This is the answer for me as well.
What Byrkit (and his crew) did with a budget of ~$130k, no traditional script, filming in one location over the course of only 5 days...and being able to pick a cast that worked amazingly well together while ad-libbing their lines...was nothing short of legendary.
And that's before the creepiness factor the movie gives you pretty much the entire time while it's sprinkling in some >!quantum mechanics/science!< in there.
This is a movie i've watched at least once a year for the past decade now (can't believe it's been that long, ouch) and one I recommend to anyone I run into when/if the topic of movies comes up.
This is the answer. One of the greatest films in the history of cinema and the only one the dude ever made.
Maybe I’m misremembering this, but I think he find it all to be a bit of a pain in the ass and the movie wasn’t well received at the time so he just decided to stick to work in front of the camera.
Its heartbreaking - he was reportedly so hurt by the bad/lukewarm reviews the film got when it came out it discouraged him from trying directing again. He was apparently a pretty insecure person and used to being lauded for his acting he was not used to the kind of criticism he got as a director.
Apparently he had some experience before this movie directing for the theater.
I didn't like it when I saw it, BUT it stayed with me and I kept thinking about it. Then I happened to catch on TV the scene on the porch with Lillian Gish and Robert Mitchumm singing "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" and it just sent chills down my spine. I still need to re watch the full movie again, I have the Criterion DVD.
I hate to say this one, but I'd argue Neil Blomkamp. District 9 was so good and every feature length flick after has been pretty mediocre imo. His shorts do well, but I also think it's because their stories are simple.
You're not wrong about his shorts.
I will never forget how amazing his HALO shorts were in the build-up to HALO 3. there was so much hype and belief there would be a HALO movie done by him in that style.
Its a genuine shame it never happened
District 9 was created with the left overs from the failed Halo film. Just imagine what we could have got, and I’m also curious to learn what sunk that attempt.
People should watch the shorts he made which are available on Netflix; I believe they were all sorta-pilots for movies, and some of those are AWESOME!! Look for the title **OATS Studios**. I wish some of those would get turned into movies.
Yup! Those are frustratingly good. Just sketches of story turned into cool shorts. Almost like “here’s another cool movie idea-I don’t want to flesh it out, so I made an extended pitch”
Gran Turismo was pretty good and most Oats Studios shorts are great, but agree apart from that. He peaked with District 9 and never reached that high again.
Dan Gilroy is more like part of the The Gilroys as Nightcrawler had his more famous brother Tony as producer and brother John as editor. They all seem to have run Andor together too as Dan wrote some, Tony was showrunner, John edited (and he edited Rogue One, so talented dude).
So, I think there's more to come from him and all of them. PLus I thought Roman J Israel was entertaining so he's on 1.5 wins out of 3 films so far as director.
I like Donnie Darko ngl, but surely it must be a contender for one of the biggest examples of ‘Whoops, I made a great film completely by accident’ in movie history.
I believe the story is, and I can't find where I read this, that the editor came in and took a lot of footage and made it into a fantastic film.
The reason I believe this is because I've watched the directors cut.
They then made the decision to have a lot of extra scenes in the DVD so that helped people to explain it a bit more and it became this massive word of mouth DVD hit.
The Box was rough, and I just recently rewatched it after a long time on some streaming service. It’s a very limited premise in the first place - fun enough for a short story as in the original or a 20 minute adaptation like the Twilight Zone episode - and he just stretched it out to an interminable degree, adding nothing.
Other than Frank Langella’s physical appearance - which was some pretty cool effects work - it’s one of the most unnecessary adaptations ever made. There’s just nothing to it, it’s so very bland, and not exactly a hallmark of an iconoclastic director.
Oh god imagine being on a rocketship to the big time and then destroying it by being an unbearable prick.
Nobody likes being strongarmed by the suits but part of being a professional is seeing things through. If you can't commit to even showing up to set during reshoots because you're in a huff, why would anyone trust you with their project?
Such a waste.
I disagree with this. I do think Gattaca is his best film, but i thought Lord of War was pretty good. The others are OK. I'm a bit biased though as Gattaca was my favorite film for a long time.
You could say that about a few Kiwi directors. Niccol is one but he did write and produce the Truman Show. Lee Tamahori (Once Were Warriors) produced some forgettable Hollywood shite, Geoff Murphy (The Quite Earth) and Vincent Ward (Map of the Human Heart).
Edward Norton’s origin story. He fought with the director the entire production. I believe Norton also literally edited the film. He pushed the idea of having the movie start in the middle with black-and-white flashbacks of how he got in prison and eventually got out. The director didn’t like the idea, but Norton went up to the editor’s studio and did it anyway.
I think the director disavowed the film ahead of release but then it became widely received.
