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GREAT DIRECTORSMovie Reviews
Documentary in which a dozen well-regarded directors discuss what inspires them and compels them to make movies. Cast:Bernardo Bertolucci, Catherine Breillat, Liliana Cavani, Stephen Frears, Todd HaynesDirector:Angela IsmailosRelease Date:July 2, 2010DVD Release:January 1, 2011From:PaladinLength:1 hr 30 min
Great Directors played in key cities to mixed reviews. • Lisa Kennedy wrote in the Denver Post, "While by no means is 'Great Directors' exhaustive, it does deliver an impressive, eclectic group." • And Wesley Morris wrote in the Boston Globe, "Rarely have clips from so many good and great movies been put to such dull use." More Reviews Below...
Great Directors Positive Reviews (18 Reviews, reviews below)
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "David Lynch, Agnès Varda, Ken Loach, and John Sayles are among the 10 directors interviewed in this intriguingly random personal project..."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 108 words, 07/02/10
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (7 Reviews)
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...spasmodically entertaining.... Ms. Ismailos proves a mistress of the adoring gaze and a generous supplier of film clips.... Good times."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 324 words, 07/02/10
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: EXCELLENT(cg) "...to eavesdrop on Bernardo Bertolucci, Stephen Frears, Ken Loach and John Sayles... David Lynch and Todd Haynes... even for a little while, it's a real treat."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 147 words, 07/02/10
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "...very much of a mixed bag.... Angela Ismailos has not been able to resist making herself, for no apparent reason except self-regard, a major presence in the film."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 610 words, 07/09/10
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: POOR(cg) "Ismailos lobs innocuous questions and gives herself lots of awed close-up reaction shots.... like a cross between a vanity project and DVD filler."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 199 words, 07/02/10
Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a pleasing if not surprising sampler of apercus, bon mots and clips.... gets better when these artists interpret their mentors."(See all of Bill Stamets's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 249 words, 01/21/11
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "Received ideas, creative class cheerleading, and outright schmoozing bore, but the yacht party after the Cannes screening sounds awesome!"(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 228 words, 06/30/10
KEY CITIES (6 Reviews)
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: MODERATE(cg) "Angela Ismailos's generic questions about the politics, economics, and aesthetics of film yield predictably generic responses from her subjects."(See all of Carrie Rickey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 301 words, 07/30/10
Rob Nelson, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: POOR(cg) "...features clips from dozens of great (or 'great') movies, along with insufferably indulgent shots of the documentarian wandering city streets like some lost heroine..."(See all of Rob Nelson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 175 words, 08/06/10
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: WEAK(cg) "Rarely have clips from so many good and great movies been put to such dull use. The film has no idea what to do with those images or the filmmakers who created them."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 516 words, 07/30/10
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "The film never comes together into a cohesive whole... Still, if you want to know about these filmmakers, this documentary is a good resource."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 499 words, 07/23/10
Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...studies 10 directors' perspectives.... the film is at its best when offering insights regarding how each sees cinema as an outlet for personal expression."(See all of Calvin Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 331 words, 07/30/10
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (3 Reviews)
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "Received ideas, creative class cheerleading, and outright schmoozing bore, but the yacht party after the Cannes screening sounds awesome!"(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 228 words, 06/30/10
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...spasmodically entertaining.... Ms. Ismailos proves a mistress of the adoring gaze and a generous supplier of film clips.... Good times."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 324 words, 07/02/10
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "...very much of a mixed bag.... Angela Ismailos has not been able to resist making herself, for no apparent reason except self-regard, a major presence in the film."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 610 words, 07/09/10
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Ronnie Scheib, Daily Variety: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...weighs in with entertaining anecdotes and illuminating comments... strengths and weaknesses finally lie in its own mixed-bag diversity."(See all of Ronnie Scheib's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 759 words, 06/29/10
Natasha Senjanovic, Hollywood Reporter: VERY GOOD "As Lynch puts it, 'People want you to talk about a film as soon as you make it. But the film is the thing. It's the whole thing. It's there.' "(See all of Natasha Senjanovic's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 408 words, 09/04/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "...very much of a mixed bag.... Angela Ismailos has not been able to resist making herself, for no apparent reason except self-regard, a major presence in the film."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 610 words, 07/09/10
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a celebration of film... depicts the agony and ecstasy of being an artist in a medium that's heavily dominated by commercial and industrial factors."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 241 words, 06/27/10
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...spasmodically entertaining.... Ms. Ismailos proves a mistress of the adoring gaze and a generous supplier of film clips.... Good times."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 324 words, 07/02/10
20.8 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Great Directors's reviews are separated by an average 20.8 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Great Directors (18 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Great Directors's reviews cover 21.5% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 5,960 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 331 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Great Directors Coverage, Volume & Length (18 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 8 Days After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Great Directors's reviews on average broke 8 days after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Great Directors's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Great Directors (18 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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