Inspired by/nicking the premise from, a successful recent thread…
For years now, my mates and I have pondered the answer to one of life’s great questions: which actor/director has the best run of three consecutive movies to their name?
The rules are simple:
* While the movies must be consecutive, you can ignore TV movies or shows if they’re obscure;
* You can mingle actor and director credits if you like (i.e. acted in one movie, directed another), but only those two roles – no producer credits, or similar – sadly this rules out Dan Aykroyd’s consecutive writing credits on The Blues Brothers, Ghostbusters and Dragnet;
* Cameos don’t count. They need to have been in the thing for more than one scene, and not playing themselves; and
* Imdb is your friend.
Bisto recently made one of the best suggestions I’ve ever heard in this field, citing Rob Reiner’s 86-89 run of:
Stand By Me
The Princess Bride
When Harry Met Sally.
Other notable entries to beat include the (rather obvious, but still sparkling) De Niro ’73 to ’76 run of:
Mean Streets
The Godfather Part II
Taxi Driver
There are also unlikely gems such as Forest Whitaker’s 86-87 run of The Colour of Money, Platoon, and Stakeout.
Think you can beat the above? Over to you…
Oooh great, a list.
Showing my age here, but John Schlesinger.
A Kind of Loving
Billy Liar
Darling (COME ON, there’s Julie Christie).
A bonus fourth – Far from Madding Crowd – “when you look there shall I be, when I look up there shall you be”.
Dear MrDodger,
Why did you dodge the 60s movies thread? That wonderful trio belong there so I’m nicking them.
Can you believe it? We’ve had not one mention of the gorgeous, iconic Ms Christie there yet?
What is the AW coming to?
Yours sincerely
Disgruntled of Tunbridge Wells
PS
Great idea for a thread, Bingo.
Apologies KFD, will do 100 lines later.
In the meantime, Peter Sellers.
I’m Alright Jack
Two Way Stretch (probably the greatest British film of all time)
Battle of the Sexes.
No apology needed of course.
And thanks for two more films here for my 60s list too.
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger – who took co-credits for writing, directing and producing.
Whether you start the three-in-a-row at the first, second, third or fourth in this list, these are great films, with no duds.
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
A Canterbury Tale (1944)
I Know Where I’m Going! (1945)
A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
Black Narcissus (1947)
The Red Shoes (1948)
Black Narcissus is set in a remote seraglio up in the freezing climes of the high Himalayas, and yet David Farrar’s character spends the whole time prancing around half-naked, displaying his immensely hairy chest to the nuns.
Did this man not feel the cold? You’re not telling me they had a decent central heating system up there, because I don’t buy that for one minute!
http://thefilmsthething.blogspot.se/2014/03/blind-spot-black-narcissus.html
Kathleen Byron.
*sighs heavily*.
Michael Powell’s biography is excellent – well worth digging out.
Btw – he talks in it about how black narcissus was filmed at Pinewood using glass sheets with snow covered mountains painted on …
By the by, if, like me, you think A Matter of Life and Death is one of the greatest films ever made and you’re in easy reach of London you will want to know that it is showing on Britain’s biggest screen at the BFI IMAX in Waterloo soon – 23 November at 6:30pm. https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp?BOparam%3A%3AWScontent%3A%3AloadArticle%3A%3Apermalink=matter-of-life-and-death&BOparam%3A%3AWScontent%3A%3AloadArticle%3A%3Acontext_id
Coen Brothers:
Fargo
The Big Lebowski
O Brother Where Art Thou
That’s an excellent shout – pretty much the three movies that define them to this day. For some reason I thought the fairly honking Man Who Wasn’t There came ahead of O Brother.
I think I’d say that’s my favourite run of three from any film directors ever.
Terry Gilliam had quite a run with Time Bandits, Brazil and Baron Munchausen
I love Baron Munchausen so much. You may have just determined this evening’s viewing.
Alternatively, Hitchcock:
Vertigo
North by Northwest
Psycho
Mel Brooks, Director:
Blazing Saddles – 1974
Young Frankenstein – 1974
Silent Movie – 1976
…and the bonus-ball:
High Anxiety – 1977
Perfect comedy viewing for the 15-18YOs that my friends and I were at the time, and we laughed til the tears ran down our legs.
Ooh – I’ve not seen Silent Movie! Is it up to the standards of Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein? Please say it is!
Non!
John Carpenter:
Halloween
The Fog
Escape From New York
You can also have The Thing as a bonus ball if you like.
And if you want to make it a double hat trick, stick Assault on Precinct 13 and Dark Star on the front.
That’s an insane run of movies, across multiple genres.
And he writes great soundtracks too. That menacing synth riff from Assault on Precint 13 is a killer, as indeed is the whole movie.
Have an Up!
The Marx Brothers.
The Cocoanuts (1929)
Animal Crackers (1930)
Monkey Business (1931)
Horse Feathers (1932)
Duck Soup (1933)
A Night at the Opera (1935)
A Day at the Races (1937)
Is the definitive correct answer. Specifically: Horse Feathers, Duck Soup and A Night at the Opera.
Well played, sir.
