Top 10 Famous Films From Actor-directors
Top 10 Famous Films from Actor-Directors
He won a screenwriting Oscar at the age of 26. Five years later, as a legitimate movie star, he acted in one of the most ridiculed films ever made and appeared on the cover of gossip rags. Now, with ARGO, Ben Affleck is recognized as one of the most talented and embraced directors in Hollywood (strange lack of Oscar nomination, be damned).
Affleck’s journey from pin-up star to steady director is unique. But he’s certainly not alone as an actor-turned-filmmaker, as this Top 10 list proves. Some of the more intriguing independent movies of recent years have been helmed by directors who started out doing, well, something else. Check out their stories here, and catch their movies this month on Sundance Channel.10. Robert Redford, LIONS FOR LAMBS (2007)
As an actor in the 1970s, Redford brought his good looks and confident charm to smart political movies like THE CANDIDATE, THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR and ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN. In 1980, he proved he could translate his expertise as a dramatic actor to the role of dramatic director, flawlessly, winning an Oscar for his first film, the devastating ORDINARY PEOPLE. In LIONS FOR LAMBS, his return to political commentary, Redford directs a trio of connected tales, co-starring with Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep, about the façade of politics, the idealism of serving one’s country, and the dangers—and failures—of war.
Watch LIONS FOR LAMBS Friday, February 22 at 6:30p on Sundance Channel.9. Liev Schreiber, EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED (2005)
A likable, versatile actor with dozens of screen credits, Schreiber took on Jonathan Safran Foer’s semi-autobiographical novel by not only directing the film version, but also writing the screenplay. As a young Jonathan (Elijah Wood) searches for his grandfather’s past in the Ukraine, Schreiber blends a dreamlike beauty with the harsh realities of the past. Funny, humane and sometimes stunning, EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED proves Schreiber to be an effective storyteller, both verbally and visually. Hey, if this whole movie thing doesn’t work out, he can always continue as the voice of HBO Sports…
Watch EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED Sunday, February 24 at 4:30p on Sundance Channel.
Photo Credit: Listal8. Roman Polanski, FRANTIC (1988)
Polanski is best known as a polarizing, controversial director but his little mug has been kicking around the big screen since the mid-1950s. In his most infamous movie role, “man with knife” in CHINATOWN, Polanski asks Jack Nicholson’s Jake Gittes, “You know what happens to nosy fellows?” before slicing Gittes’s nose open in one swipe. Polanski also appears in FRANTIC (as “taxi driver who hands over the matches”), a tense thriller starring Harrison Ford as an American in Paris who pokes his own nose where it doesn’t belong, after his wife quietly disappears from their hotel room.
Watch FRANTIC Thursday, February 21 at 5:45p on Sundance Channel.
Photo Credit: Listal7. Richard Linklater, ME AND ORSEN WELLES (2008)
As a director, Linklater plays both sides of the commercial fence. He has a strong indie voice in lower-budget films like BEFORE SUNRISE and DAZED AND CONFUSED (hey, there’s Affleck!), but has also directed bigger, more general fare like THE SCHOOL OF ROCK and a BAD NEWS BEARS remake. This is somewhere in between, a peek at Orson Welles’ 1937 stage production of Julius Caesar, via the charismatic high schooler (Zac Efron) who ends up part of the show. As for his own onscreen work… well, Linklater is the first person we see and hear in his own acclaimed first film, SLACKER, he pops up in fellow Texan Robert Rodriguez’s SPY KIDS, and he plays pinball in a Vienna bar in BEFORE SUNRISE. (Look closely for that one.)
Watch ME AND ORSEN WELLES Monday, February 18 at 12:00a on Sundance Channel.
Photo Credit: Listal6. Danny DeVito, THE WAR OF THE ROSES (1989)
By all measures, the diminutive DeVito is an unlikely screen star. Yet, since his supporting role in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST, he has been a dramatic co-star, comedic lead and hell of a surprising presence. After helming short films and TV entries for over a decade, DeVito broke into feature directing in the late 1980s, reuniting here with ROMANCING THE STONE stars Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner for this biting comedy. As an affluent husband and wife (Douglas and Turner) dissolve their marriage, each goes to hateful extremes to keep their piece of the pie. A satiric take on the greed and ego of the ‘80s, with DeVito telling the story as Douglas’s attorney.
