Resources for filmmakers
Aspires to be somewhat chronological, overall a work in progress.
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- DirectorWerner NekesStarsWerner NekesWhat really happened between the pictures?Cinema before cinema, it's a bit of a mess this film, but to get a broad idea of what came before it's not that bad.
- DirectorGeorges FranjuStarsJehanne d'AlcyAndré MélièsMarie-Georges MélièsA biography of the pioneer film director Georges Méliès, featuring his son André playing Georges, and with shots of his second wife, aged 90.Playful but informative introduction to Mélies and his process.
- DirectorRobert WieneStarsWerner KraussConrad VeidtFriedrich FeherHypnotist Dr. Caligari uses a somnambulist, Cesare, to commit murders.Predecessor to the modern psychological thriller
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsGeorge O'BrienJanet GaynorMargaret LivingstonA sophisticated city woman seduces a farmer and convinces him to murder his wife and join her in the city, but he ends up rekindling his romance with his wife when he changes his mind at the last moment.Great stuff
- DirectorDziga VertovStarsMikhail KaufmanElizaveta SvilovaA man travels around a city with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling invention.M O N T A G E
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenDorothy ComingoreFollowing the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'-
- DirectorMaya DerenAlexander HammidStarsMaya DerenAlexander HammidA woman returning home falls asleep and has vivid dreams that may or may not be happening in reality. Through repetitive images and complete mismatching of the objective view of time and space, her dark inner desires play out on-screen.The power of sequential editing
- DirectorMaya DerenStarsJohn CageMaya DerenAlexander HammidSilently, a woman wakes on a beach as the tides go in reverse. Her dreamscape unfolds as she tries to locate a chess piece traveling from the beach to a party to a country road and then back."-"
- DirectorJean MitryAn engine moves from the roundhouse to a track where it couples with several passenger cars. At 2:10 in the afternoon, it starts a trip out of the station through the countryside to its destination. The film consists of a montage of shots, some close up, of the engine and its gears and wheels. With the accompanying ambient sounds and an orchestral score, the emphasis is on the engine's power and speed. Parallel lines of multiple tracks, telephone wires, and trees confirm a careful composition.music & visual symbiotic relationship
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsGary CooperGrace KellyThomas MitchellA town Marshal, despite the disagreements of his newlywed bride and the townspeople around him, must face a gang of deadly killers alone at "high noon" when the gang leader, an outlaw he "sent up" years ago, arrives on the noon train.
- DirectorRobert BressonStarsFrançois LeterrierCharles Le ClaincheMaurice BeerblockA captured French Resistance fighter during World War II engineers a daunting escape from a German prison in France.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsHenry FondaLee J. CobbMartin BalsamThe jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.Highly recommended. How to create suspension by blocking, acting, cinematography. No bs, pure drama.
- DirectorMichelangelo AntonioniStarsDavid HemmingsVanessa RedgraveSarah MilesA fashion photographer unknowingly captures a death on film after following two lovers in a park.
- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsMargarita TerekhovaFilipp YankovskiyIgnat DaniltsevA dying man in his forties remembers his past. His childhood, his mother, the war, personal moments and things that tell of the recent history of all the Russian nation.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsAl PacinoJohn CazalePenelope AllenThree amateur bank robbers plan to hold up a bank. A nice simple robbery: Walk in, take the money, and run. Unfortunately, the supposedly uncomplicated heist suddenly becomes a bizarre nightmare as everything that could go wrong does.Lumet again, Hollywood style continuity cinema at it's best
- DirectorLes BlankStarsWerner HerzogKlaus KinskiClaudia CardinaleA documentary following German auteur Werner Herzog as he deals with difficult actors, bad weather and getting a boat over a mountain, all in an effort to make his film Fitzcarraldo (1982).Better than the actual film I'd say
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsWerner HerzogKlaus KinskiClaudia CardinaleThe love-hate relationship between Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski, the deep trust between the director and the actor, and their independently and simultaneously hatched plans to murder one another.Interesting addition to the title above.
- DirectorVivian KubrickStarsJack NicholsonVivian KubrickTerry NeedhamA look behind the scenes during the making of The Shining (1980).
- DirectorFax BahrGeorge HickenlooperEleanor CoppolaStarsDennis HopperMartin SheenMarlon BrandoDocumentary that chronicles how Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) was plagued by extraordinary script, shooting, budget, and casting problems--nearly destroying the life and career of the celebrated director.Coppola's Burden of Dreams
- DirectorArnold GlassmanTodd McCarthyStuart SamuelsStarsConrad L. HallJohn BaileyVilmos ZsigmondCameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography, illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from The Birth of a Nation (1915) to Do the Right Thing (1989).
