Friday, May 21, 2010

June 1... It Begins

Just posting an update to say that the directors countdown will begin on Tuesday June 1. Things will work exactly as I described in the earlier post, except that I decided to expand it to a Top 30, so I can comment on a few other directors that I love.

The only thing that I will reiterate is that the rankings of films for each director will be based on my own taste, not necessarily which ones are "best" or "greatest." In a lot of cases, favorite and best will coincide, but not always. I really hope that everyone else will contribute lists as well, as it will be very interesting to compare others feelings toward each director. I also want to point out that I will be including every film that I have seen from each director, but just because a movie is included doesn't necessarily mean that I like it. Many great directors have made some horrible movies, but if I have seen them I am going to include them in the lists. And I should also note that, while the list has not yet been finalized, if there is an abundance of American directors, it may be a result of simply being more familiar with overall bodies of work. I won't be faking anything - I'm going with the directors that I love to follow/watch.

So, until June 1... I'll be doing nothing but watching movies!

9 comments:

  1. Can you give us the list with directors that you will discuss here? Because, you know, we too have to prepare for battle. ;)

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  2. That's an interesting idea, Nostromo, and one that I honestly hadn't thought of. I had just assumed that I would do the countdown as I have done the others, revealing a new director with each entry.

    I'd love to hear thoughts from others on this idea... would it work better to reveal the Top 30, then count down so as to allow others to compile their own lists as well? Or is the "suspense" of a traditional countdown worth keeping? I'm open to both, so chime in with any thoughts.

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  3. If the directors are counted down in order of your personal preference then you shouldn't reveal anything. If the sequence of filmmakers being posted is random and not sequential then I'm with Nostromo. The suspense would come from where each movie gets ranked within a director's filmography......M.Roca

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  4. Even if directors are counted down, it is good idea to give is the next one or two names in advance. What is the period in which you will post each director?

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  5. Dave: Enjoy your short window here, and of course I am looking forward to your June 1 post and every one thereafter. This should be another fantastic project!

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  6. I'm looking forward to this. I pretty much sat out the noir countdown as I'm not really a genre person, at least not in depth - I'm happy with my breadth in terms of film history, but have not really explored nooks and crannies in the process of acquainting myself with as many different eras, styles, and films as I could. Though your list will certainly serve well as a guide in future explorations, when I do dive deeper into noir.

    But a directors' countdown is right up my alley. Actually, I kind of wish it could be a top 50 rather than a top 30, but I appreciate how much more work a 30-directors-list is than even a top 100-films-list.

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  7. Thanks guys, I'm pretty excited for this... mainly because, like I said earlier, this one involves more movie-watching than writing. I enjoy the writing, and it's not like I was writing dissertations or anything, but they do take a little time. On these, it'll be more general reasons for my love for each director, then the rankings.

    Nostromo - I was planning on doing a new post every other day... what about a compromise where each day, the next director is revealed. I know that only gives about 2 days prep time, but it does give some time for someone to compile a list of their own.

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  8. Fair enough. I'm waiting your first chapel master. :)

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  9. Okay, nice! looking forward to this one! I'm sure I'll be able to relate to these rankings and listings more than I was with the previous countdown...

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