Neil Jordan vs Stephen Frears

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these two guys seem to have a lot in common w/r/t genre-jumping, reminding me of the soderbergh/lee/winterbottom trio but i like them both a lot more.

filmographies:

Neil Jordan
Stephen Frears

Poll Results

OptionVotes
Frears 6
Jordan 2


blair underwood: "man up" (omar little), Wednesday, 27 May 2009 03:29 (seventeen years ago)

i think SF might have more good films, but none as brilliant as NJ's The Butcher Boy.

Dr Morbius, Wednesday, 27 May 2009 03:50 (seventeen years ago)

really interested in seeing 'the hit'

blair underwood: "man up" (omar little), Wednesday, 27 May 2009 04:01 (seventeen years ago)

yes, i want to grab that soon too.

Dr Morbius, Wednesday, 27 May 2009 04:18 (seventeen years ago)

The Hit is just okay. I'd say these guys are about dead even (both had made some great films and uh more than a few mediocrities as well), but the one plus in Frears favor is that he has made one great "American" film, The Grifters.

Alex in SF, Wednesday, 27 May 2009 15:14 (seventeen years ago)

Jordan has made more horrible films but I think I like his best movies more than Frears' best. Except Gumshoe which is pretty fucking great so I'm gonna vote for Frears.

If You Lived Here You'd Be SB'd By Now (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 27 May 2009 15:18 (seventeen years ago)

Good poll. I might enjoy Mona Lisa, The Crying Game, The Butcher Boy and The Good Thief more than anything of Frears' except Dangerous Liasions, which to my money is the only great film either one of them has made. As a writer and lover of kitsch, Jordan seems to like taking more risks that are beyond his modest cinematic gifts.

Bud Huxtable (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 27 May 2009 15:23 (seventeen years ago)

i get these two confused all the time.

akm, Wednesday, 27 May 2009 15:30 (seventeen years ago)

frears directed the snapper and the van? did not know that.

U2 raped goat (darraghmac), Wednesday, 27 May 2009 15:45 (seventeen years ago)

Frears has very underrated comedy chops (sometimes). The Snapper and High Fidelity are both very funny the second and third viewings.

The Grifters is good, but I think both Cusack and Bening are kind of miscast, made a bit glaring by Huston's tour de force.

Dr Morbius, Wednesday, 27 May 2009 16:04 (seventeen years ago)

High Fidelity isn't funny no matter how often you watch it.

Really? I think they are both brilliant bits of casting. Cusack esp.

Alex in SF, Wednesday, 27 May 2009 16:10 (seventeen years ago)

Yeah, Cusack's as ice-cold as Huston in The Grifters.

Bud Huxtable (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 27 May 2009 16:27 (seventeen years ago)

Plus they look an awful lot alike. I mean once you cast Huston you can't exactly cast some blond-haired, blue eyed everyman ya know.

Alex in SF, Wednesday, 27 May 2009 16:29 (seventeen years ago)

Cusack too menschy for a grifter. Also, Huston and Pat Hingle seem to be acting in the book's '50s setting, which I guess was junked to keep the budget down.

Dr Morbius, Wednesday, 27 May 2009 16:59 (seventeen years ago)

That Cusack always mensching it up.

Alex in SF, Wednesday, 27 May 2009 17:01 (seventeen years ago)

high fidelity is pretty damn funny in parts and in fact the scene where todd louiso nails tim robbins in the face with the phone (knocking his teeth out) got the biggest laugh i've ever heard in a theater.

blair underwood: "man up" (omar little), Wednesday, 27 May 2009 17:35 (seventeen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Tuesday, 9 June 2009 23:01 (sixteen years ago)

I love The Good Thief, more than anything I've seen from either (which is pretty much just their late-90s on stuff), but Frears has quantity of films I've enjoyed. Bonus points for helping Altman get insurance for Gosford Park.

My vagina has a dress code. (milo z), Wednesday, 10 June 2009 01:43 (sixteen years ago)

I saw The Hit this weekend; was a bit disappointed. Augured the sexy-but-empty Sexy Beast. Terence Stamp looks great.

Bud Huxtable (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 10 June 2009 01:51 (sixteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

System, Wednesday, 10 June 2009 23:01 (sixteen years ago)

one year passes...

so anyone seen Ondine?

kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 29 June 2010 19:46 (fifteen years ago)

two months pass...

guess that's a no

ne1 seen 'tamara drewe'

i did but i totally have an alibi

The sulky expression from the hilarious "Aubrey Plaza" persona (history mayne), Sunday, 12 September 2010 14:10 (fifteen years ago)

I am (not) strangely drawn to Gemma Arterton but I don't fancy Frears in comedy mode tbh

Eejit Piaf (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 12 September 2010 14:10 (fifteen years ago)

unless Gumshoe (?) counts but it's hardly lolcentric

Eejit Piaf (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 12 September 2010 14:11 (fifteen years ago)

i was actually p impressed

she [her character] is the weak spot, but also the main action-motivator [lewd remark, seriously tho, daaaaaamn]

but it's not (all) light, bucolic comedy, and i thought it was 'legitimately good cinema' too, which i wouldn't always say about frears

i lolled anyway

The sulky expression from the hilarious "Aubrey Plaza" persona (history mayne), Sunday, 12 September 2010 14:16 (fifteen years ago)

Enjoyed Tamara Drewe much more than I expected to. Almost skipped it as the 2 star Time Out review made it sound like its the kind of British film I hate. But it's Stephen Frears,and I'd enjoyed the Posy Simmonds graphic novel, so I gave it a try - and its not bad at all. Good direction and excellent acting and a script that stays faithful to the original graphic novel.

Bob Six, Sunday, 12 September 2010 20:36 (fifteen years ago)

it was a lot more truthful imo than 'cyrus', which TO went a bundle for. almost surprisingly well directed, or perhaps i was just not paying attention before. but there were a lot of different tones in this film, not jarringly, but skilfully modulated. not easy to pull off.

The sulky expression from the hilarious "Aubrey Plaza" persona (history mayne), Sunday, 12 September 2010 20:40 (fifteen years ago)

sorry 'formerly great listings magazine time out'

The sulky expression from the hilarious "Aubrey Plaza" persona (history mayne), Sunday, 12 September 2010 20:40 (fifteen years ago)

three years pass...

Holy cow, is In Dreams ever ludicrous. For the first hour, it's annoying--if there's some kind of internal logic at work, it by-passed me. Towards the end, maybe the last 10-15 minutes, it's out-and-out Ed Wood. Neil Jordan's made some reputable films, at least a couple of which I've seen. We all go a little mad sometimes, I guess.

clemenza, Saturday, 14 December 2013 04:06 (twelve years ago)

Never saw, but I heard some good things about his new(ish) one. Seems to have gotten pretty much lost among the year-end talk, though.

a fifth of misty beethoven (cryptosicko), Saturday, 14 December 2013 05:09 (twelve years ago)

I totally forgot that he did Interview with a Vampire.

Mona Lisa, Crying Game, Butcher Boy, End of the Affair, Good Thief are all very very good.Never even heard of Byzantium, sounds ... alright for a vampire movie?

akm, Saturday, 14 December 2013 07:23 (twelve years ago)

six years pass...

just found out about this Frears TV film, Bloody Kids (1980), via a documentary on DP Chris Menges.

Will watch later but looks good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNePKW2gxGk

a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 25 January 2020 13:56 (six years ago)


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