Director Blindspots

[MrCarmady]

Gonna plug gaps in this thread. Reviews and screenshots to follow, hyperlinked where necessary.

Shitloads of directors I've never seen anything by, listed below:

Frank Tashlin
Bela Tarr
Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Tsai Ming-liang
Chen Kaige
Frank Borzage
Jerzy Skolimowski
Krzysztof Zanussi
Tsui Hark
King Hu

Ann Hui
Walter Salles
Samira Makhmalbaf
Jafar Panahi
Takashi Miike
Yoshishige Yoshida
Masaki Kobayashi
Nobuhiko Obayashi
Marcel Carne
Claude Lanzmann

Marcel Ophuls
DW Griffith
Leni Riefenstahl
Jean Eustache
Abel Gance
Ken Loach
Todd Solondz
John Sayles
Agnieszka Holland
Jeff Nichols

Joris Ivens
Ross McElwee
Peter Watkins
Shohei Imamura
Hiroshi Teshigahara
Danielle Huillet + Jean-Marie Straub
Warren Beatty
Ettore Scola
Margarethe von Trotta
Volker Schlöndorff

Jon Jost
Mark Rappaport
Ida Lupino
Allan Dwan
Jacques Becker
Andrzej Munk
Kenneth Anger
Wojciech Has
Marguerite Duras
Alain Robbe-Grillet

John Waters
Ken Russell
Maysles Brothers
Andy Warhol
Ritwik Ghatak
Guru Dutt
Louis Feuillade
Werner Schroeter
Elio Petri
Stefan Uher

Manoel de Oliveira
Bill Douglas
Artavazd Peleshyan
Elaine May
Philippe Garrel
Robert Wiene
Jesus Franco
Gillian Armstrong
Paviani Brothers
Edgar Reitz

Allison Anders
Lucrecia Martel
Miguel Gomes
Eugene Green
Albert Serra
Lisandro Alonso
James Benning
Tom Noonan
Christopher Guest
Mohsen Makhmalbaf

Ringo Lam
Curtis Harrington
Tony Richardson
Alan Rudolph
Alan J. Pakula
Martin Rosen
Tamara Jenkins
Victor Sjöström
Nikos Nikolaidis
Konstantin Lopushansky

Sharunas Bartas
Jean Cocteau
Mai Zetterling
Jessica Hausner
Alice Rohrwacher
John Duigan
Marielle Heller
Barbra Streisand
Dardenne Brothers
Bruno Dumont

Susanne Bier
Jim McBride
Jan Nemec
Mario Monicelli
F.J. Ossang
Mani Ratnam
Carl Franklin
Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Lav Diaz
Jerry Schatzberg

Alberto Cavalcanti
Paul Vecchiali
Hiroshi Inagaki
Kihachi Okamoto
Stanley Kwan
Robert Greene
Konrad Wolf
Marcel Hanoun
Maurice Elvey
Mika Kaurismäki

Eliza Hittman
Aldo Lado
Tod Browning
Fred Kelemen
Albert Lamorisse
Larisa Shepitko
Gregg Araki
Alan Parker
Roland Klick
Vittorio De Seta

Claude Lelouch
David Mamet
Carlos Reygadas
Majid Majidi
Larry Cohen
Jean-Jacques Beineix
Pierre Etaix
Christoph Hochhäusler
Abdellatif Kechiche
Samuel Maoz

Glauber Rocha
Archie Mayo
Youssef Chahine
Yannick Bellon
Alan Berliner
Masahiro Shinoda
Hiroshi Ishikawa
Naomi Kawase
Paul Bartel
Akio Jissoji

Tatsumi Kumashiro
Shunji Iwai
Shinji Aoyama
Yasuzo Masumura
Michael Hoffman
István Szabó
Michelangelo Frammartino
Bi Gan
Mabel Cheung
Gustav Machaty

Clara Law
Damiano Damiani
Lucian Pintilie
Tom DiCillo
Patrick Bokanowski
Radu Muntean
Ben Rivers
Adrienne Shelly

Another list of directors I've only seen one film by:

Angelopoulos
Saura
Kiarostami
Yang
Akerman
Pasolini
Erice
Makavejev
Jodorowsky
Widerberg

