A few weeks ago, Quiggy from The Midnite Drive-In graciously asked me if I would like to co-host a blogathon with him on Favorite Directors. As is apparent by all the blogathon banners running down the right side of my blog, I love blogathons, so of course I said yes.
As everyone knows, directors are essential to a successful film. A film director "controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects, and visualizes the script while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, production design, and the creative aspects of filmmaking." Without a good director, a film may die before it's finished or never achieve the success it might have.
There are many directors from the Golden Age of Hollywood who have become iconic and whose faces are instantly recognizable. Then there are the directors who's films are loved by many but who are only known by name. And lastly there are the ones who are never given the acclaim they deserve. That is what this blogathon is for, to honor all directors.
Here are a few simple rules:
1. Directors from the early days of film up until 1990 are fine. You can choose a single film that particularly showcases the style of that director or cover an entire career. When you've made your choice, please let me or Quiggy know in the comments below. Be sure to include the link to your blog so I can add it easily to the roster.
2. No duplicates of movies. However, if someone has chosen Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho you can still pick another film he directed or his career as a whole.
3. Since this blogathon is taking place over Memorial Day weekend, early admissions will be accepted. If you will be out of town simply publish your post ahead of time and leave the link to it in the comments below. It will be added at the appropriate time.
4. Take one of the banners below and share it on your blog to spread the word!
5. And lastly, have fun!!
Roster:
Phyllis Loves Classic Movies: The film collaborations of Frank Capra and Robert Risken
The Midnite Drive-In: John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
Caftan Woman: William Wyler's Hell's Heroes (1929) and The Big Country (1958)
Christina Wehner: William Wellman
Cinematic Scribblings: YasujirĂ´ Ozu's Late Spring
Love Letters to Old Hollywood: Billy Wilder's The Apartment (1960)
Champagne for Lunch: Mervin LeRoy
Classic Movie Treasures: John Ford's The Quiet Man (1952)
Hamlette's Soliloquy: John Ford's The Searchers (1956)
*Whimsically Classic: Billy Wilder's The Major and the Minor (1942)
Critica Retro: Orson Welles's Othello (1952)
Charlene's (Mostly) Classic Movie Reviews: Ingmar Bergman's Through A Glass Darkly (1961)
Realweedgiemidget Reviews: Ed Wood
Angelman's Place: Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby (1968)
John V's Eclectic Avenue: Jacques Tourneur's Out of the Past and Curse of the Demon
*Because We Have the Stars: Billy Wilder' Sunset Boulevard (1950)
LA Explorer: Preston Sturges' Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)
*It Came from the Man Cave: Sam Raimi and Evil Dead 2 (1987)
Plot and Theme: Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Anybody Got a Match?: Stanley Donen's Charade (1963)
Pure Entertainment Preservation Society: The naturalness George Cukor's Films
Demanded Critical Reviews: The film-making style of Andrei Tarvosky in Solaris (1972), The Mirror (1975), and Stalker (1979)
A Viewer's Guide to Classic Films: D.W. Griffith's films Scarlet Days and Way Down East
Oh, what a great idea! Could I write about William Wellman?
ReplyDeleteYou've got him! :)
DeleteOops, I forgot to add the link to my blog. :)
ReplyDeletehttps://christinawehner.wordpress.com/
Could I write about YasujirĂ´ Ozu's Late Spring? My blog is Cinematic Scribblings: https://cinematicscribblings.wordpress.com/ Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining!
DeleteSo many choices! If it's still available, I'll take The Apartment. Should be lots of fun!
ReplyDeleteYou've got it!
DeleteSuch a cool idea! I'd like to write about Mervyn Leroy's career, and compare one of his films from the 1930s to a later one. My blog: champagneforlunch.wordpress.com
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I like the idea of comparing an early and later work!
DeleteI would like to do John Ford's The Quite Man
ReplyDeleteElaine
ClassicMovieTreasures.com
I'd like to do John Ford's The Searchers -- May 26 is John Wayne's birthday, so it will be my tribute to both director and star!
ReplyDeleteHow did I know you'd choose a Ford film ;)
DeleteI did some serious dithering here! My favorite director is actually Joss Whedon, but cutting eligible films off at 1990 means I can't write about him, so then I had to choose between John Ford and Otto Preminger. Tough choice!!! But it being John Wayne's birthday during the blogathon decided me.
DeleteAwesome! I'd like to write about Orson Welles's Othello, please!
ReplyDeleteKisses!
Le
Man! I should have made a banner of Welles! I knew I was forgetting someone that everyone would recognize!
DeleteLove this idea! I'd like to do an overview of Billy Wilder's films, since I finished going through his filmography recently.
ReplyDeleteMy blog is Cinema Cities: cinemacities.wordpress.com
Great idea! Looking forward to it!
DeleteHi Phyl! Unfortunately I didn't have time to write up my Billy Wilder post in time for the blogathon (and I won't have time to put in a late entry either). Thank you for co-hosting anyway, the blogathon looked like it was a success! :)
DeleteThat's ok :) Thanks for letting me know!
DeleteNot sure if this is ok, but can I review Ed Wood, the biopic film about the director with Johnny Depp? My blog is https://weegiemidget.wordpress.com/
ReplyDeleteI'll get back to you. Let me ask Quiggy.
