The Directors Club

We all have our favorite movies. What makes them a favorite? The story/screenplay? The actors/actresses? The score? The action? The setting/costumes/special effects? Quite often we can't put our finger on what it was that made it a great flick, we just know it was extraordinary. I like to think of a good movie as one which has all of these ingredients blended in the correct proportion, and baked for the proper time at just the right temperature. In other words, the chef is responsible, and in the business of making movies it is the director who wears the chef's hat.

If you're heading out to Blockbuster's to look for a rental, don't go blindly, hoping you'll stumble upon a treasure. Think back. What were your favorite movies and who directed them? Just for a change of pace go for the director rather than the big name, larger than life actor. You might surprise yourself.

As a courtesy to you (and myself as well - I'm always looking to learn from the masters), I'll be posting my Director of the Week here on Thursdays, and I'll keep a running list of directors we'll call The Director's Club. If you have a candidate, please let me know by dropping me a PM.

Last week we mentioned the recently deceased Anthony Minghella, director of The English Patient and his last best effort, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. The week before it was Joss Whedon, the director of Firefly and Serenity. This week it's the late Fred Zinnemann, who directed the following movies among others:

 High Noon, A Man for All Seasons, Behold a Pale Horse, The Sundowners, The Old Man and the Sea, The Day of the Jackal, From Here to Eternity, The Nun's Story, Oklahoma!, Julia, The Men, and Forbidden Passage.

Some of these I've seen a dozen times. From Here to Eternity may be my all-time favorite.