Yes it is!*
(*I think. Donkey’s since I’ve seen it and I can’t remember it in any detail, but I do remember that we enjoyed it.)
Tom Cruise.
Risky Business (1983)
Legend (1985)
Top Gun (1986)
The Color of Money (1986)
Cocktail (1988) (I know, I know … some people like it)
Rain Man (1988)
Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
Days of Thunder (1990)
Far and Away (1992)
A Few Good Men (1992)
The Firm (1993)
Interview with the Vampire (1994)
Mission: Impossible (1996)
Jerry Maguire (1996)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Magnolia (1999)
Mission: Impossible II (2000)
Vanilla Sky (2001)
Minority Report (2002)
Yes! Yes!
To make a truly great three movie run you pretty much have to include Cocktail, which is all as well, since I love it, or make an argument for Far and Away or Born on the Fourth of July.
I think you’ve also missed out All The Right Moves , which comes between Risky Business and Legend.
The above is Cruise’s clear imperial phase. Absolutely nobody can boast a virtually unbroken run of success like that.
I really thought that H P was Cruising for a bruising there, but then I looked at the list.
No fluff at all.
Hmpf. That’s all. Humpf. (We clearly have a very different definitions of “fluff”.)
Cruise is a nutbar, but he’s the nutbar who saved Hollywood. Whether “one” likes him or his work is really beside the point – his string of box office successes is uneaqualled and unarguable. If you’re cable-hopping and you land on a Cruise movie, the chances are that you won’t click away. He can’t be dismissed as populist trash, either – the man can act, his choices are always interesting and sometimes surprising, and there is simply no-one else who throws himself into a role with his total singlemindedness – no other actor’s face can be the continuous focus of a two-hour movie. Utterly compelling, utterly bonkers.
Two statements I’d have to disagree with there Sauceman, on account of them being complete bollocks and all:
“His choices are always interesting” and
“No other actor’s face can be the continuous focus of a two-hour movie”.
The first is rather subjective, but you will never convince me there is anything remotely interesting about Far and Away, to cite but one, for I have seen it.
And the second? Surely there are lots of other actors and actresses who can achieve this?
I think it depends what you’re after.
If you want an actor who can deliver a low key supporting performance in a kitchen sink drama then the Cruiser is not your man.
If you want someone to single-handedly star power your new movie about a cocky young real estate agent who’s recruited into a top secret spy agency, then there’s literally never been anyone to top him.
No one has ever been better at being the biggest movie star in the world than Tom Cruise. If you’re not into huge movie stars, he won’t float your boat. But you at least have to respect that he’s good at what he does, and what he does is driving box office.
This article sums it up nicely: http://www.popmatters.com/column/189265-tom-cruise-hollywoods-last-great-movie-star/
Oh, and I find Far and Away interesting. The same way I do Days of Thunder, Eyes Wide Shut and any other movie that stars Cruise opposite his own wife. The resultant lack of sexual chemistry is stratospherically entertaining.
As to actors (including women, who’ve been using this “male” term for a long time, Gary) holding the focus, I can’t offhand think of any other with the clout to be on-screen for the duration of the movie and bring it off. It’s not just egotism, although that plays (ha) a huge role. Cruise has that magnetic presence, and that’s why he was the most important player in the movie business for many years. His movies weren’t box office just because he was a poster-boy. It’s easy to dismiss him as popcorn, but take a look at his work. You can find marquee popcorn, sure, but you can also find strange and brave drama, impenetrable art-house weirdness, and boffo action. None of his movies would be in my top ten, but I do recognise the man’s achievement.
Wow. I bow to no-one in my love of the Cruiser but I have limits.
Days of Thunder (1990)
Far and Away (1992)
Mission: Impossible II (2000)
Interview with the Vampire (1994)
Corny and cornier then camp and camper.
Mauritz; well, yes.
I think Edge Of Tomorrow was my favourite movie of last year
That is indeed a list of Tom Cruise films, but there are only about 3 in total that I would say are in the good to very good category.
Let me guess: Legend, Vanilla Sky, MI:2.
You’re quite right, the rest are stone cold classics.
Ken Loach
How much more Loach could these three consecutive films be? None. None more Loach.
Riff-Raff (1991)
Raining Stones (1993)
Ladybird Ladybird (1994)
Chris Pratt
Parks and Recreation (TV)
The Lego Movie (voice)
Guardians of the Galaxy
Jurassic World
OK. Not quite in the same league as some of the trios presented here, but a pretty impressive innings for a comparatively new talent.
Lindsay Anderson
What a leap in style and approach over ten years.
This Sporting Life (1963)
If (1968)
O Lucky Man (1973)
Ian Bannen
Fright (1971)
Doomwatch (1972)
The Offence (1973)
Matt Damon
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Rounders (1998)
Bill Murray
Caddyshack (1980
Stripes (1981)
Tootsie (1982)
Steve Martin
Roxanne (1987)
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
Billy Wilder
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Ace in the Hole (1951)
Stalag 17 (1953)
Dario Argento:
Profundo Rosso (1975)
Suspiria (1977)
Inferno (1980)
(and then arguably Tenebrae (1982))
Bonkers the lot of them – and brilliant.