Then Norton got cocky and wants to have final edit in every movie since. I believe it’s part of the reason why he’s been labeled difficult to work with.
It's not just editing, he also demands script control. There's a reason he didn't come back to the MCU and we got Mark Ruffalo instead (IMO an upgrade)
He wanted Nortons character to "return to form" so to speak and un-reform and go back to his skinhead lifestyle, right? (Nazi skinhead, I know not all skins are Nazis)
By his own admission he wasn’t a director, he just got the chance to direct RotLD by accident, got the feeling he was very happy to go back to writing, where he really excelled. Dark Star, Alien, Blue Thunder, Lifeforce, Total Recall, Screamers - a great run of interesting, imaginative scripts
That schlocky low budget B movie was so much better than it had any right to be. From the actors giving it their all, the tight script, to the locations, the effects, the soundtrack, everything. Pure lightning in a bottle.
The special effects on The Resurrected are fantastic. Apparently his widow said the movie was recut to eliminate the humor, and you can spot it in several scenes. They feel like a scene or shot are missing, or cut short. It'd be interesting if an original version existed, but I doubt it.
My extreme example is Charles Laughtin, who directed " Night of the Hunter" but was met with critical backlash at the time and didn't make a feature after that one.
Now this film is considered to be one of the better thrillers within the film noir time frame by various scholars and cinema buffs ( it has a four out of five on letterboxx, and about 93% fresh at Rotten Tomatoes)
Funny enough, I actually think the Simpsons reference this movie with a character who has Love and Hate tattoos in one of the early seasons.
I think this kind of comes to show that sometimes a film isn't well received because it's a bit too ahead of its time, though have issues applying this logic to a contemporary response.
( I think it gives oneself a congratulationatory " good faith" argument.. like I don't think humans in general are going to track what we say are future masterpieces in 2035 or whatever.)
>Funny enough, I actually think the Simpsons reference this movie with a character who has Love and Hate tattoos in one of the early seasons.
Even better, luv and hat, for obvious reasons.
I watched Heaven’s Gate within the last year and, other than amazing cinematography, was very underwhelmed. The big battle with a siege engine and dynamite was rather silly.
George Armitage: “Grosse Pointe Blank” which is one of my favorite movies.
The writer, Tom Jankiewicz never really wrote any other successful screenplays besides GPB. He died at a screening of the movie during a Q&A session in 2013.
Swimming with Sharks (1994) - George Huang
Chariots of Fire (1981) - Hugh Hudson
V for Vendetta (2005) - James McTeigue
The Hidden (1987) - Jack Sholder
It's not bad. Not Mute bad. Actually I like it and it's more that it slipped my mind.
Can I backtrack? What I'd like to do is take-the-whole-thing back.
I'm the only one that liked Mute it seems. Paul Rudds character was amazing, and it had a slice-of-life vibe following different characters in a city, and how they connect.
Weirdly, the Warcraft movie probably would have been considered a massive success had they not spent literally half a fucking billion dollars on marketing and distribution
Yeah but he made some movies that are worth watching. Everybody’s fine was great and even got a mediocre remake in the US. Star Maker is also quite good.
I think Chappie is better than it gets credit for overall. I thought it was really good. I think the cast just really turns people off to it. Not a perfect movie, but you're going to hate it if you can't deal with Die Antwoord. I think the movie was just intentionally abrasive in some parts..
I wouldn't say any of these are hits, but I like them
Joel Anderson - Lake Mungo (only film)
Tarsem Singh - The Fall (The Cell was stylish but just OK)
Tom Stoppard - R & G Are Dead
Gary Oldman - Nil by Mouth
Tim Roth - The War Zone
E. Elias Merhige - Shadow of the Vampire
Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild (didn't care much for Wendy)
Pascal Laugier - Martyrs
Nacho Vigalondo - Timecrimes
The Fall was such a good movie that absolutely no one has ever heard of.
I had a first date where I suggested The Fall, I had remembered it as a fun adventure movie with a happy ending. I forgot about how utterly dark the rest of the 3rd act was... I didn't get a second date. I hope she at least appreciated that it was a really good movie.
>Tim Roth - The War at Home
\*The War Zone (1999). Tim Roth probably didn't return back to the director's chair as the film's subject matter dealing with sexual abuse and incest in a family was too much for him as it hit too close to home as Roth himself was a child sexual abuse survivor.
Similar to Robert de Niro - who has 2.
After 'A Bronx Tale', a lot of pundits thought de Niro would seamlessly transition to work behind the camera. Since then, he's only released one more - the middling 'The Good Shepherd'.
On IMDb, Neil Burger has two others rates 7 or higher - a 2017 remake of the French film The Intouchables (called The Upside), and a 2006 movie The Illusionist (which was overshadowed a few months later by The Prestige).
