Cygnet74

thought this was interesting...

there have been a few occurrences of a director assuming the aesthetic of another filmmaker in tribute to the film being made. i'm not talking about general stylistic influences or "DePalma doing Hitchcock" -- those have been career-long endeavors. rather, i'm looking for the unique occasions specific to a particular project where a filmmaker with a known style adopted the style of another. for example...

Tom Tykwer doing Krzysztof Kieslowski in “Heaven”
Lar von Trier doing Carl Dreyer in “Medea”
Steven Spielberg doing Stanley Kubrick in the first half of “AI”
Gus van Sant doing Hitchcock in “Psycho”
any others?

this raises the question of whether or not this is an acceptable form of art, or merely an "impersonation". the mark of these directors hovers over every shot in these films. why would anyone take on such a task. how do you feel about this?

wendersfan

I could make a strong argument that the Coen brothers "borrowed" from the styles of Kubrick (The Shining) and Polanski (The Tenant) when they made Barton Fink. The influences are unmistakable and I would say deliberate.

Polanski was head of the Cannes jury when Barton Fink won the Palme d'Or. Coincidence?

And don't get me started with Gus van Sant and Bela Tarr.

jaeufraser

In my opinion, if the movie is good then the movie is good, regardless of where they draw their inspiration. AI was going to have Kubrick's influence considering his participation in the creation of that film. It was kind of a given.

As for Gus Van Sant, well, I think his film is pretty decent, but how could it not be considering it's a carbon copy of a great film. But I will say, never, ever, ever should anyone do that again. It was a waste of time and money. I can deal with remakes, but shot for shot remakes are just horrible ideas. They contribute nothing to the ideas, save for minor pud whacking sound effects. As if we needed that.

Otherwise, I've no issue with giving homage or drawing from other directors. Tarantino is known for borrowing stuff all the time. If the final product can stand on its own and uses those influences in a positive way, then what can I say...go for it.

scott shelton

I won't.

Cygnet74

me neither. an influence or source of inspiration is a welcomed quality. but what about when a director drops his own aesthetic and imitates that of another? Tarantino borrows and steals more than anyone but his style remains his own -- my disinterest in his films aside.

your insightful contributions to the topic at hand are always welcomed.

BizRodian

Some argue that it was, in a way, a statement about remakes. How he remade the whole film, nearly shot for shot, then made a few small changes that were either pointless, or stupid. I don't know, myself.

scott shelton

Well, these threads need it.

whaaat

I think he was quoted as saying he "did it so no one else would have to" or something like that.

PopcornTreeCt

I don't understand. Every director borrows heavily from other directors.

Cygnet74

i respectfully suggest you re-read the thread. "borrowing from othe directors" is not what this is about. instead, i'm questioning the validity of director shooting a picture in the manner he that another director by adopting their aesthetic and forgoing their own.

Trigger

Robert Zemeckis channeling Hitchcock in What Lies Beneath

Dr. DVD

I fail to see how What Lies Beneath was like Hitchcock with money.

I like Tarantino and Rodriguez's homages, but they know how to do them well. Sometimes I think directors say they're doing an homage when either A) they couldn't come up with something on their own, or B) they figure calling it an homage to something else will persuade their audience to think more highly of an otherwise ho-hum spectacle. It could be C) , both A and B.

The day someone starts doing homages to Michael Bay is the day it's time to shut the movie industry down for a while.

Cygnet74

you haven't seen Con Air?

Trigger

boy, that's a shame.

wendersfan

A horrible movie suddenly made worthwhile the instant Steve Buscemi says, "Define irony."

SeekOnce

M. Night doing Hitchcock in "Signs" perhaps?

wendersfan

He wishes...

Shyamalan isn't fit to carry Hitchcock's clapper.

SeekOnce

Ok. How about just the opening credits then?

PopcornTreeCt

I agree, one director calls it a homage, I call it a rip-off. You call it a tribute, I call him a hack.

Sure there may be directors that go out of their way to emulate a style for a certain project but those directors have to be extremely talented themselves.

The Bus

Hitchcock in Signs and What Lies Beneath were my inputs.

What about Coppola in CQ? Does that count?

IanH

Luchino Visconti's "The Leopard": Its extensive final ballroom scene influenced Francis Ford Coppola's opening scene for The Godfather. Martin Scorsese also took cues from The Leopard for The Age of Innocence. Fellini's "I Vitelloni"'s story of youths was a huge influence on Scorsese's Mean Streets (You can watch Scorsese's docs "My Voyage To Italy" and "A Personal Journey Through American Movies" to see his other influences)

Stylistic tones of Ridley Scott's Bladerunner runs fairly heavy throughout David Fincher's Se7en.

Sergio Leone's A Fist Full of Dollars is allegedly a shot for shot remake of Kurosawa's Yojimbo. I haven't watched them back to back but this is the rumour.

Numanoid

Hmmm...Barton Fink always struck me as very Lynchian, more than anything else.

Cygnet74

have you seen The Tenant?

Numanoid

No, but I've been meaning to. I'll check it out.