Aha! I immediately thought Argento, but for me the problem is Inferno, which sucks.
He pulled it back in magnificent style with Tenebrae, of course, but after Profondo Rosso and Suspiria, Inferno has to be counted as a major disappointment.
Johnny Depp had a great run. I’d especially pick Gilbert Grape, Ed Wood and Dead Man as three-in-a-row.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Platoon (1986)
Cry-Baby (1990)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Benny & Joon (1993)
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
Ed Wood (1994)
Dead Man (1995)
Don Juan DeMarco (1995)
Donnie Brasco (1997)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
*ALARM* *ALARM*
You’ve missed out not only 1985’s “Private Resort”, but also 1992’s “Arizona Dream”.
This is no place for edited highlights. Legit sequences only, please.
Yellow card.
Al Pacino had a decent run of two three-in-a rows back to back between 1971 and 1975:
Panic in Needle Park
The Godfather
Scarecrow
Serpico
The Godfather Part II
Dog Day Afternoon
(Later on, of course, you could probably find several runs of three turkeys in a row from the same actor.)
*does noddy to camera*
Woody Allen has had a couple of good runs in the 70’s and 80’s
Sleeper
Love and Death
Annie Hall
then
Zelig
Broadway Danny Rose
Purple Rose of Cairo
Hannah and her Sisters
Sadly Interiors and Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy break a line that could have stretched through Manhattan to Stardust Memories
This post got me wondering when Scenes From a Mall was released. I hadn’t realised Woody didn’t actually direct it, although it makes sense.
Researching the director (Paul Mazursky) lead me, in turn, to this:
What in the name of all that’s holy?! Has anyone seen this movie?
Yes. It’s OK, but rather depressing IIRC. The Russian accent is what it is of course…
I just feel I should have been informed that there was a peak-era Robin William movie in which he played a Russian defector in New York.
It’s scarcely possible to imagine that the movie could be entirely without merit.
Is it not a comedy? With that pack shot?
I haven’t seen it in ages, so I could be wrong, but I remember it as more depressing than LOL funny, but I’m sure there are those kind of scenes as well (although if my memories are correct – wasn’t he a Russian circus clown? I can’t stand clown humour, so that might have been why I didn’t find it funny…)
As a fan of Woody Allen there’s a lot to choose from, but my favourite run of three would be 1993-96:
Manhattan Murder Mystery
Bullets Over Broadway
Mighty Aphrodite
But rarely three in a row – damn you interiors being between Annie Hall and Manhatten
The incomparable John Cazale (1935-1978)
He only made five films. And all five were classics.
1972 The Godfather
1974 The Conversation
1974 The Godfather Part II
1975 Dog Day Afternoon
1978 The Deer Hunter
*makes leg, courtly flourish of kerchief*
An unimpeachable selection, duc, a wonderful, mesmerising screen presence.
I only learned recently that his health was so bad during The Deerhunter that the film producers were unable to get proper insurance & health cover for him, jeopardising his participation. The story goes that De Niro covered his costs so that he could act in what they all knew would be his last film. Top man.
Harrison Ford
The Empire Strikes Back
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Blade Runner
Nic Roeg
Performance
Walkabout
Don’t Look Now
The Nic Roeg hat-trick is bwilliant. What a strange talent.
Meryl Streep
Almost all of the people nominated so far have been gents, so lets have Ms Streep.
She was in tip-top form in these three movies:
Sophie’s Choice 1982
Silkwood 1983
Falling in Love 1984
Yes actress runs, more please. Stretching a bit for Kathleen Turner:
Body Heat
The Man With Two Brains
Romancing The Stone
then
Prizzi’s Honour
Jewel of the Nile
Peggy Sue Got Married
She had a good eighties didn’t she?
Rather than the second three, I’d go for Switching Channels, The Accidental Tourist and The War of the Roses. Three great movies.
I agree the ‘charm’ of Romancing the Stone had pretty much worn off in the sequel and Michael Douglas is deeply dislikeable in it. The first trio is pure gold though. Not seen the first two of your alternative KT trio.
Switching Channels is a lovely, if ill remembered, little 80s comedy starring Turner at the centre of a love triangle between Burt Reynolds (!) and a rarely-better Christopher Reeves. It’s not exactly Battleship Potemkin, but it’s great fun and eminently rewatchable.
I totally agree re: Jewel of the Nile. It fails to capture the charm of its forebear – for some reason the chemistry just isn’t there, although obviously it gave rise to a fantastic music video:
When I was a little kid, we owned two VHS tapes in my house. One was Romancing the Stone, the other was The Blues Brothers. I must have watched each of them a hundred times, I never came close to getting sick of them and to this day I’m overjoyed when either crops up on the box.
Probably the greatest failure of Jewel of the Nile is it’s terrible omission of a scene in which Michael Douglas, attending a late night party in a remote Colombian jungle village, decides to attend wearing a white jumpsuit and to bust out the sort of hip swinging dance moves that can probably get you pregnant at a hundred paces.
To this day, whenever I find myself on the dancefloor, I channel Douglas in that scene. With moves such as those, it’s little wonder he struggled with sex addiction. The music is a tune as well.