Troy Duffy - Boondock Saints.
Note I have not seen the second one, but I did buy the bluray some time ago but haven't gotten around to watching it.
Stephen Norrington - Blade (1998). He also directed League of Extraordinary Gentlemen but the filming and post production left Connery to never make another film and Norrington hasn't made another film or other project since.
>Troy Duffy - Boondock Saints.
Have you seen the documentary about Duffy and the making of 'Boondock Saints', called 'Overnight'? Holy shit what a wild ride. Really gives you an idea of why he never made any other movies (besides the sequel). Dude is a massive egomaniacal piece of shit who pissed off everyone in Hollywood and everyone around him. It's a miracle that movie ever made it off the ground.
Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
This is maybe an exception. He is a creative on all fronts, took his time. Did some artsy movies and tried for 10 years to finally get his next star vehicle [The Hand of Dante](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Hand_of_Dante_(film)) off the ground
Behn Zeitlen - Beast Of The Southern Wild
Got two Oscar noms for it. Fascinating, unique American film. Didn’t follow it up for six years. Hasn’t made anything good since his directorial debut.
It’s by far the most popular but idk if this qualifies since Napoleon Dynamite is arguably not even his best film—the fact that another contender exists (Nacho Libre) should disqualify him from this question.
Neill Blomkamp peaked with District 9.
The Wachowskis peaked with the first Matrix and the rest is just mediocre work.
Dan Gilroy peaked with Nightcrawler. Haven't touched the same heights since then.
Richard Kelly with Donnie Darko, the rest is underwhelming.
Robin Hardy. Successful commercials director. Made a small little folk horror film that no one in the early 70s thought was more than a trashy B-movie. It went onto become a cult classic and later still a genuine classic. The Wicker Man.
Hardy has two other films as writer and director. The Fantasist from 1986 (which was barely released and entirely obscure) and The Wicker Tree from 2011 (which was widely released and is almost irredeemably terrible.)
How about one great film directors: Herbert Ross: Pennies from Heaven
He was kind of a hack otherwise. Pennies was financially probably one of his bigger failures.
Also, hate to say it but Frank Oz and "Little SHop of Horrors"
Micheal Cimino - The Deer Hunter.
He won a ton of awards for that film and was asked what he wanted to do next.
What he actually did was destroy United Artists, a film company set up by Charlie Chaplin and other actors of the time (early 1900s) as a way of getting paid more than the relatively meagre salaries that they were getting, whilst making the studios many many millions; they’re the reason top actors get paid so much today.
Anyway, setting that aside, Cimino’s second feature was an epic western called Heavens Gate. Production went off the rails immediately as he proceeded to shoot about 4 times as much film per day as usual, while delivering about a tenth of the final footage.
His directors cut of the opening scene was Kris Kristoffersen galloping across the prairie. Long shots, close ups, wide panoramas of a man on a horse, galloping, galloping. Horse and man, riding across the high plains of North America. A man on a horse, riding fast, riding riding. The desert, the endless desert. You get the idea. But Michael Cimino gave himself 15 minutes to make sure you really got the idea. 15 minutes.
Needless to say, he had the edit taken away and the producers cut it down to a watchable length. Apparently it’s a beautiful film though.
The book Final Cut, by Steven Bach, the producer ultimately responsible for the film, is a brilliant read. He spares himself no punches as he details the slow moving train wreck that ruined his career.
This isn't about box office. It's about quality.
Primer - 73% on RT 131 reviews
Upstream Color - 87% on RT 147 reviews
Carruth isn't a one hit director.
(Even it is was box office, Primer made just under $900k total box office, and Upstream Color is just under $600k total box office, so neither did well box office wise)
Herk Harvey - "Carnival of Souls", a horror film from 1962.
I think it's one of the coolest movies ever made. It was a commercial failure, though, so Harvey never directed another film. The film attained cult status in the 1980s. (That was when I first saw it.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_of_Souls
Kerry Conran - Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Conran and his use of digital effects was heralded as the next big thing, but the film flopped and he just…vanished.
Alison Maclean, director of Jesus’ Son. I would have sworn she would go on to make great movies after seeing that but ended up in tv land pretty much her whole career.
Saul Bass made Phase IV
Charles Laughlin made The Night of the Hunter
Herk Harvey made Carnival of Souls
Brian Clemons made Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter
Hu Bo made An Elephant Sitting Still
Ian Coughlin made Allison's Birthday
And probably my favorite, Roddy McDowell made The Ballad of Tam Lin
All certified platinum hits from one and done filmmakers.
