Directors that didn't fulfil their potential

[Rayge]

Yes - surely Bogdanovich had done all he needed to with the last picture show.

With Targets, as far as I'm concerned. One of the great directorial debuts.

[algroth]

For both Singer and the Wachowskis I prefer their X-Men and post-Matrix work respectively, actually. For the latter case in particular, Speed Racer is highly creative and heads and shoulders above anything they'd done til that point or since.

Spèed Racer is headache inducing. All flash and nothing underneath.

Sure, but it's interesting flash at least, opposite to The Matrix.

[Jimbly]

For both Singer and the Wachowskis I prefer their X-Men and post-Matrix work respectively, actually. For the latter case in particular, Speed Racer is highly creative and heads and shoulders above anything they'd done til that point or since.

Spèed Racer is headache inducing. All flash and nothing underneath.

Sure, but it's interesting flash at least, opposite to The Matrix.

i liked The Matrix. The sequels were bobbins though.

[Sneelock]

I like the "Too Many Hugo Weavings" scene. Makes my head spin! Spectacular stuff.

[The Modernist]

Some great shouts so far.

Donald Cammell of Performance fame seems an obvious example.
Also I'd add Mathieu Kassovitz who hasn't done anything of note since La Haine.

How much of Performance was down to Roeg, any idea?

Most things I've read (for example the McCabe book) and seen tend to credit Cammell as the "author" of the film. He'd been working on the themes in previous scripts, wrote the script, assembled much of the cast ( Jagger, Pallenburg, Fox and Breton were all part of his social circle) and storyboarded it. Roeg was brought in for his technical knowhow and was more like the dp. The film's distinctive non-linear, fragmented editing style was developed by Cammell and Frank Mazzola, partly to overcome censorship problems. Ironically (given the editing style of some of his own films) Roeg favoured a more conventional edit, but was overruled.

[Sneelock]

I'm a fan of both directors. This seems like a pretty fair assessment. Cammell wrrote "Duffy" and "Performance" seems set in the same world. Roeg had a very strong hand on movies he shot. You look at Richard Lester's "Petulia" and you'd never guess it was a Richard Lester film.

Cammell's "Demon Seed" and that weird little blood-bath movie with David Keith (white of the eye, I think) both feature visual things you'd associate with Roeg (artsy-fartsy lighting, the long slow zooms.) maybe this was self conscious on Cammell's part but I guess we'll never be sure where one style starts and the other ends.

"Demon Seed" is pretty damned unpleasant but I think it's a VERY well put together film. Sure, it's no "Don't Look Back" but when you consider that the villain of the film is basically some Radio Shack toggle switches and stuff, it's very well done. Christie is amazing in it.

[driftin]

Bernardo Bertolucci. While he's directed some impressive films with great popularity i.e., Last Tango in Paris, and The Last Emperor, I feel The Conformist was his last and only masterpiece. That film showed much potential for him as a filmmaker. After that and some scattered success, he was sadly designated to making big budget flops, mediocre art films, one convoluted epic, and largely forgettable affairs. He could've been what followed for Italian cinema after Fellini and Antonioni, but that wasn't the case.

That does seem to be the general consensus about his filmography and I can get on board with it but in my opinion his best film isn't The Conformist, Last Tango, or The Last Emperor (although all 3 are great), it's The Dreamers. I know it's not as well regarded by critics or viewers but to me it's brilliant.

[driftin]

For both Singer and the Wachowskis I prefer their X-Men and post-Matrix work respectively, actually. For the latter case in particular, Speed Racer is highly creative and heads and shoulders above anything they'd done til that point or since.

Spèed Racer is headache inducing. All flash and nothing underneath.

Sure, but it's interesting flash at least, opposite to The Matrix.

There's a decent video about Speed Racer that goes into this. It talks about realism, formalism, verisimilitude, and the use of colours in comic book movies. I think you might find it interesting. Even if you disagree with his opinions about the films I think you can agree with the argument.

[algroth]

Seen that, it's a good video and I agree with a lot of what it's saying. I don't necessarily think Speed Racer is a masterpiece as Willems does but I do think it is a creative approach that works for that specific story/property. I mean, it's Speed Racer, if you really want to hold its lack of substance against it be my guest. It's still a fun watch and as far as I'm concerned the best achievement from the directors in great part because it's the only film of theirs that I've seen (or recall at this moment) that doesn't pretend to be more than what it is.

With regards to The Matrix I'm of the weird opinion that Reloaded is the best of the lot, but that's really the definition of "damning with faint praise".

[joels344]

Bernardo Bertolucci. While he's directed some impressive films with great popularity i.e., Last Tango in Paris, and The Last Emperor, I feel The Conformist was his last and only masterpiece. That film showed much potential for him as a filmmaker. After that and some scattered success, he was sadly designated to making big budget flops, mediocre art films, one convoluted epic, and largely forgettable affairs. He could've been what followed for Italian cinema after Fellini and Antonioni, but that wasn't the case.

That does seem to be the general consensus about his filmography and I can get on board with it but in my opinion his best film isn't The Conformist, Last Tango, or The Last Emperor (although all 3 are great), it's The Dreamers. I know it's not as well regarded by critics or viewers but to me it's brilliant.

That's one I still need to check out. Looks interesting.

[Darkness_Fish]

Ridley Scott.

Alien, Blade Runner, and a bunch of fair to middling bobbins until The Martian.

[driftin]

Ridley Scott.

Alien, Blade Runner, and a bunch of fair to middling bobbins until The Martian.

And then after The Martian he went back to making fair to middling bobbins with Alien: Covenant.

I'd argue that The Martian could even be part of that mediocrity too. I enjoyed it when I saw it at the cinema but the more I think about it the less I like it. I can't back this up with any sort of evidence but I have a gut feeling it won't age well.

[joels344]

Ridley Scott.

Alien, Blade Runner, and a bunch of fair to middling bobbins until The Martian.

And then after The Martian he went back to making fair to middling bobbins with Alien: Covenant.

I'd argue that The Martian could even be part of that mediocrity too. I enjoyed it when I saw it at the cinema but the more I think about it the less I like it. I can't back this up with any sort of evidence but I have a gut feeling it won't age well.

I've never felt any urge to rewatch The Martin. I'll just put it that way. Enjoyable and fun film in the cinema, though.

[joels344]

The Martian*

[Penk!]

The Martian*

Shame. A film about Dick Martin getting stranded on Mars might have been fun!

[joels344]

The Martian*

Shame. A film about Dick Martin getting stranded on Mars might have been fun!

I wouldn't tempt Ridley Scott with a possible sequel.

[Penk!]

Scott is a good call though. He did have Gladiator which was a great blockbuster and a massive commercial success, but he's spent the years since trying to redo that or, recently, going back to his earliest, best work with all the Alien prequels and the new Blade Runner sequel (does anyone feel even vaguely optimistic?), though not always as director himself.

The Martian was another big hit, of course, and as you guys say it's an enjoyable Saturday-evening kind of film, but hardly a classic for the ages.

[pcqgod]

Roberto Rodriguez. Not that he had lofty artistic goals, but how many "Spy Kids" sequels has he churned out by now?

Neil Marshall, though I guess directing "Game of Thrones" and "Westworld" episodes is a good direction for him.

[Sneelock]

I know scabs.Westworld & Roberto Rodriguez projects are non-union. can you believe that?
.

[mentalist (slight return)]

Bruce Robinson. Withnail & I. Surprised he hasn't directed more.