Most of the truly great directors learn from the past and "borrow" from the styles, camera angles, editing choices, etc, of great films.
Certain films from my past have shaped my style of shooting and actually saved me in times of trouble on a set. I can always go to my "mind" bag of tricks, tricks I learned from these films.
I could name the usual suspects, the classic films everyone knows, "Jaws", "The Shining", "The Godfather"...but no...I always tended to explore and look for more obscure films.
Give these a try, you won't regret it!
ALTERED STATES (1980) Ken Russell
This one blew my mind and still does. Great editing and use of simple but killer visuals to portrait "hallucinations" on screen. Plus it introduced William Hurt as a force in Hollywood.
A great example of intelligent Science Fiction.
DON'T LOOK NOW (1973) Nicolas Roeg
A fantastic film that uses "color" as a symbol of tragic things to come. In this case, the RED coat on a little girl. Great use of locations (Venice) and a great script.
DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965) David Lean
If you want to learn to frame for 2:35 aspect ratio, this one is one of those to see. Plus beautiful lighting all around. I could also mention "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Bridge over River Kwai" from the same director, but this one did it for me.
BLOW OUT (1981) Brian De Palma
When it comes to set pieces, framing and blocking, Brian is one of the few masters. You could see most of his films in MUTE, because the imagery is so expressive...it tells the story perfectly.
This one has excellent examples of widescreen framing and the use of silence in a scene. Watch also "Carrie" and "Dressed to Kill" by the same director.
VIDEODROME (1983) David Cronenberg
David always tells dark and twisted stories, like this one. He likes to use the same 50 mm lens most of the time. Everyone of his films has that one visual that stays with you, just like Kubrick...there is always amazing ideas at play, no matter the budget. Watch his entire filmography!
SUSPIRIA (1977) Dario Argento
The film that basically taught me to use color in film. A masterpiece of operatic horror, Italian style. An example of the "bigness" one can achieve by knowing how to use the 2:35 aspect ratio canvas. A must watch.
DEAD CALM (1989) Phillip Noyce
3 characters and a boat, and lots of thrills. This one, just like "12 Angry Men" by Sidney Lumet and "Lifeboat" by Hitchcock, taught me tricks on how to keep things interesting visually with few props, only a few characters and ONE location. Phillip Noyce, just like another great Australian Director, George Miller, knew how to make things low budget look huge.
SATYRICON (1969) Fellini
Only Fellini can make films like this. Symbolism everywhere, insane ideas a studio would never touch today. This film blew me the hell away, its a little twisted and very "Italian". Fellini was always creating a world of dreams and ideas, this is the perfect example of that.
LETS SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH (1973)
This is a gem. A ZERO budget wonder that I only saw a few years ago. An eerie atmosphere is created very simply and great performances by an unknown cast elevate this to a new level.
For fans of slow and evolving terror and not the current crap-fest we call "horror".
EXCALIBUR (1980) John Boorman
John Boorman is a "maestro" of framing. His films always look amazing, cinematic. The use of production design, costumes and framing in this is still awesome. THIS is a film I always borrow from. But also from him, watch "Hell in the Pacific" and "Deliverance".
MAGIC (1978) Richard Attenborough
This one is a great example of pacing, atmosphere and cutting between actors during a scene with 2 characters, one of them being a puppet!
Anthony Hopkins gives another magnificent performance. This freaked me out as a child.
Not perfect, but still a must see.
Feel free to COMMENT below and name key films that have affected you and REMEMBER:
TRY DIFFERENT THINGS, OLDER FILMS ARE A GREAT SOURCE OF IDEAS AND YOU MIGHT BE SHOCKED TO FIND SOME AMAZING THINGS.
AS A FILMMAKER, DON'T JUST WATCH WHAT JUST CAME OUT, GO OUT AND DIG AROUND AND FIND THE GEMS THAT WILL HELP YOU IN YOUR CAREER.
Jose!
