Sunday, August 20, 2006

Movies about making movies

There have been lots of movies made about making movies. Inside looks, so to speak, at the process of producing feature films and the people who work in the industry. Continuing with my series of posts on favorite movies lists, here’s a good category for film buffs to argue about -- the best movies about what goes on behind the camera. Here are my five favorites, in alphabetical order:

“8½” (1963): Directed by Federico Fellini; Cast: Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimée
“Day for Night” (1973): Directed by François Truffaut; Cast: Jacqueline Bisset, Valentina Cortese, François Truffaut
“The Day of the Locust” (1975): John Schlesinger; Cast: Donald Sutherland, Karen Black, William Atherton
“The Player” (1992): Directed by Robert Altman; Cast Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward
“Sunst Boulevard” (1950): Directed by Billy Wilder; Cast: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I also like "The Stunt Man" and, going a little more into left field, "Ed Wood" and "Man Bites Dog" (the last of which is extremely unpleasant and admittedly not for all tastes, but anyways)....

Anonymous said...

Oh, yeah, and "Stardust Memories" and "Shadow of the Vampire"....there, that's five, I'll shut up now....

F.T. Rea said...

Brad,

I'd forgotten about "The Stunt Man." That film used to have a cult-like following at one time. "Stardust Memories" I remember liking a lot when it came out -- I'm a Charlotte Rampling fan -- but I haven't seen it in 25 years, and I don't remember much of it now.

Reel Fanatic said...

I simply love "Day for Night," but my favorite would be a much more recent entry .. Michael Winterbottom's "Tristram Shandy" is sheer perfection in this odd subgenre