[Since this is a film forum, I say directors, though one can justifiably substitute the term "artists" in general]
I think it's clear that most directors just get lost up their own asses. I don't mean to say that it's necessarily an ego thing. Let me clarify.
The essence of art, to me, is the ability to *observe* and to *question*. These are the qualities you tend to find in the early periods of many great filmmakers, when they are still youthful and exhuberant (qualities which many people often attribute to "innocence" or "naievety"). As directors get comfortable in their own shoes, they seem intent on describing the world, like a parent passing on valuable wisdom to a child. This is often referred to as "maturity." All of this, of course, is just my personal view of it, and you might completely disagree. I just don't trust anything that claims to know the answers to any of life's great mysteries. I prefer to speculate on the questions and leave them unanswered. When an artist quits contemplating and starts instructing, he/she usually comes off like a self-parody.
But really, how many directors have succumbed to the dreaded "falling off" period? Woody, De Palma, Coppola, Lynch, Scorsese, Fellini, Altman, possibly (I shudder to say it) Godard, and most recently, (many will disagree, but) Van Sant and von Trier. The list can go on. Even Kurosawa's last great films, Kagemusha and Ran, seem (in comparison to works like the Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and High and Low) like a master filmmaker simply flexing his directorial muscle.
Agree? Disagree?
― Anthony (Anthony F), Sunday, 23 January 2005 06:38 (twenty-one years ago)
I've been reading Bob Dylan's memoirs lately & have been thinking about this topic quite a bit.
I think the "falling off" by great artists happens for two reasons--
1) They become increasingly esoteric, to the point that the alienate their audience completely and lose touch with .
2) They simply age & lose the spirit of youth. After awhile, you just lose the desire to be revolutionary & constantly pushing forward. Young artists will often let their art consume their entire life, sacrificing family, friends, health, etc. to be creative. Eventually, you realize that it might no longer be worth it to you to be a martyr. I'm not a scientist by any means, but I'm sure the hormonal & chemical changes that occur in the body over time probably have some kind of effect on this as well.
― jay blanchard (jay blanchard), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:03 (twenty-one years ago)
I would argue Kurosawa had a late-career comeback, as did John Huston.
It's easier if you stay out of the commercial sphere as much as possible, ie Dreyer.
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Monday, 24 January 2005 14:46 (twenty-one years ago)
Haha. Or Bresson. Or, say, Victor Erice.
Didn't Dreyer have a day job running a movie theater?
― Ken L (Ken L), Monday, 24 January 2005 16:16 (twenty-one years ago)