Directors HTF Tournament: Reviving the Icons of Cinema (1 Viewer)

[Jim_K]

John Wayne
Lee Marvin - tough
Vincent Price
Toshiro Mifune - tough

 

[Gabe D]

Lon Chaney
James Stewart
Vincent Price
Boris Karloff

 

[Rand]

John Wayne
James Stewart
Orson Welles
Toshiro Mifune
Pretty easy choices for the most part, which is somewhat surprising given that there's not much chaff left.

 

[Lew Crippen]

I'm amazed Frank Capra made it, considering the atmosphere of what makes great cinema.

Dome, maybe it is just me, but Holden made a whole bunch of movies, mostly forgettable and was forgettable in them. Of the those worth remembering, I remember the direction and the film rather than thinking how masterful he was in the film. For me, a perfect example is Stalag 17. Great film by Billy Wilder, but put any one of a number of actors in that role, and they would have done as well or better.

I’m not really knocking him (his performance in Picnic was quite good, but I can’t really point to him and come up with anything nearly as delightful as You Can’t Take It With You or as thoughtful as It’s a Wonderful Life.

Of course Capra’s films (or many of them) have flaws, being overly sentimental, but he had a clear vision—you know a Capra film when you see one, and his direction is always sure-handed. Who knows what kind of films he would have made were he working now, instead of the 30s?

 

[Lew Crippen]

Chaney
Stewart
Welles
Mifune
All easy choices.

 

[Tommy G]

John Wayne
James Stewart
Orson Welles
Boris Karloff

 

[Bill J]

Lon Chaney
James Stewart
Orson Welles
Boris Karloff

 

[Seth Paxton]

Lew, I have to disagree on Holden. I wouldn't knock Capra either because I think he had a well-defined style that he was a master of, but Holden was in too many memorable films and roles to just be replaceable.

I mean he has to carry much of Sunset Blvd, he's critical in Stalag 17 as well as Kwai, Network, Wild Bunch, and even Omen 2. I just think that's too many great roles to see as a fluke.



Lon Chaney
James Stewart
Orson Welles (hate to put Price out)
Toshiro Mifune

 

[Lew Crippen]

Lew, I have to disagree on Holden.

You make some valid points Seth and perhaps I overstated my view of Holden a bit. The point that I was trying to make, was that it made perfect sense to me that Capra moved on and Holden did not.

Ii was not a knock on Capra, as I stated that I thought he always had a clear vision of what he wanted to accomplish and always did so. On the other hand, I always viewed Holden as a bit of a pretty (albeit rugged) boy. Of the movies you mention, I’d agree with Sunset Blvd., but I think that he got in the way a bit in Kwai. He was good in Network and Wild Bunch, but we disagree on his being ‘crucial’.

So on balance, it was an easy (for me) choice for Capra.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

The point I was trying to make with Frank Capra is that he does oversentamentalize (I don't mind it a bit). And considering some of the hatred towards films like it (eg. Patch Adams), would Frank have the same kind of reverence he does now?
Lon Chaney wins 7 - 4
James Stewart wins 8 - 3
Boris Karloff win 6 - 5
Opinion: I'm shocked that John Wayne lost. Actually, I'm not, considering the higher premium put on acting than on pure stardom.
I just found out I messed up one of the voting brackets. :b
Bracket Two, Round Three
North
1. Alfred Hitchcock
vs.
5. F.W. Murnau
South
1. Billy Wilder
vs.
4. Buster Keaton
East
1. Orson Welles
vs.
5. Jean Renoir
West
1. David Lean
vs.
4. Gene Kelly
Because I messed up one of the matchups, I'm reposting it.
It was
2. Orson Welles
vs.
7. Vincent Price
But it should be
Bracket Two, Round Two
East
2. Humphrey Bogart
vs.
7. Vincent Price
The voting cutoff is
March 19, 2003; 03:00pm EST

 

[Lew Crippen]

Hitchcock
Wilder
Welles—as hard as escaping from prison.
Lean

 

[Seth Paxton]

F.W. Murnau - perhaps it's because I'm doing classwork on Murnau right now, but I think few people realize that he was just hitting his independent stride when he was killed in a car accident. Unlike Hitchcock he didn't get a full career, but his first 10 years were certainly more promising. I don't doubt that he couldn't have done better than Hitch in the end, but I'd sure like to have seen him try.
Keaton - I was going to go with Wilder, but you know I would just love to see what Keaton would do with modern technology/techniques (like wires for example). He was Jackie Chan back when no one knew what that was. Just look at the stunts in Sherlock Jr, utterly amazing and creative. And I love Wilder.
Orson Welles - yes he got his chances and "blew" them, but I would still love to see him get another shot with total control like Kane. Wouldn't he be great in a world where directors like Spielberg own parts of companies.
David Lean - another impossible call, especially considering Kelly's potential impact on the modern musical resurgence. But I think Lean had one of the best eye's ever for a director and I would just love to have more of that on screen.
Bogart - very tough call since both men are iconic actors who bring themselves to the role more than adapting to it, and each with equal success at it.
PS - regarding Capra. I think this is a case where the imitators just suck at it. Capra was walking the cornball line even then, but he knew how to back off just right and bring it home. Wonderful Life is a great example, as Stewart's character is more often than not rather mean spirited or at least selfish. He's not all sugary-sweet, and that's where Capra excelled. He was able to slip in substance among the sap, often without the audience even knowing it. He wasn't just pushing buttons like so many modern rip-offs are. Spielberg is the best example of a modern director who succeeds in this area, just as I think Capra still would.
Lew, I mean "critical" in the sense that the film's plot revolves heavily around Holden's characters in those films. It seems unlikely to me that time and again a great director just managed to polish up Holden enough to make the film great. Maybe once or twice, but he is in the center of too many great films for it to be chance/luck. And I think his Network, Wild Bunch, and Omen 2 roles were far different than his cool, young stud roles of the Sunset/Kwai era, so it was also more than just being himself.

 

[SteveGon]

F.W. Murnau
...

but I think few people realize that he was just hitting his independent stride when he was killed in a car accident.

That's why he got my vote.
Buster Keaton
Orson Welles
David Lean
Humphrey Bogart

 

[Tommy G]

Alfred Hitchcock
Billy Wilder
Orson Welles
David Lean
Humphrey Bogart

 

[Jim_K]

Hitchcock
Wilder
Renoir
Lean
Price

 

[Bill J]

Alfred Hitchcock
Billy Wilder
Orson Welles
David Lean
Humphrey Bogart

 

[Rand]

Alfred Hitchcock
Billy Wilder
Orson Welles
Gene Kelly
Humphrey Bogart

 

[george kaplan]

Alfred Hitchcock

Billy Wilder

Orson Welles

Gene Kelly

Humphrey Bogart

 

[Brook K]

Murnau
Buster Keaton
Welles
Kelly
Bogart

 

[Ric Bagoly]

F.W. Murnau
Buster Keaton
Orson Welles
David Lean
Vincent Price