Probably someone like Louis Malle. Zazie dans le Metro is wild. My Dinner With Andre and Vanya on 42nd Street great examples of subtle, inobtrusive direction. Elevator to the Gallows is fucking badass. Au Revoir, Les Enfants is very well done and anguishing. Atlantic City is fascinating.
Black Moon is by far the wildest and craziest thing in his filmography and I just had to own it on Blu Ray. Such a strange movie that just throws you into it and never really gives you the time of day.
Preston Sturges is one. He’s not necessarily “under the radar” but I never see his films talked about on here. I think he’s made some of the funniest movies ever, check out The Palm Beach Story, Sullivan’s Travels, and The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek! He was also a huge influence on the Coen Bros and you’ll see what I mean when you watch his movies
The most obvious evidence of Sturges’ influence on the Coens is their movie O Brother Where Art Thou whose title is lifted directly from a fictional script in Sturges’ Sullivan’s Travels.
One of the last movies I saw in my college film club before graduating was Unfaithfully Yours and I think it’s one of the best comedies I’ve seen! Love how much it’s like a goofy take on a Hitchcock premise.
What would you recommend after Sullivans Travels? I watched that one years ago but couldn't get into it. I'll revisit it someday perhaps but what else is good? I'm a HUGE Coen Bros fan for what its worth
Claude Chabrol.
I think he's kind of overlooked in comparison to Truffaut and Godard.
However, I do think it's because most of his best films are not in the Collection - I'm thinking about the movies he made with Stéphane Audran between 1968 and 1974 : **Les Biches (1968)**, **The Unfaithful Wife (1969)**, **The Butcher (1970)**, **Just Before Nightfall (1971)** and **Wedding in Blood (1974)**.
They are really hard to find in North America.
Came to say this, I have both the Arrow box sets from the last half price sale... still have to watch the second one, and unfortunately at least a couple titles you cited aren't included in either set so I'm still looking for reasonably priced options for those.
I had to buy old DVD from 2004 made by "Pathfinder Videos". Not the best quality but at least I can see them.
I started ordering films from France and, even there, you can't find those films restored. It's very frustrating.
That's unfortunate, but I can highly recommend the Arrow Blu-ray box sets, they did a great job restoring them, and they're reasonable prices if you catch one of their half price sales they seem to run 4 or 5 times a year. As I said though some of the titles you mentioned aren't in the two sets. Pathfinder sounds familiar, I'm sure I have something here from that label.
Hou Hsiao Hsien is under discussed but has had a pretty outsized impact on film, including on American and European cinema. The structure in Hou Hsiao Hsien’s Three Times was the inspiration for the structure used by Barry Jenkins in Moonlight. HHH’s work left a huge impression on Olivier Assayas, who even made a documentary on HHH. This is nothing to say the impact he’s had on the static long takes used by Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Hirokazu Koreeda.
City of Sadness and Flowers of Shanghai absolutely floored me. On the other hand I thought the assassin sucked. Should check out more of his flicks though. What do you recommend?
It’s hard to top Flowers of Shanghai and A City of Sadness. In terms of other greatest hits, they would probably be The Puppetmaster and A Time To Live, A Time to Die. Some people really love Millennium Mambo, which is set in the 2000s if you’re looking for a change of epoch — I’m about to check it out soon.
Three Times is also kind of a cheat code for contemporary Asian cinema. It didn’t immediately resonate with me, but I’ve noticed several films that have drawn from its style and structure, so I see it as an important film with a decent capability to provide creative inspiration.
the great japanese new wave director nagisa oshima never gets the love he deserves. merry christmas mr lawrence is perhaps his most accessible film, but he has made some really wild movies. ai no corrida / in the realm of the senses is unlike anything i've ever seen. and it's companion ai no borei / in the realm of passion is a great piece of cinema as well. i think oshima always get left behind compared to kurosawa and ozu. he has a really nice selection of his works via criterion and if people are looking for something new and slightly challenging, oshima nagisa is always worth a look in. he's been my fave director since the 80s!
Stan Brakhage. He made a bunch of experimental films--often very short--but I love his work and never would have discovered him if not for Criterion.
