Exploring Directors: Need Movie recommendations

One more director:

Ang Lee

Se, jie
Taking Woodstock
Wo hu cang long
Yin shi nan nu
Sense and Sensibility
Tui shou
 
@theredcommando,

Nopes! I have not watched Bollywood movies for a long time now. As mentioned in my earlier post, at some point of time in the future, I'd like to watch a whole lot of good Indian movies. But that will be a separate thread.

I would love a 16 MBPS unlimited connection (FUP-less) with access to BR quality digital downloads for cheap. That would be ideal.

As for movies mentioned here, a few of them can be found in MoserBaer each costing Rs. 399. This was done in association with Palador which I don't think exists anymore. I found at least 19 of the movies I am interested in today morning.

A better source would be Amazon UK / US. Collection Box sets may work out cheaper

The Louis Malle Collection Vol. 1 [DVD] [1958]: Amazon.co.uk: Jeanne Moreau, Maurice Ronet, Georges Poujouly, Yori Bertin, Jean Wall, Elga Andersen, Sylviane Aisenstein, Micheline Bona, Gisle Grandpr, Jacqueline Staup, Marcel Cuvelier, Grard Da

Louis Malle Collection - Vol. 2 English subtitles DVD: Amazon.co.uk: Harriet Walter, Michel Piccoli, Irene Jacobs, Joe Dalessandro, Michael Londsale, Dominique Blanc, Miou-Miou, Aurore Clment, Lea Massari, Louis Malle: Film & TV

The Francois Truffaut Collection - 6 Disc Box Set Exclusive to Amazon.co.uk DVD: Amazon.co.uk: Gerard Depardieu, Fanny Ardant, Henri Garcin, Vronique Silver, Philippe Morier-Genoud, Jean-Pierre Laud, Charles Aznavour, Marie Dubois, Daniel Boulang

The Jean-Pierre Melville Collection [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Marc Lavoine, Nick Nolte, Tchky Karyo, Grard Darmon, Emir Kusturica, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Serge Reggiani, Jean Desailly, Philippe Nahon, Lino Ventura, Jean-Pierre Melville, Neil Jordan, Cate

The Andrei Tarkovsky Collection [DVD] [1962]: Amazon.co.uk: Erland Josephson, Oleg Yankovskly, Alexksandr Kaidonovsky, Margarita Terekhiva, Andrei Tarkovsky: Film & TV

The Francois Truffaut Collection - 6 Disc Box Set Exclusive to Amazon.co.uk DVD: Amazon.co.uk: Gerard Depardieu, Fanny Ardant, Henri Garcin, Vronique Silver, Philippe Morier-Genoud, Jean-Pierre Laud, Charles Aznavour, Marie Dubois, Daniel Boulang

Pedro Almodovar Collection - Volver, All About My Mother, Bad Education, Talk To Her DVD: Amazon.co.uk: Film & TV

Abbas Kiarostami Collection [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Juliette Binoche, William Shimell, Behzad Dorani, Homayoun Ershadi, Abbas Kiarostami: Film & TV

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aki-Kaurismaki-Collection-Vol-1-DVD/dp/B000S6UZG0/

Another source can be second sales sites like Spun.com for Criterion DVDs though it's been a long time since I used that site. Hope they still ship to India.

There are streaming services like MUBI, which go for as cheap as Rs. 90 for streaming a film (or Rs. 299 monthly subscription), but I have not used it yet. Not sure if Criterion Cinematheque, which was supposed to go live in 2008 is still active!
 
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Then Gulaal and Omkara are must watch! Do take out some time to watch them. Any work done by these two guys is assured to be excellent. They are that good!

Would be nice to hear opinions and debate about some specific film too(to have more understanding about it). Not sure if this is the good place for that.

Thanks a lot for all those bunch of links and nice information!

I would like to watch world cinema, however, I strongly feel that movie has to be entertaining too. The list is surely impressive but I am always in doubt if some particular critically acclaimed movie would be entertaining...

Also watched Wong Kar-wai Chungking express, didnt like it.

The Hire is a series of short films by BMW. Directed by great directors all over the world. Do watch it.
 
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There are plenty of world movies I find entertaining, but I have no idea what you have already watched and found boring. I actually do not mind discussing specific movies in this thread, but it might wander off into a whole different direction if we did :)

I think it would be a better idea if you start a new thread by listing what movies you have already watched and what you like and dislike out of them. That might help you get better responses.
 
So good to see cinephiles!
I’d suggest joining a group called Cinema Mon Amour on Facebook.
A group for cinephiles and they keep sharing about films.

My personal suggestions are:

Farsi: Majid Majidi, Jafar Panahi, Asghar Farhadi, Abbas Kiarostami

French: Francois Truffaut, Agnes Varda, Jean-Marc Vallée (Cafe de Flore)

Italian: Fellini, Roselini, Virtorio De Sica, Luchino Visconti

Swedish: Ingmar Bergman

Danish: Lars Von Trier

Japanese: Ozu, Kurosawa

Spanish: Innaritu, Cuaron, Almodovar

English: Mike Leigh, Sam Mendes, Sofia Coppola, Ken Loach, Coen Brothers, Nolan (films till Prestige), Kubrick.

