I
like Scorcese, Crowe, Kubrick,
the Coen Bros, Jeunet, LeLouch, Mira Nair, Ron Howard. Generally,
I
follow a Director's work, not an Actor's for the single reason that
Directors have a far more complex and central role in the making of any
film than does any actor. I occasionally follow a special crew
member's work, too, such as Cinematographers and
Editors. Vilmos Zsigmond (Close
Encounters, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, The Deer Hunter) Vittorio
Storaro (Apocalypse Now, The Last Emperor), Sven Nykvist
(Cries and Whispers, Fanny and
Alexander, Sleepless in Seattle, Agnes of God, Pretty Baby), and Freddy
Young (Treasure
Island,
Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, Ryan's Daughter, You Only Live
Twice) are all examples of brilliant Cinematographers. Anne V.
Coates
(Becket, Lawrence of Arabia, Murder On The Orient Express, Erin
Brockovich), Thelma Schoonmaker (Woodstock, Raging Bull, Last
Temptation of Christ, Goodfellas, The Departed) are two examples of
incredible editors, Ms. Schoonmaker being perhaps the most famous
editor due to her long-term professional relationship with Martin
Scorcese. A terrific documentary on the subject of the
important of great editing is The Cutting Edge.
Oh, and if you rent? DON'T patronize Blockbuster. And here are my reasons.
One last bit about
films and me; I will only go
see a film at the
theater in the first week, simply
because most theaters decrease the bulb wattage in
their projectors after the first week as a cost-cutting measure.
I have to say, though, that since moving to this movie-mad town, it MAY just be
that I am in a delightful nest of other people who care about the
quality of their viewing experience.
Time will tell. Bottom line, bulb wattage and sound systems
TOTALLY change the viewing experience. Yeah,
I only watch dvds in letterbox, too...
A
great film you probably haven't
seen? OFF THE MAP.
Go. Rent
and watch it now. Your opinion of Sam Elliot will change
inexorably. His
portrayal of a man in the throes of severe depression is simply
phenomenal. He deserved huge recognition for his work in this
film, but unfortunately didn't receive any.
my dvd collection.
TELEVISION
Okay, okay. My dirty little secret is American Idol. alRIGHT?!? Fine. Other than THAT, I am very fond of Boston Legal, Pushing Daisies, Stargate SG1 and Atlantis, and Doctor Who (thank the stars that he's back!). Firefly was cancelled, so was Threshold, and THEN Stargate went away, but the Network Tools KEPT dreck such as Ghost Whisperer and Invasion! HBO's Carnivale and Six Feet Under are gone now, too, so the Wasteland that is television continues to thrive. I dig STRANGE, and sci-fi is the genre I find most diverting, so for me television is generally a vast wasteland. A vastly overlooked gem was Out of Order, on Showtime. Lovely writing and acting, and I miss both. Unfortunately, Showtime only released a wretched hackjob of the show rather than the entire season. Even MORE unfortunately, Showtime released the entire season of Fat Actress. Guess those pesky Scientologists have a picture of someone at Showtime with the proverbial goat.
Oh,
and I aDORE
Mythbusters! Although I often fault
their frequently flawed premises to various myths, no other show
consistently causes me to
crack up and cackle with such glee! Yep, I love da boys...Adam
would
fun for a night, but Jamie's solid and a keeper. :-) All in
all, I end up watching the
Discovery and Science and History and
Travel and National Geographic channels more than any
others.