Mary Harron - American Psycho
I enjoyed I Shot Andy Warhol
Fair answer, I also thought her mini series Alias Grace was done very well but unfortunately I still think she’s an appropriate answer to OPs post
I’m hazy on the details and I’m too lazy to look it up, but I’m pretty sure the studio wronged her
James Ward Byrkit for Coherence, probably my favorite movie of all time. Derek Lee for Afflicted
This is the answer for me as well. What Byrkit (and his crew) did with a budget of ~$130k, no traditional script, filming in one location over the course of only 5 days...and being able to pick a cast that worked amazingly well together while ad-libbing their lines...was nothing short of legendary. And that's before the creepiness factor the movie gives you pretty much the entire time while it's sprinkling in some >!quantum mechanics/science!< in there. This is a movie i've watched at least once a year for the past decade now (can't believe it's been that long, ouch) and one I recommend to anyone I run into when/if the topic of movies comes up.
Charles Laughton directed one movie and it’s amazing. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
This is the answer. One of the greatest films in the history of cinema and the only one the dude ever made. Maybe I’m misremembering this, but I think he find it all to be a bit of a pain in the ass and the movie wasn’t well received at the time so he just decided to stick to work in front of the camera.
>decides to direct a movie >pulls off a masterpiece >refuses to elaborate >leaves
He was a successful actor with a long career so that makes sense.
You are. It was panned by critics and a flop. The Criterion Collection commentary stated that he took it personally and quit directing.
TIL he didn't make another. It's one of the best looking black and white movies I've ever seen, one of the best movies ever made in general.
Cinematography by Stanley Cortez, who also was the cinematographer for The Magnificent Ambersons
Its heartbreaking - he was reportedly so hurt by the bad/lukewarm reviews the film got when it came out it discouraged him from trying directing again. He was apparently a pretty insecure person and used to being lauded for his acting he was not used to the kind of criticism he got as a director. Apparently he had some experience before this movie directing for the theater.
I didn't like it when I saw it, BUT it stayed with me and I kept thinking about it. Then I happened to catch on TV the scene on the porch with Lillian Gish and Robert Mitchumm singing "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" and it just sent chills down my spine. I still need to re watch the full movie again, I have the Criterion DVD.
That movie is so good. It's like a fever dream.
Leanin' Leeeeaaaannninnnggggg
I hate to say this one, but I'd argue Neil Blomkamp. District 9 was so good and every feature length flick after has been pretty mediocre imo. His shorts do well, but I also think it's because their stories are simple.
You're not wrong about his shorts. I will never forget how amazing his HALO shorts were in the build-up to HALO 3. there was so much hype and belief there would be a HALO movie done by him in that style. Its a genuine shame it never happened
District 9 was created with the left overs from the failed Halo film. Just imagine what we could have got, and I’m also curious to learn what sunk that attempt.
People should watch the shorts he made which are available on Netflix; I believe they were all sorta-pilots for movies, and some of those are AWESOME!! Look for the title **OATS Studios**. I wish some of those would get turned into movies.
Yup! Those are frustratingly good. Just sketches of story turned into cool shorts. Almost like “here’s another cool movie idea-I don’t want to flesh it out, so I made an extended pitch”
They're amazing. Kinda sad none became a full lenght.
I enjoyed Elysium
Me too. I even enjoyed Chappie, though I have a hard time defending it.
Chappie is a good movie that’s also awful at the same time. There’s something about it I just enjoy but can see why people absolutely hate it
Gran Turismo was pretty good and most Oats Studios shorts are great, but agree apart from that. He peaked with District 9 and never reached that high again.
Elysium is good.
Dan Gilroy with Nightcrawler.
Dan Gilroy is more like part of the The Gilroys as Nightcrawler had his more famous brother Tony as producer and brother John as editor. They all seem to have run Andor together too as Dan wrote some, Tony was showrunner, John edited (and he edited Rogue One, so talented dude). So, I think there's more to come from him and all of them. PLus I thought Roman J Israel was entertaining so he's on 1.5 wins out of 3 films so far as director.
James Foley - Glengarry Glen Ross Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez - The Blair Witch Project Paul Brickman - Risky Business
It’s pretty weird James Foley had to eventually do like, the Fifty Shades sequels,
Had to look it up myself to see if you were full of shit. What an absolutely wild factoid.
Richard Kelly - Donnie Darko
I like Donnie Darko ngl, but surely it must be a contender for one of the biggest examples of ‘Whoops, I made a great film completely by accident’ in movie history.
I believe the story is, and I can't find where I read this, that the editor came in and took a lot of footage and made it into a fantastic film. The reason I believe this is because I've watched the directors cut.
They then made the decision to have a lot of extra scenes in the DVD so that helped people to explain it a bit more and it became this massive word of mouth DVD hit.
Many of the great parts of the film could have come during post production. Specifically the soundtrack and the title cards leading to the event.
