Recommend some Films by The Following Directors

[Qrazy]

I was perusing Senses of Cinemas great directors list and I narrowed down the folks who I rarely if ever see mentioned here... and to the best of my knowledge, know nothing about. So recommend me the best films you've seen from the following (see below).

I created a new thread rather than posting this in film discussion because it's a large list and since these guys are rarely discussed, having their own thread could help promote these underseen and rarely talked about, apparently great directors.

Peggy Ahwesh by John David Rhodes
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea by Julia Levin
Michael Almereyda by Jeremiah Kipp
Dorothy Arzner by Theresa L. Geller
Craig Baldwin by Tim Maloney
Sadie Benning by Melissa Rigney
Luis GarcÃ*a Berlanga by Steven Marsh
Mauro Bolognini by David Melville
Frank Borzage by Joe McElhaney
Donald Cammell by Maximilian Le Cain
Leos Carax by Christian Checa Bañuz
Jack Chambers by Brett Kashmere
Bob Clampett by Adrian Danks
Alan Clarke by Nicolas Rapold
Larry Cohen by Tony Williams

D–F
Gerardo De Leon by Mark Holcomb
Guy Debord by R.D. Crano
Willi Forst by Robert von Dassanowsky
Bill Forsyth by Christopher Meir
Richard Franklin by Aaron Graham
Su Friedrich by Lynn Bell and Michael Zryd
Lucio Fulci by Patricia MacCormack

G–K
Jean-Pierre Gorin by Erik Ulman
YÃ*lmaz Güney by Bilge Ebiri
Mike Hodges by Tony Williams
King Hu by Stephen Teo
Joris Ivens by Ian Mundell
Jia Zhangke by Kevin Lee
Alexander Kluge by Michelle Langford
Louise Kolm-Fleck by Robert von Dassanowsky

L–O
Clara Law by Dian Li
Mitchell Leisen by David Melville
Richard Lester by Peter Tonguette
Jerry Lewis by Chris Fujiwara
Joseph H. Lewis by Robert Keser
Arthur Lipsett by Brett Kashmere
Richard Lowenstein by Vanessa Long
Len Lye by Brett Kashmere
Antonio Margheriti by Patricia MacCormack
Jonas Mekas by Genevieve Yue
Yoshimitsu Morita by Bob Davis
Kira Muratova by Ruslan Janumyan
MarÃ*a Novaro by Romy Sutherland
Phillip Noyce by Ingo Petzke
Alanis Obomsawin by Paul Williams
Idrissa Ouedraogo by Martin Stollery

P–S
Abraham Polonsky by Andrew Marsden
Sally Potter by Kristi McKim
Yvonne Rainer by Erin Brannigan
Tony Richardson by Sandra Koponen
Glauber Rocha by Gabe Klinger
Claude Sautet by Janice Tong
Werner Schroeter by Michelle Langford
Jerzy Skolimowski by Bruce Hodsdon

T–Z
Frank Tashlin by Ethan de Seife
Leslie Thornton by Thomas Zummer
Tomu Uchida by Alexander Jacoby
Edgar G. Ulmer by Erik Ulman
Melvin Van Peebles by Garrett Chaffin-Quiray
Margarethe von Trotta by Ben Andac
Doris Wishman by Christopher J. Jarmick

[Sven]

Lots of good ones one there, but the only one I'll mention for now is Dance Girl Dance by Dorothy Arzner. Very entertaining and problematizing picture.

[D_Davis]

King Hu, A Touch of Zen.

I think it is brilliant.

[Spinal]

Tomás Gutiérrez Alea (Death of a Bureaucrat)
Richard Lester (A Hard Day's Night, but also How I Won the War)
Antonio Margheriti (Flesh for Frankenstein)
Phillip Noyce (Dead Calm)
Sally Potter (Orlando)
Tony Richardson (Hamlet)
Margarethe von Trotta (The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum)

That's all I got.

[balmakboor]

Larry Cohen

Bone
Black Caesar
It's Alive (all three actually)
God Told Me To

Yep. Those are my faves.

[megladon8]

Larry Cohen's God Told Me To is definitely worth seeing.

[Philosophe_rouge]

Frank Borzage
-History is Made at Night

Frank Tashlin
-Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter
-The Girl Can't Help it

Abraham Polonsky
-I almost assume you've seen Force of Evil, but if you haven't it's good.

I also think you've seen Rock Hunter, and I know you've seen Gun Crazy. I don't think I know the other filmmakers, but I just skimmed until I reckonized a name. History is probably my favourite listed, but I don't know if you'd really like it. Borzage was a romance guy... you don't strike me as the type. The cast is at least good though.

[Qrazy]

Richard Lester (A Hard Day's Night, but also How I Won the War)


Ah right right, slipped my mind.

[Qrazy]

Frank Borzage
-History is Made at Night

Frank Tashlin
-Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter
-The Girl Can't Help it

Abraham Polonsky
-I almost assume you've seen Force of Evil, but if you haven't it's good.

