KarmaPolice
Footballguy
Next mild project this month was getting back to slowly getting to directors that I either don't know that well, or ones that I have blindspots in their filmographies that have been on my list for a bit. I listened to a couple PTA interviews and podcasts and a couple names came up frequently that I am not really knowledgeable about so I thought that would be place to start so I hit up some movies by Robert Altman and Ingmar Bergman. Altman was one that I had only seen a couple of: The Player and I am pretty sure I've seen Gosford Park when it came out, but remember little of. Bergman I had just seen Seventh Seal and remembered little of and Persona that I really dug. Here is what I ended up watching:
Altman: MASH, The Long Goodbye, California Split, 3 Women, Macabe and Mrs Miller.
Bergman: Summer with Monika, Smiles of a Summer Night, Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, and Winter Light.
As I was talking with @Ilov80s - Bergman was an instant love. Powered through those movies in short order and was entranced by all of them. I now have the Bergman box set on my Christmas list and added a few more to my Criterion list as well to maybe stream soon. Probably not a surprise since I am drawn to the darker side of the PTA movies as well. I just click with all of it: the look of his movies, the messy characters, the darkish humor, bleak outlook. There wasn't any of the 5 I didn't really like. My least favorite was Smiles of a Summer Night - I probably just wasn't in the mood for the tone that was more of a rom/com than I was expecting to be in his filmography.
Altman falls into more of the group of directors that I respect, appreciate the talent of, glad they influenced my favorite directors, but don't ultimately click with the movies. I still have the sprawling Nashville and Short Cuts to get to as well. I am glad I watched them, and of course now understand further how he would be a PTA influence, but most of the movies didn't click. To be fair, with these movies I watched he is also dabbling in a couple areas that are ones I usually don't jive with: 70s comedy and western. 3 Women was my favorite, with The Long Goodbye close behind. California Split was a fun and I think I watched because a pod suggested it as a pairing with Hard Eight. MASH was an honest struggle to get through.
After I did this, I liked the mild rules that I seemed to be looking for when thinking about those directors and others I had on my lists - 4 or more movies I've never seen of theirs plus others I've been thinking about rewatching, a least one of them from another country, and mostly available to stream for easy access. Because Raging Bull 4K on Criterion was released and After Life was one of my favorite finds of the last year, my next pairing is:
Martin Scorsese
Hirokazu Koreeda
There are still several of Marty's that I haven't gotten to, so I thought I'd pair those with Raging Bull since that is one I've only seen once and just got the 4k. Mean Streets, Age of Innocence, Silence, Last Temptation of Christ I believe were at the top of the list of movies. After Life is the only Koreeda I've seen, so all others will be new and it looks like most are on Criterion or AMC+. As I was looking I also randomly came across lists from each of their favorite movies, so I might be watching The Red Shoes and Floating Clouds as well.
Altman: MASH, The Long Goodbye, California Split, 3 Women, Macabe and Mrs Miller.
Bergman: Summer with Monika, Smiles of a Summer Night, Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, and Winter Light.
As I was talking with @Ilov80s - Bergman was an instant love. Powered through those movies in short order and was entranced by all of them. I now have the Bergman box set on my Christmas list and added a few more to my Criterion list as well to maybe stream soon. Probably not a surprise since I am drawn to the darker side of the PTA movies as well. I just click with all of it: the look of his movies, the messy characters, the darkish humor, bleak outlook. There wasn't any of the 5 I didn't really like. My least favorite was Smiles of a Summer Night - I probably just wasn't in the mood for the tone that was more of a rom/com than I was expecting to be in his filmography.
Altman falls into more of the group of directors that I respect, appreciate the talent of, glad they influenced my favorite directors, but don't ultimately click with the movies. I still have the sprawling Nashville and Short Cuts to get to as well. I am glad I watched them, and of course now understand further how he would be a PTA influence, but most of the movies didn't click. To be fair, with these movies I watched he is also dabbling in a couple areas that are ones I usually don't jive with: 70s comedy and western. 3 Women was my favorite, with The Long Goodbye close behind. California Split was a fun and I think I watched because a pod suggested it as a pairing with Hard Eight. MASH was an honest struggle to get through.
After I did this, I liked the mild rules that I seemed to be looking for when thinking about those directors and others I had on my lists - 4 or more movies I've never seen of theirs plus others I've been thinking about rewatching, a least one of them from another country, and mostly available to stream for easy access. Because Raging Bull 4K on Criterion was released and After Life was one of my favorite finds of the last year, my next pairing is:
Martin Scorsese
Hirokazu Koreeda
There are still several of Marty's that I haven't gotten to, so I thought I'd pair those with Raging Bull since that is one I've only seen once and just got the 4k. Mean Streets, Age of Innocence, Silence, Last Temptation of Christ I believe were at the top of the list of movies. After Life is the only Koreeda I've seen, so all others will be new and it looks like most are on Criterion or AMC+. As I was looking I also randomly came across lists from each of their favorite movies, so I might be watching The Red Shoes and Floating Clouds as well.
