Weekend Weigh-in: What is Your Favorite Actor/Director Pairing?
The only thing better than a movie with people you like is a movie with people you like working together.
So what's your favorite actor/director team? For argument's sake, let's say they need to have worked together at least twice.
There are a couple of pairings that Ive always looked at, but more in terms of how the actor performs the dialogue of a writer/director. They're pretty pedestrian, but thats me :-)
Samuel L Jackson - Quentin Tarrantino Jason Lee - Kevin Smith Jason Statham - Guy Ritchie
I just think these writers have a specific way of writing that never sounds better when coming out of these actors mouths.
It's been a while now, but I was always a fan of the De Niro and Scorsese team. They always seem to work really well together. Also, obviously both of these peoplr are gone now, but James Stewart and Alfred Hitchcock will always be two of my favorite collaborators. They made some amazing stuff together.
Edgar Wright/Simon Pegg/Nick Frost James Whale/Boris Karloff Orson Welles/himself Charlie Chaplin/himself Alfred Hitchcock/Jimmy Stewart John Ford/John Wayne Frank Capra/Jimmy Stewart
John Carpenter/Kurt Russell Akira Kurosawa/Toshiro Mifune (there's a whole book about their collaboration, called The Emperor and the Wolf) Yasujiro Ozu/Setsuko Hara
David Cronenberg/Viggo Mortenson. They've done two great movies and one damn good one and seem to bring out the best in each other. Honorable mention to Spike Lee/Denzel Washington
James Cameron/Arnold Schwarzenegger Lawrence Kasdan/Kevin Kline Richard Donner/Mel Gibson David Fincher/Brad Pitt Tony Scott/Denzel Washington Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks
I feel like the ones I want to talk about have been mentioned. I like Akira Kurosawa & Toshiro Mifune, as well as John Woo & Chow Yun Fat. I like Scorsese with either De Niro or Di Caprio.
Can I have Harrison Ford and George Lucas? They did their best creative work as producer and actor, but those are the works that I count as my favorites and most watchable.
John Huston / Humphrey Bogart Ed Wood / Bela Lugosi John Ford / Henry Fonda Neil Jordan / Stephen Rea Sidney Lumet / Al Pacino (only two films but both amazing ones)
A pairing from two of my favourite "older" movies that I'm disappointed didn't happen more often: Stanley Kubrick and Sterling Hayden (The Killing and Dr. Strangelove).
Of more substantial pairings, my absolute favourite would have to be Tarantino/Jackson, but there are a lot of close runner-ups I've seen named here as well!
I finally thought of one that hasn't been mentioned and thats James Cameron/Michael Biehn in Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss and T2 Directors Cut (and almost Avatar which definitely would have helped the movie.) It always seems like he can get to the meat of Cameron's stories in those movies without going too overboard (okay he goes a little crazy in Abyss but I still think he plays it well) Its a damn shame Biehn never made that jump to A-list, just fell on some bad luck in the 90's I guess.
John Ford - Ward Bond (or anyone from his stock company, really) Anthony Mann - James Stewart David Mamet - Ed O'Neill David Mamet - Ricky Jay Coen brothers - John Turturro Wong Kar-wai - Tony Leung Dardenne brothers - Jérémie Renier
There are a couple of pairings that Ive always looked at, but more in terms of how the actor performs the dialogue of a writer/director. They're pretty pedestrian, but thats me :-)
ReplyDeleteSamuel L Jackson - Quentin Tarrantino
Jason Lee - Kevin Smith
Jason Statham - Guy Ritchie
I just think these writers have a specific way of writing that never sounds better when coming out of these actors mouths.
It's been a while now, but I was always a fan of the De Niro and Scorsese team. They always seem to work really well together. Also, obviously both of these peoplr are gone now, but James Stewart and Alfred Hitchcock will always be two of my favorite collaborators. They made some amazing stuff together.
ReplyDeleteEdgar Wright/Simon Pegg/Nick Frost
ReplyDeleteJames Whale/Boris Karloff
Orson Welles/himself
Charlie Chaplin/himself
Alfred Hitchcock/Jimmy Stewart
John Ford/John Wayne
Frank Capra/Jimmy Stewart
Oh, I could go on all day!
Oh, I agree with Edgar Wright/Simon Pegg/Nick Frost, John Ford/John Wayne, and Frank Capra/Jimmy Stewart!
DeleteJohn Ford / John Wayne
DeleteAkita Kurosawa/ Toshiro Mifine
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ReplyDeleteI agree with John; Scorsese and De Niro is at the top, Scorsese and Di Caprio, Ford and Wayne, Hitchcock and Stewart are also magic.
