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So, you're on a date or at an afterparty and you've been entranced by this fabulous girl (or boy, if you prefer). You two have been talking about all sorts of things and you're really hitting it off. Then they throw a spinball at you: "Doesn't this remind you of that film by... [unpronounceable last name]?"
Oh no! You're dating a film buff! Well, never fear. Even if you are utterly blind to most actors like me, you'll sound very impressive if you've seen some films by famous directors and you know their surnames. Quick, as soon as the party's over, run down to Hollywood Video and rent a few of these...
Contents |
Some surnames
I will list one "name-making" famous movie by the director, a lesser-known "reference" movie to compare it to, and some talking points to impress your film buff friend.
Wes ANDERSON
- Name-making movie
- The Royal Tenenbaums (thanks to H.M. Peters for the correction)
- Reference movie
- The Life Aquatic
- Talking points
- "Wes Anderson sure is quirky!" Sure to get your friend talking about specific examples of quirkiness.
Federico FELLINI
- Name-making movie
- 8 1/2
- Reference movie
- La Dolce Vita
- Talking points
- What does it all mean?
Jean-Pierre JEUNET
- Name-making movie
- Amelie
- Reference movie
- Delicatessen (you really have to watch this one)
- Talking points
- Are his characters at all realistic, or does he go past romanticism and into a fairy tale?
Michel GONDRY
- Name-making movie
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
- Reference movie
- The Science of Sleep
- Talking points
- Gondry is much better at making commercials and music videos than full-length movies. He really likes playing with visual ideas but he has trouble adapting them for longer than five minutes.
Akira KUROSAWA
- Name-making movie
- Are you kidding me?! Most people say The Seven Samurai. My dad says Ran. I say Ikiru.
- Reference movie
- If you really want to impress your friend watch No Regrets for Our Youth, an early film from when Kurosawa was still fooling around with the medium.
- Talking points
- Greatest director of all time?!
Hayao MIYAZAKI
- Name-making movie
- Spirited Away, or possibly Princess Mononoke
- Reference movie
- Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (or the children's movie My Neighbor Totoro, if you're dating a girl. If she hasn't seen it watch it with her!)
- Talking points
- All Miyazaki's films use anime to do things live action cannot. How does he make them nonetheless realistic?
Yasujiro OZU
- Name-making movie
- Tokyo Story (Tokyo Monogatari)
- Reference movie
- Late Spring
- Talking points
- Ozu is a film buff's dream. There are way too many things to focus on if you're a close watcher. One obvious point to bring up is the use of "pillow shots," shots of scenery with no connection to the storyline. If your film buff is pretentious they will start talking about fancy Japanese aesthetics. Shut them down!