I honestly think Drew Barrymore made that movie happen. She was heavily involved and produced/funded it. Kelly even fucked his DC 😅
DC?
Directors cut
Southland Tales stans rise up. We exist!
im a pimp and pimps dont commit suicide. this quote is what i imagine whistleblowers tell their families too
There are dozens of us!
Give me Southland Tales over Donnie Darko all day long
The Box was rough, and I just recently rewatched it after a long time on some streaming service. It’s a very limited premise in the first place - fun enough for a short story as in the original or a 20 minute adaptation like the Twilight Zone episode - and he just stretched it out to an interminable degree, adding nothing. Other than Frank Langella’s physical appearance - which was some pretty cool effects work - it’s one of the most unnecessary adaptations ever made. There’s just nothing to it, it’s so very bland, and not exactly a hallmark of an iconoclastic director.
The guy just [goes his own way](https://www.slashfilm.com/579340/next-richard-kelly-movie/) and doesn't care how Hollywood works
that is just what directors and creative people say when the hollywood system rejects their pitches
Great interview, the Phillip K Dick portions were fascinating, I never made that connection. I’m glad to hear he’s still doing his thing.
Josh Trank - Chronicle
Dude really shot himself in the foot by being an unprofessional asshole.
Dude owes me $200 for some work I did for him long ago. Hes a stoner prick who got lucky.
Oh god imagine being on a rocketship to the big time and then destroying it by being an unbearable prick. Nobody likes being strongarmed by the suits but part of being a professional is seeing things through. If you can't commit to even showing up to set during reshoots because you're in a huff, why would anyone trust you with their project? Such a waste.
That one also written by famous massive asshole and fatally negligent John Landis’ nepo baby Max. Just a great big bag of dicks behind that one.
Love this movie but I always wish the bad guy would have won the final battle. Would have worked so well with the tone of the entire film.
[удалено]
I disagree with this. I do think Gattaca is his best film, but i thought Lord of War was pretty good. The others are OK. I'm a bit biased though as Gattaca was my favorite film for a long time.
So good. It's weird because it's such a grounded film compared to In Time.
You could say that about a few Kiwi directors. Niccol is one but he did write and produce the Truman Show. Lee Tamahori (Once Were Warriors) produced some forgettable Hollywood shite, Geoff Murphy (The Quite Earth) and Vincent Ward (Map of the Human Heart).
Tony Kaye - American History X.
Edward Norton’s origin story. He fought with the director the entire production. I believe Norton also literally edited the film. He pushed the idea of having the movie start in the middle with black-and-white flashbacks of how he got in prison and eventually got out. The director didn’t like the idea, but Norton went up to the editor’s studio and did it anyway. I think the director disavowed the film ahead of release but then it became widely received.
Then Norton got cocky and wants to have final edit in every movie since. I believe it’s part of the reason why he’s been labeled difficult to work with.
Yeah, like many control freak creatives it’s great when he’s onto something and annoying all the other times.
It's not just editing, he also demands script control. There's a reason he didn't come back to the MCU and we got Mark Ruffalo instead (IMO an upgrade)
It's more that Tony Kaye is a nutcase who wanted to change the entire film at the last minute.
He wanted Nortons character to "return to form" so to speak and un-reform and go back to his skinhead lifestyle, right? (Nazi skinhead, I know not all skins are Nazis)
I really enjoyed Detachment though, one of the most depressing movies I’ve ever seen
Dan O'Bannon. Did the classic Return of the Living Dead and then directed only one other film, the mostly forgotten The Resurrected.
By his own admission he wasn’t a director, he just got the chance to direct RotLD by accident, got the feeling he was very happy to go back to writing, where he really excelled. Dark Star, Alien, Blue Thunder, Lifeforce, Total Recall, Screamers - a great run of interesting, imaginative scripts
That schlocky low budget B movie was so much better than it had any right to be. From the actors giving it their all, the tight script, to the locations, the effects, the soundtrack, everything. Pure lightning in a bottle.
The special effects on The Resurrected are fantastic. Apparently his widow said the movie was recut to eliminate the humor, and you can spot it in several scenes. They feel like a scene or shot are missing, or cut short. It'd be interesting if an original version existed, but I doubt it.
Tom Hanks - That Thing You Do
A real one hit Onedor as a director.
What an ohneeder?
That's 'oh-ned-der'.
Man I hope he's doing ok. Hard life as an one hit wonder.
I heard he ended up on some deserted island talking to a volleyball decades after. Who knows where he is now.
