The Directors on Sky Arts: Series 8

 

We are back to the original team of  presenters with Ian Nathan, Stephen Armstrong and Neil Norman.

Episode 1   James Cameron

And what film opens the first episode of Series 8 of The Directors on Sky Arts? No, it wasn't Titanic. (Is that really Kate Winslet in the photo above?) All photos courtesy of NOW. It's Steven Armstrong who describes James Cameron as "obsessive" and that he "understands everything about film". Ian Nathan tells us about his background, born in 1954 in Canada and how the family moved to California when he was seventeen. 

He was first  hired in the special effects department of Roger Corman's studio. There is a lovely story about how he ended up directing Piranha II (1982) after the first director was fired. How much was Cameron's input is disputed. Ian then explains how Cameron had his first ideas for The Terminator (1984) and Steven says it could at first have been a B Movie. So much of the story is so familiar. Next comes Aliens (1986) that was the sequel to Ridley Scott's original. It's Neil Norman who thinks it is "an amazing piece of work" and Stephen who says it is so "unsettling". I was never that impressed with The Abyss (1989), but it was a film that Cameron had wanted to make for a very long time. It was a huge success once more.

An even bigger hit came next. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) broke all box office records and Ian says how it made "a huge amount of money" and that Cameron was now "unstoppable". In 1994 came the comedy thriller True Lies was Arnie again and Jamie Lee Curtis. Amazingly, Cameron's next movie was the blockbuster that was Titanic (1997). The presenters tell us how, despite everyone knowing what happens, the film still has us on the edge of our seats. Then a long, long wait to 2009's Avatar. A ground breaking film that yours truly found a bore. But the gang were in awe of the special effects. Ian thinks the film was trying to re-invent CGI. He sums up this episode by explaining how Cameron is "an entire  industry in one person". The fact that he can do any of the roles that contribute to a movie is just extraordinary. 

Episode 2   Steven Soderbergh

It was Neil Norman who tells us that Steven Soderbergh was at the forefront of the new wave of American cinema in the 1980's. He was born in 1963 in Atlanta, Georgia and we hear a lot about his background. And how at an early age he was making short films with his new camera. He was just starting out in his twenties when he made Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989) with Andie McDowell, James Spader and two others. The four of them just talking. Stephen Armstrong says it's "compelling". It actually won the Palms d'Or at Cannes, amazing for a first time director.

In 1991 Soderbergh directed Kafka. starring Jeremy Irons. Ian Nathan called this film noir a most perverse follow up. Stephen thought the story was "unfilmable" and told us about "the expressionist sets". But the next film was very much mainstream. The excellent Out of Sight (1998) starred George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez. Stephen said this was "her best role of all time". It also made Clooney a star in his breakthrough role. 

Sticking with the genre of clever thrillers, next came The Limey (1999) starring Terence Stamp. In a tense story, Ian describes it as a classic fish out of water plot. Neil Norman calls him "the lone avenger". Then came another step up with Erin Brockovich (2000) with Julia Roberts and Albert Finney, both superb performances. Stephen talks about the director's camera work. Julia won the best actress Oscar and Stephen thought the director certainly helped with his nomination. The film was a big hit. And what came next? Only the brilliant Traffic (2000) the multi stranded and very intelligent thriller.  With an all star cast, Soderbergh deservedly won the Oscar for best director. (Both films in the same year!) 

Another change of direction for the director with Ocean's Eleven (2001) George Clooney and the gang that Neil Norman calls "a robbery of a lifetime". Except that lots go wrong. In 2009 came a small film The Informant with Matt Damon and then in 2011 a much larger production with Contagion. A story about a global virus epidemic. A fantastic cast and Stephen reveals that "the camera tells the story". I'm not sure why Soderbergh was persuaded by Channing Tatum to make a film of his own story Magic Mike (2012). Then after a break from movies, the director came back with Logan Lucky (2017), back to a heist thriller with a very blonde Daniel Craig. He must have just liked the script. Ian Nathan summed up his "fantastic career".

