Filmspotting

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

Jymkata — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 23:25:20 GMT

Well, I had given up on this topic and although I'm not proud of it I smugly resigned myself to the fact that women just have not directed a truly great movie. As I was looking through some of my highest rated movies yesterday lo and behold I rediscovered a forgotten gem. Elaine May was truly a talent and in fact was one of the important female directing pioneers along with Leni Riefenstahl and Ida Lupino. Until she derailed her career with the big-budget critical and popular disaster Ishtar (a lambasted movie that still contains some very funny moments and would be no worse than par for the course when compared with most of today's flat blockbusters) , Elaine was considered one of the best screenwriters and an up-and coming directing talent. I have always considered A New Leaf one of my favorite comedies of all time and I would rate it a 10 out of 10. It has the cringe-worthy dry wit of prime comedies like Arrested Development and The Office and a creative dedication to off-beat character-driven comedy similar to the work of Wes Anderson.

So I would re-rank my top five like this:

1) A New Leaf

2) The Hitch-hiker

3) Near Dark

4) Fast Times at Ridgemont High

5) Valley Girl

BTW - even though I respect May, I believe the studio suits may have been right with the "hatchet job" Elaine thought had been commited when she disavowed the final product. Like I said, I think the finished film is a gem and I believe comedy is best when it is tight and Elaine had wanted a total running time of over 3 hrs. That length doesn't work for a dry comedy.

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

Risselada — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 19:10:56 GMT

joem18b:
I'm thinking that it's sort of like that with female directors. There are more working now than ever, with films like "Away From Her" and "Waitress" getting mentioned among the best of the year. Just a matter of time before the history of the directors of the 20th century will seem a little like the history of baseball back when the major leagues were all white.

It's a pretty exciting throught to see what a cross section of highly regarded movies will look like at that time as opposed to now when most of them have been made by privaleged white males. That's becoming true in every area of course. But film is such a new medium it's going to be exciting to see some different perspectives brought into the arena in a larger quantity.

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

joem18b — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 22:22:55 GMT

There are currently 16 women serving in the U.S. Senate. There have only been 35 in the history of the nation. So that if I were considering "greatest senators of all time," I'd probably be wasting my time if I focused only on those 35 (but maybe not!). On the other hand, since both senators from my state are women (as well as my representative in the House), I'm very interested in their work, their stature, and their future.

I'm thinking that it's sort of like that with female directors. There are more working now than ever, with films like "Away From Her" and "Waitress" getting mentioned among the best of the year. Just a matter of time before the history of the directors of the 20th century will seem a little like the history of baseball back when the major leagues were all white.

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

odile — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 21:27:31 GMT

okay. here's what i came up with (in no particular order):

Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti - Maya Deren

Cleo from 5 to 7 - Agnes Varda

Beau Travail - Claire Denis

Toute Un Nuit - Chantal Ackerman

Near Dark - Kathryn Bigelow

i remember being so excited, thinking that the third man was directed by a woman. it's depressing how hard it is for me to compose this list. to ask "top 5 films directed by a man" would for most people be interchangible with "top 5 films of all time". i doubt any of these would even end up on my top 20. Of course the ratio of men to women in the film industry is huge. that said, i have yet to see any lina wurtmuller (who i haven't seen mentioned in this thread yet either), deepha meta, or jane campion films, so perhaps i have not been living up to my responsibility as a feminist film buff...

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

kaspergutman — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 18:24:58 GMT

1. Cleo from 5 to 7- Agnes Varda

2. Ratcatcher- Lynne Ramsay

3. Sam & Me/Water- Deepa Mehta

4. Away From Her- Sarah Polley

5. Near Dark- Kathryn Bigelow

Honourable mention goes to Sofia Coppola's entire body of work.