Of course, I’d have missed out on a lot of film maker that I like by forgetting to mention them. But I love these guys!

Cheers!
 
@saketgyani, Thanks for reviving this thread :)

I don't visit Hifivision much, so it was interesting to go back and read the thread in its entirety. While I have covered some of the suggestions, it reminded me that there are a lot more good movies I have to catch up on.

Unfortunately, I am not on facebook. I created an account, but I haven't used it beyond the first 3-4 days. I will weigh in on reviving the account and joining that group.

Last year, I came across Cristian Mungiu, a Romanian director. I watched three of his movies - 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days, Beyond the Hills and Graduation. There are slow films and then, very slow films (Tarkovsky, Bela Tarr), but I find the pacing of Mungiu's films to be just right for my tastes. My rating for his movies is in the opposite order of IMDB ratings, though in terms of the gravity of the subject matter, IMDB rating order would be about right.

I recently watched a few films by Takeshi Kitano, but I only like his films selectively or in parts. Sonatine was good as it is the unlikeliest gangster movie you'll ever see (it bursts out with violence in parts, but the second half in Okinawa turned out to be nothing like I expected). Kikujiro was also good. But his standout films so far are his take on Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman and a really quiet movie called A Scene at the Sea. A Scene at the Sea is actually harder to recommend because nothing much actually happens and a lot of what happens is pretty repetitive (and there is hardly anything about actual surfing). But, I liked its quiet approach. I would suggest Zatoichi (which is the most entertaining), Sonatine, and Kikujiro in that order to see if you like his movies.

This year, thanks to the academy nomination, I found Hirokazu Koreeda. I have watched a few films of his and I like what I see. You can think of them as variations of the same question - what makes a family?. He manages to get quite a good mileage out of his child actors. Many are calling him this era's Ozu. I can understand why, but I can also see differences between their styles. I would rate Shoplifters as his best so far. Nobody knows is slightly harder to recommend because of its deliberately slow pace, longer running time and the subject matter (the true event it is based on is actually way worse). But, I liked it very much. Of the films I have seen, Our Little Sister is easier to recommend because it is a much light-hearted movie, but it didn't appeal to me as much as the other two. I have a few more of his films lined up.

Off-topic: As far as foreign film nominations go, they were generally better than the 'Best Film' category. I liked Roma (for the second half). I wouldn't have minded if Shoplifters had won the award. Capernaum was also good. While I liked a lot about it I also had a few minor quibbles. I liked "Cold War"'s style and cinematography very much, but on the whole, it did not affect me as much as the other three.


Another director I found recently is a Korean director called Lee Chang-dong. His slow pacing may not be to everyone's liking, but for me, he is the find of the year on par with Koreeda. Peppermint Candy, with its reverse chronological order, is a good place to start. But, his best film is Oasis, which features two of the actors from Peppermint Candy in much more challenging roles. On reading the plot, I thought it would be an emotionally manipulating tear-jerker and I would hate it, but ended up loving it. (Aside: If you liked Oasis, do try an obscure Japanese film called Jossee, the Tiger and the Fish (2003) - which is another film I thought I'd hate, but ended up liking). The physical part of the acting by the two lead actors is unbelievably good. I would say next to the really weird and crazy Possession (1981), it is one of the more demanding roles an actress had to play.

I also liked Poetry very much even though I don't know if most people would like it. Yun Jeong-hie gives one of the most subtle, yet powerful performances as the grandmother and is the main reason why I liked the movie. Let's say I liked the quiet, contemplative, poetic moments in Poetry a lot more than the poetry in Paterson (completely unrelated, but since it was also about poetry and I had watched it a few days before Poetry, this comparison ran through my head :p). Burning, on the other hand, would be a hit or a miss. Personally, I thought it took an hour to get going, but I loved the second half. I read that translating Haruki Murakami's works on to the screen is difficult, but I have no familiarity with the source material to say one way or another. Steven Yeun (from "The Walking Dead") was pretty cool.

Hope this thread stays alive.
 
I enjoyed Hana Bi.
Spoiler alert.
The contrast between the serenity of the protagonist’s private life ( poignant moments of a final vacation between a doting husband and his dying wife) and the violence of his professional life really sets up the ‘fireworks’ for the movie’s climax.
Beautiful sad movie.
I also enjoyed Andrey Petrovich Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan.
Russia is complex and layered and this movie brings it all out - the religiosity of the Russian Orthodox Church , the corruption of municipal politics , raising family , infidelity and friendship amongst ordinary people and the kafkasque labyrinths of its judicial system. Great acting , wonderful plot , lovely locale and a deeper message that resonates universally.
Want to watch The Guilty but can’t find a legal download available.
 
@moktan, Please use the Spoiler tag for enclosing spoilers. It was tough to discipline myself to skip those two lines and read the rest of your post :)

Leviathan has been on my watchlist for long. Your review in The Movies I liked thread reminded me about it, but then I forgot about it once again. So thanks for reminding.
 
