12 Directors, 12 Weeks

Well, it's been decided. Last week, I designed the 12 Directors, 12 Weeks course. First, let me thank those of you who posted suggestions. I considered them all, but had space to incorporate only a handful (a handful equals "three" in this case) . So, who are the deserving dozen? In order, the twelve directors are:

1. Howard Hawks
2. John Cassavetes
3. Jim Jarmusch
4. Jean Renoir
5. Andrei Tarkovsky
6. Jean-Luc Godard
7. Wong Kar Wai
8. Tsia Ming-Liang
9. Abbas Kiarostami
10. Edward Blake
11. Terry Gilliam
12. Hayao Miyazaki

Since the above-mentioned directors have extensive oeuvres, selecting films is tough. I'll spare you the selection process details (I'm sure many of you teeter on the edge of boredom already), but suffice to say, it took awhile. That being said, I decided on a number of films, and have posted them on Calendars Net. I've listed the films to be watched and directors to be studied. You may notice, some films are highlighted yellow. This color denotes films available on VHS only. The films listed on the calendar without yellow highlights are available on DVD. Furthermore, each film is linked to the IMDB. There, you can find the film’s synopsis, cast of characters, running time, etc.

Some of you may wonder why I went to the trouble of posting a calendar. Well, I was hoping some of you might like to study alongside me, watching the films and posting your responses. If you were planning on watching these films, I'd recommend Netflix. Netflix is ideal, because the obscure selections are not carried at Blockbuster and Hollywood Video.

Last week, I studied Howard Hawks. I was able to watch Scarface, Rio Bravo, I Was A Male War Bride, and The Big Sleep (I couldn’t find Twentieth Century anywhere). They were all great (I know that’s a pitiful review considering the classics I watched). I’ll post a lengthier impression of Hawks films in the coming days.

Currently, I'm studying Cassavetes. I've watched Opening Night (I'll post my review later tonight), and am reading Cassavetes on Cassavetes by Raymond Carney (a revealing study with memorable Cass. Quotes).

That’s all for now. Hope everyone is doing well.