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Thoughts on key directors Part 1

Here i would like to reminisce about the filmmakers that shaped my esteem for the art form.

[b]Stan Brakhage [/b]

This man made films totally outside of the mainstream, and that is what i liked most about him. Mostly short films, he had a whole philosophy of film where it was a direct communication with the viewer. I only have a portion of his vast output on DVD, it would look amazing in higher quality i am sure. He was a nature nut too, loved mountains, his most famous work was all about a guy who walks up a mountain. Dog Star Man. His film Window Water Baby Moving was used in the medical community. Yep he did some groundbreaking stuff. I think my favorite of his is Untitled (For Marilyn), as it bursts out in an epiphany, a stunning declaration of love for his better half, and a seizing of the sacred as some of the great writers have, who aren't officially aligned with a specific faith.

[b]Kenneth Anger[/b]

The art of the music video owes a big debt to Kenneth. His films are basically just fun for me, and they have a mystique about them, a mystique akin to the occult. He was an admirer of the wickedest man alive, as some called him Aleister Crowley, and his circle of collaborators were just plain cool, doing a 90's thing in the 50's. His halloween themed Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome is my fave.

[b]Werner Schroeter [/b]

Inspired in part by Anger, Werner's career can be broken into 2 parts, the early experimental, and the later narrative styles. His Death of Maria Malibran is a clear winner, such a visually sumptuous film with tricks and witty ways of tinkering with the medium. It is not all empty artsiness either, but a deep seated tragedy is at play. His later style Malina is a highlight, but only through my sacred first viewing, where it just hit so hard, the use of opera and mise en scene was soul shattering.

[b]Rainer Werner Fassbinder [/b]

Schroeter's friend, and major voice of New German cinema is overall my favorite narrative driven director. In his short span of creativity, he made more than long and fruitful careers contained, and more than half were brilliant i'd say. His is an emotional home away from home, his work in full is a home, some are nice, some are plain, they all mean something in varying degrees. I am highly opinionated of course. Others will only be best suited seeing his best stuff. The BRD trilogy, Ali Fear Eats the Soul, The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, The Merchant of Four Seasons, and the revelation that is his unfinished 5 part series Eight Hours Don't Make a Day, which is a pleasant light hearted look at family and work issues.

[b]Jean-Luc Godard [/b]

For a long time Godard tangoed with Rainer for top place. Godard for me represents the intellect where Rainer stands for the heart. That is not to say Jean-Luc is heartless, he is just more brainy. He loved and loves film history to such an extent that few could match. In the 60's he reinvented genres, and since then has been reinventing himself. Last few i've not seen Goodbye to Language and The Image Book. He seems to get more and more complex, he doesn't want blind praise, he wants to i believe challenge others.

[b]Pier Paolo Pasolini [/b]

What a tragic guy PPP was, provacateur par excellence.

[b]Derek Jarman [/b]

In Jarman's work, i find the sentimentality crescendo climax, in such works as Caravaggio, The Last of England, and War Requiem. Tears. His methodology is perhaps my favorite of all these directors, making a film with Derek must have been the most fun an actor and actress and technician could have. And appreciatively for me as a lover of the tragic, there's no shortage of that with him.

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PhilDeep · 51-55, M
I know some of these, of course, but not all; nor am I a big fan of generally, not even of Godard, though he's very interesting, I find. I haven't seen much by Pasolini. Salo is not what I'd call entertainment, though it's thought-provoking, of course. Haven't seen any Jarman. You recommend, then?
SW-User
@PhilDeep Exactly, Salo was a angry film. Arabian Nights is my top Pasolini.

For Jarman, Caravaggio for sure. He was a provacateur like Pasolini was, all these were actually, so some of his films you probably won't like but maybe appreciate in some way.

Goodnight my friend, thanks for your ongoing interest in the things i say here, and looking forward to maybe further film talk, i could perhaps turn into a decent conversationalist some day! :)
PhilDeep · 51-55, M
@SW-User You're fine as you are, friend. I will bear in mind your recommendations! Goodnight!