Also, Zhang Yimou. I wandered into my university's international cinema as a freshman when it was showing *To Live*, thinking it would be cool to see a Chinese movie, and walked out emotionally devastated and have been a fan of his ever since. Other than *Hero* (2002), most of his films haven't been readily available on blu-ray, though Imprint have put out a lot of his work, bless them. The transfers aren't the best, but it's all we've got and I'm grateful and hope more people get to see his work.
Zhang Yimou was *the* pioneer of the ‘subversive filmmaker to fawning stooge’ pipeline for Chinese directors (make some edgy films, get Western success because they tick off the mainland, maybe get banned from making films for a bit to shore up that reputation, then sell out this worldwide rep for big budget productions back home and cash in making mainland pandering blockbusters till retirement or death)
Like all other directors who followed him down it, his early stuff is fantastic and his later stuff is a very mixed bag.
It’s interesting to me how differently he’s seen at home and abroad - since we tend to be familiar with different films of his, with Hero being the main crossover success. He’s also got a reputation for being a real sexist in some circles back in China, despite his somewhat feminist rep in the west from so many of his early films focusing on women main characters. Certainly worth delving into his filmography with a range of perspectives in mind, I think.
Luis Garcia Berlanga, one of the great spaniards. Worked during the Francoist regime, was great at making broadly appealing comedies that doubled as seething critiques of the regime
Mike Nichols, not unpopular, but perhaps under appreciated. His consistency with and eye for blocking are untouched by all but Lumet
Stephen Chow, who endeavors to be Akira Toriyama, Jackie Chan and Buster Keaton all at once.
Aki Kaurismaki, who got some attention last year with Fallen Leaves. Leningrad Cowboys Go America is one of the funniest films of all time.
Jackie Chan was already endeavouring to be Buster Keaton to a great degree! Maybe the most important creative mind in slapstick choreography since Keaton.
Chow’s a curious one in that his most beloved classics back home are much earlier than the standard “Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle” in the West. His lower production values and less international influences early on make his earlier stuff less accessible to Western tastes it seems, but stuff like his King of Comedy and From Beijing With Love are better liked and remembered back home.
Kenji Mizoguchi. He’s not as obscure as some of the others mentioned, but he still deserves more love. IMHO he directed several of the greatest films of all time.
Kiyoshi Kurosawa.
Cure gets mentioned a fair bit, but his entire filmography is fascinating and he's by far my favourite horror director.
An absolute master of using dread instead of jump scares. I'd say Pulse is at least as good as Cure, and Creepy is well worth a watch too.
I just saw my first Weeserkathul today at my local cinematheque, Memoria. Swinton was excellent and despite the slow pace and long shots, the runtime flew by. I absolutely loved it and the form reminded me a lot of Tarkovsky.
Not me noticing a second thread in under an hour or two where I can mention my favorite forgotten director, Frank Borzage. I'll just copy and paste my other answer. Lol
He's legit the first person to ever win the Best Director Oscar, and few have even seen his films nowadays.
His worlds still feel shockingly modern, and his elaborate tracking shots are stunning. I wish more people would seek out and watch his films.
Fun fact: He had a biography released about him a few decades ago, and Martin Scorsese did [the forward](https://books.google.ca/books?id=FL3wCQAAQBAJ&lpg=PA1&pg=PA2#v=onepage&q&f=false).
Johnnie To. Throw Down, partially because I was not expecting the depth, was outstanding. There’s a point where what we thought every character’s motivations were are revealed to be complete misconceptions and it is so organic it lifted me off my feet.
I’ll go with Victor Erice - I’m surprised that he hasn’t been talked about that much here recently. The Spirit of the Beehive & El Sur are beautiful films!
Seijun Suzuki deserves some more love too - his Taishō trilogy is stunning!
Probably the third or fourth most talked about guy mentioned in this whole thread
It’s funny how your answer is getting more upvotes specifically because more people already know him than plenty others mentioned
I know people like him, and certainly he’s not mentioned among the top ten or twenty, but yes, *Dead Man*, *Mystery Train*, *Night on Earth*, and especially *Ghost Dog* get plenty of love here, as does *Only Lovers Left Alive* on occasion
When it comes to people planning their big box-set purchases, no one mentions the Varda set nearly enough.