I also think you've seen Rock Hunter, and I know you've seen Gun Crazy. I don't think I know the other filmmakers, but I just skimmed until I reckonized a name. History is probably my favourite listed, but I don't know if you'd really like it. Borzage was a romance guy... you don't strike me as the type. The cast is at least good though.

Haven't seen Force of Evil but I've seen Rock and Gun. I was very lukewarm on Gun, quite liked Rock, want to see The Girl. Ehhh I like romance... if it's cynical haha.

[Duncan]

Jia Zhangke's Still Life and Platform are very good.

[Qrazy]

King Hu, A Touch of Zen.

I think it is brilliant.

Yeah I've wanted to see this for a really long time. Your placement in your top 100 (didn't read the review cause I want to see it first) gave me an added incentive.

[Qrazy]

Lots of good ones one there, but the only one I'll mention for now is Dance Girl Dance by Dorothy Arzner. Very entertaining and problematizing picture.

Sweetness, will look into it.

[balmakboor]

Someone wrote a piece on Lucio Fulci. I need to head back there and check things out again.

[Philosophe_rouge]

Haven't seen Force of Evil but I've seen Rock and Gun. I was very lukewarm on Gun, quite liked Rock, want to see The Girl. Ehhh I like romance... if it's cynical haha.
I assumed as much, who knows though... you might like History.

[Russ]

I'd recommend these:

Donald Cammell - White of the Eye
Bob Clampett - Groundbreaking animator, his best stuff includes Porky in Wackyland, Book Revue, and tons more..
Bill Forsyth - Gregory's Girl, Local Hero Tho these might be too sentimental for your tastes.
Richard Franklin - Patrick is definitely worthwhile, but the rest of his filmography looks awful.
Richard Lester - The Beatles' films, A Hard Day's Night and Help!. The Ritz is decent too.
Jerry Lewis - Most of his early features, especially The Bellboy, The Nutty Professor.
Tony Richardson - The Loved One See this one at all cost; you won't be disappointed.
Frank Tashlin - Started career as an animator (see Porky Pig's Feat), went on to do mainly romantic comedies. Lots of folks like Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?; I haven't seen it.



Lucio Fulci? Get the fuck out of here.

Larry Cohen? Surprised you're not familiar with him, he's probably the most well known name on your list. Definitely Q, God Told Me To, and maybe It's Alive. Bone (haven't seen) is supposedly one of his better features too.

Melvin Van Peebles - Wish I could recommend Watermelon Man, but I only liked the ending, which was basically against the studio's wishes, but the film's all the better for it.

Glauber Rocha - Renowned Brazilian director, whose work isn't easily obtainable. Bet you'd like him.

[D_Davis]

The essays on Senses of Cinema are a fountain of awesomeness.

[Sven]

Friggin' JUGGERNAUT, people!

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

Leos Carax - Bad Blood (on my top 100)

Tomas Gutierrez Alea - Memories of Underdevelopment

Richard Lester - Petulia (awesome psychadelic psychodrama with Nic Roeg cinematography)

Frank borzage - Moonrise

Kira Muratova - The Asthenic Syndrome

Jerzy Skolomowski - Moonlighting

Tony Richardson - Taste of Honey, The Loved One

Based on the three films I've seen, Lucio Fulci is anything but a master.

[Melville]

The Lovers on the Bridge, directed by Leos Carax, is a bizarre and brilliant study of obsessive love.

[megladon8]

Is this the same Richard Lester who did Superman II?

If so, see that.

[origami_mustache]

Joris Ivens:
The Bridge (1928)
Rain (1929)
Power and the Land (1940)

Melvin Van Peebles:
Watermelon Man (1970)
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971)

[D_Davis]

Based on the three films I've seen, Lucio Fulci is anything but a master.

I agree, but it took me far too many films to realize this.

[Bosco B Thug]

It's Alive (all three actually) Island of the Alive is totally off the hook, right? Awesome, thumbs up!

I'd throw in Q - The Winged Serpent... I think it might be my favorite of his just because it's the breeziest (but still w/ social consciousness).

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

I also really enjoyed Tashlin's "The Girl Can't Help It".

[Raiders]

Tomás Gutiérrez Alea by Julia Levin - Memories of Underdevelopment
Michael Almereyda by Jeremiah Kipp - Hamlet
Frank Borzage by Joe McElhaney - The Mortal Storm
Larry Cohen by Tony Williams - God Told Me To
Bill Forsyth by Christopher Meir - Housekeeping
King Hu by Stephen Teo - Touch of Zen
Jia Zhangke by Kevin Lee - Platform
Richard Lester by Peter Tonguette - A Hard Day's Night
Jerry Lewis by Chris Fujiwara - The Patsy
Abraham Polonsky by Andrew Marsden - Force of Evil
Tony Richardson by Sandra Koponen - The Entertainer
Claude Sautet by Janice Tong - A Heart in Winter
Frank Tashlin by Ethan de Seife - Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?

