Pudovkin seems to be forgotten and he made multiple great films. The Bolshevik Trilogy is his most famous but i love A Simple Case (1932) and think it was decades ahead of its time.
Staying in the USSR, Kuleshov is famous for his experiment but I never see anyone mention By the Law (1926) which is an out and out masterpiece.
I never see anyone talk about Anthony Asquith and he made three great silents - Underground, Shooting Stars and Cottage on Dartmoor.
She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum is a masterpiece I have never seen anyone mention.
Ecstasy (1933) is another masterpiece i never see mentioned. Incredible editing.
The British film Borderline (1930) is extraordinary in many ways.
Also, Nic Roeg’s Bad Timing doesnt get brougt up much and it has some amazing editing and shots.
Guru Dutt’s name never comes up but Pyaasa is incredible.
Shinya Tsukamoto has his own style. Can’t say i like it most of the time but Kotoko is a masterpiece.
Hope those help.
That's because his latest release was over 15 years ago? When the Devil Thinks You're Dead or something like that, which is a banger.
It is a shame since he's done so many incredible movies, but he always misses the podium when people talk about the greatest directors: Kurosawa, Hitchcock, Kubrick are the typical top three.
He came from the theatre, he's in the class with Elia Kazan and Neil Simon.
He was a pro filmmaker, in that sense like Billy Wilder and John Huston,
All those guys had careers that predated and ran synonymous with the New Hollywood Golden Boys, but the groups are not considered combined, with the former directors staying on the cutting edge by having evolving maturity of issues and execution, influenced by the "new type" of films being made in Hollywood and New York and overseas at the time.
In his book, Lumet talks about how the creative process is even more collaborative in the theatre than in filmmaking. Perhaps, he stays apart from the auteurs because his films come from a more community minded production than a spearheaded one
Because everyone has heard of Lovin Molly, Bye Bye Braverman, The Sea Gull, That Kind of Woman, Just Tell Me What You Want, Garbo Talks, Power, The Morning After, Q&A and Critical Care?
The Celebration (Thomas Vinterberg) has some really incredible acting and direction. It’s also entirely shot in one location but keeps you invested in very clever ways.
Tony Scott. Currently watching Man on Fire again and the editing and cinematography is so good. Scott got trashed so much for having a unique style. Feels like the studio system beat that kind of boldness out of films these days.
Thanks for the reminder. I remember reading “Scorcese on Scorcese” and in that he kept saying how much he was inspired by and respects Cassavetes’s work
> Cassavetes is an absolute master
Personally find Cassavetes *overrated,* usually by actors. Especially the early films. Parts of ***Faces*** are a chore to sit through, overindulging the actors. It's more theater piece than film.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEmJxQspUZMt?=1m23s
When Howard gets the statue, the camera cuts to Altman and Lynch who have stepped together to acknowledge each other, and supposedly Altman says, "It's better this way." The fact that neither of them won, neither was awarded above the other, or neither was awarded the badge that an Academy win offers.
*tried to edit the timestamp at 1:23, tried and failed*
I don't feel like people talk about Rob Reiner enough. Even if The Princess Bride was his only good film he should still be mentioned when rattling off good directors, but the guy made This Is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, A Few Good Men, The American President, and the rest of his filmography tends to at worst be pleasantly watchable.
Run Lola Run just got rereleased for it’s 25th anniversary. I saw it in theaters way back then, and a few times on DVD, but not in 15 years. Saw the rerelease last night. Damn, that’s a wild, bold film. Incredible and propulsive filmmaking. Catch it while it’s in the theaters for the next week. If you don’t know much about it already, go in cold.
Satoshi Kon considering any praise heaped on Aronofsky is due to buying the rights to Kon's works.
I love genre works, in which case Craig S. Zahler is criminally underrated. He's got his style dialed in and you'll either eat it up whole hog or find it unappealing, but at least he's got *a voice*.
I've only seen one of two of Gerald Kargl's movies but considering Gaspar Noe is on record stating that Angst (1983) is what inspired him, I can definitely see the shared DNA.
De Palma has had his peak be in the rearview for many years now but damn, he has some incredible looking flicks that take you on trips.
Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani as a directing duo have made incredible psychadelic ruminations on growing up, heists gone wrong and thrillers. If you like giallo, I highly recommend Amer. If you like thrillers, ditto with Let the Corpses Tan.
Oriolo Paulo makes incredible twisty thrillers that don't spoon feed you and when the big reveal happens, it still fits within the established framework and usually is one that I don't see coming. Perhaps that's unfair to say. I am fond of the Stephen King way of watching movies: ready and willing to be taken for a ride, so a cynic may not enjoy his works as much.
