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Directors & Filmmakers of Today

Actors of Yesterday Pages

Actors of Today Page

Film Directors of the
XXth Century Pages

           director Ernst Lubitsch [1892-1947] and members of his crew, circa 1935?            list of my 20
favorite directors

directors active today
A thru F
G thru M
N thru S
T thru Z

        


“All auteurs are directors, but not all directors are auteurs.”
— G.E. Nordell, in Los Angeles Times, 1996

browse movie director category posters at AllPosters.com

browse Directors (A to Z) on DVD at Amazon

A.F.I. Directors Profiles [1995-2002] on VHS or DVD

Film Directors of the XXth Century

Pioneers of The Cinema

Books, Videos & DVDs about Directors & Directing

Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers book by Yvonne Tasker  "Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers" [2002] by Yvonne Tasker
Fifty essays covering European cinema, mainstream Hollywood movies, independent American film, and Chinese and Japanese cinema; chapter-subjects include Pedro Almodovar (Spain), Allison Anders, Shinji Aoyama (Japan), Gregg Araki, Jean-Jacques Beineix (France), Bernardo Bertolucci (Italy), Luc Besson (France), Kathryn Bigelow, Charles Burnett, Tim Burton, James Cameron, Jane Campion (New Zealand), Jackie Chan, Joel & Ethan Coen, Francis Ford Coppola, David Cronenberg, Julie Dash, Atom Egoyan (Canada), David Fincher, Hal Hartley, Todd Haynes, Jim Jarmusch, Aki & Mika Kaurismaki (Finland), Abbas Kiarostami (Iran), Krzysztof Kieslowski (Poland), Diane Kurys (France), Ang Lee, Spike Lee, David Lynch, Michael Mann, Mira Nair, Sally Potter (Britain), John Sayles, Martin Scorsese, Coline Serreau (France), Steven Soderbergh, Todd Solondz, Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino, Tsui Hark (China), Christine Vachon, Lars von Trier (Denmark), Wayne Wang, Peter Weir (Australia), Wim Wenders (Germany), Kar-Wai Wong (Hong Kong), John Woo, Zhang Yimou & Zhang Yuan (China)
Routledge 8¼x5¼ pb [3/2002] for $26.95
Routledge 8¾x5¾ pb [3/2002] for $130.00

Film Reference website / Directors pages
A-Ba • Be-Bu • Bu-Co • Co-Du • Du-Fr • Fr-Ha • Ha-Ji • Jo-Ku
Ku-Lu • Lu-Mi • Mi-Pe • Pe-Ri • Ri-Sc • Sc-St • St-Ve • Ve-Y

Twenty Favorite Directors
One person's viewpoint of twenty favorite directors of the cinema - not those acclaimed the best, not the most popular,
but the ones that communicate most strongly to me, and maybe will to you – so check them out . . .
— G.E. Nordell, proprietor of Magic Lantern Video & Book Store

Robert Altman [1925-2006; USA] Page

Michelangelo Antonioni [1912-2007; Italy]

Ingmar Bergman [1918-2007; Sweden] Page

Frank Capra [1897-1991; USA] Page

The Coen Brothers Page

Federico Fellini [1920-93; Italy] Page

John Ford [1894-1973; USA] Page

D.W. Griffith [1875-1948; USA] Page

John Huston [1906-87; USA] Page

Hiroshi Inagaki [1905-80; Japan]

Buster Keaton [1895-1966; USA] Pages

Stanley Kubrick [1928-99; U.K.] Page

Akira Kurosawa [1910-98; Japan] Page

Yasujiro Ozu [1903-63; Japan] Page

Sam Peckinpah [1925-84; USA] Page

Satyajit Ray [1921-92; India] Page

Preston Sturges [1898-1959; USA] Page

Jacques Tati [1907-82; France] Page

Franηois Truffaut [1932-84; France] Page

Billy Wilder [1906-2002; USA] Page


           A   thru   F

won Oscar for Best Picture for "Annie Hall" [1977]  co-won Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for "Annie Hall" [1977]  won Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for "Hannah and Her Sisters" [1986]    Magic Lantern's
writer-actor-director  Woody Allen  Pages
received 21 Oscar nominations [1978-2006]; won in 1978 (two) & 1987

