5 Of My Favourite Directors

I have always wanted to do a list like this but at the same time I know I'm going to hate the outcome. To pick only five from a whole list of directors who have had an impact on me personally is a real bitch but hey, I like lists in general and any excuse to get something up on the blog is OK for me. I will tell you now that these are in no particular order and this list could be completely different in a few hours! I'm sure you guys feel me on that one. Let's get started shall we?

Radley Metzger

My first experience with Radley Metzger was The Private Afternoons Of Pamela Mann. After experiencing the intelligence and sophistication of this film I had to see more and look into the world of Radley Metzger. His earlier films are European drenched soft core classics and his later films (under the name Henry Paris) are hardcore classics that are considered the best of the genre. What I love about Radley's work is just how classy and beautiful they are. Don't get me wrong I love 70's roughies where the sex is dirty and the characters are scuzzier than the toilet from Trainspotting but every so often, I do appreciate to be intellectually cared for. Basically, if you like 70's high end Italian cinema you should definitely seek him out. Films to look out for are Camile 2000, The Opening Of Misty Beethoven and Score amongst MANY others.

Umberto Lenzi

To many, Umberto Lenzi could be considered a hack director. This is entirely unfair because aside for being infamous for films like Cannibal Ferox and the fact that he has directed around 65 films over his career Lenzi is a true genius in my eyes. For those who primarily know him for his horror and cannibal stuff I would definitely suggest looking at his poliziotteschi efforts because they really do show just how amazingly talented Lenzi is as a director. You also just have to see the many interviews up on Youtube and you will definitely appreciate how his mind works. I love him for making films that gross me out and make me unintentionally laugh but I adore him for providing me with some of my Italian crime flicks. You should check out The Cynic, The Rat, The Fist, it's one of my personal favourites!

Lucio Fulci

Here is a director who needs know introduction to any of you gore hounds out there. All I need to say about Fulci is he was the king of gore and yeah, some of his films made no sense but man did he know how to make an interesting and entertaining film. I did a whole piece of him a couple of days a go (as of writing this) to celebrate his work on the anniversary of his death. Please check out that post if you are a Fulci fan. Films I would definitely urge you to check out are Conquest and Black Cat.

Michael Haneke

I remember first watching the Americanised shot for shot remake of Funny Games and really not liking it. Needless to say, my first taste of Haneke was a very bitter one. That was one of the many times in my life where I become a dick and disregarded his other work... until I actually watched it and actually see what he was trying to say in his films. After watching a couple of his films in my Film Studies course I thought it was only fair to give him a chance and I picked up the ten film box set from Artificial Eye. After watching more of his work and actually listening to interviews and what he has to say... I was just blown away and slapping myself at the same time. What Haneke does is challenge his audience both during and after most of his films. You are ultimately the person who has to finish the film the way you see it. At first I thought he was just a self obsessed academic who completely had his point lost in ridiculous cinematic moments but now I am finding myself spending hours reassessing the film I just watched. A director that pushes the boundaries but never goes past them just for the sake of it. Be careful what film you start with but highlights from his filmography include The Piano Teacher, Caché and Benny's Video. In fact do yourself a favour and pick up the fantastic box set from Artificial Eye!

Werner Herzog

The thing I love most about Herzog is how he can take a story or personal account, turn it into an almost documentary style film that has a sense of fantasy to it. I know bigger Herzogians than myself will probably be shouting "That's not what he is about!" but that's how his films make me feel. I will admit some of his recent documentary work such as Into The Abyss really doesn't do it for me and just feel like opinionated video essays more than anything. I am of course nitpicking. The term "dangerous filmmaker" gets thrown around a lot but it fits perfectly with Herzog... on a literal scale. The technical feats and dedication to his films Aquirre: The Wrath Of God and Fitzcarraldo shot in Peru are testament to that. Filming in an almost inaccessible location and living off the land to make a film is just astonishing. Herzog really throws himself into his films and doesn't take advantage of the director role. Giving up his rights to luxuries such as trailers and studio lackeys. His early films have a fractured and rough feel to them which appeals to me and talk about breathtaking visuals! Some of the most genuinely beautiful landscapes in cinema can be found in Herzog's films throughout. I have so much time and respect for Herzog and his films touch me in a way most others have never done so. My all time favourite has to be The Enigma Of Kasper Hauser and another one worth checking out is the beautiful Heart Of Glass.