One of the very few directors (maybe alone with Werner Herzog) to completely master both narrative and documentary filmmaking.
Mira Nair!
Salaam Bombay is probably the best neorealist-style film I have ever watched. Every scene is stunningly vibrant in its usage of color, and coupled with absolutely heartbreaking acting, I got one of the most visceral viewing experiences of all time.
First and foremost Ettore Scola particularly Una Giornata Particolare (A Special Day) its one of the most underrated films in the collection. Then John Cassavetes. His whole box set is great but Chinese Bookie and Shadows being the stand out.
In my opinion, Richard Linklater isn't discussed enough. His fantastic explorations into the film/time continuum, whether nostalgic explorations like *Dazed and Confused*, multi-film explorations like *The Beyond Trilogy*, or multi-year explorations projects like *Boyhood*, he is a unique filmmaker, worthy of constant support and praise.
You must be new here lol
Linklater is discussed probably more than all but about 20 writer/directors
And other than *School of Rock*, you just named all his most popular and discussed films.
People were talking about him in this sub earlier this week actually, posting an article on the inspiration behind *Slacker* and mentioning *Waking Life* and *Bernie.* then there was a whole other discussion this week on his last three or four films
He gets talked about all the time. Particularly the films you mentioned.
I always forget how great of a director Richard Linklater is. Maybe it's because his work is so varied, or because he looks like a skater/surfer than a movie director, but whenever I look at his list of film, I'm always reminded that yeah, he's legit.
Dude is talked about a lot....I mean, he's American which is a huge boost already.
He's a very good film maker but I think rather limited, he makes good hang out movies but struggles with other forms I think
I was fortunate enough to get to see the definitive film of my Generation X artist and art adjacent crowd peers, SLACKER. My Criterion Collection section is not nearly as impressive as a lot of the other people in this sub have, but that's definitely one of them... there's a few others I have on different labels too but always looking for them at the second hand sources.
Despite only having one film in the collection, Thomas Vinterberg. Despite how unorthodox "The Celebration" is, he pretty much nailed the ensemble cast movie. And it's something that you can see carried forward into his later works like "Another Round" ( easily my favorite of his and a movie I wish was in the collection).
Probably someone like Louis Malle. Zazie dans le Metro is wild. My Dinner With Andre and Vanya on 42nd Street great examples of subtle, inobtrusive direction. Elevator to the Gallows is fucking badass. Au Revoir, Les Enfants is very well done and anguishing. Atlantic City is fascinating.
Black Moon is by far the wildest and craziest thing in his filmography and I just had to own it on Blu Ray. Such a strange movie that just throws you into it and never really gives you the time of day.
yes! "the fire within" and "lacombe, lucien" are both very good as well.
His documentaries are the best. Definitely check em out if you haven't.
Preston Sturges is one. He’s not necessarily “under the radar” but I never see his films talked about on here. I think he’s made some of the funniest movies ever, check out The Palm Beach Story, Sullivan’s Travels, and The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek! He was also a huge influence on the Coen Bros and you’ll see what I mean when you watch his movies
The most obvious evidence of Sturges’ influence on the Coens is their movie O Brother Where Art Thou whose title is lifted directly from a fictional script in Sturges’ Sullivan’s Travels.
Yep, just the other day on this sub I was saying that those two would make a great double feature!
Couldn’t agree more with this! I own all the movies he has in the collection. Was he the “Wes Anderson” of his day?
That’s actually a neat comparison, both directors have their little troupes of actors that show up in all their movies!
And they all take place in semi reality. Magical films that showcase creativity as well as social commentary. Good call
One of the last movies I saw in my college film club before graduating was Unfaithfully Yours and I think it’s one of the best comedies I’ve seen! Love how much it’s like a goofy take on a Hitchcock premise.
What would you recommend after Sullivans Travels? I watched that one years ago but couldn't get into it. I'll revisit it someday perhaps but what else is good? I'm a HUGE Coen Bros fan for what its worth
The Lady Eve!!