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Judd Apatow
no browse/Amazon entry • IMDb listing • official website • Wikipedia
listed among Time Magazine 100 Most Influential People (May 2008)

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Darren Aronofsky
no browse/Amazon entry • IMDb listing • official website • Wikipedia

"Pi" [1998]
"Requiem For A Dream" [2000]
"The Fountain" [2006]
"The Wrestler" [2008]
"Black Swan" [2010]

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won Oscar for Best Director for "Reds" [1981]  won Irving G. Thalberg Award in 2000    Magic Lantern's
Warren Beatty Page
received 14 Oscar nominations [1968-1999]; won in 1982 & 2000

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Ned Benson [b. 1977]
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0072600/

"The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him" [2013]
"The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her" [2013]
"The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them" [T.W.C. Sept 2014] /tt3729920/

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Kathryn Bigelow
http://www.amazon.com/Cinema-Kathryn-Bigelow-Hollywood-Transgressor/dp/1903364426/
"The Loveless" biker movie [1982] directed by Kathryn Bigelow
http://www.amazon.com/Hurt-Locker-Blu-ray-Jeremy-Renner/dp/B00275EGX8/
http://www.amazon.com/Hurt-Locker-Ralph-Fiennes/dp/B00275EGWY/

"Hurt Locker" [2009]
"One of the great war films." — Richard Corliss, Time Magazine
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow; full credits from IMDb

"Zero Dark Thirty: The Greatest Manhunt In History"
[Columbia Pictures Dec 2012?]
Zero Dark Thirty movie poster  A docudrama about the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, from the 9/11 attacks to his death at the hands of U.S. Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 in May 2011.
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow; written by Mark Boal; starring Taylor Kinney, Jessica Chastain, Scott Adkins, Chris Pratt, Joel Edgerton, Ricky Sekhon
full credits at IMDb • official movie site
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John Boorman
browse John Boorman on DVD • browse books • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

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won Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for "The Producers" [1968]    Magic Lantern's
comedy writer-director-actor
Mel Brooks Page

Mel Brooks DVD Box Set Collection  "Mel Brooks Box Set Collection" [2006]
Fox widescreen color DVD [4/2006] 8 disks for $71.88
includes "The Twelve Chairs" [1970] starring Ron Moody & Frank Langella; "Blazing Saddles" [1974] with Cleavon Little & ensemble cast; "Young Frankenstein" [1974] starring Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle & Marty Feldman; "Silent Movie" [1976] with Mel's stock company; Hitchcock spoof "High Anxiety" [1977] with Mel's stock company; "History of The World, Part 1" [1981] with Mel's stock company; "To Be Or Not To Be" [1983] co-starring Anne Bancroft; and "Robin Hood: Men In Tights" [1993]

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Magic Lantern's
documentary filmmaker  Ken Burns Page

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James Cameron

"Xenogenesis" 12-minute first film [1978] by James Cameron
watch short film [11:57] online at YouTube

soon "The Futurist: The Life & Films of James Cameron" [] by Rebeccca Keegan

"James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction" 6-episode block [A.M.C. 2018]  4/2018
on the "A.M.C. Visionaries" TV series
James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction on A.M.C.  three episodes (of six) have aired so far, and are gradually being made available on Amazon Instant Video
Co-produced & hosted by James Cameron; featuring directors Christopher Nolan, Guillermo del Toro, George Lucas, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg & Paul Verhoeven; and actors Christopher Lloyd, Keanu Reeves, Zoe Saldana, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Will Smith & Sigourney Weaver
S1/E1: "Alien Life" [] /tt8354592/
S1/E2: "Space Exploration" [] /tt8354600/
S1/E3: "Monsters" []
S1/E4: "Dark Futures" []
S1/E5: "Intelligent Machines" []
S1/E6: "Time Travel" [] /tt8365428/
DVD/Blu-ray not yet available •
incomplete details at Amazon Instant Video [4/2018] season HD $14.99, episode HD $2.99 each
series credits at IMDb • official movie site
watch 4/2018 official teaser trailer [0:30] at YouTube
James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction book  "James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction" [2018]
by Sidney Perkowitz, Matt Singer, Gary Wolfe, Lisa Yaszek, Preface by Randall Frakes, Foreword by James Cameron, Afterword by Brooks Peck
companion to the "A.M.C. Visionaries" six-part television series "James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction"; both explore the history and evolution of the science fiction genre via interviews with famous filmmakers
Insight Editions 9½x7½ hardcover [5/2018] for $26.99
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won Oscar for Best Original Script for "The Piano" [1993]    Jane Campion from New Zealand
browse Jane Campion on DVD • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