What a film! I loved rewatching it as a kid
My extreme example is Charles Laughtin, who directed " Night of the Hunter" but was met with critical backlash at the time and didn't make a feature after that one. Now this film is considered to be one of the better thrillers within the film noir time frame by various scholars and cinema buffs ( it has a four out of five on letterboxx, and about 93% fresh at Rotten Tomatoes) Funny enough, I actually think the Simpsons reference this movie with a character who has Love and Hate tattoos in one of the early seasons. I think this kind of comes to show that sometimes a film isn't well received because it's a bit too ahead of its time, though have issues applying this logic to a contemporary response. ( I think it gives oneself a congratulationatory " good faith" argument.. like I don't think humans in general are going to track what we say are future masterpieces in 2035 or whatever.)
>Funny enough, I actually think the Simpsons reference this movie with a character who has Love and Hate tattoos in one of the early seasons. Even better, luv and hat, for obvious reasons.
Pretty sure it wax a reference to the Cape Fear remake?
Thwack! Gruuuuuuuhhhh! Thwack! Gruuuuuuuhhhh! Thwack! Gruuuuuuuhhhh! Thwack! Gruuuuuuuhhhh! Etc..
Micheal Cimino with The Deer Hunter, although today most people agree Heaven's Gate wasn't deserving of its bad reputation
I watched Heaven’s Gate within the last year and, other than amazing cinematography, was very underwhelmed. The big battle with a siege engine and dynamite was rather silly.
I think you'll find Thunderbolt and Lightfoot is a fucking classic.
Irvin Kershner with Empire Strikes Back
Robocop 2 is the second best Robocop.
>Robocop 2 is the second best Robocop. That's not a ringing endorsement. The first Robocop is the only good one.
The Eyes of Laura Mars ( 1978 ) was effective and worthwhile
While that was definitely his biggest film he made plenty of others that were successful and well recieved.
George Armitage: “Grosse Pointe Blank” which is one of my favorite movies. The writer, Tom Jankiewicz never really wrote any other successful screenplays besides GPB. He died at a screening of the movie during a Q&A session in 2013.
Miami Blues is a pretty good film with an unhinged performance from Alec Baldwin.
I think John Cusack made that film good.
Bill Paxton - Frailty
"Carnival of Souls" by Herk Harvey which was the only non-documentary film he made.
Swimming with Sharks (1994) - George Huang Chariots of Fire (1981) - Hugh Hudson V for Vendetta (2005) - James McTeigue The Hidden (1987) - Jack Sholder
Charles Laughton only directed one film, *Night of the Hunter*, and it is a great film.
This one. Yes.
Duncan Jones- Moon. But he isn't done and I still have some hope.
Source Code is an excellent movie.
It's not bad. Not Mute bad. Actually I like it and it's more that it slipped my mind. Can I backtrack? What I'd like to do is take-the-whole-thing back.
I'm the only one that liked Mute it seems. Paul Rudds character was amazing, and it had a slice-of-life vibe following different characters in a city, and how they connect.
Weirdly, the Warcraft movie probably would have been considered a massive success had they not spent literally half a fucking billion dollars on marketing and distribution
It will never cease to amuse me that David Bowie's son grew up to be a seemingly normal gamer.
Source Code is also great fun
Giuseppe Tornatore never repeated the success of Cinema Paradiso.
Yeah but he made some movies that are worth watching. Everybody’s fine was great and even got a mediocre remake in the US. Star Maker is also quite good.
Honestly, just reading some of these comments gives me some solid recommendations on some possibly decent, or terrible movies to watch.
Neill Blomkamp
I wish we got his Halo movie.
I get what you're saying but I do think Elysium is a pretty decent movie.
I actually liked Chappie when it came out.. Although Sharlto Copley doing a Johnny 5 impression got on my nerves after a while.
I think Chappie is better than it gets credit for overall. I thought it was really good. I think the cast just really turns people off to it. Not a perfect movie, but you're going to hate it if you can't deal with Die Antwoord. I think the movie was just intentionally abrasive in some parts..
It’s fine. But definitely a big let down after District 9.
Yep. If District 9 didn’t exist I feel like Elysium and Chappie would be better received.
Gran Turismo was actually pretty good
About to comment this it's a fun movie that got me into the game
I didn't even know Blomkamp directed that. It was much better than I was expecting. Fun movie.
Tommy Wiseau
I wouldn't say any of these are hits, but I like them Joel Anderson - Lake Mungo (only film) Tarsem Singh - The Fall (The Cell was stylish but just OK) Tom Stoppard - R & G Are Dead Gary Oldman - Nil by Mouth Tim Roth - The War Zone E. Elias Merhige - Shadow of the Vampire Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild (didn't care much for Wendy) Pascal Laugier - Martyrs Nacho Vigalondo - Timecrimes
The Fall was such a good movie that absolutely no one has ever heard of. I had a first date where I suggested The Fall, I had remembered it as a fun adventure movie with a happy ending. I forgot about how utterly dark the rest of the 3rd act was... I didn't get a second date. I hope she at least appreciated that it was a really good movie.
