PhD student Tom Slootweg made a list of his (constantly changing) favourite movies and directors. Here it is: 1) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Thomas Alfredson (2011) Atmospheric spy-thriller with breathtaking cinematography by Hoyte van Hoytema. 2) Caché, Michael Haneke (2005) The opening sequence still begs the question whether it is an hommage to Lost Highway or creative borrowing on Haneke’s part. 3) Le Fils, Dardenne bros. (2002) Extremely long third-person shots, constantly playing with our effort to understand woodworker Olivier’s obsessesion with Francis. 4) Underground, Emir Kusturica (1995) Satire of the doomed history of (the former) Yugoslavia, which takes place, partly, in subterranean Belgrade. 5) Robocop, Paul Verhoeven (1987) Pop culture at its best. Verhoeven’s comic-like ultra violence on a Hollywood budget, overtly scorns the neo-liberal turn during the Reagan and Thatcher era. 6) Blue Velvet, David Lynch (1986) Lynch’s carte blanche given by (in)famous cult producer Dino De Laurentiis as “artisitic” payment for his controversial adaptation of Frank Herberts Dune. Arguably the most accessible Lynch film that embodies most of the characteristics his works are known for. Among others: a thin facade around the rotten core of “Middle America”, loss of innocence, and a haunting soundtrack by Angelo Badalamenti. 7) Videodrome, David Cronenberg (1983) McLuhian nightmare with a dystopian view on the morality of (then) new media: “Death to videodrome! Long live the new flesh!” 8) A Clockwork Orange, Stanley Kubrick (1971) Mocking the hopes and possibilities of a socially engineered society. Also the cinematic screening context for ‘droog’ Alex leaves something to be desired: “And viddy films, I would. Where I was taken to, brothers, was like no sinny I ever viddied before.” 9) Andromeda Strain, Robert Wise (1971) Oozing with an idiosyncratic 1970s sci-fi atmosphere and particularly interesting because of its innovative splitscreen aesthetic. 10) Batman, Leslie H. Martinson (1966) One of the most exciting examples of “camp” in the mid-1960s, released in the same year when Sontag’s notes on the subject were published in a book (Against Interpretation). Batman (Adam West): “Our work is done, boy wonder! Let’s leave through the window… Inconspiciously…” 10 best directors: Coen Brothers Sam Peckinpah Michael Winterbottom Krzysztof Kieślowski Christopher Nolan David Fincher Carlos Reygadas Stanley Kubrick Terry Gilliam Jim Jarmusch
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 08:28:21 +0000
Trending Topics
© 2015