early films of directors who later went on to become mega directors

steddyeddy

The best example I can think of is the alan parker film birdy, amazing music, tone and imagery has anyone here seen it and have you any other examples of under rated films by directors which are often undershadowed by his later work?

niallon

I think it would be easy to reference early films of directors who later went on to become mega directors (Duel as an early Spielberg example, Play Misty For Me for Eastwood) These aren't exactly underrated films but they are probably overlooked and definitely not the first that come to mind when anyone thinks of either of these two as directors.

I'd say my favourite film by a major mainstream director is 52 Pick Up. John Frankenheimer may not have been a major heavyweight at the time but he did have The Manchurian Candidate under his belt and then in the eighties he went on to make this gem of a film. Schneider is great as the wealthy sufferer of a group of blackmailers led by John Glover. Really sums up THAT quintessential eighties style of film that will never be in vogue again. Yet so many haven't heard of it and those that have only caught it by chance on late night TV. Top it all off with a 6.2 on IMDB and we have ourselves a hugely underrated film.

steddyeddy

niallon wrote: »

I think it would be easy to reference early films of directors who later went on to become mega directors (Duel as an early Spielberg example, Play Misty For Me for Eastwood) These aren't exactly underrated films but they are probably overlooked and definitely not the first that come to mind when anyone thinks of either of these two as directors.

I'd say my favourite film by a major mainstream director is 52 Pick Up. John Frankenheimer may not have been a major heavyweight at the time but he did have The Manchurian Candidate under his belt and then in the eighties he went on to make this gem of a film. Schneider is great as the wealthy sufferer of a group of blackmailers led by John Glover. Really sums up THAT quintessential eighties style of film that will never be in vogue again. Yet so many haven't heard of it and those that have only caught it by chance on late night TV. Top it all off with a 6.2 on IMDB and we have ourselves a hugely underrated film.

thanks man i havent seen them films but ill look them up, changed the title on your advice too thanks!

johndoe99

Steven Spielberg "Duel (1971)"

krudler

Pirahna II: The Spawning

directed by one Mr J. Cameron. (well half directed, he wasnt allowed final cut so he broke into the editing room and re-edited it or so the story goes, crazy bastard even back then)

niallon

steddyeddy wrote:

thanks man i havent seen them films but ill look them up, changed the title on your advice too thanks!

Definitely do, 52 Pick Up especially, it'll remain a secret favourite of yours because hardly anyone will have seen it but you'll know it rocks!

krudler wrote: »

Pirahna II: The Spawning

directed by one Mr J. Cameron. (well half directed, he wasnt allowed final cut so he broke into the editing room and re-edited it or so the story goes, crazy bastard even back then)

You might be joking but I think this is actually well worth a viewing. For how colossal Cameron has become, Piranha 2 is well worth watching just to see a) How far he's come and b) It shows some of the earliest work he's ever done with effects and spectacle.

indough

krudler wrote: »

Pirahna II: The Spawning

directed by one Mr J. Cameron. (well half directed, he wasnt allowed final cut so he broke into the editing room and re-edited it or so the story goes, crazy bastard even back then)

piranha 2 is the be all and end all of this subject, dont think there is another example as worthy

PKen

Here's three for ye: 'THX1138' - George Lucas (1971), 'Eraserhead' - David Lynch (1976) and 'The Duellists' - Ridley Scott (1977). My favourites are the directors that started out in the seventies. When I think of John Frankenheimer's '52 Pick up', I'm always reminded of another 80s classic, To Live And Die In LA directed by William Friedkin (1985). Enjoy.

MrStuffins

Danny Boyle's first feature Shallow Grave is pretty awesome!

LittleBook

Who's That Knocking At My Door?

Early Scorsese starring Harvey Keitel and edited by Thelma Schoonmaker ... and we all know how well that collaboration turned out. See where it all started.

youcancallmeal

Hard Eight, Paul Thomas Anderson's first feature length film. Great story and brilliant performances from John C Reilly and Philip Baker Hall.

mike65

If you want an example of unexpected beginnings before stardom then check out the first film by Oliver Stone - Seizure and then his belated follow up - The Hand. Who could have guessed Salvador and Platoon were round the corner?

