I'm am looking for suggestions of what things to watch for someone aspiring to get into the film making industry. If anyone has any suggestions of things to look into it would be greatly appreciated. Please include Short films, Major movies, Youtube videos, Anything Thanks for your time, look forward to the choices.
This is only the abridged version, but I recommend checking out "The Cutting Edge". It's a fantastic documentary on the history and effects of film editing on a production.
As for actual narrative films, the movie "Ed Wood" is fantastic. Ed Wood was arguably the worst film maker of all time but his story is so inspiring. The movie is semi biographical and has an amazing cast.
I'm sure you have seen it before, but go watch it again.
Jurassic Park.
This is the film that inspired me to get into production. I'm still pursuing this dream having just moved out to LA, and it is still by far my favorite movie ever made. Even after every film class I have taken, or movie I have watched. It's the only film that really captures the imagination of most any generation. It's the only film I know of that no matter what mood I'm in I can watch it. Many other movies I can watch if I'm up for it, but Jurassic park if great when your sick, bored, happy or even sad. It's got everything.
Watch the movie now, with the intent to study how it was able to perform such a feat, and I assure you, it will be a new experience.
Well if your looking for movies with style and some quality dialogue Tarantino is always a good bet. Specifically: Pulp Fiction Reservoir Dogs Kill Bill part 1
Guy Ritchie is also good for funny/stylized action movies Sherlock Homes (robert downey junior ones) Lock stock and two smoking barrels Snatch
If intelligent gangster movies are more your thing why not a nice Scorsese movie? Goodfellas The Departed Casino
Or if you want a nice somber WW2 movie/miniseries try Stephen Spielberg and Tom Hanks . Saving Private Ryan Band of Brothers The Pacific
Clint Eastwood is also good for this Letters from Iwo jima Flags of our fathers
I watch a lot of movies so I can easily spill suggestions out for you, but what are you looking to learn from these movies? Just quality films that the mainstream might not advertise to you frequently? Movies with rich cinematography? Or just great films that inspire you to make something as good as what you just saw?
I've taken my fair-share of film theory courses, so I know there's plenty of modern movies you count watch that could teach you things, you just have to be looking in the right places. Most people glaze over when a movie starts and don't pay attention to why they feel certain emotions, they just know that they do. For example: "That character was awesome" or "that scene was so tense" but they're not really sure how they got to that conclusion. Give me a reply back of what you're looking for and I can give you a good list.
I'm looking for great films that inspire me to make something as good as I just saw. But i also would like a combination of the 4 things you mentioned. I'm very new to Film so something doesn't have to be super advanced. Thanks for the reply
With that in mind, I'd recommend these films and I've included a few questions that you should be able to answer after watching them:
If you want to learn about writing...
Terminator 2 - Pay attention to how information is conveyed to the viewer within the first 45 minutes. How do we know who the bad guy is? When is the first occurrence of dialog explaining the story vs. the picture telling the story? How many spoken lines are there in the first 45 minutes?
Goodfellas - Why is Henry the main protagonist as opposed to Jimmy or Tommy? Why is Henry more likable than the people he surrounds himself with? Does Henry ever kill anyone?
Rambo: First Blood - Rambo varies pretty drastically from it's sequels. Keep track of how many people die. After you finish the movie, ask yourself what the "point" was? What is Rambo talking about in his final monologue?
If you want to learn about cinematography...
Do the Right Thing - Color is very important in this movie. Make a note of every time the color red shows up. At certain points in the movie, the camera is at a canted angle (tilted 45 degrees), when does this happen? Why does this happen?
Road to Perdition - This movie has a lot of continuous themes such as violence, patriarchy and how violence affects an individual. This movie is more related to a film concept called "mise-en-scene" but a lot of it comes through with how the movie is shot. Just pay attention to how images are framed and think about how they could have been framed and why the director chose the angle he did.