DeleteThis is such a great idea! Ingmar Bergman is my favourite director hands down. Can I please write about Through A Glass Darkly (1961)? Thanks! My blog is Charlene's (Mostly) Classic Movie Reviews and the url is https://charsmoviereviews.wordpress.com.
ReplyDeleteI'll let you know too that I am hosting a blogathon the same weekend if you would like to participate. If you can't, no worries. Just thought I would extend the invitation :) https://charsmoviereviews.wordpress.com/2017/03/08/medicine-in-the-movies-blogathon-announcement-may-26-28-2017/
I've got you down!
DeleteUnfortunately I'll probably be too busy to join your blogathon (I'm co-hosting one a couple weeks before this one as well) but if I think of something I'd like to write on I'll let you know :) I have trouble passing up blogathons ;)
Sounds good! Yes, I am becoming addicted to blogathons myself :)
DeleteI am sorry maybe I am really dumb, but what do you mean by up until 1990s? the time the director was alive? he is supposed to be making movies up until 1990s?
ReplyDeleteBasically as long as they started directing before the year 1990 you can write about them.
DeleteOh what a great idea for a blogathon! Can I do Billy Wilder' Sunset Boulevard? This is the link of my one day old blog about Classic Hollywood: https://becausewehavethestars.wordpress.com/ . Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGlad to have you and welcome to the Classic Movie Blogging family!! I glad you chose this blogathon to be among your first :)
DeleteBecause I like to alphabetize my entries, you may have missed this addition. Coffee, Craziness has joined with Steven Spielberg as an entry.
ReplyDeleteOh, forgot the website...
Deletehttps://classicsandcraziness.wordpress.com/
Was just about to go check your post for more entries :)
DeleteI'd love to write about Preston Sturges the Miracle of Morgan's Creek for LA Explorer.
ReplyDeletehttp://la-explorer.com
I've added you. Thanks for joining!
DeleteEva (Coffee Classics and Craziness) wants to bow out. "It Came from the Man Cave" (http://mda4life.blogspot.com/) asked to be added with Sam Raimi and Evil Dead 2. There is also another entry by a Derek Jacob on my page but I haven't heard back from him on a request for a URL.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been keeping up with your page as well as I should. I just now saw L.A. Explorer's entry and I will get it added.
Thanks, I'll update my post.
DeleteHello! Could I do Stanley Donen's Charade from 1963?
ReplyDeleteI blog at anybodygotamatch.wordpress.com
Thanks!
Of course!! I'll add you to the list.
DeleteMy name is Tiffany Brannan, and I am the authoress of the Pure Entertainment Preservation Society at https://pureentertainmentpreservationsociety.wordpress.com. I would like to participate in this blogathon with the subject of the naturalness of films directed by George Cukor. Is that acceptable? Thank you for this opportunity.
ReplyDeleteYours Hopefully,
Tiffany Brannan
That sounds like a fantastic topic!! Looking forward to your post!
DeleteHello ! Can I cover Andrei Tarvosky's style of film-making with his movies Stalker, The Mirror and Solaris ? Here's the link to my blog https://demandedcriticalreviews.wordpress.com/
ReplyDeleteOf course! I will add you to the list.
Deletehttps://demandedcriticalreviews.wordpress.com/2017/05/24/the-cinema-of-andrei-tarkovsky/
DeleteThanks Anand! I'll add this to the list going up Friday morning :)
DeleteHi -- I'd like to do D.W. Griffith, concentrating on what is often called his worst film, Scarlet Days, and also one of his greatest, Way Down East.
ReplyDeleteOh, and of course I forgot to link to my blog:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lindajsandahl.net/
Hi, Phyllis -- I sent a request a couple of days ago but maybe it didn't go through. I'd like to do something on D.W. Griffith and two of his films in particular, Scarlet Days and Way Down East.
ReplyDeletehere's a link to my blog: http://www.lindajsandahl.net/
Sorry Linda, yes I saw it. Had a doctors appointment yesterday and forgot to update. Will add it later today. Looking forward to your post! It sounds interesting!
DeleteThanks, Phyllis!
DeleteHere's my post, a couple days early: https://cinematicscribblings.wordpress.com/2017/05/24/the-quintessential-ozu-late-spring-1949/ Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGreat! I'll add it to the post going up Friday :)
DeleteHey, Phyl! I've published my post a few days early:
ReplyDeletehttp://loveletterstooldhollywood.blogspot.com/2017/05/mr-wilder-mr-baxter-and-ms-kubelik.html
Thanks for co-hosting this! I'm really excited to read the other posts!
Awesome! I'll add it to Friday's post :)
DeletePhyl-
ReplyDeleteChris @ Angelman's Place has posted his review of Rosemary's Baby a day early
https://angelman.blogspot.com/2017/05/rosemarys-baby-1968.html
Great! I'll add it to my post going up early Friday morning. As you can see, I already have had three entries in the comments above.
DeleteI'll get those added too. shortly. I've scheduled my post for the blogathon to go live a midnight (CST)
DeleteDear Phyllis,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for this opportunity. Here is my article: https://wordpress.com/post/pureentertainmentpreservationsociety.wordpress.com/2030. I hope your blogathon is a great success. Have a happy Memorial Day weekend.
Yours Hopefully,
Tiffany Brannan
I am glad you were able to join, Tiffany. I will add it to the post soon. Looking forward to reading it! I hope you have a great weekend as well :)
DeleteHere's my post: http://la-explorer.com/spotlight-miracle-morgans-creek/
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!