Great Directors

In Angela Ismailos' documentary Great Directors, 10 internationally renowned filmmakers speak about their work. Bernardo Bertolucci talks about working with Pier Paolo Pasolini and about incorporating left-wing politics into his films. Catherine Breillat, on the other hand, started out with minimal resources, so she wrote a book, adapted it for the screen, and launched her controversial career (France banned A Real Young Girl, which wouldn't be released for 20 years). Ken Loach (Cathy Come Home), Stephen Frears (My Beautiful Launderette), and Liliana Cavani (The Night Porter) all began in television, while David Lynch remembers making Eraserhead, which found an audience through the midnight-movie circuit. Like the others, Lynch also talks about his hits and misses. As a screenwriter, John Sayles has flirted with the mainstream but aims for the art house with his directorial efforts, like Matewan (oddly, Ismailos doesn't mention his debut, Return of the Secaucus 7). The remaining Americans in the group, Todd Haynes and Richard Linklater, speak to the cultural and economic factors that have affected their careers, along with influences such as Ingmar Bergman and Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Referencing one of the other featured subjects, Breillat calls Agnès Varda's Cleo from 5 to 7 “a wonder,” while the octogenarian Varda concludes: “I feel I still have work to do.” A sure bet for cinema studies collections, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)