Zappa.com

I've never seen Uncle Meat (I didn't know a complete version existed) but from the clips I've seen I looks like a shittly put together film with once again good music... That is to say he can be you're tenth favorite director (he is probably my 11th favorite) but to say he is the 10th greatest of all time, its not only incorrect but extremely rude to the great men and women who dedictaed their lives to the craft of filmmaking with the same tenacity with which frank approached music.

Sam Peckinpah
John Ford
Martin Scorsese
Stanley Kubrick
Francois Truffaut
Luis Bunuel
Quentin Tarantino
Terry Gilliam
Francis Ford Coppola (for Apocalypse Now & The Godfather)
Jim Jarmusch

Be sure to watch Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution by godard. It's his best film from my point of view, and a movie that would enter my 5 favorite movies

I like his films and the music in his films because I am a fan of him but I can't really believe someone who studies film (I myself am a cinematography student) can sincerley believe he deserves a position on that list having made no films that really changed anything.

As far as name any other fillmaker who blah blah blah..... Robert Rodriguez... Get your head out of your ass man, there were 10 greater filmmakers within the first decade of the invention of the motion picture camera shitwit.

David Cronenberg
George A. Romero
Ray Harryhausen
Terry Gilliam
Stanley Kubrick
Mario Bava
Dario Argento
John Carpenter
Peter Jackson
Quentin Tarantino

Mario Bava

The Italian director Mario Bava was born in 1914. His father, Eugenio Bava, was a cinematographer in the early days of the Italian film industry. Bava was trained as a painter, and when he eventually followed his father into film photography his artistic background led him to a strong belief in the importance of visual composition in filmmaking. Other than a series of shorts in the forties which he directed, Bava was a cinematographer until 1960. He developed a reputation as a special effects genius, and was able to use optical trickery to great success. Among the directors for whom Bava photographed films were Paolo Heusch Riccardo Freda Jacques Tourneur and Raoul Walsh. While working with Freda on I Vampiri in 1956, the director left the project after an argument with the producers and the film mostly unfinished. Bava stepped in and directed the majority of the movie, finishing it on schedule. This film, also known as The Devil's Commandment, inspired a wave of gothic Italian horror films. After a similar incident occurred on Freda's Caltiki in 1959, and Bava's having been credited with "saving" Tourneur's Giant of Marathon (1959), Galatea urged Bava to direct any film he wanted with their financing. The film that emerged, The Mask of Satan aka Black Sunday, is one his most well known as well as one of his best. This widely influential movie also started the horror career of Barbara Steele. While The Mask of Satan is a black and white film, it was in the color milieu that the director excelled. The projects which followed began to develop stunning photography, making great use of lighting, set design, and camera positioning to compliment mise-en-scenes bathed in deep primaries. Through works such as Hercules in the Haunted World (1961), The Whip and the Body (1963), and Planet of the Vampires (1965) Bava's films took on the look of works of art. In the films The Evil Eye (1963) and Blood and Black Lace (1964) he created the style and substance of the giallo, a genre which would be perfected in the later films of Dario Argento. Bava worked in many popular genres, including viking films, peplum, spaghetti westerns, action, and even softcore, but it is his horror films and gialli which stand out and for which he is best remembered. Recommended are Black Sunday, The Whip and the Body, Blood and Black Lace, Kill Baby Kill, Twitch of the Death Nerve, and Lisa and the Devil. Bava's son Lamberto served as his assistant on most of his films since 1965, and since 1980 has been a director himself. Lamberto Bava's films include Macabre, Demons, and Body Puzzle. Mario Bava died in 1980.

Personal Quote:
"Movies are a magician's forge, they allow you to build a story with your hands--at least, that's what it means to me. What attracts me in movies is to be presented with a problem and be able to solve it. Nothing else; just to create an illusion, an effect, with almost nothing".

- from: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000878/bio

5. Ray Harryhausen

bava (he's pretty obscure, i doubt a lot of ya know him)
...
alan smithee

"Great Googly Moogly" There's some serious film connoisseur's in this here forum and in no way do I wish to get embroiled in this old cinematic quagmire of who's best, first, relevant, seminal, missunderstood, yawn, arf.
...Alejandro Jodorowsky
The Brothers Quay
Jan Svankmayer

Gio, do you actually know all this stuff or are you just getting it off Wikipedia?

I think the guy genuinely knows what he's talking about, his writing style is a little bit annoying with all the 'dees' and the 'viddy wells,' but what can you do?

Hey Nack Blapkin, Wikipedia nowhere near comes close to my standards of research. PLUS, this filmmaker eyes and ears can discern alot of s.hit!!! So much of my book was lateral thinkin' and knowing film history, therefore, placing all of FZ's films in context/perspective. He really did want to be known as a filmmaker first folks, as my Studio Z book will show you.

Thanx for dee kind words Crudblud!!! Btw, viddy well is from dee Nadsat language from Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (that title taken from a quote, "as queer as a clockwork orange"), and it means, "To see you well" - OK? Remember folks, Alex Dee Large is ACO's Droogs Gang leader. Got dee memo folks? Viddy you both well...

......
Droog #26 dee Minister of Anthropology

PS - what are some of your favourite filmmakers?

I wouldn't put Frank in the top 500, or even 1000 as a filmmaker.

He really did want to be known as a filmmaker first folks, as my Studio Z book will show you.

I find that very hard to believe. I mean, his idol was Edgar Varese.

Although I remember reading that, in his later years, if Frank's studio engineer went on holidays and Frank couldn't write and record music, he would jump on a typewriter and starting writing scripts. So he definately was interested in filmmaking. It's a shame he didn't have a budget to make any of them.

I stand, as always, with Lord Calvin.

A salute to you, my good sir!

Yes, musically Varese was his absolute idol. But filmically, FZ was more influenced by dee sci-fi genre films of the 50's, the Spike Jones TV show, and dee experimental film scenes of San Fran (50's) and New York in dee 60's (this is one of dee main reason for doing all those shows at The Garrick Theater, and for as long as he did - remember that). Haven't yet narrowed down an actual number one filmmaker influence on his work (so some lateral thinkin' is involved here), BUT, in later life, I would hazzard a guess and say that it would be a tie between Matt Groening and Bruce Bickford (but that's only an educated gues here folks). Early on, in dee late 50's/early 60's, I would hazzard to guess that it may be Stan Brakhage and Kenneth Anger? Their style merged together, then Add a dash of dee Spike Jones TV Show, AND that feels most like FZ's filmic stylee. Remember FZ was always heavily influenced by dee Theater of the Absurd and the Dadaists. OK? But with that said, FZ has always said that it's dee 50's Sci-Fi flic's that influenced him dee most. He has always paid a homage to Spike Jones. Hope that helps!!! Viddy well folks...

I must say that this comment is false, "if Frank's studio engineer went on holidays and Frank couldn't write and record music." FZ never asked anyone to do anything for him, that he himself could do a hundred times over. FZ was a scientist about everything folks. Having a crew made his life easier, and with his immense output of releases, he had to sleep, this way his crew could keep productions going 24-hr, especially with all dee Synclavier stuff and the multiple productions going on at dee same time!!! Plus, he could not of done that immense output if Gail didn't take care of all dee financing and dee general running dee business IA emipre.

which alan Smithee? I don't think anyone outside dee industry understands why numerous filmmakers use that name. Should I explain it or would you like too, since you posted it. Viddy well until then...