PDx

Fulci-Fest: Remembering The King Of Gore

Today (as of writing this of course) marks 17 years since we lost the great Lucio Fulci. Fulci died just as he was experiencing how appreciated and adored he was by us horror fans. I would have been 7 years old when he died and that to me is a crazy thought. My experience with the work of Fulci is a pleasurable and he has provided me with many an hour blood soaked, flesh ripping cinema. I don't just love him for his horror work. I have seen only a fraction of his work but I can say with hand on heart (let me just check... yep, it's still there!) that I have enjoyed every film I have seen from a whole spectrum of the genres. I thought that it would make sense to spend a day watching nothing but Fulci films. As I'm writing this, Four Of The Apocalypse is playing in the background. This is one of Fulci's westerns and what a film it is but I will get to that later on.

I thought I would just spend a little time talking about Fulci and his impact on my life. The first film I watched of his was a film you the reader probably watched first too, Zombie Flesh Eaters. This was such a great experience as I had only just recently watched the original Dawn Of The Dead for the first time. This was when a film was just a film to me. I hadn't really taken an interest up until that point but as I discovered more and more Italian cinema from the 70's and 80's such as this I was hooked. I can't exactly recall my whole journey with Fulci but let me say this, I don't think I would be this interested in film if it wasn't for Fulci. His work will always have a special place in my heart and I look forward to watching more and more of his work. As I said earlier, I have spent the day watching Fulci films so I thought I would write a little about each one.


Contraband (1980)
I started the marathon with one of my personal favourites. Contraband is a crime flick starring Fabio Testi. I won't give a full review for this or any of the films only my thoughts and why I love them. I am a massive Italian crime fan and this attempt here is just fabulous. Think of signature Fulci gore and violence mixed in with a great story about greed, treachery and violence in Naples. Some of the highlights are a great use of a Bunsen burner, a Godfather like execution montage and old school mafia bosses from another time showing that it doesn't hurt to be a gentlemen in the mafia game. A great start to the marathon I think you will agree... capiche!?

Manhattan Baby (1982)
I thought it would be only right to follow up with a film from the genre he is most known for, the horror genre. The film I picked was the criminally underrated Manhattan Baby. Yeah it might not have that level of violence most of his other films have but damn! What an atmosphere this film has! Sure, there are some insanely laughable moments but the whole Egyptian portion of the film is genuinely creepy... especially that damn blind woman! This is magnified with Fabio Frizzi's phenomenal score. If you haven't got round to watching this one, you should do right away.

Conquest (1983)

Conquest is the only film that I watched today that I hadn't seen before and unfortunately I had to watch this online here. I love cheesy post apocalyptic films from the 80's and this did not disappoint at all. Within 12 minutes of the film I was majorly confused and a woman was ripped in half... I knew I was in for a treat. I came out of this still majorly confused at what I had seen but it didn't matter. It's films like this that make me smile like a kid in a sweet shop. Film snobs need not watch because this isn't for you! Watch it anyway because it's just awesome!

Four Of The Apocalypse (1975)
I decided to finish my Fulci-thon with this gem. A story about a group of misfits who become good friends and come across many obstacles including Tomas Milian doing Captain Jack long before Mr. Depp... seriously, he looks just like him! Once again, this isn't one of Fulci's most violent outings but there are some nasty scenes in this one. The film isn't really about that sort of stuff though and it's one of Fulci's more straight faced films. Highly enjoyable and one of the few times you genuinely care about the characters on screen and not just wonder how and when they die. This also boasts a really solid score from the likes of Fabio Frizzi.

So there you have it! I didn't want to just watch the same Fulci flicks I usually go to. I adore the likes of Zombie Flesh Eaters, House By The Cemetery (possibly my favourite film in the filmography so far) or The Beyond but I wanted to watch the films I enjoyed that often get overlooked or at least hardly mentioned in peoples lists.

Thank you all for reading this and sharing the love and passion for the work of Lucio Fulci. I still have a long way to go before I have a complete collection of films but it's a journey I am absolutely loving so far. I want to also thank Lucio for providing me with hours of entertainment and inspiring me creatively. I don't care if you see him as a hack or a one trick pony, dig into his filmography and you can't help but marvel a guy who directed so many films from so many different genres and keep a high quality throughout. They don't make them like him anymore and probably one of the saddest aspects of his death is he never really got to see how adored he was my genre fans and who knows, he would probably still be making films now.

Thanks again Mr. Fulci!

PDx