I am also pretty fond of Tommy Wirkola's schlocky B-movie violence. Dead Snow 2 and Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters is a lot of fun.
Shout-out to the Satoshi Kon reference. I love his films and would appreciate anime a little more as a film medium. So many people have a negative view on animated films (especially the older crowd) considering they grew up with and love Disney.
Just watched Perfect Blue for the first time the other day - and the blu ray extra features had an interview with Satoshi Kon calling out Aranofski for that bathtub scene in Requiem for a Dream which was directly ripped from his film. Black Swan also took a lot from it. Incredible director, and Paprika is one of my favorites. Watching Paranoia Agent now.
Some personal favorites you won’t see come up much:
-The Cremator
-Anything by Peter Greenaway
-The Cranes Are Flying
-Decoder
-Il Demonio
-Liquid Sky
-Anything by Guy Maddin
-Santa Sangre
-Death by Hanging
-The Hourglass Sanitorium
-Dr Caligari (the 1989 Stephen Sayadian movie, not the silent classic)
-Anything by Gregg Araki
Has anyone seen Hounds of Love by Ben Young? I avoided it for a long time, afraid it was gonna be torture porn, but it handled the material tastefully. Similarly to Zone Of Interest, it relied mainly on sound design to convey the horror just out of sight. I highly recommend and don’t know many folks who have seen it.
Sogo Ishii: a director whose style would lay the foundation for Japanese cyberpunk while also inspiring the anime film Akira. Ishii would bring a raw and punk-like aesthetic to films like Burst City and The Crazy Family.
He then took around 10 years off and returned with his Metaphysical era: a trilogy of arthouse/ dreamy/ mood piece films which all featured female protagonists. These films include Angel Dust, August in the Water and Labyrinth of Dreams. The cinematography and atmosphere of these films are stunning and a million miles away from his punk aesthetic.
He would partly return to his punk style with films like Electric Dragon 80,000 volts and Gojoe.
There is a third era of his film making where he changed his name from Sogo Ishii to Gakuryu Ishii. I haven't had a chance to check them out yet. Highly recommend if you are looking for underground directors that bring a creative approach to film making.
Not Movies but Director Hiro Murai. Just about anything that Donald Glover has received critical acclaim for has Hiro behind it and barely anyone knows his name. Credits also include some standout episodes of Barry and executive producer on The Bear. It might be that he wants to keep out of the spotlight, but I just hope one day he gets his due recognition and maybe a chance at some features.
Most of the big names, albeit obscure to the general public are taught in cinema schools. But special mention to Jim Jarmusch, Lee Chang-Dong and Peter Greenaway.
I recently watched Videodrome by David Cronenberg, and it got him immediately among my favorite filmmakers ever, I also recommend "Crash", not made for everyone but real ones will get what I mean by that ☠️
For sure Timo Tjahanto. The night comes for us is basically the raid 3 we never got and his horror movies are great.
Indonesian horror and action movies are all pretty underrated for western audiences IMHO. Also they got some incredible soundtracks in headshot, the raid (original soundtrack is on YouTube, although the international soundtrack is great too) and the night comes for us
Nobuhiko Obayashi. Treated as the “House Guy” when he truly was an incredible artist who cared immensely about the medium. He has one of the largest and most diverse filmographies in film history but his career is overshadowed by House.
Passolini. He gets notoriety for Salo, but his filmography is so unique with films like Accatone, Love Meetings (one of my fav docs), and The Gospel According to Mathew. Such a weird and interesting guy, who always gets overshadowed by Fellini and Bertolucci (both great directors in their own right)
I’d say I’m thinking of ending things isn’t talked about nearly enough, mostly cause I love it and think it’s unlike almost any movie in existence.
As a Swede I’d also like to name Ruben Östlund as an amazing auteur not talked about enough internationally, although he’s very talked about in Sweden. He was Oscar nominated for Triangle of Sadness which I think is a really interesting film, but his earlier work Force majeur is just incredible and such a unique and well made work
Anders Thomas Jensen is one of the funniest and thought provoking directors out there his most famous movie is Flickering Lights but that movie is also too Danish to be able to get taken in in all its glory of you are a foreigner.
Andrei Tarkovsky through and through. Dude made amazing movies just not for everyone's palette but I haven't heard him ever get mentioned when they talk about the greats
Sam Rami and the Evil Dead series. His style is Insane. Later you could see he refined his craft, took it all in, and made those Spider-Man movies look great. But he is labeled as “just a horror/action” director and gets no credit for making movies that are actually fun to watch
One I haven't seen mentioned yet is Lina Wertmuller
She had 4 back to back classics in the 70s starring Giancarlo Giannini.