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

wonga — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 13:53:35 GMT

okay - great suggestions so far but i'm adding my 2 cents because some of my favorite movies directed by women aren't listed here (that i see anyway)! don't know if they're top 5 material but my list would include:

Miranda July - You and Me and Everyone We Know.
Mira Nair - The Namesake/Monsoon Wedding.
Kasi Lemmons - Eve's Bayou
Rebecca Miller - Personal Velocity/The Ballad of Jack and Rose.
Nicole Holofcener - Friends With Money/Lovely & Amazing.

some others i like: Allison Anders (Gas, Food & Lodging) and Kimberly Pierce (Boys Don't Cry).

Re: Another late syggestion: Isabel Coixet

joem18b — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 06:24:24 GMT

just watched Come Early Morning, Joey Lauren Adams' debut film. Liked it a lot.

Another late syggestion: Isabel Coixet

Dana_K — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 23:49:27 GMT

I just saw The Secret Life of Words (and put a Spout review in place), wanting to catch up with more of Sarah Polley's acting after seeing her Away From Her. I also remember My Life Without Me, not quite as enthusiastically, but still a good one by a woman director.

Re: Antonia Bird Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

mitch-4 — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 23:22:25 GMT

Hi there, Dana!

Dana_K:
i was starting to post "You left out Antonia Bird" but then I checked back and saw you hadn't!

Speaking of Antonia :-), I think you were not there at our mutual friend G's party when another guest and I got into it over Breaking the Waves and Marleen Goren's Antonia . (Not relating or comparing the two movies but reflecting differences of taste.) She declared Antonia one of her all-time favorites and I regard it as the sort of one-sided hack job that gives political art (in this case, feminist) a bad name. All adult males who might even potentially be the central character's suitor are skunks; for a male to be non-horrific he must be a child or an old guy or her blood relative or gay or castrated or a priest. And even those are a little unsavory.

Later I saw other work by Gorris and liked it better, in particular her adaptations of two classic 20th Century novels from the Modernist era and authors, The Defense (or The Luzhin Defence) and Mrs Dalloway. I have to confess Ihave long been unable to get very far into the novel Mrs Dalloway, but now I could, I think, since Gorris has given us this crib or illustrated-classics version ... sorry, I do mean to be putting it positively! Reading the book I had no sense of the character Septimus Smith but the film instantly illuminates for me what he's all about.

Best,

==Mitch

P.S. I also like Face dir. by Antonia Bird.

One more ... Cholodenko ... Re: Early Campion Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

Dana_K — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 21:36:12 GMT

sorry, one last afterthought,

Lisa Cholodenko's High Art and Laurel Canyon.

(Maybe these were mentioned. Not meaning to diss Spout's nice site, but it would be good to have a search that could be limited to a Group or a Discussion. And yes, I did read before posting, but admittedly not 100%).

Dana

Early Campion Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

Dana_K — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 20:44:12 GMT

joem18b:
Jane Champion - An Exercise In Discipline (1982)

I'm not sure I've seen that ... maybe at a fest. But early Campion movies that are really worth looking at again today include Sweetie and An Angel at My Table. I'm not that hot about The Piano.

(sorry, i just took off on Campion and wasn't really following your thread branch about debuts)

Dana

Antonia Bird Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

Dana_K — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 20:18:05 GMT

i was starting to post "You left out Antonia Bird" but then I checked back and saw you hadn't! However, I haven't seen your nominee Ravenous (and am unlikely to, for genre reasons, sorry). But I would offer both Bird's Priest and especially Face as really top notch.

Dana

Re: Harron

joem18b — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 15:34:34 GMT

One special thing about the Warhol movie for me is that it starred Lili Taylor, a favorite.

Was watching Bobby and a character mentions that Warhol had been shot the day before.

Harron

mitch-4 — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 07:22:29 GMT

I was glad to hear you wanted to include a Mary Harron film (and chose two!) -- but I might have upgraded "I Shot Andy Warhol" over your choices. There was really something special about that one.

==Mitch

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

chesterfilms — Sun, 27 May 2007 17:18:14 GMT

The Hitch-Hiker (1953) Ida Lupino:
Not just a great film, but it's always been one of my favorite B-Noir films. The Hitch-Hiker has some genuine frightening moments that mostly playout through the cast due to Lupino's direction.