Episode 3   Milos Forman

One of the few directors to cross over from eastern Europe to America. Neil Norman says that Milos Forman was born in Czechoslovakia but lost both his parents to concentration camps in WW2. Ian Nathan explains how he started at the Prague Film Academy under a communist state. In 1964 he made the very small film Black Peter, part of the Czech new wave, using just amateur actors. This was followed by Love of a Blonde (1965) and The Fireman's Ball (1967). The latter was inspired by a real life event that the director attended.

With the Prague uprising he escaped to America and in 1971 he directed Taking Off  that Stephen Armstrong described as warm and funny. Although this was a little known film, the next one was not. It was surprising that Forman was hired to direct One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975). But it was a big hit and starred Jack Nicholson. Ian Nathan called it "an extraordinary film" and it won best director at the Oscars.  This led to the musical Hair (1979), the film of the hugely popular musical. And then Ragtime (1981) which led Neil Norman to explain how the director controls a big story about race relations from a complex novel that others thought to be unfilmable. 

Then came one of the great movies. We hear all about the making of Amadeus (1984) and how Peter Shaffer's play was brilliantly adapted and directed for the movie. It won the Oscars for best picture and best director. (Not sure why they miss out Valmont (1989). In 1996 came The People vs Larry Flynt (1996) with Woody Harrelson and then Man on the Moon (1999) with Jim Carrey. Neil Norman tells us he was born to play the role of Andy Kaufman and Ian Nathan thinks this is "a gently tragic story". In 2006 came the poorly received  Goya's Ghosts with Javier Bardem and Natalie Portman that turned out to be Forman's last film.  Neil Norman reveals an extraordinary legacy, Stephen Armstrong thought he was "hugely influential" and Ian Nathan tells us "he believes in people and in life".

Episode 4   Richard Linklater

Ian Nathan introduces Richard Linklater saying "he is his own man" and "his own style". Neil Norman added "the rhythm of his films is unique to him". (You would think that he would be one of my favourite directors, but his movies are far too boring). He was born in Huston, Texas in 1960 and Stephen Armstrong tells us about his family and his upbringing. He was a fairly poor student but he decided to buy some equipment and set out to film what he saw on his travels. On  a road trip, filming himself, just learning how to make a movie. His first was Slacker (1990) which was, of course, just some young guys talking. Neil Norman said that it actually went down quite well on the college circuit.

Then in 1993 he made Dazed and Confused, set in 1993 and the last day of term. But up next was the first in a series of films that made his name. Before Sunrise (1995) starred Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. We see part of a long take of six or seven minutes of them just talking. Nothing happens. Next came the small film SubUrbia (1996) and then Tape (2001), a three hander with Ethan Hawke, Uma Therman and Jim Carey. A change of direction came in 2003 with the conventional comedy School of Rock starring Jack Black. Ian said that Linklater had "found his Hollywood mojo". 

Then came Before Sunset (2004) with the same stars, only nine years older. They even had major input to the script. "Walking around the streets, talking and with very long takes". Back to Hollywood next with the excellent Me and Orson Welles. (2008). Neil Norman loved it and so did I, not knowing that Linklater directed. (See my review 10th January 2010). Next came Bernie (2011) about a funeral director and a murder. Jack Black "never better". 

In 2013 Linklater was back to his previous series with the third Before Midnight (2013). Another nine years on and the pair are now married and have children. Ethan Hawke also starred in Boyhood (2014) that was filmed from 2002 to 2013 that followed one boy growing up. It won awards. Somehow. Then in 2017 came his last film Last Flag Flying. No more youngsters, this time older men, friends or ex-friends. Someone says it's Steve Carrell's best film. The presenters tell us Linklater is a very important director and that he inspires his actors. But for me, hard work to watch.

Episode 5   Orson Welles

There is so much that is familiar, and already on this blog. The episode starts, obviously, with not a film, but that 1938 radio version of H G Well's War of the Worlds and the sensation it caused. It led Welles to direct Citizen Kane (1941) that some say "the greatest ever movie". But not me. In 1942 came The Magnificent Ambersons. See my post of 18th January 2024. It seemed quite dated. We hear about how Robert Wise was brought in to re-edit and re-shoot some scenes. Next came the little known The Stranger (1946) although Stephen Armstrong called it "a great action film".

