Good Movies to Study?

What are some good movies to study to learn about filmmaking, no matter which area of interest you have?

Some of the movies I think would be good to study are:

Back to the Future
Die Hard
Seven
 
Scorsese
Spielberg
Hitchcock
Coppola
Kubrick
Tarantino
Eastwood
Kurosawa
Coen Brothers
Ford
Wilder
Burton
Lynch
Capra
Howard
Zemeckis
Miyazaki
Huston
Brooks
Altman
Wise
DeMille
Curtiz
Cukor
Kazan
Anderson
Hawks
Lumet
Ashby
Weir
Reiner
Wyler
Howard
Polanski
 
I am only interested in one genre, sci-fi, so I'll give a few

1) The Empire Strikes Back
2) The Wrath of Khan
3) Forbidden Planet
4) Battle Beyond the Stars - if you watch that, you should also watch The Seven Samurai and the Magnificent Seven.

The documentaries would include
1) Empire of Dreams - that was my inspiration to get into film
2) Jodorowsky's Dune
3) Heart of Darkness.

The second category involves the production issues that come from making a film. I've been doing a lot of research over the years.
 
Something that I am increasingly finding more and more credence for is the idea that animated films, primarily well-regarded 2D animated features, can help with shot composition more easily than live-action can: at least as an additional guide. Because I think some directors will move into the field without a formal understanding of shot composition and an understanding of the meaning behind certain shots. And this can result in a very cookie-cutter and average looking film rather than one that is brimming with an artistic voice and specific compositional and editorial choices. So studying 2D animation can be quite useful because unlike live-action, animation is based on artwork, and artwork, like paintings or drawings, are often approached on a deep compositional level because every single element in the frame must be drawn by hand and must have a purpose. And because 2D is flat and lives on a finite level, you are locked into a single angle for each new shot that you make since the backgrounds cannot be turned. In this way, you end up making more defined choices rather than changing your mind and going about your choice of angles more nebulously.

So I would highly suggest to study up on most of the Studio Ghibli films: Nausicaa, Laputa, Kiki's Delivery Service, Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away. And then go and study something like Cowboy Bebop for something a bit more geared towards American Live-action sensibilities.

But for live-action, I think it's a safer bet to not look towards the greatest of masters at first, as their work is extremely difficult to achieve. So there's no "practical" purpose in studying their work first, since you can't easily go right out and start practicing upon it.

Instead, I would look at films by people like J.J. Abrams, Christopher Nolan, Chris Columbus, David Lynch, Guillermo Del Toro, and of course Steven Spielberg, mainly because these directors are both mainstream, but also have a somewhat more achievable style that one can study from and try to emulate while practicing the craft: as long as you have access to the right lens lengths of course. But even then you really just need a mid-prime (50mm), a short telephoto (14-42 or so), a wide adapter for the short prime, and a longer telephoto (about 45-85 or there-abouts).

I was also very impressed with feature film new-comer Damien Chazelle and his film "Whiplash:" which was only made for a measly $3,000,000. So definitely give that a watch as well.

For things to look for, I would try to study things scene by scene to see how they are structured editorially--timing, eye-lines, overlapping dialogue--and then break that down into the smaller elements like shot composition, the lighting and how it helps your eye to focus on certain things in the frame or how it affects the mood of the scene, and then study the sound effects and music and how they work to emphasize or improve on what you are seeing. If you're also concerned with performances, you can look at that perhaps in the middle, or last, depending on your interest areas.
 
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I agree with you FilmmakerJ

Even a comic book can be helpful. They often have very "artistic" shots, dutch angles, etc. More so than typical movies.

Many DPs study old paintings to gain understanding in how the artist manipulated "light"
 
I agree with you FilmmakerJ

Even a comic book can be helpful. They often have very "artistic" shots, dutch angles, etc. More so than typical movies.

Many DPs study old paintings to gain understanding in how the artist manipulated "light"

Yes, I have often noticed that the works of John Ford and Sergio Leone are extremely painterly in how they shoot their shots. Sergio Leone specifically was known for basing many of his shots on paintings that he loved, and they always work out so well with those broad cinema-scope or vista-vision frames.
 
I'm a broken record with this, but I'm liable to always first think of Last Temptation of Christ to recommend. And with the audio commentary.

I've only seen it once, so it hasn't been tested: whether or not I will still feel the same way. But I was really, really impressed with Tarantino's framing and composition in Django Unchained.

And Apocalypse Now, naturally. Possibly the greatest piece of cinema created so far.

North by Northwest is great for suspense, among other things.

It's a Wonderful Life, for a really, very full narrative which still manages to be a very tight and well paced familial drama. And for its wonderful sentimentality, among other things.

Alien, because it's just about a perfect movie, including really successful pacing, exceptional casting, and very nearly pitch-perfect acting.

Empire Strikes Back, for space opera.

Raiders of the Lost Ark. Still probably the best action-adventure movie made so far. Seems to hit all the right notes. Great pacing. Great set pieces and art design. Etc.
 
Instead, I would look at films by people like J.J. Abrams, Christopher Nolan, Chris Columbus, David Lynch, Guillermo Del Toro, and of course Steven Spielberg, mainly because these directors are both mainstream, but also have a somewhat more achievable style that one can study from and try to emulate while practicing the craft: as long as you have access to the right lens lengths of course. But even then you really just need a mid-prime (50mm), a short telephoto (14-42 or so), a wide adapter for the short prime, and a longer telephoto (about 45-85 or there-abouts).
 
Instead, I would look at films by people like J.J. Abrams, Christopher Nolan, Chris Columbus, David Lynch, Guillermo Del Toro, and of course Steven Spielberg, mainly because these directors are both mainstream, but also have a somewhat more achievable style that one can study from and try to emulate while practicing the craft: as long as you have access to the right lens lengths of course. But even then you really just need a mid-prime (50mm), a short telephoto (14-42 or so), a wide adapter for the short prime, and a longer telephoto (about 45-85 or there-abouts).

Hey.
What's up with re-posting a quote from my own response to this thread?
 
Top directors to study

Kubrick
Fincher
Spielberg
Allen
P.T Anderson
Linklater
Scorsese
Taratino
Coppola
The Coen brothers
Crowe
Malick
Eastwood
Stone
Ang Lee
Cameron
Lynch
Zemickis
Frears
Howard
 
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