The Most Skillfully Written/Directed Films

[Diemtay]

Despite my love for film, I'm not much of a film-buff, so my list may be a little expected... These are my personal favorites in terms of skill and creativity:

-Kubrick = 2001: A Space Odssey - The Shining - Clockwork Orange
-Flemming' = Gone With The Wind
-Malick = The Tree of Life
-Mendes = American Beauty
-Nolan = Memento - The Prestige - The Dark Knight - Inception
-Gasper Noe = Enter The Void
-Aronofsky = The Fountain - Requiem For a Dream - Pi
-Ward = What Dreams May Come
-Fincher = Fight Club (a truly unique film experience) - Seven (best crime/mystery film I've ever seen) - Benjamin Button
-Jackson = The Lord of the Rings trilogy

Films that are considered poor, but have many redeeming qualities:

-Cameron -
-----The Terminator (A perfectly executed thriller)
-----Avatar (You can't help but admire the effort put into this film, despite its lack of literary depth)
-----Titanic (It's not often that a film completely captivates the emotions of millions through a tragic love story)

-Snyder = 300 (In terms of screenplay, bad, but in terms of visuals, cinematography, and lighting... it's groundbreaking. I'll never forget seeing it opening weekend, I had never seen anything like it before)

-Wachowskis = The Matrix trilogy (redefined the action genre, stylistically, visually, and technically. New technology was invented for this film to create bullet time. Not to mention it was pretty thought provoking for a pop-corn action flick)

 

[darkseid26]

Raging Bull
Magnolia

 

[PSYLENTGuardian]

Films that are considered poor, but have many redeeming qualities:

-Cameron -
-----The Terminator (A perfectly executed thriller)
-----Avatar (You can't help but admire the effort put into this film, despite its lack of literary depth)
-----Titanic (It's not often that a film completely captivates the emotions of millions through a tragic love story)

I honestly don't see how anybody can consider the first Terminator movie to be poor.

That said, I'll toss in The Social Network.

 

[DACrowe]

-Casablanca
-The Godfather
-The Godfather Part II
-Apocalypse Now
-Citizen Kane
-Psycho
-Rear Window
-Shadow of a Doubt
-Bridge Over the River Kwai
-Lawrence of Arabia
-The Searchers
-Stagecoach
-The Good, The Bad, And the Ugly
-Double Indemnity
-Sunset Boulevard
-The Apartment
-It's A Wonderful Life
-Singing in the Rain
-My Fair Lady
-Alien
-Blade Runner
-Jaws
-Close Encounters of the Third Kind
-Raiders of the Lost Ark
-Schindler's List
-Saving Private Ryan
-Taxi Driver
-Raging Bull
-Goodfellas
-The Aviator
-The Departed
-Cabaret
-The Graduate
-Butch Cassidy and the Sunset Kid
-The Sting
-Network
-Cool Hand Luke
-The Shawshank Redemption
-Dr. Strange Love Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
-A Clockwork Orange
-Pulp Fiction
-Inglourious Basterds
-The Shawshank Redemption
-Ghostbusters
-Moulin Rouge!
-O Brother, Where Art Thou?
-Lord of the Rings Trilogy
-Seven
-Fight Club
-Zodiac
-The Social Network
-Sweeney Todd
-Ed Wood
-There Will Be Blood
-The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
-Memento
-The Dark Knight
-Black Swan
-Roshomon
-The Seven Samurai
-The Bicycle Thief
-The Seventh Seal
-Pan's Labyrinth
-Annie Hall
-Manhattan
-Amadeus
-Platoon
-The Lion King
-Gone With the Wind
-His Girl Friday
-Some Like it Hot
-Bride of Frankenstein
-Top Hat
-Swing Time

I'm sure there are many more, but I'm starting to go numb.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Pulp Fiction
Ghostbusters
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Goodfellas
The Shawshank Redemption
Boogie Nights
Trainspotting
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Matrix
Fight Club
Seven