In 1947 Welles directed The Lady from Shanghai that Stephen called "a classic film noir". There is that famous sequence using lots of large mirrors with Rita Hayworth. Then came Macbeth (1948) shot on a very small budget and The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice (1951). Welles was still acting in other films at the time including, for example, The Third Man. 

However in 1958 came another masterpiece in Touch of Evil starring Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh and Welles himself. See post of 23rd December 2022. But his film The Trial (1962) was a flop. Neil Norman says that "nobody liked it". But Welles was back on form with the Falstaff movie Chimes at Midnight (1965) that was amalgamated from those Shakespeare plays in which he appears. Neil Norman says that "some people think the greatest Shakespeare play ever filmed". This was followed in 1968 by his first ever in colour The Immortal Story. The last fictional film that Welles made. We do hear about his F for Fake, partly a documentary about fakes in art. It was left to Neil Norman to say how much his films were "massively entertaining" as well as cutting edge.

Episode 6   Phillip Noyce

How did I not know the name of Philip Noyce. of the nine films discussed here I had seen more than half. He was born in a small town in Australia and grew up with just the imported films that were available. He attended an Australian film school, but at the beginning of the 1980's he had so many false starts. However, after some TV work, he was taken on to direct Dead Calm in 1989. This was a three hander that starred a very young Nicole Kidman, Sam Neill and Billy Zane. It is a very intense thriller that I have seen a couple of times. Neil Norman said that it was "an amazing piece of work". 

In 1992 he moved to Hollywood and directed  the big successful thriller Patriot Games that starred Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan. This was followed by Sliver (1993) that starred Sharon Stone. I agreed with the presenters that this was a very clever thriller, the genre where Noyce was making his name. So it was no surprise that he was engaged to direct the second Jack Ryan movie (with the same cast and crew) Clear and Present Danger (1994). Neil Norman said that it had "unbelievable energy" and had "one of the greatest action scenes in modern history". It was "so well choreographed" and Ian Nathan called it "a terrific thriller".

Then came The Saint (1997) that was not a success. It starred a wooden Val Kilmer as Simon Templar. But the next film restored Noyce's reputation. The Bone Collector (1999) starred Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie, another successful thriller. But after that Noyce returned to Australia to direct Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002), a real life story and a tale of endurance in the outback. Back in America, in 2002 Noyce directed The Quiet American from the book by Graham Greene. A combination of drama, romance and thriller with Michael Caine. Off again this time to South Africa he directed Catch a Fire (2006) about anti apartheid activists. 

Back to Hollywood and the big blockbuster thriller Salt (2010) again with Angelina Jolie. Neil Norman said it was "a non stop action movie with a brain". I loved it and seen it maybe three times. It was a huge success. Lastly we were told about the 2014 science fiction movie The Giver with Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep. I had never heard of it. Neil Norman summed up Noyce's career with "expect the unexpected". I was amazed I had seen so many of his films.

Episode 7   David Fincher

Now here is a director I know quite well. I think that I had seen all of his films except the last. Ian Nathan introduces this episode by telling us "he loves to disrupt the Hollywood status quo" and that he has an "almost punk quality". Born in 1962 in Denver, Colorado, the family moved to California when he was young. Even in boyhood he was using his father's camera. As a young man he started at a small studio before moving on to work at Industrial Light and Magic on special effects. Moving to LA, he started working on commercials and pop videos. 

However, there is an interesting story of how he came to direct Alien 3 in 1992. An untried director of a movie with a big budget. The Alien franchise, we are told, basically set in motion the careers of Ridley Scott, James Cameron, and now David Fincher. Ian Nathan thought that the latter had made it a type of Dickensian style with so many British actors. However, it was not that well received and it was not until 1995 that Fincher directed again, with the superb thriller that is Seven. (Was this the film I went to see in Clearwater, Florida?) Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman star in such a dark movie. 

