In the movie world, actors make the story come alive. Everyone has their favorite actor in this regard. (Mine is John Wayne). But without a director of expertise, the movie can sometimes just lie there like a cake that has fallen. Some people are actor groupies. I, myself, am a director groupie. There are any number of directors that I would like to meet (or to have met) that have impressed me over the years. Among these are Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorcese, Stanley Kubrick, Oliver Stone, John Landis, John Huston, and my favorite director, John Carpenter.
Phyllis Loves Classic Movies and I have teamed together to pay tribute to some of these great directors. The Favorite Director Blogathon will run over Memorial Day weekend. For the purposes of this blogathon, you can choose any director that you wish and write a tribute to him or her. There are only a few rules to follow:
1. You can pick any director from the silent days all the way to 1990. You can choose to cover one specific movie that encapsulates the essence of the director, or you can cover the entire career of the director.
2. Only one entry per movie, please. But that is still wide open. For instance, if one person chooses John Ford's The Searchers, another person could still choose another John Ford movie, or even cover Ford's career.
3. Because this is running over the Memorial Day weekend, and we understand you might have other plans, early admissions will be accepted. Write your review and come back and leave a link to your review and we will see to it that you are added to the roll call.
4. Choose one of the banners that Phyllis Loves Classic Movies created for the blogathon and put it on your blog, linking back to us.
5. Above all, the most important rule is....HAVE FUN!
The Roll Call:
The Midnite Drive-In: John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China
Phyllis Loves Classic Movies: Collaborations of Frank Capra and Robert Risken
Angelman's Place: Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby
Anybody Got A Match: Stanley Donen's Charade
Because We Have the Stars: Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard
Caftan Woman: William Wyler's Hell's Heroes and The Big Country
Champagne for Lunch: Mervyn LeRoy
Charlene's (Mostly) Classic Movie Reviews: Ingmar Bergman's Through a Glass Darkly
Christina Wehner: William Wellmann
Cinema Cities: Billy Wilder
Cinematic Scribblings: Yasujiro Ozu's Late Spring
Classic Movie Treasures: John Ford's The Quiet Man
Crítica Retrô: Orson Welles' Othello
Demanded Critical Reviews: Andrei Tovarsky's Stalker, The Mirror ans Solaris
Hamlette's Soliloquy: John Ford's The Searchers
It Came from the Man Cave: Sam Raimi's Evil Dead 2
John V's Eclectic Avenue: Jacques Tourneur's Out of the Past and Curse of the Demon
L.A. Explorer: Preston Sturges' Miracle of Morgan Creek
Love Letters to Old Hollywood: Billy Wilder's The Apartment
Plot and Theme: Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove
Pure Entertainment Preservation Society: Naturalness in George Cukor's films
Realweegiemidget Reviews: Ed Wood
Whimsically Classic: Billy Wilder's The Major and the Minor
A Viewer's Guide to Classic Films D. W. Griffith's Scarlet Days and Way Down East
Phyllis Loves Classic Movies: Collaborations of Frank Capra and Robert Risken
Angelman's Place: Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby
Anybody Got A Match: Stanley Donen's Charade
Because We Have the Stars: Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard
Caftan Woman: William Wyler's Hell's Heroes and The Big Country
Champagne for Lunch: Mervyn LeRoy
Charlene's (Mostly) Classic Movie Reviews: Ingmar Bergman's Through a Glass Darkly
Christina Wehner: William Wellmann
Cinema Cities: Billy Wilder
Cinematic Scribblings: Yasujiro Ozu's Late Spring
Classic Movie Treasures: John Ford's The Quiet Man
Crítica Retrô: Orson Welles' Othello
Demanded Critical Reviews: Andrei Tovarsky's Stalker, The Mirror ans Solaris
Hamlette's Soliloquy: John Ford's The Searchers
It Came from the Man Cave: Sam Raimi's Evil Dead 2
John V's Eclectic Avenue: Jacques Tourneur's Out of the Past and Curse of the Demon
L.A. Explorer: Preston Sturges' Miracle of Morgan Creek
Love Letters to Old Hollywood: Billy Wilder's The Apartment
Plot and Theme: Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove
Pure Entertainment Preservation Society: Naturalness in George Cukor's films
Realweegiemidget Reviews: Ed Wood
Whimsically Classic: Billy Wilder's The Major and the Minor
A Viewer's Guide to Classic Films D. W. Griffith's Scarlet Days and Way Down East
I've always best to go with your first response. You can overthink these sorts of things.
ReplyDeletePut me down for a look at William Wyler by focusing on two of his westerns, 1929s Hell's Heroes and 1958s The Big Country. Please and thank you.
You can have them both. Thanks for joining.
