Filmmakers on Other Filmmakers

[MichaelB]

Stanley Kubrick didn't often publicly praise filmmakers, but Krzysztof Kieślowski was a notable beneficiary.

And Kieślowski in turn was a strong champion both of his lesser-known compatriots (notably his teacher Kazimierz Karabasz) and of Ken Loach.

And Loach in turn was a huge fan of Miloš Forman and Jiří Menzel, and has championed A Blonde in Love and Closely Observed Trains on many, many occasions as being possibly the two most important influences on his own work.

Come to think of it, Lindsay Anderson was an even bigger fan, not just of those two but also numerous other filmmakers. He played a major role in securing Andrzej Wajda international recognition in the 1950s (and, as a spin-off, organised the first British screenings of the work of Roman Polanski and Walerian Borowczyk, when they were pretty much unknown), and the new BFI Flipside release Sleepwalker reveals that he was also extraordinarily helpful towards both Bill Douglas and Saxon Logan - and doubtless quite a few others.

[Moe Dickstein]

We're still doing anti-Bogdanovich schtick on this board? I thought that shit went out with the old guard

I'm anything but anti-Bogdanovich, I'm a huge fan - I was just tweaking the one I love.

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

We're still doing anti-Bogdanovich schtick on this board? I thought that shit went out with the old guard

I'm anything but anti-Bogdanovich, I'm a huge fan - I was just tweaking the one I love.

Apparently young people call it twerking nowadays

[flyonthewall2983]

I'm more interested in articles about conversations between artists than one's opinion on another. There are a few with musicians I've read (particularly, one with Robert Fripp interviewing John McLaughlin and a conversation between Roger Waters and Trent Reznor) that were pretty good. Seeing what they have in common, or what differences they might have always interest me.

[domino harvey]

[bottled spider]

God that's beautiful. So he still had Dreams, Rhapsody in August, and Madadayo ahead of him. It never registered before how old he was when he made those last three.

[ex-cowboy]

That is lovely to see, sad though in that Kurosawa's eyesight was so poor by this point he needed help to finish his films and yet he felt he had so much still to do, but nonetheless very touching. However, I can't help but be reminded by this letter of Woody Allen's belief (revealed in an interview with S&S) that his is just improving with every film, that Match Point etc. are better than Annie Hall, Manhattan (though I know he's always hated that film).

[Numero Trois]

Speaking of which, here is Orson Welles on Woody Allen:

He is arrogant. Like all people with timid personalities, his arrogance is ­unlimited. Anybody who speaks quietly and shrivels up in company is unbelievably ­arrogant. He acts shy, but he’s not. He’s scared. He hates himself, and he loves himself, a very tense situation. It’s people like me who have to carry on and pretend to be modest. To me, it’s the most embarrassing thing in the world—a man who presents himself at his worst to get laughs, in order to free himself from his hang-ups. Everything he does on the screen is therapeutic.

I suppose I'd have to revisit Allen's movies to make up my mind if I agree. Either way, its hard to imagine a more brutal statement than that one.

On a related side note, I found this video on YouTube the other day, where Quentin basically dismisses both Kubrick and Welles.

To me it sounds like Tarantino was being facetious there. But then again, given his juvenile biases....

[Gregory]

It's hard to get over the irony of Welles calling someone out for arrogance. And what could be more arrogant than presuming to psychoanalyze someone he didn't even know, and from the sound of it introverts in general at the same time? If Welles was pretending to be modest, he didn't do a good job of it.
Allen obviously based a lot of his humor on self-deprecation, but he never seemed very introverted or shy to me—there's often a difference.

If I don’t like somebody’s looks, I don’t like them. See, I believe that it is not true that different races and nations are alike. I’m profoundly convinced that that’s a total lie. I think people are different. Sardinians, for example, have stubby little fingers. Bosnians have short necks. ... I never could stand looking at Bette Davis, so I don’t want to see her act, you see. I hate Woody Allen physically, I dislike that kind of man.

Unfortunately, not everyone can be a specimen of corpulent perfection like Welles.

[Roger Ryan]

Welles did work with Allen briefly on CASINO ROYALE (1967). Keep in mind, this quote is from a private conversation with Henry Jaglom (who adored Allen) and was not intended for publication. It's possible that Welles was just trying to get a rise out of his lunch companion...then again, it's a pretty miserable thing to say and one of the most offensive things found in Jaglom's new book.