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Magic Lantern's
actor-director George Clooney Page

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won shared Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for "Fargo" [1996]  won shared Oscar for Best Picture for "No Country for Old Men" [2007]   won shared Oscar for Best Directing for "No Country for Old Men" [2007]   won shared Oscar for Best Script Adaptation for "No Country for Old Men" [2007]      Magic Lantern's
Coen Brothers: Joel & Ethan  Page

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co-won Oscar for Best Script Adaptation for "Patton" [1970]  co-won Oscar for Best Script Adaptation for "The Godfather" [1972]  won Oscar for Best Picture for "The Godfather: Part II" [1974]  won Oscar for Best Director for "The Godfather: Part II" [1974]  won Oscar for Best Script Adaptation for "The Godfather: Part II" [1974]    Francis Ford Coppola  Page
received 14 Oscar nominations [1971-1991];
won in 1971, 1973 & 1975 (three)

Magic Lantern's "Apocalypse Now" 1979 Movie Page
Magic Lantern's 'The Godfather Saga' Page

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Brian De Palma
browse Brian De Palma on DVD • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

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won Oscar for Best Picture for "Unforgiven" [1992]  won Oscar for Best Director for "Unforgiven" [1992]  won Oscar for Best Picture for "Million Dollar Baby" [2004]  won Oscar for Best Director for "Million Dollar Baby" [2004]    actor-director  Clint Eastwood  Page
at 'Readers of The Purple Sage' Western Bookstore
received 8 Oscar nominations [1993-2005]; won in 1993 (two) & 2005 (two)

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Chris Eyre
no browse/Amazon entry • IMDb listing • official website • Wikipedia

award-winning "Smoke Signals" [1998]
"Skinwalkers" [2002] based on the Tony Hillerman novel
"A Thief of Time" [2004] based on the Tony Hillerman novel

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Marc Forster
no browse/Amazon entry • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

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           G   thru   M

Terry Gilliam

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Tony Gilroy
no browse/Amazon entry • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

the Bourne series starring Matt Damon
"Michael Clayton" [2007]
"Duplicity" [2009]
"State of Play" [2009]
?? "Red Dawn" [2010]

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Peter Greenaway
browse Peter Greenaway on DVD • IMDb listing • official website • Wikipedia

Peter Greenaway screenings [2007] at Northwest Film Forum in Seattle, WA

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Taylor Hackford
browse Taylor Hackford on DVD • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

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Chad Hartigan

"This Is Martin Bonner" [Monterey Media June 2013]
This Is Martin Bonner 2013 movie  When Martin's life on the East Coast falls apart, he moves to Nevada and finds a job managing volunteers for a non-profit that helps released prisoners transition to the outside world.
Funding from Kickstarter; written & directed by Chad Hartigan; starring Paul Eenhoorn, Richmond Arquette, Sam Buchanan, Robert Longstreet, Demetrius Grosse & Tom Plunkett; film won awards at Boston, Florida, Nashville, Sarasota & Sundance Film Festivals
DVD/Blu-ray not yet available
full credits at IMDb • official movie site • watch 5/2013 official trailer [1:32] at YouTube
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Todd Haynes
no browse/Amazon entry • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

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Monte Hellman
browse Monte Hellman on DVD • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

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Norman Jewison
browse Norman Jewison on DVD • IMDb listing • Wikipedia
received 7 Oscar nominations [1967-1988]; no wins

AFI Profile video

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Philip Kaufman
browse Philip Kaufman on DVD • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

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Magic Lantern's
filmmaker Spike Lee Page

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won Oscar for Best Director for "Rain Man" [1988]    Barry Levinson
browse Barry Levinson on DVD • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

AFI Profile video

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won Honorary Oscar in 2005    Sidney Lumet
browse Sidney Lumet on DVD • IMDb listing • Wikipedia
received 5 Oscar nominations [1958-1983]; won Honorary Oscar in 2005