DeleteI said this on Phyl's blog too, but I've decided I want to write about John Ford's The Searchers. Your putting this on that particular weekend helped me make my choice, as it's John Wayne's birthday on the 26th, so how could I not choose one of his films?
ReplyDeleteExcellent choice. Don't know how I missed it was Wayne's birthday...
DeleteThere are certain birthdates that are etched in my memory, and his is one. Bobby Darin's, May 14, is another. Vic Morrow (Feb. 14) and Rudolph Valentino (May 6) are engraved there too. Alan Ladd's, September 3, has lately been added to them ;-)
DeleteI miiiiiight also be able to contribute a review of the book he Searchers: The Making of an American Legend by Glenn Frankel if I get it read in time -- would that be cool?
DeleteI read that book when it came out a couple of years ago. Not like me normally, since I love history, but I became a little impatient trying to read the background to the story. Have to ashamedly admit I skipped over to the movie section... I need to go back and try again.
DeleteWell, I put in a hold request for it at the library, so we'll see how soon I get it, and how soon I have time for it :-)
DeleteBilly Wilder's "The Major and the Minor."
ReplyDeletehttps://whimsicallyclassic.wordpress.com/
Whimsically Classic
I'll get it added. Thanks for joining.
DeleteNot sure if this is ok, but can I review Ed Wood, the biopic film about the director with Johnny Depp? My blog is https://weegiemidget.wordpress.com/
ReplyDeleteMy co-host left it up to me. I guess it's OK, since it's a biographical piece about a director.
DeleteThanks xx Was a toss up between that and The Aviator x
DeleteI'd love to do a piece on Jacques Tourneur, focusing on "Out Of The Past," his work with Val Lewton and of course "Curse of The Demon."
ReplyDeletehttp://jveclectic.blogspot.com
Are you wanting to do two separate entries or bulk them into one? I put it down as one for the time being. Let me know if it's posted wrong.
DeleteOne entry works fine, thanks for including me!
DeleteOK we'll leave it as it is. Thanks for joining.
DeleteI'm happy to be part of the blogathon! I've been reading through your blog, and enjoying it! I added it to the reading list on mine! Any fan of Bond, Planet of the Apes & drive-in films is a kindred spirit ;)
DeleteThanks. I TRY to get at least one new post a week, so keep your eye out. Hopefully you'll find more you like.
DeleteHi Quiggy - Put me down for Roman Polanski's masterwork, Rosemary's Baby...my favorite film of my favorite director!
ReplyDeleteGlad to have you. It's always more fun when you get involved. (A blatant attempt to urge you to blog more often, obviously...)
DeleteI'd like to write a blog post about all the Steven Spielberg-directed films I've seen. :) Looking forward to it!
ReplyDelete~Eva
And my blog isn't the Blogger one that my profile links to. It's this one - https://classicsandcraziness.wordpress.com/
DeleteJust saw this. Must've been asleep for two days. I'll get it added.
DeleteThanks! I know you put the time-frame all the way up to 1990, but at least some of the Spielberg films I want to talk about were made after 1990 - is it still okay to write about them?
Delete~Eva
As long as you don't focus entirely on his later stuff, I have no objection to an overview.
DeleteWell, most of his films that I've seen from him are post-1990, so I might divide the post I was thinking of doing into parts and do the pre-1990 ones for my entry into your blogathon. :)
DeleteI would like to lay claim to Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove.
ReplyDeleteOK, but I need your blog url so i can add it.
DeleteHere ya go!
Deletehttps://plotandtheme.com/
can I jump on board with Sam Raimi? And if it has to be one film Evil Dead 2.
ReplyDeleteRaimi is a pretty decent choice. I loved his take on Spiderman (which is beyond the scope of this blogathon, but still...) And he also gave us Bruce Campbell... You got it.
DeleteWould it be possible to bow out of this blogathon after all. I'm really sorry, but I kind of want to. :P It's nothing against the blogathon itself or anything, it really isn't. It's more me.
ReplyDelete~Eva
Nobody is ever committed to fulfilling after joining. (Besides how would I be able to force you to do it if I established that rule...:-) ) I'll take you of the list, sure. Maybe next time.
DeleteThanks. :)
DeleteHello! Could I do Stanley Donen's Charade from 1963?
ReplyDeleteI blog at anybodygotamatch.wordpress.com
Thanks!
I gather you just kicked off your blog. Welcome to the blogging world. I'll ad you to the roster.
DeleteI am posting my Rosemary's Baby article a day early since I am getting on a plane in a few hours for the long weekend! Here is the link:
ReplyDeletehttp://angelman.blogspot.com/2017/05/rosemarys-baby-1968.html
Here is the link to my post http://classicmovietreasures.com/john-fords-20-year-journey-to-make-the-quiet-man/
ReplyDeleteFantastic. I'll update the blog post just as soon as I've read it.
Delete