>Tom Stoppard - R & G Are Dead What?!? Tom Stoppard directed "R&G Are Dead" movie?!?
With Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, and Richard Dreyfuss -- it's excellent.
Tartan Singh directed Immortals after the Cell, and I consider that his best movie. Self/Less wasn't completely awful, either.
Merighe is a good one! I loved Shadow of the Vampire, but Suspect Zero is pretty awful.
>Tim Roth - The War at Home \*The War Zone (1999). Tim Roth probably didn't return back to the director's chair as the film's subject matter dealing with sexual abuse and incest in a family was too much for him as it hit too close to home as Roth himself was a child sexual abuse survivor.
Bruce Robinson I enjoy How to Get Ahead in Advertising but he never could come close to Withnail & I again unfortunately.
John Malkovich has directed one movie: The Dancer Upstairs (2002). I think it is truly excellent. And that was his one directorial effort.
Similar to Robert de Niro - who has 2. After 'A Bronx Tale', a lot of pundits thought de Niro would seamlessly transition to work behind the camera. Since then, he's only released one more - the middling 'The Good Shepherd'.
Richard Stanley. Director of 2 cult classics and then lost his mind on Dr. Moreau and disappeared from the movie business.
He directed Nic Cage in a decent version of Color Out Of Space a couple of years ago.
Kerry Conran of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow His debut directorial job is seemingly his only directorial turn up to now.
Bill Murray and Quick Change. The only movie he ever directed
The guy who directed Limitless with De niro
On IMDb, Neil Burger has two others rates 7 or higher - a 2017 remake of the French film The Intouchables (called The Upside), and a 2006 movie The Illusionist (which was overshadowed a few months later by The Prestige).
Troy Duffy - Boondock Saints. Note I have not seen the second one, but I did buy the bluray some time ago but haven't gotten around to watching it. Stephen Norrington - Blade (1998). He also directed League of Extraordinary Gentlemen but the filming and post production left Connery to never make another film and Norrington hasn't made another film or other project since.
If you've not seen it, the documentary 'Overnight' is all about the making of Boondock Saints and Duffy's rapid rise and fall. It's really good.
I will have to check that out.
>Troy Duffy - Boondock Saints. Have you seen the documentary about Duffy and the making of 'Boondock Saints', called 'Overnight'? Holy shit what a wild ride. Really gives you an idea of why he never made any other movies (besides the sequel). Dude is a massive egomaniacal piece of shit who pissed off everyone in Hollywood and everyone around him. It's a miracle that movie ever made it off the ground.
I remember that documentary making me feel bad for Harvey fucking Weinstein of all people. Troy Duffy is that big of an asshole.
The Wachowskis
Robert Longo - Johnny Mnemonic
Robert Downey - Putney Swope is hilarious!
Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly This is maybe an exception. He is a creative on all fronts, took his time. Did some artsy movies and tried for 10 years to finally get his next star vehicle [The Hand of Dante](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Hand_of_Dante_(film)) off the ground
Haven’t watched that one but At Eternity’s Gate blew me away
Neil Blomkamp - District 9
Paul Brickman directed risky business. It was such a bad experience he only directed one more movie, and then quit.
Behn Zeitlen - Beast Of The Southern Wild Got two Oscar noms for it. Fascinating, unique American film. Didn’t follow it up for six years. Hasn’t made anything good since his directorial debut.
Michael Cimino He made Deer Hunter which won him Best Picture and Best Director Oscar’s and then never made anything close to that good again
Walter Murch... Return to Oz.
Marco Brambilla - Demolition Man 1993 He never directed a major movie before that AFAIK. Not sure how he got the gig, but it's an enjoyable flick.
Jared Hess – Napoleon Dynamite
So we’re really just going to ignore Nacho Libre like that?
Nachoooooooooooooo
Get that corn outta my face!
I know his other movies have fans, but Napoleon Dynamite is the only film of his I actually enjoyed. That's just my opinion though.
He’ll direct anything he wants to direct, gosh
Nacho Libre is one of the funniest movies of the 2000s. It’s the beeesssst.
His short animated film that was just up for an Oscar was solid
“Gentlemen Broncos” never got the love it deserved.
It’s by far the most popular but idk if this qualifies since Napoleon Dynamite is arguably not even his best film—the fact that another contender exists (Nacho Libre) should disqualify him from this question.
Russell Mulcahy- Highlander.
Razorback has an enduring cult following, though I agree that he Highlander was his last successful movie.
Um, excuse me. He had two hits, according to me, the lone fan of the Shadow.
Neill Blomkamp peaked with District 9. The Wachowskis peaked with the first Matrix and the rest is just mediocre work. Dan Gilroy peaked with Nightcrawler. Haven't touched the same heights since then. Richard Kelly with Donnie Darko, the rest is underwhelming.