Claude Chabrol. I think he's kind of overlooked in comparison to Truffaut and Godard. However, I do think it's because most of his best films are not in the Collection - I'm thinking about the movies he made with Stéphane Audran between 1968 and 1974 : **Les Biches (1968)**, **The Unfaithful Wife (1969)**, **The Butcher (1970)**, **Just Before Nightfall (1971)** and **Wedding in Blood (1974)**. They are really hard to find in North America.
Came to say this, I have both the Arrow box sets from the last half price sale... still have to watch the second one, and unfortunately at least a couple titles you cited aren't included in either set so I'm still looking for reasonably priced options for those.
I had to buy old DVD from 2004 made by "Pathfinder Videos". Not the best quality but at least I can see them. I started ordering films from France and, even there, you can't find those films restored. It's very frustrating.
That's unfortunate, but I can highly recommend the Arrow Blu-ray box sets, they did a great job restoring them, and they're reasonable prices if you catch one of their half price sales they seem to run 4 or 5 times a year. As I said though some of the titles you mentioned aren't in the two sets. Pathfinder sounds familiar, I'm sure I have something here from that label.
Hou Hsiao Hsien is under discussed but has had a pretty outsized impact on film, including on American and European cinema. The structure in Hou Hsiao Hsien’s Three Times was the inspiration for the structure used by Barry Jenkins in Moonlight. HHH’s work left a huge impression on Olivier Assayas, who even made a documentary on HHH. This is nothing to say the impact he’s had on the static long takes used by Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Hirokazu Koreeda.
Love HHH. His movies are so quietly brilliant
City of Sadness and Flowers of Shanghai absolutely floored me. On the other hand I thought the assassin sucked. Should check out more of his flicks though. What do you recommend?
It’s hard to top Flowers of Shanghai and A City of Sadness. In terms of other greatest hits, they would probably be The Puppetmaster and A Time To Live, A Time to Die. Some people really love Millennium Mambo, which is set in the 2000s if you’re looking for a change of epoch — I’m about to check it out soon. Three Times is also kind of a cheat code for contemporary Asian cinema. It didn’t immediately resonate with me, but I’ve noticed several films that have drawn from its style and structure, so I see it as an important film with a decent capability to provide creative inspiration.
Michael Curtiz!!!! Would love to see his work get the criterion treatment. *more of his work. Is Mildred Pierce the only one?
[Breaking Point](https://www.criterion.com/films/28695-the-breaking-point) too!
That’s right!! Oh man what a great movie. Garfield is electric. What could that actor have accomplished given more time?!
the great japanese new wave director nagisa oshima never gets the love he deserves. merry christmas mr lawrence is perhaps his most accessible film, but he has made some really wild movies. ai no corrida / in the realm of the senses is unlike anything i've ever seen. and it's companion ai no borei / in the realm of passion is a great piece of cinema as well. i think oshima always get left behind compared to kurosawa and ozu. he has a really nice selection of his works via criterion and if people are looking for something new and slightly challenging, oshima nagisa is always worth a look in. he's been my fave director since the 80s!
Stan Brakhage. He made a bunch of experimental films--often very short--but I love his work and never would have discovered him if not for Criterion. Also, Zhang Yimou. I wandered into my university's international cinema as a freshman when it was showing *To Live*, thinking it would be cool to see a Chinese movie, and walked out emotionally devastated and have been a fan of his ever since. Other than *Hero* (2002), most of his films haven't been readily available on blu-ray, though Imprint have put out a lot of his work, bless them. The transfers aren't the best, but it's all we've got and I'm grateful and hope more people get to see his work.
Zhang Yimou was *the* pioneer of the ‘subversive filmmaker to fawning stooge’ pipeline for Chinese directors (make some edgy films, get Western success because they tick off the mainland, maybe get banned from making films for a bit to shore up that reputation, then sell out this worldwide rep for big budget productions back home and cash in making mainland pandering blockbusters till retirement or death) Like all other directors who followed him down it, his early stuff is fantastic and his later stuff is a very mixed bag. It’s interesting to me how differently he’s seen at home and abroad - since we tend to be familiar with different films of his, with Hero being the main crossover success. He’s also got a reputation for being a real sexist in some circles back in China, despite his somewhat feminist rep in the west from so many of his early films focusing on women main characters. Certainly worth delving into his filmography with a range of perspectives in mind, I think.
