4 Directors and Their Unlikely Films
It seems that, more often than not, a director will stick to one or two genres. Who’d blame him? He develops a passion and skill for a style at the outset, it’s successful, and he keeps going. Why should he reinvent himself when he doesn’t want to, or doesn’t feel the need? But even the likes of George Lucas and David Lynch have thrown away the molds from time to time. (Clips also follow)…
You might not be able to guess who directed this childhood classic.
GEORGE LUCAS – American Graffiti… The man behind the Star Wars saga took us to a land of drag races and soda shops before Luke Skywalker even graced the silver screen. In 1973, he premiered American Graffiti, a nostalgic look at the early ’60s in Southern California. The film was made up of short segments involving teens over the course of one night. To say it was the perfect lead-in to Happy Days, which premiered the following year, is an understatement. Ron Howard starred in both, although he didn’t play the same character. The film also marks the first time Harrison Ford worked with Lucas. Graffiti garnered the director his first Oscar nominations…
TIM BURTON – Pee-wee’s Big Adventure… Yeah, that’s right. The first feature film from the Modern Master of the Macabre starred everyone’s favorite manic, bow-tied manchild. While many of Burton’s films are wild, creepy mindtrips, Adventure is not. Sure it has a psychic and a crazy truck driver but in the end, it’s just about a goofy guy trying to recover his shiny red bike. The film followed a stage show/HBO special that introduced us to Herman. Paul Reubens went on to play the character in the national show Pee-wee’s Playhouse, and recently returned to the stage. Up next? A big-screen adaptation of the show due next year, and another film similar to Big Adventure, in which he is working with 40-Year-Old Virgin director Judd Apatow. (Sounds fitting, right?) Okay, so this clip is actually a little creepy…
MICHAEL MOORE – Canadian Bacon… Before he became the most popular face (and Michigan State hat) in documentary filmmaking, Moore directed, wrote, and produced a comedy. But not one made up of sarcastic jabs at conservative politicians – rather, a screwball flick about an American President who starts a war with his country’s “hat” – Canada. In his last role before his death, veteran funnyman John Candy is up to his usual antics when he plays a U.S. Sheriff who leads the fight. The film also stars Alan Alda, Rhea Perlman, and Moore as a gun-wielding anti-Canuck. Despite his monumental success in the past decade, Moore bombed with this movie, which cost $11 million and made $178 THOUSAND – yes, THOUSAND – in the U.S…
DAVID LYNCH – The Straight Story… This one’s a full 180°. Since 1976, Lynch has been twisting viewers’ minds with tales of disfigured people and surreal happenings. Viewers can expect one thing with his films: they don’t know what to expect. Even critics debate what they mean, and Lynch isn’t one to divulge anything deeper than the surface. So you wouldn’t expect him to direct a Disney yarn. But that’s exactly what he did in 1999 with this TRUE tale of a WWII vet who rides 250 miles on his John Deere tractor to visit his dying brother.
I was 11 when I saw it in theaters with my friend and his parents. Probably my first independent film experience. I was touched by its real-life drama and it opened my eyes to cinema like that. I must admit I haven’t seen any of Lynch’s other work. (They’re on my endless “to-watch” list.) It’s ironic though that his least-known work was so influential to me, ten years before I even knew about him…
On his attraction to the story…
But maybe Lynch’s most surprising credit is as the voice of, and inspiration for, Gus the bartender on the Family Guy-spinoff, The Cleveland Show. Even David Lynch’s truth is stranger than his fiction. Watch it to believe it (start at the ’1:05 remaining’ mark)…
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0039HWM84