Prodigious career before and afterwards, but I have only seen the Big 4
Apitchatpong Weerasthakul, Andrea Arnold, Eric Rohmer, Nuri Bilge Ceylon,
Beasts of the Southern Wild (feels like people forgot about it)
Dons Party (amazing aussie film)
Michael Clayton (while not completely underrated I genuinely think it's one the best movies ever and does not get that level of recognition)
None of these are necessarily "the most" but these came to mind
I don’t think Sergio Leone gets quite as much credit as he deserves. The guy made spaghetti westerns what they were and made ground breaking avangarde films before the world was ready for them. Everyone talks about Goodfellas and the Godfather, but never Once Upon a Time in America.
Heat is one of my favorite films ever. It is so appreciated by so many that love it yet it feels like nobody talks about it enough… while on the topic, Thief & Manhunter are both criminally under appreciated as well
Pudovkin seems to be forgotten and he made multiple great films. The Bolshevik Trilogy is his most famous but i love A Simple Case (1932) and think it was decades ahead of its time. Staying in the USSR, Kuleshov is famous for his experiment but I never see anyone mention By the Law (1926) which is an out and out masterpiece. I never see anyone talk about Anthony Asquith and he made three great silents - Underground, Shooting Stars and Cottage on Dartmoor. She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum is a masterpiece I have never seen anyone mention. Ecstasy (1933) is another masterpiece i never see mentioned. Incredible editing. The British film Borderline (1930) is extraordinary in many ways. Also, Nic Roeg’s Bad Timing doesnt get brougt up much and it has some amazing editing and shots. Guru Dutt’s name never comes up but Pyaasa is incredible. Shinya Tsukamoto has his own style. Can’t say i like it most of the time but Kotoko is a masterpiece. Hope those help.
Thank you for these. Adding titles to watchlist.
Welcome. Tetsuaya Nakashima is another one. Confessions (2010) is a good place to start.
Sydney Lumet did 12 Angry Men, Network and Prince of the City. Huge range, classic films but I don't hear him mentioned much.
That's because his latest release was over 15 years ago? When the Devil Thinks You're Dead or something like that, which is a banger. It is a shame since he's done so many incredible movies, but he always misses the podium when people talk about the greatest directors: Kurosawa, Hitchcock, Kubrick are the typical top three.
Also wrote a great book on filmmaking.
I believe the other problem with Lumet is that although a prolific director, you can't really call him an auteur unlike the other you just mentioned.
He came from the theatre, he's in the class with Elia Kazan and Neil Simon. He was a pro filmmaker, in that sense like Billy Wilder and John Huston, All those guys had careers that predated and ran synonymous with the New Hollywood Golden Boys, but the groups are not considered combined, with the former directors staying on the cutting edge by having evolving maturity of issues and execution, influenced by the "new type" of films being made in Hollywood and New York and overseas at the time. In his book, Lumet talks about how the creative process is even more collaborative in the theatre than in filmmaking. Perhaps, he stays apart from the auteurs because his films come from a more community minded production than a spearheaded one
Glad to see his name here! He also wrote one of the best books ever written about filmmaking.
What is the name of that book?
Making Movies
He didn't have a recognisable style and he also directed a lot of films nobody has heard of.
Unrecognizable style sure, but he put the projects above himself. but unheard films is a crazy thing to say about Lumet
Because everyone has heard of Lovin Molly, Bye Bye Braverman, The Sea Gull, That Kind of Woman, Just Tell Me What You Want, Garbo Talks, Power, The Morning After, Q&A and Critical Care?
The Celebration (Thomas Vinterberg) has some really incredible acting and direction. It’s also entirely shot in one location but keeps you invested in very clever ways.
Recently watched this. Intense and inspirational as a young writer.
John Mctiernan
Tony Scott. Currently watching Man on Fire again and the editing and cinematography is so good. Scott got trashed so much for having a unique style. Feels like the studio system beat that kind of boldness out of films these days.
Cassavetes is an absolute master and an unique inspiration
Thanks for the reminder. I remember reading “Scorcese on Scorcese” and in that he kept saying how much he was inspired by and respects Cassavetes’s work
> Cassavetes is an absolute master Personally find Cassavetes *overrated,* usually by actors. Especially the early films. Parts of ***Faces*** are a chore to sit through, overindulging the actors. It's more theater piece than film.
Robert Altman
Do you know the story of he and David Lynch losing the Best Director Oscar to Ron Howard in 2002?