- DirectorArtavazd PeleshianPoetic essay about the beginning of life from labor pains and birth and about its symbolic meaning.How imagery and music create the third element, binaural beat type shlt you get me?
- DirectorShizuo SatôStarsAkira KurosawaNagisa ÔshimaIn a long dialogue, Nagisa Oshima interviews Akira Kurosawa, leading him to share his thoughts about filmmaking, his life and works, and numerous anecdotes relating to his films and his various film activities.
- DirectorHisao KurosawaStarsAkira KurosawaKazuko KurosawaA documentary in 10 parts covering the filmmaking of Kurosawa around the theme of making the perfect movie or as he says: A Beautiful Movie.Good advice. Take what you need, discard the rest.
- DirectorJames ChressanthisStarsKaren BlackPeter BogdanovichSandra BullockThe lifelong friendship of the great Hungarian-born cinematographers László Kovács and Vilmos Zsigmond and their impact on American cinema.
- DirectorFrank PavichStarsAlejandro JodorowskyMichel SeydouxH.R. GigerThe story of cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky's ambitious but ultimately doomed film adaptation of the seminal science fiction novel.As inspiration.
- DirectorJon RonsonStarsJon RonsonAnthony FrewinJan HarlanJon Ronson is asked by the widow of Stanley Kubrick to investigate the contents of about a thousand boxes left by Kubrick, shown to contain materials reflecting the work Kubrick did after the release of Barry Lyndon (1975) in 1975.
- DirectorChris SmithStarsMark BorchardtMike SchankTom SchimmelsDocumentary about an aspiring filmmaker's attempts to finance his dream project by finally completing the low-budget horror film he abandoned years before.
- DirectorPeter TscherkasskyStarsBarbara HersheyFootage from The Entity (1982) is edited into an abstract nightmare.
- DirectorAlex ShuperStarsKay ArmatageCameron BaileyMathilde BonnefoyA journey through the history of motion picture editing by visionaries of the art and masters of the craft, going beyond the cutting edge, exploring editing as a universal language shaping our perceptions of the world around us.
- DirectorWendy AppleStarsKathy BatesZach StaenbergJodie FosterDocumentary about the art of film editing. Clips are shown from many groundbreaking films with innovative editing styles.Editing, "assembly", montage.
- DirectorSophie FiennesStarsSlavoj ZizekSlavoj Zizek examines famous films in a philosophical and a psychoanalytic context.Entertaining interpretations ("Pervert's Guide to Ideology" is probably superior though)
- StarsMark CousinsJuan Diego BottoAleksandr SokurovA comprehensive history of the medium and art of motion pictures.Probably good as an overview. It's the only documentary of this magnitude I think, so you've got no other choice anyway if you want to learn about the history of cinema by watching moving images.
- DirectorChristopher KenneallyStarsDerek AmbrosiMichael BallhausAndrzej BartkowiakThe documentary investigates the history, process and workflow of both digital and photochemical film creation.Film vs. Digital
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsNicole KidmanPaul BettanyLauren BacallA woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado community in exchange for labor, but when a search visits the town she finds out that their support has a price.In regards to story and acting and the unimportance of doing things "the right way" (editing wise, continuity wise, pre-supposed audience engagement wise).
- DirectorTrent HarrisStarsGroovin' GarySean PennCrispin GloverIn 1979, filmmaker Trent Harris visits the small town of Beaver, Utah to film a talent show. Impressed by a performer called Groovin' Gary, he recreates Gary's act in 1981 with Sean Penn and in 1985 with Crispin Glover.Highly recommended
- DirectorBrad BesserStarsBill HaderTrent HarrisGroovin' GaryA chance meeting in a parking lot in 1979 between filmmaker Trent Harris and a young man from Beaver, Utah inspired the creation of an underground film that is now known as Beaver Trilogy. But the film itself is only part of the story.Does the original justice, great addition.
- DirectorLaurent DurocheStarsMads BrüggerZlatko BuricLiv CorfixenA documentary about danish director Nicolas Winding Refn, winner of the Best Director award at the Cannes Festival in 2011 for Drive. From his childhood to the shooting of his next Movie, Only God Forgives, in Thailand, discover the whole carrier of a truly visionary filmmaker. With Ryan Gosling, Mads Mikkelsen, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Gaspar Noé, PeterPeter, Zlatko Buric...
