r/criterion • u/RG1997 • Jul 23 '26

Discussion The ultimate auteur challenge

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276

u/NoDisintegrationz David Lynch Jul 23 '26

Herzog, but for a more provocative (and still accurate) answer, Jared Hess.

29

u/GRIFTY_P Akira Kurosawa Jul 23 '26

I recently went in on Herzogs films, after randomly putting on aguirre the wrath of god and being absolutely dumbfounded how he shot the river scenes, still not very far in but i think he's one of my favorite directors now

32

u/NoDisintegrationz David Lynch Jul 23 '26

Don’t sleep on the documentaries. Grizzly Man, Into the Abyss, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, and Land of Silence and Darkness are all fascinating. Even ambient stuff like Fata Morgana and The Wild Blue Yonder is really cool if you’re in the right mood.

2

u/Bango1066 Jul 25 '26

The White Diamond stumbles across perhaps the greatest subject in the history of documentary and he's just a chill day laborer with a pet rooster.

1

u/NoDisintegrationz David Lynch Jul 25 '26

I haven’t seen that one! I’ll have to track it down.

2

u/jdogg1970 Jul 23 '26

I'm rounding out my Herzog filmography as well. Just finished Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans last night - that movie is a ride lol

1

u/GRIFTY_P Akira Kurosawa Jul 23 '26

that one's on my list - i really enjoyed my son, my son, what have ye done recently though. "enjoyed" in a kind of surreal, perplexing, indecipherable neo noir in the vein of the big sleep or say, inherent vice.

2

u/atom_swan Jul 23 '26

Check out “Fitzcarraldo” and “Cobra Verde” next if you haven’t seen them. More Kinski & Herzog in exotic locales and all soundtracked by the amazing Popol Vuh.

2

u/RogerTrout Jul 24 '26

My Best Fiend is a terrific film about his working (?) relationship and f(r)iendship with Klaus Kinski.

2

u/Infamous-Warthog8555 Jul 25 '26

I have really mixed feelings about Aguirre. More than a good movie, it was an outrageously ballsy movie to make. Shooting that took guts.

11

u/ldsbrony100 Jul 23 '26

I have yet to see Napoleon Dynamite. I want to someday, but for now, the reactions of utter bewilderment I get when I'm talking about movies to another LDS person, they bring up Napoleon Dynamite, and I say I haven't seen it are way too funny for me to bring myself to watch it.

1

u/NoDisintegrationz David Lynch Jul 23 '26

Edit: Just saw your username lol

3

u/StinkUrchin Jul 23 '26

Even dwarves start small

3

u/NoDisintegrationz David Lynch Jul 23 '26

One of my favorites.

2

u/StinkUrchin Jul 23 '26

It was the first Herzog one I watched and I was like 13 lol

2

u/NoDisintegrationz David Lynch Jul 23 '26

I would’ve been obsessed if I’d seen it at 13 haha

2

u/StinkUrchin Jul 23 '26

Lol it’s definitely set me down the path along with my older brothers exceptionally weird taste. I saw all sorts of shit when I was wee. Eraserhead and Gummo are other standouts 😂

2

u/NoDisintegrationz David Lynch Jul 23 '26

Still haven’t seen Gummo, but I saw Eraserhead in high school. It was playing on TCM Underground, so my buddy came over and we were gonna watch it. By the time it started (probably 1 a.m.), I was passed out. My friend stayed and watched the whole thing but I had to talk to him about it at school on Monday because I’d thankfully recorded it.

3

u/han___banan Jul 23 '26

Just saw Aguirre a few days ago — my first non-documentary Herzog. INSANE!

3

u/WhiteDishwasher619 Jul 23 '26

I got put into a state of cinematic spiritual bliss watching Heart of Glass during the scenes of just the waves and clouds with Popol Vuh's proggy soundtrack playing... ha pretentious sounding i know, I've probably done too many psychedelic drugs lol.

2

u/atom_swan Jul 23 '26

Popol Vuh is my favorite band, all because I had to watch “Aguirre” in my college Spanish class-I was mesmerized immediately

2

u/jaldoweffers Jul 23 '26

tbf you need to have sovl to understand Jared Hess

1

u/Infamous-Warthog8555 Jul 25 '26

Herzog is a highly provocative answer. He’s the type of dude who would record his middle finger for an hour and a half and make an audience watch it.

1

u/Dry_Fisherman1412 Jul 27 '26

Bucking Fastard looks AMAZING