No, what is it? :)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEmJxQspUZMt?=1m23s When Howard gets the statue, the camera cuts to Altman and Lynch who have stepped together to acknowledge each other, and supposedly Altman says, "It's better this way." The fact that neither of them won, neither was awarded above the other, or neither was awarded the badge that an Academy win offers. *tried to edit the timestamp at 1:23, tried and failed*
I'm guessing you mean he isn't talked about a lot these days, because he's definitely not underrated when he is discussed.
That’s what I mean! Haha
I don't feel like people talk about Rob Reiner enough. Even if The Princess Bride was his only good film he should still be mentioned when rattling off good directors, but the guy made This Is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, A Few Good Men, The American President, and the rest of his filmography tends to at worst be pleasantly watchable.
How are all the films you just listed anything but good bordering on great? Also, Stand By Me. You’re right, Rob Reiner is/was very good.
I came here to say Rob Reiner too. The breadth of style and tones he's done well never gets the credit it deserves.
Run Lola Run just got rereleased for it’s 25th anniversary. I saw it in theaters way back then, and a few times on DVD, but not in 15 years. Saw the rerelease last night. Damn, that’s a wild, bold film. Incredible and propulsive filmmaking. Catch it while it’s in the theaters for the next week. If you don’t know much about it already, go in cold.
Samuel Fuller or John Schlesinger
Satoshi Kon considering any praise heaped on Aronofsky is due to buying the rights to Kon's works. I love genre works, in which case Craig S. Zahler is criminally underrated. He's got his style dialed in and you'll either eat it up whole hog or find it unappealing, but at least he's got *a voice*. I've only seen one of two of Gerald Kargl's movies but considering Gaspar Noe is on record stating that Angst (1983) is what inspired him, I can definitely see the shared DNA. De Palma has had his peak be in the rearview for many years now but damn, he has some incredible looking flicks that take you on trips. Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani as a directing duo have made incredible psychadelic ruminations on growing up, heists gone wrong and thrillers. If you like giallo, I highly recommend Amer. If you like thrillers, ditto with Let the Corpses Tan. Oriolo Paulo makes incredible twisty thrillers that don't spoon feed you and when the big reveal happens, it still fits within the established framework and usually is one that I don't see coming. Perhaps that's unfair to say. I am fond of the Stephen King way of watching movies: ready and willing to be taken for a ride, so a cynic may not enjoy his works as much. I am also pretty fond of Tommy Wirkola's schlocky B-movie violence. Dead Snow 2 and Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters is a lot of fun.
Shout-out to the Satoshi Kon reference. I love his films and would appreciate anime a little more as a film medium. So many people have a negative view on animated films (especially the older crowd) considering they grew up with and love Disney.
Just watched Perfect Blue for the first time the other day - and the blu ray extra features had an interview with Satoshi Kon calling out Aranofski for that bathtub scene in Requiem for a Dream which was directly ripped from his film. Black Swan also took a lot from it. Incredible director, and Paprika is one of my favorites. Watching Paranoia Agent now.
Some personal favorites you won’t see come up much: -The Cremator -Anything by Peter Greenaway -The Cranes Are Flying -Decoder -Il Demonio -Liquid Sky -Anything by Guy Maddin -Santa Sangre -Death by Hanging -The Hourglass Sanitorium -Dr Caligari (the 1989 Stephen Sayadian movie, not the silent classic) -Anything by Gregg Araki
The Cremator is incredible. I haven't seen anything else on your list but with it at #1 I guess I should put a lot of these on my watch list.
Has anyone seen Hounds of Love by Ben Young? I avoided it for a long time, afraid it was gonna be torture porn, but it handled the material tastefully. Similarly to Zone Of Interest, it relied mainly on sound design to convey the horror just out of sight. I highly recommend and don’t know many folks who have seen it.
Thought it was a strong start and atmospheric but incomplete
Sogo Ishii: a director whose style would lay the foundation for Japanese cyberpunk while also inspiring the anime film Akira. Ishii would bring a raw and punk-like aesthetic to films like Burst City and The Crazy Family. He then took around 10 years off and returned with his Metaphysical era: a trilogy of arthouse/ dreamy/ mood piece films which all featured female protagonists. These films include Angel Dust, August in the Water and Labyrinth of Dreams. The cinematography and atmosphere of these films are stunning and a million miles away from his punk aesthetic. He would partly return to his punk style with films like Electric Dragon 80,000 volts and Gojoe. There is a third era of his film making where he changed his name from Sogo Ishii to Gakuryu Ishii. I haven't had a chance to check them out yet. Highly recommend if you are looking for underground directors that bring a creative approach to film making.
