Get To Know...Directors!

The game is simple, in fact it's not really a game at all. The original poster names a director. The next poster reflects on that director and chooses the individual's films for FIVE categories:


1. The "Best" Work - What, in your opinion, is the director's strongest piece of work?

2. The "Worst" **** - What is the film that should have been thrown into a volcano?

3. The "Overrated" Fluff - Not necessarily the worst, but which film get's too much of a pat on the back?

4. The "Underrated" Gem - ...And which doesn't get nearly enough pats?

5. The Most "Characteristic" of the Director - Finally, which film best epitomizes the director?

Try to keep all five categories free of overlap (although 1 and 5 might be difficult). This is a great way for people to get a good idea about directors they aren't very familiar with.

 

I'll begin with John Carpenter

1. The "Best" - The Thing: The culmination of a monstrously claustrophobic atmosphere, gruesome F/X work, and first rate acting and writing make this film a marvel of the horror genre. Quite possibly one of the finest monster movies ever made.

2. The "Worst" - Ghosts of Mars Surely a master of getting great returns on very modest budgets, this newer film is surely not an example of it. Carpenter has never been one known for getting great thespians, but the acting in this is sorely excruciating.

3. The "Overrated" - Halloween Many will stake me at this, but the slasher sub-genre is one I am very ambivalent towards. This film created many of the cliches we see in film today. It has not aged well, with some fairly weak and uninteresting characters outside of Donald Pleasance.

4. The "Underrated" - The Prince of Darkness Often simply billed, even by die-hard Carpenter fans, as too plodding and over-brimmed with physics jargon, I view it as a minor masterpiece of horror. Exploring themes such as: the Anti-God, parallel dimensions, and "Liquid-Satan-In-A-Jar", this is not for everyone. But for those who do venture, they're in for a very tense and entertaining ride.

5. Most "Characteristic" - Big Trouble In Little China While surely not his best work, this film embodies what makes Carpenter a special director - it's a film that is having a damn good time, and sure as hell wants the audience to know it. Missing trucks, Chinese Black Magic, and head-exploding henchmen are only the tip of the iceberg. Oh, and he does his own theme song. The man loves to make fun movies, and this film is a testament to that.


Next: Steven Spielberg

 

By the way, the process doesn't have to be static - argument and discussion on people's choices should be encouraged, even if it get's in the way of progressing with directors.

 

Anyone want to suggest a new director, maybe a more obscure genre artist?