| WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ACTION DIRECTOR? (670 views) | AUTHOR /
DATE |
| As a director myself I give as much credit to the men behind the camera as I do in front. So who's your guy (or gal) and why?
Personally, John Woo is the guy that will always hold a special place for me because it was he that got me into asian film. His style of action is definitely his own his set-pieces are huge. A John Woo action sequence is an absolutely massive spectacle.
But if you want to talk about straight up directing chops, I think the award has to go to Tsui Hark. Yes, he's had a series of bombs lately, and I'm not sure why. But when he's at his best there's no one that can top him. No one, and I mean no one, can move a camera better than he can. Cranes, dollies, jibs, handheld, jumping out windows while rappelling down buildings- his camera moves get the absolute most out of the action.
Tough call. Johnnie To is great, too. He is definitely the most versatile. My 3 faves. | Garvinstomp
9/25/2008 1:57 AM |
| #2 | As for specifically directors and crafters of action sequences my faves are Tony Ching Siu Tung (he is brilliant, creative and has a great eye. He is arguable the best around), Donnie Yen (the man should be a legend), John Woo (powerful and poetic), Yuen Woo Ping (Asian MVP award), Lau Kar Leung (say it with me folks legen-wait for it-dary), Yuen Cheng Yan (full of smoothness), Jackie Chan and his stuntmen/Sammo Hung/Yuen Hua (because jumping off buildings and switching from Eagle to Kickboxing just wouldn't be revolutionized without them) and of course Bruce Lee(for flipping the world's perceptions upside down and giving something innovative, brilliant and beautiful). As for visionary Directors of action movies: - Akira Kurasawa for being the pennicle of evolutionary depth and expression. - John Woo for being something so much more than he has ever been given credit for. - Tsui Hark for being an extradinarily creative and skillful craftsman. | Bastard Ronin
9/25/2008 6:57 AM |
| #3 | cont. - Johnnie To for being daring and precise. - Quentin Tarantino because even though he ripped off the styles of Asian cinema and 70's exploitation flicks he still manages to develop unique and highly entertaining flicks that become instant classics. Yeah, that sounds about right. | Bastard Ronin
9/25/2008 7:05 AM |
| #4 | BR, I gotta' agree on Lau Kar-Leung and Akira Kurosawa. OMG, how can you top those? | Choco
9/25/2008 8:10 AM |
| #5 | Thanks for the invite, Garvinstomp! In addition to the ones I mentioned above, I have so many favorites it's really hard to even make a dent in it here. But off the top of my head, the mood I'm in right today, let's say...vintage John Carpenter! The sheer simplicity and effectiveness of his camerawork, and that constant pulsing soundtrack... You can always tell when you're watching a Carpenter movie, you know? I totally respect that. | Choco
9/25/2008 9:09 AM |
| #6 | Lau Kar Leung. 3 of my top 5 all time kung fu flicks were directed by him. | TheDenizen
9/25/2008 12:54 PM |
| #7 | Oh, you said *action* director. That wouldn't be John Carpenter... :) My bad. I think I'll stick with LKL as my #1. | Choco
9/25/2008 4:20 PM |
| #8 | John McTiernan. Sure, he hasn't made a lot of good movies in the past 10 years, BUT, he is the man responsible for the first DIE HARD. That movie sent the blue-print for every popular action movie ever made since then. | City On Fire
9/26/2008 3:52 AM |
| #9 | John McTiernan wins my award for worst audio commentaries ever. He's all mumbly and depressing, always talking crap about how bad his films are. Blech. | Choco
9/26/2008 8:59 AM |
| #10 | Yeah, I remember his commentaries. I shut it off within the first 5 minutes because I almost hung myself. I think it was for DIE HARD. | City On Fire
9/26/2008 10:48 AM |
| #11 | I think the worst commentary I've seen was on the 'Miami Vice' Director's Cut. I turned it off after 30 mins because it wasn't commentary- it was narration. He literally just told me what I was seeing on the screen over and over.
I feel ashamed for leaving out LKL in my list. When I think about action directors I always come back to the two that introduced me to the game. It's like the Law of Returns in economics. When you buy 10 tacos at Taco Bell, the first one will always be better than the last because your hungrier. And I was starving for good action
Johnnie To is great because he's able to do the art thing and the action thing at the same time. Then, when he's done killing the artistic action he throws down some drama or some emotion (seriously, Throwdown choked me upa little) or some heists. . .
I love Miike and Kitamura because they're able to to so much on such little budgets, and that takes some serious creativity. | Garvinstomp
9/26/2008 7:13 PM |
| #12 | I agree with most of the above (admittedly not a Taratino fan though) but I would like to add Sam Peckinpah to the ever growing list of great action directors. He made films violent but if you watch the Wild Bunch there is so much more going on than just kill 'em all and shot 'em off air ramps. Also I think Seijin Suzuki should be here for revolutionizing the Yakuza genre all together.
Also if you want horrible commentary find one by George P. Cosmatos. Those feel like a school kid who never read the book but has to stand up in front of the class and give a book report on it. Painfully bad. | Se13an
9/26/2008 8:07 PM |
| #13 | Since we're all expanding this beyond Asian films and martial arts and into general action, let me just toss in William Friedkin. I know most people hated the film "Jade", but that was one of my favorite car chases ever. He actually made that black car *scary* IMO. Quality. | Choco
9/26/2008 8:46 PM |
| #14 | Johnny To needs to slow down and make a great movie every now and then, instead of a lot of average/below average ones. But I'm sure the money machine is a factor. Otherwise, the art/action thing, he's really good at. | City On Fire
9/26/2008 9:28 PM |
| #15 | I definitely understand the need for quality over quantity. Personally, I thought Sparrow was fantastic. Definite throwback to Hitch and his Cary Grant-esque heist films. Plus, he seems to really be sinking a lot of time and effort into his re-make of Melville's "Red Circle". The original is an absolutely brilliant film and is the kind of thing that To could adapt well. Plus, Melville is one of the largest influences on HK filmmaking, so it all fits well.
Sergio Leone was quite the director as well. His style has quite a bit in common with To. The characters tend to hold their ground more during gunfights than with other directors. The 'Man with No Name' trilogy is a fine piece of work.
One director who's action I enjoy is Michael Bay. I know, I know. I can hear the collective groans. But when I first saw Bad Boys and The Rock I immediately saw the camera movement, slo-mo, stylized action that was very much like the HK style, visually. | Garvinstomp
9/27/2008 12:06 AM |
| #16 | That's a difficult question! Only one! er...... I can think of five that are in the excellent category.....But if there can be only one it would be Lau Kar - Leung! | Cinema!
9/30/2008 11:21 PM |
| #17 | City On Fire, #10 ~ That's the guys name! I think I was catatonic after about 8 minutes. Definitely not for those experiencing depression! Should come with a large bottle of Prozac! | Cinema!
1/20/2009 3:02 PM |
| #18 | For balls to the wall gun fights the go to director has to be John Woo. However you can't dismiss the talents of Sammo Hung who manages to make every fight he directs fresh and innovative. | Mcclane8009
3/29/2009 12:59 PM |