Sanjuro

Seeing as he's probably the most talked-about director of the last few weeks, gonna throw Chris Nolan's Following into the ring. Outstanding little thriller that Nolan spent a year shooting at weekends, with a tiny budget.

Interesting little factoid- the main characters of Following and Inception share the same name!

The Recliner

I would put Bad Taste and Brain Dead in there for Peter Jackson (honourable or dishonourable mention for Meet the Feebles too)

Bad Taste was shot on weekends with mates and whilst a lot of people din't like the Lord of the Rings movies there is no way you could tell that the same person made them

mike65

Thats true - Bad Taste is cheap unpretentious fun!

Renn

LittleBook wrote: »

Who's That Knocking At My Door?

Early Scorsese starring Harvey Keitel and edited by Thelma Schoonmaker ... and we all know how well that collaboration turned out. See where it all started.

Very disjointed but you can see some early signs of Scorsese's later work here. Strong use of religious imagery and all that, and he's using the slow motion/juxtaposing scenes but the only reason I'd recommend to watch would be if you're a fan of Scorsese.

Renn

Sanjuro wrote: »

Seeing as he's probably the most talked-about director of the last few weeks, gonna throw Chris Nolan's Following into the ring. Outstanding little thriller that Nolan spent a year shooting at weekends, with a tiny budget.

Interesting little factoid- the main characters of Following and Inception share the same name!

Outstanding? Meh. Started off as something genuinely intriguing but ended up being a borefest, which is impressive considering the shortness of it all. And maybe I'm getting tired of the whole nonlinear narrative path Nolan takes with his movies - this is his weakest output by far. And the acting sucks in it too.

Interesting little factoid - about halfway through the movie the character Cobb (I think) walks up to a door in the apartment and on the front of the door is the Batman symbol. There ya go.

Magic Eight Ball

johndoe99 wrote: »

Steven Spielberg "Duel (1971)"

Also, 'Sugarland Express'.

Birneybau

Sam Raimi anyone?

From "Evil Dead" and best film ever "Evil Dead 2" to the "Spiderman" trilogy is a pretty big leap.

Edgar Wright as well.

LittleBook

Birneybau wrote: »

Sam Raimi anyone?

From "Evil Dead" and best film ever "Evil Dead 2" to the "Spiderman" trilogy is a pretty big leap.

Edgar Wright as well.

Good call on Raimi.

For Wright I assume you're referring to Spaced which is watched as regularly as Fuzz and Shaun in our house.

DrumSteve

The Recliner wrote: »

I would put Bad Taste and Brain Dead in there for Peter Jackson (honourable or dishonourable mention for Meet the Feebles too)

Bad Taste was shot on weekends with mates and whilst a lot of people din't like the Lord of the Rings movies there is no way you could tell that the same person made them

Brain dead is just awesome.

the bit with the lawnmower always cracks me up (and the priest).

Paparazzo

Paths of Glory
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050825/

Birneybau

LittleBook wrote: »

Good call on Raimi.

For Wright I assume you're referring to Spaced which is watched as regularly as Fuzz and Shaun in our house.

You assume correctly.

mike65

PKen wrote: »

Here's three for ye: 'THX1138' - George Lucas (1971), 'Eraserhead' - David Lynch (1976) and 'The Duellists' - Ridley Scott (1977). My favourites are the directors that started out in the seventies. When I think of John Frankenheimer's '52 Pick up', I'm always reminded of another 80s classic, To Live And Die In LA directed by William Friedkin (1985). Enjoy.

Neither are early films though, indeed they both have to be considered late works esp 52 Pick up as Frankenheimer only made a few more feature films before his death.

MrStuffins

Birneybau wrote: »

Edgar Wright as well.