That acting is good (always is), but Falling in Love is a pretty terrible film.
Juliette Binoche [sighs heavylier than GCU Grey Area for Kathleen Byron], Actor:
The ‘Three Colours’ trilogy – 1993-94.
Objection m’lud! Not to the great Juliette of course, but you can only call Blue her film. She appeared in Red only as a cameo in the final sequence, and as I recall, wasn’t in White at all.
Having checked again, she did appear in White, but as inn Red,only a very short cameo.
Objection sustained. To be honest, I had no recollection of how much she appeared in any of those films, only that she did, and that they were well-received . What I did remember was just the bliss of being able to gaze at Juliette Binoche in 3 fillums in 2 years.
What I reeeaaallly wanted to do, though, was find 3 great films on the bounce starring Irene Jacob, but sadly she did 5 between The Double Life of Veronique (1991) and Three Colours: Red (1994).
Still, Irene Jacob and Juliette Binoche in the same film though…
I’M TALKING ABOUT THE BRILLIANT ACTING!!!!
*Goes for a lie down*
Love Binoche in Blue but surely it’s Kieslowski who deserves the honour! If we’re allowed to include the whole Decalog that’s fourteen great pieces of work in a row 🙂
(A pedant speaks) Decalogue was originally of course a TV series. A Short Film About Killing and About Love were then re-made for the cinema so you should really have:
Killing
Love
Veronique
Blue
White
Red
Still a completely awesome six in a row.
Nine on the trot from FFC:
The Godfather
The Conversation
The Godfather pt2
Apocalypse Now
One From The Heart
The Outsiders
Rumble Fish
The Cotton Club
Peggy Sue Got Married
I realise I may be the only person on the planet who loved One From The Heart but it is my list after all
I think the Cotton Club is more in the ‘I may be the only one…’ than OFTH
Wim Wenders (German Version):
Im Lauf der Zeit (King Of The Road) 1976
Der Amerikanische Freund (The American Friend) 1977
Nick’s Film (Lightning Over Water) 1980
Wim Wenders (International Version):
Paris, Texas 1984
Wings Of Desire 1987
Until The End Of The World 1991
Michael Cimino:
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
The Deerhunter
Heaven’s Gate
Wes Anderson
Rushmore
The Royal Tenenbaums
The Life Aquatic
Katherine Hepburn
Bringing Up Baby
Holiday
The Philadelphia Story
Clint Eastwood.
Million dollar baby
Flags of our fathers
letters from Iwo Jima.
Béla Tarr:
Damnation
Satantango
Werckmeister Harmonies
The Man From London
The Turin Horse
None more rigorously bum-achingly arthouse.
That early 70s Fellini triple bill:
I Clowns
Roma
Amarcord
Unfortunately the hot 60s double bill of La Dolce Vita and 8 1/2 were bookended by the depressing Nights of Cabiria and that old Goat’s Head Souper of Fellini films, Juliet of the Spirits.
Icons of the 70s.
Jack Nicholson:
The King of Marvin Gardens
The Last Detail
Chinatown
The Passenger
sadly The Fortune comes before One Flew Over.
William Friedkin:
The French Connection
The Exorcist
Sorcerer
You’re a brave man praising Sorcerer after the vicious clubbing I got recently! “Patchy” doesn’t begin to describe his output, but I highly rate To Live And Die In LA and Killer Joe.
Not exactly close chronologically but Pete Docter didn’t direct any other movies between
Monsters Inc
Up
&
Inside Out
He also pretty much wrote all three. And he should get extra points for staying well clear of Monsters University..
No ones mentioned Kubrick yet (I think!)
Paths of Glory
Spartacus (The least Kubrick of his films)
Lolita
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
2001: A Space Odyssey
A Clockwork Orange
Barry Lyndon
The Shining
Full Metal Jacket
Eyes Wide Shut (which I think makes the list, it’s improved with age)
I agree about EWS.
Which three are you picking for your run? I’m guessing Strangelove, 2001, Clockwork Orange….
Dead right, no one has done better than those three.
It’s certainly a high bar.
That said, the older I get, the less I get on with A Clockwork Orange. It seemed like utter genius when I was 16, but increasingly I find it’s my least favourite Kubrick.
If I had to pick a run of three Kubricks, it would be … er … hmm … can we make it two in a row? Or overall lifetime genius award?
Eyes Wide Shut; the inside to 2001’s outside. 2001 is about what is happening out there, beyond us, and uses the most expansive format possible. EWS has the claustrophobic quality of a stage set, and is concerned with what’s happening inside the mind of the protagonist. Kubrick even preferred the 4:3 ratio – the proportions of a theatre stage. Both movies feature almost catatonically remote performances from the leading male – they’re both adrift, Keir Dullea in outer space, Tom Cruise in inner. Both are under a numb imperative to “wake up”.