Dallamano
Almereyda
Meyer
Morrissey
Brakhage
Kluge
Zhangke
Tran
Dreyer
Rosi

Costa
Monteiro
Egoyan
La Cava
Campion
Arzner
Spheeris
Nair
Hansen-Love
Reed

C. Vidor
K. Vidor
Stevens
Whale
Naruse
Oshima
Silver
Mazursky
Bogdanovich
Fulci

Quine
Bresson
Greenaway
Campos
Farhadi
Piavoli
Castellari
Visconti
Beresford
Yates

Epstein
Pudovkin
Vertov
Cimino
Vlacil
Gibney
Franju
Clouzot
De Toth
De Sica

Kahn
Borowczyk
Shimizu
K. Kurosawa
Parajanov
Moretti
Sorrentino
Tucci
LaBute
Trier

Solovyov
Herz
Boorman
Sautet
Hiller
Murnau
Jakubisko
Chytilova
Parrish
Clarke

Dolan
Hopper
Crowley
Clement
Swanberg
Chandor
Fosse
Bahrani
Blank
Redford

Milestone
Mungiu
Hellman

[DT.]

...have you actually seen any movies?

[Holymanm]

A bunch of my favourite movies are on that list

But good idea! I was just thinking about this concept earlier today, in connection with Bela Tarr (whom I see listed there)... might have to make my own list later on.

[MrCarmady]

...have you actually seen any movies?

Hahaha valid question. Funny that people in my social circle would basically ask the opposite. According to ICM, I've seen 2.3k movies which is probably the lowest on this site.

[Umbugbene]

Of the directors we've polled so far, I've never watched a single film by these six:

Chang Cheh
Yasuzo Masumura
Frederick Wiseman
Sammo Hung
João César Monteiro
Alice Guy-Blaché

[MrCarmady]

Of the directors we've polled so far, I've never watched a single film by these six:

Chang Cheh
Yasuzo Masumura
Frederick Wiseman
Sammo Hung
João César Monteiro
Alice Guy-Blaché

I love Wiseman, really liked the one Monteiro I saw, and Alice Guy is good for early cinema. I actually forgot to put Cheh and Hung on my list, Christ. Will have another look at that list to see if I've missed anything else.

[liquidnature]

According to iCM, I've seen 2.3k movies which is probably the lowest on this site.

I have 1.9k checks on iCM. Would be interested to see who has the seen the least amount of films here, might be me. My director blindspot list would be similar to yours, but would probably feature less directors (I counted 52 directors of those you listed in the first section from which I've seen at least 1 film). Here's to making our lists shorter!

I've recently been interested in completing director filmographies and I have a private letterboxd list detailing which filmographies I've completed (based on letterboxd entries). Viewing every available film from a director is a lengthy endeavor, so I'm only up to 6 currently. Next should be Fred M. Wilcox, from which I've seen 8 out of 10.

[john ryan]

I have a private letterboxd list detailing which filmographies I've completed (based on letterboxd entries).

I've been keeping these lists as well. I don't usually have time to complete the filmographies, but I use our director polls to make significant progress. I added 6 Roeg films to my list that I might otherwise never have been inspired to watch. Now to find a reason to get to those last 7 Roeg films...

[wba]

According to iCM, I've seen 2.3k movies which is probably the lowest on this site.

I have 1.9k checks on iCM. Would be interested to see who has the seen the least amount of films here, might be me. My director blindspot list would be similar to yours, but would probably feature less directors (I counted 52 directors of those you listed in the first section from which I've seen at least 1 film). Here's to making our lists shorter!

I've recently been interested in completing director filmographies and I have a private letterboxd list detailing which filmographies I've completed (based on letterboxd entries). Viewing every available film from a director is a lengthy endeavor, so I'm only up to 6 currently. Next should be Fred M. Wilcox, from which I've seen 8 out of 10.

I have somewhere between 8k and 9k films that I've seen throughout my life but not a single completed director's filmography (and none in sight).

[MrCarmady]

According to iCM, I've seen 2.3k movies which is probably the lowest on this site.

I have 1.9k checks on iCM. Would be interested to see who has the seen the least amount of films here, might be me. My director blindspot list would be similar to yours, but would probably feature less directors (I counted 52 directors of those you listed in the first section from which I've seen at least 1 film). Here's to making our lists shorter!