[Drucker]

To give my two cents, that Jaglom/Welles book features many unfortunate take-downs by Welles. It seems that good judgement often got the better of him during the Bogdanovich interviews, and it seems many of his meaner statements are redacted or taken back by Welles in that book. My guess is that by that late in his life, Welles had perhaps lost the ability/sense to withhold such negative comments. (which if, perhaps he though about twice, he would've realized how rude and often nonsensical he was being).

[Gregory]

I read a little of the book but quit because I got tired of all the bitchiness, dubious gossip, and character assassination. And I know that many enjoy books about Hollywood for exactly those tidbits, but I think if someone wants to dish dirt and call people out, it helps to be witty and insightful about it.
So I can't comment about the whole book, and maybe I missed out on some actual insight into Welles himself and his creative life sprinkled in among all the awful things he has to say about people in Hollywood from decades ago—usually people like Allen that Welles barely knew. He knew the conversations were being recorded but just couldn't or wouldn't stop talking shit.
I know his life was in bad shape by then and I do have some empathy, but good grief.

[ex-cowboy]

This is purely and utterly conjecture, but could Welles' particular bitterness towards Allen purely be down to the antisemitism suggested by the earlier quotes about Allen's appearance and his brand of filmmaking? Whilst I'm not saying that Allen's appearance or work is indicative of 'Jewish-ness', it is common that you hear people referring to his films as possessing a certain 'Jewish' type of comedy. Not being particularly knowledgable on Jewish culture I can't say how true this label is, but it seems like it could be a possible reason for Welles' dislike of someone who, as has been pointed out, he barely knew. I'm not a particularly big fan of Welles tbh, F for Fake is the only one of his films that I've actually liked (Kane, Touch of Evil and Lady from Shanghai being the others I've seen), so I don't know how much proof there is of Welles' views on the matter, is anyone aware of any antisemitism?

Briefly going back to the Godard strand, despite liking some of Truffaut's films, I do find Godard's attack on his work quite funny (seemed to have lost the webpage with the actual quote) and am completely on the Godard side of the whole argument. I absolutely love Godard's work, of all eras and he is one of my favourite filmmakers, whereas with Truffaut, whilst I find some of his work enjoyable, his career seems overshadowed by the fact that he spent so long criticising old-fashioned and conservative cinema and then spent almost all his career making, in the light of his contemporaries, pretty conservative films.

[Gregory]

From another recent thread:

I'm going to invoke Bill Hicks here: you guys are overthinking it. [Welles was] just an asshole.

(side-note: I've watched/listened to everything by Hicks I can get my hands on at least once, usually more, but still can't place this reference.)

[Roger Ryan]

...so I don't know how much proof there is of Welles' views on the matter, is anyone aware of any antisemitism?

Welles was definitely not antisemitic (he identified too much with Shylock!) nor was he racist (despite his wacky views on the Irish when talking to Jaglom), so I don't see that as motivating his dislike of Allen. Since Jaglom himself is Jewish, I doubt Welles would have spent as much time with him as he did if he had an antisemitic streak.

I suspect Welles was frustrated by Allen's critical and commercial success that allowed him to release a film a year whereas Welles seemingly couldn't find backers to help him realize his own work.

[knives]

Also I believe Welles was partially raised by a Jewish doctor and always portrayed Jewish characters with greater empathy than most at the time. I suspect his comments were just to be bitchy for the sake of bitchiness.

[Mr Sausage]

Welles seems to've confused Allen's onscreen persona with the real person. I don't know a lot about Allen, but I do remember reading that he was different in real life and quite popular growing up.

Welles' comments at the end of his rant are well observed, just not necessarily about Woody Allen.

[MongooseCmr]

Also I believe Welles was partially raised by a Jewish doctor and always portrayed Jewish characters with greater empathy than most at the time. I suspect his comments were just to be bitchy for the sake of bitchiness.

I'd go with this. Everett Sloane played by far the most sympathetic character in Citizen Kane, and if Welles is being honest than he must have hated working with him, because Sloane had quite the nose if I remember correctly.