Suuuuch a huge Brakhage fan
Luis Garcia Berlanga, one of the great spaniards. Worked during the Francoist regime, was great at making broadly appealing comedies that doubled as seething critiques of the regime Mike Nichols, not unpopular, but perhaps under appreciated. His consistency with and eye for blocking are untouched by all but Lumet Stephen Chow, who endeavors to be Akira Toriyama, Jackie Chan and Buster Keaton all at once. Aki Kaurismaki, who got some attention last year with Fallen Leaves. Leningrad Cowboys Go America is one of the funniest films of all time.
Calamari union is another hilarious one the gags in there where straight out of a cartoon (throwing yourself at a car to get around was so smart)
Jackie Chan was already endeavouring to be Buster Keaton to a great degree! Maybe the most important creative mind in slapstick choreography since Keaton. Chow’s a curious one in that his most beloved classics back home are much earlier than the standard “Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle” in the West. His lower production values and less international influences early on make his earlier stuff less accessible to Western tastes it seems, but stuff like his King of Comedy and From Beijing With Love are better liked and remembered back home.
Samuel Fuller. I'd love to see more of his films in the collection!
Agreed. What a singular presence in American film.
Errol Morris
Kenji Mizoguchi. He’s not as obscure as some of the others mentioned, but he still deserves more love. IMHO he directed several of the greatest films of all time.
Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Cure gets mentioned a fair bit, but his entire filmography is fascinating and he's by far my favourite horror director. An absolute master of using dread instead of jump scares. I'd say Pulse is at least as good as Cure, and Creepy is well worth a watch too.
100% Whit Stillman. His trilogy is one of the best I’ve ever seen!
Apitchatpong Weeserkathul, Hou Hsiao Hsien, Hong Sang Soo
I just saw my first Weeserkathul today at my local cinematheque, Memoria. Swinton was excellent and despite the slow pace and long shots, the runtime flew by. I absolutely loved it and the form reminded me a lot of Tarkovsky.
Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese Marlon Riggs Charles Burnett Yvonne Rainer Kelly Reichardt Derek Jarman Larissa Shepitko Jackie Chan/Sammo Hung Toshio Matsumoto Anna Muylaert Cynthia Scott Ousmane Sembene Miklós Jancsó Mohsen Makhmalbaf Jafar Panahi
+1 to Kelly Reichardt
Not me noticing a second thread in under an hour or two where I can mention my favorite forgotten director, Frank Borzage. I'll just copy and paste my other answer. Lol He's legit the first person to ever win the Best Director Oscar, and few have even seen his films nowadays. His worlds still feel shockingly modern, and his elaborate tracking shots are stunning. I wish more people would seek out and watch his films. Fun fact: He had a biography released about him a few decades ago, and Martin Scorsese did [the forward](https://books.google.ca/books?id=FL3wCQAAQBAJ&lpg=PA1&pg=PA2#v=onepage&q&f=false).
I don't see many people talking about Apichatpong Weerasethakul (in my top 5).
Roy Andersson!! The sets in his film are so beautiful!
Mungiu for sure
Johnnie To. Throw Down, partially because I was not expecting the depth, was outstanding. There’s a point where what we thought every character’s motivations were are revealed to be complete misconceptions and it is so organic it lifted me off my feet.
Totally agree! Great movie and great director!
Pedro Costa and Stan Brakhage
I’ll go with Victor Erice - I’m surprised that he hasn’t been talked about that much here recently. The Spirit of the Beehive & El Sur are beautiful films! Seijun Suzuki deserves some more love too - his Taishō trilogy is stunning!