Burt Lancaster
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Sweet Smell of Success
Run Silent, Run Deep
Michael Caine
Zulu
The Ipcress File
Alfie
this is perhaps MCs only 3 in a row, despite the number of films he has been in
Robert De Niro – what a seventies run
Mean Streets
Godfather II
Taxi Driver
(not seen 1900 or The Last Tycoon
Then
New york New York
The Deer Hunter
Still Raging Bull and The King of Comedy
De Niro and Scorsese together:
Mean Streets
Taxi Driver
New York New York
Raging Bull
Michael Mann (film only, he did TV in between):
Manhunter
The Last of the Mohicans
Heat
The Insider
I fell asleep during The Insider. Twice.
I loved it but it was a long film.
I did during 2001, Barry Lyndon and EWS but many seem to still worship Kubrick.
I fell asleep during every Star Wars movie I’ve seen. Different strokes. But The Insider is carried on the momentum of good will for the director.
Yes it’s quite a dry subject but Russell Crowe, Al Pacino (who doesn’t shout too much) and notably Christopher Plummer are all excellent. And the bonus is Michael Gambon as a slithery tobacco boss.
The “McConaissance” started here
Bernie 2011
Killer Joe 2011
Mud 2012
Are you confessing to stalking Matthew McConaughey?
Gah what about this then?
Scanners
Videodrome
The Dead Zone
The Fly
Dead Ringers
Naked Lunch
Then M Butterfly which is (I’m guessing, never seen it) a bit pants as has been pretty buried
Crash
Existenz
Spider
A History of Violence
Eastern Promises
The incomparable Mr Cronenberg. Mind you watching Cosmopolis at the moment and it is awful. DOA from start to finish.
Bill Forsyth?
Have to confess I can’t remember Comfort and Joy that well now, but Gregory’s Girl and Local Hero are the biz.
Is he the Dexys of cinema? – three biffters in the early eighties and then coasting somewhat on firmly established legend foundations…
Oh, but his real masterpiece IMO was That Sinking Feeling before GG, so that’s still three in a row.
Yeah I loved That Sinking Feeling but – careful to stay within Bingo’s parameters – I IMDb’d Mr Forsyth and discovered he directed another film – Andrina (me neither) – between TSF and GG.,
Plus it totally ruins my Dexys analogy
(Ooh Clare Grogan, seeing you in that dress, my thoughts I confess, well they’re dirty..)
Plus as I remember Comfort and Joy wasn’t so great. GG and Local Hero are immortal however
“Comfort & Joy” is utterly wonderful, possibly my favourite Christmas movie! “Gregory’s Girl”, “Local Hero” & “Comfort…” are all in my top 20 films of all-time (GG is number one).
Andrina was made for TV – BBC to be exact so doesn’t count according to the OP. I’m going with That Sinking Feeling, Gregory’s Girl and Local Hero as his three in a row, though I’d drop TSF for the wonderful Housekeeping if that was permitted. I know it isn’t.
Nice work Bamber. Now I can chime in with Locust’s three, although KDH has also convinced me I need to watch Comfort and Joy again, just in case..
(Not familiar with Housekeeping. I see it’s all on YouTube. Will have to watch that…)
That Sinking Feeling is an interesting choice. I hadn’t seen it for decades before I bought a dvd in Fopp in Manchester a month or so ago (it comes with a dubbed sound track for people who find the Glasgow accents too strong). It holds up fairly well, but I would still choose Comfort and Joy over it, for Ricky Fulton’s line ‘Sanity clause!’ alone.
That Sinking Feeling is a work of absolute genius in my book. Understated, subtle and completely brilliant humour; some is verbal, some physical and some hidden in the surroundings. Plus it has heart, for lack of a better description. I absolutely love this film.
Did you get the correct version? Every time I’ve mentioned this film here I’ve been warned that there’s a botched version going around and that the original version apparently is difficult to get hold of. (I wouldn’t know, I’m still watching my original taped-from-TV version on VHS, and that’s the same version I saw in the cinema…)
I bought it very recently, so if there is a duff version it’s probably not this one. I hadn’t seen it for 30 years but it contains all the bits I remembered – the bearded driver, the art collector and so on.
The dubbed version was on US Netflix for some time. They don’t care for subtitles over there, but when they want to f**k with something they just remake it. Probably with Nicolas Cage.
It’s quite easy now to get hold of – there’s a blu-ray/DVD double pack available here, with the right soundtrack, at a very reasonable price:
The DVD version released before it was dubbed, and was quite properly crucified by the fans.
I should have said that the dubbed soundtrack is just an option on the extras of the DVD.
Nicolas Cage
Leaving Las Vegas
The Rock
Con Air
Face/Off
When y’all talking about the Cruiser, I’m thinking of Cage.
Any Nic Cage movie is worth watching for his hair. You can say that about no other movie star.
And you know that part in every Nicolas Cage film where he loses his shit? That’s worth the price of admission alone.
THE BEEEEEEES!!!!!!!!
I have no idea what you are talking about..
Brilliant! And better than I remembered
Fun fact: all that footage was filmed during the course of a single memorable afternoon in 2006, when a camera crew followed Cage for an exclusive, behind-the-scenes glimpse at his private life.
I was totally prepped for Spielberg – Jaws, CE3K, Raiders….but then I checked and 1941 is in there. BUgger.
Raiders
ET
Temple of Doom
That’ll do me.
Temple of Doom’s not all that though, is it?