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

-Casablanca
-The Godfather
-The Godfather Part II
-Apocalypse Now
-Citizen Kane
-Psycho
-Rear Window
-Shadow of a Doubt
-Bridge Over the River Kwai
-Lawrence of Arabia
-The Searchers
-Stagecoach
-The Good, The Bad, And the Ugly
-Double Indemnity
-Sunset Boulevard
-The Apartment
-It's A Wonderful Life
-Singing in the Rain
-My Fair Lady
-Alien
-Blade Runner
-Jaws
-Close Encounters of the Third Kind
-Raiders of the Lost Ark
-Schindler's List
-Saving Private Ryan
-Taxi Driver
-Raging Bull
-Goodfellas
-The Aviator
-The Departed
-Cabaret
-The Graduate
-Butch Cassidy and the Sunset Kid
-The Sting
-Network
-Cool Hand Luke
-The Shawshank Redemption
-Dr. Strange Love Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
-A Clockwork Orange
-Pulp Fiction
-Inglourious Basterds
-The Shawshank Redemption
-Ghostbusters
-Moulin Rouge!
-O Brother, Where Art Thou?
-Lord of the Rings Trilogy
-Seven
-Fight Club
-Zodiac
-The Social Network
-Sweeney Todd
-Ed Wood
-There Will Be Blood
-The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
-Memento
-The Dark Knight
-Black Swan
-Roshomon
-The Seven Samurai
-The Bicycle Thief
-The Seventh Seal
-Pan's Labyrinth
-Annie Hall
-Manhattan
-Amadeus
-Platoon
-The Lion King
-Gone With the Wind
-His Girl Friday
-Some Like it Hot
-Bride of Frankenstein
-Top Hat
-Swing Time

I'm sure there are many more, but I'm starting to go numb.

You pretty much named all of the movies I wanted to name. I'll just reaffirm Inglorious Basterds.

I'll add two Leone movies. Once Upon a Time in the West and Once Upon a Time in America.

 

[lime]

Titanic - The best movie ever made. Written and Directed in pure perfection.

The Shindler's List / The Pianist - Both movies written and directed to make you experience the war threw the eyes if the jew, Brilliant.

La Vita e Bella - Benigni's genius is on the max. Written and directed to you can be transported from a beautiful romantic comedy to the cruel reality of the WW2.

El Laberinto del Fauno - Del Toro's masterpiece. This truly is a faerie tale for grownups.

The Social Network - The screenplay was absolutely brilliant, and the direction even better.

Every Chris Nolan movie - He can write the best screenplays and direct the best movies.

more later...

 

[TruerToTheCore]

Films that are considered poor, but have many redeeming qualities:

-Cameron -
-----The Terminator (A perfectly executed thriller)
-----Avatar (You can't help but admire the effort put into this film, despite its lack of literary depth)
-----Titanic (It's not often that a film completely captivates the emotions of millions through a tragic love story)

WTF? James Cameron has no weakness as a director and he's actually a really good writer. "The Terminator" is pretty close to be a perfect movie, Titanic has a great screenplay and is a true work of quality.

 

[Thebumwhowalks]

WTF? James Cameron has no weakness as a director and he's actually a really good writer. "The Terminator" is pretty close to be a perfect movie,

Aye, it is, apart from the scene where he is putting himself back together in the bathroom mirror, even for the time of it's making, the effecst are so unconvincing they take you right out of the movie, personally, i would have edited it to better effect, cutting most of what we see, making it far more subtle.

Titanic has a great screenplay and is a true work of quality.

I tlaked about this with a guy on another board, who is a film buff, and works in the film industry to some copassity, and what he said was that the reason the Titanic screenplay did not get even a Oscar nomination(the first time the screenplay for a film has not been nominated, when winning across the board for all the other major awards), was because Cameron had ripped most of the story off from 'A Night To Remember', which I have not seen , so can't comment on the comparison.

 

[redhawk23]

The Fountain is an absolute mess of a film, at least writing wise. I can really blame Arronofsky though, he was just trying to salvage another project that completely fell apart, but still..

 

[darkseid26]

The Royal Tenenbaums
Amadeus

 

[the amazing fro]

I think any Kubrick film can qualify for this. The amount of thought put into every single frame and sequence is extraordinary.

 

[redhawk23]

^This. Though I haven't seen any of his stuff pre-sparticus. Nor have I seen Barry Lyndon.

 

[the amazing fro]

^ Many would argue that Barry Lyndon is his best. It certainly is underrated. Spartacus is good but it isn't really the film Kubrick wanted to make. Kirk Douglas had a lot of clout on that movie. The Killing and Paths of Glory are excellent films also.

If the latter half of Full Metal Jacket was as good as the first half then that would be his best film no contest. I'm going to have to go with Clockwork Orange.

Slightly OT there but I love me some Kubrick.

 

[redhawk23]

The latter of half of Full Metal Jacket is a bit formless but I can dig it.

I really like A Clockwork Orange but I must say I will have to continue my lifetime love affair with 2001: A Space Odyssey.

 

[darkseid26]

Paths of Glory


12 Angry Men
Network
Dog Day Afternoon

 

[redhawk23]

I think Arronosky's Requiem for a Dream is very well directed. He talks about how he wanted to portray the repetive nature of adiction and I think he did that very well. The super quick cut little montage inserts, what he refers to as "hip-hop montage" editing are very striking. Also the time lapse shot of the mom cleaning her house is kind of insane to watch as its both time-lapse and a pan shot. Watching how that was done on the DVD was fantastic with the rig the built and all.