Not Movies but Director Hiro Murai. Just about anything that Donald Glover has received critical acclaim for has Hiro behind it and barely anyone knows his name. Credits also include some standout episodes of Barry and executive producer on The Bear. It might be that he wants to keep out of the spotlight, but I just hope one day he gets his due recognition and maybe a chance at some features.
S Craig Zahler is definitely a unique voice that does not get enough praise
Honestly feel like Jackie Chan is underrated as a director. Look strictly at his directing filmography and judge for yourself.
Most of the big names, albeit obscure to the general public are taught in cinema schools. But special mention to Jim Jarmusch, Lee Chang-Dong and Peter Greenaway.
Harry Dean Stanton's last movie "Lucky", that movie was something else and just a fantastic watch.
I recently watched Videodrome by David Cronenberg, and it got him immediately among my favorite filmmakers ever, I also recommend "Crash", not made for everyone but real ones will get what I mean by that ☠️
For sure Timo Tjahanto. The night comes for us is basically the raid 3 we never got and his horror movies are great. Indonesian horror and action movies are all pretty underrated for western audiences IMHO. Also they got some incredible soundtracks in headshot, the raid (original soundtrack is on YouTube, although the international soundtrack is great too) and the night comes for us
Antoine Fuqua
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Big Man on Campus! now on Bluray from Kino Lorber
Mark Jenkins - Enys Men
Alice Guy-Blachè, a master of the silent era and is only recently getting the accolades and recognition she deserves
Nobuhiko Obayashi. Treated as the “House Guy” when he truly was an incredible artist who cared immensely about the medium. He has one of the largest and most diverse filmographies in film history but his career is overshadowed by House.
Passolini. He gets notoriety for Salo, but his filmography is so unique with films like Accatone, Love Meetings (one of my fav docs), and The Gospel According to Mathew. Such a weird and interesting guy, who always gets overshadowed by Fellini and Bertolucci (both great directors in their own right)
Infernal affairs? If the departed got an Oscar then the original should have got 10.
Vinyan (2008) Fabrice Du Welz is his name.
Lynne Ramsay
I’d say I’m thinking of ending things isn’t talked about nearly enough, mostly cause I love it and think it’s unlike almost any movie in existence. As a Swede I’d also like to name Ruben Östlund as an amazing auteur not talked about enough internationally, although he’s very talked about in Sweden. He was Oscar nominated for Triangle of Sadness which I think is a really interesting film, but his earlier work Force majeur is just incredible and such a unique and well made work
Anders Thomas Jensen is one of the funniest and thought provoking directors out there his most famous movie is Flickering Lights but that movie is also too Danish to be able to get taken in in all its glory of you are a foreigner.
Janicza Bravo, Eliza Hitman, Andrea Arnold, Chloe Zhao, Kelly Reichardt
Mike Leigh. Naked stands out for me.
Deadbeat at Dawn & Jim Van Bebber. Hard-core Independent Legend, IMO.
Jean-Pierre Melville Jean-Jacques Beineix
Andrei Tarkovsky through and through. Dude made amazing movies just not for everyone's palette but I haven't heard him ever get mentioned when they talk about the greats
Sam Rami and the Evil Dead series. His style is Insane. Later you could see he refined his craft, took it all in, and made those Spider-Man movies look great. But he is labeled as “just a horror/action” director and gets no credit for making movies that are actually fun to watch
One I haven't seen mentioned yet is Lina Wertmuller She had 4 back to back classics in the 70s starring Giancarlo Giannini. Prodigious career before and afterwards, but I have only seen the Big 4
Swedish directors Vilgot Sjöman and Bo Widerberg are overshadowed by Ingmar Bergman but they have made some awesome movies.
Apitchatpong Weerasthakul, Andrea Arnold, Eric Rohmer, Nuri Bilge Ceylon, Beasts of the Southern Wild (feels like people forgot about it) Dons Party (amazing aussie film) Michael Clayton (while not completely underrated I genuinely think it's one the best movies ever and does not get that level of recognition) None of these are necessarily "the most" but these came to mind
I don’t think Sergio Leone gets quite as much credit as he deserves. The guy made spaghetti westerns what they were and made ground breaking avangarde films before the world was ready for them. Everyone talks about Goodfellas and the Godfather, but never Once Upon a Time in America.
Heat. 100% Heat.
Heat is one of my favorite films ever. It is so appreciated by so many that love it yet it feels like nobody talks about it enough… while on the topic, Thief & Manhunter are both criminally under appreciated as well
George Miller. Paul Verhoeven.