The best "working" American Filmmakers. - Page 4

I agree that it could be entertaining if you watch BN as a Scorsese spoof or Magnolia as an Altman spoof. That said, they weren't spoofs, just awful knock-offs, and they weren't funny either - so they fail in the spoofy department as well.

Lynch, Scorsese, Allen, Coens, Jonze, Tarantino

How do you see Boogie Nights as an unintentional Scorsese spoof (ripoff)? I'm seriously curious, because I don't see it that way at all.

Watch Mean Streets and Goodfellas, watch the end of Raging Gull, then watch Boogie Nights - and tell me what you think. People have been writing essays about PTA's tendency to freely "borrow", from Scorsese and Altman particularly so I wouldn't do justice to their analysis but here are the main points I would make: (a) cinematographic/stylistic choices borrowed from MS (e.g. slow-mo, extreme close-ups, dolly shots, long tracking shots); (b) overall treatment of the 1980s aesthetic and themes as Casino or Goodfellas.

Literally, the opening shot of BN with the long tracking shot down the street and ending on slow-mo Wahlberg is pure Scorsese.

Hmmm...you may have a point. But I dunno; you know what they say about how many new things there are under the sun. There are plenty of current directors and cinematographers whose works could be linked to the likes of Chaplin, Fritz Lang, Demille, etc. etc. In some respects, Hitchcock borrowed heavily from Ford and admitted it. I wonder what most people would consider to be the distinction between ripping off and simply being influenced.

You're correct that everyone is influenced by others to a certain extent (including Scorsese) . The distinction resides in how much is borrowed and an hommage to another artist. It's also a matter of perception of course. I'm sure others would see PTA's work as very original.

Wyatt Gallery.

Knew I forgot someone. Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive are gold.

No love for the Coens?
-Blood Simple
-Rasing Arizona
-NCFOM
-Barton Fink
-Hudsucker
-O Brother

Mister Lonely was interesting. I generally liked it, but it seemed a little indulgent and drawn out at times.

Anyway, how about David Lynch? I've been meaning to see Lost Highway for a while...

2 not mentioned:

Todd Field makes my list based solely on the merits of In the Bedroom. This man is phenomenally talented and could do some great things if he gets busy.

John Sayles has written/directed some very fine and understated films in his career.

I forget about Todd Haynes. I like his stuff, even the failures.

If the criterion is "win percentage" - ratio of good movies to bad made relatively recently - I'd go with Julian Schnabel. Basquiat is his first movie and then, in this decade, Before Night Falls and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Overall body of work is Scorsese. I haven't responded much to anything he's done since Goodfellas, although the Departed is a good, solid commercial picture.