Ratcatcher (1999) Lynne Ramsay:
A very uncomfortable film that follows a boy and his family in Glasgow throughout a trash strike in 1976. Filth permeates the film through physical trash piled up, and through the deplorable thing that happen to the characters.

Marie Antoinette (2006) Sofia Coppola: Images that reminded me of Barry Lyndon. More lavish and beautiful than you can imagine, and it's not just style over substance. Dunst gives her greatest performance. One thing is for sure, Sofia Coppola is becoming a very important director.

Harlan County USA (1976) Barbara Kopple: Hard-hitting look into the heart of America. Because this film takes place over a period of years years Barbra is able to show us exactly who these families are. It's the It's one of the best documentaries I have seen.

Little Miss Sunshine (2006) Valerie Faris: It's more than just the little film that could. It's a beautiful story with pitch perfect characters and performances. Not a false note in the whole film.

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

MrBabyMan — Sat, 26 May 2007 08:27:49 GMT

I love Gillian Armstrong's Starstruck. It's a quirky little Australian musical that has that Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland let's-put-on-a-show-in-the-barn-to-raise-money-to-save-the-farm charm to it. Jo Kennedy, the lead, has an irrepressible joie de vivre that makes you want to follow her into battle, like a singing, dancing Joan of Arc. The film is the natural predecessor to Baz Luhrmann's work, with its offbeat characters and tongue-in-cheek setpieces.

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

dibot — Sat, 26 May 2007 03:34:06 GMT

It is sad to see so few big-name female directors.

But nice to see some Jodi Foster love.

Girlfight, directed by Karyn Kusama, is another good debut film.

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

joem18b — Sat, 26 May 2007 01:51:46 GMT

I don't know much about women directors but over on the All Movie Talk pages there was a discussion of top directorial debuts and in a list of 34 debut movies, there wasn't a single female director, so I made the following list of some female debuts (not counting TV work):

Jane Champion - An Exercise In Discipline (1982)
Nora Ephron - This Is My Life (1992)
Penny Marshall - Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1986)
Claire Denis - Chocolat (1988)
Jodie Foster - Little Man Tate (1991)
Nancy Savoca - True Love (1989)
Mary Harron - I Shot Andy Warhol (1996)
Sharon Maguire - Bridgit Jone’s Diary (2001)
Mimi Leder - The Peacemaker (1997)
Sarah Polley - Away from Her (2007)
Sophia Coppola - The Virgin Suicides (1999)

Can anyone name a first movie by a woman director that is more notable than any of the above?

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

Risselada — Fri, 25 May 2007 19:30:31 GMT

I can agree with the stuff about the camera work. The opening shot and the locatin it was set in for Vagabond were really enchanting in a weird kind of way. Heck almost all of the locations and sets had real personality.

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

benthams_head — Fri, 25 May 2007 17:39:45 GMT

Varda is the most underrated of French New Wave filmmakers; probably because her films were unjustly perceived as less revolutionary than Godard's or Trufaut's. Still, she brought a sensitivity to the screen that was missing from the works of those aforementioned directors; especially when it came to portraying women. She also brought (and continues to bring) a photographic sensibility to her work, which can be traced to her early career as a professional photograper. Whereas other French New Wavers built hyper-kinectic constructs, through the use of jump-cuts and hand held cameras, Varda was more of a canvas artist; more interested in bringing life to the frame rather than capturing life frame-by-frame. The Slant magazine review of "Cleo From 5 to 7" describes it best: "Her framing teems with life at every corner: kittens wrestling in Cléo's apartment, a child playing a tiny piano in an alleyway, and quarrelling lovers in a café. She demonstrates an unerring eye for complex compositions that still manage to delineate between foreground and background planes."

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

Risselada — Thu, 24 May 2007 15:30:25 GMT

I just saw the movie Vagabond directed by Agnès Varda last night. It wasn't quite what I expected, but it had some very compelling moments.

