a horror movie director. In Germany, I'm a filmmaker. In the US, I'm a bum." - John Carpenter

Not sure how true it is but most of his domestic grosses were depressingly low.

[MortSahlFan]

Three American directors who completely fucked off the atavistic sub-Hayes red-hunters back in the U.S.: Emile de Antonio, who released some fucking scathing documentaries attacking all the war-mongerers and control freaks in his country: In The Year of the Pig showing that Vietnam was cooked up based on a non-existent enemy submarine attacking an American sub with non-existent torpedoes, and that the pezzonovantes in charge of both countries never once tried to actually communicate, while his doc on McCarthy's trial is one of the few bits of left-wing catharsis amidst some very slim pickings.  William Klein and Joseph Losey clearly had more European sentiments, ultimately just fucking off to, respectively, France and Engerland to make careers there instead.  Klein's Who Are You Polly Magoo, Mr Freedom and The Model Couple are pretty scathing attacks on various elements of capitalism, with the latter being one of actually quite a few satires of Reality TV before that was seemingly even a thing.  Losey had less of a choice in the direction of his career on account of refusing to testify to the HUAC.  Bet he enjoyed watching Antonio's Point of Order in the best seat in the house.

Interesting.. I have "In The Year of the Pig" and "Pull My Daisy" but just like books, I have many I have not watched or read... I liked "The Servant" and especially "Monsieur Klein", but I never guessed he was an expatriate director.

A little off-topic, and although Vittorio De Sica is my favorite director, but the American movie he made was so bad (Terminal Station)... I also think HUAC and The Blacklist in general really killed the US artistically and politically and we haven't recovered unfortunately..

[greenman]

With Lynch it seems like the opposite was true to Kurosawa, he went down well in the US making a film set in Victorian London but then much better in Europe making films filled with Americana.