It’s not a patch on Raiders (or ET, for that matter) but it still does the trick for me. Full of memorable scenes.
Hirokazu Koreeda
Still Walking
I Wish
Like Father, Like Son
three of the finest movies you will ever see
John Landis
The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)
National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978)
The Blues Brothers (1980)
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Trading Places (1983)
The 5 in a row run may be broken by 2 acting credits in The Muppet Movie (1979)
1941 (1979), but that would still give him 3 in a row
Landis has always been a popular answer when this game has been played in the past.
It says something for a filmography when An American Werewolf in London is bemoaned as “getting in the way”.
Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker (or a combination thereof)
Together:
The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)
Airplane! (1980)
Top Secret! (1984)
Ruthless People (1986)
The Naked Gun (1988)
David Zucker gets an extra point for Naked 2½ (1991)
on second thoughts …
I cannot defend Ruthless People as a truly great film
I both can, and indeed will. Any film with both Midler and De Vito can just shut up and take my money.
Martin Scorcese
Raging Bull
King of Comedy
After Hours
David Lynch
The Elephant Man
(Let us gloss over Dune)
Blue Velvet
Wild at Heart
Twin Peaks Fire Walk with Me
Lost Highway
Almodovar
All about my Mother
Talk to Her
Bad Education
Volver
Can’t think of anyone who’s matched that in recent years
This is harder than you’d think, isn’t it? Have googled any number of favourite and admired actors and directors and truth is, for every brilliant film there’s a crap one in there as well…..
That’s where the fun is.
It’s also a great way to discover new films from your favourites. OK, most of them are crap and just muck up the three you were going for, but even so…
Lukas Moodysson
Show Me Love
Together
Lilya 4 Ever
Sam Peckinpah
The Wild Bunch
Ballad of Cable Hogue
Straw Dogs
I rewatched The Wild Bunch recently and I was grievously disappointed. Peckinpah is the Space Dust of movie directors.
cf SteveT’s nostalgia thread…I haven’t seen The Wild Bunch for, oh, 46 years.
Live with, and enjoy, your memories!
Right HP….I have to take issue. The Wild Bunch is magnificent and much imitated (which might be why its impact has lessened for you) and I will also raise a shout for the wonderful Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid as well as Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia and Cross of Iron. Even lesser Peckinpah is worth something. Ride the High Country, The Getaway, Major Dundee and The Killer Elite.
That’s fightin’ talk, pardner! It was a real slog getting through The Wild Bunch again recently. It seems crude and laboured and heavy-handed. Shots are lingered on until even a dog would understand the symbolism. The kids with the scorpion and the ants in the interminable opening sequence – we get it, awready!
I was blown away by it when I first saw it, and I fully appreciate the influence it (and Straw Dogs) had at the time. Not necessarily a good influence. We have Peckinpah to thank for the slo-mo blood spurts that have splattered cinema screens ever since.
Now – get off your horse and drink your milk.
Here’s a couple of articles that might let you at least think about Peckinpah a bit. One from the brilliant critic Roger Ebert:
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-wild-bunch-1969
http://www.deepfocusreview.com/reviews/wildbunch.asp
Oh god no! the last thing I need is to think a bit. Or have someone else’s more knowledgable opinion replace my own happy prejudice thankyouverymuch.
Jane Fonda had a great run in the 60s and 70s – probably the best three in a row would be Barbarella, They Shoot Horses Don’t They? and Klute.
Bit of a bumpy ride, but Mike Leigh.
Life is Sweet
Naked
Secrets and Lies
Oh yes! Massive Mike Leigh fan here.
Peter Strickland:
Katalin Varga
Berberian Sound Studio
The Duke Of Burgundy
Ben Wheatley:
Down Terrace
Kill List
Sightseers
A Field In England
John Hurt (1978-1980)
Midnight Express
Alien
Elephant Man
Hard to beat that run…
Wow – that’s a fantastic spot. Well played.
Surprised we’ve got this far down the thread without a mention of this: Knüt Gnük’s “Herring” trilogy, a prolonged and gruelling 14-hour meditation on loss, remains the pinnacle of Finnish auteur cinema.
Yksinäinen Huuto Sillin (1956)
Yö Sillin (1978)
Julmuuden Sillin (2015)
The long breaks between works were taken to recover from “the despair of filming”. The first in the trilogy was famously silent, the second had one word (“lima”) coninuously repeated by all the actors, and for the third Gnük replaced all the actors’ speech with the Tuvan Throat Singers. Gnük’s suicide this year came after his long-delayed “Ossie” for Persistence In Cinema at the prestigious Kultainen Strutsi ceremony in Неллимс.
Yoko Ono
Film No. 4 (Bottoms) (1966)
Two Virgins (1968), a portrait film consisting of super-impositions of John’s and Yoko’s faces.
Film No. Five (Smile) (1968)
Rape (1969) a young woman is relentlessly pursued by a camera crew.
It’s a laugh a minute with Yoko.
Initially banned in the UK, Film No. 4 was eventually granted a certificate in edited form. Consisting of extreme close-ups of (theoretically) 365 arses, some of them with famous owners apparently.