Hi @esanthosh, Excellent thread and movies you've recommended in here!

I love watching movies that have a lot of insight, aesthetics and thought behind it with dramatic performances from its cast. Also for me, it shouldn’t be a mere cerebral exercise so that it fits into the niche of being called an “Art film”.

I’ll list a few ones from my all time favorites in no particular order of preference, with the director and their movies. I’m sure there are a lot more to explore from each of these directors. Some of these are not exactly “classics”, but are nevertheless a joy to watch and might be one 50-100 years from now :)

Alfred Hitchcock - All of them. Each is a masterpiece so not listing here :)

David Lean - Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge on the river Kwai, Hobson’s choice, Dr. Zhivago, A passage to India

Stanley Kubrick - The shining, 2001: A space odyssey, A clockwork orange, Eyes wide shut, Barry Lyndon, Lolita

Frank Capra - Mr Deeds goes to town, It’s a wonderful life, It happened one night, Mr. Smith goes to Washington,

George Cukor - Born Yesterday, Little Women, My fair lady

Ingmar Bergman - Face to face & Persona

Satyajit Ray - Apu Trilogy

Orson Welles - Citizen Kane, Third Man, Lady from Shanghai

Sidney Lumet - 12 Angry Men, Murder on the orient express,

Robert Mulligan - To kill a mocking bird, Moon and six pence

Elia Kazan - East of Eden, A street car named desire

Robert Altman - The player, Gosford Park, Three women, Vincent and Theo

Woody Allen - Annie Hall, Manhattan, Midnight in Paris, Match Point, Blue Jasmine, Scoop, Irrational Man, Magic in the moonlight, Anything Else

Roman Polanski - Rosemary’s baby, Chinatown, Bitter moon, Carnage,

Jonathan Demme - Silence of the lambs, Philadelphia

Francis Ford Coppola - Godfather Trilogy, Lost in Translation

James Ivory - The remains of the day, Howard’s End,

From the current generation of Directors those that I find very promising are David Fincher, M. Night Shyamalan, Christopher Nolan, David Lynch, Martin Scorcese, Terrence Mallik, Quentin Tarantino & Oliver Stone.
 
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A great movie I watched with my kids was Babette’s Feast. Don’t want to sound pedantic but it proffers the message that food can be as sensuous as it can be spiritual. Watch it if you enjoy good food. The movie is based on a story by Isak Dinesan who also wrote Out of Africa.
Another wonderful kids movie was Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr Fox. Less dark than the original Roald Dahl. George Clooney could make even a doormat sound sophisticated and suave.
 
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The movie is based on a story by Isak Dinesan who also wrote Out of Africa
Thanks, Moktan for the suggestions :) I had really liked the movie, "Out of Africa" and always wanted to read the book. Normally I do it the other way around. As with John Steinbeck, whose magnum opus, "East of Eden" was made into a movie directed by Elia Kazan. The book was a very touching and emotional epic that spans 3 generations and very difficult to capture in a movie. The movie script happened to take only the final act and made it into a feature length, which on it's own was a joy to watch, but just a shadow of it's true self :)
 
Major streaming services like Netflix and Primevideo have an extremely low selection of these classics, as they mainly cater to the mainstream movies. Youtube movies has some available for rent, but again the selection is less.
FM @SachinChavan had recommended mubi, which has a unique offering of carefully handpicked classics which expire every 30 days.
Criterion channel is the perhaps the best option, but will need a VPN to make it work here.

How do you all watch these movies, through DVDs or any other specific streaming service?
 
How do you all watch these movies, through DVDs or any other specific streaming service?

If it’s a film I really like, I’ll invest in the Criterion blu ray. Recently picked up Terence Mallick’s Tree of Life, for example. No denying, however, that it’s an expensive proposition.
One option is to wait for the annual Barnes and Noble sale, when all Criterion blu rays and dvds are 50% off. This is usually around Sept/Oct.
Another option is to search on Amazon UK. The same, non Criterion edition, might be way cheaper.
There are also titles that are exclusive to the UK market. Hana-Bi, for instance, is only available as a Region B blu ray.
 
If it’s a film I really like, I’ll invest in the Criterion blu ray. Recently picked up Terence Mallick’s Tree of Life, for example. No denying, however, that it’s an expensive proposition.
One option is to wait for the annual Barnes and Noble sale, when all Criterion blu rays and dvds are 50% off. This is usually around Sept/Oct.
Another option is to search on Amazon UK. The same, non Criterion edition, might be way cheaper.
There are also titles that are exclusive to the UK market. Hana-Bi, for instance, is only available as a Region B blu ray.
Thanks. I've been watching them on DVDs bought earlier through Amazon US and Canada. With streaming being so convenient and a cheaper option, I was wondering about that possibility too. Criterion channel looks very promising in that regard.
 
A beautiful, well-constructed speaker with class-leading soundstage, imaging and bass that is fast, deep, and precise.
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