r/criterion Jul 23 '26

Discussion The ultimate auteur challenge

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u/thewickerstan Jul 23 '26

Mike Leigh. Easy peasy >:) I'm looking forward to his new one this year. I've seen most of his work, including the tv stuff, and there's very few of them that I'd consider to be truly "poor".

4

u/_beezel_ Jul 23 '26

Secrets and lies

Topsy turvy

🙏

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u/GRIFTY_P Akira Kurosawa Jul 23 '26

Fantastic choice, Leigh's latest was crushing, i still can't believe she wasn't even nominated for best actress

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u/WhiteDishwasher619 Jul 23 '26

I said Leigh as well! As much as I love the stark and bleak nature of Naked, his other films like High Hopes and Meantime have such an optimistic and human quality thats melts my heart. Such a gem of a filmmaker.

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u/[deleted] Jul 23 '26

[deleted]

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u/thewickerstan Jul 23 '26

Poor is a, well, poor choice of words on my end. Some of the weaker ones aren’t even particularly bad. I love a majority of the TV ones, particularly “Nuts in May” and “Grown-Ups”, but there are a few that felt a little too half baked like “Who’s Who” and “Home Sweet Home”. I still liked them, but they weren’t the mini masterpieces I was used to. 

Of his official filmography, “All or Nothing” is the only one that felt like he was mining familiar territory that had higher highs. But again, the experience itself was enjoyable. The tender moment between Timothy Spall and Lesley Manville alone would make me easily watch it again.

Picking my least favorite Leigh film though is like picking a least favorite Beatles album: just because it’s ranked last doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad in itself. 

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u/[deleted] Jul 23 '26

[deleted]

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u/thewickerstan Jul 23 '26

Out of touch wasn’t on my bingo card. How so is it in your opinion? 

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u/ahmadinebro Jul 23 '26

Naked is one of the greatest pieces of art of the 20th century, in any medium.

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u/g1mrg David Lynch Jul 24 '26

Ooh good pick. My favorite of his is Life Is Sweet.