[scrrr]

That's cool, but I think if you want to study film, you should study the likes of Akira Kurosawa, Sergio Leone or Krzysztof Kieslowski [1] first. A lot of what Hollywood is doing has been first done by these guys.

Especially computer games and Pixar movies are often directly reusing famous scenes and camera angles.

[1] Disclaimer: I'm a big fan of "Three Colors", especially "Red".

[toyg]

No mention of Orson Welles? Citizen Kane is the first thing you'll be asked to watch in any half-decent film course. Also you can't think of the evolution of cinema without mentioning Stanley Kubrick, Fritz Lang, Friedrich Murnau, Dziga Vertov ("Man with a Movie Camera")...

And it's quite debatable whether Kieslowski belongs to this list, something you're clearly aware of... or you wouldn't have put a note in to justify yourself ;)

[smrtinsert]

After watching 2001 I believe Stanley Kubrick is a filmmakers filmmaker. I think he is to Spielberg as Spielberg is to Abrams (or any other modern promising director)

[frooxie]

Can you recommend any book or instructional movie that analyzes good (or bad) storytelling in film?

[thecoffman]

Depending on how much time you're willing to put in, "The Story of Film: An Odyssey" [1] Is available on Netflix and fantastic. Its also 15 hours long. The narrator, Mark Cousins, who is also the author, is frankly pretty poor; but if you can get past that, the content itself is very good. It covers both American and International cinema in great depth. It is also available in print form, but I cannot personally vouch for whats in the book itself.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Film:_An_Odyssey

[visakanv]

Thanks for the reccomendations! I've heard so much about Akira Kurosawa. Gotta check him out.

[m_mueller]

Kurosawa has a wide range of styles - which is why I like to compare him to Kubrick, although Kurosawa usually stays within Edo period contexts while Kubrick also had a wide range of themes. My favorites so far are Seven Samurais, Yojimbo and Dreams. Don't be afraid of watching one of his films from the 50ies - because of their relatively quick pace, clear themes and modern looking cuts I find them highly enjoyable, not just as an educational experience, but with a genuinely high entertainment value even today. From an educational standpoint it's amazing to see the strong influences he had on Star Wars for example.

[omegant]

I was once watching tv, it was 01:00 in the morning and I was about to go to sleep. Then I changed the channel and there was this old movie of samurais in japanese, in black and white, just for curiosity I gave it 2 min. Then I couldn't stop watchin till the end, it was that good. I learned at the end that it was Kurosawa' seven samurais. An amazing film, really.

[kropotkin]

Since you're looking for recommendations, try Blow Out directed by Brian De Palma in 1981. I saw this film recently and thought it had a very interesting style, especially the shots using a split focus diopter.