I've recently been interested in completing director filmographies and I have a private letterboxd list detailing which filmographies I've completed (based on letterboxd entries). Viewing every available film from a director is a lengthy endeavor, so I'm only up to 6 currently. Next should be Fred M. Wilcox, from which I've seen 8 out of 10.

I have somewhere between 8k and 9k films that I've seen throughout my life but not a single completed director's filmography (and none in sight).

Don't wanna brag, but I've completed Charles Laughton's filmography.

[wba]

Haha, ok, but I don't count "filmmakers" with one film in their entire filmography as "completed".
3 or 4 (short) films there should be for something like an "oevre".

I mean, if someone painted one picture in their life, I wouldn't really call him a painter.

[Monsieur Arkadin]

I've recently been interested in completing director filmographies and I have a private letterboxd list detailing which filmographies I've completed (based on letterboxd entries). Viewing every available film from a director is a lengthy endeavor, so I'm only up to 6 currently. Next should be Fred M. Wilcox, from which I've seen 8 out of 10.

I've been this with Paul Schrader. I've got one left (I guess 2 because I'm gonna watch "Dark" as well) Unfortunately started this after the Schrader poll.

There's a few directors I've done quite naturally, without making any conscious effort (Coen Bros, David Lynch, etc.)

[Monsieur Arkadin]

Haha, ok, but I don't count "filmmakers" with one film in their entire filmography as "completed".
3 or 4 (short) films there should be for something like an "oevre".

I mean, if someone painted one picture in their life, I wouldn't really call him a painter.

What about 4? Jean Vigo Club is like mountain climbing in middle-America.

[MrCarmady]

Haha, ok, but I don't count "filmmakers" with one film in their entire filmography as "completed".
3 or 4 (short) films there should be for something like an "oevre".

I mean, if someone painted one picture in their life, I wouldn't really call him a painter.

What about 4? Jean Vigo Club is like mountain climbing in middle-America.

Even I've seen all 4 Vigos, years ago. I still have a few Coens left, that would be a natural one to finish, but can't see myself watching The Ladykillers remake. Jarmusch I'm pretty close to completing so that's more likely.

[flip]

the ladykillers is one of the coen brothers' better films, some of their best-written dialogue

[flip]

i have a list of directors i've never seen a frame from, but it seems every time i cross a name off, i add a new one. thanks to scfz! since i made the list maybe four years ago, i've since seen films from about a hundred of the directors, but there's 200 or so left. among the most prominent i've never seen:

andrzej zulawski
jean epstein
kim ki-young
jacques becker
julien duvivier

but then there are dozens who have been discussed/recommended here, who i might otherwise not have been aware of, who i'll get around to fairly soon i hope, names like:

ali khamraev
evald schorm
mark rappaport
jacques rozier
antonio pietrangeli
helmut kautner
vittorio cottafavi
albert serra
christian petzold
zoltan fabri
govindan aravindan
john abraham
tomu uchida
dominik graf
arunas zebriunas
sergey solovyov

and a lot of others

[greennui]

Just had a look at the director polls index and there were only a few ones that I had seen nothing from, like Chang Cheh and Sammo Hung (martial arts films is a big blindspot for me).

[MrCarmady]

i have a list of directors i've never seen a frame from, but it seems every time i cross a name off, i add a new one. thanks to scfz! since i made the list maybe four years ago, i've since seen films from about a hundred of the directors, but there's 200 or so left. among the most prominent i've never seen:

andrzej zulawski
jean epstein
kim ki-young
jacques becker
julien duvivier

but then there are dozens who have been discussed/recommended here, who i might otherwise not have been aware of, who i'll get around to fairly soon i hope, names like:

ali khamraev
evald schorm
mark rappaport
jacques rozier
antonio pietrangeli
helmut kautner
vittorio cottafavi
albert serra
christian petzold
zoltan fabri
govindan aravindan
john abraham
tomu uchida
dominik graf
arunas zebriunas
sergey solovyov

and a lot of others

That makes me feel a little better as I've seen 4 Petzolds, 2 Zulawskis, 2 Kautners, a Schorm, and a Solovyov. I liked all of them to various extents, would especially recommend Assa, Courage for Every Day, Under the Bridges, Possession, and Transit. Should add some of the others to my own list, the more the merrier.