[Stay Puft]

I figured Jia was well known. I know he has fans here.

His new documentary, Useless (Wu Yong), is good stuff.

I was going to say something similar about King Hu, but that's probably just Davis the pimp hard at work, whispering in my ear. I recently ordered A Touch of Zen and Come Drink With Me, so I'm looking forward to checking those out.

[Duncan]

Tomás Gutiérrez Alea by Julia Levin - Memories of Underdevelopment Didn't recognize the director's name, but this is a really great film.

[Eleven]

Len Lye on youTube (http://youtube.com/results?search_query=len+lye&search_type=)

[Qrazy]

Alright guys, I'm sure some of these directors have been mentioned before on the site. I just don't see them mentioned all that frequently.

[monolith94]

For Joseph H. Lewis, check out the big combo, and then go back and rewatch gun crazy.

[Qrazy]

For Joseph H. Lewis, check out the big combo, and then go back and rewatch gun crazy.

It's just nothing special man. I had similar feelings towards They Live by Night. There's competence, but not brilliance.

[balmakboor]

Island of the Alive is totally off the hook, right? Awesome, thumbs up!

I'd throw in Q - The Winged Serpent... I think it might be my favorite of his just because it's the breeziest (but still w/ social consciousness).

I certainly had the most fun with Island of the Alive.

I'll second (or third or whatever) Q. Also, I remember really liking The Stuff, but that was a long time ago, too long ago.

[balmakboor]

Someone wrote a piece on Lucio Fulci. I need to head back there and check things out again.

Since so many have bashed Fulci since I posted this, I thought I'd comment. I'm not a Fulci fan. I've only seen one Fulci film -- Don't Torture a Duckling -- which I liked and disliked in about equal proportions. I was interested in Fulci being added to the "Great Directors" section because a) I'd like to know more about him and b) I'd rather read about cult directors of debatable greatness than all the usual boring suspects like Bergman, Fellini, Tarkovsky, etc.

By the way, the essay on Fulci is actually pretty damn good. I'm finally going to break down and watch Zombi 2 now -- although I wish The Beyond was available.

[Qrazy]

Since so many have bashed Fulci since I posted this, I thought I'd comment. I'm not a Fulci fan. I've only seen one Fulci film -- Don't Torture a Duckling -- which I liked and disliked in about equal proportions. I was interested in Fulci being added to the "Great Directors" section because a) I'd like to know more about him and b) I'd rather read about cult directors of debatable greatness than all the usual boring suspects like Bergman, Fellini, Tarkovsky, etc.

By the way, the essay on Fulci is actually pretty damn good. I'm finally going to break down and watch Zombi 2 now -- although I wish The Beyond was available.

What's your Black Dahlia score? Does that mean it was awful?

[balmakboor]

What's your Black Dahlia score? Does that mean it was awful?

Actually, after several recent viewings, I find it one of De Palma's best and possibly the first time he has truly earned comparison with Hitchcock. The icon I chose was an expression of frustration. I'm frustrated because I can see why so many hate the film and I don't think there is anything I can say to change that. I attempted some time ago to explain why I like Mission to Mars so much -- and failed. I think I like Black Dahlia even more. Unfortunately, the dislike of the film seems even more venomous.

[Derek]

Tomás Gutiérrez Alea by Julia Levin - Memories of Underdevelopment
Michael Almereyda by Jeremiah Kipp - Hamlet
Donald Cammell by Maximilian Le Cain - Performance (w/Roeg)
Bob Clampett by Adrian Danks - Wabbit Twouble
Alan Clarke by Nicolas Rapold - Elephant, The Firm & Made in Britain
Larry Cohen by Tony Williams - God Told Me To
Bill Forsyth by Christopher Meir - Housekeeping
Lucio Fulci by Patricia MacCormack - Zombi 2 is godawful.
Jean-Pierre Gorin by Erik Ulman - Ici et Ailleurs & Tout va Bien (both w/Godard)
Mike Hodges by Tony Williams - Croupier
King Hu by Stephen Teo - A Touch of Zen
Joris Ivens by Ian Mundell - Regen
Jia Zhangke by Kevin Lee - The World
Jerry Lewis by Chris Fujiwara - The Ladies' Man
Joseph H. Lewis by Robert Keser - Gun Crazy
Abraham Polonsky by Andrew Marsden - Force of Evil
Frank Tashlin by Ethan de Seife - Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, The Girl Can't Help It
Edgar G. Ulmer by Erik Ulman - Detour, The Black Cat

[Qrazy]

Yeah I think I'm going to give Fulci a fairly wide berth.

[Yxklyx]

Of those not mentioned I highly recommend:

Mauvais Sang - Leos Carax
Hands Across the Table - Mitchell Leisen