- DirectorLiv CorfixenStarsLiv CorfixenNicolas Winding RefnRyan GoslingLiv Corfixen documents her husband, filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn, during the production and release of his movie Only God Forgives (2013).
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsTimothy TreadwellAmie HuguenardWerner HerzogA devastating and heart-rending take on grizzly bear activists Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard, who were killed in October of 2003 while living among grizzly bears in Alaska.In regards to documentary, and the opposition to the "fly-on-the-wall" approach. If you bring a camera into the game it changes EVERYTHING, wether you want it to or not. Might as well USE it to your advantage, and quite possibly get closer to the truth which you might not be able to do by just filming something without commentary or cut.
- CreatorVernon ChatmanJohn LeeAlyson LevyStarsVernon ChatmanJohn LeeAlyson LevyXavier is a faun-like wanderer/seeker who is traveling across the land to find out the truth about his mysterious origin. Facing rednecks, inflicting righteousness and preaching about the 'strong, silent types' and morality, this hero has his work cut out for him.The ultimate "postmodern" humorous show, pre-dating the memes of today.
- DirectorHoward FeinsteinStarsHoward FeinsteinBéla TarrHungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr and film critic Howard Feinstein discuss his innovative filmography, punctuated by clips from his films.Ignore the idiocy of the interviewer though
- DirectorKevin SmithStarsMichael ParksMelissa LeoJohn GoodmanSet in Middle America, a group of teens receive an online invitation for sex, though they soon encounter fundamentalists with a much more sinister agenda.In regards to genre, creating expectations and smashing them.
- DirectorJames Ward ByrkitStarsEmily BaldoniMaury SterlingNicholas BrendonStrange things begin to happen when a group of friends gather for a dinner party on an evening when a comet is passing overhead.As an example of a contemporary low budget mystery thriller that works
- CreatorEd BrubakerNicolas Winding RefnStarsMiles TellerAugusto AguileraNell Tiger FreeDetective Martin Jones, who leads a double life as a killer for hire in Los Angeles' deadly underground, suffers an existential crisis which leads him deeper into a blood splattered world of violence.Lots of really cool stuff here, pulls things off which I'd previously seen unfit to do in cinema (especially in regards to music)
- DirectorAngela ChristliebStephen KijakStarsJack AngstreichEric ChadbourneBill HeidbrederThis documentary about the culture of intense cinephilia in New York City reveals the impassioned world of five obsessed movie buffs. The filmmakers expose this delightfully deranged cult by capturing the daily lives of its members. Interviews in movie houses, on the street and in the homes of the subjects tell the story of each individual. Many cannot hold a job, or choose not to. All of them have demoted the importance of the real world, giving all of their attention to the fantasy world of the movies. These human encyclopedias of cinema see two to five films a day, and from 600 to 2,000 films per year. Many have no physical sex lives, living instead in a world of romance with stars like James Dean or Audrey Hepburn. In Cinemania, Hollywood's biggest fans become the true stars. This is the story of their lives, their memories, their unbending habits and the films they love.
- DirectorApichatpong WeerasethakulStarsThanapat SaisaymarJenjira PongpasSakda KaewbuadeeDying of kidney disease, a man spends his last, somber days with family, including the ghost of his wife and a forest spirit who used to be his son, on a rural northern Thailand farm.
- DirectorLes BlankStarsWerner HerzogTom LuddyMichael GoodwinA short documentary in which directors Werner Herzog and Errol Morris make a bet which results in Herzog being forced to eat his own shoe.
- DirectorNuri Bilge CeylanStarsMurat CemcirNuri Bilge CeylanDogu DemirkolA documentary about the filming session of the film "The Wild Pear Tree" by Nuri Bilge Ceylan.
- DirectorManuel Martín CuencaStarsJavier GutiérrezMaría LeónAdelfa CalvoA man obsessed with the idea of writing "high literature" starts to cause conflicts around him to write about it.
- StarsJohn BanovichSurveillance Camera ManThe feature length compilation of Surveillance Camera Man's interactions.
- DirectorChantal AkermanStarsDelphine SeyrigJan DecorteHenri StorckA lonely widowed housewife does her daily chores, takes care of her apartment where she lives with her teenage son, and turns the occasional trick to make ends meet. However, something happens that changes her safe routine.