I went to see Film No.4 (alone) at a small cinema on Charing Cross Road in the late 60s. There were only around a dozen people in the cinema, several of them wearing raincoats. I’ve no idea why.
I used to work with someone whose arse was in Film No. 4. How he didn’t get Best Supporting Buttocks come Oscar time I’ll never know.
I daresay many of the buttocks themselves would need support these days.
Thank you. I’m here all week – & etc
It was a bum rap.
You’ve got a cheek!
Can I butt in at this point?
Give us a ring sometime
Franklin J Schaffner
Planet Of The Apes
Patton
Nicholas and Alexandra
I should point out that I went to see Yoko’s frankly rubbishy film at the cinema in 1969-ish not to perve over lots of ladies botties, but as a show of unfettered devotion to the (then still extant) Beatles in all their myriad forms. Oh yes
Andrey Zvyagintsev
I’d like to say this run of four:
The Return (2003)
The Banishment (2007)
Elena (2011)
Leviathan (2014)
The trouble is, I haven’t actually seen “The Banishment”, so I can hardly include it in my list.
Still, at least three genuine masterpieces out of four is a pretty handy record.
Has any Afterworder actually seen The Banishment?
Anyone else have one of those “it’s a bit quiet here today” then realise there’s a thread going on where anybody who is anybody is chirping away?
Ah, well.
Andrei Tarkovsky
Solaris
The Mirror
Stalker
Haven’t dared watched any of them in years just in case….
You’re on safe ground – they’re all still fantastic.
Depending on how you feel about his style, there could be a long list for Ken Russell….or possibly not.
… we should really reassess Alan Smithee’s oeuvre before tackling Ken’s.
John Sayles:
City Of Hope
Passion Fish
The Secret Of Roan Inish
Lone Star
Four terrific films, all very different, all of which he wrote as well. He also did a great cameo acting role in City Of Hope. His first three films were pretty darn good too: Return Of The Secaucus Seven, Lianna and Baby It’s You.
Then there’s Jane Campion:
Sweetie
An Angel At My Table
The Piano
Portrait Of A Lady
For acting I’d nominate Kristin Scott Thomas:
Tell No One
The Walker
I’ve Loved You So Long
And another actor I really like, Martin Donovan:
Flirt
Hollow Reed
Portrait Of A Lady
I was going to cite John Sayles, but my three are:
Matewan
Eight Men Out
City Of Hope
Perhaps the youngest Three In A Row?
Jodie Foster with:
Taxi Driver
Bugsy Malone
Freaky Friday (or does this belong in the nostalgia thread?)
It’s A Wonderful Life
Rear Window
Vertigo
The winner?
Not according to the rules in the OP as they are far from consecutive.
Jimmy Stewart was my first thought but the best three in a row I could get was Winchester 73, Broken Arrow and Harvey.
How about.
Destry Rides Again.
The Shop Around The Corner.
The Philadelphia Story.
Not too shabby.
You’re right. I am an idiot. Sloppy research.
Has anyone mentioned David Lean yet? Two corking runs from him:
1946-48
Brief Encounter
Great Expectations
Oliver Twist
And then 1957-65
Bridge Over the River Kwai
Lawrence of Arabia
Doctor Zhivago
Ooh, you’ve made the same mistake as me, BlueBoy!
I was discussing David Lean’s films with my Dad, who’s a big film buff.
I mentioned “Bridge Over the River Kwai”, and there’s no such title.
It’s “The Bridge ON the River Kwai”.
I don’t know … perhaps we were influenced too much by Paul Simon’s “Bridge over Troubled Water”?
Gahhh!!!! *Slopes away in embarrassment…*
And at the same time as David Lean was putting that first run in, Powell and Pressburger were coming up with
A Matter of Life and Death
Black Narcissus
The Red Shoes
David Lean takes us to Alex Guinness. At the beginning of his career he followed Great Expectations and Oliver Twist with the magnificent Kind Hearts and Coronets
That’s Alec, of course…
Kevin Spacey as lead actor?
The Usual Suspects
Se7en
LA Confidential
My man James Cameron (always a bit of an Afterword posterboy):
Aliens ’86
The Abyss ’89 (come on, you thought it was pretty good back before he became unhip!)
T2 ’91
I was thinking Cameron as well, but I would have started with the first Terminator, which is so brilliantly focused and relentless. Then Aliens is one of the greatest sequels / action / war movies ever made, and, yeah, I liked The Abyss as well.
and while we’re on the Alien franchise, if only Jean Pierre Jeunet hadn’t done Alien Resurrection in the middle of Delicatessen, City Of Lost Children and Amelie
Playing this game makes you realise how mental it is that Cameron has effectively made just 7 movies in 35 years.
So hard to choose between Terminator and T2. The opening 40 minutes of Terminator are probably the smartest and most creative of Cameron’s entire career, but T2 is, was and will remain the absolute gold standard for the action blockbuster. It’s just impossibly exciting on every level.
Set pieces never equalled. Also, the CGI remains effective. Love the way everyone crashes into an iron foundry at the end. Not a second wasted in that movie.
