Began 5 Jan. 2021. Completed 2 Feb. 2022.
As I grow as a cinephile I find myself more and more interested in considering directors' works as a whole and seeing how a director grows artistically and what concerns, values, themes, etc. a particular director explores throughout their entire filmography.
This is my first, of probably many, self-imposed challenges where I watch five unseen films of five different directors. I tried to make a list of directors that is a mixed-bag of directors that I am both very interested in exploring and are from different generations, cultures, time-periods etc. Unfortunately, there is a huge diversity problem in who is given resources, advertising and wider distribution so these directors' list will always…
Began 5 Jan. 2021. Completed 2 Feb. 2022.
As I grow as a cinephile I find myself more and more interested in considering directors' works as a whole and seeing how a director grows artistically and what concerns, values, themes, etc. a particular director explores throughout their entire filmography.
This is my first, of probably many, self-imposed challenges where I watch five unseen films of five different directors. I tried to make a list of directors that is a mixed-bag of directors that I am both very interested in exploring and are from different generations, cultures, time-periods etc. Unfortunately, there is a huge diversity problem in who is given resources, advertising and wider distribution so these directors' list will always skew drastically toward white American men, but hopefully as I continue this series I will find it easier to put more diverse directors I want to watch more of.
Below are the five directors I have decided to include in this list with a short comment on why I am interested in including them in this challenge. I am watching their five highest rated movies on Letterboxd that I have not yet seen. I have decided to include no more than two documentaries because I do not want to exclude them, but I also know ratings are a bit off on them since the people most likely to watch documentaries are the folks most likely to favor them more highly.
Frank Capra: My Golden Age of Hollywood pick, Capra has a lot of big movies that I haven't seen yet with big stars I've been coming to adore that fuel my interest.
Spike Lee: As the most prolific of African-American directors with a distinct voice and artistry I have come to love, I am seeking to become a completist of his work and this will help.
Richard Linklater: As one of my earliest favorite director, he sure has some hits and misses, but I am still very interested in all of his work and these five films are the remaining five I need to watch to become a completist.
Martin Scorsese: As the grandfather of New Hollywood, he seems to be the most influential director who is still working today despite his age, and although I am hoping he still manages to craft films for another decade or two, if he ever stops, I don't want to have to scramble to see more of his work.
Zhang Yimou: As my sole foreign pick for this iteration, he was one of the very first foreign directors I fell in love with when I was in high school when I got my hands on two of his epic wuxia films and I want to see more of what he can offer.
As always, I will keep a top 5 list, updated as I watch them:
Seen: 25/25
Top 5
1. Raise the Red Lantern
2. Ju Dou
3. A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies
4. The Road Home
5. Mo' Better Blues