Might be knit-picking here, but at no point has anyone ever considered Edgar Wright a "Mega Director"

fluke

As Niallon referred to it I'd recommend checking out Clint Eastwood's directorial debut Play Misty For Me. It's a decent thriller with Clint casting himself in the lead part but not playing his usual badass self.

Blood Simple - the debut of Joel and Ethan Coen should definitely be viewed. Classic film!

LittleBook

Renn wrote: »

Very disjointed but you can see some early signs of Scorsese's later work here. Strong use of religious imagery and all that, and he's using the slow motion/juxtaposing scenes but the only reason I'd recommend to watch would be if you're a fan of Scorsese.

True enough. Actually I'm not sure I read the OP properly as I wouldn't consider it "underrated" ... more interesting in terms of an early film from a mega director and editor.

Lamper.sffc

Alien 3. David Fincher.

This film is actually a very good Alien sequel that was ruined by constant re-writes and editing which where taken out of Fincher control

The extended version which is closer to what Fincher had in mind is actually the version everybody should see and is a very good addition the the Alien story.

foxyboxer

The Duellists from Ridley Scott. Essentially, this put him on a long list of directors for Alien.

Do you want to direct Alien? Famed Director1: No.
Do you want to direct Alien? Famed Director2: No.
Do you want to direct Alien? Famed Director3: No.
Do you want to direct Alien? Famed Director4: No.
Do you want to direct Alien? Scott: Yes Please!

Sad Professor

Lamper.sffc wrote: »

Alien 3. David Fincher.

This film is actually a very good Alien sequel that was ruined by constant re-writes and editing which where taken out of Fincher control

The extended version which is closer to what Fincher had in mind is actually the version everybody should see and is a very good addition the the Alien story.

+1

I wish Fincher would go back and oversee a proper directors cut, but the "assembly cut" is decent enough. They are fixing up the audio (looping dialogue, etc) for the forthcoming Blu-ray release. They are also restoring about 30 minutes to Charles de Lauzirika's documentary on the making of the film, which includes footage of Fincher ranting about the studio. Can't wait.

mikhail

Sad Professor wrote: »

+1

I wish Fincher would go back and oversee a proper directors cut, but the "assembly cut" is decent enough. They are fixing up the audio (looping dialogue, etc) for the forthcoming Blu-ray release. They are also restoring about 30 minutes to Charles de Lauzirika's documentary on the making of the film, which includes footage of Fincher ranting about the studio. Can't wait.

I understand it's pretty rough in places, but as someone who thinks Aliens 3 is underrated, I'd be interested in that. Blu-ray only? Fooey.

paddyismaddy

bottle rocket and rushmore from wes anderson

PKen

mike65 wrote: »

Neither are early films though, indeed they both have to be considered late works esp 52 Pick up as Frankenheimer only made a few more feature films before his death.

I was aware of that, but I don't mind you bringing it up. That bit was in reference to what Niallon said earlier. Kinda wondered myself why he/she mentioned it, considering we're talking about early stuff.

Nolanger

Anyone else seen Breezy? Clint's first film as director where he doesn't act.

krudler

Sad Professor wrote: »

+1

I wish Fincher would go back and oversee a proper directors cut, but the "assembly cut" is decent enough. They are fixing up the audio (looping dialogue, etc) for the forthcoming Blu-ray release. They are also restoring about 30 minutes to Charles de Lauzirika's documentary on the making of the film, which includes footage of Fincher ranting about the studio. Can't wait.

Its the main reason I'm torn about buying yet another boxset of the Alien movies, 3 is so, so underrated, especially the extended cut. It adds so much more to the film seeing the parts that were cut out, especially the Boggs storyline and how the alien escapes from the chamber they trap it in (which doesnt happen in the original cut, that entire sequence is an overedited mess)

steddyeddy

paddyismaddy wrote: »

bottle rocket and rushmore from wes anderson

I dont mean this in a bad way but do you consider wes a great director

jwilldub

alan parker's best films, for me, were his early films: bugsy malone and midnight express. lots of dodgy films thereafter. i haven't seen birdy but that was 8 years after bugsy.