Varda seems to be a highly regarded female director. Interesting that no one has mentioned her yet. Or have they and I missed it?

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

Risselada — Thu, 24 May 2007 15:13:06 GMT

ALFlikesCATS:
There was no restriction on documentaries. I believe they (Adam and Sam) mentioned they were thinking of having that rule but decided against it and included "Harlan County, USA."

Oh, that wasn't specified in the thread.

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

ALFlikesCATS — Wed, 23 May 2007 23:38:42 GMT

There was no restriction on documentaries. I believe they (Adam and Sam) mentioned they were thinking of having that rule but decided against it and included "Harlan County, USA."

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

Risselada — Tue, 22 May 2007 19:33:11 GMT

totoro:
As for "Triumph of the Will", I think it was off limits for the list because of the restriction on documentaries.

Why are you putting a restriction on documentaries?

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

sgreene — Tue, 22 May 2007 18:54:21 GMT

It's possible that this list may have to be revised later this year when Julie Taymor's next effort, "Across the Universe," comes out on September 28th. One of Sam's favorites from last year, Evan Rachel Wood, is set to play the female lead. From the trailer, it looks like one part Moulin Rouge, one part Forrest Gump, and one part Big Fish. Admittedly, this looks to be more like Frida than Titus compared to Taymor's other efforts, yet intriguing all the same.

This one also might have Top 5 Soundtrack potential as well...

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

totoro — Tue, 22 May 2007 17:31:48 GMT

Jymkata:
The '80s are generally mocked as a shallow time in film, but at least women were given a chance to direct mainstream films and a few of the movies are among my favorite 80's and early 90's films:

Its nice to see another Near Dark fan! I totally agree about the 80's having been a better time for women directors.

Big, directed by Penny Marshall, is a great example of a movie directed by a woman that did extremely well and wasn't a typical "chick flick".

As for "Triumph of the Will", I think it was off limits for the list because of the restriction on documentaries.

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

ihajj — Tue, 22 May 2007 14:20:11 GMT

Listening to Sam and Adam's list on the podcast was kind of depressing. When a person can actually say "Fast Times" is the best movie ever directed by a woman, then what is the state of women in directing roles?

Seriously, I loved Fast Times. But make a list of "top five films directed by men." Even remove the "Pantheon" picks, and you still have, well, the greatest films of all time. Godfather, Raging Bull, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, etc. etc.

I can'tt believe being a woman makes a person a less capable director. Not at all. What depresses me is that women have apparently not broken into this man's world. Some day, I hope that making a list of "top five films directed by a woman" will be a silly thing to do, just as silly as making a top five list of films directed by men.

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

ALFlikesCATS — Mon, 21 May 2007 23:12:21 GMT

I might as well open up this can of worms...

Triumph of the Will?

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

tomlong — Mon, 21 May 2007 20:00:36 GMT

While i agree American Psycho has to be one of the best... for me the best is Waynes World... i know it's just a comedy but for me it's timeless which is unusual in comedies

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

Jymkata — Mon, 21 May 2007 19:02:56 GMT

Risselada:
Ever seen anything by Claire Denis?

Boy, I forgot about her - I really liked Beau Travail - I got to see a side of the Foreign Legion I hadn't seen before

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

Risselada — Mon, 21 May 2007 16:38:18 GMT

Ever seen anything by Claire Denis?

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

Jymkata — Sun, 20 May 2007 22:22:14 GMT

I had to think hard about this because I couldn't figure out why it was so hard for me to answer about female directors. I was hoping it wasn't some unconscious chauvinistic tedencies on my part causing me to devalue movies directed by females. I actually think that many of the female directed movies of the last decade or so tend to be "woman's pictures" that hold little interest for me in terms of style or story. That being said, there are some movies directed by women that I would rate highly regardless of who helms it.