Merchant/Ivory, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala:
Heast And Dust ’83
The Bostonians ’84
A Room With A View ’85
Satyajit Ray.
Pather Panchali ’55
Aparajito ’56
The Music Room ’58
Michaelangelo Antonioni:
L’Avventura ’60
La Notte ’61
L’Eclisse ’62
Or possibly
Blow-up
Zabriskie Point
The Passenger
Yupsie!
Adolf Frutschi:
They Came For Our Skis ’68
The Strudel That Cried ’69
I Forgot My Pyjamas ’69
Sorry, we can’t allow that one, Saucey.
In late ’68, Frutschi put out the disastrous “Conditions Ideal Here at the Bügel-Fügelstraße”.
Yebbut Frutschi had his name removed from that and it went out under “Adolf Smithee”.
A fruity threesome. Time is surely ripe for a Frutschi retrospective?
Now that H P has championed these lost masterpieces, Adolf could soon become the apple of the AW’s eye.
This* is a response to Keef’s reply, waaaay up there, to Bingo’s query about Silent Movie…
…Ha! The penny’s just dropped! Good reference.
Though of course, the true answer is that Silent Movie is very good.
(I’m posting from my phone, so…)
Doh ! Peter Weir.
He had an amazing run.
Gallipoli
Year of living dangerously
Witness
Followed up with The Mosquito Coast, Dead Poets Society, and then Green Card, not on a par with his first three which were superb.
Shurely shome mishtake Moneypenny. They’ve forgotten me!
Sean Connery
Marnie
Goldfinger
The Hill
Now there’s variety for you.
Oliver Stone had a pretty good 80s
Salvador
Platoon
Wall Street
If you ignore his documentary Atlantis, which is TV length and essentially an appendix to The Big Blue, Luc Besson has a three in a row of
The Big Blue
La Femme Nikita
Leon
(That’s about 90% of his best work, although I have a soft spot for The Fifth Element and The Adventures Of Adele Blanc Sec myself..,)
OK. How about Roy Scheider:
Marathon Man
Jaws
Sorceror
Eh? Eh? Eh?
… and another vote for Sorcerer. Great movie.
Reckoned by Friedken to be his best movie – interesting given The French Connection & The Exorcist were his. Definitely more than a simple remake of the fabulous Wages Of Fear. The DVD should be approached with caution – it’s a bit of a balls up – the ratio is wrong & not how the movie was shot. The Blu-Ray is fab apparently. Dunno ain’t got a BR player.
I think there is a remastered DVD in the correct ratio, but it’s not easy to spot by the packaging. This version – the widescreen – is on a torrent, and it’s a revelation.
Final one from me. Late period Robert Mitchum.
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
The Yakuza
Farewell My Lovely
Mamie Van Doren:
Vice Raid
College Confidential
Sex Kittens Go To College
… all from 1960!!! BEAT THAT!!! No, you can’t.
Mary Millington:
Keep It Up Downstairs
Come Play With Me
The Playbirds
Naughty Nymphos Volumes III, IV, V.
The series had really hit its stride by the third instalment and the close attention viewers paid to earlier apparently minor plot developments and characters was rewarded (SPOILER – who would have guessed that so much of the meta plot depended on the plumber and the housewife?) The everyday tales of the love lives of seemingly disparate characters, making fleeting connections as they drifted alone through a dark and uncaring universe, were revealed as a powerful portrait of the human condition in the late twentieth century.
Sadly by the time volume VI rolled around they had begun to believe their own publicity and what had been fresh and spontaneous became turgid and ponderous. The scripts became stale, the performances jejune, and goodness knows what the lighting director thought he was adding to matters. Never mind, we still have those three classics to keep of warm on long winter’s nights.
How you can call Helga Aufrecht-Brustwarzen’s (uncredited) triple BBC ATM “jejeune” is beyond me, and tellingly undermines the credibility of your deconstructionist stance. Also, Brent Kelly’s lighting uses his signature “flat field” reflector as an ironic signifier of depthlessness, something every student of the genre recognises. Volume VI has long been the subject of a deep critical assessment that has somehow eluded you.
Please read the rules in the OP.
They changed director for Volume V, and none of the cast from III ever made a repeat appearance.
You can have the inferior run of I, II and III, but that means including the series’ still controversial brush with freestyle rap erotica, and that sequence in II where everyone’s crying.
Did I miss someone mentioning Steven Soderbergh? I’d have
The Limey
Erin Brockovich
Traffic
Spike Lee, 1989 – 91
Do the Right Thing
Mo’ Better Blues
Jungle Fever
Bob, Phil, Mark, Tim, Jerry, Stuart, Tom, Dave:
– Despicable Me (2010)
– Despicable Me 2 (2013)
– Minions (2015)
Best dialogue:
– “Whaaaat?” – Jerry
– ” ‘Bottom’ ” – Stuart
and not because he was name-checked above in the Cruise branch, Ben Stiller as director…
– Cable Guy
– Zoolander
– Tropic Thunder
– Secret Life of Walter Mitty
…with some TV stuff sprinkled in between.
Michael Keaton, bit of range there, but…
– Beetlejuice
– Clean and Sober
– The Dream Team
– Batman