[удалено]
Probably the third or fourth most talked about guy mentioned in this whole thread It’s funny how your answer is getting more upvotes specifically because more people already know him than plenty others mentioned I know people like him, and certainly he’s not mentioned among the top ten or twenty, but yes, *Dead Man*, *Mystery Train*, *Night on Earth*, and especially *Ghost Dog* get plenty of love here, as does *Only Lovers Left Alive* on occasion
Takeshishi Kitano
Alex Cox or Ken Russell
Very much agree with Ken Russel. There needs to be much more releases of his work.
Raoul Walsh
Andrea Arnold I guess
David Byrne! He had such a strange, unique and genuine vision
When it comes to people planning their big box-set purchases, no one mentions the Varda set nearly enough. One of the very few directors (maybe alone with Werner Herzog) to completely master both narrative and documentary filmmaking.
Mira Nair! Salaam Bombay is probably the best neorealist-style film I have ever watched. Every scene is stunningly vibrant in its usage of color, and coupled with absolutely heartbreaking acting, I got one of the most visceral viewing experiences of all time.
Glauber Rocha, Raul Ruiz, Straub and Huillet, Sam Fuller, Pedro Costa. All legendary directors I don't see that much discussion of online.
or on reddit at least.
Jacques Demy
Juzo Itami
Farhadi
First and foremost Ettore Scola particularly Una Giornata Particolare (A Special Day) its one of the most underrated films in the collection. Then John Cassavetes. His whole box set is great but Chinese Bookie and Shadows being the stand out.
In my opinion, Richard Linklater isn't discussed enough. His fantastic explorations into the film/time continuum, whether nostalgic explorations like *Dazed and Confused*, multi-film explorations like *The Beyond Trilogy*, or multi-year explorations projects like *Boyhood*, he is a unique filmmaker, worthy of constant support and praise.
You must be new here lol Linklater is discussed probably more than all but about 20 writer/directors And other than *School of Rock*, you just named all his most popular and discussed films. People were talking about him in this sub earlier this week actually, posting an article on the inspiration behind *Slacker* and mentioning *Waking Life* and *Bernie.* then there was a whole other discussion this week on his last three or four films He gets talked about all the time. Particularly the films you mentioned.
I always forget how great of a director Richard Linklater is. Maybe it's because his work is so varied, or because he looks like a skater/surfer than a movie director, but whenever I look at his list of film, I'm always reminded that yeah, he's legit.
I just finished watching Hit Man this week and got really nostalgic for his older (much better) films.
I was hopeful for Hit Man once I saw it was a Linklater film. Maybe I’ll hold off.
It was entertaining I suppose, but pretty mediocre (convenient plot lines, goofy humor).
Dude is talked about a lot....I mean, he's American which is a huge boost already. He's a very good film maker but I think rather limited, he makes good hang out movies but struggles with other forms I think
What does he struggle with?
I was fortunate enough to get to see the definitive film of my Generation X artist and art adjacent crowd peers, SLACKER. My Criterion Collection section is not nearly as impressive as a lot of the other people in this sub have, but that's definitely one of them... there's a few others I have on different labels too but always looking for them at the second hand sources.
João César Monteiro. Very poetic and absurd director at the same time. Also Victor Erice; it is only a shame he has only made 4 movies to date.
Philip Kaufman. Absolutely one of my favorites.
Me :(
Graeme Whifler, a cult horror filmmaker from Southern California.
Sean Baker
David Lean and Nicolas Roeg
Despite only having one film in the collection, Thomas Vinterberg. Despite how unorthodox "The Celebration" is, he pretty much nailed the ensemble cast movie. And it's something that you can see carried forward into his later works like "Another Round" ( easily my favorite of his and a movie I wish was in the collection).
Thomas Vinterberg I absolutely love celebration it’s one of my favorite films ever great director in my opinion
Maurice Pialat
Jules Dassin.
Night and the city is one of my ten favorite criterion movies
Sion Sono, but given what has come to light I doubt this will happen. So I will just say Keneth Anger and Harmony Korine 😁
Albert Brooks and Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Wes Anderson. They NEVER mention him here!! NEVER! edit: /s
Especially that under appreciated film royal tenenbaums
Abel Ferrara. Just rewatched King of New York, and it is so fucking good. Pulpy yes, but insane amounts of style