Director you're most influenced by...

The Coen Brothers, Billy Wilder, Takashi Miike, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Lloyd Kaufman, Sam Raimi, George Romero, and Tobe Hooper (specifically for Texas Chainsaw.)
 
I already had them posted, so I just transfered the lot of them...
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just need to add one more cat...
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...just a little known filmmaker you may have heard of.
 
Haha, like I said, here's part 2! Probably gonna have a crack at this sucker 4 directors at a time. Also guys, if you could also list some of your favorite films by the directors you've listed, that would also be extremely helpful for those of us looking to do research!


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Sam Mendes
Films I was inspired by: American Beauty, Road to Perdition, (anticipating Jarhead)



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Robert Rodriguez
Films I was inspired by: El Mariachi, Desperado, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Sin City



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Quentin Tarantino
Films I was inspired by: Pulp Fiction, Resevoir Dogs, Kill Bill vol. 1 & 2



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Tim Burton
Films I was inspired by: Edward Scissorhands, Big Fish
 
Some of my idols: James Cameron, Michael Mann, Stanley Kubrick, all of whom are reportedly HUGE assholes. I say this (with the exception of Kubrick), based on several first-hand reports from various crew members and actors who have worked on their sets. I've met James Cameron, and he was very nice, off the set, and even gave a personal greeting on tape to my girlfriend. But I can't say that I wasn't hugely disappointed to hear these stories from crew members about my favorite directors.
 
NBCshooter said:
Some of my idols: James Cameron, Michael Mann, Stanley Kubrick, all of whom are reportedly HUGE assholes.
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Interesting.
Given that you say you're dissapointed to hear that, why are they still idols?
I take it that you respect them more for their final product, and not their process?
 
Here's why I like them in summary . . .

James Cameron for his expert technical adeptness, and his ability to put technology on the screen in a believable way.

Michael Mann for his visual style.

Stanley Kubrick for his love of dolly shots and Steadicam work and his precision composition, and for the iconic, visionary, timeless, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

I think, given the power and budget and vision, these guys may have had, I may fall into the same traps. If you're a highly visual director, and you're used to working extremely fast, I can see becoming frustrated on a set with a huge crew and huge budgets. I just chalk it up to their perfectionism, but the more I talk to crew members and actors from T2, Aliens, Titantic, Collateral, etc., the more I think they're just plain mean. I dunno. Maybe the stories distort the whole picture. But I just don't think there's any valid excuse for being mean on a set (e.g., screaming at crew, etc.).
 
In Order I Posted Them (From Top)

John Ford...Young Mr. Lincoln - The Searchers - They Were Expendable -The Quiet Man

John Huston...The Maltese Falcon - The Treasure of the Sierra Madre - Key Largo - The African Queen

Frank Capra...Mr. Smith Goes To Washington - Meet John Doe - Arsenic and Old Lace - It's A Wonderful Life

Michael Curtiz...The Adventures of Robin Hood - Angels With Dirty Faces - Yankee Doodle Dandy - Casablanca (of course)

Hitchcock...Strangers on a Train - Rear Window - Vertigo - North by Northwest

Billy Wilder...Double Indemnity - The Lost Weekend - Sunset Blvd - Some Like It Hot

Howard Hawks...Bringing Up Baby - Sergeant York - The Big Sleep - Rio Bravo

Spielberg...Raiders of the Lost Ark - E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial - Schindler's List - Saving Private Ryan (Christ that was difficult!! Like choosing my favorite child for f's sake!)
 
If I were to see just one John Ford movie, which should it be?
The Searchers?


(I'm embarassed to say I've never seen a John Ford film... I know... I know)
:undecided
 
Luis Caffesse said:
If I were to see just one John Ford movie, which should it be?
The Searchers?


(I'm embarassed to say I've never seen a John Ford film... I know... I know)
:undecided
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I'd say The Quiet Man....because if you've ever seen any Western, then you have in fact already seen Ford's touch (well, his inspiration anyway.) :beer:
 
Thanks for the recommendation (and for not kicking my ass for not having watched Ford until now).

EDITED TO ADD:

Hey, apparently I HAVE seen a John Ford film.
Just checked his filmography on IMDB:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000406/

And he directed "The Last Hurrah" with Spencer Tracy, which I saw a while back.
Not a bad film, but I imagine it was probably not 'classic John Ford' in the way that people look back on something like 'The Searchers' or 'The Quiet Man'


Whew...now I can stop being completely ashamed at least.
 
Don't mention it (besides, if you need an ass kicking, it's for reminding us of the Star Wars Christmas Special every bloody day!) :angry:
 
CallaghanFilms said:
Don't mention it (besides, if you need an ass kicking, it's for reminding us of the Star Wars Christmas Special every bloody day!) :angry:
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Haha.
For the record, that's Star Wars HOLIDAY special.
They were very p.c. for 1978
 
CallaghanFilms said:
Frank Capra...Mr. Smith Goes To Washington - Meet John Doe - Arsenic and Old Lace - It's A Wonderful Life
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Glad to see another mention of Capra. I read his autobiography and found him to be an amazing human being altogether.

My favorites of his were You Cant Take It With You and Lost Horizon. If you havent seen You Cant Take It With You...it's a super sweet commentary on being yourself and doing what you really love, coupled with not selling out to "the man". Well worth a view.

I liked lost horizon because it was one of the earliest major motion pictures to propose a rethinking of human behavior and breaking away from limited and malignant ways of seeing and being. The old dude was based on what little information was available at the time of The Dalai Lama and Tibet...of course we now know things are a little different that we had fantisized back then, but the essential core was more or less accurate as far as philosphy goes.
 
You Can't Take It With You is most definitely a runner up. I love the "populist" monolog given by Lionel Barrymore's character...
It's something like, "When things go wrong people turn to 'ism' - Fascism, communism, why don't they think of Americanism?"
Classic stuff.


Edit
Luis Caffesse said:
Haha.
For the record, that's Star Wars HOLIDAY special.
They were very p.c. for 1978
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Ha :grin:
Shows how long it's been.
 
DVXnewkid said:
John Carpenter really influenced me. His movies are cinematic beauties in my opinon. Anyone else think so?
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I'm a massive fan of Halloween and The Thing. Those are his only truly great movies, but two is more than enough.
 
Luis Caffesse said:
Interesting.
Given that you say you're dissapointed to hear that, why are they still idols?
I take it that you respect them more for their final product, and not their process?
Click to expand...

It's easy to confuse talent with personality. Because someone is good at his work, it doesn't neccessarily mean he is a good guy.

Once, as a six year old kid, I idolized a great comic book artist, and dreamed of meeting him. The dream came true eighteen years, at a comic book convention. Moreover, he asked me to assist in his work, and I thought it was fantasy come true.

I grew to hate his guts in two weeks. Yet every time I see his work, I marvel at his genius. Lesson: Idolize at a distance.

My current director faves are Sam Raimi (Spiderman 2).... great action sequences.

Director from ten years ago: Paul Verhoeven (Starship Troopers, Robocop 1, Total Recall)... exciting as hell.

Golden oldie director: Billy wilder (Apartment, Some Like it Hot) gets those laughs a'rollin' and those tears a-pourin'...
 
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