SCFZ poll: Nicolas Roeg

[flip]

Polling the films of director Nicolas Roeg

The rules:

- your list can include no more than half of the Roeg 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 Tuesday, 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: greg x, umbugbene, roscoe, bure, greennui, wba, brian d, mesnalty, ofrene, st gloede, john ryan, holymanm, oscarwerner, liquidnature, mrcarmady, monsignor arkadin

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]

Don't Look Now
Bad Timing
Walkabout
Performance

seen nine

[MrCarmady]

Only seen one (Performance, good) so can't vote, but will try to watch one or two before the deadline. Surprised he hasn't been polled yet!

[Evelyn Library P.I.]

1. Insignificance

seen 2

[greennui]

6.

Bad Timing
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Performance

[nrh]

the man who fell to earth
eureka
don't look now
bad timing
insignificance

[Monsieur Arkadin]

Seen 7 at the moment. I'll watch some more, especially Eureka which I've been genuinely intrigued by for a while.
As an aside...I always kind of think of Petulia as Roeg, maybe foolishly out of my ignorance of the rest of Lester's filmography, but it feels so much like his spirit is haunting that film.

I recently re-watched Bad Timing, and was again stunned by his ability to stage scenes across space and time. I haven't read his book, but I certainly hope he wrote a chapter on the love scene from L'Atalante and Alain Resnais in general. But Roeg definitely took this style into a distinctive new category that is really lovely. I re-fall in love with his films every time I watch them.

My preliminary list would be:
-Don't Look Now
-Bad Timing
-Insignificance

But I'm only leaving the others I've seen off the list because of the quota. They've all been legitimately mesmerizing (with, maybe, the exception of The Witches)

Updated:
Seen 9
-Don't Look Now
-Bad Timing
-Insignificance
-The Man Who Fell To Earth

[nrh]

As an aside...I always kind of think of Petulia as Roeg, maybe foolishly out of my ignorance of the rest of Lester's filmography, but it feels so much like his spirit is haunting that film.

i thought that when i first saw petulia years ago but watching it again this year it's definitely not the case - the obsessive background/foreground contrasts that underlie the whole film are totally lester and don't really appear anywhere in roeg filmography, and the flashforward/stutter edits were actually suggested by editor not lester or roeg. but i also think performance is much more donald cammell than it is roeg.

weirdly i think roeg has much more influence on way to the forum (which somehow reminds me of masque of the red death).

[---]

Seen 3

The man who fell to earth

[brian d]

seen 10

walkabout
don't look now
glastonbury fayre
eureka
bad timing

[Caracortada]

Seen 11. Two films stand out.

1. Don't Look Now
2. Walkabout
3. Performance
4. Bad Timing
5. Castaway

Worst: The Witches or How to Ruin a Roald Dahl adaptation.

[john ryan]

Seen 10

1. Walkabout
2. Don't Look Now
3. Eureka
4. Insignificance
5. The Man Who Fell to Earth

[rischka]

walkabout
the man who fell to earth
performance

[mesnalty]

Seen 4:

1. Walkabout
2. The Man Who Fell to Earth

[flip]

Worst: The Witches or How to Ruin a Roald Dahl adaptation.

I haven't seen The Witches, but The Sound of Claudia Schiffer might be the worst thing I've ever seen.

I've seen Roeg's first seven features, then only two later works, and I'm curious if there's anything worthwhile in his later period (1990 onwards).

[oscarwerner]

Seen 7.
1. Don't Look Now (1973)
2. Walkabout (1971)
3. The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

[Roscoe]

1. DON'T LOOK NOW
2. WALKABOUT
3. PERFORMANCE

That's about right. Seen enough to rate more.

[nrh]

I haven't seen The Witches, but The Sound of Claudia Schiffer might be the worst thing I've ever seen.

I've seen Roeg's first seven features, then only two later works, and I'm curious if there's anything worthwhile in his later period (1990 onwards).

there are some genuine great sequences in the witches, and a terrific angelica huston performance, and i'll always be fond of the film for traumatizing a whole bunch of children during my brief and ill-advised tenure as after school teacher way out in the far regions of queens.

but i've been (morbidly?) curious about the later works too...i've seen claudia schiffer and remember it being kind of awful.

[Monsieur Arkadin]

I too have some positive feelings towards The Witches... largely as one of the children it traumatized in the early 90s. (I'm a firm believer that the best children films have 1 scene that push the limits of what they can handle.... just a little bit too far.)

[St. Gloede]

Only seen 6:

Walkabout
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Performance

[Holymanm]

Walkabout

Seen 5

Not a fan... but Walkabout is great

[ofrene]

seen 2

Don't Look Now

[john ryan]

but i've been (morbidly?) curious about the later works too...i've seen claudia schiffer and remember it being kind of awful.

I watched his 1989 adaptation of Sweet Bird of Youth earlier today. I'm nervous about continuing further.

[...]

Don't Look Now
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Performance
Insignificance
Walkabout

Seen 13 Roegs, used to think he was a big deal back in the 80s, but my enthusiasm waned considerably over time as Roeg started to seem more superficially inventive than really meaningful. Don't Look Now is the one that seems most fully realized. Man Who Fell to Earth is at least suitably alien in a singular, somewhat muddled way. Performance is, as NRH suggested, maybe more a Cammell movie, but like Man, fit to its subject well enough. Walkabout has an impressive enough tone and look, but feels rather too self satisfied, simplistic, and leering to take more seriously and Insignificance worked well enough for its play into film way.

Roeg's fascination with sexual politics isn't all that compelling to me, but at least he's upfront about it, which is something I guess, when many directors prefer to try and hide their pleasures under a scrim of genre or whatnot. His handling of actors wasn't always great, but it was often interesting save for his otherwise admirable devotion to casting his wife perhaps. I'll Theresa Russell credit for her daring in how she approaches her roles, but she's really not very good with dialogue, having an extremely limited range in delivery flattening the affect of almost every character she plays. Still, Roeg made a lot of interesting choices in the stories he chose to film, back when he had options, was willing to be adventurous, and did try to push his movies to being something different than most, so I can respect that.

[flip]

seen 2

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

[Evelyn Library P.I.]

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

yay! let's see... how about Roy Del Ruth? (I've seen 12.)
If he doesn't work, then maybe Joseph H. Lewis (11) or W.K.L Dickson (45).

[flip]

probably best to check views on those, but i'm sure one of them will work. i've seen 8 lewis, 5 dickson, but only one del ruth

[greennui]

I have 31 Dickson, not enough for the others.

[Umbugbene]

I have 6 Del Ruth, 4 Lewis, and 4 Dickson.

Also 7 Roeg, but I don't recall them well enough to vote.

[...]

20 del Ruths, not enough Lewiss to matter, and more than enough Dicksons