Also, your dissenting opinion about The Ladykillers has been noted and I will give it a go, though I wanna get around to the original first.

[wba]

Haha, ok, but I don't count "filmmakers" with one film in their entire filmography as "completed".
3 or 4 (short) films there should be for something like an "oevre".

I mean, if someone painted one picture in their life, I wouldn't really call him a painter.

What about 4? Jean Vigo Club is like mountain climbing in middle-America.

Even I've seen all 4 Vigos, years ago. I still have a few Coens left, that would be a natural one to finish, but can't see myself watching The Ladykillers remake. Jarmusch I'm pretty close to completing so that's more likely.

I'd count Vigo (I think four completed films shows enough of an effort ), but I haven't seen all of his films.

[flip]

i have a list of directors i've never seen a frame from, but it seems every time i cross a name off, i add a new one. thanks to scfz! since i made the list maybe four years ago, i've since seen films from about a hundred of the directors, but there's 200 or so left. among the most prominent i've never seen:

andrzej zulawski
jean epstein
kim ki-young
jacques becker
julien duvivier

watched the housemaid by kim ki-young and les berceaux by jean epstein this week, along with my first paul vecchiali, so this thread inspired me to make a bit of progress on my list. of course now i have to watch more films by some of those directors, so for every step forward the road gets a mile longer

[MrCarmady]

I haven't seen Les berceaux, might check it out due to its length, but Coeur fidele is a masterpiece.

[pabs]

I just checked the old scfz forum to see if there are other director polls there. Apart from Renoir, I think those on this forum are all of them, right?

Can someone provide a list of all the names of the scfz directors polls here?

Thanks!

[pabs]

I'm pretty chuffed and surprised how many different directors' films I've seen. And that's based on only a 2,345 film total so far. So it seems I've seen at least one film from each major scfz director.

[MrCarmady]

I just checked the old scfz forum to see if there are other director polls there. Apart from Renoir, I think those on this forum are all of them, right?

Can someone provide a list of all the names of the scfz directors polls here?

Thanks!

I'm guessing it's everything from Round 4 onwards here:
https://letterboxd.com/umbugbene/list/i ... tor-polls/
?

[pabs]

thanks, MrC. So there were quite a few polls done at the old forum.

[Evelyn Library P.I.]

I've recently been interested in completing director filmographies and I have a private letterboxd list detailing which filmographies I've completed (based on letterboxd entries).

Haven't done this often, but hope to get there eventually. I've seen all of Humphrey Jennings, the British documentarian, not sure who else. In the near future, I hope to finish all the surviving films of Ford. Other favourite directors I'll want to do eventually. The other day I struck on the idea of trying to watch all the surviving films of Michael Curtiz. Not necessarily a favourite director, but one I quite like, and, above all, I figure it would be an interesting choice because his filmography would chart a history of Hollywood filmmaking, especially Warner Bros.

[flip]

Can someone provide a list of all the names of the scfz directors polls here?

Thanks!

letterboxd.com/umbugbene/list/index-of-all-scfz-director-polls/

[pabs]

oh, thanks Flip.

[pabs]

Actually, there are still quite a few directors I've yet to see films by. But I've seen at least one by a vast majority of them.

[liquidnature]

I've recently been interested in completing director filmographies and I have a private letterboxd list detailing which filmographies I've completed (based on letterboxd entries).

Haven't done this often, but hope to get there eventually. I've seen all of Humphrey Jennings, the British documentarian, not sure who else. In the near future, I hope to finish all the surviving films of Ford. Other favourite directors I'll want to do eventually. The other day I struck on the idea of trying to watch all the surviving films of Michael Curtiz. Not necessarily a favourite director, but one I quite like, and, above all, I figure it would be an interesting choice because his filmography would chart a history of Hollywood filmmaking, especially Warner Bros.

Yeah, definitely more of a long-term or even life-long project really, but some are quickly achievable such as short film directors. A good long-term goal for me would be seeing all of the films of my favorite 50-100 directors, or something like that. Nonetheless, as flip mentioned, it's like the more films you see the more you realize you could never see all of the ones you'd like to in your life time, like the Aristotle quote about knowledge. A good argument for watching only what interests you or that you imagine will benefit your life the most, and being okay with not having seen everything there is to see.