Watch THE WAR OF THE ROSES Tuesday, February 26 at 10:15p on Sundance Channel.5. Tommy Lee Jones, THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA (2005)
A big-screen mainstay since the late 1970s (and recent recipient of a fourth Oscar nomination), Jones has directed just one film to date, this 2005 Texas drama written by BABEL screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga. Jones stars as a rancher who embarks on a difficult journey over the border in an effort to get his friend, a murdered Mexican, back to his family and final resting place. At the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, Jones won the Best Actor prize—and might have won Best Director if not for Michael Haneke and the brilliant CACHE. Jones is currently planning to direct and star in another tale of rural stewardship, THE HOMESMAN, due to shoot later in 2013.
Watch THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA Saturday, February 16 at 8p on Sundance Channel.
Photo Credit: Listal4. Al Pacino, LOOKING FOR RICHARD (1996)
In this documentary, Al Pacino is Richard III. Al Pacino is Al Pacino. And Al Pacino is director, in the iconic actor’s examination of—and minor obsession with—Shakespeare and his late-16thcentury tragedy. For his foray into directing, Pacino recreates scenes from the very play in which he starred in 1979, discusses the intricacies of and cultural impact of The Bard, and hangs out with actors like Alec Baldwin and Kevin Spacey. Not bad work if you can get it. Hey, now that the remains of the actual Richard III have been found, how about a sequel, Al?
Watch LOOKING FOR RICHARD Wednesday, February 27 at 9a on Sundance Channel.
Photo Credit: Listal3. Vincent Gallo, BUFFALO '66 (1998)
Before garnering critical and cult attention with this skewed tale about a gambling ex-con and the girl he kidnaps to pose as his wife, Gallo was more than an actor. He was a New York City painter, musician and concept artist, a contemporary of Jean-Michel Basquiat and a provocative antagonist. For BUFFALO ’66, his first feature, Gallo wrote, produced, directed, composed and stars, sculpting an exciting, awkward spontaneity between him and co-star Christina Ricci. The National Board of Review awarded Gallo a special recognition for “excellence in filmmaking”… if “excellence” is award shorthand for “originality,” we’d have to agree.
Watch BUFFALO '66 Monday, February 25 at 6p on Sundance Channel.2. Werner Herzog, RESCUE DAWN (2007)
Anyone who’s seen ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD or CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS knows the only thing better than Werner Herzog’s visual storytelling is his narration. Carrying his assured Bavarian accent and innate sense of drama, Herzog’s voiceovers bring a flavor to his documentaries that no one else could deliver. In 1997’s LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY, Herzog recounts the life of Dieter Dengler, a pilot who was captured by the Vietcong and later escaped; RESCUE DAWN is his narrative version of Dengler’s story, with Christian Bale in the starring role. Herzog’s direction is tense, unforgiving and emotional, with Bale and Steve Zahn buoying the film’s spirits while re-creating its harsh reality.
Watch RESCUE DAWN Sunday, February 17 at 5:30p on Sundance Channel.1. Sarah Polley, AWAY FROM HER (2006)
With this gentle, heartbreaking film about the end of a lifelong relationship, it would seem Canadian treasure Sarah Polley transitioned from familiar, fresh-faced actor to experienced director in one fell swoop (in truth, she’d been directing shorts for years). Polley was nominated for a screenwriting Oscar for adapting Alice Munro’s story of an elder couple who unexpectedly lose their connection when Fiona (the glowing Julie Christie, also nominated), sensing the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease, enters a nursing home. While there, her memory fades and she falls for another man, a surprise and challenge to her husband (Gordon Pinsent). As writer and director, Polley examines her characters with an uncommon beauty—always humane, always empathetic, using Alzheimer’s as a reality rather than a story crutch.
Watch AWAY FROM HER Sunday, February 17 at 6a (Set your DVR!) on Sundance Channel.