Any Wes Anderson movie - I've only personally seen The Darjeering Limited in its entirety but I know that every other movie of his is rich with beautiful framing. Keep in mind that an ordinary run of the mill film today has a list of shots like Over the Shoulder, Medium Shot, Close Up that they switch between. Anderson is one of those filmmakers who developed his own style and you can tell just by looking at screenshots from his movie. There's never an ordinary shot in his movies. Watch some average quality mainstream comedy or romance film then watch Wes Anderson, the difference will be apparent immediately.
I think that should be enough to get you started. I agree with a lot of the other suggestions made, but you just need to decide what you need to look for. For movies like Jurassic Park, everything is put together so well it's difficult for you to stop and think about how it was made. Just be aware of that. Good luck, hope this helped.
It builds so much suspense in the content of the film. Unless you spoiled the film for yourself by watching trailers or heard the twist, you don't know until the last second before Arnold fires his shotgun his is one of the protagonists. This is like 20 minutes in to the film and you've been watching him and the T1000 close in on John Connor to kill him.
This scene also borrows a great trick that Cameron used in the Tech Noir club in the first film ; when the Terminator is revealed, both the film and soundtrack enter a subtle, dreamlike state where the rhythm of the music is far more pronounced. The tension builds until the gunshot is fired and it goes real time again.
Like Stanley Kubrick, Cameron is all about little details. Up until now in the film, we've mostly seen the T1000 in infiltration mode and acting very human. He smiles, talks and acts like you'd expect him too. When he opens fire on John Connor, he empties two full magazines from his handgun without flinching (minus a gaffe blink) and the film is sped up slightly to make him fire at a more inhuman rate. It's little details that you might not consciously think about unless you are analyzing the film, but your brain picks up on his performance and makes it seem more real.
There's a great commentary track for this film I recommend checking out.
You may want to watch some of the Clint Eastwood westerns, most importantly Unforgiven. Also you may want to watch Steve Mcqueen's latest film Shame, which provides a brilliant demonstration of directing and cinematography for someone looking into the film industry.
Moon, The Fountain, Fantastic Planet (animated), Wings of Desire (German), Good Night and Good Luck, M (another German film), Night on Earth, The Searchers and Beauty and the Beast (1946 version dir. Jean Cocteau).
12 Angry Men is fantastic. Pretty much the whole movie takes place in one room and is all about the characters and the story. Really good for ideas on how to write/direct characters interacting and getting the most out of your actors
Technically The Avengers wasn’t out of theaters, though, as it still was playing in 123 locations around the country last weekend. But we’re excited about the new wide release, as it really was one of the best theater-going experiences we’ve had all year. Now that we know some of the plot points that will be present in Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy, we can use this visit to the cinema as a chance to try to puzzle out how (and if) The Avengers sets up the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Two. Depending on how well The Avengers does in theaters this week, the movie could go on to unseat Titanic as the second-highest grossing film of all time at the domestic box office (behind Avatar). The Avengers has made $617 million to date in the United States, while Titanic is resting comfortably at $659 million, even with its 3D re-release earlier this year. We definitely couldn’t complain about a Whedon movie beating James Cameron’s 1997 box-office juggernaut to become the second-highest-grossing movie ever in the United States. __________________________________________________
Thanks for the recommendation. I just found it online and watched it. It actually made me sad. What did you see in it that made you feel good (I know I'm an idiot, you did say you can't explain why)?
The opening act to Inglourious Basterds may be the single greatest piece of film making I've ever watched. It is so powerful, and so well done. As soon as I watched it, I knew Waltz was going to win the best supporting actor role for the year. He was just that good in it.
In reply to Martsigras, #24: A fantastic pick, a great look at minimalist filmmaking. You don't need a high budget, or even that many sets, to tell a great story.
to me i felt it was like, money is only money and it doesn't matter how much you have if you aren't happy and he sacrificed his dream of having kids to be richer and felt emptier
