MovieChat Forums > Better Than Chocolate (1999) Discussion > Women Directors

Women Directors

posted 21 years ago by lovejam
11 replies | jump to latest

Not enough women directors get attention. There are many out there that do some great work, yet are overshadowed by their brethren: Scorsese, Hitchcock, Spielberg, Polanski, Tarantino, etc.
Anyone have any favorite women directors?
Mine:
Anne Wheeler(Better Than Chocolate)
Lynn Stopkovich(Kissed, Suspicious River)
Mina Shum(Double Happiness)
Kathryn Bigelow(Strange Days)
Amy Heckerling(Fast Time at Ridgemont High, Clueless)
Penny Marshall(Big)
Rose Troche(Go Fish, Bedrooms & Hallways, Earthlings)
Cheryl Dunye(Watermelon Woman)

Most think there aren't any out there, sticking to the men just because they're favored. Typical!

Yours Truly,
Lovejam

[–] 21 years ago

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[–] lovejam 21 years ago

Ah, get over it. The whole man/woman debate is tired. You can believe whatever you want, but it's ridiculous, and you know it.

Yours Truly,
Lovejam

[–] 21 years ago

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[–] theattic 21 years ago

Mira Nair(Monsoon Wedding), Lina Wertmuller(The Seduction of Mimi, Seven Beauties), Jane Campion(An Angel at my Table), Julie Taymor(Titus), Kasi Lemmons(Eve's Bayou),Nancy Savoca(dogfight), Mary Harron(I shot Andy Warhol, American Psycho), Jodi Foster(Little Man Tate)

There's also Ida Lupino, though I don't think I've seen any of her films.

[–] lovejam 20 years ago

There's also Ida Lupino, though I don't think I've seen any of her films.

I think she directed some episodes of Gilligan's Island.
http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0526946/.
Yours Truly,
lovejam

[–] hellisotherpeople 20 years ago

gurinder chadha- bend it like beckham, bride and prejudice

[–] faith_hope_trick 20 years ago

gurinder chadha did "Whats Cooking" too which is great
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0197096/

[–] lythandrel 18 years ago

Lets add one more very talented Indian woman to the batch. Deepa Mehta. She's done some amazing films, her cinematography is usually brilliant, regardless of genre as well as being a talented writer and director. Fire was beautifully done and very touching, though bittersweet. Earth was gripping, and heartrending. Republic of Love and Bollywood/Hollywood were both sweet, and funny, and had their touching moments, and B/H definitely had that major Bollywood flavour to it, despite clearly being a Canadian film. The insertion of segment titles in the film was enough to have my stomach muscles in spasm after laughing so hard. She's done a wonderful job of crossing genres, despite her limited works. I haven't seen Water yet, but I expect good things from this movie, as the other two in the trilogy (Fire, Earth) have been amazing.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] miran_kor 18 years ago

Here's some European women directors off the top of my head:
Agnes Varda (Happiness)
Liliana Cavani (The Night Porter)
Diane Kurys (A Man in Love)
Marta Meszaros (Diary for My Children)
Agnieszka Holland (Europa Europa)
Margarethe von Trotta (Three Sisters)
Vera Chytilova (The Apple Game)
Liv Ullmann (yes, the famous actress)
Mai Zetterling (another one)
...
I'm working on my personal list (over 80 entries at the moment; and with the help of this thread as well), so I have the feeling this might become a 'neverending story' (LOL).
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"Not enough women directors get attention. There are many out there that do some great work, yet are overshadowed by their brethren: Scorsese, Hitchcock, Spielberg, Polanski, Tarantino, etc.
Anyone have any favorite women directors?"
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Well, I don't have any favorites, I like them all. Their work is usually great and I'm very interested to see as many of their films as possible.
But I agree with your statement. Not enough DESERVED attention (at least in the USA, as it seems). Tell me, do you know any of the stated above? (They are NOT newcomers.)
The best example is probably Lina Wertmüller. Her opus from the '70s is probably unbeatable by any other woman director ever (IMHO). Seven Beauties (Pasqualino Settebellezze, 1975) is a masterpiece (you'de never guess it was directed by a woman; if that means something, good or bad), and was (finally, if I may add) NOMINATED for the Academy Award (in 4 categories; Lina for direction and original screenplay).
Guess what? No oscars at all. I claim (go check the winners from that year and this movie) that she was robbed for any Oscar available there (and Giancarlo Giannini in the leading role was robbed as well). Sadly (IMHO) it was because she was a foreigner (way too soon for Italians to get Oscars among Americans) and because she was a WOMAN.
Still, she was the first woman director ever to be nominated for Academy Award.
Deservedly (and more) so.

vivaLuis