ReplyDeleteI think when an Actor wins an award, half of it should go to the Director, or the Director should get an award as well!
I'll add to the list:
ReplyDeleteJohn Carpenter/Kurt Russell
Akira Kurosawa/Toshiro Mifune (there's a whole book about their collaboration, called The Emperor and the Wolf)
Yasujiro Ozu/Setsuko Hara
Good call on Kurosawa/Mifune, Steve!
DeleteWes Anderson/Bill Murray
ReplyDeleteSam Raimi/Bruce Campbell
Joel & Ethan Cohen/Steve Buscemi
Judd Apatow/Paul Rudd/Seth Rogen
I forgot about Lucky McKee/Angela Bettis.
DeleteLove Steve's choice of Kurosawa/Mifune.
ReplyDeleteI will add
John Woo/Chow Yun Fat
David Cronenberg/Viggo Mortenson. They've done two great movies and one damn good one and seem to bring out the best in each other. Honorable mention to Spike Lee/Denzel Washington
ReplyDeleteJames Cameron/Arnold Schwarzenegger
ReplyDeleteLawrence Kasdan/Kevin Kline
Richard Donner/Mel Gibson
David Fincher/Brad Pitt
Tony Scott/Denzel Washington
Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks
Paul Thomas Anderson and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
ReplyDeleteOr Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood.
ReplyDeleteI forgot about Robert Altman/Elliot Gould.
DeleteMel Brooks and Gene Wilder
ReplyDeleteGreat call!
DeleteI feel like the ones I want to talk about have been mentioned. I like Akira Kurosawa & Toshiro Mifune, as well as John Woo & Chow Yun Fat. I like Scorsese with either De Niro or Di Caprio.
ReplyDeleteCan I have Harrison Ford and George Lucas? They did their best creative work as producer and actor, but those are the works that I count as my favorites and most watchable.
John Huston / Humphrey Bogart
ReplyDeleteEd Wood / Bela Lugosi
John Ford / Henry Fonda
Neil Jordan / Stephen Rea
Sidney Lumet / Al Pacino (only two films but both amazing ones)
A pairing from two of my favourite "older" movies that I'm disappointed didn't happen more often: Stanley Kubrick and Sterling Hayden (The Killing and Dr. Strangelove).
ReplyDeleteOf more substantial pairings, my absolute favourite would have to be Tarantino/Jackson, but there are a lot of close runner-ups I've seen named here as well!
Kubrick and Sellers as well.
DeleteIndeed! Though I still haven't seen Kubrick's Lolita.
DeleteRoger Corman and Jonathan Haze.
ReplyDelete(well, every other pair I would have said has been mentioned already)
Jack Hill - Pam "MotherFucking" Grier
ReplyDeleteWell played!
DeleteI finally thought of one that hasn't been mentioned and thats James Cameron/Michael Biehn in Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss and T2 Directors Cut (and almost Avatar which definitely would have helped the movie.) It always seems like he can get to the meat of Cameron's stories in those movies without going too overboard (okay he goes a little crazy in Abyss but I still think he plays it well) Its a damn shame Biehn never made that jump to A-list, just fell on some bad luck in the 90's I guess.
ReplyDeleteJohn Woo/Tony Leung. Red Cliff is an absolutely amazing pair of movies, and Hard Boiled is still an amazing movie to watch.
ReplyDeleteAlso, honorable mention to Scorsese/DiCaprio, because The Departed and Shutter Island.
I must have been having a brain-related event before as I didn't think of this pair until now....
ReplyDeleteTod Browning and Lon Chaney
John Ford - Ward Bond (or anyone from his stock company, really)
ReplyDeleteAnthony Mann - James Stewart
David Mamet - Ed O'Neill
David Mamet - Ricky Jay
Coen brothers - John Turturro
Wong Kar-wai - Tony Leung
Dardenne brothers - Jérémie Renier
Quentin Tarantino - Uma Thurman/Christoph Waltz
ReplyDeleteDavid Fincher - Brad Pitt/Rooney Mara
Ben Affleck - Ben Affleck
Rian Johnson - JGL
My dream is to see a Tarantino written movie directed by David Fincher starring Brad Pitt :)
John Carpenter, Kurt Russell.
ReplyDeleteJohn Woo, Chow Yun Fat.
Joe Dante, Dick Miller.
Jeff Nichols and Michael Shannon (Mud, Take Shelter, Shotgun Stories), they can do no wrong.
ReplyDeleteAh, good one!
DeleteMicheal Winterbottom and Steve Coogan
ReplyDelete