10 Best Films About America Made by Non-American Directors
First off the bat, I would like to preclude several directors from the following list. Yes, directors such as Charlie Chaplin, Billy Wilder, Michael Curtiz, Frank Capra, Douglas Sirk and Alfred Hitchcock were all foreign born, but they are also so embedded in American film culture and Hollywood history that sometimes one forgets they are indeed foreign. With that said, allow us to move on.
In celebration of American Independence this week, I hand you a bit of a twist on the whole thing. A list of films about America and the American experience, made by directors who are more known, or at least equally known, for their work in their native lands. Some of these films take a positive spin, some a negative, but all are films that breathe life into a land that may not be all that known to their respective creators. So without further ado, here is that very list.
10. United 93 (Paul Greengrass, 2006)
The thing that made this film work while many other 9/11 films did not was the casting of unknowns in the roles of the flight’s fated heroes. It became all that much real – all that more intense. Directed by Englishman Paul Greengrass, whose Bloody Sunday was an equally intense look at the Irish uprising, United 93 is one of the most harrowing films of the post 9/11 cinematic world.
9. Land of Plenty (Wim Wenders, 2004)
Probably the least known of the films on this list, German auteur Wim Wenders shows us a world of post 9/11 paranoia in America. Starring Michelle Williams and John Diehl, this film which got barely any notice when it played for its rather truncated release time, is a film that people need to search out to watch, but it is a film that you will be glad you did.
8. My Blueberry Nights (Wong Kar-wai, 2007)
After two decades of brilliant and beautiful work in Chinese cinema, Hong Kong master auteur Wong Kar-wai tried his hand at an American road movie. Many critics claimed it as a failed experiment, but this critic was surprised at how much he liked it. not as alluring as something like In The Mood For Love or Fallen Angels, but still this is a quite stunning film to watch.
7. The Ice Storm (Ang Lee, 1997)
The Taiwanese director has made a habit of working in Hollywood these days, but this was the first of his American films. In this deeply resonating film, Lee takes a look at the societal taboos of 1970′s American suburbia, with great and tragic performances from Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci, Elijah Wood and Sigourney Weaver.
6. Once Upon A Time in America (Sergio Leone, 1984)
I suppose I could have just as easily put the Italian spaghetti western maestro’s Once Upon A Time in The West on here, but this epic tale of organized crime speaks so well, for better or for worse, about the underbelly of early twentieth century era America. Originally a brilliant four and a half hour tale of self-destruction, US distributors butchered it (against Leone’s wishes) to a two hour and nineteen minute fiasco of a film. Luckily the original version has been restored.
Continue Reading 10 Best Films About America Made by Non-American Directors >>
Pages: 1 2
21 Comments
While there are a few on here I’ve yet to see… where is THE APARTMENT by Billy Wilder (from Austria)?
I refuse to accept your reasoning for his exclusion… I’m lame that way.
Hey, if I didn’t make these exceptions the entire list would be filled with Wilder, Capra, Sirk, Chaplin, Curtiz and Hitchcock. I would have to include North by Northwest, Written in the Wind, Meet John Doe, Some Like it Hot, Ace in the Hole et cetera, and so on and on.
I just figured people like Wilder were so ingrained in Hollywood lore (as a director he made no films in his native land, and only directed one film – in France – before he came to the US) that they were thought of as American directors.
I guess I am lame that way.
And actually I am working on a 10 Best Billy Wilder list for AM as we speak.
This is a great list! I haven’t seen all of these movies, but I highly enjoy the ones I have seen. (Paris, Texas never seems to get the respect it deserves.) Thanks for giving me more movies to look for!
An interesting twist on the concept; I don’t think I’ve seen any of these films, but several sound like they most be worth checking out.
That is a great list though I would put Paris, Texas #1 in that list. I just love that film.
I think Paris, Texas might be favorite of the list. That’s probably because I love Harry Dean Stanton so much.
Wait a minute. People in other countries have movies too?
Ha!!
Really interesting article Kevyn. When I saw the title of it I immediately thought of Irish filmmaker Jim Sheridan’s excellent In America. I recommend it.
Oh that was a good film. I actually forgot all about it.
I haven’t seen all of these but those I have seen are great choices! United 93 would probably be my number one though!
I have to agree with Steven, I would put Paris Texas as #1 on the list. Wim Wenders masterpiece (and written by Sam Sheperd) is just one of the most poignant evocations of the America hearland I have ever seen….
And did you notice that musician Ry Cooder has two of these films he scored- both Paris Texas and My Blueberry Nights? No other film composer captures what it sounds like to be from this country.
Good job Kevyn! Sunrise would be my number 1 too! But I’m surprised that you didn’t placed Dogville higher knowing that you adore this movie!
Yes, but I adore all the films above it as well.
What an awesome and original list! I’ve been meaning to see My Blueberry Nights, an American road movie, I like the sound of that.
Hooray for Paris, Texas. The only other film I’ve seen on the list is Brokeback Mountain, which I’m a lot less fond of. Not that it’s bad, I just don’t love it as much as others do.
Great list. I think that it is interesting because for a great chunk of H’Wood history it has thrived on emigres to produce a vision so in many regards, that is what we see (especially in the early days) and “outsiders” look at the nation. It is definitely a unique vantage point.
Great list! Of these 10 movies, I’ve only seen Brokeback Mountain, but there are many here I’d like to see. I am especially intrigued by Paris, Texas.
Hi, Kevyn and company:
Interesting and intriguing list!
Waiting patiently for the restored version of ‘Once Upon A Time In America’. For its great period piece feel and De Niro in one of his most understated roles opposite a fine supporting cast.
Outside of planting Christina Ricci and Sigourney Weaver more solidly on the map. ‘The Ice Storm’ really doesn’t do much for me.
I’ve seen ‘Zabriskie Point’ four or five times now, and still don’t get it.
Very pleased that ‘Paris, Texas’ is on the list!
I am pretty sure nobody actually gets Zabriskie Point, and strangely enough, I think that is what I like most about it.
Trackbacks