).I arrived late to this conversation, but I’m really glad I found it. Thanks to all who took time to share your faves! The list of recommended films I haven’t seen is looong and will, I predict, provide for many hours of movie watching joy. And, it is great to have been reminded of old favorites I now want to see again.
Here are a few directors I love and didn’t see mentioned above:
Bela Tarr: especially Satantango and The Werkmeister Harmonies (if you’re a reader, I strongly recommend the books upon which these films are based, both by Laszlo Krasznahorkai: The Melancholy of Resistance and Satantango)
Hal Hartley: especially The Unbelievable Truth, Trust, Simple Men, and Henry Fool
John Waters: Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, Polyester, Hairspray, Cry-baby (where I first saw Johnny Depp sing and play guitar)
Atom Egoyan: someone mentioned The Sweet Hereafter above, which I enjoyed thoroughly. Also of note: Exotica, Calendar, Speaking Parts, and Ararat
Gus Van Zant: Drugstore Cowboys and Good Will Hunting were mentioned above, and I second those recs. Also excellent: To Die For (written by Buck Henry, with stunning performances by Nicole Kidman, Joachim Phoenix, Matt Dillon), Paranoid Park, Elephant, Milk, Finding Forrester
David Mamet movies, especially State and Main, House of Games, Heist, and The Winslow Boy
Bong Joon Ho: Parasite, The Host, Snowpiercer
Akira Kurosawa: Seven Samurai was mentioned above, and several others also are essential: Rashomon, Ran, Yojimbo, Red Beard; my two favorites are Ikiru and Dersu Usala
Majid Majidi movies, especially Children of Heaven (one of the most moving and profound I’ve ever seen) and The Color of Paradise
Yasujiro Ozu: Early Spring is, to me, his masterpiece. I especially recommend everything he did after 1940
Jan Svankmajer: I’m a huge fan of the Czech new wave, but I’ll mention only one here; it is one of my very favorites and funny as hell: Little Otik.