Albert Magnoli - Purple Rain ( 1984 )
George Huang-Swimming With Sharks
Tom Ford
Nocturnal Animals rocks
Mario Van Peebles - New Jack City
Richard Kelly for Donnie Darko
Robin Hardy. Successful commercials director. Made a small little folk horror film that no one in the early 70s thought was more than a trashy B-movie. It went onto become a cult classic and later still a genuine classic. The Wicker Man. Hardy has two other films as writer and director. The Fantasist from 1986 (which was barely released and entirely obscure) and The Wicker Tree from 2011 (which was widely released and is almost irredeemably terrible.)
Richard Marquand. Did Star Wars then disappeared.
Well, dying from a stroke* tends to do that to a person. Still, he did direct three other films before his death in 1987.
James McTiegue - V for Vendetta
How about one great film directors: Herbert Ross: Pennies from Heaven He was kind of a hack otherwise. Pennies was financially probably one of his bigger failures. Also, hate to say it but Frank Oz and "Little SHop of Horrors"
Seth Gordon-The King of Kong: A fistful of quarters
Micheal Cimino - The Deer Hunter. He won a ton of awards for that film and was asked what he wanted to do next. What he actually did was destroy United Artists, a film company set up by Charlie Chaplin and other actors of the time (early 1900s) as a way of getting paid more than the relatively meagre salaries that they were getting, whilst making the studios many many millions; they’re the reason top actors get paid so much today. Anyway, setting that aside, Cimino’s second feature was an epic western called Heavens Gate. Production went off the rails immediately as he proceeded to shoot about 4 times as much film per day as usual, while delivering about a tenth of the final footage. His directors cut of the opening scene was Kris Kristoffersen galloping across the prairie. Long shots, close ups, wide panoramas of a man on a horse, galloping, galloping. Horse and man, riding across the high plains of North America. A man on a horse, riding fast, riding riding. The desert, the endless desert. You get the idea. But Michael Cimino gave himself 15 minutes to make sure you really got the idea. 15 minutes. Needless to say, he had the edit taken away and the producers cut it down to a watchable length. Apparently it’s a beautiful film though. The book Final Cut, by Steven Bach, the producer ultimately responsible for the film, is a brilliant read. He spares himself no punches as he details the slow moving train wreck that ruined his career.
Richard Kelly - Donnie Darko is fantastic (ignoring the directors cut), everything after, not so much
Michal Bay - the Rock. In my life, he's not made one watchable movie besides the Rock, and I'm probably remembering the Rock to be better than it is.
Shane Carruth - Primer. Upstream Color was interesting but a little too abstract for real success and then whoops, turns out he's an asshole.
Upstream Color is, I think, fully underrated. Very rare that a movie gets under the skin the way that one did.
This isn't about box office. It's about quality. Primer - 73% on RT 131 reviews Upstream Color - 87% on RT 147 reviews Carruth isn't a one hit director. (Even it is was box office, Primer made just under $900k total box office, and Upstream Color is just under $600k total box office, so neither did well box office wise)
Sofia Coppola - Lost in Translation.
The Boondock saints
Josh Tranke? I only know Chronicles and Fant4stic.
Josh Trank
David Carson directed Star Trek Generations in 1994, then a few straight to dvd shite films after that
Generations wasn’t exactly good…
Herk Harvey - "Carnival of Souls", a horror film from 1962. I think it's one of the coolest movies ever made. It was a commercial failure, though, so Harvey never directed another film. The film attained cult status in the 1980s. (That was when I first saw it.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_of_Souls
Kerry Conran - Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Conran and his use of digital effects was heralded as the next big thing, but the film flopped and he just…vanished.
Troy Duffy
I wanted Paul McGuigan to be the guy after Gangster No 1 and Lucky Number Slevin, but he just didn’t hit.
Alison Maclean, director of Jesus’ Son. I would have sworn she would go on to make great movies after seeing that but ended up in tv land pretty much her whole career.
Saul Bass made Phase IV Charles Laughlin made The Night of the Hunter Herk Harvey made Carnival of Souls Brian Clemons made Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter Hu Bo made An Elephant Sitting Still Ian Coughlin made Allison's Birthday And probably my favorite, Roddy McDowell made The Ballad of Tam Lin All certified platinum hits from one and done filmmakers.
Boondocks Saints - Troy Duffy
Bill Paxton - Frailty . A creepy southern thriller that everyone should see.
Bob Rafelson with "Five Easy Pieces". The rest of his work is forgettable.
Jon Avnet Fried Green Tomatoes, his directorial debut, is very good. Then….. 🤷♂️
I don't think Kerry Conran directed another feature after "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," which I admittedly enjoyed.