[Roger Ryan]

Also I believe Welles was partially raised by a Jewish doctor and always portrayed Jewish characters with greater empathy than most at the time. I suspect his comments were just to be bitchy for the sake of bitchiness.

I'd go with this. Everett Sloane played by far the most sympathetic character in Citizen Kane, and if Welles is being honest than he must have hated working with him, because Sloane had quite the nose if I remember correctly.

Welles commented to Bogdanovich that he felt Sloane diminished his impact as an actor when he later had cosmetic surgery to reduce the size of his nose. Welles also related how KANE screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (Jewish himself) commented that it was bad form to have two Jewish actors in one scene without a Gentile present (referring to the interview scenes between Bernstein and Thompson the reporter)!

If any more proof be needed, Welles went on record to say that "after the Holocaust, we're all Jewish" to express where one's sympathy should lie. Probably the least antisemitic statement I can imagine someone saying.

[domino harvey]

From Göran Person‘s review from Movie issue six, 1963:

For anyone with some knowledge of Bergman and his films it is apparent that Through a Glass Darkly confirms many of the accusations that critics and Bergman himself have brought against his films. Shortly before the making of Through a Glass Darkly a virulent and exhaustive attack on Bergman's films appeared in a Swedish magazine. It was later divulged that the author was Bergman himself.

Does anyone have more info on this? Bergman being so grouchy that he even hates his own films sounds hilarious

[FrauBlucher]

haha. I could definitely see that. Especially if he was in one of his darker, moodier periods

[Peacock]

This has been written about quite extensively before. I’ll see if I can find Bergman’s pseudonym for these reviews. Will edit this in a bit.

Edit: Ernest Riffe (the name of Bergman’s wife’s Parisian hairdresser who did a bad job on her do)

“I experienced a special freedom in collecting my innermost self-criticism (which, to some extent, matched the criticism directed at me from outside), verbalizing it, tricking it out to seem a bad Swedish translation from the French, and then opening Expressen to read: ‘This is the best statement about Ingmar Bergman in recent years.’”

[cdnchris]

I feel i heard that before. Maybe l read that in a booklet that came with one of his films? Hell, it might have even been the Widerberg set.

In an interview included on the Persona disc, didn't he say something like he'd rather watch a Bond film than anything he made, and he always wanted to make a film like that but just didn't know how to? It was funny because I recall it catching the interviewer off guard, who was turning his nose up to them.

That's a far cry from hating his own films, mind you, but I guess it wouldn't be too far out there that he did feel that way. The rumors after his death were when going through his video collection it was clear the only films he watched were Goldie Hawn titles (also further proving the guy had a type) and Hollywood fare, so if true I think his taste leaned more towards that.

[FrauBlucher]

In an interview included on the Persona disc, didn't he say something like he'd rather watch a Bond film than anything he made, and he always wanted to make a film like that but just didn't know how to? It was funny because I recall it catching the interviewer off guard, who was turning his nose up to them.

I believe this is right. I kind of remember that as well

Peacock, thanks for that link. On my, he skewers his films

[hearthesilence]

That's a far cry from hating his own films, mind you, but I guess it wouldn't be too far out there that he did feel that way. The rumors after his death were when going through his video collection it was clear the only films he watched were Goldie Hawn titles (also further proving the guy had a type) and Hollywood fare, so if true I think his taste leaned more towards that.

Woody Allen mentioned this in his remembrance in the NY Times:

We always discussed movies, and of course I let him do most of the talking because I felt privileged hearing his thoughts and ideas. He screened movies for himself every day and never tired of watching them. All kinds, silents and talkies. To go to sleep he’d watch a tape of the kind of movie that didn’t make him think and would relax his anxiety, sometimes a James Bond film.

(FWIW, I still have the physical newspaper - on the very same page, Scorsese has a personal remembrance of Antonioni. Both Bergman and Antonioni died on the same day, and commissioning these was one of the arts editor's best ideas.)

The documentary Bergman Island is pretty great at showing his home life - both unconventional and sad. As he admits, he had no relationship with any of his children because he always focused on his work, and his multiple marriages was the result of him being an adolescent through middle-age. (His words, not mine.)

The setup he has of the fireplace, where he can sit and watch the snow fall on the sea through that window, is something I hope to have in my old age.