Its a solid movie, just not one I want to watch very often. Its a gut-punch.

 

[:eek:]

Aye, it is, apart from the scene where he is putting himself back together in the bathroom mirror, even for the time of it's making, the effecst are so unconvincing they take you right out of the movie, personally, i would have edited it to better effect, cutting most of what we see, making it far more subtle.



I tlaked about this with a guy on another board, who is a film buff, and works in the film industry to some copassity, and what he said was that the reason the Titanic screenplay did not get even a Oscar nomination(the first time the screenplay for a film has not been nominated, when winning across the board for all the other major awards), was because Cameron had ripped most of the story off from 'A Night To Remember', which I have not seen , so can't comment on the comparison.

So, exactly how has Cameron ripped most of the story from A Night to Remember? I think that movie only used characters based on real people, no fictional love story like Titanic had.

 

[the amazing fro]

The latter of half of Full Metal Jacket is a bit formless but I can dig it.

I really like A Clockwork Orange but I must say I will have to continue my lifetime love affair with 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The latter half of FMJ is alright, it just pales in comparison to the excellent first half. That said I love the "boots are made for walking" sequence and how the movie ends.

I've only watched 2001 once and that was a few years ago. I appreciated its craft and genius but it's not something I felt I could watch for enjoyment. I remember it ending and me and the person who I was watching with just sat in silence for a couple of minutes before he said "What. The. ****."

I need to give it a rewatch.

 

[redhawk23]

Also, Op, since when is the first Matrix considered a poor film? Seriously, I've never seen anyone make that argument.

 

[co2]

Years ago, I would have included Taratino with his one two punch that was Reserviour Dogs and Pulp Fiction. Pulp Fiction in particular isn't even about anything specific, but it is so well shot and conceived and the dialogue is so engrossing. I think that film marked a turning point for Hollywood where films became character driven once more. Tarantino isn't particularly original considering his whole schtick is homage, but he is very good at nailing the best parts of whatever it is he is copying, and adding his own quirky dialogue.
Tarantion and Fincher (with Se7en and Fight Club) were the only directors of the 90's that knocked my socks off. Now, it's rare for me to be bowled over.
Cameron was my favorite guy to come out of the 80's (I can't believe an earlier post was saying Terminator was a poor film?!).
But in my opinion, the 70's was the greatest era for cinema...Speilberg, Scorcese, Lucas, DePalma...and more. So many masters out of that time.

The only person to knock me on my cinematic ass in the last 10 years was Nolan. Dark Knight was SUCH a breath of fresh air. It gave me the reassurance that as an adult, movies can still amaze me. It somehow found that kid in me that was blown away by Return of the Jedi or Raiders and completely revivied him.

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

I think that film marked a turning point for Hollywood where films became character driven once more.

Not really. Hollywood was, is, and will always be concept driven.

Also, Resevoir Dogs and to a degree Pulp Fiction were outside the Hollywood system.

 

[Thebumwhowalks]

So, exactly how has Cameron ripped most of the story from A Night to Remember? I think that movie only used characters based on real people, no fictional love story like Titanic had.

So how exactly am I supposed to tell you, given that I clearly said I haven't seen the movie, and that I told you it was someone else who works in the industry who told me that?

I was actually curious if anyone shared that opinion, you don't, fine, but try and read my post more clearly, esp if you are going to have the gall to take that kind of antagonistic tone with me.

I've noticed that you are more interested in posting up threads, and resurecting old ones, rather than taking part in discussions, and when you do you don't pay attention to what people say in their posts, I noticed another example of that today.

 

[childeroland]

Clouzot - Diabolique, The Wages of Fear
Kubrick = 2001, Barry Lyndon, Dr. Strangelove
Hitchcock = Shadow of a Doubt, North By Northwest, Psycho, The Lady Vanishes
Dassin = Rififi
Reed = The Third Man
Welles = Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons
Kieślowski= The Colours Trilogy, The Decalogue, The Double Life of Veronique
Malick = Days of Heaven
Coppola = The Godfather I and II
Kurosawa = The Seven Samurai, Ran, Throne of Blood, Rashomon, Stray Dog
Ozu = Tokyo Story, Floating Weeds, Late Autumn
Bergman = The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, Fanny and Alexander
Fellini = La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2
Leone = The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Once Upon a Time in the West.
Cooper and Schoedsack = King Kong
Hou Hsiao-Hsien = Millennium Mambo, Three Times

 

[The Morningstar]

No one mentioned Children of Men? Man, this scene is one of the best in cinema history.



Cuaron is a genius.