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Visual Intensity 4
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Visual Intensity - Issue 4 (1994-05-29)(Dual 4Mat)(Disk 2 of 3).adf
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{ta{L{4
G R E A T M O V I E D I R E C T O R S O F O U R T I M E
{6
T H E F I R S T P A R T
{C{7
BY BOB TESTICLES
{A{5
I am no expert on film directing or
on classic movies and I haven't seen
enough of the films by who I consider
to be the greats to really be
qualified to write this guide
properly. What this guide will be is
a guide to some good movies by some
talented film makers but from the
point of view of the average film
goer, not Barry Norman. Some names in
this guide will be familiar ie.
Steven Spielberg and Woody Allen and
others will be more obscure ie. Luis
Bunuel and Robert Altman, but I have
no doubt that you will either have
heard of or seen their films. The
second part of this guide will appear
in the next issue of Dual Format's
very wonderful "Visual Intensity" mag
but until then, read on.
{PC
{ta{:Woody Allen
{4- {:Hannah And Her Sisters (1986)
{6Starring - Woody Allen,
Michael Caine,
Mia Farrow,
Carrie Fisher,
Barbara Hershey.
{9 "Hannah And Her Sisters" is easily
Woody Allen's best known movie and
easily one of his best. I am not a
follower of his but even I enjoyed
this comedy-drama about a group of New
Yorkers. Woody is obviously an
excellent writer and a good observer
of people and this movie deservedly
won three oscars (for Best Supporting
Actor (Michael Caine), Best Supporting
Actress (Dianne Wiest) and Best
Screenplay (Woody Allen)).
{7Rating : 4 out of 5
{PH
{ta
{:Robert Altman
{4- {:The Player (1992)
{6Starring : Tim Robbins,
Greta Scacchi,
Fred Ward.
{9 Definitely one of the best movies
Hollywood has made about itself. "The
Player" is a mix of black comedy and
thriller and contains loads of star
cameos to keep the film buffs and
trainspotter happy. Altman is
regarded as a maverick in Tinsel Town
and after watching this movie and his
latest "Short Cuts" (at cinemas now)
you'll see why.
{7Rating : 4 out of 5
{:Ingmar Bergman
{4- {:The Seventh Seal (1957)
{6Starring : Max Von Sydow,
Gunner Bjornstrand,
Nils Poppe.
{9 Ingmar Bergman is a swedish director
who is not to be confused with that
other Scandinavian export Ingrid
Bergman. "The Seventh Seal" is about
a knight on his way back from the
crusades who plays chess with death.
This classic movie was heavily sent up
in "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey".
Great stuff.
{7Rating : 4 out of 5
{ta{:Bernardo Bertolucci
{4- {:The Last Emperor (1987)
{6Starring : John Lone,
Joan Chen,
Peter O'Toole.
{9 Bernardo Bertolucci is best known
for the over-rated "Last Tango In
Paris" and its infamous butter scene
but this is his most mainstream and
one of his best movies. It is an epic
tale of Pu Yi who was the last emeror
of China who was deposed when the
revolution came. The film is
beautifully photographed, well acted
and very compelling viewing. The film
won eight oscars including Best
Picyure and Best Director.
{7Rating : 4 out of 5
{:Luis Bunuel
{4- {:Belle De Jour (1967)
{6Starring : Catherine Deneuve,
Jean Sorel,
Michel Piccoli.
{9 Luis Bunuel is the great surrealist
film-maker. His films are, in turn
off-the-wall, hilarious and they
constantly reverse many concepts of
reality. "Belle De Jour" is about a
well off newlywed who acts out her
sexual fantasies while working in a
high-class brothel behind her
husband's back. (Funny place for a
brothel - Ed.) There is no actual
on-screen nudity but the film suggests
all sorts of wierd and kinky goings on
which are often hilarious. I am
becoming quite a fan of Bunuel's work
{ta{<as my mind tends to work in a similar
way. Bunuel's 1929 short "Un Chien
Andalou" was a collaboration with
Salvador Dali and is probably the
wierdest film ever made. It shocked
the world at the time and was banned
in the UK for forty years.
{7Rating : 4 out of 5
{:Frank Capra
{4- {:It's A Wonderful Life (1946)
{6Starring : James Stewart,
Donna Reed,
Lionel Barrymore.
{< A serious contender for "Best Film
Ever Made" in many people's eyes.
Jimmy Stewart plays a man who thinks
he's a failure and tries to kill
himself until his guardian angel shows
him that life aint so bad after all.
An enjoyable feel-good movie. Capra
directed many classics during his
career including Arsenic And Old Lace
(1944), The Bitter Tea Of General Yen
(1933), It happened One Night (1934)
and Mr Smith Goes To Washington
(1939). {PJ
{7Rating : 4 out of 5
{ta{:Francis Ford Coppola
{4- {:The Godfather Part II (1974)
{6Starring : Al Pacino,
Robert Duvall,
Diane Keaton,
Robert De Niro,
John Cazale.
{9 In 1973, "The Godfather" became the
definitive gangster movie. It won
three oscars. The following year,
Coppola did the impossible by making
an even better sequel and doubling up
on the oscars (It won six). Part two
follows on from part one but contrasts
the early life of Don Corleone with
the continuing story of his son
Michael, who now heads the family. An
epic film (at 3 hours, 20 minutes) but
rivetting from start to finish.
{7Rating : 5 out of 5
{PG
{ta{:John Ford
{4- {:Stagecoach (1939)
{6Starring : John Wayne,
Claire Trevor.
{9 John Ford's "Stagecoach" is probably
the most influential western ever
made. Its plot (about a coachload of
people who are attacked by Indians)
has been "borrowed" countless times
and the film itself has been remade
twice (in 1966 and 1986). It also
shot a B movie actor called John Wayne
to stardom. One of the classic
westerns. The pasrtnership of Ford
and Wayne went on to make many more
classic westerns such as "Fort Apache"
(1948), "The Searchers" (1956) and
"The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"
(1962).
{7Rating : 4 out of 5
{A{:
End.
{PD