AFI Profile video

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David Lynch
browse David Lynch on DVD • posters • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

"Wild At Heart" [1990] /tt0100935/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_at_Heart_(film)
based on a novel by Barry Gifford, adapted & directed by David Lynch

"Lost Highway" [1997]
co-written by Barry Gifford & director David Lynch
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Highway_(film)

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Michael Mann
browse Michael Mann on DVD • posters • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

AFI Profile video

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Ismail Merchant [1936-2005] & James Ivory
Merchant-Ivory video/DVD library • posters • team on Wikipedia
browse James Ivory on DVD • JI credits on IMDb
browse Ismail Merchant on DVD • IM credits on IMDb

official Merchant-Ivory website

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John Milius
browse John Milius on DVD • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

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           N   thru   S

Mira Nair
browse Mira Nair on DVD • browse books • official website • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

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Gregory Nava
browse Gregory Nava on DVD • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

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writer-director Christopher Nolan
http://www.nolanfans.com/

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Magic Lantern's
writer-director-actor Tyler Perry Page

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Wolfgang Peterson
browse Wolfgang Peterson on DVD • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

"Das Boot" [1981]
"In The Line of Fire" [1993] starring Clint Eastwood
"Outbreak" [1995) starring Dustin Hoffman
"Air Force One" [1997]
"The Perfect Storm" [2000]
"Ender's Game" [2008] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0400403/
"Uprising" [2008] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0963808/

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won Oscar for Best Director for "The Pianist" [2002]    Roman Polanski  [b. 1933]
browse Roman Polanski on DVD • IMDb listing • official website • Wikipedia
received 5 Oscar nominations [1969-2003]; won in 2003

"Fearless Vampire Killers..." [1967]
"Rosemary's Baby" [1968]
"Chinatown" [1974]
"Tess" [1979]
"Bitter Moon" [1994]
"Death and The Maiden" [1994]
Oscar-winning "The Pianist" [2002]

"Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired" documentary
[B.B.C./H.B.O./THINKfilm July 2008]
Co-written & directed by Marina Zenovich • full credits at IMDb

"Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out" documentary [Showtime 2012?]
Announced 11/2012: Showtime acquired the rights to the U.S. television premiere of Marina Zenovich's documentary about the controversial director’s 2009 arrest at the Zurich Film Festival, that explores "the bizarre clash of politics, celebrity justice, and the media [and sheds] new light on the infamous saga of Polanski’s sexual abuse case and his escape from Swiss house arrest” • latest info at IMDb

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actor-director-activist Robert Redford
received the Legion d'Honour of France in October 2010

Magic Lantern's The Sundance Companies Page

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Ivan Reitman

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Jason Reitman
DVDs of Jason Reitman at Amazon • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

"Thank You For Smoking" [2005]
"Juno" [2007]

Up In The Air movie directed by Jason Reitman, starring George Clooney  "Up In The Air" [Paramount Dec 2009]
The cherished 'on the road' lifestyle of a corporate downsizing expert is threatened by internet conferencing just as he is on the brink of reaching ten million frequent flyer miles and just after he finds that he has fallen for the frequent-traveler woman of his dreams. Co-produced, co-written & directed by Jason Reitman; co-adapted by Sheldon Turner, from Walter Kirn's 2001 novel; cinematography by Eric Steelberg; starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bate-man, Amy Morton, Melanie Lynskey, Danny McBride & Sam Elliott; nominated for D.G.A. Award, 3 S.A.G. Awards, W.G.A. Award, and 6 BAFTA Awards, including Best Picture
http://www.amazon.com/Up-Air-Blu-ray-George-Clooney/dp/B00337KMAA/
http://www.amazon.com/Up-Air-George-Clooney/dp/B00337KM2S/
full credits from IMDb • official movie site
Up In The Air 2001 novel by Walter Kirn  
"Up In The Air" [2001 novel] by Walter Kirn
Anchor movie tie-in mass pb [10/2009] for $7.99
Anchor movie tie-in 7¾x5 pb [10/2009] for $10.17
Doubleday 8½x5¾ hardcover [7/2001] out of print/used
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John Sayles
browse John Sayles on DVD • browse books • IMDb listing • official website • Wikipedia