Next came The Game (1997) with Michael Douglas and Sean Penn. Neil Norman thought it was "an elaborate movie" that toyed with the viewer. I does stand repeat viewing. Then in 1999 came Fight Club with Brad Pitt and Edward Norton that was described as his most celebrated film. Neil Norman called it "dangerous".  Panic Room was released in 2002 and starred Jodie Foster in such a tense thriller. Zodiac (2007) was called a real David Fincher movie and "maybe his finest moment". A film about the chase of a serial killer that has no real ending.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) starred Brad Pitt (once again) that Stephen Armstrong called a "heartbreaking film". Next came The Social Network (2010) with Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg at the beginning of Facebook. The American remake of The Girl with Dragon Tattoo (2011) was called "a great film" by Neil Norman. This was followed by Gone Girl (2011), a typical David Fincher thriller. However the last film discussed was the only one I had never seen. Mank (2020) about the screen writer for Citizen Kane. Not a typical Fincher movie but based on a screenplay by his late father. I had never heard of it. It was left to Neil Norma to sum up his career as "one of the most uncompromising directors at work today". 

Episode 8   Nancy Meyers

Stephen Armstrong said that the films of Nancy Meyers are "all about the dialogue". Neil Norman told us that "her films have made more money than any other female director" and that she was the "queen of the rom com". Nancy was born in Philadelphia in 1949. She became at first very interested in the theatre and then the cinema. Neil Norman says that she "moved to LA and started working at CBS" and started writing screenplays. Ian Nathan mentions her "film making courses". She was always writing scripts and the one that broke through was Private Benjamin (1980) that she co-wrote with Charles Shyer. It was Oscar nominated for the best original screenplay and a successful partnership was born. I'm not sure why their next film Irreconcilable Differences in 1984 and others over the years were not mentioned, but Nancy was either writing or producing and not directing which is what this series is about.

That is until 1998 when she had thought about directing and so took over that role for The Parent Trap. She also co-wrote the screenplay. This starred Lindsay Lohan in both roles. Neil Norman said that Meyers was "in control of the comedy element". Next came What Women Want (2000) with Mel Gibson. Stephen Armstrong said that this was "pitch perfect for him". This was followed by Something's Gotta Give in 2003 with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton.  Ian tells us that this was "the central film of Nancy Meyers' career" where she wrote, directed and produced. Next came The Holiday (2006) that was described as a proper grown up Christmas film (that I have seen more than once). A four hander with Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Jack Black. It is shown so often over the festive period. Neil Norman thinks the "dialogue and script are so funny", perfect for the time of year. Again written, directed and produced by Meyers.

In 2009 came It's Complicated with Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin. I have never seen it. But Stephen Armstrong loved it and Neil Norman called it a "really nice film". Next came The Intern (2015), a different kind of story with Robert de Niro as an old guy with Anne Hathaway as his boss. Definitely not a romance and "completely preposterous". It was not well received and it was such a shame it might be Nancy's last film.  But Stephen says that she is "now being rediscovered" and Neil Norman adds "we need her films". He is so right.

Episode 9   Clint Eastwood

Born in 1930 in San Francisco, Clint Eastwood's family were always on the move. So he had quite a disruptive childhood. This led to him having a variety of jobs before he joined the army. So no formal upbringing in the cinema or prior training as an actor. So a big surprise when out of the blue came a role in the TV series Rawhide. (His Rowdy Yates was a big favourite of my mother). Through the experience of many series, he felt he always wanted to do more behind the camera. Especially in the movies that came later where he appeared as the man with no name. It was director Sergio Leone who inspired Clint to take on this role. So after seventeen years in front of the camera, Eastwood starred and directed Play Misty For Me (1971). It was an instant success. Neil Norman called it "a great psychological thriller". 

Then in 1975 came The Eiger Sanction. Stephen Armstrong called it "a breathtaking action thriller". The next year Eastwood released The Outlaw Josey Wales. Neil Norman this time called it "one of the great westerns of the 70's". Next up was Pale Rider (1985) and this was followed by the Charley Parker biopic Bird in 1988. This was the first of the films that Clint directed in which he did not appear. Then back to westerns, and a great one at that: Unforgiven (1992). Neil Norman said it "unpicks the myth of the wild west". Clint is also back in front of the camera as an old ex gunfighter. 

I had never heard of his next film A Perfect World (1993). The clip shown was not encouraging, but Neil Norman calls it "a very significant film". There is then a gap of ten years before Eastwood directed the great movie that is  Mystic River (2003). A very dark story starring Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon. Neil again calling it "an amazing piece of work". The next year Clint is back in front of the camera with Hilary Swank in the brilliant Million Dollar Baby. Ian Nathan says it has "great heart and passion". Out of nowhere it won best picture and best director at the Oscars. 