Ida Lupino was a real pioneer in female directing (not the first but the best known early director) and she directed a really nifty film noir - 1) The Hitch-hiker

The '80s are generally mocked as a shallow time in film, but at least women were given a chance to direct mainstream films and a few of the movies are among my favorite 80's and early 90's films:

Amy Heckerling - (4 tie) Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Look Who's Talking, and Clueless

Kathryn Bigelow - (3) Near Dark, (2) Point Break - maybe the first action film directed by a woman? and it kicks ass!

Martha Coolidge - (4 tie) Valley Girl, Real Genius

I know Sofia Coppola is the critic's and indie festival darling, but she is a one-hit wonder for me, I hated Marie Antoinette and I was bored by The Virgin Suicides, but even with the unbelievable award season hype I really enjoyed the way she directed (5) Lost in Translation. Hopefully her next film will be a return to form.

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

lbenschwartz — Sun, 20 May 2007 20:03:59 GMT

Decline of Western Civilzation Part II. One of the greatest cultural artifacts of the late 80s, Los Angeles, and music. Penolope Spheeris' documentary about the Heavy Metal scene on the Sunset Strip in late-80's LA is both a stinging satire and a deeply affectionate portrayal of loving music and having dreams about making it your life. W.A.S.P.'s Chris Holmes floating in his pool, drowning himself with vodka, while his mother looks shamefully on, is the Nero-playing-his-violin-with-Rome-burns moment of the Sunset Strip.

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

alexcharner — Sat, 19 May 2007 01:25:37 GMT

Thanks Sam,

I have to share the love with Diane Keaton. My inner film geek loves her in Reds, Annie Hall, Looking for Mr. Goodbar and Something's Gotta Give. I happily avoided Because I Said So, which I would probably only watch on an airplane.

She's a little less controversial than Faye Dunaway, anyway.

Spout is not helping cure my Crackspotting or Cinecrack addiction at all, not that I'd ever want that.

Absolutely classic Massacre Theater performance!

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

GradysGhost — Sat, 19 May 2007 00:50:53 GMT

American Psycho - The best thing about this movie and the fact that it's directed by a woman (it's even mentioned on the DVD) is that if it had been directed by a man, the movie would probably have been squandered by critics and feminists. The movie could have only been directed by a female.

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

Sam — Fri, 18 May 2007 23:41:49 GMT

alexcharner:
Unstrung Heroes - http://www.spout.com/films/92078/default.aspx
Though a bit of a weeper, Unstrung Heroes rally struck a chord with me.

Alex,

Great pick!

Not sure it would have made my Top 5, but I really wish I had remembered it anyway. A totally overlooked film.

Diane Keaton: Next time someone offers you a movie like Beacuse I Said So, turn it down and direct something instead. Really. Anything will do.

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

totoro — Fri, 18 May 2007 21:09:39 GMT

Near Dark directed by Kathryn Bigelow would be on my top 5. While the film does have its flaws, it is always the first film that springs to mind when I hear "woman director". I love how she depicts vampires as a rag-tag group of punks and lowlifes. And I also loved the way she depicted the brutality and violence that they take part in.

Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

alexcharner — Fri, 18 May 2007 20:25:35 GMT

Unstrung Heroes - http://www.spout.com/films/92078/default.aspx

Though a bit of a weeper, Unstrung Heroes rally struck a chord with me.

Lost In Translation - http://www.spout.com/films/224193/default.aspx

Re: Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

Indie — Fri, 18 May 2007 18:30:54 GMT

1. Portrait of a Lady This was very well done, and a little more accessable than The Piano.

2.She-Devil Great film with Roseanne Barr and Meryl Streep

3. Awakenings- Profound wonderful movie

4. Titus- Gory and glorious

5. Boys Don't Cry- Harrisburg Pa native's foray into the dark heart of America.

Top 5 Movies Directed By Women

adamkemp — Fri, 18 May 2007 15:33:11 GMT

Tying in with our reviews of "Waitress" and "Away From Her," Sam and I share our Top 5 Movies Directed By Women -- choices include "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Marie Antoinette." Sorry Streisand fans, "Yentl" didn't make the cut! What would make your top 5?