Match Cut Directors Consensus - David Mamet

[dreamdead]

Well, it's Mamet's week. Rules and links to all of this year's results thus far are here (http://match-cut.org/showthread.php?t=426).

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/04Em1BM3grg0S/340x.jpg

Do this crazy listing...

[dreamdead]

State and Main - 6

Terribly uneven, but the cast makes the jokes work well enough.

[Spinal]

House of Games - 7.5
Oleanna - 4
State and Main - 5

[D_Davis]

The Spanish Prisoner - 10/10
Heist - 7/10
Spartan - 9/10

[Melville]

House of Games - 4
State and Main - 5
Heist - 3

This might be my best chance to be the biggest hater.

[Boner M]

House of Games - 5
State and Main - 6

Meh-met. There, I said it.

[monolith94]

State and Main – 6

[Winston*]

How can you "meh" a man who casts Ricky Jay in all his movies. How can you I ask you?!

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

House of Games - 9
The Spanish Prisoner - 7.5
Heist - 5

[BirdsAteMyFace]

State and Main - 4.5
Spartan - 1.5

[Mysterious Dude]

The Winslow Boy - 4.5
State and Main - 3.0
Spartan - 5.5

[Ezee E]

Anyway:
House of Games - 6
State and Main - 4
Heist - 4
Spartan - 4

As mentioned in the FDT, I love the writing by this guy. His dialog, while unnatural, flows great on screen. The movies where he's listed as just the writer are generally good. He's just a bland director with no idea of framing or cinematic techniques.

I'm still planning on giving Redbelt and The Spanish Prisoner a try.

[Derek]

He's just a bland director with no idea of framing or cinematic techniques.

I dunno, I thought Spartan was a great looking film though I can see how some mind find it on the boring side. His biggest downside is casting his wife in House of Games.

House of Games - 7.5
Spartan - 7.5

[Spinal]

If his directing theory is like his acting theory, it may be that he knows about the cinematic techniques, but just doesn't want anything to get in the way of his precious dialogue.

[Ezee E]

If his directing theory is like his acting theory, it may be that he knows about the cinematic techniques, but just doesn't want anything to get in the way of his precious dialogue.
He has written a book about filmmaking. Perhaps he talks about it in there, but that would make sense.

However, movies like Glengarry GlenRoss, Edmond, and even The Untouchables all have stylistic techniques that don't take away from the dialog.

[Spinal]

However, movies like Glengarry GlenRoss, Edmond, and even The Untouchables all have stylistic techniques that don't take away from the dialog.

Yep.

[Philosophe_rouge]

The Spanish Prisoner- 4

[Sven]

House of Games - 8
The Spanish Prisoner - 7
The Winslow Boy - 8.5
State and Main - 6
Heist - 9.5
Spartan - 3

[soitgoes...]

Heist (2001) - 6.0
Spartan (2004) - 6.0

[Watashi]

Heist - 6
Spartan - 7.5
Redbelt - 8

[Raiders]

House of Games (1987) 7.5
Heist (2001) 6.5
Spartan (2004) 7.0
Redbelt (2008) 7.0

[Yxklyx]

House of Games - 6
State and Main - 8
Spartan - 6

I have a sense that my State and Main rating is generous.

[Melville]

This might be my best chance to be the biggest hater.


State and Main - 4.5
Spartan - 1.5
Damn it.

[D_Davis]

I had no idea I'd be one of the only lovers...

[dreamdead]

Woahs, didn't even make it past one page. :sad:

Results:
The Spanish Prisoner – 7.125 (4)
House of Games - 6.7223 (9)
Heist - 5.875 (8)
Spartan – 5.7 (10)
State and Main – 5.35 (10)
= 6.1544

Did not qualify:
Redbelt – 6.5 (2)
The Winslow Boy – 6.5 (2)
Oleanna – 4 (1)

Biggest Hater: Birdsatemyface
Honorary Hater: Melville :pritch:
Seen the most: iosos

[Melville]

Honorary Hater: Melville :pritch:
:pritch:

I'm not actually that big a hater, but it's nice that for once my negative indifference isn't eclipsed by Spinal's hatery.

[transmogrifier]

You guys sucked at this.

House of Games - 81
Homicide - 67
The Spanish Player - 71
The Winslow Boy - 70
State and Main - 55
Heist - 60
Spartan - 33
Redbelt - 73

His Spector HBO movie looks terrible though.

[Yxklyx]

House of Games - 6
Homicide - 8
The Winslow Boy - 7
State and Main - 8
Spartan - 6

updated

[Rowland]

At the time of this poll, only two people had seen Redbelt, which to this day remains my favorite Mamet. I've hoped that it hasn't been forgotten, so seeing trans catch up with the film and enjoy it is heartening.

[Ezee E]

At the time of this poll, only two people had seen Redbelt, which to this day remains my favorite Mamet. I've hoped that it hasn't been forgotten, so seeing trans catch up with the film and enjoy it is heartening.

Wow, this was forever ago. Redbelt would be my favorite of his.

[Lucky]

I enjoy these. Any plans for an update or continuation in the future?

[Sven]

I can't believe I gave Heist a 9.5. Jesus. Watched it again about a month ago and movie's at most a 5.

[Derek]

I can't believe I gave Heist a 9.5. Jesus. Watched it again about a month ago and movie's at most a 5.

Everybody likes Heist. That's why they call it Heist.

[Sven]

Everybody likes Heist. That's why they call it Heist.

In fairness, I still do like that line. All of the other lines, though... hmmm...

It's amazing how Hackman can still own a part that gives him no interesting character fodder to work with.

[Irish]

That really could be the greatest line Mamet every wrote.

I was waiting for somebody to mention it

[Izzy Black]

House of Games - 7.5
Oleanna - 4
State and Main - 5

Why only a 4? I think this is one of his best films.

It's also weird doing a "director" consensus on Mamet without including his written work. Just as, say, Charlie Kaufman, his auteurship isn't exclusively tied up with work he's officially directed. That just doesn't reflect his work as a creator of cinema. For instance, he wrote dialogue for Glengarry Glen Ross for Alec Baldwin in particular even though it wasn't in the original play and had a notable influence on casting. The directorial and staging decisions were deeply influenced by the original stage directions. He clearly had the most dominate artistic hand on the overall production of the film. It's hard for me to not think of it as his film. My suspicion is that Foley was more of a pay-for-hire technical man to execute what was essentially producer Tokosky and writer Mamet's vision.

I realize this is still a director's consensus. But this is kind of embarrassing for Mamet.

Redbelt is quite good, by the by.

[Izzy Black]

He's just a bland director with no idea of framing or cinematic techniques.


I think Redbelt speaks against this. But Spinal is right, from a directorial point of view, Mamet is definitely a classicalist. He believes in the shot / reverse shot format and putting traditional film theory and structure at the forefront. He has both written books and taught courses on traditional film theory and methodology. For Mamet, the "story" is the bottom-line. Form is entirely at the service of the content, and in some sense, the content determines the form. The director's role is to "get out of the way" and be "invisible" by creating seamless narratives and unflashy cinematic gestures. This comports well with his overall theoretical conservativism, though.

[MadMan]

I saw and liked Homicide (1991) a while back, which was available on Criterion at my public library. I still haven't seen very much of his work, although I will forever love Spartan, which contains one of Val Kilmer's finest performances.