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Joel Schumacher
browse Joel Schumacher on DVD • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

AFI Profile video

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won Best Director Oscar for "The Departed" [2006]    Magic Lantern's
Martin Scorsese  Page
received 8 Oscar nominations [1981-2007]; won in 2007

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Sir Ridley Scott
browse Ridley Scott on DVD • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

directed "Blade Runner" [1982]

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co-won Oscar for Best Picture for "Schindler's List" [1993]  won Oscar for Best Director for "Schindler's List" [1993]  won Oscar for Best Director for "Saving Private Ryan" [1998]    Steven Spielberg
browse Steven Spielberg on DVD • IMDb listing • Wikipedia
received 12 Oscar nominations [1978-2007]; won in 1994 (two) & 1998
awarded French Legion of Honor in 2008

AFI Profile video

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won Oscar for Best Script (Adaptation) for "Midnight Express" [1978]  won Oscar for Best Director for "Platoon" [1986]  won Oscar for Best Director for "Born On The Fourth of July" [1989]    Magic Lantern's
Oliver Stone Page
received 11 Oscar nominations [1979-96]; won in 1978, 1986 & 1989

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           T   thru   Z

co-won Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for "Pulp Fiction" [1994]    Quentin Tarantino
browse Quentin Tarantino on DVD • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

"The Man With The Iron Fists" [Nov 2012] http://www.ironfists.com/

"Tarantino XX: 8-Film Collection" on 10 Blu-ray disks [11/2012] /B009B0OG1O/
GOLD STAR: built 1920s, repertory cinema since 1978, purchased by Quentin Tarantino 12/2007  The New Beverly Cinema [repertory since 1978], 7165 W. Beverly Blvd. in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles

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Julie Taymor
browse Julie Taymor on DVD • IMDb listing • Broadway credits • Wikipedia

"Frida" feature film [Oct 2002]
see the Frida Kahlo Page at Spirit of America

Across the Universe  "Across The Universe"  [Revolution/Sony Sept 2007]
Strikingly visionary teen love story set in the turbulent 1960s using Beatles songs & psychedelic graphics. Co-written & directed by Julie Taymor; co-written by Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais; starring Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood, Joe Anderson, Dana Fuchs, Cynthia Loebe, Martin Luther, T.V. Carpio & Heather Janneck, with cameos by Salma Hayek, Eddie Izzard & Bono
Sony widescreen color Blu-ray [2/2008] for $12.99
Sony widescreen color DVD [2/2008] 2 disks - out of prodn/many used
Interscope records soundtrack CD [10/2007] 2 disks for $9.99
Interscope records soundtrack CD [9/2007] for $10.97
full credits from IMDb • official movie site {requires Flash}

"The Tempest" [Touchstone Pictures Dec 2010]
Co-produced, written & directed by Julie Taymor; based on the 1611 play by Wm. Shakespeare [1564-1616];
starring Helen Mirren {as Prospera}, Russell Brand, Alfred Molina, Djimon Hounsou, Alan Cumming, Chris
Cooper, Ben Whishaw, David Strathairn, Felicity Jones & Tom Conti
DVD/Blu-ray not yet available; • full credits at IMDb

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Robert Townsend
browse Robert Townsend on DVD • IMDb listing • official website • Wikipedia

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Gus Van Sant
browse Gus Van Sant on DVD • IMDb listing • official MySpace site • Wikipedia

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Paul Verhoeven  from The Netherlands
browse Paul Verhoeven on DVD • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

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Peter Weir
browse Peter Weir on DVD • IMDb listing • Wikipedia
received 6 Oscar nominations [1986-2004]; no wins

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director  Robert M. Young
browse Robert M. Young on DVD • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

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Film Directors of the XXth Century Pages

Independent & Avant-Garde Filmmakers Pages

Pioneers of The Cinema Page

Foreign  Filmmakers  by  Country
Foreign Filmmakers (not on subpages)    •    Filmmakers of Asia    •    Filmmakers of Canada
Filmmakers of China    •    Filmmakers of France    •    Filmmakers of Germany
Filmmakers of India    •    Filmmakers of Italy    •    Filmmakers of Japan
Filmmakers of Mexico    •    Filmmakers of Russia    •    Filmmakers of Spain

Hispanic-American Cinema Page



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