SCFZ poll: Dominik Graf

[flip]

Polling the films of director Dominik Graf

The rules:

- your list can include no more than half of the Graf films you've seen, up to a maximum of 5. So if you've seen seven of his films, for example, you can list only a top 3. It's only if you've seen ten or more of his films than you can list the maximum of five.

- i'll assume ballots are ranked unless you tell me otherwise. unranked ballots are fine.

- deadline for ballots: next Friday, in seven days, whatever day that is

- if anyone is watching films for these polls, then i'll extend the deadline up to three days, if someone requests an extension

- next poll: whoever posts the first ballot in this thread is free to nominate the director we poll next, unless you've nominated in this round already (everyone should get a chance). Already nominated this round: umbugbene, greennui, evelyn, bure, m arkadin, mrcarmady, nrh, brian d, mesnalty, kanafani, st gloede, ofrene, silga, greg x, therouxxx, charulata

umbugbene created an index on letterboxd of all of our previous polls here: letterboxd.com/umbugbene/list/index-of-all-scfz-director-polls/

one rule for nominees: at least 3 scfzers need to have seen 10+ of a nominee's films, or at least 4 scfzers need to have seen at least 8 of the nom's films, so if it isn't clear if that will be the case, we'll confirm that's true before moving forward

if 24 hours pass after a poll opens, and no one eligible to nominate has posted a ballot, then i'll nominate someone, and then we'll start over, and everyone will be able to nominate again

[flip]

i think it's probably going to be a good idea to use the extended rules for this poll:

- if you have seen an odd number of graf films, you can round up instead of down to determine the length of your ballot (so if you've seen 7 graf films, you can list a 4-film ballot instead of the usual 3)

- if you have seen more than 10 graf films, your list can extend beyond a top five (so if you've seen 13, you can list a top 7), up to a maximum length of 8.

[flip]

The Cat

seen one, it was great, would like to see more

[oscarwerner]

See 2 films only. My favorite also is
The Cat (1988)

[brian d]

only seen 1

der felsen

[kanafani]

The Cat
The Invincibles

[nrh]

tatort: frau bu lacht
the invincibles
der felsen
im angesicht des verbrechens
the cat
dreileben: don't follow me around

might try to watch a few of the subtitled ones i still have left to see...

[niminy-piminy]

embarrassingly, i watched only A MAP OF THE HEART (when wba played it in a cup).
now, dlded FRIENDS OF FRIENDS and BELOVED SISTERS which i will watch once JIDFF will be over.
i would try some more, but i have an issue with "KOMMISSAR" figures in films. i really can't stand it!
(i am still not able to grasp why Werner Herzog made BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS.)
is there any other (besides those 3 mentioned) cool Dominik Graf film without a cop?
(or at least a cop not being a prominent figure in the film.)
otherwise, i desperately wish to watch OPEN WOUNDS & DOOMED LOVE: A JOURNEY THROUGH GERMAN GENRE FILMS but i don't expect subs will be available any soon.

[nrh]

of the ones i've seen am abend aller tage (a kind of sideways erotic thriller take on henry james aspern papers) and cold spring (a very hard to describe, but i think fascinating melodrama) aren't connected with the policier at all. i haven't seen them yet but bitter innocence and your best years are melodramas and have subtitles.

would love to see many of his non-policier or crime films that don't have subs (the vow, red cockatoo, the gamblers, treffer...)

[FLABREZU]

Damn I've seen no cinema by this man

[niminy-piminy]

am abend aller tage, cold spring, bitter innocence, your best years

thanks! gonna watch these 4 too (hopefully, before the poll's deadline).

[john ryan]

Seen 3

1. The Invincibles (Die Sieger)
2. The Cat (Die Katze)

[wba]

01. Das zweite Gesichte "Second Sight" (1982)
02. Der Skorpion "The Scorpion" (1997)
03. Der Felsen "A Map of the Heart" (2002)
04. Die Sieger "The Invincibles" (1994)
05. Die Katze "The Cat" (1988)
06. Kalter Frühling "Cold Spring" (2003)
07. Cassandras Warnung "Cassandra's Warning" (2011)
08. Offene Wunde deutscher Film [Director's Cut] "Open Wounds – A Journey through German Genre Films" (2017)

Graf seen (excluding TV series like "Im Angesicht des Verbrechens"): 22, of which 11 are personal favorites.

[wba]

Graf has made a lot of cop/crime films, but most of his films are not about gangsters or the police. He has made many documentaries, essay films, melodramas, comedies, historical movies, youth films, literary adaptations, prestige pictures, "Rohmer"-style films, character portraits - even a horror movie, a biker movie and a film about gambling. He's extremely versatile and can pull off almost anything.

Of the roughly 60 feature films he's made so far, about 20 are crime movies or have a cop or a gangster as a protagonist. Almost all of his TV-series stuff (of which he has also done a lot) is in the crime genre, though.

[flip]

See 2 films

oscar, you can pick our next director if you like!

[oscarwerner]

With great pleasure ! I propose Bertrand Tavernier. Have seen more then 12 films.
Alternative if Tavernier doesn`t work- Costa-Gavras. Have more then 12 films of this director as well.

[Silga]

Bertrand Tavernier - 1
Costa-Gavras - 5

[...]

13 Taverniers

[flip]

interesting choices, two directors we don't talk about very often around here, i've seen:

9 Costa Gavras
5 Tavernier

[Umbugbene]

8 Tavernier
4 Costa-Gavras

[flip]

ok, thanks for the input, tavernier will definitely work so i'll start that poll on tuesday!

looks like costa gavras should work too, for future reference, though we'd need to find one more person with 7+ seen

[wba]

Tavernier: 3
Costa-Gavras: 2

[oscarwerner]

Nice. I also hope somebody will appear with 7+ of Costa-Gavras...

[...]

Just 7 for me, but I can probably sneak in a short for number 8 when Costra-Gavras gets another shot.

[MrCarmady]

seen 1, enjoyed it, currently in the process of making subs for it

eine stadt wird erpresst

grabbing a couple more, would be great if you left it open for a bit longer!

[flip]

grabbing a couple more, would be great if you left it open for a bit longer!

the poll? it wasn't going to close until friday anyway, but can extend it longer if you want more time

[niminy-piminy]

the poll? it wasn't going to close until friday anyway, but can extend it longer if you want more time

my JIDFF pass expires on 8/11 and then i am going to watch 6 films i grabbed for this poll. can this poll stay open as long as possible? all these directors' polls go so fast! i am dizzy.

[flip]

all these directors' polls go so fast! i am dizzy.

just to explain why things work this way (since i don't think you were around when we started these polls up), they were set up this way on purpose, really -- the original idea was that people probably wouldn't watch films specifically for the directors polls most of the time. they'd just be a fun little exercise that might inspire a bit of conversation about specific directors sometimes. when we started them, we had other major polls running (and we still do, not quite as many of them though) like the year polls and genre polls, and those are left open a lot longer because people often watch a lot of films for them. i didn't want these mini-polls to detract from those bigger polls.

of course when someone does want to explore a director we're polling, i'm happy to leave the poll open. i probably wouldn't want to leave it open more than a week past the original deadline though.

[niminy-piminy]

thanks for explaining, flip. i truly missed directors' polls foundation times.
so, here is my vote (for now), and whatever i will finish before the deadline (whenever it will be) i will edit the post.

ballot...
BELOVED SISTERS
YOUR BEST YEARS

COLD SPRING
A MAP OF THE HEART

[St. Gloede]

For later reference, seen 10 by Costa-Gavras.

None by Graf though I'm afraid.