After watching both Barton Fink and Changeling yesterday, I realized that if you know what kind of movies the director likes to make, its easy to spot them without knowing. So here are a few famous directors and how to tell its their movie.
Quentin Tarantino
Probably the easiest to notice, Quentin’s movies have so far always been violent with lots of swearing. But what differs him from most other directors is the way he presents these acts. Kill Bill for example is one of the most violent movies I’ve ever seen, but he shows these acts in a way that doesn’t freak you out like a horror movie would. Instead, these scenes are filled with classic rock and they’re stylized in a way that makes you wonder what the heck is wrong with the guy who made this. If you watch Reservoir Dogs, you’ll never hear the song “Stuck in the Middle With You” the same. Trust me, if you hate violence portrayed in a manner that almost seems to congratulate it, then don’t see his movies, since they aren’t for everybody.
Joel and Ethan Coen
These two normally stay in the boundary of thrillers or comedies, most of the time their movies are a combination of both. In some cases, they do have movies that have no comedy whatsoever, but so far its only happened two times with No Country For Old Men and Blood Simple. Almost all of these movies though have killers, but not ones that you’ll see in other movies. In Barton Fink, the guy lights a building on fire, kills two policemen, and then talks to his neighbor friend who saw the whole thing and keeps complaining about how hot it is. If someone is being killed, and you were laughing just a second before, then the movie is probably by the Coen Brothers.
Stanley Kubrick
Of these directors, he is definitely the least main stream. To watch Kubrick’s movies, you really do have to love films a lot, because they are kind of like abstract art. People who do understand films and why certain things are chosen can respect his films, while about 90% of people would hate them because of the way they’re told. A Clockwork Orange for example, its extremely violent with lots of nudity, and really the only people who can bear it are those who can respect it for how it portrays these scenes, or those who are really messed up in the head. Really none of his movies go like normal ones, with plots that you’ve never seen before, or just a movie that leaves you wondering why people liked it. Well, they like them because Kubrick is an artist with a camera, and if you do have a knowledge of film you can see that.
Clint Eastwood
While he is a great actor too, I still think that he works just as well behind the camera. I’ve noticed that while most of his movies are for a more broad audience, most have the thriller feeling that makes you care for the characters while wondering how things will turn out. He also normally portrays strong characters as the sort of role models we hope we are. Heck, even some of his political views get bounced around a little. When I watched his newest movie Changeling, a mother told her son “Never start a fight but always finish it”. This is just his tendency to lean towards the right shining through without being showy like others. He has changed what movies he’s done though since in the 60s-90s he was mainly making westerns or action movies like Dirty Harry. Now, he’s settled for thrillers with great stories. Since he is so consistent with his quality of movies, I can firmly believe Clint is one of the greatest directors of all time.
So that’s it for now, if I do come up with any more, I might do some more of these in the future. Tell me what you think of these directors and what their best movies are in your opinion.