Eastwood's next two films were discussed as they are a pair made one after the other. Flags of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima were both released in 2006. Neil Norman calls them a "fascinating piece of work" but not for me. But the next one was. Gran Torino (2008) stars what is now an older Clint in awe of his car. Then another break before American Sniper (2014) that starred Bradley Cooper in true story. Quite a sad film. Last of all came The Mule (2018). Stephen Armstrong called it "a very strange film". It looked it. But what a body of work this "formidable" director has left us. Quite extraordinary.

Episode 10   Ang Lee

Ang Lee was said to fuse Chinese cinema with Hollywood stories. Neil Norman says he has "an incredible legacy of films". Born in 1954 in Taiwan, his parents were both teachers, and despite their encouragement Ang failed twice to get in to university on the mainland. Was that on purpose? His father especially was horrified when Ang entered the Taiwanese University of the Arts. Next came four years of military service before he moved to University of Illinois in America to study theatre. His hope of becoming an actor failed. As he was then married with children, he actually then stayed at home looking after the kids while his wife went out to work. 

But this allowed him to devote time to writing and one of his scripts was actually picked up after Pushing Hands (1992) won a prize. It was so well received for a first film. It was the first of a trilogy of family stories that he wrote with the second, The Wedding Banquet (1993) being his breakthrough family drama and winning the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. It also was nominated for best foreign language film at the Oscars. The third in this trilogy was Eat Drink Man Woman (1994), an awkward family story and another nomination for an Oscar as well as other big awards. Neil Norman tells us he is "a visual storyteller first and foremost". They were all very personal films.

Amazingly, these led to Lee directing his first western movie Sense and Sensibility (1995) starring Hugh Grant and Kate Winslet and based on an adapted screenplay by Emma Thomson that won the Oscar. It might have been a strange choice of director, however Stephen Armstrong talked about Ang Lee and Jane Austen, "both of them cover the same confusions". It was very faithful to the book. Following this film's success (lots of awards and nominations), next came The Ice Storm (1997) a family drama set in Connecticut. Ian Nathan was impressed with the production design and how Lee's reputation was growing. However his next film bombed at the box office. I had never heard of his western Ride with the Devil (1999). 

I guess that Lee took refuge back home after that disaster, but what a movie he directed next. He always wanted to make a martial arts movie and an international  joint project was assembled. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon was actually very much a story of the relationship between the two women played by Michelle Yeo and Chow Yun Fat. My first note was that it is a masterpiece and Neil Norman then said the same. It was a massive hit and became the biggest ever foreign film at the USA box office. And all those ten nominations for Oscars including best picture and best director, just winning best foreign language film when it should have won all the main categories. (I agreed with the presenters).

Back in Hollywood, next came Hulk (2003) with Eric Bana. An intelligent well directed fantasy action drama. Ian Nathan called it a "slightly odd super hero film". But then came Brokeback Mountain (2005) with Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. Neil Norman tells us how they fall in love "with so much hesitancy" and the damage they do to their wives. Ian Nathan thought the performance of Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway were "even better than the men". Ang Lee won his first best director Oscar and Ian Nathan thinks it should have won best picture. I loved it.

But he never seemed to replicate the power of all these films. A love story of sorts, Lust, Caution (2007) was almost banned in America and was hardly seen anywhere. Neil Norman calls it "his most contentious film". And then Taking Woodstock (2010) was a strange choice. A drama all filmed outside the performance stage of the big festival. Stephen Armstrong said it was "played for laughs" and " a love letter" to Woodstock. It didn't work. But The Life of Pi (2012) was another success. Neil Norman called it "an incredible feat of film making". But I was bored with just the visuals. Last of all came Gemini Man (2019) with Will Smith in a big action movie. Not at all like Ang's usual films. Neil Norman called it "disappointing" and that "it had no heart". The final words on Lee's career came from Ian Nathan talking about how he "embraced Hollywood", Stephen Armstrong describing his films as "a series of paintings" and Neil Norman concluding "he was at heart a romantic".